A Gray Sky With Some Color

6:56

7:06

8:34

I woke at 6:00 to an overcast sky, but now the sun has broken through some of the gray, giving the southeast sky some striking color. We received a touch of rain overnight, and it looks like an overcast morning with a sunny afternoon, perfect for voting. It’s 8:50, and I paddled on a mostly cloudy morning for close to an hour. I haven’t seen a heron in a week, so I assume they have migrated south along with the ospreys. Only the eagles remain, and the migrating buffleheads, swans, and mergansers have yet to arrive. 

North

Kayak Morning

Yesterday I decided to take it easy, with no biking or hiking, just a nice hour-long paddle down to the Powerboat Club and home. Evie was home as well, nursing a lingering cold. By 9:30, I had kayaked, written the blog, had breakfast, and walked around the neighborhood. We also got something done that has been bothering me: we took the air conditioners out of the TV room and back bedroom. It took all of ten minutes, and I feel better having it done. I left for Wegmans at 10:00 because I wanted to get a flu and COVID vaccination. I was second in line and was out shopping within ten minutes. I picked up a few things but didn’t need much. I skipped Ryder’s Cup and came straight home because I wanted to get the side yard mulched before lunch.

Evie made me a couple of toasted cheese-and-turkey sandwiches, and I watched another episode of American Primitive. By 1:30, I was upstairs reading and hoping to nap. I was back downstairs by 2:00, however, and read for a bit before raking some, then mulching the front yard. It sure looked good that afternoon, but this morning the leaves are back. I think I will wait until the weekend to mow again.

Evie had her Zoom call with her sisters at 5:00. While she talked, I made my favorite black bean soup from the Moosewood cookbook. It takes about 25 minutes and is easy: sauté onions, cumin, and garlic; add tomatoes and black beans; simmer; add sun-dried tomatoes; simmer again; then use an immersion blender and voilà, it’s done. For dinner, Evie cooked brats with our homemade sauerkraut, another simple but tasty meal. I guess I cannot get enough of football, because at 8:15 I turned on the Seattle/Chicago game and watched it until 10:00, when I went up to bed.

Overcast For Much Of The Day

Autumn Zinnias

6:48

7:04

7:33

8:50

It’s 7:30, and I’ve been up for an hour. There was some color as the sun rose, but now it’s behind the clouds. It looks like a good morning for kayaking: little wind and 46º. And the sun just popped out from hiding behind the clouds. It’s almost 9:00, and I paddled for close to an hour on a mostly cloudy morning, with an occasional burst of sun.

Kayak Morning

Sunday was another good day to be on the lake. I was up early, a result of the time change, and out on the lake early, paddling down to the Powerboat Club, out to Tom’s Point, and home, avoiding the duck blind. After breakfast and the blog, I drove to Bemus, parked near the bridge, and rode my bike down Lakeside Drive, through Long Point State Park’s woods, to the tip of Long Point, and home, about an hour ride. It was perfect weather, and I was the only one in the park, at least that I could see.

Paddling South

Sandy Bottom

Sunday was another good day to be on the lake. I was up early, a result of the time change, and out on the lake early, paddling down to the Powerboat Club, out to Tom’s Point, and home, avoiding the duck blind. After breakfast and the blog, I drove to Bemus, parked near the bridge, and rode my bike down Lakeside Drive, through Long Point State Park’s woods, to the tip of Long Point, and home, about an hour ride. It was perfect weather, and I was the only one in the park, at least that I could see.

Long Point Trail

Biking Out To Long Point

Woodlawn Colors

Lenhart Yellow

When I got home, Evie was busy cleaning the kitchen, so I volunteered to vacuum the living room and TV room. Around 12:45, Evie made me a couple of fried eggs and a bagel, and I settled in for a few hours of football. Buffalo ended up defeating the Ravens, but I wasn’t enjoying it much and may be getting tired of watching football. I did watch the first half of the Chiefs’ loss to Denver before getting dressed and ready to drive to Linda and Ron’s for dinner.

Dinner With Linda And Ron

We got there at 6:00, and it was already dark out. Linda had a great cheese appetizer for us to enjoy as we sat around their kitchen table with wine, catching up on their busy lives and our kids. Dinner was our favorite: a couple of racks of lamb with orzo and salad, followed by cake. Yum. We left around 8:45, happily full, and were home by 9:00. Evie was tired and went to bed, and I watched more football until I, too, went up to bed. A good day, great dinner, and a night with friends.

Way Too Early

Our 13-Month-Old Great-Grandson, Tommy, Off To Preschool

6:16

6:27

6:45

It’s 7:00, and I’ve been up since 6:00 because of the time change. The virtue of the earlier light is that I can kayak by 7:00 if I want. The downside is that driving to and from dinner out will often be in the dark. Right now there’s a light wind, and it’s 41º, with some sun early, then a cloudy afternoon with a high around 64º, perfect weather for football. It's just 9:00 as I finish this after a 70-minute paddle, past a duck blind near the Powerboat Club and out to Tom's Point and back, a long but refreshing paddle. 

Kayak Morning

Duck Blind

Bridge

Northern Sky

Saturday was typical: a nice paddle starting around 8:00, then writing the blog and a walk around Woodlawn as I enjoyed my breakfast in a bowl. We had no plans for the day, just the leisure of a Saturday. I, of course, wanted to “do something,” so around 10:30 I drove to Mayville, parked at the park, and biked one of my four usual trails. I began with two sections of Webb’s Trail along an abandoned railroad track, then took Mayville’s asphalt walkway to #430 and Mayville Cemetery, back to Sea Lion Drive for a bit, and then back to the car. It took close to an hour. Whenever I take this route, I pass the same guy out for a walk, and this time I stopped and talked with him. His name is Steve, and he lives in Mayville. He’s a former runner, now a daily walker, and he often drives to Presque Isle to bike. It was fun talking with him. On my way home, I stopped at Tops and picked up some goodies for our dinners this week.

Gathering Of Sea Gulls At Mayville Park

Webb's Trail

Leaves And Trees

Mayville Cemetery

Looking South From North End Of Lake

When I got home, Evie was enjoying her leisure after a busy week. For lunch, I had the last of the eggplant pasta and watched some TV, not sure what. I started a new book at my friend Ron’s suggestion, Damascus Station by David McCloskey, the first in a series of spy novels. So far, I’m enjoying it. I napped briefly but mostly read, then came downstairs feeling antsy and went outside to rake the leaves that had fallen around our red maple, even trimming some branches so I can walk under the tree when I mow. It felt good to be outside doing something rather than sitting inside watching football.

Evie had forgotten that I had the leftover eggplant for lunch and she fried up bacon for BLTs. Instead of a big Saturday night dinner, then, we had BLTs for dinner, loved them, and vowed to have them once a week. We watched the usual until Evie went up to bed. I then switched back and forth between the Ohio State loss to USC and the WNBA finals, won by Golden State. I timed it right and caught the last four minutes of the exciting Golden State victory. I ended the night with The Mayor of Kingston before going to bed.

Bright Sun Rising And 37º

7:47

8:01

8:01

9:33

It’s just after 8:00. Evie’s been up since 7:00 and I slept in until 7:30. It looks like a good morning for kayaking, with little if any breeze, just cold. It's 9:42 and I just returned from an amazingly beautiful forty-five-minute paddle, down to the Powerboat Club and back. What a morning!

Kayak Morning

Northern Sky

Long Point

Yesterday was a great day for Evie and a lazy one for me. We were up early because she needed to get to school early for Halloween. I wrote the blog, and she finished reading it just before 8:30 and left. I then went out for a paddle, but the wind and waves were such that I lasted only 25 minutes, if that. I came home, had breakfast, and took a walk around Woodlawn. I had in mind a hike around Dobbins Woods but surprised myself and bagged it because my legs were tired. Instead, I drove to Lakewood, stopped for coffee, talked with Dave for 15 minutes, then hit the bank and ended up at Wegmans to pick up a prescription and buy a few goodies for our dinner. I was tempted to buy a sub but resisted and came home.

Before lunch, I wanted to get the side yard mulched, so I fired up the Honda. It took me 20 minutes to ramble over dirt, rocks, and lawn, but at least I got it done. For lunch, I had one of the bargain chicken pot pies I bought at Walmart for a buck, and that’s all it was worth: a few veggies and questionable chicken. You get what you pay for, and I bought five bucks’ worth. I then watched an episode of American Primitive about the drive West to Utah, filled with violence and terrible conditions. I don’t think I would have the courage to take to the trail. When you think about what those people endured, our lives are so easy and comfortable.

I read and napped briefly before coming downstairs, where Evie regaled me with a few of her Halloween stories. Some of the kids even said they didn’t want any more candy because lots of parents in costume were handing it out in the parking lot. I then went out and mulched the leaf-strewn front yard, and for a couple of hours our lawn looked great.

Fading Colors Of Autumn

I read until 5:00, when we enjoyed a glass or two of wine and listened to the prognosticators discuss who will win the election. Will it be a blue wave or not? How tiring. For dinner, we had the leftover eggplant pasta, which was better the second night. We watched TV, and at 8:15 I watched some NBA before returning to a series I’ve been watching on Paramount+, Mayor of Kingstown, with Jeremy Renner, set in a Michigan town with seven prisons. I’d had enough by 10:00 and went up to bed to read and sleep. An easy day.

Autumn Skies

Presque Isle State Park

7:03

7:18

8:03

It’s 7:40 as I start this, and we’ve both been up since 7:00. Evie is going to kindergarten today because it’s Halloween dress-up day. I’m up because I’m usually up at this hour. My only plan so far is to kayak, if the northerly winds aren’t too strong. It's 9:15, and I paddled for only 20 minutes because of the wind and waves. 

Kayak Morning

Northern Sky

Paddling South

Yesterday was an amazing day. We were both up early. I had breakfast in Bemus at 8:00, then took a short paddle at 9:15. Evie finished the blog and left for school at 9:30, so it was a busy morning for both of us. After relaxing a bit, I was ready to drive forty-five minutes to Presque Isle State Park, a peninsula off the coast of Erie, PA. It’s one of my favorite places to ride my bike, and I try to go at least once in the fall and once in the spring. I left around 10:30, arrived at 11:20, and joined the other bikers and hikers on the trail, 13 miles of asphalt that circles the peninsula. As you can see from the photograph, the northwest side has some of the best inland beaches in the United States, and the east side is wooded and faces Erie and the bay. I rode for over an hour, stopping a couple of times at one of the great beaches and at the Perry Monument at the tip of the peninsula. Lots of people my age were out enjoying the day, biking or walking. It couldn’t have been a better day for a bike ride and was warm enough to wear a long-sleeve T-shirt. 

One Of The Inland Ponds

View Of The Bay Side

One Of Eleven Great Beaches

Biking On The Bay Side

On my way home, I stopped at Burger King for a Whopper meal and was home by 2:00. Evie was back from school too, enjoying some lunch and watching TV. I was really tired, especially my legs from the ride, so I read and tried to nap, to no avail. Around 4:00, we both showered and got dressed because we were going out to dinner with our neighbors, Jim and Barb. We left at 5:15 and enjoyed the fall colors on the half-hour ride to the Whiskey Hill Saloon in Cassadaga. 

Dining Room

The Bar

Scary Corner

Bench

Entrance

It’s famous for its Halloween decorations, and it didn’t disappoint. We found seats in the bar and ordered beers, appetizers, and their famous garbage wings. It wasn’t too busy, with just a few people at the bar and in the restaurant. Service was great, and we enjoyed our appetizers and wings. We drove home in the dark, and all four of us were tired from the day. Evie went to bed around 8:30, and I stayed up to watch some football and started a series called American Primitive.

Our Granddaughters in Anime