Swaths Of Color Fill The Morning Sky

Airport

Rhys Arrives At The Lake

6:45

6:16

It's 6:42, and I've been up for a half hour on a 50º morning. Rhys is sleeping in so far, which is great for his grandparents. It looks like another windy morning paddle, with a brisk northerly wind, alas. It just turned 7:00, and the roar of bass boats fills the air as they fire out of Long Point Marina. It's 7:43, and Tom, Mary, and Rhys are up. Rhys is full of pep while the three of us sit around, nursing our coffee, trying to wake up. I kayaked for 20 minutes into the wind. It took me close to 15 minutes to get halfway down Woodlawn, into the fierce northerly wind, then I coasted back in 5. I did manage a moon shot, as well as a heron on one of the neighbors' docks.

Kayak Morning

Heron On Woodlawn Dock

Rhys Morning

Making Buttermilk Pancakes

Saturday was a busy morning, putting the finishing touches on Tom, Mary, and Rhys's arrival. I did get in an energetic paddle because of the wind, and had the blog written and published by 9:30. My last two tasks were to vacuum and clean both porches, something I usually do every month or two. Thinking back over the past few days, having company makes us give the house a good cleaning — something we ought to do every month or two but don't. Instead, we wait for company. While I was porch-sitting, Evie was cooking and cleaning as well. My final task before lunch was to vacuum upstairs, an easy 15-minute job.

Lunch was great: BLTs and soup, and I watched some football before reading and trying to nap. I took a shower, then left for the airport around 1:45, knowing their flight was on time. I arrived around 3:15, a half hour early, which was fine. Both flights were easy, and I met them at the gate just before 4:00. We got the bags, strapped Rhys's car seat into the car, and drove home the back way — the scenic route, a little over an hour and a half drive. Evie was sitting outside waiting for us at 5:45, and Rhys couldn't wait to see her.

Rhys And His Papa

Rhys And Nani

The living room was filled with toys, and somehow Rhys remembered from two years ago, because he went right in and started playing with trucks. The three of us sat around the fireplace area, watching Rhys and Evie play with trucks, puzzles, and all the other kids' stuff Evie's saved from when our grandchildren would visit.

Tommy

Tommy

We had dinner around 6:45 — chili with fixings, corn on the cob, and cornbread. Rhys had grapes, mac and cheese, and loved the cornbread. Dinner was perfect, just what we wanted on a cool Saturday evening. Afterward, Rhys went upstairs, and Mary put him to bed fairly easily, despite it being a new bedroom. The four of us then sat around on our devices, occasionally talking and sharing a funny meme, until 9:00, when all four of us went up to bed, tired but happy from our day.

Harvest Moon

It Looks Like A Good Saturday

Rhys, our great-grandson, has just gotten a haircut for his trip to visit us. We can't wait, and he will be here for five days with his grandparents, Tom and Mary.

6:23

7:12

8:03

It's 7:00, and I have been up since 6:30. I usually walk out on the porch and take a photo of the morning sky. Well, the last couple of mornings, a pontoon boat has been parked in front of our yard. In fact, he seems to have been there on and off during the summer. If I walk out on the lawn, I can usually hide his boat behind a tree. It's funny that there are over forty miles of lakefront and this guy chose to park in front of our house. This time it was lit up because it was still dark. Since it had just turned 7:00, the bass tournament began as one bass boat after another roared out of Long Point Marina. And just as I was paddling home, duck hunters fired their shotguns, scaring the heck out of me because they must have been close. Whatever happened to a quiet, empty lake? I did get in a good paddle for 50 minutes, although I had a tough paddle home because of the heavy northerly wind.

Woodlawn

Into the Sun

Kayak Morning

Friday was a busy day, starting as usual with my paddle, blog, and breakfast. We enjoyed our coffee and spent most of the time putting together a list for Wegmans, trying to anticipate all we might need for the next five days when Tom, Mary, and Rhys visit. We were off for Wegmans by 9:45, and I dropped Evie off and returned a shirt I'd bought at Walmart because it was too large. I then returned to Wegmans and followed Evie around aisle after aisle as she loaded up the cart to overflowing. In fact, I had to get a second cart when we checked out.

We were home by noon and spent a good half hour putting things away and making sure we knew where we'd put them. We are getting older! We had cheese and tomato sandwiches for lunch along with Evie's soup, and I watched another episode of Lioness. While Evie continued to work on getting the house ready, I tried to nap but ended up reading for a half hour instead. I then went out and spent the next hour mowing the yard, edging the brick walkways, things like that. Finally, I helped Evie by washing the porch windows just as it turned 5:00 — time for a glass of wine.

Earlier, Evie had prepped dinner, baking potatoes, making a salad, and getting two steaks ready for grilling. By 6:30, we were enjoying our dinner and watching a couple of shows, happy with what we'd gotten done during the day. Once Evie went to bed, I tried to find a show to watch and ended up with a series called The German. It's about a couple of Israelis who survived the Holocaust, and the husband has to go to Germany for business. It's good so far, and hard to watch at times when it cuts to the concentration camps.

Full Moon

Moon Rise

Fog Rising Over Chautauqua Lake

6:26

6:40

8:21

8:30

It's 7:00, and I have been up since 6:20, watching the fog roll in, obscuring Long Point at the moment. I am not sure when to kayak because of the heavy fog along the shoreline as I look south. Well, it's 8:30; we are both up, and I just returned from a 50-minute paddle, most of the time in some fog.

Kayak Morning

Sun Rising

Fog Rising

Fishing In The Fog

Northern Sky

Thursday was another busy and good day overall. It began with an early paddle, then breakfast in Bemus at 8:00, and I returned home at 9:10 to finish up the blog and publish it. We got a few things done when I returned — basically getting rid of the lake flies on both porches and vowing to keep the lights off in the evening. I wanted to get in some exercise, so around 11:00 I drove to Mayville, parked my car, and rode Webb's Trail and Sea Lion Drive for 50 minutes on a fine, sunny, blue-sky afternoon. It felt good to be out doing something. Evie had lunch ready when I returned: ham, cheese, and tomato sandwiches and veggie soup.

I watched another episode of Lioness and read until 1:00, when we drove to Dunkirk for a 2:00 appointment with an orthopedist. First, they took more X-rays of both of Evie's knees, then we talked with the PA for a good half hour as he explained what he thinks is wrong with her knee: severe arthritis and a possible meniscus tear. He went through four options, the last being surgery, but suggested a steroid shot. We thought that was worth a try, so first he drained her knee of fluid and blood before giving Evie the shot. She'd had one a couple of years ago on that knee, so she knew what to expect. We made another appointment in a month and drove home, hoping the shot would work.

We were home by 4:15, and I wanted to get one of my chores done, so I grabbed a stepladder, bucket, squeegee, and newspaper and washed and cleaned the front windows. It took me half an hour, and fortunately the lake flies didn't seem to bother me. By the time I was done, it was wine time, so we relaxed for a good hour, listening to Jake Tapper make fun of our clown in the White House. He would be amusing if he weren't so upsetting. We had an easy dinner: Wegmans General Tso's chicken over rice. It was actually decent, cheap, and tasty. We watched the usual until 8:30, then I watched a few minutes of the Fever game, the NFL game, then a full episode of Lioness before going up to read my new novel, Allen Eskens's The Heavens May Fall.

Unbelievable:

44º And Blue Skies And Blinding Sun

6:25

7:36

9:21

It's 9:30 as I start this blog, although I was up at 6:20. Evie and I are listening to Michael Smerconish, always interesting. I was out on the lake before 7:00, before sunrise, for close to 50 minutes. At 8:00, I was at the Lake Life Cafe in Bemus, ordering an avocado toast with a fried egg and coffee. Jack and I sat around reminiscing about the good old days until 9:00, when we both drove home.

Kayak Morning

Looking Southeast

Sun Rising

Fog Along Woodlawn

Looking East Of Long Point

Yesterday was a get-things-done morning. After coffee, kayaking, and the blog, Evie and I got busy organizing and cleaning the upstairs, getting it ready for the arrival of our Kansas City family. A lot of it was getting the toys ready for Rhys, who is obsessed with pulling all kinds of toys out of the attic, and arranging them downstairs for him. 

Lake Flies Cometh

Lunch was soup and a sandwich, and I watched another episode of Fauda. Evie left to get her hair done around 12:30, and I had a few things to do, so I left soon after, stopping first to set up a Physical Therapy session for me in October. I then returned sweatpants at Target, not long enough. I finally ended up at Walmart, where I bought shorts, sweatpants, and a pullover, all surprisingly inexpensive because they were on sale. I am starting to like Walmart for clothes as well as other items. When I returned, Evie was back, enjoying her show and happy with her haircut, a bit shorter and cute.

We both did little until 5:00, when we listened to Jake Tapper, with the news about the Trump clown show at the UN. I forgot to mention that I sharpened the lawn mower blades, then mowed the backyard, just to see if my sharpening made a difference. I doubt it. Dinner was a favorite: taco salad, with taco shells, chili, salsa, cheese, and sour cream. We watched our usual, and I finished the night with the last episode of Fauda, ending the series, and the first episode of the second season of Lioness on Paramount+.

Parly Cloudy, Windy And Cool

Our Great Grandson, Tommy

It's 8:23, and both Evie and I have been up since 6:45. After a cup of coffee and planning our day — mostly how I am going to help this morning — I realized she's already up doing things, so I'd better get this written so I can be useful, which is always problematic. I was out on the lake at 7:30, paddling into a southeasterly wind for 20 minutes down to Sandy Bottom, then had an easy paddle back, spotting both a heron and an eagle, which made my morning.

7:22

6:36

Kayak Morning

  Into The Sun And Reeds

Heron

Tuesday was a good day, mostly because Evie had a great day at kindergarten. I had my usual morning of paddling, blogging, and breakfast, so I won't go into detail. By 9:30, we were on our way to Southwestern. I'm sure Evie could have driven, but I wanted to give her knee one more day to heal, so I dropped her off with no plan for the rest of the morning. I went a little crazy and walked around the Target next to Wegmans, checking it out, and was surprised at all the stuff on the shelves — it rivals Walmart. I bought a pair of sweatpants for twenty-five bucks but will take them back today because they're too short. After my retail excursion, I stopped at Tim Hortons for a coffee and a sausage biscuit, then drove to Bemus, to the end of Lakeside Drive. Instead of my usual hike, I did the eastern side of the trail, heading up toward the highway past the buildings. It seemed longer than I remembered — it ended up being about two miles, much of it up some easy hills. I was glad to get back to the car.

Long Point Trail

I was home by 12:15, had a fish sandwich, watched some TV, then left to pick Evie up at 1:15. I waited in the parking lot for five minutes before she came out smiling, having had fun with her class. We were tempted to do some shopping, but it would have been too much for Evie after a day in kindergarten. Once we got home, she regaled me with stories about some of the kids, then watched her shows while I read and napped. Neither of us did anything productive the rest of the afternoon, and we looked forward to wine time at 5:00. It was a windy late afternoon, with the wind chimes sounding every minute or two. After wine and appetizers, neither of us was that hungry, so a bowl of Evie's veggie soup and a hot dog sounded good — that was our dinner. We watched a few shows until Evie went up to bed, when I switched over to the first half of the Fever game. I was bored by halftime, so I switched to my series Fauda, about an Israeli undercover counterterrorism unit. It takes place after the October 7th Hamas invasion, in which 1,200 Israelis were killed. Episode seven, though, went back to that day — to the invasion itself — and it was hard to watch Hamas storm a house and kill children, and rape and kill the wife of one of the series' main characters. There was a warning before the episode began about its violence. I looked up the stats afterward: yes, 1,200 Israelis were killed. In the Israeli response that followed, which continued for over a year, roughly 72,000 Palestinians reportedly died — I had a hard time falling asleep after that.