Warming Up

7:08

8:08

The sun is up at 8:30, filling the yard and sky with light on a 26° morning. No ice fishermen's tents dot the lake. Today's high of 46° is either the third or fourth thaw of the winter.

Thursday, as always, was a busy day. We were both up early, by 7:00. After writing the blog, I headed to Bemus for breakfast. By 9:40, we had gone our separate ways — me to yoga, Evie to school. The studio was packed as usual, and I set up my mat in front of the class, next to Tara. The session ran 80 minutes, and I left feeling energized. I stopped for a coffee at Ryder's Cup, made a quick run through Aldi's, and was home by noon.

Blue Skies

It's still strange to walk into a quiet, empty house, even after three years of Evie helping out in kindergarten. I checked email, read for a bit, then had lunch around 12:45 — leftover chicken and orzo. I watched another episode of Land of Sin, then went upstairs to read and nap. When I came back down, Evie had just gotten home and briefly recounted some of the funny things that had happened in class.

Sun And Melting Snow

I settled in with my book, thought vaguely about a walk, and then said the heck with it. It had been a sun-filled afternoon — a real surprise — and by 5:00, we were ready for a glass of wine with no dinner pressure in sight. By 6:30, we were enjoying bowls of chili topped with sour cream, cheese, and avocado, and watching HGTV. At the same time, the distressing news broke that Paramount Skydance — backed by Trump supporter Larry Ellison — was acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery, including CNN and HBO. The Ellisons already own CBS, Paramount Pictures, Paramount+, MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and a stake in TikTok. It's a modern monopoly, rivaling the great consolidations of the early 20th century that made Teddy Roosevelt famous as the Trust Buster. Brace yourself for another Fox News. Evie went upstairs to bed feeling depressed, and I turned on some basketball to clear my head before finishing Land of Sin.

Rain, Sleet, And Snow

6:46

7:36

As I look out at our front yard, the grass is beginning to reappear as the snow slowly melts away. It’s still cold — 15º at the moment — but it should climb into the high 20s this afternoon, much like yesterday. Evie is feeling better, so we’re both up enjoying our coffee. I have breakfast at 8:00, yoga at 10:00, and Evie leaves for kindergarten at 9:30. Back to our familiar Thursday routine.

Wednesday wasn’t much of a day for me, mainly because I didn’t get in much of a hike. I slept later than usual and wasn’t in any hurry without yoga on the schedule. Around 11:00, after doing some snow shoveling, I drove to Mayville to walk Webb’s Trail, assuming that since it’s used by snowmobiles, it would be groomed. I was wrong. The trail was covered with five to eight inches of untouched snow. I trudged through it for about ten minutes before giving up and turning back to the car, tired and not particularly pleased with the effort.

Webb's Trail

Heading Back

Since I was already in Mayville, I filled up the Outback and headed home, deciding to pass on a sub from the Lighthouse and save a few dollars.

Back home, I read until about 12:30, when Evie kindly offered to make me an avocado and tomato sandwich on toast. Paired with the last of the Wegmans chicken soup, it was heavenly — no exaggeration. I watched my show afterward and, somewhat surprisingly, managed a decent nap. I was up by 2:45 with a couple of hours to fill before wine time at 5:00. I briefly considered another walk but decided against it and spent most of the afternoon reading, moving back and forth between books.

Around 4:30, Evie prepared dinner — Greek chicken with orzo — and put it in the oven for an hour while we enjoyed our wine and Jake Tapper on CNN. The chicken was only average, so we likely won’t repeat it, though I’ll finish the leftovers for lunch. Later, we watched two episodes of Season 2 of Paradise on Disney+ and enjoyed them. After Evie went to bed, I watched some basketball and then another episode of the Swedish — not Dutch — thriller Land of Sin.

A Few Inches Of Snow Overnight

7:55

8:34

8:39

It’s 8:30, and the sky is a threatening gray, the lake a bright white. A couple of tents sit out on the ice on this 29º morning. We have no real plans for the day, though I’ll try to fit in a hike somewhere—perhaps through our woods. The sun briefly pushed through the clouds, and when I stepped onto the porch to take a photo, I heard a bird chirping for the first time this year.

This Morning

Tuesday turned out to be a good day, despite my waking at 6:30 and immediately worrying about shoveling the snow and clearing off both cars so Evie could get to school. As it happened, there was no need to worry—she had a "shaky" stomach, so she decided to stay home.  I had the blog written and the driveway cleared in plenty of time to make it to yoga at 9:10. The class was surprisingly rigorous and ran 70 minutes; Courtney always cheers us at the end for sticking it out. I’ll admit, there were moments when I wondered how much longer it would last.

On my way home, I stopped at Ryder's Cup for a coffee.  Just then, Evie texted to ask if I was there and, if so, could I pick up a few things. So off I went, navigating a busy Tuesday store, gathering what she needed.

12:30

I was home before lunch, and Evie was curled up on the couch reading. Around 12:30, I heated up Wegman's chicken soup and toasted a bagel with peanut butter. I watched an episode of The Golden Hour, then spent the afternoon reading and napping. When I woke, I didn’t quite have the mojo for a proper walk, so I read instead, moving back and forth between my two books until 4:30. By then, the afternoon felt refreshingly mild, and I went out to shovel the driveway once more and take a brief stroll down our street.

Evie had her Zoom call at 5:00 with her sisters. We put off having our wine until 5:45 and planned on having a rack of lamb with roasted potatoes for dinner. We followed the directions for the lamb carefully, but had to return it to the oven twice—it simply wasn’t done. A bit of a fiasco. We eventually ate, though much of the lamb was still underdone.

Still undecided about what to watch, we put on a couple of early episodes of ER before Evie headed upstairs to bed. I then watched the spectacle of lawmakers greeting Trump as he entered Congress—hugs, handshakes, broad smiles. Once he began speaking, I finished my series, The Golden Hour, and started a new one, Land of Sin, a Dutch thriller. 

"Ever since taking office a year ago, the President has shown no respect for the principles upon which this country is based—the Constitutional separation of powers, the rule of law, and the rights guaranteed to every person under the Constitution. His actions have done tremendous harm to the American people, to our standing among nations, and to our institutions of government,” Senator Angus King (I-ME) said in a statement. “For this reason, I cannot in good conscience participate in a function with this President at its center. To do so would require me to ignore all that has gone before and to pay him a measure of respect which he has not earned. I will not be attending the State of the Union address.”

More Snow, More Shoveling

6:33

7:01

Early Birds

Fresh snow blankets everything this morning. It’s 7:15, and I’ve already been up for an hour, calculating how long it will take to clear the driveway and car. The snowplow passed a few minutes ago, neatly clearing the road while leaving its customary foot-high berm across the end of the driveway.

Evie didn’t feel well last night, so she’s sleeping in. I’ll head out at 8:00 with the battery-powered shovel to clear the driveway and brush off the car before leaving for yoga at 9:10.

Mondays always feel slightly unmoored — no yoga, no school for Evie. Yesterday, though, I slept nearly eight hours, a rare luxury. The rhythm of the morning rarely changes. I photograph the lake each hour, drink my coffee while scrolling Facebook, then read The New York Times and The Washington Post. After that, I write the blog. If Evie is still asleep, I upload the photos and leave the final edit and publishing for her. Then breakfast, and the familiar question: what to do with the day?

Woodlawn Creek And Road

Mailboxes

Yesterday’s answer was obvious. Three to five inches of snow had fallen. I cleared the driveway with the battery-powered shovel, cleaned off the car, and finished with the regular shovel to neaten things up. Twenty-five minutes of work, followed by a 25-minute walk through the neighborhood — cold air, quiet streets, the muffled stillness that follows snowfall. It's 8:45, and I was out shoveling for 25 minutes, and now I have 25 minutes to eat my breakfast before I head to yoga. 

Perfectly Sculpted Evergreen

Woods

By 11:30, I was finally inside for good. After a short rest, we wrestled with the water filter — an awkward job requiring us to squeeze between the furnace and the washer and dryer. Success. Lunch was the last of the lentil soup, along with a toasted tomato-and-cheese sandwich Evie made for me.

In the afternoon, I started a Dutch series, The Golden Hour, which I’m enjoying. I also moved between two books — Paper Girl and The Hallmarked Man, the latest Cormoran Strike novel by J. K. Rowling. Despite the good night’s sleep, I drifted off for a solid nap.

6:15 PM

By midafternoon, we settled into the living room, reading or scrolling and listening to the news. At five, I poured us each a glass of wine. We’d planned on a rack of lamb with roasted potatoes, but Evie began feeling nauseous again, so we postponed it. Dinner became fried eggs over potatoes instead — simple and comforting.

We watched Hometown and Stephen Colbert before Evie went to bed. I caught a few minutes of the Kansas–Houston game, then returned to The Golden Hour, ending the day as it began — quietly.

Snow Falling On A Monday Morning

7:38

8:34

As I look out our front window at 8:30, I can hardly make out Long Point because of the falling snow. At the moment it's 29°, but by tomorrow morning the temperature will be back in the single digits. Winter is back!

Sunday was a typical Sunday, except there was no football to watch, which certainly opened up the day. We had our usual Sunday morning coffee and relaxation — not much different from any other day of the week when you're retired. By 9:30, the blog was published, breakfast was eaten, and I was beginning to get bored, so I texted Jim, my neighbor, wondering if he was up for a hike. He was, so by 10:15, we were driving off in his truck with his dog Ripley to walk a section of the Fred Cusimano Westside Overland Trail outside of Panama, New York, that is. Evie and I have walked it many times over the last 15 years and love it because of the hemlocks. 

Ripley Leads

An Easy Trail To Follow

We Rarely See Birds

We parked the truck, let Ripley out, and off he went, following the trail north. It's well marked, unlike our last hike at the Bentley Nature Preserve a couple of weeks ago. We walked out for half an hour, crossing a couple of creeks, then turned back along a bumpy, uneven trail that was hard on our feet. I was glad I had my poles and crampons. Ripley is good at returning to Jim when he whistles, except when he sees or scents a deer — then he's off. Fortunately, Ripley wears a device on his collar that Jim can use to alert him, and he returns.

Into The Hemlocks

Love The Verticals Along The Path

We were home around noon, and I quickly shoveled a couple of inches of snow off the driveway before heading into the warm house, ready for lunch. I heated up some lentil soup in the microwave and made toast with peanut butter and jelly. I watched my show, then read for a while before taking a short nap. We both lazed away the rest of the afternoon reading and watching TV — after all, it was Sunday.

Snowless And Green At 4:15

By 6:00, we were showered and ready to drive to Linda and Ron's for dinner. We arrived bearing gifts, a bottle of wine and a pack of Slovenian sausages. As always, our evening began with delicious breaded artichoke with mayo. A wonderful soup with gnocchi, followed by homemade bread. Dessert was fruit dipped in chocolate. The highlight of the evening, however, was Ron gleefully recounting what happened after we left our five-course Italian dinner at Adriaccio's restaurant last week. We had left at the end of the meal, and they stayed to pay for Ron's beer and an extra glass of wine, not included in the meal. Instead of a check for maybe twenty or thirty dollars, the bill came to two hundred and forty. The forty dollars we had paid online was merely to hold the reservation — dinner was actually ninety dollars a person, plus tip. 

Ron, of course, demanded we pay immediately, but Linda interceded and is allowing us to pay in installments, so I gave Linda a twenty and will pay the rest over the next few months. Needless to say, we all had a good laugh. We were home by 9:00, passing only one car on the ride home. Evie went up to bed, and I watched some TV before growing anxious to get to bed and read my book, Paper Girl.

Another Sunday Dinner

A Snowy Sunday Morning

8:04

8:54

It's later than usual as I start this, because I slept in until 8:00 — a miracle. When I came downstairs, I was surprised to find our front yard covered with an inch of snow. At the moment, it's 8:30, and a wet, light snow is falling on a 29° morning.

Ice Fishermen Returning With Their Sled

Saturday was a day of rest, especially for Evie, who embraced the leisure wholeheartedly. I tend to get antsy after a while and feel the need to do something. The day started as usual — up at 7:00, read, enjoyed a couple of cups of coffee, wrote the blog — all before Evie woke at 9:00. I then had my healthy breakfast while Evie had her coffee, finished reading the blog, and published it. Knowing she wanted to listen to Michael Smerconish on CNN, I put off the trip to the Transfer Station and, instead, strapped on my crampons and went for a walk in the woods and out on the lake. It was easy going at first, but the wet ground eventually caused my crampons to collect clods of dirt, making each step heavier and more awkward. I could usually knock them off and carry on, but it was annoying. I walked the last couple of hundred yards on the lake itself, where I ran into two fishermen who were just leaving with a few walleyes and mostly pan fish. The lake was largely frozen, though every so often I'd break through and sink five or six inches.

Melting Snow

Victoria

Woodlawn

Mostly Frozen Lake

When I returned home, Evie had already cleaned out the fridge and gathered the trash, so I brushed the snow off the Kia and drove to the Transfer Station. On a side note, the warning light for the air flaps is no longer coming on — I'm not sure whether the problem fixed itself or the light is simply failing. And so it goes. The Transfer Station was quiet, and I was in and out in five minutes. Back home, I was ready for lunch. Evie had put together some pasta, mushrooms, and sauce on Thursday, so that became my meal, eaten while watching another episode of Alex Rider.

I'm deep into my book, Paper Girl, and highly recommend it to anyone wanting to understand the divide and antipathy felt by many Americans — particularly the disdain that rural America and MAGA hold for liberals. It's eye-opening; I've been underlining one passage after another. A nap found its way into the afternoon as well, which was otherwise spent reading, watching TV, or sitting in the living room debating whether to turn on the Sirius radio and catch the news. Five o'clock finally arrived, and with it a glass or two of wine before dinner. Around 6:15, Evie made BLTs with bacon from Trader Joe's, and I feasted on a couple of sandwiches heavy with bacon, tomatoes, and mayo. Delicious. Since we've had little luck finding a new series to watch, we returned to an old favorite — Catastrophe. We watched three episodes and, even having seen it twice before, enjoyed every bit of it. Once Evie headed up to bed, I caught the last six minutes of the Duke/Michigan game, then finished the final episode of Alex Rider, before heading upstairs and returning to Paper Girl.

Winter's Back?

8:03

9:10

It's later than usual as I start this — 8:40 — and the lake is still frozen, the ice fishermen are still out, it's 29°, and we got a dusting of snow overnight. I didn't get up until 7:50, though I was awake earlier and simply stayed in bed because it felt so good.

Saturday Morning

Huddled Off Long Point

Friday was a downer after the excitement of Thursday's visit to Euclid to celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday. He loves to cook, and one of the reasons we love visiting is his breakfasts. After writing the blog and getting packed, we sat down to a "big, beautiful breakfast" of scrambled eggs, home fries, bacon, sausage, toast, English muffins, fruit salad, and jam. Yum. We could hardly get up from the table to say our goodbyes and get in the car. It was a great 18-hour visit.

We left around 10:30 and, as usual, stopped at Trader Joe's on Chagrin Blvd., where we spent a couple of hundred dollars on goodies — a case of wine and other things we can't get in Chautauqua. We left with four bags and that case of wine, then drove to the Ohio border, stopping at Luv's for cheap gas and a root beer. We were lucky to have blue skies most of the way, and the rain stopped before we crossed into New York. We were surprised by how much snow had melted — our front yard was bare and green. After about 15 minutes unpacking and putting things away, we both collapsed: me upstairs on the bed, Evie in the TV room.

Neither of us did much for the rest of the afternoon. I finished my spy thriller, then started a much-talked-about book called Paper Girl, set in Urbana, Ohio. So far, so good. The writer returns to her hometown after forty years, and it's a portrait of what has happened to rural America as jobs flowed overseas, raising fortunes elsewhere while leaving communities here behind.

Get Out The Lawnmower

At 5:00, we had our wine as flurries started falling and melting on contact. Dinner was easy: I got out the wok and made Kung Pao Chicken and Veggies, a frozen Trader Joe's package, served over rice. It was so tasty we'd definitely buy it again. We watched another episode of The Pitt and then a Colbert before Evie headed up to bed. I looked for something else to watch, but ended up back on Alex Rider on Prime.