Sunday Sun Day

7:02

8:26

It's 8:40, and as I look out our front window, I see clouds blocking the sun on a 70º morning. It may get up to 80º later in the day — another fine summer day.

I woke at 5:00 but went back to sleep until 6:45, so I got some sleep. I kayaked for an hour, my usual route, along Woodlawn, across to Long Point, back to Sandy Bottom, and home. Again, the lake was quiet, with a few boats and a couple of kayakers. Evie just came downstairs, and we tend to compare sleep scores on our watches, bragging about who got the lowest score. Today it was close — 64 for Evie, 62 for me — so she won.

Kayak Morning

Sun Hidden By Clouds

Heron On Long Point Fishing Dock

Wading Along Long Point

Saturday was another fine lake day, especially in the morning. Mid-afternoon, the wind picked up and made things difficult for boaters. I had a bad night, as I mentioned, and was out on the lake by 6:15 for a good hour. I was up three hours before Evie got up, so it was a long early morning — writing the blog, reading the newspapers, and having breakfast, all before she woke. I felt better once I ate and relaxed with Evie and gathered the trash for my trip to the Transfer Station. I was home by 10:30, and the lawn was finally dry enough to mow, so I powered up my Honda gas mower, giving the electric mower a week off, and mowed for 50 minutes, taking a couple of water breaks. I worked up quite a sweat, so after putting the mower away, I walked out on the dock and took a swim to cool off. It felt great, although the algae is starting to build, so I took a shower when I came in.

That was mostly it for the day, at least for me. We both had one goal in mind: being ready to watch the World Cup game at 5:00, between Norway and England. I read and napped, and Evie did a few things, then watched some TV. Lunch for me was a couple of ham and cheese sandwiches on Dave's multigrain bread, and I finished my series, Lioness. The next season begins August 1st. I did get in a good nap, maybe an hour or more, and we were both ready to enjoy a glass of wine at 5:00 when the game started. We, like most Americans, are taken with Norway's star scorer, Erling Haaland, and wanted to see his team win. Unfortunately, England won 2-1, and Haaland's obvious foul — a push on a player before a corner kick — negated a goal that would have tied the game.

We enjoyed the last of the moussaka during the game and had Nutty Buddies for dessert. After the game, we watched another episode of Broadchurch and have two more episodes to go. After that, Evie went to bed, and I watched the first half of the Switzerland/Argentina game, won by Argentina, 3-1. I was happy to head up to bed and read a bit before falling asleep.

A Perfect Summer Morning On The Lake

5:12

5:42

7:46

On Our Dock At 6:10

Heron On Our Boat

Well, it's 7:47, and I've been up for three hours, alas. When I got up, I read, checked to see if Trump was still alive (Iranians had vowed to assassinate him), then made coffee and was out on the lake by 6:15 for an hour. It was an indescribable lake morning — bright sun, blue skies and lake, no wind, few boats, just me, a couple of herons, and a bald eagle. I was in no hurry to get home, so I often just lingered, enjoying the moment of being on the lake.

Kayak Morning

Northern Sky

Heron Above The Reeds

Sandy Bottom Eagle In A Pine Tree

Victoria Great Blue Heron

Yesterday was another early morning, and I was on the lake by 6:15 for close to an hour and a half. Again, it was a fine morning, though overcast until mid-morning. I woke up thinking I'd go for a bike ride in Long Point State Park, so after paddling, breakfast, and the blog — and despite being tired — I drove over to Bemus, parked by the bridge, and rode for an hour: down Lakeside Drive, around the park, and back, stopping briefly at the arts and crafts gathering in the park.

Long Point Trail

A Green Out

When I got home, I was going to go shopping at Wegmans, but Evie smartly talked me out of it, and I'm thankful, because I was whooped. So she made me a great lunch — a Turkish omelet with feta cheese and tomatoes, and a toasted bagel — and I loved it while I watched my show. By the time I was through with lunch, I couldn't wait to take a nap. I turned on the air conditioner, read for five minutes, then napped for a good hour and a half. While I slept, Evie put together our dinner: an eggplant, lamb, and tomato casserole- moussaka. I was a bit groggy when I got up, and happy to spend the next two hours watching Spain defeat Belgium 2–1, moving on to the semifinals of the World Cup.

6:27 PM

We relaxed on the front porch until 6:45, mostly because our neighbor Missy stopped by and stayed for half an hour. We enjoy her company, and since they're so busy with visitors, we hardly get time to talk. By 7:00, we were digging into our eggplant casserole and watching a couple of episodes of Broadchurch until 9:00, when Evie went up to bed. I then watched another episode of Lioness before heading up to read and sleep.

A Gray, Overcast Friday Morning

5:52

7:30

It's 7:50, and all is gray as I look out my front window, both the sky and the lake. I was up early again and out on the lake at 6:20 for 80 minutes, the only one there. I decided to paddle over to Tom's Point and back and was rewarded with a couple of herons hanging out at the point. On my way back, the shoreline was littered with geese, but no herons or ospreys.

Kayak Morning

Long Point

Tom's Point And Bridge

Heron # 1

Heron # 2

# 3 On Boat Lift

Yesterday was not a good day, although it started out well, with a good paddle, the blog, and a leisurely coffee with Evie. For some reason, since I was skipping yoga, I got it in my head to wash the windows in our living room. So I gathered all the stuff I needed — squeegee, scrubbies, newspaper, and window cleaner — and worked on the front windows and kitchen window for a half hour. It's always discouraging, though, when I get inside and look out, and they never look clean, just cleaner than before.

Evie had a doctor's appointment in Erie to discuss her hiatal hernia, so we both showered and left at noon for a 1:00 appointment. We were there early, and when Evie checked in, there seemed to be no appointment. After ten minutes, the nurse came out to tell us she'd left a message on Tuesday that the appointment was cancelled because the hiatal hernia was too complicated, whatever that means. Well, Evie never got a call cancelling, but did get a call confirming her appointment. I think most of what they said was BS, but there was nothing we could do. They gave us a list of other doctors to call, and we left and drove home, pissed off and ready to never see a doctor again, as they seem unprofessional and rarely call back with information about a test they requested.

So that was the good part of our afternoon. We were back by 2:00, and I heated up a can of chicken vegetable soup, which was tasteless but something to eat for lunch. I watched my show, then napped briefly and read. Neither of us did much the rest of the afternoon, a result of our disastrous visit to Erie. Fortunately, it was a nice afternoon for a glass of wine on our porch, and we had no worry about dinner because we had two pasta dishes leftover from dining out Wednesday night. Evie heated up the pasta and made a salad, and we watched a couple of episodes of Broadchurch and are impressed by how good it is, even the second time. After Evie went to bed, I watched an episode or two of Lioness, then went to bed around 10:00.

Waking Before The Sun Rise

5:45

9:14

Our House

It's 7:25 and I just returned from an hour paddle down to Wells Bay and back. I was up at 5:45, alas, and out on the quiet lake at 6:00. I managed to shoot a couple of ospreys and a heron. My neighbors, Jeff and Nancy, were up as well, getting ready to ski, something they do most mornings during the summer.

Kayak Morning

Sun Rising

Sandy Bottom

Great Blue

Same Guy

Osprey

Another Osprey

Same Guy

Looking Over His Shoulder

Wednesday was not an ideal day, although it started and ended well. I got in a good, long paddle, off to Tom's Point and back, and was home in time for coffee, breakfast, and writing the blog. By 9:30 I was on my way to Jamestown, to the dentist's office, for a teeth cleaning. It's not as bad as getting a filling or crown, but it's still not fun — they dig around my gums so my mouth is sore for much of the day. On my way home, I stopped at Jamestown's Tops grocery and picked up some pork chops, two packages for the price of one, a good deal.

I was home around noon and read until 1:00, when Evie made me a couple of toasted ham and cheese sandwiches, and I watched my series. By 1:30, I was upstairs trying to nap, but mostly reading my new novel, Whistler, by Ann Patchett. We had a lazy afternoon after that, reading, watching TV, or trying to nap. I wasn't thrilled about sitting around but couldn't come up with anything I wanted to do, so I read and dozed until 5:00, when I showered and got ready to go out to dinner.

We were meeting old buddies from Cleveland, guys I taught or played basketball with. We try to get together for dinner with our wives once a summer, and meet for breakfast once or twice a year in Erie. We usually meet at La Cucina della Nona, an Italian restaurant in Jamestown. John and Penny live in Concord, an eastern suburb of Cleveland, and Stan and Carol spend their winters in The Villages and their summers here in Chautauqua. Since we only get together once a year, we had a lot to catch up on. I ordered my usual, chicken parm, and Evie had broccoli pasta. The waiter was attentive and made it a pleasant experience. We ended up talking and staying later than usual, and didn't get home until 8:00.

We watched some of the news — what's going on in Iraq — Evie went to bed, and I watched my show before heading up to bed at 10:00 to read and sleep.

A Spectacular Morning Sunrise

6:04

8:04

Neighbors Out Early For Skiing

It's 8:16, overcast, and the lake is fairly quiet, with few boats out. I was up at 6:00, out on the lake at 6:30 for 80 minutes, paddling north this time to Whitney Bay and Snug Harbor, then back. It was basically a half-hour paddle to Snug Harbor, the same on the way back.

Kayak Morning

Kayaking To Snug Harbor

Bald Eagles

Mature Bald Eagle

Juvenile Bald Eagle

Great Blue Heron

Tuesday was a good day, although once again, I was up too early at 6:00. I had a good paddle, and it was nice to be able to relax, in no hurry to finish the blog before leaving for yoga at 9:10 — the virtue of getting up at 6:00. Yoga as usual was rigorous, but I was mostly able to keep up. I stopped for coffee and ended up talking with two friends, Bob and John, who were sitting on the front porch. Since it was 5% Tuesday, I spent a good 20 minutes shopping at a busy Wegmans. It's surprising how many people want to save 5% on groceries, or maybe it isn't.

I didn't get home until 12:30 and had an easy lunch, the leftover hamburger and potato salad. I watched some futbol, the first half of the Argentina/Egypt game, and Egypt was up 2-0, which would have been a monumental upset, but they lost 3-2 as Argentina scored three goals in the last 12 minutes. I was tired from getting up so early, so I took a nap, finished my book, and started the new Ann Patchett novel, Whistler.

Our Neighbors, Barb And Jim, With Ripley

Around 3:00, Evie was busy putting together an eggplant appetizer because we were going over to our neighbor's house at 5:30 for drinks and appetizers. Since I was off after my nap, I decided to shower, and it always picks me up. We left for Barb and Jim's at 5:30, and it was a lovely evening to sit out on their front porch, sipping wine and enjoying various appetizers. We hadn't talked with them in a while, so it was fun to catch up on their trip to Colorado. They're always fun to talk to since they're also from northern Ohio, and we have a lot in common. We stayed until 8:00, then walked home at dusk. Evie was ready to go up to bed, but I stayed up and watched the last 30 minutes of Argentina's victory over Egypt, then a couple of episodes of Lioness, which is getting too violent even for me. So I was happy to go up to bed and get back to my Ann Patchett novel.