Another Day Of Sun And Clouds

8:52

It's 9:00, and both Evie and I are up, enjoying the view and our coffee. I slept in a bit — up at 7:30 instead of my usual time — so I didn't get out on the water until close to 8:00. I was out for 53 minutes, taking my time down to Sandy Bottom and back along Woodlawn to home.

Kayak Morning

Bald Eagle

Same Guy, Staring Me Down

Yesterday was a back-to-normal day. Up early to write the blog, then kayaking, then sorting my boat. By 9:10, I was on my way to yoga, and it was good to see some of the regulars again. Class was hard, but I made it through and left feeling groovy. I stopped for coffee at Ryder's Cup on the way home, and Joyce comped my drink. With kayaking and yoga both checked off, I felt free to relax for the rest of the day.

I had the last of the chicken salad for lunch and watched some of the Turkey/Australia soccer match, which had been played a couple of days earlier — Turkey lost 2-0. From what I saw, Turkey seemed to dominate possession, but dominating means nothing if you don't score. After a nap, I spent a good part of the afternoon reading out on the dock and in the side yard. It felt great to soak up the sun's warmth and just be outside. Around 4:00, Evie cut my hair and beard out in the side yard, and now I am a young boy again. I showered, got cleaned up, and we headed out to celebrate Linda's birthday.

Dinner In Bemus Point

We had planned on eating at a new trattoria in Bemus, but learned they still don't have a liquor license, so we crossed the street to the Ellicottville Brewery instead. Ron and I ordered beers, the gals a bottle of wine. Ron and I went with the Pulled Pork Gouda Mac and Cheese, Linda had a salad, and Evie ordered the fish fry. Everything was decent except for Evie's fish, which was inedible. We left around 8:00, and the four of us had a nightcap on our porch as the evening wound down. Ron and Linda headed home around 9:00, Evie went to bed, and I settled in to watch the first 25 minutes of the Argentina/Algeria game — and was treated to a goal by the 39-year-old great, Lionel Messi. Then up to bed to read.

An Early Morning Sky

6:20

7:51

It's 6:30, and I've been up since 6:00 on another chilly morning — 50º. A boat or two are already out, anchored by the reeds, fishing. Chris is bringing my boat by at 8:00, and I have yoga at 9:30, so I wanted to get in a paddle, park the boat, and write the blog before leaving at 9:10. It's 8:20 and I kayaked for 50 minutes, the usual, over to Long Point and back. Evie's up, and I am finishing the blog and am still waiting for Chris. 

Kayak Morning

Sun Rising Over Long Point

Black Crows: Amish Up Early Fishing

Great Blue Above The Reeds

Yesterday was a good day — a trifecta. It started around 7:45 with a paddle, as usual, returning to write the blog and have breakfast. I wasn't sure what to do with my day, so I read and listened to Michael Smerconish for a good part of the morning. Evie was leaving at noon for a doctor's appointment, so I decided to get some exercise and drove off to bike to the Chautauqua Institution, thinking it would be a good place to ride before it opens officially on June 27th. It's a busy place right now, with builders and lawn crews working frantically before the season begins. I biked around the grounds to the marina and back, which took about forty-five minutes. It's a beautiful place to ride, especially this time of year when so much is in bloom. On my way home, I stopped at the Lighthouse Grocery for a chicken salad sub. I arrived around 12:30, after the rush — at noon, the parking lot is usually packed with workers grabbing lunch.

Thunder Bridge

I was home by 1:00 and enjoyed my sandwich while watching the second half of the Spain vs. Cape Verde World Cup match. Spain supposedly had the best player in the world on the pitch — eighteen-year-old Lamine Yamal — but he'd been nursing an injury and didn't get in until the last twenty minutes. You could see the amazing skill, though. Even so, Spain couldn't find the net despite thirty or forty shots on goal, and it ended 0-0. After the match, I went upstairs to read and napped briefly. 

Woodlawn Trail

When I came back down, Evie was still out, probably having stopped at Wegmans on her way home. For some reason, I felt like a walk, so I took a half hour through Woodlawn/Victoria Woods. Fortunately, our neighbor had mowed a good part of the path, or I'd have been trudging through foot-tall grass. I don't usually walk it much in the summer — too hot — but I enjoy it in the winter.

Amish Fishing

When I returned, Evie was home and had picked up two packages of sushi for happy hour. Yippee. While I read and relaxed, she put together dinner — a recipe I'd found online called Glazed Chile-Garlic Meatballs. 

Amazing Clouds At 5:12 PM

Happy Hour

It was warm enough to enjoy our first glass of wine and the appetizers on the porch, though it cooled off enough that we eventually moved inside. Dinner was around 7:00, followed by more soccer — Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, another 1-1 tie. We tried a couple of shows afterward, but nothing stuck. I can't even remember the names, which tells you everything. I finally went up to read at 10:00. It had been a good day.

Chillin On A Monday Morning

7:37

I'm sitting in my living room, looking out at a gray sky on a 50° morning. I was up at 6:15 and out on the lake by 6:30 for close to an hour, down to Sandy Bottom and back along Woodlawn. The wind made it more arduous to paddle north, so I turned around at Sandy Bottom. It looks like a cool day ahead — highs in the low 60s, no rain.

Kayak Morning

A Slice Of Light To The North

Yesterday morning was sunny, the afternoon stormy, with an inch and a half of needed rain. The day started with a good paddle and a shot of a deer making its way across the lake. Once Evie was up, we published the blog and listened to the various news programs discuss the same breaking news. I think the noise of their voices gives us some sense of comfort?

Around 10:30, I was ready to do something and went out to the lake to set buoys in the water, marking the area in front of our dock where we swim and fish. I attach a rope to a cement block, tie it onto a buoy, take it out in my kayak, and drop it in. I did this six times, making a line of buoys defining our swimming area. It's usually respected — boats go around it — although this morning, someone drove right through, towing one of the buoys over to the Pine Hill dock. So I grabbed it before heading out to kayak and brought it back to its proper place. It took about an hour to get all the buoys set yesterday. I keep forgetting how many small jobs are needed to get our yard and lake ready for summer.

Around 1:00, Evie made me an omelet and a bagel for lunch, and I watched the third quarter of the Knicks game, which felt like forever with commercials, timeouts, and stoppages. I saved the fourth quarter for later. I wish the NBA would ban timeouts in the last three or four minutes and leave the decisions up to the players. Around 1:30, I went upstairs to read and napped briefly, a bit nervous about the forecast of storms and heavy winds.

Around 3:00, the sky was darkening, and I wanted to get a few things done before the rain hit. I used the hedge trimmer to cut back the rhododendrons in our front yard — they were obscuring our view — and got out the lawn edger to trim around the walk.

Threatening Sky

We both sat out on the front porch when the rain began and watched the lake transform from quiet and calm to wild and wavy, with whitecaps as the winds picked up. It rained on and off for maybe an hour, and that was basically it, though other areas received more rain and damaging winds. By wine time, the storm had passed, and we could enjoy the late afternoon without any worry.

Winds, Rain, And White Caps

Dinner was the leftover lamb and eggplant, which Evie doctored up with more tomatoes and spices. We're still struggling to find something to watch — we started a new series but gave up after 15 minutes and went back to The Good Doctor and the last quarter of the Knicks game. I ended the night with another episode of Law & Order before heading up to bed to read.

Deer Crossing

Bambi

Deer Crossing

6:56

8:40

It's 8:35, and I've been up since 7:00 on an overcast, 65° Sunday morning. I was out paddling at 7:15 — the only one on the lake — for close to an hour. It was a good morning for photography: I shot a heron, an osprey, and, unbelievably, a deer crossing in the middle of the lake. I hope he made it back to land.

Kayak Morning

Northern Gray

Gray Sky And Reeds

Saturday turned out to be another sunny, warm day, a perfect late-spring afternoon. I got in a good hour's paddle, across to Tom's Point and back. I was excited to shoot a juvenile eagle, although I thought it was a hawk until Evie looked it up on IBirdPro. When I returned, we both spent a good part of the morning getting a few things done — dishes and laundry — and by 11:00 I was off to the Transfer Station to get rid of the trash. I'm not sure why, but I put off mowing the lawn until the afternoon, the warmest part of the day. I should have done it before lunch. I did get my gas mower working and mowed the garden, which took about five minutes. I'm glad it's working when I need it.

Lunch was at 12:30, a chicken pot pie, and I watched my show, then read upstairs and tried to nap. I'm really liking my new book, The Water Keeper. Around 2:30, I mowed the front yard, then took a break to swap batteries on my mower — it was too hot to cut the lawn all at once. After a brief hiatus, I finished up and charged both batteries, so the mower is ready to go next time. I was tempted to swim but didn't, and instead relaxed in the living room, cooler than the porch, until 5:00, when it had cooled off enough for us to sit on the front porch with a glass of wine. While I was mowing, Evie put together one of her specials: ground lamb, eggplant, and rice.

We watched boats pull in and out next door, often cutting in front of our dock, so I'll be putting out buoys today or tomorrow to keep them at a safe distance. Dinner was at 6:30, and it was great. We'd been talking about the actress Mariska Hargitay, and Evie remembered her on ER briefly, so we went back to Season Four and watched a couple of episodes featuring her character's infatuation with Mark. After Evie went to bed, I watched the first half of the Knicks game. I was a bit bored and tired, so I headed up to bed, hoping the Spurs would win to stretch things out a game or two. The Knicks won, alas — six-foot guard Jalen Brunson was unstoppable, scoring 45 points.

O What A Beautiful Morning (sung by Gordon MacRae of course)

7:01

8:43

It's sunny with a light breeze and partly cloudy skies at 9:00. It's 70º, and I just returned from an hour-and-a-half paddle across the lake to Tom's Point, about a half-hour out, then back along Wells Bay and home. Along the south side of Tom's Point, I spotted two or three herons and got a good photo of a eagle before it flew off. I also ran into my paddling friends Tina and Jim on my way home.

Kayak Morning

Tom's Point's South Side

A Juvenile Bald Eagle

A Great Blue Heron

Yesterday was a busy morning for both of us, with an easy afternoon. Evie was up early and on her way to Westfield Hospital for a test at 8:00. I was up before her and got in a good paddle, returning at 7:30 just as she was getting up.

I wrote the blog and decided it would be a good day for a bike ride despite the forecast of possible rain. So I strapped my bike to the Outback and drove over to Bemus, parking near the bridge. I biked through Bemus, along Lakeside Drive, and around the wooded Long Point State Park. I was out for close to an hour and only hit drizzle on my way back to the car. It felt good to be in the woods again and, as usual, I had the place to myself.

Bemus Point Golf Course

Long Point State Park Trail

Long Point: 1/6/2026

I got home around noon, and Evie was back from Westfield. I relaxed for a while, then made lunch — a tasteless curry noodle soup and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I watched my show, then finished my Michael Connelly novel before starting a new one, The Water Keeper by Charles Martin. I took a brief nap, then basically wasted the rest of the afternoon until 3:00, when I drove off to Lakewood. I stopped at the bank to deposit a check from the Internal Revenue Service — thank you very much — then did a quick run through Wegmans and stopped at the new Popeyes, hoping to pick up their chicken for dinner. It was closed despite their alerts saying otherwise, so I swung by Kentucky Fried Chicken and grabbed their ten-dollar special: four thighs, two coleslaws, and two biscuits.

We had our happy hour until 6:30, then chowed down on the KFC. We couldn't figure out what to watch, so we went back to my guilty pleasure, The Good Doctor. After Evie went to bed, I caught the US soccer game for about ten minutes before getting bored — I don't recognize any of the players anymore. For some reason, I then started watching the first season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, which premiered in 1999. I know it's been enormously popular over the years, but I'd never seen it until last night. It's pretty good — I watched two episodes.

A Sunny And Windy Friday

6:41

7:38

It's 8:05, and I've been up since 6:30. I got in a good forty-five-minute paddle — along Woodlawn, across to Long Point, back across to Sandy Bottom, and home. It didn't look windy when I started out, so I was surprised by a brisk westerly that kicked up midway. It even blew my hat off as I crossed the lake.

Kayak Morning

Paddling east, Into The Sun

Northern Blue

Woodlawn

Thursday morning was très busy, though the rest of the day was easy. I was up at 6:00, and knowing I had breakfast at 8:00 in Ashville, I hustled out to the lake for a half-hour paddle before coming back and starting the blog. I left for breakfast at 7:50 — the usual tasty meal and a fun morning catching up on my friend's past week. Back at the house, I finished the blog and made it to yoga at 10:00, my first class in six weeks or more. It was packed, as Thursdays usually are, and I had a hard time finding a spot for my mat. Since it was a Yin class, it was manageable — just hold a pose for three or four minutes. After class, I stopped at Ryder's Cup, but there was a line, so I left empty-handed.

I came straight home — no Wegmans — and Evie was busy doing the wash. I sat down and read until 1:00, then had a couple of ham-and-cheese sandwiches and watched the second half of the Knicks' amazing comeback against the Spurs. Unbelievable. Earlier, I'd turned on the air conditioner in my room because it was so muggy, and then I went upstairs to read and nap. I had a wonderfully cool space to settle into. I'm not sure I actually napped, but I read quite a bit. When I headed back downstairs, I turned off the AC and closed the bedroom door, hoping the cool would hold.

The rest of the afternoon went quickly. Beyond lying on the couch and reading, the only thing I did was charge the Kia — which takes about a minute. Dinner was the leftover lamb chops and rice, but earlier, Evie fried up some eggplant and folded it into the rice, which elevated the whole thing. We had our wine time inside since it was still muggy out, because of the brief rain. Dinner was fine, the rice with eggplant especially so. Afterward, we started a new series, 1883 — another Taylor Sheridan production, in the same vein as 1923 and Landman. The man is nothing if not prolific. We then caught Caitlin Clark and her team edge Chicago in overtime. She played well, but the whining continues — and even fans are starting to call her out on it. That was it for the day. 

Partly Cloudy

6:57

9:10

It's 7:15. I was up at 6:45, went out for a short paddle, and now have maybe fifteen minutes before I head out to breakfast at the Ashville Country Store. Well, it's now 9:11, and I just returned from breakfast with half an hour before I leave for yoga.

Kayak Morning

Northern Sky

The Sun, The Sun

Yesterday began as usual with a nice, long paddle and a photo of an osprey. We had no plans for the day other than a doctor's appointment for me at 3:30, so we spent most of the morning on our phones, reading, or giving one of the bedrooms a spring cleaning. We took off the sheet and comforter, Evie washed both, and I vacuumed and straightened the room. It felt strange not to have something I wanted to do — a hike or a bike ride — so I stuck with my book and had an easy lunch of a ham and cheese sandwich.

I napped briefly, then both of us went crazy on our phones. Evie was trying to sign in to UPMC Chautauqua; they kept insisting she had the wrong password. I was trying to get my blood test results from UPMC Chautauqua to the Cleveland Clinic in Ashtabula — they needed them before I could schedule my CT scan, and I'd already had to cancel one appointment because the results hadn't come through. By 3:00, we'd managed to get both sorted out. I drove to Jamestown, had a quick appointment with my urologist, and stopped at Peterson's to pick up a basket of South Carolina peaches for sixteen dollars.

I was home in time for a glass of wine with Evie at 5:00, and as usual, we remarked on how fortunate we are to have this house on the lake. Dinner was grilled lamb chops and rice. We watched a couple of forgettable shows, and I caught the first half of the Knicks game — then turned in, confident the Spurs would win given their 25-point lead. So much for my prognostication.