A Cool, Partly Cloudy Morning

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6:40

6:41

7:47

It's 8:30, and I've been up for a couple of hours on a 60º morning. I paddled into the sunrise at 6:47 and was out for an hour as the sun came in and out of the clouds. I was going to head north, but the wind was out of the north, so I took my usual paddle instead and was rewarded with shots of a couple of herons and an osprey.

Kayak Morning

Western Sky

Clouds And Sun

Got An Itch,,,notice the feather

A Little Disheveled

Osprey

Another Heron

Same Osprey

Friday was our 61st anniversary, and because we celebrated it on Wednesday with a big dinner and night out, yesterday was low-key, a typical day for us. I got in a good paddle, although the fog was such that I could hardly see the shoreline when I returned home. 

Hooking Up The Sewers, Destroying Our Yard

By 10:00, the guys were here to begin the process of hooking us up to the new sewer line, and they stayed until 4:00, destroying our side yard in the process. And because they ran into a couple of problems, they won't finish up until Monday. Around 10:30, after our coffee and writing the blog, I went for a walk for the first time in a month or two around our woods. It felt good to walk, although I am out of shape, and I was happy to see the path was in decent shape. It's an easy half-hour walk, and I was home by 10:40. I spent some time talking with the workers and watching them dig up our lawn until lunch at 12:15, a couple of ears of sweet corn and macaroni salad. I started the second season of my series, Woman of the Dead, and because I had a car appointment to get new front brakes on the Outback, I skipped a nap.

Woodlawn Trail

Victoria 

I took my bike with me to my car appointment, and Ray said it would take about two hours, so I decided to stretch out what would probably have been an hour-plus ride to two hours. I rode for a half hour to the Rod and Gun, then sat on their porch for ten minutes before heading on to Celoron and the Chautauqua Harbor Hotel, where I sat again, taking in the view. I then started my ride back, stopping at Ryder's Cup for a blueberry lemonade and relaxing on their porch before my final ride back to pick up my car at 3:00, perfect timing. Three hundred and eighty dollars later, I drove home, tired from my ride, and couldn't wait to go upstairs and read and nap.

View From Chautauqua Harbor Hotel

Fortunately, we had decided not to go out to dinner, and instead, we had heavy appetizers on the porch, saved money, and had a great view while we had our wine. Our neighbors, John and Missy, stopped over, so we had fun talking with them. We didn't need dinner after the appetizers but had dessert, tin roofs, while we watched another couple of episodes of ER until Evie went up to bed, and I finished the night with some junk TV before going up to bed. Although low-key, it was a good day.

Friday Afternoon

Sixty One Years

Our 61st Anniversary

6:15

7:35

It's 8:00, and the fog has just gotten thicker. I was up at 6:15, out on the lake for an hour, in the fog for all of my paddling. And it only got worse as I was out there. Now, as I sit in my living room, I can hardly see beyond my dock.

Kayak Early Morning

Paddling Along Long Point

Fog Begins To Obscure View

Heavy Fog

Osprey Ready To Take Off

Great Blue Heron

Another Blue

Thursday was an interesting day, beginning with an early paddle, followed by breakfast in Bemus Point at 8:00. When I returned home, our neighbors two doors down were the first on the street to get hooked up to the new sewers. Of course, it was of great interest to us guys, so the four of us stood around watching Roger and Matt begin the process — emptying the tank, crushing it, digging the ditch from the house to the grinder, attaching the pipe, then filling in the ditch and topping it with topsoil so it looks just like it did before they started, except no grass.

The Neighbors

I didn't do much the rest of the morning other than read and walk over to watch the guys, checking on their progress. By 11:00, though, I was bored, so I loaded my bike onto the Outback, stopped for coffee at Ryder's, then stopped at the bike shop and had the owner look my bike over to make sure it wasn't damaged in my fall. All it needed was a new rearview mirror—he attached it, and I headed to Wegmans for a quick run, picking up a prescription and a few other things we might need for the weekend.

When I returned home, I had the leftover chicken parmesan for lunch and watched the last episode of Season One of my show, Woman of the Dead. I then went upstairs, read, and fell asleep briefly before coming back downstairs and checking on the guys' progress again. By 3:00, the pipe was attached, and all they needed was to have it inspected before refilling the ditch. It was a nice afternoon, lots of sun, so I went out on the dock to read, but the sun was so hot I only lasted about half an hour before coming back in and sitting on the front porch. Evie joined me until 5:00, when she started prepping our dinner. Once it was prepped, she came back out, occasionally going inside to check on dinner — pork chops and air-fried potatoes. We ate around 7:00 and watched a couple of episodes of ER. Once Evie went to bed, I watched another Indiana Fever game and stuck with it, though I was bored — probably because Caitlin Clark played poorly. I was happy to get back to my book, The Calamity Club, and sleep. 

Orange Sky In The Morning

6:18

6:18

7:28

It's late as I start this, 9:20, although I woke at 6:10, kayaked at 6:30 for 50 minutes, was home by 7:30, and drove to Bemus for breakfast at 7:45. That's why I am starting the blog so late.

Kayak Morning

Morning Skiing

Wednesday was a screw-up day. Fortunately, like most mornings, it started well with a paddle. After returning home, I drove to Keystone to get my Kia inspected. I should have been in and out in under 30 minutes. Ray, my mechanic, found the front brakes were basically gone, so he gave me an inspection sticker but told me to bring the car back at 1:00 for new brakes. I left the garage after 15 minutes, stopped at home, then drove to Westfield for a doctor's appointment, a requirement after being in the Emergency Room. My PA checked me over, prescribed some muscle relaxers because my neck muscles were so tight, and ordered a CT scan of my chest, just to make sure I hadn't hurt anything in my fall.

Afternoon Clouds And Green

I was home by 11:00, tired for some reason, so I went upstairs to read but fell asleep for a half hour. Evie made me a couple of sandwiches for lunch to go with the lentil soup. I ate quickly because I had to be back at the garage by 1:00 for the new brakes. It didn't take long since Ray had all the parts, and I left with new front brakes and a $500 bill. Yep. When I got home, I was still tired, so I ended up taking my second nap of the day.

Happy 25th Anniversary

We were going out to dinner to celebrate both of our anniversaries, so we showered and were on our way to Ron and Linda's by 5:15. Ron drove us to the White Inn in Fredonia, where we were fortunate to find seats at the bar. Linda and Ron knew the waitress, who seemed to have bartended at half the bars in the area. We had our usual calamari appetizer, beers for Ron and me, wine for Evie and Linda. Evie ordered the chicken katsu, and I ordered chicken parmesan, and both were just average. Still, we had a good time, enjoyed sitting at the bar, and were on our way home on a beautiful evening by 8:15.

When we got back, Evie was ready for bed, and I stayed up until 10:00 watching my series. So after a crazy morning, the day ended well — a great night celebrating anniversaries with friends.

Our Duly Elected President!

Partly Sunny And 64º

6:20

7:21

As usual, I am up just after 6:15 and was out kayaking for forty five minutes by 6:30. To the south, there's some light and clouds; to the north, nothing but a threatening sky

Kayak Morning

Threatening North Sky

Sun Breaking Through The Clouds

Great Blue Heron

Osprey

Taking Flight

Another Osprey

Tuesday was a different day, although it began as usual, with me up early and out on a fog-bound lake by 6:30. The fog slowly lifted, so I was able to look for birds. I spotted a heron along Long Point's west shore, but that was it for me that morning. I was still out for an hour, just enjoying the quiet, fog, and water.

Evie was up showering when I got home because we were going to Erie for a 10:20 doctor's appointment. I then wrote the blog, had breakfast, and by the time I was done, Evie was dressed and showered and was able to read the blog and publish it. Evie was having her hiatal hernia checked. Over a third of older adults have it, so it's fairly common. We decided to make a morning of it, so after the appointment, we stopped at a Wegmans in Erie. I hate to say it, but it puts our Wegmans to shame. It's larger and has so much more, so many different offerings, that we could have spent another half hour and a lot of money just cruising around. On the way home, we stopped at Chick-fil-A for lunch and decided to eat inside. It's an amazingly busy place. If we stop at a Burger King, they may have four or five people working. Chick-fil-A must have 15 to 20, and long lines both inside and out, at least at lunchtime. And they are quick. We ordered our meal, and five minutes later it was brought to our table.

We took the old, slow way home on through Findley Lake, Sherman, then home. It took an extra half hour, but it was fun reminiscing about our rides this way on weekends back in the 1980s in our Toyota van. It was good to get back to the lake, and I quickly went upstairs to read and nap. Evie sat on the front porch, talked with our daughter Jill, then watched some TV. After my nap, I took my book out on the dock and enjoyed the sun, and after an hour, I had enough and came in and read some in the living room until wine time at 5:00 til 6:30. For dinner, we had the leftover chicken, macaroni salad from Wegmans, and sweet corn on the cob. We watched the Indiana Fever again, playing Toronto, and it was fun watching both Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark light it up. I have to admit I enjoy a great pass more than a shot, and Clark is great at it. Evie went up to bed after the game, and I then did up the dishes, and watched my show before going up to read and sleep.

Fog Lifting

6:20

8:16

It's 7:51, a foggy morning, and I was out kayaking for close to an hour. The fog is starting to lift at the moment, and at 6:15 there was a severe weather warning because of the heavy fog.

Kayak Morning

Some Light

Reminds Me Of A Japanese Painting

North

Heron

Monday was a good day, mostly because I felt back to normal. I was able to get in a good paddle, out for an hour, as the rain let up just as I was ready to kayak. When I returned, Evie was up, and we finished and published the blog. I had a few things I wanted to get done, so by 10:00, I was off to Lakewood. I stopped at Ryder's Cup for coffee, then at the dermatology office to make an appointment because I had to cancel my appointment last Friday when I fell. I then went to the Celeron Fire Station, hoping to retrieve my bike. I walked around the building, knocking on three or four doors, but not one seemed to be home. So I drove into Celeron's Town Hall. I talked to a clerk who sympathized, and she called up someone and said a guy would meet me there in ten minutes. So I drove back to the station, waited around for five or ten minutes, checking a couple of doors, thinking someone would come out when I drove up, as the door to the fire engine opened. He got out of the truck, showed me where my bike was sitting, and that was it. We decided to donate to the fire station for their help, and he appreciated our check. I attached my bike to the car and drove off, stopping at the field where I fell and found the hole that caused it. 

Pot Hole 

It was two or three feet wide, a foot and a half deep, and hidden by grass. No wonder I fell. On my way home, I stopped at Walmart for our dinner, a rotisserie chicken, then at a stand for a half dozen ears of corn, then home.

I was home by noon, and Evie was about ready to drive to Jamestown for another doctor's appointment, this time with a pulmonologist. Around 12:30, I had lunch, the leftovers from our Saturday night's dinner, and watched Quarterback on Netflix. By the time the episode was over, I was tired and went upstairs for my daily nap and to read. Evie didn't return until 3:00, having stopped to return some packages at Michaels and shop at T. J. Maxx. At 3:45, I left to meet my buddies for beers at Jack's house on Chautauqua Ridge. He lives on 40-plus acres, with a gorgeous backyard garden. If I didn't have the lake to look at each day, it would be his garden, with its view of a pasture, horses, and trees in the distance. So four of us sat around drinking beers for an hour and a half, a good way to spend a Monday afternoon.

Jack's Garden

Solar Panels

Wildflowers

I didn't get home until after 6:00, and Evie was putting together our dinner, chicken with spinach and potatoes, kind of a stir-fry. We ate around 6:45 and watched a couple more episodes of ER before Evie went up to bed, tired from her busy day. I started a new series, Woman of the Dead, an Austrian/German series which I liked enough to stick with.