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.

Partly Cloud On A Seven Heron Morning

6:11

7:43

It's 8:00, and I have been out kayaking since 6:15 for an hour and a half, across the lake to Tom's Point and then home along the shoreline. It was a quiet morning on the lake, with only a couple of fishermen out. I spotted at least seven different great blue herons and one hawk or juvenile bald eagle — not sure which. It's 69º and should be a pleasant day.

Kayak Morning

Bridge From Tom's Point

Kayak Morning

Heron #1

Probably A Juvenile Bald Eagle

Heron #2

Heron # 3

Heron # 4

Heron # 6

Heron # 7

Yesterday was finally a rainy day. It started in the morning and seemed to turn on and off during the day until the late afternoon. Ultimately, we only received a little over half an inch, but the gardens loved it. I was able to get in a paddle before the rain, then wrote the blog and had coffee when Evie got up. I had some shopping to do because I needed some new clothes for our trip to Topsail Beach in late July. So I left around 10:30 and stopped for coffee at Ryders Cup and ran into one of my buddies, John, a former art teacher. We talked and got me caught up for 25 minutes before I drove off and did a quick run through Runnings, then Target, then Walmart, hoping to find some shorts and T-shirts with little success. I guess I will just have to wear what I always have worn, 20-year-old tees and bathing suits. It was raining on my drive home. Finally, the weatherman was accurate. 

I was hungry because I skipped breakfast, so Evie made me a couple of tuna and tomato sandwiches, and I was happy. I watched the rest of the England/Mexico futbol game, which England won 3-2. I then relaxed for a bit and read before going upstairs and briefly napping. It rained on and off the rest of the afternoon, so we hung out, either on the front porch or on the couch. Around 3:30, we changed the water filter in the hot room, and it really needed to be changed. I then watched a good part of the Spain/Portugal game while Evie had a Zoom call with her sisters.

Dinner was easy, frying a couple of burgers and enjoying baked beans and potato salad for the third night in a row. We started watching the Broadchurch series while eating, but heard a strange noise in the hot room and realized that the water filter we'd changed in the afternoon was leaking. We'd worried about this when we put in the new filter because the O-ring didn't seem to fit, probably because it was five years old. So we were without water unless we got a new O-ring, so I left for Home Depot at 7:15, bought the ring, was home by 7:50, and had the filter in by 8:00, just as the US World Cup game was starting. How's that for a quick fix? I watched the entire game until 10:15, and Evie hung in there till the second half.

The US soccer team started out like amateurs, going down 1-0 in the first ten minutes to Belgium and being outshot 6-0. The US fought back, however, and in the 30th minute tied the game 1-1 on a free kick. Unfortunately, a minute later, Belgium scored on a header and went ahead 2-1. Belgium looked like the better, more skilled team in the first half. In the second half, it looked more even as the US got more aggressive and put on the pressure, until the US goalie made a silly mistake, flubbing a kick and giving up an easy goal. And that's all she wrote. The US team just didn't seem to be the same as in their previous two games, and ended up giving up a fourth goal with two minutes to go. How sad... and thank Trump for giving Belgium extra incentive to play hard.