Brief Morning Sun

7:03

7:17

8:25

It’s 8:30, and we’ve both been up for an hour and a half. I was out kayaking by 7:30 for 50 minutes, down to the Power Boat Club and back along Woodlawn. The lake was surprisingly calm after yesterday’s winds and heavy waves.

Kayak Morning

North

Mallarads

Bald Eagle

Monday was busy for both of us, probably because of the weather, my missing a morning paddle, and a full day with nothing planned. After a walk around Woodlawn, breakfast, and the blog, we both got busy. I decided to organize the attic, and Evie had a couple of projects she wanted to get done. I made a good start on the attic, but I still have a ways to go with all the toys we got out for Rhys’s visit. Evie made progress as well, both upstairs and downstairs, and she did the wash. Around 10:30, we finalized the document supporting a Green Card for our grandson Tyler’s wife, Renee, and I drove over to the North Harmony offices and got it notarized for the second time. We will send it off later today.

Kinney's Run

Bridge Over Creek

Woodlawn Woods

Woodlawn

I was home by noon, read some, and then had lunch: leftover pizza and Evie’s vegetable soup. I watched another episode of my series, then went upstairs to read and briefly nap. By 3:00, I was tired of reading, and Evie had seared some pork ribs, added sauerkraut and tomatoes, and put the dish in the oven for two hours. She was enjoying some leisure time watching TV. I decided to get a couple of things done that had been bothering me. First, I set up two bird feeders from last year to go along with the one Evie’s sister Claire sent us. I was out of black sunflower seeds, so I drove to Peterson’s Farm and picked up 40 pounds for 30 bucks. I came home, filled the feeders, and put the rest of the seed on the porch in a plastic bin. By the way, the feeders are already attracting birds. Finally, I cleaned out the garage and organized it so that when the snow comes, I can put the Outback away for the winter, taking it out only when needed.

By 5:00, we were done with our chores, and Evie had a Zoom call with her sisters for forty-five minutes. I read some, watched some news, and joined her in the living room at 5:45 until it was time for dinner. We had the ribs, sauerkraut, and tomatoes along with mashed potatoes, and we both loved it. The pork was fall-off-the-bone, and the sauerkraut was delicious. We watched our show until 8:15, when the Bills/Vikings game started. The first half was boring, as neither team did much until the last two minutes, when the Bills finally woke up and scored a touchdown. Neither team played well, but the Bills ended up winning because the Vikings’ quarterback had an atrocious game.

Windy And White Caps

7:19

8:09

It’s 7:42, and I’ve been up for an hour watching the waves roll in on a gray morning. It’s a chilly 43º, and we received a quarter inch of rain overnight, just enough to get the lawn wet. Because of the wind and waves, I won’t be kayaking this morning, alas, so I’ll have to find something else to do.

Sunday ended up being a good day: lots of leisure, kayaking, football, biking, and dinner out. It began with a great hour-long paddle, made better because I saw buffleheads and loons for the first time. After the paddle, I wrote the blog and had breakfast: a piece of pumpkin pie. We extended our coffee hour, but by 10:45 I was ready for a bike ride. I drove to Mayville, parked my car, and rode my usual route: two sections of Webb’s Trail, a section of Mayville’s Recreational Trail, then down Sea Lion Drive to the end and back to my car. I was out for close to an hour and fought a heavy wind over the last couple of hundred yards. I then stopped at Tops to pick up some Keurig coffee cups and pork chops, two for the price of one.

Webb's Trail

An Abundance Of Leaves

Looking South From North End Of Lake

When I got home, I read until 1:00. Evie started making me breakfast, frying up potatoes, but Beth called, so I finished it myself with a couple of fried eggs and watched the first half of the Kansas City Chiefs game. Evie talked with Beth for at least an hour, catching up on her busy life, school, and Tyler and Mitch, both of whom have new jobs, and Marisa, who is in her second year of med school. All are doing well. Around 2:00, I surprised myself by napping for a good half hour despite having slept well. Around 4:00, I went out and mulched the leaves from our Bradford pear tree in the backyard. It seems to be the last tree to lose its leaves.

Two Old Guys And Their Chicks

By 5:45, we were both showered and ready to be picked up by Ron and Linda, who were driving us to dinner at Pace’s Pizza in Jamestown, our favorite pizza restaurant. Unfortunately, it’s a 20-minute drive, and at this time of year it’s dark, so Ron stuck to the main roads to avoid deer. Pace’s was fairly busy with retirees like us, but we found a booth and were quickly served our beers and had our orders taken. We always get a large pizza and two large house salads. Ron always gets pizza, and Linda the meatball appetizer. We are not very adventurous and know what we like. The pizza was great, as were the salads, and we have enough left over for a lunch or two. We were home by 8:15, and Evie, tired, went up to bed. I watched the first half of the Chicago/Tampa Bay game, then went up to bed to read and sleep, tired from a busy day.

Morning Gray And A Calm Lake

A Pair Of Loons

Bald Eagle

7:29

8:62

It’s 7:06, and I’ve been up since 6:15. Outdoors, it’s absolutely quiet, not a whisper of wind, the lake like a mirror. The cold, however, has arrived with a 41º morning.

It’s now 9:00, and I just returned from a two-mile paddle on the lake. I spent much of the hour taking photos of loons, then buffleheads, then an eagle, and finally a heron. What a great morning for birding. It's 9:30, Evie's picking out photos, and I am enjoying breakfast, homemade pumpkin pie with lots of whipped cream.

Kayak Morning

Northern Clouds

Chestnut Hill

Paddling Into The Sun

Looms

Loons

Loon

Buffleheads Return

Bald Eagle

A Great Blue Heron

Yesterday turned out to be a decent day, starting with a paddle in drizzle, then rain, and I loved it. After drying out, I finished up the blog and had breakfast. We were in no hurry, so we relaxed with another cup of coffee. Then I went for a walk around the neighborhood since the drizzle had stopped. Recently, I mentioned that our grandson Tyler had married Renee, who grew up in China. She is applying for a green card and asked us to write an Affidavit of Residency. Our daughter Beth was asked to write one as well. I wrote mine Wednesday, got it notarized Friday, and sent it to them, but a couple of things needed to be added or changed. After breakfast, I sat down, made the changes, and sent it back for them to read before we get it notarized again on Monday. While I was editing, Evie was busy making both a pumpkin pie and a big pot of vegetable soup for lunches. Yum. After I finished writing, we gathered the trash and drove to the Transfer Station in the rain. It’s always a busy place, but I was in and out quickly.

Around 1:00, Evie made me a couple of cheese sandwiches, along with a bowl of vegetable soup. I watched my show and a bit of college football, although I had little interest in any of the games. I’m now into my book, The Kind Worth Killing, so I was happy to go upstairs to read and briefly nap.

For some reason, I wanted to do more raking, so I grabbed a garbage pail and rake and did the rest of the side yard, filling another pail with wet leaves. When I returned, I took the pails up the hill to the woodpile, emptied them, and was happy to have three empty pails, ready, I suppose, for more leaves. The rest of the afternoon was spent on the couch, either reading or watching TV. It’s strange how I have a hard time relaxing and doing nothing, always wanting to go out and do something. By 5:00, we were doing something, enjoying a glass of wine and listening to the news.

Dinner was another ready-to-heat meal, Kevin's Thai Style Coconut Chicken. Basically, you heat the chicken for a minute, add the sauce and heat it for another two or three minutes, and it’s ready to serve over rice. It was actually pretty good, along with maple syrup-topped Brussels sprouts. For dessert, we had pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream. I had forgotten how good pumpkin pie is. We watched TV, and around 8:30, I put on some football for a few minutes but quickly went back to my series, The Mayor of Kingstown, before heading up to bed.

Morning Rain

Herons and Mallards In The Rain

7:45

8:59

It’s 8:40 and raining. I was up at 7:00 to rain, but around 8:00 it eased to a light drizzle, so I went out for a 25-minute paddle. Of course, it started to pour as I was kayaking home. Still, I loved it, and despite the heavy rain, I shot a photo of a heron and a mallard along the Woodlawn Creek outlet. It was a good morning.

Kayak Morning

Northern Rain

Heron And Mallards

Same Guys

Yesterday turned out to be a productive day. Evie and I were both up early, but Friday is a day of leisure since we have nothing scheduled. I got in a good paddle before breakfast and started writing the blog. Since we got quite a bit done Thursday, I was ready to take it easy. Unfortunately, I realized I had yet to clean the area in the back of the garage, where leaves gather and the gutter is packed with leaves and grime. I spent a half hour back there, first cleaning the gutter, then raking the leaves into piles and putting them in garbage cans. Finally, I mulched the area, and it was ready for winter.

Around 11:00, I drove into Lakewood, stopping at an ATM for cash, then at Ryders’s Cup, where I talked with Dave, and finally browsing Walmart for heavy long-sleeve T-shirts. I picked up a few things for lunch (a sub) and pork ribs for dinner, but no T-shirts. I was home around 1:00, and Evie had been busy giving the bedroom a deep cleaning. I had my sub and watched my series, then read and napped briefly. My afternoons don’t change much: lunch, TV, reading, and napping.

For some reason, I like raking the leaves from our tulip tree because they’re large and don’t mulch easily. So around 3:30, I went out and spent a half hour raking them from around the tree, filling another garbage pail. Of course, this morning it feels like a fool’s errand because the area is scattered with leaves again.

Bemus

Bemus

By 5:00, we were enjoying chips and dip and a glass or two of wine, listening to the amazing results of the blue wave. No one predicted the extent of it. Texas is blue! Unbelievable. And we loved how much of the world celebrated the repudiation of Trump. It gives us some idea of how he has dissed much of the world with his policies and words like “Norway is a shit hole.” How Presidential. I remember one pundit suggesting Trump has the vocabulary of a sixth grader. 

Bemus

Rising Light

Dinner was easy: soup and sandwiches, and sundaes for dessert. We watched our show, then some basketball at 8:00 and The Mayor of Kingstown until 10:00, when I went up to bed.

All Is Gray: Sky And Lake

6:54

6:59

6:59

It’s 8:47, and I’ve been up since 6:46. Evie’s still sleeping, so the house is quiet. I was on the water by 7:30 and paddled for close to an hour on a calm lake. Only a few mallards and a bevy of Canada geese were out. No fishing boats, no migrating birds yet, and no herons or osprey, both having headed south.

Kayak Morning

South

North

Kicking Back

Yesterday started off badly. Neither of us got our usual sleep, and we woke up crabby and tired. I forgot I had a breakfast date at 8:00 and had started out for a paddle when I got a text asking if I was coming. So I turned around, came back to the house, hurriedly wrote the blog, and drove to breakfast in Bemus. I had to be back by 9:00 because Austin was stopping by to help with some outdoor work. When I got back, he was just driving in. We had a list of things we hoped to get done, and Evie left for school at 9:30, tired but ready for the kids.

For the next three hours, Austin and I trimmed the privets and rhododendrons- anything that tended to grow over the fence between us and Pine Hill. Austin even took down a tree that had grown near our compost pile.  We then hung the curtain on our back porch. Finally, Austin mounted a ladder, cleaned our gutters, and ended his day by trimming the suckers on the maple in our front yard. He seemed fine by the end of the morning, but I was exhausted and couldn’t wait to get in the house and relax.

Around 12:45, I made lunch: egg salad sandwiches, and I finished up the black bean soup. And, of course, I watched an episode of The Mayor of Kingstown, starting Season Two. Since I’d had a bad night, I hoped for a good nap, but no luck. After reading some and wondering if I would fall asleep, I got up and went downstairs to read and wait for Evie to come home. She returned later than usual, and though she was tired, she’d had a good day.

We waited until wine time for her to regale me with stories about her kids, some hilarious, some touching. On her way home,  one of the little boys yelled out, " I love you, Grandma Evie." It sounds like a typical day in an elementary school.

Dinner was the leftover pork roast with mashed potatoes and a salad. Neither of us finished the pork because it was too salty, but we devoured the salad. We watched a couple of really emotional episodes of ER, then a few minutes of football, before returning to The Mayor of Kingstown. Because I was so tired, I went to bed earlier than usual and slept through the night.

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