It's a beautiful morning at Dale and Jeanne's house, as I sit here in their quiet living room, looking out at the shimering lake, the orange sky above the pine trees on the far side. It's a view similar but different from Chautauqua, the opposing shore a bit nearer, the sides of the lake encroaching more where there house sits. It is an amazingly beautiful spot. isolated, a couple hundred feet of frontage, woods to the side, a huge garage, and a house sitting about 40 feet from the lake if that. And best of all, the water is clear, the bottom sandy, few if any weeds, and they have volunteers to check boats that our launched for millefoil and other critters. The nicest part is there are few houses on the lake, unlike Chautauqua, which is surrounded by cottages, some a few feet from each other, making this a special place. Plus most of the property within their view is state owned, so it will never be developed. They also have what was a small pavillion on the left side of their property, right on the lake, which Dale renovated, so that now its a bunk house/play room for the grandchildren when they come, a great idea. He is really handy, so much of the inside of the house has been reworked by both of them, Dale doing the carpentry, Jeanne the painting. They have a family room, kithcen, dining room, with a den off it, and a guest bedroom with a bathroom. Upstairs their is one large master bedroom, overlooking the lake, with a large bathroom and a large walkin closet. Also, there is a large, narrow enclosed porch off the dining room, where Dale spends most of his mornings in warm weather, with a panoramic view of the lake, as its all windows. We sat and talked till about ten, about the old days at school, people we knew, changes we had seen, and watched a bit of the Yankees and Rangers World Series game, then off to bed. Unfortunately, my heart went out of rhythm about 10:30, reconverting around 4:30, so it was a rough night. We are going off to breakfast to a local spot, then back, as Dale and Jeanne have a gardener/horticulturalist coming as they are redoing their backyard, tearing up some asphalt, adding green areas, plants and trees. Dale showed me the plans that had to be drawn and passed by the state, just to make his yard more green, more sustainable and healthy for the lake. Lots of hoops for those who would want an unhealthy development but lots, too, for those like Dale, who are trying to preserve and encourage the health of the area. As I sit here typing, I have a great view out their sliding doors, in the family room/living room, with lots of b irds flying to the bird feeder, and landing on the ground to get the seeds that have fallen. Two ducks have just alighted, and are wadling around the yard looking for food. There is not a cloud in the sky, just light blue and sunshine so bright you cannot look at it, so it must be cold outside, perhaps as low as in the 20's but I am just guessing. We did have traces of snow yesterday. It's 7:40 and Dale just got up, an hour after me, so it was nice to have some time to myself, and for them, to have a leisurely wake up. They are great hosts. We took off for Trout's about 10:30, after a great breakfast at Dale and Jeanne's favorite breakfast place, with freshly made English muffins. We took the long way, winding our way to Lake Windapistakie, and stopped in Wolfeboro, a neat little town on the lake. We stopped there for lunch, had a nice bowl of clam chowder and panini, before heading over the White Mountains, on Rt. 16 to Conway, then Bridgton, Maine, before heading down to Trout's in Oxford. The drive was beautiful, windy and mountainous, but not scary for Evie, like some of the roads in Colorado. The towns seemed more picturesque around Dale and Jeanne's and as we got closer to Maine, after Wolfeboro, they became more like those in New York, run down and empty. Maine seems much more desolate, undeveloped, and poor, but has a rugged beauty compared with the more picturesque in New Hampshire.
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