The Sun! Blue Skies! No Rain!

Blue Skies

The Sun

After arriving yesterday to rain, supposedly two inches fell during the day, flooding our yard, creating puddles on our road, I woke to sun, a bright, clear morning, almost blinding after the past few days of gray and rain.

We spent yesterday in Hudson, both of us getting our eyes checked.  They were able to see that one of Evie's implanted contacts was cloudy, needed touching up with a laser and when they realized we had come from Chautauqua, they were able to squeeze her in their surgery center about a half mile away.  Within an hour, she was done and we were heading home.  They were so nice to push it through so we would not have to drive back later in the month. And now she can read easily, without needing a light over her shoulder to illuminate the text.

It feels good to be back at the lake, a bit strange, too, after having been away from our routine for a couple of weeks.  I got up around 6:40, having slept better than I have in a couple of weeks (nothing like your own bed), watched the lake shimmer, surfed the net, before going over to have breakfast with the boys.  All are back, so there were five of us.  Lots of stories, about the weather mostly, fishing, golfing, not much politics though Charlie always seem to inject his conservative point of view into the discussion.  I assume Stan would agree with him, but Joe and Dick are most likely liberals like me.  They kind of chide Charlie good naturedly when he says he wants to get rid of funding for NPR.

I would like to get some stuff done outside but it's so wet I don't think we can.  The lake is high, just over the edge, and I read in the paper the reservoir south of us, the Kinzua dam, is at its highest level ever.  They cannot open the marina as it's underwater, so there's high water everywhere in Chautauqua County, record setting rains, I assume.

We went off to Mayville, to the library, to A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD, which recently won the Pulitzer Prize and Evie got CUTTING THE STONE, by Abraham Verghese, also highly recommended.  We then walked for the first time in a couple of weeks in the CI, where lots of work was going on, houses being opened, refurbished, built, you name it, a busy place this time of year.  The only trees that seem to have blooms are the crab apples, I think, with white blossoms or some early blooming fruit tree.  Most trees have swollen buds, ready to burst, a few have the beginnings of leaves.

It's good to relax, enjoy the sun outside, read some, write on my blog, surrounded by the good smells from the kitchen, of chicken with mushrooms and artichokes.  I thought about kayaking but the water is so high, it would reach over my boots if I stepped in the water, plus the rocks are covered with moss because of the high water.  Pine Hill is putting their dock in today, alas, so we will be having fishermen next door most likely this weekend.  It does not look like much fun out on the water, as it's windy with some white caps but there are still  boats out there.