Windy, Wet, Rainy, Gray But Winter's Coming

Not Quite Dick Button, Yet

Open Water at Chautauqua Light Tower

Quite a difference this morning when I got up at 6:40 from yesterday's perfect morning.  Still fairly warm outside, about 37 degrees, but cloudy, mostly gray skies, a drizzle, the snow, at least in our yard, is gone, the lake still frozen though it's hard to tell this early.  I can see clear patches, either formed by the winds or its open water; I cannot tell for sure.

Water Freezing Off Towards Mayville(from North CI)

Perfect Day, Frozen Lake

As you can see from the picture, yesterday morning was extraordinary, as perfect a morning as I have seen on the lake during the winter.  Lake frozen, sky a clear blue, the ice blue and clear as well, like a window actually.  When I saw John Johnston out their skating, I had to get out my skates and give it a try.  I walked down to the water's edge, skates in hand, sat down on a towel, put on my skates, awkwardly stepped from the shore on to the icy surface, and off I went, like a five year old having just learned how to skate.  Gradually, I found some rhythm but I still felt unsteady at times and I did not want to fall, so I didn't try any tricks, even if I had wanted to.  The ice was so clear that I could skate and literally follow the fish on the bottom, as I skated.  We kept close enough to shore, where we knew it was shallow enough if we fell through.  John and I skated together for about a half hour, working our way up and down the lake, from one outlet to another, avoiding those areas because of the fresh water.  He's a pretty good skater, in fact, both he and his wife often skate at the arena in downtown Jamestown during the summer. He's also a non stop talker, so I found out lots about his family, about bike trails, hiking trails, Presque Ilse, as well as how all his kids are doing, what they are doing, and so on.  I had enough skating after about 30 minutes and Evie and I wanted to walk the CI this morning.  So, I made it off safely, came in, put on my walking shoes, and off we went to the CI.



To our surprise, the lake at the north end, off of the CI was completely open, a brilliant blue in contrast to our part of the lake, where I had just been skating.  An amazing contrast and difference in the lake just three miles from our house.  We had a good walk, little ice or snow on the roads, a bit of a southerly wind kept us from getting too warm.

Wendy and Charlie Heinz

After Dinner Tea and Gateau Basque

The rest of the afternoon, we spent getting the house ready, as well as dinner(mostly Evie), for Charlie and Wendy Heinz, who were coming over at 6:00.  We have gotten to know them in the past year, through my morning breakfast group and Evie's Ladies of the Night.  They live in the Chautauqua Shores, have for 40 years.  Charley worked as a VP at the CI until last spring when he retired; Wendy is an ordained minister, though I am not sure of which denomination.  We had a good time with them, as they are very easy to talk to, have similar interests, children and  grandchildren, and of course, the area.  We had a great dinner compliments of Evie,  of breaded tilapia, garlic spinach, pilaf, homemade foccacia and Gateau Basque for dessert, with Turkish tea.  They stayed till about 9:30, a good night.