Another Hot One

6:20

Skiing at 6:25

Up at 6:20 to a clear sky, lots of sun and our neighbor's skiing by on the lake, their usual routine on a weekend morning, the lake like glass.  Now there's a bit of breeze, ruffling the lake, so it's not quite as desirable for skiing or kayaking.

Yesterday was not a lost day but neither one of us did much of import, especially me.  Evie really worked on the upstairs bedrooms, getting them ready for the kids and I went shopping to Lakewood as it has been awhile since either one of us have gone grocery shopping and we were running out of staples.  It was very warm, of course, so we spent much of the afternoon either in the water, cutting weeds, sitting on the dock or under a tree reading.  The CLA did call, to say they were picking up our cut weeds, so we trucked them back to our road, making it easier for the pick up.  They are going to try and pick them up weekly, on a Thursday or Friday.  We will see how reliable they are.  We have worked pretty hard to clear our area but a new set of weeds are coming up, the old are dying out, so we will be back at the beginning, with the new weeds, the millefoil.

Despite the heat, Evie made one of our favorite dinners, chicken picata, with garlic spinach and rice.  What a great combination.  And, since Nora Ephron recently died, we decided to watch her first film, HEARTBURN, the fictionalized story of her divorce from Carl Bernstein, from the Washington Post.  Meryl Streep played Nora and Jack Nicholson played Bernstein.  It seemed a bit slow and dated, and I don't think we were crazy about it when we saw it in the 1980's.  It was not very funny or romantic  as her later films like WHEN HARRY MET SALLY were.  Streep is amazing as usual and it was fun to see a younger, handsome Jack Nicholson.  I think this film was too close to her life and she had not found her niche yet, the romantic comedy.

CAPITAL: JOHN LANCHESTER

I happened upon this book, as I was looking at new fiction in the Mayville library.  I knew nothing about the author, thought it was probably set in Washington and admired the reviewers on the back cover, all very positive about the book.  So I took it out, started and was immediately drawn into it, to London by the way, not Washington, D.C.

It takes place in later 2008, just as the the world economies are blowing up.  Like many modern novels, this one picks a fancy residential street in London and we follow the lives of the inhabitants and their 'people.'  We see the Yount's, Rodger and Arabella, a filthy rich banker and his cronies, riding high making millions, but not for long. There's also a football prodigy, Freddy Yanos, from Senegal, a burgeoning star on the football scene, renting a house. Petunia Howe has been living on Pepys Street her entire life and is dying.  Next door, running a store, are the requistie Muslims in London, the Kamals, husband wife, two children and the husband's two brothers, who help him run the shop.  We also meet a famous artist, grandson of Petunia, who plays a small part.  The other major players are from the working class, Quentina Mfkesi, a illegal refugee from Zimbabwe, Zbigniew, a Polish immigrant, who works on the interiors of the houses on Pepys Street, and Matya, a Hungarian college graduate, forced to be a nanny to survive.

Knowing that the novel is set as Wall Street is about the to fall, we are not looking for a happy ending and indeed, there is none.  But the journey taken by the above, as the scramble to make a living, to find love, to survive life's bumps and bruises is worth it.  We don't feel too bad when the Yount's fall; Arabella, the wife, is a monster, lives to spend money, to decorate, with both a maid and a nanny, for both week and weekends. She does not take it well. Freddy, unfortunately, breaks a leg in his first match, losing the game he loves.  Don't feel too bad...he walks away with millions from insurance.  Petunia dies, a slow painful death, watched over by her daughter, who inherits the house and promptly sells it for millions, though not without guilt.  Quentina is picked up for being an 'illegal', put in a waiting house, hopes and waits, and as the novel ends, she's still hoping and waiting.  In some ways, we like her the most...nothing discourages her though it should.  And, typically, one of  the Kamal brothers is taken by the M-5, as they think, from his web postings, that he's a terrorist.  It ends up being a friend who used his computer but he spends three weeks in interrogation until things are straightened out.  Only Zbigniew and Matya end up happy, falling in love, finding an apartment to share, making plans for the future.  We wonder what happens to these people as the novel ends,  Perhaps a sequel?

Hazy, Hot, and Sunny

6:20

Poet Billy Collins and Roger Rosenblatt at Chautauqua Institution Yesterday

Up at 6:20 despite a restless night, waking, going back to sleep, waking again.  I must have a guilty conscience.  A haze over the lake, the sun burning its way through it, a silent lake, heat looming off in the distance, ready to pounce on our house.  We prepare for it, opening the windows for a few hours, then closing them by 8:00, to keep the house cool.  Yesterday, walking in the house felt like it was air conditioned, the outside, however, felt like walking into a steel mill's blast furnace.  More today no doubt.

Yesterday morning, I decided to go listen to Billy Collins, America's poet, at the CI.  This week essayist and writer Roger Rosenblatt invites a different writer each morning for a discussion.  I have seen Collins before and have enjoyed his understatement, his sense of humor, and his dead pan way of reading his poems.  Clearly, this venue works for both, as they played off each other effortlessly, entertaining and educating the audience for an hour and a half.  Collin's poems are at their best read aloud by him, and they are popular because most people can understand them, even when read aloud.  This defines his poetry as 'acessible', a term he hates because it suggests his poetry is shallow...it is not. I sat outside the ampitheater because I did not have a ticket to get inside.  To avoid the eighteen dollar gate fee, I parked my car at Chautauaqua Estates, rode my bike to the gate, got a library pass (good for three hours), went to the library, returned some books, then listened to the lecture, sitting in the Japanese Garden just out side the hall.  This is a legal way to enter though not in keeping with the 'spirit' of the the CI, I suppose.  But lots of people take advantage of it and if the CI really were bothered by us, they would not allow library users in for three hours.  Collins read about ten of his poems and I have included one of my new favorites from yesterday's readings.  All parents and their teenage children ought to read this each year.  Lovely.

To My Favorite 17-Year-Old High School Girl by Billy Collins

Do you realize that if you had started

building the Parthenon on the day you were born

you would be all done in only two more years?

Of course, you would have needed lots of help,

so never mind, you’re fine just as you are.

You are loved for simply being yourself.

But did you know at your age Judy Garland

was pulling down $150,000 a picture,

Joan of Arc was leading the French army to victory,

and Blaise Pascal had cleaned up his room?

No, wait, I mean he had invented the calculator.

Of course, there will be time for all that later in your life

after you come out of your room

and begin to blossom, at least pick up all your socks.

For some reason, I keep remembering that Lady Jane Grey

was Queen of England when she was only fifteen

but then she was beheaded, so never mind her as a role model.

A few centuries later, when he was your age,

Franz Schubert was doing the dishes for his family,

but that did not keep him from composing two symphonies,

four operas, and two complete Masses, as a youngster.

But of course that was in Austria at the height

of romantic lyricism, not here in the suburbs of Cleveland.

Frankly, who cares if Annie Oakley was a crack shot at 15

or if Maria Callas debuted as Tosca at 17?

We think you are special by just being you,

playing with your food and staring into space.

By the way, I lied about Schubert doing the dishes,

but that doesn’t mean he never helped out around the house.

Because of the heat, I spent most of the afternoon inside. finishing John Lanchester's novel CAPITAL and watching Germany lose to Italy 2-0, discouraging as the Turkish player Mesut Ozil disappeared in the match.  For dinner, Evie breaded pork chops, made a cheesy cauliflower dish and with a salad we were set for the evening.   We watched another much ballyhooed Iranian film, THE COLOR OF PARADISE (2000), the story of a single father, his daughters and his blind eight year old son.  The father struggles with the burden of his son, even sending him off on his own to train as a carpenter, but both he and his mother realize it's a way to get rid of the boy.  The star of the film is the mountains, the lush forests, the verdant valleys of rural Iran where the film is set.  We both found the film slow, uninteresting, obvious, especially its attempts at symbolism, like the mother finding a fish floundering in a shallow pool, which she then throws back in the stream. Dah! And it has the usual agonies of the family, usually the guilt stricken father, crying and writhing on the ground.  Tiresome.  It ends with the boy almost drowning, the father saving him, realizing at last his love for his son.  One critic mentioned that he liked this film so much that he watched it five nights in a row.  He must have a large capacity for boredom or nothing to do.  

Cool Morning, Fiery Afternoon (Hiking Chautauqua Creek)

Sunrise, 6:15

Sunset from the Viking Club

Westfield Water Station off of Mt. Baldy Road

217 Steps Down to Chautauqua Creek

Working on Slides for Fish

A Rocky Hike

Interesting rock

Ron at One of the Falls

A Table of Losers, Gambling Again, at the Viking Club

Up early, at 5:30, after a restless night.  The sky off to the east is cloudy, the sun peaking occasionally through it's edges, and it's a comfortable 58 degrees though it may get as high as 90 later in the day, a 30 degrees difference.  Very Un Chautauqua like!

Yesterday,  Ron Mc Clure and  hiked the next section of Chautauqua Creek, from Westfield south another couple of miles.  The problem for our hikes is finding easy access to the creek at two or three miles intervals, so we don't have too long of a hike.  Fortunately, Ron did some exploring early in the week and happened upon the Westfield Water Station off of Mt. Baldy Road, about two plus miles from the center of Westfield. Thus, we headed to Westfield around 9:00, parked Ron's car in Westfield, then drove my car to the Westfield Water Station., parked it, and walked up the driveway, behind the building, down a wooded path, to an amazingly steep stairway, two hundred and seventeen steps to be precise, to get down to the Gorge.  We were smart enough to start at the south end and walk north.  If we hadn't, we would have had to climb up the steps.  When we got to the bottom, we heard the sound of machinery off to to the south and a huge machine was scooping rocks or so we thought out of the creek.  It's hard to believe they could get a shovel that big down the Gorge.  We began our hike north, towards Westfield, with a slightly overcast sky and found most of the way to be rocky, not the sandy stretches that we found closer towards Lake Erie.  We picked our way slowly along, stepping from one large rock to another, crossing the water when necessary.  We often passed bald but steep cliffs, thus the name, I suppose of the road where we parked.  At least twice, roads were cut across the creek, connecting one side with the other.  We did see a couple of huge dump trucks trundle through and stopped one, to ask what was going.  The driver explained they were making slides on the creek, so the fish could move farther upstream. I thought some developer was tearing apart a section of the Gorge.  Instead, the Fish and Game Department were working on the migration of the trout.

We found ourselves paying so much attention to where we walked that we often forgot to enjoy the 'going', the views as we walked.  We stopped a couple of times, for food and water, and to enjoy the view.  We eventually crossed under the Gale Road bridge, then walked by where the Chautauqua Creek branches off to the Little Chautauqua Creek, a creek we will explore at another time.  We did pass two or three small water falls, perhaps three of feet high, nothing too dramatic.  The water, most of the way, was quite low, slow moving and muddy, though as we got close to Westfield, it became more clear.  It took us just over two hours, and we were back on the road, heading home by noon.  Another great day on Chautauqua Creek.

I spend the afternoon reading, watching the semifinals of the Spain/Portugal soccer match.  Evie cut the lawn, read on the dock, and did some shopping earlier in the morning.  At 6:00, Ron and Linda came over for a beer and then we went across the bridge to Maple Springs, to have dinner at the Viking Club.  It was a beautiful night to sit at the Viking Club window, watching the sun set off to the west, having a Labatt's and dipping chicken wings in to blue cheese dressing.  The Viking was fairly crowded, not as much as the Rod and Gun, but a good crowd.  And it's a much older crowd, mostly people in their sixties or seventies, with very few younger people.  It was good to be back at the Viking, as we had not been there in quite awhile because they are open only on weekends during the winter and spring, unlike the Rod and Gun which is open all year, seven days a week.  We walked outside to watch the sun finally disappear on the horizon and went home to read, watch some Stephen Colbert, Lebron and company on The View, then off to bed.  A busy day.

Another Sunny Morning...Boring (Hiking Gorge)

6:50

I am starting to get up later, at 6:45, a sleepy head, as my Mom would say.  Cloudless sky, empty lake, a slight wind, the lake a light blue, almost white at times become of the sun's reflection, and 60 degrees.  This morning,  Ron Mc Clure and I are going on Stage Two of our Intrepid Hike Up Chautauqua Creek.  Another two miles, another two hours!


Just yesterday, however, Evie and I also spent the late morning and early afternoon at Chautauqua Gorge as well.  Our neighbor, Kathy Leonard, had never been to the Gorge and asked if Evie and I would take her and her niece, Isabelle there some day.  Well, yesterday was a perfect day for the Gorge, not too not but sunny enough, so around 10:30, the four of us headed off to Hannum Rd, the route to the Chautauqua Gorge State Park, about a half hour drive.  The walk down to the Gorge is always breathtaking, as out of nowhere, or so it seems, you begin to hear the rush of the water, then see the Gorge, the rocks, the water flowing towards Lake Erie.  We left our backpacks at the bottom of the hill, on the rocks by the swimming hole, then hiked for about a half hour to the south.  The creek was low, though still flowing with some power, great for hiking on the dry rocks if you liked, or in the shallow water if you preferred.  We walked as far as the curve where you encounter tall, bare, layered rock cliffs which eventually disappear as the trees once again take over.  It always amazes me how different the scenery along the Gorge is as you often walk in the shade of trees that overhang the Gorge, then walk into bright sunlight, as we did when we ran into the wall of rock, slate, and sandstone.  Kathy is a geologist so it was fun to learn about the various kinds of rocks we were passing.  Isabelle, Kathy's niece, said something cute after the hike.  "I thought I knew everything about the environment of Chautauqua but this is the best, it's amazing."  She's eight years old and how true.

Hiking the Gorge

Kathy Leonard Cooling it 

Shade of the Gorge

Rocky cliffs

The Usual Detritus 

.  

We had a lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, apples, cheese and crackers, grapes, and homemade chocolate chip cookies.  We also all swam in the bone chilling cold of Chautauqua Creek, the kind that you don't get used to so we did not linger for long.  Both Kathy and Isabelle also rode the rapids and Evie just enjoyed sitting in the rushing water, almost like a sauna but cold.  We enjoyed just laying about on the rocks in the sun.  Then,  I got the bright idea of sending empty water bottles down the creek, watching them make their way, seeing how fast they could go.  This amused all four of us for about a half hour, as we had to grab it before it went over the final falls.  Evie and I decided to bring bottles for all our grandchildren when we come back in late July and have bottle races.  We will have to see if it will be fun for the teenagers.

We stopped at Box Car Barney's in Mayville on the way back and Kathy and Isabelle got ice cream cones, the perfect way to end the excursion to the Gorge.  Evie and I spent the afternoon reading on the dock and had left over Chinese for dinner.  A trip to the Chautauqua Gorge is always a good day.

Another Partly Cloudy, Fall Like Day

6:55

Main Street Bridge over Chadakoin River in Jamestown

Locks Which Raise and Lower the Depth of Lake Chautauqua

Up later than usual, at 6;45 and surprise, Evie was already up.  It's a cool morning, 61 degrees, great sleeping weather.  The lake is quiet this morning, as I hear only an occasional bird, no boat motors.

Yesterday, for me at least, was another car day, as  I dropped my Honda Pilot off to get fixed, new front and back brakes, broken tie rod, whatever that is, a major expense but still cheaper than buying a new car.  I spent three hours in Jamestown, on my bike, riding around for the first hour or so, around downtown, along the River Walk Path, then back.  The path was rather disappointing because of it's length.  It goes about a quarter of a mile each way, from Main Street.  It's asphalted, with an occasional table or bench set on grass along the river both ways, attractive and soothing as far as it goes.  Few people were  taking advantage of the park like atmosphere, the shade of the trees. Some boys were at the edge fishing, a couple older men were also wetting their lines but for the most part, it was empty.  I rode through the neighborhood surrounding WCA, the hospital, trying to follow the Chadakoin River but had little luck. I stopped at a Labyrinth Press Company,  a coffee shop on Fifth Street and people watched for a while and read my book.  It was fairly busy, with an assortment of young people, few my age.  It has couches, easy chairs, as well as tables and chairs.  I then went to the Prendergast Library for about a half hour, picked up Rodger Rosenblatt's JUST TOAST and Alan Furst's first novel, NIGHT SOLDIERS, and my car was about done just as I returned.

I was on my own for dinner, as Evie was going off to the Rod and Gun Club for a Chautauqua Lake Association meeting.  So I stopped at Brigottis on the way home, picked up some buns and Italian sausage for dinner.  I remember my neighbor Pat Jones talking about some great tomatoes and peppers which were made in Warren, PA, called Pellegrino's peppers.  Since she was going with Evie, we asked if she could spare a bottle, so she brought me over enough for my sausage.  They buy them by the case.  I really enjoyed them and will have to put in an order.

I watched an older movie, 1972,  from Netflix called Drive She Said, based on one of my favorite basketball books, which I read back in the 1960's when we were living in Honolulu.  It was the only movie I know of written and directed but not starring Jack Nicholson.  It is set at a small college, Ohio, during the Vietnam War, an angry time of protesting students.  It combines the love of the game with the era of hatred for the Establishment.  It seemed like a time piece for me, an era I remember but it was so long ago.  I would give it an average grade, not worth watching unless you are interested in that time.  It reminded me of Carnal Knowledge but not nearly as good.

Evie came home from the CLA meeting around 9:30, depressed and angry at the lack of specificity, the platitudes, and the 'attitudes' of all the CLA representatives.  After one of the audience had asked a question a number of times, never really getting an answer, the speaker asked, "Didn't I already answer this question," and the audience all responded with a loud "NO."  This gives you some idea of the mood of the meeting.  It sounds like the CLA feels put upon by all the neighborhoods, rarely satisfying anyone.  A few interesting facts.  The Chautauqua Institution is paying the CLA 45,000 to cut weeds and keep their beaches clear three times a week, all summer.  And the residents of Bemus, mostly from Lake Drive, have given 25,000 to keep their shoreline clear.  It looks like money from lake side residents will increasingly play a role in whether your lake front is cleared.  So lake front owners not only have to pay exorbitant taxes to live on the lake but may also have to pay to keep their lake front  clear and weedless. I am glad I did not attend the meeting!

Windy, Cool, With Puffy Fall Like Clouds

6:22

Flags A Flying

Up at 5:45 to a wet yard, lots of thunder and lightning last night, and almost a half inch of rain to my surprise.  It's 60 degrees, a high today of 68, much more Chautauqua like weather.  Off to the east the sun pops in and out of the clouds, behind me and up towards Chautauqua, it's dark and threatening. As I sit, I can see three flags at attention, horizontal because of the wind, quite a sight.

Yesterday, Sunday, was one of those days where you wonder where it went, what you did.  Only when I think hard, do I remember I went for a bike ride around the north end of the lake, parking at the Lighthouse, riding around Sea Lion Drive, to the Hartville Deli, and back.  I picked up a few vegetables at the Lighthouse for a stir fry and some bacon, for our Sunday breakfast.  I also made bread, from the No Knead bread book.  I have struggled with making what we both think is a good loaf.  Something is always lacking, in this case, it had a great crust but the inside was doughy, soft, not white, crispy, and airy like it should have been.  This seems to be the problem with this loaf; to rectify it, I baked it longer but to no avail.  I remain determined to find the perfect bread for us, especially since a tiny loaf at Wegman's is now over four bucks.

I watched some of the Spain/England soccer match, so boring and inept were the players that even the announcers commented on the lack of skill and passion.  I turned it off just as there was a shoot out which, according to the news, was thrilling.  Spain won if you care.  The rest of the afternoon, we both relaxed and read.  Evie is really in to The Story of Edgar Sawtelle on the Kindle, so much so that she only cut weeds for an hour and didn't stir from her chair to cut the lawn.

We made a chicken and vegetable stir fry for dinner, mostly mushrooms, cabbage and broccoli and watched Will Ferrell in another serious role in Everything Must Go.  A bit slow but worth watching.  Ferrell plays an executive, a recovering alcoholic and philanderer,  who is fired the same day his wife throws him and all his things out of the house.  He returns home to a yard full of his junk and the movie chronicles the next three or four days.  Because he has no where to go, he lives in his yard, sleeping in a Lazy Boy chair, surrounded by his things,  and befriends a neighbor's son, a black child, and a newly arrived neighbor's wife.  Both help him to put his life back together, by selling his past, all those things that meant something to him, and helping him to see himself more clearly, especially the behavior that led to his divorce and firing.

Evie's Night at The Rod and Gun Club

The Big Winner at the Rod and Gun Club (at last)

5:50

Gambling at the Rod and Gun

It's 5:30 and I can see wisps of fog moving along the surface of the lake, as the cold air hits  the warm lake.  It's 53 degrees and I have put on a fleece.  Three days ago we were sweating bullets.  The eastern sky, just above the horizon, is turning orange as the sun still sits beneath the tree line.  A few fishermen are out but it still seems as if summer has yet to arrive.

I never tire of saying yesterday was another great day, sunny, clear, cool enough to sit outside on the dock but not so hot that you had to seek relief beneath our trees.  The lake, surprisingly, was not too busy despite the weather.  Last weekend, in contrast, almost seemed like the 4th of July as everyone seemed to be up for the weekend.  Even Pine Hill has been calm, with mostly Amish staying for the week, spending most of their day out fishing.  Evie did more weed cutting, enjoyed the neighbor's kids in the lake, and read most of the afternoon.  I decided to be Sisyphus and went off to the Tri James gravel yard, shoveled a couple of cubic feet of sand into my containers, drove them home, and lugged them out to the end of the dock, and spread the sand on the bottom of the lake, near the ladder, my attempt to thwart the weeds.  An absurd experiment,  I know, but what the heck.  I will try anything once.  After my efforts,  I could not even tell if the bottom was any different from before so I doubt if I will try this again.  It gave me something concrete to do.  Other than that and a trip to the Transfer Station, I read and watched some of the Spain/France soccer match.

Enjoying the Late Afternoon

At 6:00, Ron and Linda Mc Clure and Linda's sister Janet, came over for a beer in the yard before we drove off for dinner at the Rod and Gun Club in Lakewood.  As expected, everyone in Lakewood seemed to be there so we sat at the huge bar for forty five minutes before being seated.  Evie was in rare form, in her element, a bar with gambling.  She and Linda love to play ticket lotto, where you buy a card for a dollar, peal back three windows and have a chance to win up to a hundred bucks.  Well, within the first five minutes, Evie won a hundred and our night was made.  She continued to win two dollar tickets as well, so both of them played off and on during the night.  We all had the prime rib dinner for $10.95 with potato and salad and like last time, it was as good as we have had in awhile.  At 9:00 the band Happy Days took over, played mostly oldies but goodies from the 50's and 60's like Dion's Runaround Sue and Chubby Checkers's The Twist, to the delight of the diners, as the dance floor was packed with people our age.  We stayed till about 9:45 and it was a great night.  By the way, Evie bought dinner for all of us and we still came home twenty bucks ahead.  Alas, the gambling trap has been set...Evie will be back, eager to win again, each time we return...the more you spend, the more you lose !  But not last night.

June's Back...Cool, Clear, A Beautiful Morning on the Lake

5:55

Kayak Morning

How delicious to wake up to a cool morning, sun rising, clear skies and even the sound of fishing boats starting or a bullfrog's croaking could not ruin my mood.  It' a chilly 55 degrees, as I watch the two Leonard daughters head out in their kayaks at 6:00, long pencils carving lines in the lake.

Yesterday, I drove into Erie to see my friend Stan Marshaus, who has been in St. Vincent Hospital for a week, the second time in the last five weeks.  He had a pacemaker implanted about four weeks ago and went in last week with a high fever.  They discovered a staph infection thus he's been in there since, as they try to  get it under control.  He hopes to get a new pace maker next week, once they are sure the infection is gone.  Then, he'll be able to come home.  We had a fun talk about the good old days.  He grew up in East Cleveland and used to play basketball at Shaw Field, a mecca for basketball players back in the late 50's, early 60's.  I remember driving there a couple times a week, to play in the pick up games with the best high school and college players in the area. We also used to get a group of guys from Euclid and drive to Cain Park, to play the boys from Cleveland Heights, and occasionally to Patterson Park on Sunday mornings, in Cleveland, to play with the best black players in Cleveland.  If you were good, you got to play and if you beat their team, they 'respected you.' Since then, the Shaw Field courts have been torn down and East Cleveland looks like a war zone.  Sad.

I got home in time to cut weeds for about an hour as the CLA was supposed to pick them up on Friday (they never made it).  It was a perfect day outside, not too hot, a nice breeze, just right for sitting out on the dock and reading.  While Evie mostly read and played with the Leonard grandchildren in the water, I alternated between reading and going inside to watch the German/Greece soccer match.  Germany won 4-2 and I went in just in time to see Germany score three goals in a span of twenty minutes in the second half.  The German player of Turkish origin, Mesut Ozil, continues to thrill with his wizardry with the ball, like the very best play maker on a basketball team.  Even the announcers are speechless when they watch him handle the ball and pass.

Before our dinner of shrimp, garlic, parsley, and noodles, we sat on the dock for a sundowner, though the sun was not to set for another three hours.  I like the idea of calling a cocktail at the end of the day a sundowner, a term I  came across in Cape Town, South Africa.  We watched Adam Sandler in Punch Drunk Love on Netflix. A writer/director mentioned it as one of his five favorite movies.  I cannot say I loved it; Evie like it more than I did, perhaps because I don't like Adam Sandler much.  He's a destructive loner, unable to relate to anyone, especially women who is befriended by Emily Watson for some reason (none that I could see) and she offers him unrequited love.  A good deal for him, not her but it does have a happy ending.  It's reminds me of a poor imitation of Will Ferrel in Stranger Than Fiction, one of my favorite movies.

THE WHITE LIONESS: HENNING MANKELL

I am beginning to understand Mankell's modus operandi.  He decides to set his novel in Sweden, but always relates it to what's currently happening in the world. In his previous novel, it was set in Latvia, during the fall of the Soviet Union.  This time the novel moves to South Africa, to the pivotal time when white rule gave way to black rule, a result of the trust between President DeClerk and Nelson Mandela.  This time a random killing of a female real estate agent in Sweden leads Wallendar to uncover an attempt by the Committee, a racist anti Black group in South Africa, to assassin Nelson Mandela, leaving South Africa in chaos, allowing the white, Apartheid government to take control.  The assassin is sent to Sweden to be trained by an ex Russian KGB agent named Konovalenko.  When the real estate agent makes a wrong turn, she ends up at the farm when Konovalenko is training the black assassin and is executed.  From this, Wallander discovers the threads that lead him to the assassin, Mawasha, who he ironically ends up befriending, learning about the Apartheid system in Africa, and helping to return to Africa.

Of course, the plans go array, a new assassin is sent, Wallander singlehandedly and without a gun tries to corral Konvalenko, who outsmarts him at first by kidnapping Linda, Wallander's daughter.  I have to say I am getting tired of Wallander going it alone, without a gun, failing at first but inevitably triumphing over the villain.  Much of the story is set in South Africa, as we see the racist Committee, setting up the the assassination and the police, led by the shy but pertinacious Scheepers, eventually discovering the plot, with info from Wallander.

At the last moment, Scheepers dramatically thwarts the killer on the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town.  By the way, I have been there.  This is my third Kurt Wallander novel and I am getting a bit tired of his melancholy, self pity and carelessness leading to serious complications which he ends up overcoming.  I do like the presence of the same cast in each novel, his difficult father,  selfish daughter, and his fellow policemen.   Though I have the next two novels, I am going to take some time off and read something else.

Overcast and Drizzle and Cooler

6:30 and Overcast

Wednesday, Dusk, 8:20

Up at 6:30 to a drizzle, hardly enough to wet the ground but we will take what we can get as it's  pretty dry around here.  It's 66 degrees, with a high of around 78 later today, much more comfortable than yesterday's high in the mid 80's.  It is supposed to clear up later in the day and be a nice weekend, with temperatures dropping.

Brian and Isabelle's Birthday Cake

I went off to Yoga yesterday for the first time in three weeks, with our neighbors, Kathy and Cris, both veterans.  It was quite warm in the studio of course, but I think they enjoyed the session.  We then went to Wegman's to do some shopping and pick up a birthday cake for a party for the Leonard's grandchildren.  Evie went off early to make a cool photo book for the kids, of their past week here at the lake, most of them swimming and jumping off the dock.

Evie and Isabelle

For the rest of the day, we relaxed on the dock, read, Evie cut the lawn, and I did some more weed cutting because the CLA is coming today to pick up the weeds along Woodlawn/Victoria.  Unfortunately, not too many people have had time to cut their weeds, so only two or three houses will have weeds to gather.

We went to Leonard's for dinner, as they were having a summer birthday for their grandchildren.  We had hot dogs, burgers, and sweet corn, all good.  Pat Jones, our neighbor, also came over, so the kids had quite a party.  Evie's album was quite a hit, as the kids loved looking at pictures of themselves.  And Isabelle loved her football, as she is a real fan, and Brian got a 'free ticket' to the Treasure Chest in our house, so he was so excited that Evie took him in to pick out his present.  We stayed out in their yard till about 9:00 enjoying the evening, then went home.  I watched the first half of the NBA game, then went to bed, fairly sure Miami would win.

Walking Chautauqua Creek/Gorge

5:55

At the Mouth of Chautauqua Creek, on Lake Erie

Prospecting for Gold, on Chautauqua Creek

Intrepid Explorer Ron Mc Clure

Swimming in the Creek

Enjoying the Sun after a Swim

Bridge Under New York Central Train Line

Walking the Chautauqua Creek

An amazing sunrise today, the day summer officially begins, the longest day of the year, and the planet earth is three million miles closer to the sun today than on the winter solstice in December.  Figure that out.  It's also the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, reminding me of my stay in Cape Town, South Africa, back in 1995.  It seems a long time ago.  Anyways, another hot and humid day, highs in the 80's, though it's 65 degrees at the moment.  I love sunrises like today, the sun blazing its way through the haze of the morning, a huge globe off to the northeast, the northerly most sunrise of the year.

Since Ron Mc Clure and I have decided to walk the Chautauqua creek, though the Chautauqua Gorge, from Lake Erie to Sherman, we started our first leg yesterday morning at 10:00.  We will take it one small bit at a time and yesterday, we walked from Lake Erie to Westfield, probably a little over two miles and it took us a leisurely two hours, with stops for water, a peanut butter and honey sandwich, and a swim.  It was a very warm day, in the 80's easily, so we didn't push it and when I did swim, the water was amazing, cooling and clear.  Most of the way we stumbled along the rocky shoreline of the creek, with occasional forays across the water, to get to an easier path.  With my walking poles, it was easier to navigate the slippery areas, when we had to cross the creek bed.  Just as we began our hike, we saw a couple of men mining for gold.  They were passing the sand through a sieve, looking for nuggets.  They have had some success but it's more a hobby than a vocation.  We also ran into a couple of Amish fishermen along the way, but that was it.  As we moved closer to Westfield, the banks on either side of the creek got steeper, reminding me of areas around the Gorge, up near Hannum Road in Mayville.  The creek, for the most part, was relative low, mostly shallow water and the deepest spot I could find for a swim was probably four feet at the maximum.  We saw lots of  trout as we walked, minnows, herons, heard kingfishers, perhaps a hawk, and occasionally, a house or abandoned dwelling.  It was easier then we thought though we were cautious of the extreme heat.  Towards the end, our legs started to get tired, from the constant stepping on and over the rocks and stones so we were happy enough to stop where we did.  If we had gone any farther, it would have been less fun, more onerous, so we have decided to take it in small chunks.  We are getting a bit smarter as we get older.  After our hike, we went into Barcelona, to Jake's Drive In, for a hot dog for Ron, a perch sandwich and coleslaw for me.  A crowded place, right on the lake, it was a good way to end our hike. 


I forgot to mention that we started our walk by hiking through the private woods of Pat and Jim Mc Gill to Lake Eire.  Evie and I  met the couple a few weeks ago during a wildflower walk with the Chautauqua Conservancy and they said we were welcome to walk their acreage or visit the lake at any time.  I was a bit reluctant but drove to their yard, parked, and Pat came out, welcomed me my name, and walked us down to Lake Erie...a wonderful way to start our walk as the Lake appeared, magic like, out of the woods, a beautiful blue sky, white caps on a blue green lake.  I had forgotten how beautiful Lake Erie and its beaches can be.  

Lunch at Jake's in Barcelona, NY

While I hiked, Evie did lots of watering, relaxed on the dock, and worked on pictures of last summer for her album.  I spent the afternoon on the dock or in the cool house, reading, and did spent some time cutting weeds more weeds, an obsession for both of us, especially me as I enjoy pulling the tall ones out of the lake, filling a tub, knowing that a path has been cleared for our grand kids.  We had a chicken curry for dinner, chicken thighs with a Trader Joe red curry sauce, and it was quite good, making both of us wonder why we fuss with a sauce from scratch when this was so tasty.  We watched the first two hour episode of Foyle's War on Netflix, set in Great Britain during  WW II,  a recommendation of Kathy Leonard,  We went to bed in stifling heat, with fans, air conditioners till packed away in the attic.  

Muggy, Sunny, and Hot

6:30

Morning Kayaking

Enjoying the Late Afternoon with Leonards

Chris and Kathy, the Leonard's daughters

Dinner in the Cool House

Up later than usual, to an uncomfortably warm house, 74 degrees, though it's 67 out.  I opened the windows to let in what seems to be a cool breeze, as I sit here writing.  I can hear the purple martins singing, an occasional boat motor, but all the rest is quiet.  Today's supposed to be a record setting high,  with an air quality alert.  Where's the cool, crisp Chautauqua June I love.

We anticipated an easy Tuesday, working when we wanted but relaxing as well.  For Evie, it was busier than expected though, as we asked the Leonard's over for dinner, so she had quite a bit to do to get ready for dinner.  Early morning, however, we went kayaking, out to Long Point, then across to Wells Bay and home as it was already getting very warm on the lake.  I then went off to Mayville for a blood test, then on to Tops to shop for a few things for our dinner.  When I came home, Evie was cutting the lawn in the brutal heat, and she was red faced and sweating, about as 'hot' as I have ever seen her.  Just looking at her made me want to jump in the lake, which I did, to cut weeds and keep cool.  In fact, the only really comfortable place yesterday was the lake though we closed the windows early, and when you entered the house, it felt like we had air conditioning.

The Leonard's came over with their daughters, Kathy and Chris, and Chris's children, Isabelle and Brian around 6:00.  It was cool enough by then to sit outside under our trees for a drink, pupus, and conversation, but we decided to come inside for dinner.  Evie made her breaded tilapia with spinach, along with coleslaw, broccoli, and brown rice.  Kathy made a gingerbread, with blueberries, for dessert with ice cream.  Everyone seemed to enjoy their meal, especially young Brian, who devoured the fish, as well as the rest of his dinner.  They stayed till around 8:30, then Evie and the girls went outside to play one final game of bean bag and I stayed inside and did most of the dishes.  I watched the first half of the NBA finals, then went up to read and to bed.  It was a very hot and muggy night, despite the ceiling fan, reminding me of the days when I was a boy in Euclid, trying to get to sleep on a hot windless night on Edgecliff.

This morning Ron and I are going to begin our project of walking Chautauqua Creek, from Barcelona, the mouth, to Sherman, the source.  We will walk it in stages, hopefully finding ways to navigate it if it gets too difficult or deep.  We will walk three or four miles each stage, today starting at Lake Eric.