Hints of Fall, Cool, Overcast, Fleece Weather

6:15

Foccacia Pizza 

Mitch and Granny Gathering weeds

Up at 6:20 to gray, sky and lake, and cool, about 60 degrees.  No action on the lake though it's now 7:00, time for Only A Game on NPR. A ski boat just raced by, our neighbors no doubt.  The weather for the next week or so looks like the old Chautauqua, cool and cloudy, not the heat we have had for the past six weeks, some rain, perhaps sweat shirt or fleece weather.

I returned from a 45 minute kayak paddle, off towards Wells Bay, across to Long Point, then back across to Woodlawn and home.  When I started, I noticed an algae bloom around our docks but as I continued, the water cleared up.  I tossed my fishing line in, off of the reeds, and for the second time in three days, the line snapped.  I guess I will have to get new line as the one I am using was from my father, and could be thirty or forty years old.  It was different today on the lake, a deep gray, at times black, as I glided across the smooth, windless lake.  No sun, no heat, just deep shadows and little activity.  There's a quiet beauty to the lake on a day like this, almost meditative, as I paddle.

Yesterday was overcast in the morning, a bit of sun in the afternoon, then quite cool in early evening, as we all had to wear fleeces for dinner outside.  Since it was Friday, weed pick up day, Evie, Mitch and I spent about an hour scouring the lake bottom, pulling up weeds, getting our swimming area ready for the coming of our family.  The weed cutters did a pass by around noon, though they did not stay and picked up hardly a weed, what a waste of energy.  After the weeds gathering, Mitch and Evie put together a foccacia dough for dinner.  We are going to make pizzas with it for dinner, cooking them out on the grill.  Mitch had been waiting all day for a package from FED EX, six colors of parachute cord.  He had seen a YouTube video, where the cords were used to make cool bracelets.  Thus, the cords arrived around 5:00 and by 7:00, Evie and I both had our bracelets, quite cool, easy to put on and off.

For dinner, as I mentioned, we made margherita pizzas.  We used parchment paper for the pizzas, sliding the pizza and paper on to the stone in a 400 degree grill, baked them for about twenty minutes, and viola, great pizza.  We did eat outside, the lake quite active despite the coolness of the evening.  We had our neighbor, Pat Jones, cookies for dessert, chocolate chip and chocolate pretzel and watched a couple more episodes of Breaking Bad.  The most recent ended with Walt caught in a major dilemma: either meet the meth dealer, clearing over a million bucks, a one time deal, or rush to the hospital where his wife is having a baby.  It was pretty intense, left us hanging, and we cannot wait to watch what happens tonight.  I think he will make the deal, then head to the hospital.  We will see.

By the way, I found out what the name of the bird Mitch and I saw on our kayak ride two days ago.  As I was walking down to get the mail, I yelled aloha to my neighbor, Barb Fox, who just arrived at the lake,  Instead of saying hello, she yelled 'red wing black bird', quite amusing...to me.  Clearly, a few neighbors read my blog.