Overcast, Some Fog, More Rain To Come

6:20

Tom Dawes and Friend

Kayak Morning

It's 6:15, the kind of misty, gray overcast morning I like, the kind of morning for fishing, at least in my mind.  There are a couple of boats out but the lake is mostly smooth, empty of action.  No wind, showers expected, a good day to get some chores done, read, have the Grice's over for pizza.

Yesterday began at 7:15 with a long kayak paddle, as Evie and I cruised over to Tom's Point than back along the shoreline of Wells Bay, Victoria, and Woodlawn.  As we were paddling, we saw, in the distance a rower in a canoe with a dog.  On our return, our paths happen to meet, we said 'Hello, what a great morning to be on the lake."  And the gentleman said.  "I think I know you.  Are you the one's who have a blog called Early Rising on Lake Chautauqua?"  We laughed, said "Yes," and began to talk with him.  His name is Tom Dawes, owns the Muskie Mall, his wife Annie sells her pottery in the shops.  They have lived in Bemus since 1977.  Anyways,  he is a member of the Park Commission, wanted to get some photographs of the Overland Trail, Googled it, and my blog came up with pictures of our hiking the trail.  From that, he began to follow my blog somewhat regularly.  In fact, he recognized us because of the pictures of us kayaking on the blog.  He told Evie he loved her garden, her cooking, knew I was and English teacher, especially enjoyed the way we took advantage of Chautauqua in the winter.  A good guy, we had fun talking and laughing with him as he knew much more about us than we did about him because of the blog.  This confirms Evie's belief that I have over a hundred people following my blog even though I have listed ten or eleven followers.

The Great White Hunter

After kayaking, I went off to Yin yoga, the only male in a class of 13.  It was a good class as Danielle always tries something new and different from the previous week.  The ladies were talking about food and gardens, when one mentioned garlic, that she was harvesting the tops, used them in salads and pesto.  I joined in and she asked me if I wanted to try some; she had them in the car.  So now I have a plastic bag of garlic scapes,  put them on my wrap yesterday for lunch, and they are like a mild onion or scallion.  I guess gardeners cut the tops off of long necked garlic this time of the year to encourage growth.

The afternoon was relaxing for me, watching a TV show, Inspector Lewis and reading, as Evie went  to the mall, to get more matching dresses for the girls, hit Wegman's, and print a couple of pictures for a neighbor as a gift. I have started my third John Sandford book, this one has Lucas Davenport as the main character.  It drizzled on and off the rest of the afternoon, perfect for reading.  Evie returned home around 3:30 with lots of goodies, groceries, so the girls should have a happy summer.

Mary Ann Miller

Dinner at Hadley House

We went out to eat with our neighbor Mary Ann Miller at 6:00.  She has called us a couple of times to take us out when we have been out of town.  So, we set up last night and went to Hadley House, just up the road, past the bridge.  It was fairly busy for a Thursday night, which was nice to see, and their menu had lots of interesting things, from inexpensive to fairly expensive.  I got the Shrimp scampi, with asparagus on pasta, Mary Ann a chicken Caesar salad, and Evie, a portobello sandwich, with sweet potato fries.  All our meals were great, though mine got a little much towards the end because of the butter, cheese and I assume, olive oil.  It was a fun night, and we presented Mary Ann with a picture frame with two 5X7 photos of her sons; one with Tom and his wife, the other of Jack and his family.  I had taken the photos at the Fox's party on Memorial Day, at the Woodlawn gathering on June 1st.  She seemed to really like it, was going to put it in her living room.  We were home by 8:00, to watch some TV and read, before going to bed, unexpectedly tired, perhaps because of all the shopping for Evie, no reason for me.