A Blinding Sun, Early, In the HIgh 80's Later

6:40

A baseball cap morning as the sun fills the downstairs when I come for my coffee.  It's already comfortable out on the porch, no fleece needed, and supposed to soar near the 90s later in the day, at least in Buffalo, probably less here.  We have closed the windows already, as the inside temperature match the outside at 7:30.  I have to switch to a chair the sun so blinding.

Yesterday was a different kind of Saturday but started out typically, as I went kayaking around 7:00, fishing in various sweet spots  but catching only a few perch.  I have rigged up an anchor for my kayak, for when it gets to windy to just float with the wind.  It weighs about 15 pounds, a part  from a ship which would fasten the rope or chain to the anchor. I found  it at a garage sale for five bucks.  As always, it was energizing to be out on the lake early.  About 9:45, we went over to the Seezurh House for a meeting of lake residents with the Chautauqua Lake Association about the weed cutting and pick ups.  They were only five or six residents represented out of the thousand or so lake front home owners. The meeting was not very well publicized for one, with invitations sent out to Bemus residents only but also most people are apathetic until they have a problem.  It was one of those meetings where little is solved because the problem is so vast and complicated, by both emotions , colliding ideas, and lack of money.  Like many meetings, one resident took over the meeting,, saying the same thing over and over, boring all but they were polite.  The CLA ended up proposing that if a lake front resident wants their weeds picked up, they will have to pay for it.  There will be three tiers: pick them up at the street, pick them up at the lake side, or take them out of the lake for the owner with a barge. Each tier gets progressively more expensive, depending on man hours, how many times the weeds have to be touched by the crew.

What was most  informative about the meeting was the cost of simply picking up a wheel barrow of weeds from our back yard, when you figure gas, the wages of four workers, the time to get down to our house, then take the weeds off to a farm.  It is not cheap.  I don't  know if much will come of this meeting.  Both Evie and I, however, made sure to thank everyone involved from the CLA because it's important to show them we appreciate their work.

So far the weeds have not been bad but according to Paul, the chief though they are picking up.  At the end of the meeting, it became clear the meeting was mainly for the Be residents who have the biggest problem but also the biggest bucks.  They are willing to pay to get rid of the weeds.  I don't expect much to change from last year.  And the gathering reinforced in my mind how hard it is to get people to agree on anything, like our  Congress.  Everyone has their own story, bias, and is not very good at listening to others or compromising.

After the meeting, I worked some in the yard, weeding along the fence, pulling the bush or tree choking vines which seem to thrive around our rhododendrons and pines.  Evie painted a couple of metal chairs we were given by my in laws.  They were the old fashion kind, still usable but rusty, found on a tree lawn in Euclid. Evie also cut the lawn and I cleaned the gutters again, and the rest of the afternoon we relaxed, me reading, Evie putting the final touches on the photo album.

The Good Like, Grilling withe a Beer in Hand

The Mc Clures returned to the lake from Murraysville yesterday afternoon and we called to see if they wanted to go out for dinner.  Linda insisted on our coming over to their house for burgers and dogs so we went over around 6:00  It was a great night to sit out side over a beer, grill dogs, burgers, and corn, and enjoy the early evening.   We sat outside on their porch, just enjoying what seemed like to us the first real night of summer, a cook out, with local corn, the burgers and hot dogs with all the fixings on a warm night.  Nothing gets better than that though a good pizza is close.  We were home by 9:30, watched some TV and read before going to bed.