A Cloudy But Happy Fourth of July

6:10

View From My Front Porch

A Morning Visitor

Sitting out on my front porch at 5:30, something I don't do very often even in the summer and I don't know why.  Habit, I suppose, to sit inside on my couch, looking at the lake through windows, listening to the birds through screens, listening to NPR.  Well, I am going to change (if that's possible at my age) and sit outside most early mornings.

Right now it's raining and I can hear the drizzle on the leaves, soothing on a gray, overcast morning with a single fishing boat off towards Wells Bay,  I have already seen two herons, one prancing down our dock, the other, its head bobbing just above our lake wall.  Not a stitch of wind, flags flaccid, 69º and humid already.  The forecast calls for rain on and off during the day; let's hope it does not spoil any parades.  It's 6:30 now and it's starting to pour, rain drops pelleting the lake, their sound reving up and down as it hits the trees, the  rain drops ebbing and flowing.  A few drops touch my arm, so I move over on my couch.  I love watching a storm on the lake.  For some reason this morning, it reminds of our yearly outing when I was young, to one of my grandfather's friend, Orlin Goudy.  He invited us out to his farm once every summer.  It seemed to rain quite often and I remember sitting on his porch, watching the rain on his small lake, the coffee table carved with initials or names of his many friends.  It must have been rare to sit out on an open porch during a storm because that memory remains vivid.

A Deserted Presque Isle Beach

Yesterday was not a totally wasted day, just a good part of the morning because we took my car into Erie to get airbags fixed.  The good news is that it was the seat belt clasp, covered by warranty.  The bad news; the part was not in stock so I will have to go back next week, again.  We tried to make the best of it, dropping the car off at 9:00, then driving our other car to Presque Isle State Park.  We intended to take a walk, perhaps swim, depending on the weather, our mood, how long it took to fix our car.  We walked only about a half hour when we got a call about our car, that it was ready to be picked up.  Neither one of us was too excited about our walk, as it was humid, somewhat buggy, and the all the beaches had signs warning of a high e coli  count though not forbidding swimming, a mixed message.  So we curtailed our outing, jumped in our car, stopped at Dick's, to assuage Evie's fishing obsession.  She picked out a new Ugly Stick and reel, and we bought a couple of lures, "little clio's" of course, one for Leonard's granddaughter, Isabelle, who shares Evie's fishing passion.  After Dick's, Evie dropped me off at the dealer, and we both drove home in separate cars, arriving back at the lake just in time to heat up some left over pizza for lunch, with cauliflower soup.

Fortunately, it was a pleasant afternoon, mostly sunny, with one freak five minute rain storm, though it did not deter Evie and Isabelle from staying out on the dock and continuing to fish.  We spent the afternoon outside, mostly enjoying the dock, swimming and fishing but Evie also cut the lawn late afternoon, so it would look perfect for the Fourth of July and because it was supposed to rain, which it did much of last night.

We sat outside on the dock till 6:30 when went over and sat with the Leonard's for a gin and tonic, before we went in for dinner.  Evie grilled some bratwurst with sauerkraut, made a salad, and in twenty five minutes, dinner was ready.  We relaxed with some TV, did some reading, listened to the thunder move closer and closer and went to bed as it started to rain.

It's now 7:00 and Evie's up, out on the dock, fishing in a slight drizzle, a beautiful morning if you like clouds and rain, no wind, a stillness, a quietness,  that's intoxicating to those of us who live on the lake.