First Light On A Monday Morning

5:50

Dinner at Leonard's 

It's 5:45, surprisingly light though the sun has yet to rise over Long Point.  The sky appears clear at this hour, a few clouds off to the east, 64º, with thundershowers forecast for later in the day. No action on the lake, neighborhood, just me sitting here listening to NPR, writing my blog after having watched some of the terrible news about the death of 19 firefighters in Yarnell, AZ, about 100 miles north west of Scottsdale.

Yesterday's morning was overcast but we wanted to get a good paddle in early, so we were off towards Sunset Bay around 8:00, taking our time, scouring the shore line, fronts of docks, checking out houses we have not seen in quite awhile.  At this hour, not much action anywhere, few if anyone is out on their dock, houses don't even look lived in, most are probably asleep, but a number  look as if they have yet to put their docks in the water, which is strange.  Not a good sign for the neighborhood I would think.  It was a good morning to be out, with the 80 bass boats competing in the tournament, roaring and zooming around the lake.  We got back around 9:30 and went out on our dock, Evie to fish as yesterday's bass has made her an enthusiast, ready for bass.  Not much luck, however, a few pan fish and that was about it.  We then had our Sunday breakfast, always delicious, watched some Sunday Morning on TV, and relaxed the rest of the day, some out on the dock until it became too hot, me under the trees, reading and taking a nap.  No dinner to worry about because we were going to Leonard's our next door neighbor's for dinner. As I mentioned, we are becoming tres social and popular.

Kayaking Early Morning

From Boat, To Bag, To Weigh In, 

Top Bass So Far

At 3:00, we jumped in our kayaks, fought our way across the busy lake filled with boats and waves from their wakes, paddling to the Long Point Marina where they were having the fish weighing, to see who won the tournament that had been going on all day.  The parking lot, boat launch, entire marina area was filled with bass boats, trailers, fishermen, family, and spectators.  The fisherman would bring their boats in, put it on a trailer, park it, then take the fish out of their wells, put them in a plastic bag filled with water, and take them over to be weighed in.  Once weighed, they were returned to the bag, then taken over to the end of the docks, and dumped back into the lake, still alive and well we hope.  The largest bass that we saw was just under 5 pounds, the leader for two days of fishing, caught 28 pounds of bass (10 fish).  We did not stay to see the winner, but did get a free hot dog and chips, courtesy of the sponsors, making our paddle worthwhile.  It was fun to see how serious and fun these guys take fishing.  They have quite an investment in their bass boats, fishing gear, entry fee, gas, and food and lodging for a weekend, so they must be serious.

Kitchen Ladies

Chris

Aunt Kathy and a Pensive Brian

We went to Leonard's at 6:00 and because it was beginning to cool off and the wind picked up, we sat inside, on their porch, enjoying the evening as the kids played outside.  They also invited out neighbor Pat Jones, her daughter Kristin, and son Ben, who live in Arlington.  For dinner, Kathy made a delicious eggplant parmesan and though vegetarian, we did not miss the meat. Everyone seemed to have seconds so it was a success, along with a couple of salads, bread, and some good red wine.  We had a good time, many laughs, as we sat around the table until 9:00 when it was time for the kids to go to bed.  Another great meal, fun night.  We came home, watched The Killing, then went to bed.