An End, A Beginning

7:38

Labor Day Picnic

I slept in despite a restless night, getting up at 7:10, to an overcast sky, a ghost lake, empty, like a piece of slate. It rained hard last night, thunder and lightning, waking up Evie as well as me.  And it was a hot, humid night of sleep, the most uncomfortable night of the summer.  It's a close morning, moist and hot, 70º already, with more rain and temperatures in the high 70's to come.  Bring on the fall, a crispy, chilly day, perfect for hiking.

We had a the best kind of Labor Day, the kind without much labor, at least for me.  Evie is another story.  We mostly hung out at the lake estate, an easy morning, of listening to NPR, a nice kayak paddle over to Long Point, Wells Bay and back.  Around 11:00, I drove to the Lighthouse Grocery, picked up some ground chuck and corn, for our picnic later in the day.

We enjoyed the afternoon, out on the dock, or inside when it got too hot.  Evie put together the burgers, made some cole slaw and I talked her out of making home made french fries, making twice baked potatoes instead, much easier even though they are not usual picnic fare.  And of course, she cut the grass, and I worked on cutting the deadwood out of our privets, damaged from the hard and extremely cold winter.  Almost any amount of labor led to a sweat, so when Evie was done cutting the lawn, she was soaked, red faced, ready to jump in the lake.  So we both swam around 4:30, to cool off, in a lake with almost clear water.  By this time, the lake was settling down, most visitors were heading home, getting ready for work the next day but not us.  We relish these evenings at the end of a vacation or weekend because we remember driving home to Hudson when all we wanted was to stay another night.  Now we can, every weekend, every vacation...how lucky are we.

The McClures and Leonards came over for a Labor Day picnic around 5:30 and we sat out in the yard, a beautiful late afternoon, as it cooled off some, and a light breeze cooled us as well.  The lake was continuing to empty of boaters, as we enjoyed our beers and appetizers, and played some bean bag, NOT CORN HOLE.  We have been playing bean bag for 37 years and have always called it bean bag.  Around 7:00, I put the unhusked corn on the grill for 15 minutes, then grilled burgers and Sahlen hot dogs, as Evie got the sides ready in the kitchen.  And it was nice enough to eat outside, so Joyce and Linda set the table.  We loved our meal, especially the 'twice baked potatoes' I might add. Nothing like a burger, dog, and Joyce's baked beans.  We ate and stayed outside until it was almost dark and the crickets were so loud, perhaps the loudest any of us had ever heard, sending us inside for coffee and dessert.  Everyone left by 9:30 and then Evie and I did up the dishes despite our lack of mojo.  We just did not want to face a messy kitchen in the morning.

Today is a beginning, at least in our minds, the end of  a wonderful summer, the looking forward to a great fall, of hiking, boating, some swimming, perhaps some travel, and lots of get together with friends here at the lake. I cannot wait.  So, to begin my fall, I am off to yoga at 9:30, another beginning.

New Words I Have Come Across In The Last Few Days and Liked and Don't Want To Forget:

mansplaining: delighting in condescending, inaccurate explanations delivered with rock solid confidence of rightness and that slimy certainty that of course he is right, because he is the man in a conversation or  the act of a man speaking to a woman with the assumption that she knows less than he does about the topic being discussed on the basis of her gender.

Berk: a stupid or foolish person, one who is easily taken advantage of, used to describe many of the Islamic terrorists, who are not 'holy warriors, just poor 'berks,' taken advantage of by their leaders.