An Overcast And Busy Morning On The Lake

The King And His Court

6:58

7:00

It's almost 8:00 and I am sitting on my front porch, listening to the birds, their songs often drowned out by the roar of a bass boat, the sound of a skier flying by, only the kayaks are silent.  Though it's cloudy, the lake is calm, perfect for an early morning ski, something our neighbors partake of many mornings.  

Kayak Morning

I am listening to a podcast of Marc Maron interviewing the singer/songwriter David Byrne, of the Talking Heads fame, one of my all time favorite groups.  Of all things, he's into honor guards, the groups that usually march during a football game, brandishing the colors in certain rhythmic ways.  He became curious about them, wanted to take them mainstream, and is putting on two shows, one in Toronto, one in Philadelphia.  What differs, however, is that each of the ten groups will perform with a live band and do their thing.  He's a very different sort of artist into everything, including painting and bicycles.  He even wrote a book on biking in a city called BICYCLE DIARIES.  I remember taking my senior class to see the movie STOP MAKING SENSE, at the Cedar and Lee Theater, back in 1984.  We were all blown away by the music, the film, Byrne's 'large suit,' and the artistry of director Jonathan Demme.   Most interesting, the art work on their CD Speaking In Tongues was designed by the famous artist Dave Rauschenberg, an artist I was introduced to by one of my English exchange students back in the 1980's.

We spent much of yesterday waiting for it to rain, which it did, sparingly, and not very often.  I have a new weather app that tells you the chances of rain hour by hour, so that I can't enjoy my day because of it.  I don't think I will check it very often.  Anyways, we both worked outside thinking the rain was coming, weeding and pruning and I cleaned the gutters, filled with sailors and sludge.  I had put in the gutters a kind of mesh three or four years ago but they had filled with mud and dirt and small maple trees were growing out of it so I had to throw it away.

Evie was able to cut the lawn, still somewhat damp from all the rains but it was dry enough to be cut twice.  We were through with our chores by 1:00 and it had hardly rained, just a brief drizzle so Woodlawn was active, as everyone seemed to be up for the weekend, perhaps because of the Woodlawn picnic later in the day.

The good part of the afternoon Evie spent laughing, as she went through hundreds if not thousands of digital photos from last summer, organized the best into categories before she sends them off to Shutterfly to put into an album, a job that takes many hours and lots of patience.  I read some, took a nap, relaxed on the dock, and watched some of the US Open.

Grandma, Daughter in Law, And Grandson Arlo, Newest Member of Woodlawn

Andy Soffel Giving A Tribute To Doc Bair

Eileen, Evie, and Andy

About 5:30, we went to the Woodlawn right of way where the first gathering of the summer was taking place. Everyone brings an appetizer and their own drinks, so it's an easy way to get together.  It's from 5:00 to 7:00, so if you have plans, you can still go out somewhere.  We had about 30 neighbors, most we have not seen since last August.  It's always fun to connect once again, to find out what's been going on in their lives.  A number mentioned reading my blog which I was not aware of. It's nice to know Woodlawners are enjoying it.  We stayed till about 7:00, the last group to leave.

Son, Jack, Mom, And Granddaughter

Barb, Nancy and Ostergaards

We had not quite filled up on appetizers, so Evie cooked up a couple of hot dogs and with chips, we had dinner.  We watched Real Time with Bill Maher, a wild show since Anne Coulter was also on, his polar opposite politically.  And we watched another Rita, always championing the bullied, and for now, sad and lonely since her kids have all moved out.

It's late, 9:15, the lake mostly gray until a moment ago, when the sun came out, shining on the east half of the lake, the west half still in shadows.  Time to have my breakfast on the dock, then kayak.