Living On A Lake

7:40

Canadian Geese And Their Goslings

Goslings Huddle

It's 8:30 and I can hardly look out our front window because the sun, reflecting on the lake is so bright.  A wrinkled lake and wind make for another fall like morning.  It's 53º and I have only been up an hour.  Windows are closed so I cannot hear the martins, nor see them because of the sun.

Martins

Goslings Up Close

Mom, Pop, Kids

Baby Sitting

I did not go to yoga, deciding three or four times a week is enough.  So, we were in no rush to get things done early.  Around 10:00, I drove off with a van full of trash, lots of cardboard, things like that.  The Transfer Station was much busier than early in the year because the summer residents are back.  I then drove Lakewood, picked up a coffee and drove to Home Depot.  I needed chain for our buoys, and picked up some ratchet straps, which I hope will make our dock more steady.

When I got home, Evie was out fishing on the dock, with a fleece as it was still cool out, mostly because of the wind.  When she came in, we took down our porch curtain, which has been up for the past eight months.  It dramatically changes our view.  For lunch, we had soup and tuna sandwiches.

The outdoors looked inviting but before going out to enjoy it, Evie put together our dinner, breaded slices of eggplant and a home made pasta sauce.  We first had this dish in Turkey as I recall, and have loved it ever since.  Breaded and fried eggplant and a spicy tomato sauce is all you need,  We both then went out to enjoy the sun but eventually the wind drove both of us in to sit on our side yard. Around 5:00, the wind had calmed down enough for us to take our first boat cruise of the year.  We brought along fleece to stay comfortable, and it was wonderful to be back on the deep blue waters of Chautauqua Lake.  We drove slowly along the shoreline to Bemus, then hugged Lakeside Drive back to Long Point and home.  A number of boats were anchored in the curve of Long Point, avoiding the northerly winds.  We were home around 6:20 and decided to have cheese, crackers and cocktails on our front porch, again a first for the season.  As we sat on our porch, enjoying the coming of dusk, I wrote the following as Evie took picture after picture of life on our lake

Living on the lake is an endless stream of photographic delights, from early morning to dusk.  Most of the day, at least at this time of the year, we are entertained by the antics of the purple martins, setting up house, finding mates, and filling the empty air with their aero gymnastics.  They are amazing flyer's, flapping their wings, than going into a stall, and gliding, usually back to their martin house.  Then there are the herons, usually early morning, perched one legged on our docks. Amazingly, a heron just walked by our lake wall; all we could see was his neck as is evident by the photos that follow.

Heron

Heron

Coming in for a Landing

During the day, there's a mix of ducks, Canadians geese, martins and sea gulls, swooping and looking for something to eat.  The martins are by the far the most interesting, perhaps because many of us along Woodlawn have martin houses, so the the gang visits each others houses on and off during the day, like a high rise. And at this time of the year, the Canadian geese are evident with their goslings, lovely furry little things that grow up to be annoying geese.

At the moment, it's 7:40 and we are still sitting on our porch, listening to classical music as the martins swoop and dive, seemingly in time to the music.  Evie is ecstatic as she takes picture after picture of geese families.  Boat traffic has ebbed and it seems like only us, the music, the geese, and the purple martins.  Just as were ready to eat, a bevy of kayaks appeared at the tip of Long Point. Our local kayak dealer, Evergreen Outfitters, was having a sunset paddle.  We had forgotten about it and had intended on going. Shucks. How lucky we are to live on this lake.  Now it's time to go in for our eggplant pasta.

Sunset Kayaking 

End Of Day

Dinner was every bit as good as anticipated and we both had two helpings of eggplant and tomato sauce.  Who needs meatballs or Italian sausage when you have eggplant.  We watched the last two episodes of Broadchurch.  We really liked the series, are sad it's over, like we have lost  good friends. The acting is superb, the story riveting, the setting spectacular, a cliff side village in Great Britain. Watch it.