There/Where Goes The Sun

7:46

It's a gray, wet, windy morning, the kind I had better get used to seeing.  The past few months have almost made me forget the fact that for a good six months, we have mostly cloudy skies here at Chautauqua Lake, one of those areas with the fewest number of sunny days in the US, like Cleveland and Buffalo.  That being said, both Evie and I enjoy the gray, treasure the sun and blue skies more during the winter because it's so rare.  It's a chilly 52º this morning and may not even get into the 60's over the next few days...get out our fleeces!

Yesterday was another lost day for both of us, accomplishing little, spending no time outside either  kayaking or walking (Evie did go for a short swim), partly because of the weather, rain most of the day.  I drove into Erie for a test which took a couple of hours, should have taken about a half hour.  Welcome to modern medicine, the long, long wait at a doctor's office.  Afterwards, I stopped at the Subaru dealer, to sign up for four more years of maintenance, a gamble I suppose by both of us.  I figured with all the electronics, the cameras, etc, something big has to go wrong over the next seven years.  We will have to wait and see. And I got a special non glare coating putting on my windshield, something Evie wanted.  That's it...no more bucks for my car.  And just as I thought that yesterday, I got a package via Fed EX  with the info for getting a New York state license plate, for paying the sales tax on my car here in New York. Yikes.  It never ends.

While I was in Erie, Evie did what she dislikes the most, she shopped in Lakewood, at Wegman's, with her Wegman's app on her iPhone, which tells her not only what is on her list, but also where to find it, what aisle.  And to top off this experience, she paid with Apple Pay on her iPhone. Her second least favorite thing is to shop for, clothes, so she perused the L.L. Bean catalog and ordered a few things from them, easy and free returns.  Yippee.  

Leftover hamburger stroganoff sounded good for dinner, so Evie boiled some extra noodles, combined them with the stroganoff and we had plenty of dinner, in fact, I may have it for lunch today.   Waste not, want not.  And after buying a car, we are going on a budget!  We started a movie, The Sunshine State, directed by John Sayles, but its didacticism was obvious and boring, the outcome clear, so we watched the first new episode of The Daily Show, with Trevor Noah and we liked it and him.  He seemed genuine, poised, and funny.  We also watched the previous night's Stephen Colbert, his interview with Michelle Obama.  She comes across as an amazing First Lady, spontaneous, funny, articulate, smart and passionate about women's causes.  We both wondered where she has been the last year or two.

Even A Gray, Cloudy Morning Has Its Beauty

7:03

7:10

7:31

It's almost 8:00, Evie's up, NPR is on and the rain has started, to continue much of the day.  We need it so I am not worried and I will be in Erie for much of the day, to get a stress test, then stop at the Subaru dealer for a few things.  So I don't mind if it rains and Evie will also be off to Lakewood, to hit the various venues, perhaps the AT& T store to iron out a few problems with her new iPhone.  Of course, she followed the easy directions and, for whatever reason, the app does not work.  How many times does this happen with any kind of device!

Yesterday was mostly overcast with a few raindrops, nothing measurable.  We vowed to get some things done, like take out the air conditioners from the windows. Right, they are still there!  What did we do instead?  First, we decided that dam the weather; we would put on our slickers and kayak which we did for an hour.  And it didn't rain.  Almost no one was on the lake, an occasional fisherman, but that's it until next June...the lake is ours.  We were out for close to an hour, somewhat of a wind as we started out but at our backs on our paddle home.

It was noon by the time we returned, so I got a few things out of the way, a few thank you notes and my 'dear wife' made me tuna/cheese/tomato sandwiches, quickly broiled in the oven, a sandwich out of my childhood as I recall.  I watched another episode of Ray Donovan with my lunch, then read, napped, and took it easy the rest of the afternoon, occasionally hearing Evie curse and wondering what she was up to.  Setting up various apps, emails, addresses on her new phone of course, again a seemingly easy task that ends up not being so easy.  Give her a couple of more days and all will be right with the connected world.

We have vowed to get more walks or hikes in this fall, either morning or late afternoon, so we drove off to Bemus, carefully, in our new Subaru, parked and ran into our neighbors the Johnston's, having an ice cream cone.  We walked what used to be our favorite walk, back when we were here only on weekends, Lakeside Drive, about three miles, taking us around an hour.  Midway down the lake road, a car stopped, and another neighbor, Jeff V, had been out for a run in the park, blazing some of the new trails.  We look forward to exploring them the rest of the month.  Fortunately, we had an occasional drizzle, not enough to wet our jackets.  We felt virtuous when we finished, deserving of a couple of beers and Cubans at the Viking Club.  The club was not as busy as we thought, it being the last Cuban/Reuben night until next May.  And the bar was practically empty, though a number of tables were filled with some of the more well healed members.  We talked quite a bit with Jeff, the bartender we have  gotten to know.  Our sandwiches were great but neither of us could eat more than a half, so we have another left over dinner if we want or lunch.

We were home by 8:00, in time to watch my son Tommy's Kansas City Chiefs look terrible in the first quarter, falling behind by a couple of touchdowns.  He's off to the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland today, to pitch his company's business.  They would make a high powered customer.

We watched a couple of more episodes of VEEP, not the best, filled with lots of profanities and silly scenarios, wondering if this is really what politics is like on the hill?  Maybe...certainly the salty language and ridiculous characters are there...just think of Ted Cruz or Louie Gomert from Texas. They both belong in this series.  Around 10:30, I went up to read my Jack Reacher, not my favorite by far but I will stick with it.  Too much description, not enough plot or action for me.

A Gray and Overcast Fall Morning

Blood Moon

7:31

I was up at 6:20, always surprised at how dark it still is at that hour.  It has rained just a bit overnight, the lawn damp, no puddles on the road.  It was mild out, 58º and should only get into the high 60's later in the day, a good day to stay inside but I want to get out and hike or kayak.  

Sunday was windy, cool, a sky and lake of deep blue, perfect for football (watching, too), a walk, cutting the grass or kayaking and between Evie and me, we did all of them.  We did not want to move from our couch early but by 10:00, guilt overcame the pleasure of laying in, so we drove off to the Chautauqua Institution, never tiring of perambulating its stage like streets.  Evie brought her new iPhone along because one of the apps measures the number of steps we took on our hour walk, just about 6000.  We stopped briefly to talk with a women whose family bought, in 1954, the land and built a home on southerly yard of Packard Manor.  It was your typical one story ranch, great views, small rooms and windows. Well, it was razed over the weekend and they are rebuilding on the same plot, a sad but exciting move for her.  We talked for about 15 minutes about how these summer homes become part of the lives of one's entire family, kids, grandkids, etc.  It will be fun to watch it rise.  We took our time, enjoying the fall foliage, the fallen leaves, already crunching beneath our shoes before stopping at the Lighthouse for a few things.  We met up with one of the kids who works on our boat and set up a time for him to winterize my boat, power wash it, getting it ready for next year.  We then bought tomatoes at a roadside stand before getting home just after noon.  It was time for Sunday breakfast, so Evie quickly made me eggs, bacon and bagels, the good life.

We both worked outside, Evie cutting the yard, me cleanings some of the chairs and beginning to put things away for the winter.  We were tempted to go for a boat ride but the winds were too unpredictable.  But I got tired of sitting inside and watching football, reading about Jack Reacher, so I went for a forty five minute kayak paddle, fighting the wind and waves to Long Point, then across to Wells Bay, and then catching waves on the way home.  A few boats were out, one even pulling a tube, enjoying the waning days of summer.  

Partial:9:29

More Partial: 9:44

Almost A Full Eclipse: 10:02

Around 6:00, Evie put together one of our go to comfort foods, something we have been making on and off for fifty years, hamburger stroganoff.  I know it sounds terrible but it's so good, lots of mushrooms, sour cream, ground beef, campbell's cream of chicken soup, over noodles.  We watched an older movie,  The Hours, based on Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs. Dalloway, though mixing her story with that of two more modern women, one played by Julianne Moore in the 1950's, the other by Meryl Streep in the year 2001.  We both liked it and I really enjoyed the book by Michael Cunningham.

We then decided to watch the much ballyhooed VEEP, interspersing it with running outside to watch the eclipse of the moon.  The blood or super moon was amazing and we were fortunate that the clouds dispersed so we could view it.  Wow.  A Great Week!

A Great Week Ends With A Bang

7:17

7:18

8:03

It's after 8:00 as I begin my blog this morning, the sky partly cloudy, the sun hidden behind them.  I was up around 7:20, just as the sun was rising above the horizon into a clear, blue sky.  It's 52º and for some reason I thought, "This is a fall morning," the sky, fallen leaves, cool temperatures.  No regrets as we love fall as much as summer if not more especially here at Chautauqua Lake.

Yesterday was taken over by a 'big surprise,' the arrival of Evie's birthday present albeit a week later. Fortunately, I had already taken two trips to the Transfer Station, one for trash, one for iron dock pieces that have been sitting around for years.  Anyways, she was prepared for something special as our son Tom told her to make sure she was home Saturday morning between 9:00 and 1:00.  This of course got her thinking, what could it be.  She thought back to a week ago when her granddaughter, Marlena said, 'Granny, you are going to love it.".  Well, surprise, Tom and Mary sent her a brand new iPhone 6s, wonderfully packaged and now Evie can find join the 21st century: she has an iPhone like everyone else in our family except your yours truly who, honestly, does not want one.  I am happy with my dumb phone and I rarely get a call.  Anyways, back to Evie.  The rest of the day was taken over by this darn phone, setting it up, figuring out all the various apps and how to use them. Fortunately, about a half hour after getting the phone, Tom and Marlena called on FaceTime and spent the next hour and a half helping Evie to set up the phone.  I have to say Marlena, our seventh grader, was as knowledgeable about the phone set up as Tommy,  In fact, Tommy finally suggested, after an hour, that Evie just work with Marlena; he needed to take a shower.  So the two of them continued to set up things on the phone.  I meanwhile sat around looking up passwords and codes needed to access email, credit cards (for apple pay) Pandora (for music), icloud (for sharing) and Evie even decided to change her email address to icloud making things easier.  And syncing her iPhone with Ipad took some time.

Our Neighbors Sailing At Dusk

By the time everything was finished, Evie was a wreck, not having concentrated and thought this hard since she retired along with me six years ago.  So around 5:30, she finally set the phone down and put together some dinner, the makings for tacos.  And we then sat down on our porch to celebrate our amazing week, a new car and iPhone 6s in the same week, with a  perfect Manhattan (with Martini and Rossi's Bianco, not Sweet Vermouth) and listened to Garrison Keeler, who was featuring one of our favorite blue grass singers, Sierra Hull.  It was a typical fall evening on the lake, warm enough to sit outside on the porch not in the yard because of the wind.  Sierra Hull was good, especially her mandolin playing.  By the time we had dinner, it was late, 8:30, so we watched Bill Maher's Real Time, some HGTV, then went up to bed, me to read the new Jack Reacher novel, not his best but decent.  So ends a great day, an amazing week.  I am sure Evie spent the night dreaming about driving her new Subaru, using her new iPhone.

Dawn Oeuvres

6:44

6:49

6:51

6:58

I know I probably have said this before but each morning is like waking up to a masterpiece.  This morning was no exception as I kept walking out to take photograph after photograph, each morning sky better than the last. And this morning was a bit special as I was serenaded to the the singing of the National Anthem, then Rocky's Theme by the Long Point Marina's speaker system, heralding the beginning of a fishing tournament, all before 7:00.  That was a first.

Yesterday we woke up with resolve, to get things done in and out of the house.  But by the time we got back from a fine kayak paddle, that resolve had dissipated, so we mostly wasted or relaxed the rest of the day, occasionally breaking the leisure for lunch or dinner but that was about it for the day.

It did feel good to be out on the lake again, like we hadn't been kayaking in ages (it had been four days). When we got back, both of us were shocked by the number of leaves that had fallen on our lawn over the past three or four days.  I was surprised Evie didn't immediately gas up the mower and start mulching.

Earlier in the week, I had gotten calls from both Ashville and Smith Libraries, to notify me that I had books on hold.  So I jumped in my new Subaru and took off to get my books, trying to figure out how to work the various gadgets as I drove.  I successfully figured out how to use the 'cruise control' but that was about it.  I will have to wait for Evie to give me a quick education on the radio and GPS. And now that I have three cars, we have a parking problem to solve as well as what to do with one or two during the winter.  Leave them out in the Chautauqua cold or  rent a space in a barn.  I eventually will get rid of one of them, but they both have their advantages so for now, I will put off making a decision, no surprise.

Much of the afternoon, Evie fought the winds on the dock, finally succumbing and moving to the porch. Fortunately, the book she had been reading, which had expired on her Ipad, I was able to find at the library so she was happy.  Around 6:00, Evie found the mojo to start dinner, one of our favs, scallops with garlic, vermouth, chicken broth and lemon, served over pasta.  Yum...it's the best. We also had corn, still quite good and a salad, and we watched the last compelling episode of The Fall, as good as we hoped.  By the time it ended, we were tired enough to go up to bed.

Indian Summer Days - The Parkview, Westfield, New York

7:16

7:25

A lovely morning on the lake, sunny with a bit of haze, warm for late September, 55º at the moment but will get up to the 70's later in the day and, best of all, it should be this way for the next five days. We will be kayaking in the morning, cruising in the afternoon, squeeze every drop of boating out of these amazing days.

Yesterday was a big day for us, especially Evie, as we got our new car, a Subaru Outback with all the bells and whistles.  We were going to pick it up in the afternoon but Evie could not wait, so we went early.  It was painless...just write a check for what a house would have cost in the 1970's and you have a new car.  Shocking!  Once that was done, once they tantalized us with extras, like maintenance plans for an extra four years or glare free window cover, at a cost of course.  It took the salesman a good hour to walk Evie, with me sitting in the back seat, through all the gadgets, the GPS, the Sirius radio, the Eyesight Assist, so that by the end, I was confused but Evie was catching on.  I was happy to drive our Accord home, so Evie took off for Chautauqua in our new car, a happy gal, music blasting, moon roof open, on cruise control, with pre collision break assist.  Wow.

We returned to another beautiful day on the lake, wasted in a way by our excursion to Erie but we have more great days to come, no doubt.  We did little the rest of the afternoon; I sat down and looked through a virtual bookshelf of booklets and pamphlets on the car, familiarizing myself with all of its warranties, maintenance schedules, and how to manuals.

Dinner At The Parkview in Westfield, NY

At 6:00. we picked up our neighbors, Ken and Marjoie Scholtz in our new Subaru, drove to Katawkwa, just beyond the CI and picked up Charlie Tea because we were going to Westfield to try a new restaurant, at least to us, called The Parkview which, interesting enough, is right next door to one of our favorite restaurants in the area, Brazill's.  We had just had dinner there this past Saturday night to celebrate Evie's birthday.  The Parkview is lovely inside, narrow but fairly deep, with about ten tables.  Our table was waiting for us, with menus and chargers.  Unfortunately, it was a slow night, just one other couple, but we really enjoyed our meal.  One of the  owner's, Ed,  introduced himself, and helped the server, Phillip, with our meals.  We had wine or beer, no hard liquor yet then looked through the great menu, making it hard to decide on a meal.  I had chicken pot pie, highly recommended and Evie and chicken cordon bleu.  Everyone loved their meals, and we liked the atmosphere, simple and restrained, mostly whites on walls and table cloths.   Ed's husband,  David D'Amico, who was working in the kitchen, and his son was our waiter, Phillip, so it's all in the family.  Their chef is a young woman who graduated from a highly thought of culinary institute.  We highly recommend it to anyone who wants a great meal.

Chicken Pot Pie

We made it up safely, as I was nervous driving a new car, by 8:45 after saying aloha to Charlie who will return to Pittsburgh until next summer, after closing down his house early next week.  We watched the penultimate episode of The Fall, a BBC series, and will finish it up tonight.  It's been a long haul, ten episodes, with lots of ups and downs.  Still, I would recommend it.

Back To The Grid (After Hiking Letchworth Park Gorge)

Foggy Morning at 7:17

It feels like it has been days but actually I have only missed one morning sunrise here at the lake, that was Wednesday.  It is always good to come home, to your own bed, back to wifi after a long trip of 36 hours.  This morning the lake is obscured by fog, only the dock is visible and it's 52º. Today is a big day for us...we write a big check and come home with a new Subaru Outback.  Scary stuff.

Resting During Our Climb

We spent most of yesterday at Letchworth State Park, heading home to the lake around 3:00.  It was another clear, warm day.  We started our day with breakfast in the Inn: eggs, sausage, home fries and toast.  We don't usually like breakfast out but this was a good day to have it.  We ended up talking with another interesting couple, from Binghamton, NY, also here for a day.  We have met a number of couples that we have struck up conversations with and if we were staying longer, we might suggest having dinner together.  We met another couple on our hike later in the afternoon, a couple we had talked with Tuesday night, and visited with them for a good twenty minutes, finding out about their lives and we both wish we had more time to talk.

Upper Falls

After breakfast, we checked out, put our bags in the car and drove to the parking lot above the Upper falls, near the railroad bridge.  We then hiked down five to ten sets of steps, so that we could get a picturesque view of the falls and the bridge.  The view was almost worth it as we then had to climb back up these steps to get to the car, more than a good workout on a stair machine at the YMCA.

We then stopped at the Letchworth Museum, across the road from the Glen Iris and browsed it and its native American artifacts and history of the park for a half hour.  Letchworth comes across as not only a philanthropist but a humanist, contributing time and money to the dispossessed, the poor, homeless, even prisoners.  An amazing American.

The Gorge Beyond The Falls

We then drove to another section of the gorge, towards the north end, parked our car at the St. Helena lot and hiked to Wolf's Den, about forty five minutes through pine forests, with a final climb down some steep steps to the picnic area, abutting a huge water fall.  We sat and relaxed on some rocks near the origin of the falls, then walked back to St. Helena.  We were tempted by a sign at St. Helena's that mentioned a path down to the Genesse River, about a mile in length.

Evie was all for it, so we parked our car and headed down the road, steep at first but it quickly and fortunately flattened out.  It took about twenty minutes to get to the river and vast shore of rocks.  It was sunny, warm, and we were the only ones on the river, so what did we do?  Stripped down to our shorts and went into the water, wading and cooling off because it was fairly shallow.  Evie loved it, of course, and ended up sitting on a rock in the water eating her lunch.  We stayed there, enjoying the sun and water, looking at rocks, for about an hour before walking back up the path to our car. It was a good choice.  By the time we got to our car, we had enough hiking, having walked over four miles, much of it up hill.  We were ready to head home.

Happy Rock Sitting On The Genesse River

Our ride home was easy and scenic, as the valleys and tree filled hills around the Ellicottville area were just starting to turn gold.  What a beautiful part of the state, as scenic as any of the venues in the East.  We stopped in Ellicottville for a coffee, browsed in a shop briefly, then drove home, getting back at 5:30. The lake was still there, blue and inviting but we resisted the temptation to go for a swim to assuage our sore muscles.

We unpacked, relaxed in our living room, with a glass of wine, happy to be back on our Ipad and computer.  I finished and published my blog, eight hours later than usual, as we agonized over which photographs to include.  Dinner was a no brainer, hot dogs and a salad, no fuss, no muss, and watched two more episodes of The Fall, a series which is becoming increasingly maddening, as they are drawing out the eventual capture of the serial killer.  What could have been five episodes is being  drawn out to ten.  Bed at 10:30 felt good but the smoke alarm going off at 12:30 was enough to make me want to rip it out of the ceiling.  This happened four days ago, so I changed the batteries and that night, all seemed well.  Obviously it's not.

Hiking The Grand Canyon Of The East (Letchworth State Park)

The Midde Falls, From Glen Iris Inn

It’s 7:00 and I am sitting here in our tiny room. Like something out of a doll house, at the Glen Iris Inn, overlooking the Middle Falls at Letchworth Park, 96 miles from Woodlawn.  There’s just enough room for two single beds, a dresser and just enough space to get in and out, not much more…not your Comfort, I mean Hampton Inn. 

We left the lake around 8:15, a surprisingly cloudy day, so we were wondering what it was going to be like at the park.  The drive was pleasant, once we got off of #86 at Randolph and started heading to Ellicottville, then Arcade, a neat little town with its own steam engine train, which takes people for two hour trips on weekends.  We stopped there for a coffee and sandwich, as its only about forty five minutes from the park.  This is the third time I have been to the park, the second time with Evie.  As we got closer, there’s a huge wind farm I had forgotten about, set obviously on farmlands, thirty to forty of them, huge windmills on both sides of the road.

View Of Genesee River Gorge From Hiking Trail

We stopped at the Visitor’s Center, got maps, then parked at the Glen Iris, hoping to get a ride to the other end of the gorge, so we could hike back.  They were working on the road, so there was little traffic, so we just decided to hike the gorge trail from the Glen Iris about half way, to Lee’s Landing, where they put the canoes in and back.  The pathway along the gorge is great for hiking, usually a stone wall on the river side, affording the hikers views of the gorge, the Middle and Lower Falls, and the walk is usually in the shade of a pine forest, so it was cool much of the way.  We passed up walking to the Lower Falls since we did it last year but may do it this morning.  We had our lunch after two hours of hiking, around 1:15 at an area that also had a restaurant open for lunch, which we did not realize or we would not have brought our lunch.  Our hike back seemed long, as we were both tired, my feet were sore from my shoes, so we did not ogle the gorge on our way back.  Surprisingly, we did not see many people hiking the Gorge trail like us, perhaps a total of ten or twelve though at various venues, like the Lower Falls, there were lots of parked cars and people.  We ended up walking for six miles; no wonder my feet were sore.  

We got back to our starting point, the Glen Iris Inn, about 3:00, checked in and relaxed in our room for an hour or so.  I took a nap, Evie read and about 4:30, we went downstairs, sat on their great outdoor porch, had a beer, and talked some with couples from Williamsville and Lakeview, one who was celebrating their 25^th anniversary.  In fact, it seemed like most couples were our age, celebrating birthdays or anniversaries. 

The Falls And Youth

We then walked down to the Middle Falls, just out side the porch of the Inn and watched as three crazy guys somehow worked their way down the cliff to the seemingly still waters, just before the falls edge.  In fact, as the pictures show, they walked up to the edge of the falls, sat down on the wet rocks, looking straight down to the bottom.  They walked and fooled around out there for at least 15 minutes, then started back.  We happened to be walking by when they climbed up the cliff, so we got their email to send them pictures, crazy youths but kind of cool, all from Dunkirk and the Fredonia area.  As we continued our walk, a police car drove up, a policewoman jumped out and ran up asking if were people in the water (strictly against park rules).  We said there were but they were long gone, so she got back in her car and drove off.

The Falls And The Stick Figures

Strolling

Testing The Waters

Settling In

Crazy Youth

We got back to the Inn’s porch about 6:15, and I got cleaned up and Evie stayed down and ordered us another beer, which we enjoyed as the sky began to darken.  We went into the dining room at 7:00, with about ten other couples.  We like the dining room, old fashion and not too busy.  We ordered a great bottle of wine,  Apothic, a blend, and we both ordered the same thing, New York strips with onion rings.  Needless to say, we were happy with a turtle cheesecake for dessert.  We did not finish until about 9:00 when we went outside, walked down the road a ways to take pictures of the falls and sky at night, then went upstairs, to our tiny bedroom to read and fall asleep, no wifi, no phone connections in this part of the world.

Glen Iris Inn

Enjoying The Porch

Writing My Blog After A Day Of Hiking

A note on the park. It’s called ‘The Grand Canyon of The East,’ and comprises 14,350 acres along the Genesee River.  Within the park, there are three water falls, one which is 107 feet high.  The cliffs on either side of the river reach up to 600 feet.  We stayed at the Glen Iris Inn, the former home of  William Pryor Letchworth, whose philanthropic efforts at preserving the area made the park possible.

Night Sky

We will have breakfast at the Inn sometime this morning, then drive off to the Upper Falls, do some more hiking, then seven miles north to the St. Helena picnic area and do some more hiking  before heading back to the lake, but stopping in Ellicottville to browse, perhaps eat. 

An Overnight Trip To Letchworth State Park (Glen Iris Inn)

6:41

7:28

7:35

We are hoping to be off to Letchworth State Park by 8:00, so we are both up by 6:30, and have a lot more to do than we thought.  A huge cloud bank fills Bemus Bay but its supposed to be a sunny cool day, perfect for a hike along the Letchworth Gorge.

Yesterday was cool, breezy, with blue skies and lots of puffy clouds.  For some reason, we did not take advantage of it like we should of, perhaps because we were thinking about our trip this morning. Even though its just an overnight, the decisions we have to make, what to take, what to leave behind, can be maddening.  As much as we have traveled, one would think it gets easier but it doesn't.  It just gets harder and we always over pack, thinking that it's no big deal if we have an extra this or that. Well, it adds up, so we bring an extra bag.  We are hoping to get every thing in a duffel this time, no blue IKEA bags this trip because we are staying in an Inn, not our kids homes.

So, what did we do yesterday?  We drove off to Falconer, to Roberts Nursery because they had some nice privets in June, said they would be half price in late September, so we waited, too long  as it turned out because they were out of them, just our luck.  We are also looking for a tree to take the place of the one we lost in June.  They had a couple of maples on sale, 50% off, and an Autumn  Red Sunset was only 120 bucks, with a three inch trunk.  Of course, there's a cost to transporting it and planting it but it still seems like a good price.  And, after googling the tree, I liked it even more.  We will have to wait and see if we pull the trigger.  We are not good at that though we did buy a car so maybe we have changed.  We also stopped at Home Depot, to pick up batteries for our annoying smoke alarms which went off in the middle of the night, telling us I suppose it was time to change the batteries.  We also looked at refrigerators but they very few in stock that we liked and the one we were looking for, was not available and we don't want to buy one unless we can see it, catch 22.

We were home around 12:30, tired from shopping and not finding what we wanted.  So I made my lunch, avocado and tomato sandwiches, some cauliflower soup and watched another episode of Ray Donovan.  Evie quickly cleaned up the kitchen, then went out to enjoy the outdoors.  It was too windy on the dock so she went to the side year, protected from the wind and read and dozed.  Around 4:00, I took a walk through the Woodlawn/Victoria woods, a nice circle but at the moment, it's overgrown, so I went up with a rake and hacked away at the trail, making it easier to hike.  There are a number of trees down across the trail so if we want to cross country ski in the winter, we are going to have to remove them with a saw.

Neither of us felt like prepping much for dinner, so we had a Turkish omelet, toast, leftover stuffed portabellos and sweet corn.  And just to add a little class, Evie made a peach crisp late afternoon, so with a scoop of ice cream, we were more than happy with our meal.  We watched two more episodes of The Fall, then Bill Maher's Real Time, then off to bed.''

Tomorrow's blog will not be published until noon or later as the park we are visiting, the Glen Iris Inn where we are staying has no wifi.  So we are going to live without the internet for twenty four hours.  Yuk.

Nothing Like BLT's (A Chilly Morning)

Painting By Our Daughter Beth Reminds Me of This Morning's Sunrise Below

6:51

7:14

8:03

It's 7:30, the sun bright in the partly cloudy sky, the lake empty and wrinkled by a light wind, as I sit here listening to Morning Joe.  When I woke, the sky was vivid pink, which quickly disappeared as the sun began to rise.  It's 46º, the chilliest morning in five months and it feels good.

Yesterday was an authentic fall like day, in the 60's most of the day, sunny, blue skies, puffy clouds. After a leisurely morning, we decided to drive to the Chautauqua Institution, our usual routine over the years on Sunday morning, and go for an hour walk around the grounds.  We were both energized by the cool weather, enjoyed the walk, the ubiquitous porches, the front yards filled with flowers, lots of hostas, hydrangeas, perennials and annuals.  We struck up a conversation with one of the locals who lives in the CI, out walking her kids dog, how typical.  They had rebuilt their lakefront house a couple of years ago and tried to make the new one similar to the old one.  We vaguely remember her old house before it was torn down.  We stopped for corn on the way home, were tempted by the pumpkins, now displayed in full force, many shapes, many prices.  When we got home, Evie made me a Turkish omelet, eggs, tomatoes, olive oil and feta cheese, the best.

And then we returned to our typical September day, Evie on the dock, wrapped in a towel when the wind picked up, reading and sunning, me watching the Bills get destroyed by the Patriots before going out and joining her.  We both went for a swim, the water taking on that autumn chill, perhaps because of the recent rain.  At 4:00, we drove to Bemus, to see what was going on during the Bemus Point Fall Fest.  There were still lots of visitors, stands selling their wares, a band playing on the floating stage, an audience of, sadly, three or four people.  We browsed, bought some honey from a gal we had met at Pine Junction with her in laws.  She raises bees, eggs, and sells them to the locals. We then headed to Jamestown, stopped at Peterson Farms and to Evie's delight, concord grapes are abundant, so we bought a basket, more peaches and tomatoes.

Perusing The Chalk Walk Drawings

Reality?

We were gong to Jamestown to support the once cancelled Chalk Walk, something we have attended the past couple of years.  Artists compete for prizes by drawing on the sidewalks.  Unfortunately, because the walk was rained out on Saturday, there were only twenty contestants, far below last year's numbers.  We spent only about forty five minutes walking around before voting for the best and then driving to Wegman's, to pick up things for our trip to Letchworth State Park on Tuesday.

Fish Bowl

Library Politics

Drawn By A Nine Year Old Boy

Desi Arnez

Lucy

We got home in time to enjoy the setting sun, the darkening living room, with a glass of wine and some cheese and crackers.  By the time Evie was ready to make us dinner, BLT's, it was dark.  And as the title suggests, there's nothing like a BLT with home grown tomatoes and lots of bacon.  I had four small sandwiches, the last one, just tomatoes, the best.  We watched the Emmy's Red Carpet, then the Emmy's until we tired of the same old people getting the awards.  I thought American Crime ought to have won something but it was all VEEP.  I guess we better try it again; it became so silly in the second season that we turned it off.

New Think: "Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work." Gustave Flaubert