Another Morning Of Waiting For The Sun To Rise

6:23

7:02

7:05

Well, I have been up and about for over an hour.  At first light, the clouds obscured the sun's rise, then it burst through in full glory, no clouds blocking its blinding rays.  Interestingly, when I got up at 6:00, only the crescent moon was visible.  It then started to lighten, some clouds rimmed in pink and it stayed that way until the sun began to make its entrance, lighting the edges of the clouds before blooming, another special morning on the lake.

Yesterday along with today may be our last hot and humid day on the lake unless we have some Indian summer days later in the month.  Rain is forecast for the afternoon and the temperatures may still rise to 80º before it rains.  As I mentioned, we desperately need some rain, the lawns brown, the plants beginning to wilt, leaves brown.  The lake is empty except for our neighbor's ski boat which just rushed by, pulling a skier, a typical morning occurrence, as they, too, are up early and love skiing on a smooth lake.

We began yesterday with a nice paddle to Long Point, Evie looking for goodies abandoned along the lake shore, finding only a rubber ball.  We did notice a huge bird perched up on the top of a tree and Evie took mega pictures, trying to identify it.  We are not sure but we think it's some kind of a hawk. I know I have mentioned this before but the lake, after Labor Day and during the week, is practically empty of boaters.

Some Kind of Hawk?

I had to get back to pick up my neighbor, Bill Leonard, who had dropped his boat off at a old marina, up the Chadakoin River in Jamestown.  Dave Lawson, who owns this decrepit building on the Chadakoin, used to own and run the Marina, now Boat Museum, in Bemus Point where we bought Evie's kayak some 18 years ago.  His family has most likely owned these buildings for close to a hundred years.  What will happen to them when he dies is a mystery.  He has lots of stories about the lake, its history and someone ought to put it down on paper.  Afterwards, we stopped at Peterson's Farm Market and I picked up a basket of amazing peaches, a watermelon, and a fresh cabbage for a buck, a deal.  We have been having cole slaw with every meal because its so fresh.  I returned a book at one of the areas 'little libraries', usually in an old house, crowded with about ten people, most using the computers.

I returned home at 12:30 and neither Evie nor I could resist eating a couple of the peaches before lunch.  I made a bagel with fresh tomato slices and salmon spread, to go with my home made black bean soup.  I watched some of the US Open, then Longmire, while Evie went out on the dock to read, sun and swim, knowing her days are numbered for 'dock weather.'  I got a phone call from the Ashville Library, letting me know I book I reserved was in, so I drove to Ashville to pick up Jonathan Franzen's new novel, PURITY.  I started it but am not sure I like it, especially the main character, as he tries to cram too much into a situation, mostly dialogue, little story, so I am putting it down for now and 'may' pick it up later.  Around 3:30, we went for a long cruise, up to the northern end of the lake, to Mayville, then back along the eastern shoreline, taking our time, fighting a surprising wind and chop on the way back.  In fact, we both thought we might have gotten wind burn when we returned to the dock.  Around 6:00, we sat out on the dock, enjoying a libation, the slow end of the day.   We took a quick paddle over to Long Point and back, just to feel what it was like to be on the water, surrounded by sky and a oil like liquid lake.  We came back, took a quick swim, the water so clear we could see the bottom even when we were out over our head.

Dinner, at Evie's request, was Sahlen hot dogs, sweet corn, leftover hash browns, and cole slaw.  I stuffed my dogs with cole slaw, supposedly southern style, and was a happy guy.  We watched a movie on DVD called HATESHIP LOVESHIP.  I ordered it because I thought the title referred to an Alice Munro short story and the movie starred Christine Wiig, from Saturday Night Live, who I really like.  The movie was a bit slow to  get into, a quiet story of a professional caretaker, a sad friendless, gullible women who stumbles into the most unlikely of situations and falls in love, saving her life and her husbands.  No bells or whistles, just a slow slide into love.