A Morning Of Clear, Blue Cloudless Skies

6:56

7:41

Yep, up at 6:00, a tinge of light because of the lack of clouds.  I listened to Only A Game, waiting for the sun.  It started to rise at 7:38, full orb by 7:40, blinding anyone who tried to look at it.  It's a chilly 41º morning, deliciously cool, good sleeping weather.  It looks like a perfect day for a drive into Euclid, Ohio, for the annual Holzheimer clambake on the shores of Lake Erie, great fun.

Early Morning Fog Kayaking

Yesterday was sunny and cool, the high getting into the 60's, again, the reason why we love the fall her at Chautauqua Lake.  And the colors are starting to burst on the trees, this weekend perhaps being the peak leaf peeper time.  So what did we do?  First, I went kayaking, the lake too inviting to stay on the couch.  We then did our duty, driving to Mayville, to get our absentee ballot, only to find out we could vote right there, after filling out a form, getting the ballot, filling in the circle with a pen for our preferred candidates, then putting the ballot in a envelop, sealing it, signing, and returning it to the election person.  It's fairly easy to vote, as we stick with mostly candidates for our party, like most people I assume, even if you have not heard of them. I did vote for Kathy Young, a Republican because a friend, also a democrat told me that if the State House goes democratic, all the monies will go to the New York City area, not to our part of the state.  So I voted for my self interest, not a party in that instance.  Interestingly, we did not even know that Chuck Schumer, probably the most important and powerful Senator in the Senate was up for re-election.  Clearly, he was such a shoo-in that he did not have to campaign.

Mayville's Rails To Trails

Hiking In Solitude

Afterwards, we parked out car in the Mayville Health Center's parking lot and walked the nearby Rails To Trails for about an hour, out and back.  It was a beautiful walk through a cathedral of multi color leaves, both above and below.  We have not been on this trail in a year or two so it was a good choice.   We stopped at the Lighthouse, picked up a beef on wick sandwich for lunch, and stopped at Linda and Ron's home, to congratulate them on the finalizing the closing of their new house.  We were home around 1:30, and I heated up a bowl of lentil soup which Evie had made earlier in the morning.  Lunch was perfect, soup, a beef on wick sandwich, and chips.  I was a happy guy.  Evie spent much of the afternoon enjoying the dock, only coming in when it got too cold, a result of the wind.  I read, joined her for a bit and came in as well when it got too cool.

Rails To Trails Pond And Trees

For dinner, Evie had found a recipe in The New York Times that sounded good and easy, a beef and macaroni casserole.  And like all easy recipes, it took a good hour to put it together, topping it with a white sauce.  The prep was made easier by a glass of pinot grigio and me around to do the cleanup. The results were not 'your mother's macaroni and beef casserole,' much better, richer, with cheese but little tomato sauce.  With bread and a salad,  it was delicious.

Twilight Moon Over Bemus Bay

We watched the news as more women came forward to accuse the Donald of 'groping,' no surprise.  And we enjoyed Showtime's political look at the election called The Circus, and  a couple of HBO's programs, one, John Oliver, the other, their new news program, Vice.  I did not finish my book, THE NIX, so I was notified this morning that it had expired.