A Wild, Windy Morning Of Gray

7:00

8:14

I was up at 6:10, ready for bear but settled on coffee and a blanket to keep me warm on a 46º morning.  Bass boats hit the ruffled waters at 7:00, obviously a fall tournament,  and I have yet to see the sun, just threatening gray clouds.  And the lake looks like a river this morning, flowing towards Jamestown and the mouth of the Chadakoin River.

Morning Visitor

Yesterday rain was forecast although early, it was only blue skies and a calm lake.  So I was able to get a good paddle in before the winds and clouds arrived.  When I returned, Chris, who helps with our boat, adjusted the shift cable and we are good to go.  Evie was getting her hair trimmed by Jaret at 11:30, so she wanted to get some things done before she left.  So she worked on one of the upstairs bedrooms, cleaning the blinds, time consuming, and washing the windows.  I helped by washing the screens, taking them out and putting them back in.  By 11:00, the windows were done and Evie was off for the afternoon, at Jaret's then shopping at TJ's and Sam's Club.

Since Evie would be gone for a couple of hours, I decided to go for a bike ride as the rain was not supposed to arrrive until after 2:00.  So I drove to Mayville around 11:30, parked my bike at the Lighthouse Grocery and rode my bike through Mayville, down Sea Lion Drive to the end and back, in, of course, a drizzle, so I was soaking wet by the time I returned to the Lighthouse.  I did ride on the new asphalt path along the lake in Mayville, which eventually will continue all the way to Westfield.  I decided to get a hoagie from the Lighthouse and picked up a couple of bags of Utz chips and some chip dip for a snack, Evie's favorite.  When I got home, I took a quick shower to warm up, heated up some lentil soup, and had half a hoagie as I watched FNL. 

Hail

Ducks Duck The Storm

Evie got home around 2:30 and I helped unpack the car, filled with a small bag of clothes and staples.  Around 3:30, the rain finally hit, heavy winds and hail for all of ten minutes and that was it for the rain for the day. 

4:46

6:18

We decided to have our once a week Manhattan night, with appetizers, chips, swiss cheese and crackers.  It was a great idea, as the sky was amazing, blue sky and white puffy clouds which kept us taking photos all through our cocktail hour. 

6:50

Finally, the sky darkened around 7:15, time  for dinner.  We had a rotisserie chicken from Sam's and baked potatoes and a slaw salad, easy and good.  We watched some Friday night TV, not even sure what at the moment, probably CNN and MSNBC and Fox News for a laugh.  It was good to get back to my book. 

46º And The Fog Rolls In

6:39

6:49

7:18

7:18

7:19

 I was up at 5:45, went outside to a sky filled with stars, amazing to see so early in the day.  It was chilly, 46º, what a difference from the 88º 36 hours earlier.  It was fun to watch the fog roll in, the clouds begin to dissipate, the sky lightens up, turns almost a rosy cream at the moment. A blue heron just flew by, joining the squawking seagulls, the floating ducks.  It's 8:45 and I just got back from kayaking, a bizarre morning as in the middle of the lake I could hear the mooing of cows.  And when I got home, our boat guy, Chris, was adjusting the shift cable on our boat, as it was skipping when I put it into gear.  Good news...just an adjustment was needed.

Into The Fog

Yesterday was a relief from the heat and humidity of the previous day.  And for the first time in a week, we had a windy day.  The temperature got up to the 60's midday, so it was a pleasant day to be outside.  Around 10:00, we wanted to get in a kayak morning, a big mistake.  We got about 50 yards from our dock when we hit the wind and waves, so we went with the waves down to Victoria and had to fight our way back to our house.  We then got busy as there is always something to do.  Evie worked in the house and I decided to downsize my garage's attic, again. throwing out stuff I have not used in the past five years.  I am sure in the next six months, I will need at least one of the items I threw away but I can live with it.  I gathered all the stuff, gave it the Evie test and she agreed, it all should be tossed. Evie meanwhile was working on the upstairs bedrooms, so I went up and we pulled the air conditioners out of the windows, thinking they would no longer be necessary now that fall has really arrived.

I had another dentist appointment at 1:00, so I had a light lunch, the lentil soup Evie had made earlier in the day.  I was having some discomfort with the new crowns, so the dentist readjusted my bite and I hope that helps.  I stopped at Peterson's Farmstand, hoping to pick up some Concord grapes but they were sour, so I just bought some tomatoes.  Evie was well on her way to finishing mowing the lawn when I got home, chopping up lots of fallen leaves.  It finally feels like fall, the cool temperatures, the changing trees, the quiet neighborhood.

We did not do much the rest of the afternoon. The extent of my action was to think about riding my bike.  We showered around 5:00 because we were having dinner at our neighbor's, Ken and Marjorie's home at 6:00.  It was warm enough to sit out on their front porch with a fleece.  We enjoyed a glass of wine, appetizers, and talked about the end of the season, as Charlie, another mutual friend was closing up his house for the winter and heading up to Pittsburgh until next June.

Friends and Neighbors From Pittsburgh

We had a great dinner, corn, chicken/peach enchiladas and black beans and rice and for dessert, a peach and grape pie from Portage Pie in Westfield.  We stayed until 9:00 when all of us lost our mojo and were ready to call it a day.  It was a nice way to end the season, start another one, the best, really, Autumn.  When we got home, we watched another Vice News, listened to the outrage over the Trump cabinets use of private jets before going to bed.

Gray Skies And Fall Temperatures Return

6:55

7:30

7:57

7:58

A very different morning after close to a week of Indian summer days.  It's cooled off precipitously, to 55º and the low tonight will be 43º.  It's also windy, a ruffled lake, a sky filled with threatening clouds, not an encouraging start to a kayak morning.

Yesterday may have been the hottest day of the year.  It was 88º on my weather device at 2:00 in the afternoon.  My morning was typical in that I had another good paddle, shot some interesting photographs of wildlife, then came home and got a few things done to get us ready for winter.  Evie did a deep cleaning of our TV room, blinds and windows, and rug, while I spent my time outside, cleaning the gunk off of the buoys before driving to Lakewood, to the opening of the new and approved Aldi's, a big deal as the parking lot was practically full.  It's larger and cleaner with more items, few that caught my interest.  I would prefer a Trader Joe's, which also owns Aldi's.  I, of course, got a coffee and stopped at the bank before coming home.

Evie had a lunch ready when I returned, a tuna and egg salad sandwich,  having finished the TV room.  And despite the heat, she spent a  good part of the afternoon, beneath the umbrella on our dock, occasionally jumping in the water to cool off.  I had my usual afternoon nap, finished up my book, THE GOOD FATHER, and briefly joined Evie on the dock but it got too hot for me so I put a chaise lounge in the shade of our trees and started a new book.

We both swam around 5:00, thinking it might be the last warm day for a swim.  The water was great and I worked on scrubbing the algae off my boat for 15 minutes before coming in and showering and getting ready for a boat ride to the Viking Club for wings.  We left about 6:00 on an increasingly windy afternoon and when waves broke over the bow, getting Evie soaked, with decided to return to our dock and drive over to the Club, as good choice as the wind only increased and the sky became more and more threatening although it never did rain.

Viking Clubbers

We found a seat at the bar and settled in for a fun night, getting to know a couple from Pittsburgh, Henry and Jan, who has a cottage in Maple Springs.  I had talked with Henry before and he is an avid fisherman.  Evie talked with them as I spent most of the evening talking with John, the proprietor of the Chautauqua Iron Works in Mayville.  He made a number of our dock pieces and we often see him at the Club. We got too many wings and fries, so we left almost half on our tray.  It was a fun night, as it was unusually crowded for a weeknight.  We were home just before 9:00, in time to watch another confusing episode of The Five and a Vice News.

Hunting For Herons And Ducks (with a camera)

A Handsome Male Wood Duck And His Mate

6:49

7:17

7:19

7:39 (from Evie's seat in the living room) (dirty window!)

I was up at 5:45, lots of stars still in the sky when I walked outside.  Now, at 7:00, we have a pink or rosy morning sky, as I wait for the sunrise in 20 minutes or so.  It's 65º and today may be our last day in the 80's this year, as tonight, the temperature drops and tomorrow's highs will be in the 60's, more fall like.  The lake is empty and calm, the only action seagulls flying by.  Oops, a bass boat just invaded my quiet time, filling the lake with its roar and waves.  It's 7:22, the sun rose three minutes ago and I am going to finish up this part of the blog so I can go kayaking.  I am back from heron and duck hunting with my camera.  I caught a couple of herons, a wood duck, and a couple of mallards.  Evie has worked with them, cropping and making sure the photos are blog worthy.  They are!

Mallard Among The Reeds

Blue Heron, Hunkered Down

A Stately Mallard

Looking For Breakfast

Yesterday began early with a kayak paddle, as I was on the lake by 7:20.  I took my usual paddle because I like paddling across the lake to Long Point, its tip straight across the lake from our living room window.  I scared a few herons out of the reeds but never got a chance to take a photograph.  A ski boat was out but not our neighbors who are usually up and out.

Paddling Home To Woodlawn

When I got home, I had my breakfast, finished the blog and wanted to go for a hike in Long Point but Evie had a few things she wanted to get done in the house so she suggested I go for a bike ride.  So I put my bike on the rack and drove across the bridge to Bemus, parked and rode along Lakeside Drive to Long Point State Park, and rode the trails, through the woods, out to Long Point and back to the car, an hour ride and enjoyable because its flat and often in the shade.  I then drove to Chautauqua Brick to pick up some sandpaper for sanding our pantry door after its spackled.

Biking Out To Long Point

When I got home, Evie was busy and suggested it might be time to bring in the buoys from our lakefront.  So, I rowed out to the buoys and pulled all nine of them out of the water, another one of the chores signals the end of the summer.  I undid the chains, stored the cement block anchors under the privets and put the buoys in my wheelbarrow, to clean later.  I felt righteous having had a busy morning and Evie rewarded me with a lunch of pork sandwiches with mayo and tomato and the last drop of the cauliflower soup.

After our busy morning, Evie took advantage of what might be one of the last summer-like days of fall and went out on the dock.  After my lunch, nap and some reading, I joined her hoping to take a swim but the algae was back, so neither of us went in.  I had enough around 4:00 and decided my car needed washing, a result of the pine sap and leaves falling on my car. It does not take long, about 15 minutes and washed some screens as Evie had been washing windows earlier in the day.

We both needed a pick me up, so we packed a cooler with two beers and went for a pleasant boat ride, down the lake, just beyond the Viking Club and back.  It was just what we needed, to be one of the few boats on the lake, a nice breeze cooling us on the 80º day, the lake calm.  We were back around 6:30 and Evie put together a healthy dinner, a salad with leftover salmon, hard boiled eggs, and various greens.  She also heated up a couple of sourdough rolls and we had a good dinner.  Salmon seems to go a long way.  We watched the second episode of Vietnam, not exactly a rousing documentary as its clear that we really made a mistake by getting involved and four Presidents were responsible, often going in or staying in for 'political reasons.'  We ended the night by watching the first episode of The Five, a British series recommended by my sister, Ellen.  So far, so good.

Two More Days Of Summer

6:43

7:18

7:21

7:35

It's almost 9:00 and I haven't started my blog.  Around 7:20, the lake was so inviting that I went kayaking, saying the heck with my blog until I got back.  It was another great morning sky, constantly changing colors, from 6:00 when I got up until now.  It looks like another warm one, tomorrow, too, and then the temperature drops into the 60's, more fall like.

7:35

Yesterday we woke up with the vow to both kayak and hike before it got too hot.  Well, by the time we got around to start, it was too warm to hike, so we just kayaked.  I had kayaked earlier in the morning when it was still cool, so if we want to do both, we have to start earlier than 10:30 or so.  When we returned from our paddle, Evie put together a list on the Wegman's app. and off I went to Lakewood, making a few stops.  I checked on my boat trailer which is being fixed and found I need some major surgery on it, welding some steel to the frame to keep it safe.  Always something.  I then stopped at Ryder's for coffee and eggs, then the hardware store for spackling compound, to fix our pantry doors and finally, a long shopping day at Wegmans's.  I had yet to get my flu shot and I saw that Wegman's was offering them free, so I took ten minutes out of shopping to get the over 65 flu shot.  It hurt.  I used the Wegman's app. on my phone which I really like because it tells me when I am done, when I have picked up everything.  Before, I always forgot something.  No excuses now except for I might only get one of something when Evie had marked down two.  Life is never perfect.

Dahlin In Orange

Another Dahlia Morning

Evie had lunch ready for me when I got home, toasted cheese and soup, and she was making another batch of Napoleons, with lemon curd, cream, and raspberries.  It took us awhile to put everything away because there was a long list. Finally, everything was put away, Evie finished the Napoleons and I had my lunch and watched FNL  Evie went out to enjoy some sun and I read, napped, and joined her around 3:00.  It was pleasant in the shade of our umbrella, a little too warm for me in the sun.  I did lay out for a bit, to get sweaty, then we both jumped in the lake, which is unusually warm for this time of the year.  We wanted to get another boat ride in while we have such nice weather so we cruised over to Bemus and home, the sun hiding behind the clouds occasionally, to keep it cool.

5:56 pm

Around 6:00, we docked the boat and Evie and I quickly got dinner going, spinach, rice, and salmon.  I chopped the garlic, Evie made the sauce for the salmon, put together the salad and by 6:45 we had dinner.  We watched the first episode of Ken Burns Vietnam, moving, sad, and depressing.  And we wondered if Trump was watching it?  Maybe he might learn something about unnecessary wars and their tragic consequences.  We ended the evening enjoying a bonfire and a beer with our neighbors Joe and Betsy who were up for a couple of days from Buffalo to enjoy the weather and see the progress on their kitchen renovation.  We ended the night with Vice News which wondered, like us, why Trump brought up Puerto Rico's debt rather than the devastation wreaked on the island by the hurricane. 

THE KINGS OF COOL: DON WINSLOW

This is the prequel to Winslow's SAVAGES which was also made into a film a few years ago and not a very good one.  Ben and Chon are young dudes, Ben a surfer, Chon a Special Forces guy but both are drug dealers, with various hothouses for growing their weed.  Everything is fine until an older guy wearing an Old Guys Rule tee shirt sits down next to Ben at a diner and tells him to stop their business or he will make sure they stop it.  Ben laughs, gets roughed up the next day. Chon does not take it easily, finds the two guys and breaks their arms and legs.  Thus the conflict begins between the boys and the Association or Cartel.  The progress of this attempt to shut off  Ben and Chon's business is broken up with flashbacks to both Ben and Chun's early years, both hardscrabble, as well as that of their girlfriend, 'O" or Ophelia, who is estranged from her Mom.  Lots of coincidences fill out the text, like the head of the cartel's adopted son is Chon's father.  Needless to say, lots of guys die until some sort of compromise is reached and Chun and Ben survive to sell another day.

Yep, A Foggy Morning

6:52

7:23

7:53

 It's 7:25 and I have been up for an hour, listening sporadically to Morning Joe, as the fog just sits on the lake.  I can just make out the dock, so there's no action on the lake, just the squawking of Canadian geese off in the grayness.  It's going to be awhile before I can get in a paddle.  Well, it's 9:00 and I just got back from kayaking, catching a blue heron in flight on a lake as calm as I have ever seen.  What a great morning.

Kayaking To Long Point

Heron In Flight

Sunday was another beautiful day on the lake, perhaps too hot during the afternoon, getting up to 86º, close to record-setting.  The morning, however, was bearable, so we enjoyed a leisurely coffee before taking an hour paddle over to Tom's Point and home.  The weekenders were just waking so we had little traffic as we kayaked, unlike later in the afternoon when the lake was busy.  It was warm enough for us to seek the shade of the shoreline when possible.

We were both hungry when we got back, so Evie made a big breakfast, this time an omelet with mushrooms, tomatoes, and cheese, a toasted bagel to compliment the eggs.  We wanted to have breakfast on the boat but decided it was already too warm for that.  So we sat in our TV room and watched CBS Sunday morning.

Sunday Morning Dock Time

We then spent the next few hours either enjoying the dock, or relaxing in the house, neither of us up for much activity except for a watering of our garden, using a sump pump in the lake.  We wanted to go for another boat ride, so around three, we jumped in our boat and cruised down beyond the bridge to Niets Crest, in the southern half of the lake.  As long as we kept a decent speed, it was comfortable but if we just meandered, it was hot.  We were out for a good hour, with lots of others as it was as nice a day on the lake as we have had.

7:22 PM

When we got back, it was wine time, so Evie breaded some pork chops and made a cheesy cauliflower casserole, both ready to heat when we were ready to eat.  So we got out a good cheese, sipped our wine, enjoyed our appetizers, and watched the lake traffic slowly ebb as a couple of guys fished off of Long Point as it got dark. It felt like a mid-summer night. We had our dinner as we watched TV, another Real Time with Bill Maher and some of the news channels.

AMERICAN PASTORAL: PHILIP ROTH

This is my third or fourth novel by Roth and to be honest, I am not crazy about any of them despite the fact that Roth is an American icon.  I started out really liking this novel, the first hundred pages as Roth returns to his high school for a reunion and remembers, lovingly, growing up in the 1940's. Unfortunately, he veers from this blast to the past and spends the rest of the novel describing the life of his boyhood idol, Seymour Swede Lovov, a legendary high school athlete, devoted family man, and hard working inheritor of his father's glove factory. The narrator, Nathan Zimmerman realizes early on, we can never know another person; we are mysteries to each other, to ourselves.

Yet he tries to understand Swede who goes through his early life without any bumps, high school hero, college graduate, marries New Jersey's Miss America, has a daughter, takes over his father's factory, and life seems easy and fine. But then as Nathan puts it, "He learned the worst lesson life can teach---that it makes no sense." And 'Things fall apart, the center cannot hold."

The Fog Comes And Goes

6:50

7:28

7:47

I was up at 6:00, a still dark morning sky.  And as I sat, the fog moved in, practically obscuring our dock but now, at 7:50, it's begun to dissipate although Long Point is not yet visible.  It's 61º at the moment and will get up into the 80's later in the day, on this, the third day of Autumn.  At 6:30, four guys arrived next door and started taking out the Pine Hill dock, a sure sign of fall.   It's 8:10 and my hope to go kayaking has been squashed as the fog has rolled in again.

Geese Rising On A Saturday Morning

We had an easy Saturday, like most Saturdays, the only chore hitting the Transfer Station.  I did start the morning with a paddle, fast becoming a habit.  When I got back, Evie was up, sipping coffee, wondering if we could go kayaking later in the morning.  So, after my trip to the Transfer Station, we took a nice paddle over to Long Point, to Sandy Bottom and home on a morning that was fast becoming hot.  We were happy to get back, out of the sun, as we worked up a sweat in the short time we were on the lake.

From noon on, we were ready to enjoy another day of large leisure, Evie enjoying time on the dock, even swimming a couple of times to cool off, me having lunch, the leftover cauliflower soup, and black bean burrito.  And it was good to get back to Friday Night Lights, as I have not watched it since Tuesday.  I am reading THE SON by who also has written the three years of FARGO on FX.  I joined Evie around 2:30 and around 3:30, we decided to go boating up towards the Viking Club, joining the other weekenders taking advantage of the warm weather.  The lake was a bit choppy from boat wakes but for the most part, it was a smooth ride up and back.

When we returned, Evie stayed on the dock for another half hour before washing her hair and bathing in the lake as the green algae seems to have abated.  I put my bike on the car's bike rack, drove over to the Chautauqua Institution, and took an easy half hour ride around the grounds, as I enjoyed the ride, not worrying about speed.  I was home by 5:00, in time for a half hour of yoga before a shower and getting ready to go to Linda and Ron's for dinner.

A Fun Saturday Evening Dinner

It's a delight to go for dinner at their new house.  We sat out on the porch, having a beer, eating sushi, as the late afternoon sunshine began to fade.  We caught up on their latest travels and our visit from friends' from Maine.  Dinner was shrimp on a creamy corn base, with a grilled salad with Caesar Salad dressing, all tasty.  It was strange to be in an air-conditioned house for once, as most homes we visit are cottages without air.  We also helped them with their new Smart TV, so they can now access both Netflix and Amazon Prime.  We stayed until 9:30 and drove home on an unusually busy road, making me wonder where did all these cars come from?  Weekenders?  We watched some TV until 10:30 then went up to bed.