Wow...It's June 1st

Heron Hunting

6:06

Up as usual, just before 6:00 to a cloudy sky, gray sky and lake, some fog sitting just above the Bemus shoreline.  The morning serenade by the birds continues, filling the air with chatter, just like our lilac tree fills the air with it's sweetness.  It's 8:30 and I have had a good, long paddle, made worthwhile by the sighting of a heron perched in a tree.

Fishing Among The Reeds

A Lonely Female Mallard

Yesterday began with a wet paddle, as it began to rain just as I started out, cutting my morning paddling constitutional short.  I returned in time to make it to breakfast with the guys at 8:00 at the Bemus Point Inn.  And I was home in time from a fun breakfast to make it to yoga at 10:00, lucky to find a spot in the class.  I think many of the new students are from the Chautauqua Institution or were south for the winter.  I stopped at Ryder's for an iced coffee and then did a quick shopping at Wegman's, picking up just enough so I don't have to shop this weekend.  I also returned some things at Home Depot.  I don't know what we would do if most of the stores we shop at have an easy return policy....probably not buy things in the first place.

When I got back, Evie was bravely fighting the heat and humidity, weeding some more in the garden, around the privets and spreading some fertilizer.  Before I sat down to lunch, I turned the soil in the areas where we are going to plant our dahlias, now that we are beyond the freezing point, June 1st usually in this area.  Once I was done, Evie heated up the leftover grits with sausage, fried a couple of eggs and I had a good lunch, perfect for watching more of the film ANON.  I then read, napped briefly, woke refreshed, however, ready for bear.  So I joined Evie and we worked on planting about 15 dahlias.  Since I had already turned the soil, I put an inch of compost on top.  Evie then placed the plants still in their yogurt containers where she wanted them and we then dug holes, put in more compost and planted them.  I then carried buckets of water back from the lake to water them despite the fact that rain was predicted.  One never knows for sure.

5:40 PM

5:50 PM

5:52 PM

We both were sweaty and dirty after our planting so we walked out on the dock and jumped in the lake to cool off.  It's still mighty cold at first but enervating once we are used to the temperature.  By the time we came in, it was  5:00 and threatening clouds were starting to move in.  We quickly changed, put together some appetizers to go with our well-deserved Manhattans, and sat on the porch, watching the storm move in.  It rained hard for about 15 minutes, so hard that it almost obscured Long Point.  When it stopped, the air had cooled and everything, the yard, garden, trees, seemed cleaned fresh, like after a bath.  And the sky was spectacular, as the below photographs show.

6:43 PM

7:36 PM

We had the leftover roast beef and rice for dinner with a salad and were excited to watch the final episode of THE AMERICANS, which we had saved from Wednesday night.  *SPOILER*:  We were not disappointed because its ending seemed plausible, as friendship, Stan's friendship with Elizabeth and Phillip, trumped duty and we felt that was the right thing to do.  The Jennings, however, received what they deserved, to be separated from their kids and returned to Moscow, no longer their home.  It was an appropriate ending we thought.  I saved the Cavs game but am not sure I want to watch it today as their loss sounds heartbreaking, the result, surprise, of a bonehead play by J.R. Smith, the one Cav I do not like.

A short excerpt from Hal Borland's June 1st entry in SUNDIAL OF THE SEASONS:

Every field, every meadow, every roadside is now rich with the proof of sustaining abundance, evidence that the earth is essentially a hospitable place no matter what follies man may commit.

written June 3, 1962