A Matthew Brady Like Morning

Figurehead Of Our Ship

6:25

7:55

I was up just before 6:00, to a dark house, a foggy morning sky of 50 shades of gray, straight out of a Matthew Brady 1860's album.  A haunting beauty, I cannot wait to get out and kayak in the solitude of this empty lake.  It's 7:50 and I am sitting on my front porch, listening to the rain.  The sky has darkened, no boats are on the lake.  And I just got back from a paddle, in time to miss the thunder, lightning, and rain.  For the half hour I was out, it was great, the only one on the lake.

Kayak Morning

Yesterday summer returned, with the heat and humidity and will stick around for the rest of the week.  I began my Sunday with a long paddle, returning only because I had to finish up the blog.  We both had great plans for the day but the humidity set in early and our plans went array.  And the lake was too inviting in the late morning, so we gathered up our stuff and when for an hour cruise down to Dewittville Bay on the east side of the lake, then across to the Chautauqua Institution and home.  It was good to be on the lake again.

My Only Visitor On This Morning's Paddle

We had our usual big breakfast on the porch, of eggs, bacon, and bagels, with no CBS Sunday morning,  By the time we finished, the house had heated up, the dock had a nice breeze so Evie decided to enjoy the afternoon.  I, of course, read some and took a Sunday afternoon nap before joining her around 3:00.  We both went for a swim at 4:00, to cool off, and I brought in one of the buoys, one I had to go underwater and drag it along the bottom to the dock. Around 5:30, the lake started to empty as the weekenders headed home, so we decided to take a booze cruise, over to Bemus Point and back.  When I was stepping in the boat, balancing a bag and a plastic chair, the boat moved away from the dock and I fell in the water.  Idiot. When I climbed out of the water, Evie came running down the dock, asking if her iPhone was safe!  It was.

1st Mate

We had a leisurely cruise over to Bemus, to the bridge, then turned around and raced home because Evie wanted to get cooking.  We were having  shrimp and grits for dinner and the grits take a good hour if you want them to be tasty.  She added milk, chicken stock, cream and cheddar cheese to the grits and sauteed the shrimp with garlic and fresh tomatoes.  Dinner was ready by 7:00 and it was the best shrimp and grits we have had, better than Rita's at Folly Beach.  And there's enough left for my lunch today.  We watched Real Time With Bill Maher but we cannot help getting tired of the anti-Trump diatribes. All three guests counseled, however,  that we cannot tire of Trump indignities and must keep and continue our indignation.  And they are right.  The easy way is to just say I cannot take him anymore and turn off the radio and TV.  But that lets him off the hook, to do what he wants.  We must all stay involved and show we care about what is happening to our country, something that reminds many of THE HANDMAIDS TALE.