A Rainy Summer Day

Most Of Our Family, 2019

The Grandparents

6:29

Well, everything looks washed and clean, a result of the rain on and off yesterday, especially the heavy downpours yesterday evening.  Right now it's a clear sky, with the sun reflection lighting the lake.  It's a warm 67º and we should have a dry day, clear in the morning, partly cloudy in the afternoon.  I had a great paddle this morning, caught two herons with my camera, one in a tree, the other sitting on a dock.

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue This Morning

Yesterday felt like a lockdown, as we never did make it out on to the dock and only Evie and I went for a swim, mostly to cool off and enjoy the clear lake, freshened by the rain. I hardly got in a paddle, more of a drifting, waiting for it to rain.  Most of the family was up earlier than usual because they were going off to a hot yoga class at 9:30 in Lakewood.  It left Evie and me home alone for close to two hours, time to get everything back into order, the kitchen spic n span.  They returned around 11:00, having stopped for coffee at Ryder's Cup and some beer and ice at Hogan's Hut.

Evie's Most Recent Dahlia

Evie and Hayden and Seth then went for an hour tour of the Chautauqua Institution since Seth had never been there.  The girls then relaxed with their devices, catching up on their feeds, watching some shows. Before Evie left for the CI, she hurriedly put together a huge pot of corn chowder, by far the most popular dish of the week.  Tom had picked up fresh corn, so he cut it off the cob as Evie sauteed the bacon, added both the corn and some cobs to the pot and let it simmer before adding milk and a bit of cream.  It was ready by the time Evie left for the CI and by the time they returned, there was hardly a bowl left.

Playing Cards

We hung out inside the rest of the afternoon, playing some cards, watching some TV, playing some bean bag in between the drizzle.  Evie had set 5:00 as the deadline for our annual family photograph so everyone took a shower, spaced out so as to not overload our well.  The photoshoot was relatively painless, with only a few of Tyler's pranks.

The Granddaughters, Again

Sibs

Jill With Hayden And Halle

Mary And Marlena

Seth, fortunately, was there to be our photographer and by 5:45 we were in our cars, driving to the Bemus Point Casino for wings, again a yearly tradition since we bought our cottage in 1981.  It's changed little since then except for the prices.  We had great service and everyone ordered wings and fries so we were happy though, by the time we were finished, our table was, as always, a mess of seventy-five eaten wings.  We worked off our wings by walking down to the Bemus Point Market for ice cream cones, a tradition since we had grandchildren.

Wings At The Casino

Wing Night At Casino

Tyler, At Ease

We were home just in time to avoid the heavy downpour, happy we did not go by boat to the Casino.
We then hung out the rest of the night, watching some TV, Shark Week, again a recent tradition started by the boys.  And we played spoons, some Telefunky,  a card game, a fun way to while away the rainy evening.  I went to bed around 10:30, the first one, and am not sure when the rest followed, no doubt much later.  I am a wimp.

Seth, Hoping For The Big One