Fog Bound

6:36

7:07

7:08

It's 6:42 and I have been up for an hour, sitting on the front porch, on a foggy 52º morning.  It's still and quiet except for an occasional screech by a heron.  No boats, no kayaks, yet at least that I have noticed. And since I am boycotting the news (all they talk about is Trump), I am listening to a Bill Simmons eclectic podcasts as he talks about Andrew Luck's retirement then interviews Julia Louis-Dreyfus.  It's 6:30 as I finish writing and Long Point is barely visible through the fog, maybe I can get in a paddle in a bit.  And I did have an interesting paddle, starting with fog, then in the middle of the lake, a raft of barn swallows skimmed along the lake's surface, eating lake flies. Then, I scared off a couple of eagles, before capturing a cormorant catching a fish, a good morning,

Kayak Morning

Fog And Sun

Breakfast For A Cormorant

Not Quite Finished

A Huddle Of Ducks

A Young Blue Heron

Blue Skies As  Fog's Lifted 

Friday was another normal day at the lake for us.  I was up early for a paddle, then off to a good yoga class with Danielle.  She was substituting for Julie who is on a trip West.  She had no real plan, asked us what we wanted to do, and I suggested teaching us some new things.  It was a good choice as everyone seemed to enjoy our very different class, many of them involving breathing.  After class, I stopped at Wegman's to pick up a few things, then more corn at our favorite stand, then home.  It was a good day for gardening, so Evie had been busy in our backyard, weeding, and deadheading lots of flowers.  Her garden is at its peak, with most flowers in bloom although the dahlias and hydrangeas are the stars.

I had the leftover eggplant spaghetti for lunch, just as good as the night before and watched my show before reading and taking a brief nap.  I walked out on the dock around 1:45 and it was such a beautiful afternoon that I took the cover off the boat and we went for a cruise over to Bemus Point and back, taking our time, enjoying the sun and breeze.  The lake was yet to be busy as the Labor Day weekend was just beginning.  After our cruise, we read on the dock until it was time to get ready for our outing to Jamestown.

We drove to Jamestown and our plan was to have a drink at the new hotel bar, the Pearl City Hops, then go for dinner at Taco Hut.  We walked into the hotel's bar and it was empty, the bar sterile and uninviting so after looking at the menu we decided to leave, upsetting the bartender.  We then went to one of our favorite haunts, Brazil's Brew and Wine Bar, just down the street.  We easily found a seat at the bar, sampled a couple of microbrews then ordered.  Within 15 minutes, Evie was starting to feel bad, not wanting her beer, a bad sign.  We decided to skip dinner since she was not feeling well and I stopped at Wendy's on the way home to pick up a Daves Double with fries and a coke.  By the time we returned home, Evie was feeling better although she did not want anything to eat.  We then binged on the rest of the Working Moms although we ended up not enjoying it much.  I have to say that by the end, I really disliked all four of the working moms which is a strange way to make a series about moms.  I am almost finished with my book, Pleasantville which has become a chore. 

Yum

It 9:40 as we finish the blog; I have had my breakfast of yogurt, homemade granola, and local peaches while sitting out on the dock, enjoying the morning as Evie finished up the blog.

A Changing Morning Sky

Morning Dahlia

6:19

6:42

I am sitting out on the front porch,  at 5:30 in darkness, and watched as the clouds started appearing, some light, as it seemed to change every ten minutes.  And now at 6:30, wE are still waiting for the sun to rise.  I was out on the lake just before 7:00 for an hour, catching both a bald eagle and heron with my camera.

Kayak Morning

 

In Flight

Bald Eagle

Ready To Fly

Yesterday was not a fun day for me, as I had a doctor's appointment early, at 8:45 and a dentist appointment at 3:00, both in Jamestown.  Fortunately, I started my day with a good paddle and was off to Jamestown by 8:00.  After my appointment, I drove to the Labyrinth Press coffee shop and had a breakfast burrito with coffee.  I love this vegetarian place, for either breakfast or lunch.  I then parked my car at Riverwalk and took a ridiculously short bike ride along the Riverwalk, all half-mile of it but across two new pedestrian bridges which, to me, seem redundant because they are only a couple of hundred yards from each other. 

Chadakoin River Dam

Chadakoin  River Bridge And Power Plant

I was home by 12:30 in time for a light lunch of tomatoes, onions, with olive oil and vinegar, not bad and healthy.  I watched my show and read some, perhaps napped as Evie and Joyce our next-door neighbor, drove over to Long Point for a walk.  Joyce loved it so I am sure they will be back.  When I left for the dentist, Evie powered up the lawnmower, not having gotten enough exercise at Long Point and cut the lawn.  After the dentist (I need a new crown), I stopped at Peterson's and picked up a basket of local peaches and a watermelon.  When got home, Evie was done mowing and was ecstatic to see the peaches.  I can envision peach crisps on and off over the next week.  Yum.

4:26

A Profusion Or Dahlias

We were able to enjoy some wine on the front porch, a beautiful evening, with a quiet lake for an hour before Evie got busy frying the eggplant and making a tomato sauce.  One the pasta was done we plated it, put the breaded and fried eggplant on top, then added tomato sauce.  Heaven. I think I could live on eggplant, like a good Turk.  Turks have lots of eggplants recipes, the poor man's meat.  We were looking forward to the third season of Working Moms on HBO but like all series, this season did not seem to measure up to the previous two seasons.  We binge-watched maybe five episodes then had enough for the night.

Pink Sky Morning

6:48

7:32

It's 6:30 and I just got my coffee.  The sky is clear, the pink is beginning to fade as the sun gets close and closer to the horizon.  I got a short paddle in because I have an early doctor's appointment in Jamestown, then breakfast, a bike ride and a stop at the library, a full morning downtown. 

Kayaking Into The Sun

Victoria

Osprey/Eagle?

Bald Eagle

Heron

Wednesday was another fine day at the lake, as I got in a good long paddle before driving to yoga class with Jen, who just finished her 300th hour of classes, quite amazing.  She studied in Rochester under a guru from France.  She's a vocal anti-Trumper and suggested to us if you are Trumper and take yoga, you need therapy.  We all laughed in agreement as the two seem so opposed.  After class, I stopped for a coffee to see the barista's father, Walt, who is in his 80's, wearing a Trump 2020 hat.  I had to laugh after just coming from yoga. 

After class, I came home to a yard cleaned up, privets trimmed, and a tired out Evie, enjoying the front porch.  I had ramen and a bagel with cream cheese and tomato for lunch and watched my show. I then read some, then took a brief nap but woke ready to do something energetic.  Evie was not interested in a walk because she was happy sitting in the side yard, catching some rays and reading.

Biking In Long Point's Cathedral of Trees

So I put my bike on my car, got my helmet, water, headphones and phone and drove over and parked just beyond the bridge.  I took my usual hour ride,  through Bemus, Long Point State Park and home, listening to tunes on my headphones, a cool dude.  I had the park to myself although there were quite a few trailers in the marina.  When I got home, I showered and Evie got some appetizers ready as we had our wine time on the front porch, a beautiful late afternoon sky. 

Dinner was great, a replay of the night before's Wienerschnitzel, twice baked potatoes, corn on the cob and beet salad.  We even have some left for my lunch today.  We tried to watch a much-acclaimed teen series called Euphoria on HBO but it was just too depressing, to sad and troubling to watch.  We turned to Everybody Loves Raymond, more our speed.

Stillness At Chautauqua Lake

Early Morning Kayak Klatch

6:17

8:59

It's 7:00 and we had some rain overnight, just enough to get Evie's garden wet.  It's 67º and the rain should be over.  I just saw our friends, Tina and Jim, paddle by Long Point, out early for a morning paddle, the first action on the lake.  It's 9:00, a good paddle, a gathering of kayaks, with three neighbors as we solved the world's problems and I photographed a bald eagle, a good morning.

Kayak Morning

Kayak Morning Clearing

Bald Eagle Percheth 

Yesterday morning was wet but I got in a short paddle, coming home soaked but happy to be out on the lake.  It was a Tuesday, so it was 5% off day at Wegman's.  I drove to a crowded yoga class at 9:30 and surprise, I was one of five guys.  After class, I went to Wegman's and wound my way through the parked carts of other golden agers like me.  I also picked up a couple dozen ears of sweet corn because we hope to shuck it, then take it off the cobb and freeze, to pull out this winter for salads or chilis.

I was home just after noon, in time for Evie to do some prepping for dinner before she left for a doctor's appointment in Jamestown.  I heated up the leftover dinner from Sunday night, chicken and pasta salad and watched my show.  It was strange to be alone in the house for a couple of hours but I kept to routine, reading my book, Pleasantville, and napping.  By the time I woke, Evie was in the kitchen, continuing her preparation for dinner because we were having our neighbors, Bill and Joyce, over for a meal, an amazing couple, married for sixty-four years, still walking a couple of miles a day.  She prepped and cooked, and I washed and dried until things were more or less ready.  We were having Bill's favorite (and ours) Wienerschnitzel, with twice-baked potatoes, salad, rolls and beets.

They arrived at 6:00 and unfortunately, it was too cool to sit on the porch so we sat inside, enjoying a glass of wine and appetizers until dinner.  Everything was great, especially the schnitzel and twice-baked potatoes, so I had to go back for seconds.  We had a peach/blueberry crisp Evie made earlier in the day for dessert, topped with ice cream and sat in the living room talking until 9:40 when they walked home.  We then did a quick clean up of the kitchen, making sure everything was put away and we have enough leftovers for another dinner.  Yippee.  We were tired from our day so we went up to bed earlier than usual.

Chautauqua Gray Morning

7:46

It's 7:00 and I have been up since 6:00.  Because of the cloud cover, I was surprised how dark it seemed, like a late fall morning and yet it's not even September.  It warmed up some, 54º, and we may have rain on and off all day.  It's 8:30 and despite the clouds and drizzle, I went out for a half-hour paddle, coming home soaked but happy.  I was the only crazy on the lake. 

Kayaking In The Rain

Yesterday was another windy and cool fall-like day.  It was a good day to be outside, doing something, yet neither Evie nor I did anything much.  I paddled, then went to yoga, stopped to look at an E-bike, then Brigitta's grocery for some local peaches, tomatoes, and eggplants.  When I returned home, Evie had been working some in the garden.

I sat down, looked at my email, at Facebook, and my blog, then had lunch, the leftover chicken and pasta salad from our Sunday night dinner.  And that was it for the rest of the day.  We stayed in, either reading, napping (me), on our devices or watching some TV.  Neither of us was sure why we had no mojo but we just didn't.  Just one of those days.

Fortunately, we were meeting our friends Linda and Ron for dinner at the Viking so we had to get up and do something, like shower and get ready to go out to dinner.  We arrive just after 6:00, as the sky was beginning to cloud up. 

Viking Club Sky At 6:17 PM

We were able to get a table inside because it was too windy out.  It was also a strangely quiet and empty Viking Club, despite the fact that it was Rueben and Cuban sandwich night, the most popular night of the week.  Linda and Ron arrived around 6:30 and quickly ordered beers, filled a couple of baskets with popcorn, and ordered Ruebens, with coleslaw and macaroni or potato salad.  The Ruebens were great and even though Evie and I split one, I was happily full.  We stayed until we were literally the last ones in the club and drove home in the dark, surprised, again, at how quickly it's getting dark these days. It really is the end of summer. 

We channel surfed, looking for something to watch, not wanting to start a series.  I cannot even remember what we ended up watching before going up to bed to read. 

An apt poem for this age:

A World of Want by Tina Schuman You think your life will go on like this forever—weekly trips to the garbage bin, untangling the green snake of hose between the ferns and the delphiniums, the coral bells leaning their long necks against the back fence. Today, as I watched the carousel of cars turn one by one through the intersection and onto the freeway I tried to imagine each life. Not so much where they were going, but what they were made of: wounds, illusions, desires, deceits... Through all of this a preoccupation with the next perceived need floats-up like thought bubbles inside my head: Coffee, Cheetos, sex, a new blouse, a larger house, a desk fan, appreciation from that one specific person, the phones chirp, the trip to France. If I could quiet this conga-line of cravings what lingering longings would I lament? What radiant unattached insights would I muster? Who would I be without my constant yearnings? It's a world of want. You get the idea.

A Chilly 52º Morning

6:46

6:47

It's 6:38  and  I have been up since before 6:00, waiting for the sun to rise.  It's chilly enough that I put on a fleece and sweats, harbingers of what's to come, fall, then winter.  I am sure, however, we will still have some 80º days, usually when school around here starts. 

Kayak Morning

Yesterday was another sunny but cool and breezy day on the lake.  I kayaked early of course, always a good way to start the morning.  We then sat around reading the paper (on our devices) before deciding it would be a good day to go for a walk, something we have not done in ages.  So we cleaned up the kitchen, then went for a forty-five-minute walk through Long Point State Park.  I have to admit I missed walking or hiking in the woods. 

Lushness Of Ferns In The Woods

It's like kayaking on the lake in that both are places of quiet and awe. As Oliver Sacks says 'My religion is nature. That's what arouses those feelings of wonder and mysticism and gratitude in me." And as usual, we met no one on our walk despite it being Sunday and a beautiful day in the neighborhood.  We also checked out the pavilions set back in a  wooded part of the park where we don't usually walk. They are neat areas where families 'used to picnic' but it seems like that's a thing of the past.  They are rarely if ever used, like the beach house and swimming area, relics from the late 1960s.

Long Point Picnic Areas

We were home by 1:00 and both of us were ready for our big breakfast.  Evie fried the bacon, lots of it because she was making a pasta salad for dinner and I grilled some corn on the grill, also part of the salad,  We ate on the front porch and then Evie got busy prepping dinner for our friends, Jim and
Tina, who were coming over at 6:00 for dinner.  I, of course, fell asleep reading but Evie left the mess for me to clean up after my nap.  We are a good team, she makes the dinners, I clean up the dishes. 

Jim and Tina arrived at 6:00 and we sat on the porch for a good hour, with vodka tonics, pretzels, and shrimp cocktails.  It was a cool evening, too chilly to eat outside but since I  put the porch curtain down, we were comfortable on the porch.  Dinner was grilled chicken thighs marinated in lemon, garlic and olive oil and a pasta salad, with corn, tomatoes, and bacon.  And to top off the meal, we had peach/blueberry pie.  It was fun to get to know them better; we usually meet on the lake because they are also avid kayakers.  They live north of Pittsburgh but have been coming up to their cottage in Victoria for years and like us, love living on the lake. They are both retired so they are able to come up most weekends or whenever they want.  It was a fun evening.  After they left we still had enough mojo to clean up the kitchen before going up to bed to read. 

Picking Hops

Picking Hops

6:44

Kayak Morning

It's an amazingly clear sky morning, 50º, with fog rising off in the distance.  I was up in time to watch the sunrise at 6:40 but just.  I have been listening to a Bill Simmons podcast as he is now no longer talking about the NBA but movies, TV shows, as well as some football. It's 9:30 and I was out paddling for an hour but did not see any waterfowl, perhaps because I got a late start.  Still, it was another striking morning on the lake. 

Cutting Down The Hop Vines

Yesterday was not a typical Saturday because we were to pick hops at our good friend Jack's farm along with an assorted group of his friends in the morning.  So I did get in an hour paddle because I was able to get in the water by 7:00.  When I came back, Evie had the trash ready for me to go to the Transfer Station and by 9:30, we were ready for a twenty-minute ride to Jack's. 

This is the third time we have helped pick hops late August and the last as Jack is finally throwing in the towel as the insects/bugs have beaten him.  When we arrived, there were already 20  guys and gals sitting around his yard, with vines across their knees, pulling off the soft hops, dropping them into a bucket.  We quickly joined them and for the next two hours, picked hops,  Our goal was to get to 16 pounds of Cascades, 16 pounds of Chinook. 

Hops

Hops Circle

An Evie Special

Full Of Hops

Fortunately, it was a sunny but cool morning and everyone seemed to enjoy their tasks, as we got to know each other.  By 1:00, we were at Randy's Big Inlet Brewery, just down the road from Jacks, where we were given a free beer and pizza for our efforts.  Randy and the brewmaster, explained the brewing process us to us, that they would add both varieties of fresh hops to beer that was already being made(with dried hop pellets), adding perhaps a fresh flavor although it's always a crapshoot, just hoping for a tasty brew.  It was a good way to spend a late August morning, helping out a friend, getting to know some new people, and having beer and pizza for lunch,.

Group Shot Of Pickers and Bagged Hops At The Big Inlet Brewery

On the way home, we stopped at Tops grocery to pick up a few items for Sunday's dinner because we were having my early morning kayak friends, Tina and Jim, over for dinner.  When we got home, I quickly grabbed my book, laid down, read and fell asleep, taking a great nap.  Evie hoped to get out on the dock but it was too windy to enjoy it.  We lazed away the afternoon, thinking we had a Woodlawn picnic.  We sort of got ready but when I checked, no one was at the right away so the picnic must of be canceled or no one was coming. Either way, we were happy to sit on our front porch for an hour plus, drinking a French wine we have always like and is now in our wine store, a Vieille Ferme rose.

Dinner was easy, a bit of a change from our previous two nights out, sloppy joes with dill pickles.  The sloppy joes were from the freezer so all Evie had to do was zap them in the microwave, spoon them on buns, add pickles and viola, we had dinner. We watched Real Time with Bill Maher, outrageous as usual but also right on with his hilarious diatribes,.  He spares neither left nor right and is so anti-Trump, so worried about global warming that he has vowed to vote for Trump if he would become an eco-warrior and vow to save the earth.  Not a chance, however, as big business, the fossil fuel companies, own Trump.