A Slow Walk Towards Winter Begins

6:31

7:02

7:05

It's a partly cloudy morning, as we had more rain overnight.  It's 7:00 and the sun looks as though it might rise above a cloud bank hanging over Bemus Bay.  It's a quiet morning as all the weekenders have fled leaving only the honking geese.  No boats, no kayaks yet,  just a placid lake and me.  It was, however, an amazing morning paddle, over an hour, photographing a hawk, heron, bald eagle, and a raft of loons.  And best of all, the lake seems to belong to our neighborhood again, as the only action was Tina and Jim, kayaking, Jeff and Nancy skiing, all neighbors, and me.

A Relaxing Kayak Morning

Yesterday was a waiting game, as Evie's sister and son Alex were arriving from Pittsfield, MA, where Alex was interning at a theater group.  They were scheduled to arrive late afternoon which left much of the day for Evie to prep for their arrival.  In other words, it was a laborious Labor Day, a different one around here from the usual.  Most neighbors had either left for home on Sunday or were preparing to leave for home on Monday.  No picnics, no gatherings, that I could see.

Loons Among The Bridge

Juvenile Bald Eagle

Great Blue Heron

I did get in a morning paddle but yoga was canceled, so we had an odd Labor Day.  Evie had a couple of dishes she wanted to make, so she started early with the moussaka, a somewhat time-consuming dish but she took lots of breaks, enjoying the front porch in between prepping.  Besides the moussaka, she made a Turkish lentil soup with winterberries, a favorite and healthy.  Both Elaine and Alex are vegetarians, so our meals were healthy and meatless.  Lunch for me was easy, heating up the leftover lemon chicken and rice after cleaning up the morning kitchen dishes.

A Bald Eagle Morning

Same Guy

I finally finished my book, Ordinary Grace, which I really enjoyed and fell asleep after reading it, a delightful way to while away the afternoon.  Once dinner and lunch were made, Evie decided to make dessert, Nora Ephron's peach pie, so that took up part of the afternoon and messed up the kitchen again.  No worry, I was there to clean it up.

Alex and Elaine

Elaine and Alex arrived around 6:00, despite having car trouble in Corning, but finding a garage that could put on new brake pads on a Labor Day.  They were in good spirits and we quickly settled on the front porch with libations and appetizers, catching up on Alex's summer and the rest of the family. They live in Oak Park, just outside of Chicago and we were there in May for our nephew's wedding.

Morning Dahlia

Dinner was great, the moussaka as good as any Greeks, and with a salad and sweet corn, we were happy and everyone was hungry.  And there's enough left for lunch!  We then decided to watch a movie and started with a Japanese animation film which Alex wanted to see but after about ten minutes, he didn't like it so we started a much too long and slow Japanese film which Evie and I liked called DEPARTURES.  None of us were ready to watch a two-hour film so we halted it halfway through because we were tired and went up to bed,

Dinner Plate Dahlias