Cooling Off Some

5:42

6:28

It's an early morning for both of us as I was up at 5:30 and Evie at 6:00.  The heat has mellowed so it's a pleasant 68º at the moment.  We received light rain last night, lots of rolling thunder to go with it.  I kayaked for about forty minutes, returning just in time as the weed cutters arrived and gave our swimming area a good mowing. 

Weed Cutters

Kayak Morning

Preening

Yesterday was another scorcher, so humid and hot that neither of us wanted to do anything much so we didn't.  I paddled of course because it was still cool enough out early morning to enjoy being on the water. Our plumbers arrived once again before I returned from kayaking and stayed until early afternoon, finishing up the installation of our new heating system.  I left for yoga at 9:00 and had a good class with Julie although it was warm and we all worked up a sweat.  I stopped for a coffee at Ryder's Cup, then did a quick run through at Walmart, picking out a pair of sunglasses, nonprescription and that was it. When I got home, the plumbers were still working and Evie was up in the bedroom with the air conditioner on, keeping cool.

For lunch, I had the leftover Reuben and watched some basketball.  For some reason, I could not nap so I read some, waiting for the plumbers to finish.  Once they left, we had some clean up to do and then I decided that it would be much cooler cutting weeds in the lake so I got out the rakes and buckets and waded out to the end of the dock and started cutting for a good hour.  And I was right; it was the only cool place in the neighborhood.  Evie had a zoom call at 5:00 with her sister Claire and I wasted time watching a rerun of an old TV show, The Rockford Files with James Garner, a series I used to like.  

Dinner was easy and a good choice because of the heat, just heat up the leftover chicken and rice and make a salad. It tasted good and we must have been hungry.  We watched a Colbert, Jeopardy, and started a new comedy series on Apple TV called Ted Lasso. It's predictable and silly with a few laughs.  We may stick with it.  Around 10:00, it started to rain so I sat out on the front porch, listening to the rolling thunder and falling rain. 

 

A Bald Eagle Morning

Headshot Of A Juvenile Bald Eagle

5:58

Well, maybe not quite the tropics but yesterday was miserable, high 80's and lots of humidity. Today should be the same, humid and hot.  Give me fall and winter! This morning is sunny, clear skies, a hazy lake vista. It's 8:00 and the plumbers were here when I finished my paddle. I was out for forty-five minutes over to Long Point, back to Sandy Bottom and home and I captured a couple amazing shots of a juvenile eagle, perched in the trees of Long Point.

Kayak Morning

Hanging Out On A Woodlawn Dock

Monday was a different day although it started typically, with coffee and kayaking, but that was its end.  When I finished, the house was already a mess as the plumbers had arrived, pulled out our washer and dryer and were beginning the process of putting in a new boiler, our heating system.  I had smartly planned to get out of here, living Evie home to deal with the mess.  Nice guy, right? Anyways, by 8:30 I was off to Cleveland and arrived at Trader Joe's by 10:30. Evie had made me an extensive shopping list and I had to go through the check out twice, once with three cases of wine, the other time with groceries.  By 11:15 I was on my way to Euclid, stopped at Azman's, a Slovenia grocery store that Evie's family has been frequenting since the 1940's. I picked up five pounds of Slovenian sausages, the best in Cleveland, and talked briefly with Bill about Evie's Dad, Eddie, a real character.  By noon, I was sitting out on my sister's deck, overlooking a surprisingly calm and smooth Lake Erie.  We had decided this was the first time we had seen each other in 17 months. It was great to see both Linda and Rich, catch up on all the changes in their family.  We had tuna and macaroni salad for lunch and it reminded both of us our Mom who always used to make this. 

Early Evening At The Viking Club

I was headed home by 1:30 and stopped at a disgusting hot Love's for gas and walked in the house about 4:00, whooped from my drive.  The plumbers were gone, the house was a mess, and Evie was miserable in the heat. I was able to take a brief nap before getting ready to meet our neighbors at the Viking Club for dinner.  We sat inside the barroom which was surprisingly pleasant because they don't have air conditioning. We ordered the specials, a Cuban and a Rueben, along with a couple of beers and had a good time talking about our neighbors and neighborhood,  

Ruebens And Cubans At The Viking Club

Jackie, our neighbor who sponsored our membership  in the Viking Club has been coming to Woodlawn for years so she's a virtual encyclopedia of the lake's history.  We were home just as the sky was starting to darken and boats were beginning to turn on their lights, 

A Day Of Rest?

6:19

Our House

It's 6:55 as I start this and I will be out kayaking soon enough.  It's another warm and sunny morning on the lake but the boat traffic has ebbed as usual on a Monday morning. It's a big day for us as we are supposedly getting a new boiler put in and I am driving to Cleveland, hitting Trader Joe's, Azman's meats, stocking up for our kid's arrival, then having lunch with my sister in Euclid, a busy day.

Kayak Morning

Bald Eagle

Yesterday was a day of rest except for the morning I guess.  After the kayaking, breakfast, and blog, Evie had the grand idea to wash more windows, those few that we had not gotten to so far. By the time we got to it, it was already 80º so even though I was out for less than a half an hour, my shirt was soaking when I finished. Evie of course, washed the screen and the inside of the windows so we have done all of the downstairs windows I hope.

Evie's Phlox

I needed a couple of things from Home Depot so I took off around 11:30, ran in, picked up what I needed and was home by12:30 even though the roads and Home Depot were busy.  Evie made us avocado toasts for brunch and we relaxed the rest of the afternoon, as it was uncomfortable warm both in the house and outside.  I did nap briefly and Evie was able to sit out under a tree, catch a breeze and enjoy the late afternoon.

Evie's Photo Of Me Taking A Photo

Around 5;30, Evie put together our dinner, chicken, broccoli, and mushrooms with an Indian flavored simmer sauce.  We then relaxed on the porch with a Manhattan and a big bowl of popcorn and watched as lake traffic slowly diminished, the sun dimmed.  It was Sunday night, after all, when the weekenders head home. Dinner was great, on rice, with yogurt and we watched more of our series, The Mosquito Coast, and some basketball before doing to bed.

One of my favorite American poets, Stephen Dunn, died this weekend. Below is one of my favorites of his poems, a paean to old basketball players like me. 

LOSING STEPS

It's probably a Sunday morning

in a pickup game, and it's clear

you've begun to leave

fewer people behind.

Your fakes are as good as ever,

but when you move

you're like the Southern Pacific

the first time a car kept up with it,

your opponent at your hip,

with you all the way

to the rim. Five years earlier

he'd have been part of the air

that stayed behind you

in your ascendance.

On the sidelines they're saying,

He's lost a step

2

In a few more years

it's adult night in a gymnasium

streaked with the abrupt scuff marks

of high schoolers, and another step

leaves you like a wire

burned out in a radio.

A Rocking Night With Uncle Ben's Remedy At The Big Inlet Brewery

Uncle Ben's Remedy

7:27

It's 9:00 as I start my blog having slept in until 7:20 after a wild night of music and dancing, sort of.  This was, also, the first morning of kayaking where it felt like summer, the heat already bearing down as I began to paddle.  I was out for a half-hour, caught a quick shot of an eagle, then lots of shots of a heron sitting in a tree above the reeds. We are listening to Uncle Ben's Remedy on Apple Music as I write this.  

Kayak Morning

A Bearded Old Guy

Saturday, despite the temperatures in the low '80s, was a busy day outside. I took a long paddle before returning to the blog, breakfast, and a meander around Woodlawn, seeing who is up for the weekend.  We gathered up the trash and I took it off to the Transfer Station, busy as usual.  While I was gone, Evie wrapped up the Ziti, froze it, and started to make one of our kids' favorite appetizers, Hanky Pankies, a favorite from the '70s and '80s. When I returned, I planned on replacing a board or two on our dock but found I was missing the proper bit.  I must have lent it to someone so I will have to pick up another one at Home Depot and replace the board later.  By the time we were through in the house, it was time for my lunch, the leftover lasagna from Friday night and I watched, what else, the NBA and a few minutes of my series, Queen Of The South.  

The afternoon was exceedingly warm but it did not stop Evie from mowing both our yard and part of our neighbors, taking breaks for water, and making sure she did not overdo it. While she mowed, I napped briefly, read some, then when she was done, helped set up the hose to water some of the brown spots in our front yard.  Evie relaxed in a lawn chair, occasionally rising to move the hose.  I got busy in the back yard and worked for over an hour on our brick walk, edging it and digging out the weeds and moss.  We were both done with everything by 5:00, put away our tools, and took showers.

It's Beer Time

A Perfect Night For Music

We were going to the Big Inlet Brewery to listen to our favorite band, Uncle Ben's Remedy. We picked up Linda and Ron at 6:15 and arrived at a full parking lot, a venue with hardly a seat left.  We found a spot to park and met up with our neighbors, Jim and Barb, who had been there since 5:00 listening to the first band The Growlers.  While we talked with them, Evie was able to scrounge up four chairs, fairly close to the stage so we were lucky.  The lines for beers were long, 15 to 20 people long, so Linda and Ron waited and brought back six beers, hopefully, to last us for a bit.  Uncle Ben's Remedy was great and almost immediately, fans started dancing.  We watched for an hour, were able to move our chairs to a table, and had terrible loaded tacos for dinner because the food truck was out of everything else.  

Uncle Ben

Because we had a table close to the stage, Barb and Jim joined us and both Evie and Barb started dancing with the other dancers, mostly women. As we were watching, the bass player came off stage, jumped up on a table in front of us, and fell over backward.  Luckily, I caught his base and helped him get up, seemingly unhurt because he kept playing.  Our neighbors left about 8:00 and by 8:30, it was starting to get crazy, and more or more people were dancing. 

Still Playing

"Here's To You, Here's To Me"

Getting Crazy

Evie and I joined them and rocked out for the next half hour, surrounded by happy people, drinking and spilling beers, but smiling and fist-bumping and jumping to the music.  We loved it.  We left just afternoon as it was starting to get dark and Uncle Ben's Remedy was still playing. This is the third time we have seen Uncle Ben's and they are coming up again in late August to The Blue Heron.  We were home just before 10:00. watched some TV to wind down from our high and went to bed in the heat.  

Summer's Here

6:34

9:31

It was already in the '70s by 6:30 when I got up and will get in the '80s later in the day. It's 9:00 as I start this after a 70-minute paddle over the end of Lakeside Drive and back.  I did photograph a couple of herons, one along the shoreline, the other sitting in a tree.

Kayak Morning

I am having a hard time remembering what we did yesterday as the days tend to blend into one another, either doing stuff in the yard or house.  Now I remember. Evie set up the hose and watered everything most of the morning, front and back yards, waiting for the guys to install our new dishwasher.  Yep, I am obsolete.  They got here about 11:00, started to take the old one out, went under the house and said something like new dishwasher's cannot connect to copper pipes which seemed strange.  Basically, what he meant is the cord between the valve which he brought was too short.  So they could not install it, left and we found out this morning that they ordered a longer cord and will install it on Thursday so I get to wash dishes for a few more days.  That was our excitement and Evie's disappointment for the morning. 

Lunch was a couple of ears of sweet corn and the rest of a sub sandwich. I watched, what else, some basketball ball, the last five to ten minutes of the game.  I read although I am getting bored with my book, napped, then went out and did some trimming of the bushes and took a couple more barrels of grass, weeds, and deadfall up the hill.  Meanwhile, Evie was able to enjoy read on the dock despite the wind and even went for a cooling swim before coming in a showering because we were going out to dinner with neighbors. 

We left about 5:10 with our next-door neighbors, Bill and Joyce, and drove to the Stockton Hotel restaurant, about a twenty-five-minute drive.  We met Pat and David, neighbors four houses down at the restaurant.  We were fortunate to have a good and attentive waitress and we had our drinks and order in within ten minutes.  Everyone had the fish fry but me. I am tired of grease so I ordered lasagna and had enough to take home for today's lunch.  Everyone enjoyed their meal, the busyness of the place, so it was a good choice.  We took the long way home, through Mayville, and arrived around 8:30, in time to watch another episode of The Mosquito Coast and some basketball.

Warming Southerly Winds

Before The Tree Trimming

After At 6:23

8:38

It's 8:40 and we both have been up since 6:30, the sun filling our living room with light. I paddled for close to an hour, along Woodlawn, across to Long Point,  back to Sandy Bottom, and home with sightings of a heron, perched on a boat's bow and many turkey vultures.  Evie's already out in her garden, watering and weeding while it's cool.

Kayak Morning

Heron On An Anchored Boat At Sandy Bottom

We were both busy yesterday, at least it seemed like it. We were both up early again and I got in a paddle, breakfast, and blog before driving off for an eye doctor appointment in Jamestown at 9:45. My eyesight has improved quite a bit but the healing is slow so I am using some steroid drops for a week, to facilitate the healing.  I stopped at Wegman's for Evie, picked up a few things, and got the car washed because the debris from the willow makes it difficult to keep my Outback clean.  When I got home, Evie was finishing up making a couple of pans of baked ziti for July and washed upstairs windows and screens that had not been done before Covid.

For lunch, I had the leftover pasta with eggplant and tomato sauce and watched more basketball.  I then read and tried to nap but the tree guys came by with their machine with jaws for picked up piles of branches.  They cleaned up the yard in an hour and were finished by 3:30.  I decided to cut lake weeds so I spent close to an hour out there, gathering them on the dock to dry.  Evie finished up in the house then mowed the backyard by her garden and did some more weeding.

Dining Out With Barb And Jim

With both showered and walked down to our neighbors, Barb and Jim, because we were going out to dinner with them to Cherry Creek, at the Cockcaigne ski resort.  We were there a week ago but were happy to return, a beautiful drive and a foot of onion rings for appetizers. We enjoyed our meals, beers, the view and the ride so it was a fun evening with friends.  We were back just before 9:00, in time to watch another episode of The Mosquito Coast and have dessert, strawberries on ice cream.  

Blue Skies, Lots Of Sun

6:05

Another stellar crisp lake morning.  We left the windows open so I put on a fleece.  Our view has changed quite a bit since we had a guy trim our maples yesterday afternoon, getting rid of deadwood but also opening up our view of the lake.  The piles of downed branches are still sitting in our yard, waiting to be taken away either today or tomorrow.

Kayak Morning

Northern Blue Skies 

Wednesday was another fall-like day, with temperatures in the low 70's and a nice breeze, our kind of day, not too hot and no humidity. We expected the tree guys to get here late morning, so I was off to the Chautauqua Institution by 10:00, for a bike ride before its gates close for the season.  I stopped at the Lighthouse for a sandwich and checked on the progress of my kayak.  My seat has been ordered, maybe. 

Thunder Bridge At The CI

Of course, the tree guys never arrived late morning or early afternoon as they said, so our waiting for them was for naught. I had my lunch, a sub, watched TV, and even took a nap before they arrived.  Evie was busy of course, during the morning and afternoon, prepping a couple of dinners for the arrival of our kids after the 4th of July.  It's nice for her to have dinners made for the first couple of nights, nice for them as well.

Trimming Our Maple Trees

Around 3:30, the tree trimmers arrived with their lift.  They drove it into our front yard and the guy operates it electronically, as the basket extends up and out on an arm. With a chain saw, he cuts the deadwood as well as giving the tree a healthy trimming.  It took him close to three hours, much longer than expected but he did a good job.  

Since Evie was making baked ziti for the kids, she baked enough eggplant for our dinner, eggplant and tomato sauce over noodles. With a salad, we had a tasty dinner and watched Colbert and Jeopardy, then started a series on Apple TV+ basked on Paul Theroux's novel, The Mosquito Coast.  We are into it so far. 

Another Sunny But Chilly 45º Morning

6:02

It's 8:50, the sun still bright, filling the yard and living room with its light. I kayaked for over an hour, over to Warner Bay, along Long Point, across to Sandy Bottom and home. Because of a light wind, it was an easy and pleasant paddle. 

Kayak Morning

Juvenile Bald Eagle

Long Point

We did not get outside much yesterday, perhaps because it was fleece weather, even inside. I paddled, then left for yoga at 9:10. As usual, it was a good class with Julie, ten gals and two guys.  I stopped for coffee, then headed home, no need to shop because Evie was shopping later in the day.  When I got home, I helped Evie rearrange a bedroom, making it more useable for when our family arrives in July. I had a quick lunch, tuna sandwich with pickles, then I drove my neighbor to Jamestown at 12:30, where he received a quote on the front end of his car which hit a deer a week ago. It took ten minutes to get a quote and we were home by 2:00.  Evie then headed off to Wegman's and I read some, napped, then went for a walk before Evie got home. 

I walked back just as she arrived, helped unload the car and put things away.  She had a Zoom call with her sisters from 5:00 to 6:00.  It was another easy night for dinner as we had leftover ribs as well as Santa Fe chicken.  Evie also roasted some brussels sprouts with hot sauce, made a salad, and a couple of ears of corn so we were happy, especially because we had chocolate cake for dessert. We watched Colbert then the much recommended In The Heights, a musical film by Lin-Manuel Miranda of Hamilton fame.  It was a loose adaptation of West Side Story, set in modern times, with lots of songs, dancing, and a love story.  We liked it but did not love it, perhaps because we are not crazy about musicals.