A Blinding Morning Sun

Bill, Our  Handsome 91-Year-Old Neighbor, Then And Now

6:40

6:40

6:52

It's 8:55 and I paddled for 70 minutes, my usual route, along Woodlawn, across to Long Point, then to Sandy Bottom and home. I ran into both Tina and Jim, and our neighbors Kathy and Medio, out for a paddle. Evie's been up since 7:30, working on cleaning our TV room as we are getting rid of our couches today and getting a new (used) sectional from the CI.

Kayak Morning

Northern Blue

Our Neighbors, Medio And Kathy

We Get Along

Osprey Next To Campground

Yesterday was another busy day, starting with kayaking and some great photos of birds. After kayaking and the blog, I drove to Lakewood for yoga, another good class. Afterward, I stopped for a coffee at Ryders and talked with a fellow yoga friend, Paul, a local for 15 minutes. Then off to the bank, to deposit a nice check, compliments of my father in laws estate, then shopped at Wegman's not as busy as usual because of the end of the Chautauqua Institution's season. 

I was home by 12:30, later than usual and Evie had been giving the front porch a deep cleaning and it shows, even looks like new. I had pizza and ramen for lunch, watched my show, read, and napped, as nothing seems to change these early afternoons. Evie zoomed with her sisters and we were taking dinner over to our neighbors so Evie was busy in the kitchen, making Nora Ephron's peach pie and scalloped potatoes and ham casserole, one of Bill's favorites. Once those were done, the afternoon went quickly and we walked over at 6:00, with gin and tonics.

We sat on their front porch talking, enjoying their view, always different from ours and adjourned to their dining room by 6:30, hungry and ready for dinner. We had Prosecco, Joyce's favorite to go with the casserole, corn and salad. There was enough casserole so Bill could have three servings, the rest of us two. It was a fun night, lots of talk about the past 40 years we both have been at the lake. And, of course, the evening ended with delicious peach pie.

We were home by 8:45, in time to watch some TV before going to bed by 10:30, tired from our busy day, or rather, Evie's busy day.

Paddling In A Drizzle

Lunch In  Erie, PA

6:37

6:47

It's 7:00 and the sun has popped up over the horizon although most of the sky is filled with clouds and it supposedly will rain in a half hour. I don't count on it. Well, just as I started to paddle at 7:20, it started to drizzle but not for long as I was out for at least 50 minutes, arriving home hardly damp but happy with having photographed both a heron and osprey. 

Kayak Morning

Clouding Up

Great Blue Heron Among The Mallards

Osprey Eyes

Yesterday was an unusual day for us although it started out to be a typical Monday, with an hour paddle, a few bird photos, breakfast, and the blog. We were able to relax for an hour and because of the forecast for rain at 6:00.  I put the cover on the boat. We both then showered and by 11:00, we were on our way to lunch in Erie with friends, Penny and Cle. Cle graduated from Reserve in the mid-1960s and I was fortunate enough to teach both their sons so we go way back. They suggested Oliver's, a restaurant on the eighth floor of the new Hampton Inn which overlooks Erie Harbor. It has great views of not only the harbor but the bay and we look across it to Presque Isle where I often bike. We enjoyed not only the view but the food and it's always fun talking with both Cle and Penny. 

They have lived in Erie most of their life so they know the town well. Cle and I had walleye sandwiches, and Penny and Evie both had great salads so we were happy with our choices. We stayed till 2:00, vowing to meet again in the fall, as the sky threatened rain. By the time we got to our car, it started to drizzle and once we were on #86, we drove through torrential rains, just as bad as our trip through Cleveland a couple of weeks ago. We even pulled over for ten minutes it was raining so hard, making it difficult to see. When we returned home, we were surprised to see only an inch of rain had fallen but it must have been much greater in some areas. We received messages that our power had gone out as well as the cable and wifi, that trees in the area were down.  It was an adventurous afternoon.

We did not do much the rest of the afternoon but by 5:30, we were on our front porch as the sky had cleared and we enjoyed a libation or two and hummus and pretzels. It was a beautiful early evening so we didn't have dinner until 7:15, the leftover pizza, and a salad because we were still full from our great lunch. We watched a few HGTV shows, some of the always depressing news, ending the night with another episode of the Extraordinary Attorney Woo.

A Cormorant And Wood Duck Morning

Cormorant

6:27

7:00

It's 9:00 as I start this, having kayaked for over an hour, to Tom's Point hoping to see herons and eagles but was disappointed. I did see cormorants, however, fishing on a dock and a beautiful immature wood duck, along Tom's Point's shoreline.

Kayak Morning

North

Wood Duck

Wood Duck

A Pair Of Cormorants

Sunday was supposed to be a day of leisure (like most days, actually) so we took advantage of it in the morning but as usual, Evie could not resist the temptation to mow the lawn despite the temperature being in the 80s. I did get in a great paddle, however, over an hour and saw lots of herons. We did not do much early morning but by 11:30, Evie was out mowing the lawn in stages and I was trimming around all the dahlia beds and brick walk. Because that did not take long and Evie was still mowing, I decided to take down the purple martin houses,  clean them and the poles and store them in the garage. 

Most everything was done by 12:30 and it was time for lunch. Evie was still getting a few things done in the garden so I warmed up the leftover quesadillas and made a bowl of ramen. I watched Game of Thrones, of course, then started a new book, Lost, my second book by Michael Robotham since I was not into The Bouncer. Neither one of us had much energy the rest of the afternoon and spent a good part of it sitting in the shade of our side yard reading. By 5:30, we were ready for a boat ride and invited our next-door neighbors, Kathy and Medio to join us. It was a fine night for a cruise and we took our usual route, to Bemus Point, along Lakeside Drive, and home. 

Cruising With Kathy And Medio

We decided earlier that we would have pizza for dinner, so I drove over to Coppola's Pizza in Bemus Point and picked up our pizza. We were enjoying it with a salad and Pepsi by 7:00 and watched a couple of episodes of a series called Station Eleven. We ended the night with another Extraordinary Attorney Woo. 

A GREAT BLUE HERON MORNING

Zingaro

Bald Eagle

A Great Blue Heron Quartet

It's late, 9:20 as I start this although I was up at 6:15, enjoying an early coffee, waiting for the sun to rise. I was out on the water by 7:15, paddled across to Long Point, then the end of Lakeside Drive, across to Tom's Point, and home. And best of all, I photographed an eagle and at least ten different herons, with four hanging out in a tree. I also ran into our neighbors, John and Maryanne in their canoe, and Jim and Tina in their kayaks, so it was a busy morning on the lake.

6:20

6:54

Kayak Morning

Blue, Northern Sky

Our Neighbors, John And Maryanne

A Heron In The Mist

Same Herons, Different Pose

Saturday morning was strange because I spent a good hour talking with an architect about garage possibilities after my hour-long paddle. As a result, I didn't get to the blog or breakfast before 10:15. Once it was published, I made breakfast and went for a walk around the neighborhood, as I try to do each morning, eating my granola with yogurt and fruit on the way. Once I was home, I took the cover off the boat and then we gathered the trash and I was off to the Transfer Station just before noon. It was busy as usual but I was able to get in and out fairly quickly. 

Evie rewarded my busy morning with a couple of tomato/toast/mayo sandwiches and I watched my show. It was a spectacular afternoon for sunbathing, sunny and breezy so Evie spent a good part of the afternoon out on the dock, reading, and enjoying the day. I had my usual afternoon, falling asleep as I read, then joining Evie on the dock. By 4:00, I had enough sitting and walking the Victoria loop, 1.4 miles, taking me a half hour, just right. 

Once again it was such a beautiful late afternoon that we decided against going out for dinner and instead went for a boat ride over to Bemus and back, on a surprisingly windy late afternoon. When we returned, Evie put together our dinner, a couple of tasty quesadillas along with a salad and we watched a film called The Starling, about a couple dealing with the aftermath of a personal tragedy.  We liked it, especially Evie because it's her kind of film, with mild drama, no violence to speak of.  We ended the night with Real Time With Bill Maher. His guests were Rob Reiner, a passionate liberal, and Amy Klobuchar, a sensible Democratic Senator from Minnesota.  We hope she runs for President; she would be a good one. 

Partly Cloudy And Getting Warm

Evie's Mystical Garden

7:02

It's late, 10:20 because I have been talking to an architect about garage possibilities. We hit it off and talked about all sorts of things, his and our travels and he's exactly my age and, I think, we are politically in lane although we avoided politics. He is into solar energy and bought an all-electric Volkwagen which he loves. Before he arrived, I paddled for 50 minutes and got a couple of neat photos of an osprey at the north end of Woodlawn.

Kayak Morning

Paddling North

Osprey

Yesterday was a muggy but busy day. After kayaking, breakfast, and the blog.  I hurriedly attached my bike to the car and drove to Bemus Point for a ride. I had to be back by 11:00 because I was taking my neighbor, Joyce, to Jameston for a doctor's appointment. My ride was fine, with a decent wind, and I cut it a little short to make sure I had time to clean up before we went to Jamestown. Fortunately, her appointment took only 25 minutes at the most so we were heading home by noon, stopping at Peterson's, however, to pick up peaches and tomatoes. 

Long Point

When I got home, Evie was off to Mayville for another appointment with a physical therapist. For lunch, I couldn't pass up a tomato sandwich and I still had a serving of eggplant leftover from Wednesday. Both were delicious and I watched more of Game Of Thrones. By the time I was done, Evie was home, hoping she'll have only one more appointment with the physical therapist. 

Early Evening Sky

We relaxed the rest of the afternoon. I napped and finished my David Silva novel and started a new one called The Bouncer. I am not taken with it but will stick with it for another couple of chapters. We couldn't make up our minds whether to go out dinner or stay home but by the time we did, it was too late to go out so we decided to enjoy a libation and a good appetizer, guacamole and chips, sat on the porch and it was a good choice. We literally filled up on the chips and guacamole as it was a good thing we were having a hot dog and macaroni and cheese for dinner, easy and too much really. We were excited to watch another episode of Bad Sisters but it was pretty bad. We ended the night with another Extraordinary Attorney Woo, a good choice. 

Morning Sun Gives Way To Gray Skies

6:32

7:17

It's 8:30 and we are both up, enjoying our coffee and our devices which have taken the place of the radio or TV in our mornings. I paddled for forty-five minutes, starting out with the weather apps saying there would be no rain for an hour. As I paddled out, thunder rolled in from the north and I got a few drops of rain as I paddled but that was it. The sky, however, turned from morning sunrise to dark clouds and was overcast by the time I returned home. 

Kayak Morning

Threatening Sky

Prancing Heron

Thursday mornings are my busiest mornings because I want to get in a paddle before going off to breakfast in Bemus. So I have to get up early enough to get the paddle in which I neglected to do yesterday so I had to scramble to get in a half-hour paddle because I got up late at 6:50 and had to be at breakfast by 8:00. I was home by 9:10, quickly wrote up the blog and published it by the time I left for yoga at 9:35. Whew. Yoga was fine as usual, with lots of long holding of positions and class seemed to go quickly as I was into it. I didn't stop on the way home but had to sit through two one-way lights twice as they continue to work on the sewers.

Pink Ladies

While I was gone, Evie had been busy in the house and was relaxing on the porch when I got home. She suggested I have the leftover eggplant and tomato pasta for lunch so I pulled it out of the refrigerator and ate it cold. I watched another episode of Game of Thrones and am remembering parts of it since I did watch the first season seven or eight years ago. We both took it easy, again, the rest of the afternoon, not wanting to do much because it was muggy, making it undesirable to sit outside. I tried the side yard but soon returned to the house which was cooler. By 4:00, I had enough sitting around reading so I went for walk up Victoria to #394 and back, 1.3 miles and it took me a half hour. It's a perfect short walk because most of it is in the shade. 

We relaxed on the front porch as the afternoon began to cool until 6:30 when Evie fried up a couple of burgers and I zapped a couple of ears of corn in the microwave and that was our dinner. We watched a couple of episodes of the Extraordinary Attorney Woo because we could not find a film we wanted to watch. We ended the night with this past Sunday's CBS Sunday Morning. As usual, it was interesting and eclectic with its stories. 

Sunny And Blue Skies

6:56

7:41

I was up later than usual for a Thursday, at 6:50 so I hurriedly made my coffee and was out on the lake for a half-hour paddle by 7:00, spotting both a heron and osprey so it was worth the rush. It's 9:20 as I finish this after having breakfast in Bemus at 8:00 with two of the gang. 

Kayak Morning

Northern Sky

Great Blue Heron

Osprey

Cormorant

Yesterday was not the best of days although it started out well enough with a good hour paddle, a relaxing breakfast, and coffee. We then did a few things around the house but by 11:00, we were off to Mayville where Evie had an appointment with a physical therapist to hopefully correct her dizziness. I decided to then drive to the Hartsville Diner and pick up a sub sandwich, supposedly the best place around but it's closed on Wednesday, go figure. So I sat in the parking lot, reading my Kindle until Evie was done at 12:30.

We were home by 1:00 and Evie fried up some mashed potatoes and eggs for my lunch. I watched another episode of Game of Thrones, but by 1:30, was off to the dentist, to get 18 X-rays, both sides and front, and find out I will need a new crown. Yippee. I then stopped at my tax person, only to find out that because for some reason one of my IRAs was not included in my taxes, I owed both the IRS and NY State, three thousand bucks plus interest for the years 2019, 2020, and 2021. What BS, right, but I paid it and will have to pay interest later. That ended my good day.

I was home by 4:30, and relaxed on the couch while Evie made our dinner, an eggplant and tomato pasta, and salad. Fortunately, it was delicious so my mood improved a bit. We watched an average film called Labor Day. We didn't love it or hate it and ended the night with another HGTV show.