Kayaking To The Tunes Of Fleetwood Mac And The Call Of Loons

7:30

9:28

Poised To Be Pulled Into The lake

It's a gray, misty morning, an empty lake, and a few buffleheads scattered around the shoreline. I paddled down to Wells Bay and back, noticing that a few docks were already in, ready for summer. It's 35º and temperatures will stay in the 30s most of the day. 

Kayak Morning

In To The Deep

Yesterday I got my fill of basketball. That being said, I did get a few other things done during the day. As I mentioned yesterday, I chased my kayak into the lake and filled my boots with water so I never made it out on the lake. As a result, the morning went slowly without a paddle. I had my breakfast and wrote the blog, and then we decided that a walk around Long Point would be a good way to start our weekend. We were in no hurry but by 11:00, we gathered the trash and dropped it off at the Transfer Station and then drove over to the end of Lakeside Drive to start our walk. There's always a beauty in the woods no matter what the season and yesterday was no exception, a woods filled with deadfall and beginning shoots of green. 

Spring On Long Point Trail

Like An Abstract Painting Of Deadfall

Deadfall On A Trail

We were home by 12:30 and before lunch, I had to check our crawl space to see why water was puddling on the floor. After crawling over to where the pipes go outside, I noticed the hose from our dishwasher was unattached, thus the water. So next week, I will be calling a plumber. Yuck. After my crawl, Evie made me a delicious bagel, with avocadoes and tomatoes. And my nonstop watching of March Madness began, both women's and men's teams. We obviously watched all of Iowa's games, mostly to watch the magic of Caitlin Clark. We also watched parts of USC's victory, and then UCONN men's victory over Illinois. Somewhere in there, Evie sauteed mushrooms and grilled a couple of steaks for our dinner. They were as good as any steak house around here. The rest of the night alternated channels, with either women's or men's games. By 10:00, we had enough and went to bed, blurry-eyed and exhausted by our viewing.

Happy Easter

Some Sun, Some Clouds, And Chilly

7:11

7:12

7:32

8:28

I woke up and came downstairs just as the sun was rising, once again filling the living room with sunlight. Now at 7:40, its mostly hidden behind a vast cloud bank so all is gray, the sky and lake. Once again it's a chilly morning of 28º with rain forecast for later in the day. The lake is smooth and inviting so I hope to be out there in a half hour. Well, it's 8:53 and I didn't go kayaking. I got ready, my phone, life jacket, coffee and paddle, and went out to the lake. I placed my foam mat on the rocks and slid my kayak partly down the rocks. Unfortunately, I pushed it too far and it floated into the lake. I had to quickly wade into the lake, filling my boots with ice water, to keep it from floating away. Needless to say, I had to abort my paddle, pour the water out of my boots, change my pants and socks, and put on my Ugh boots to keep my feet warm. What a way to start the day. 

Yesterday began as it should, with a paddle south to Sandy Bottom and back although the wind picked up on my return, making it choppy and windy. After breakfast and the blog, I drove to yoga at 10:0 and was one of two in the class. I felt bad for our teacher because she is new. I was tempted to stop for coffee but came straight home. By 12:45, I enjoyed lunch and watching my show Black Bird on AppleTV+. I then read something else, napped, and around 3:00, watched some women's basketball before returning to my book. The weather was not appealing, still cloudy and cold, so neither of us felt like going for a walk. It was just one of those days.

We enjoyed a glass or two of wine and listened to the news and various pundits making fun of Trump's Bible, his newfound religion, a 'blasphemous Bible Thumper" as Maureen Dowd puts it. What a joke. For dinner, I was hoping to have corn beef and cabbage. Once I heated it up, it smelled bad for some reason and we ended up throwing it out.  Evie fried up some potatoes for me along with eggs and I was happy, as we watched the first episode of We Were The Lucky Ones on Hulu and a HGTV series set on the Lake Of The Ozarks, where my son Tom once owned a condo. Evie went to bed around 9:00 and I ended up watching the end of the Purdue game and the beginning of the Duke and Tennesse games. I have both taped but probably will not watch them today. Today and tomorrow are the two best days for basketball, the Final Eight, two games today and two tomorrow. As I mentioned earlier, Ohio University played in the final eight in 1964 beating Kentucky but losing the next day to Michigan, only a few years ago. 

Ice Floes Block Niagara Falls, 3/30/1848

Walking On Ice Next To Falls

Two Sunny Mornings In A Row

7:00

7:13

7:55

8:51

It's another sunny morning, the living room is filled with light. Unlike yesterday, it's a chilly 28º with hardly any wind so I will be out on the lake by 8:00. We are both surprised at the lack of wildlife on the lake after the 100s of migrating birds last week. It's 8:55 and I just returned from a 35 minute paddle. It was sunny and easy going, windy, cold and cloudy on the way home so I cut my paddle short. 

Kayak Morning

Getting Cloudy And Windy

Yesterday was a bit different from Wednesday but not much. I skipped kayaking and instead, went to breakfast in Bemus. I was home just after 9:00, giving me time to finish the blog and I was off to yoga by 9:35. Class was popular as usual on Thursdays and easy and enjoyable. After class, I did a quick run through Aldis, picking up a few essentials, always cheaper than Wegmans.

Lunch was at 12:30, a couple of cheese sandwiches with jam, easy and tasty and I am into my show Black Bird on Apple TV+, developed by crime novelist Dennis Lehane. I spent the early afternoon as usual, taking a good nap and reading my novel, Box 88. By 3:30, however, we were driving over to Bemus to walk out to Long Point from the marina. It was sunny and the wind made it chilly but we liked it. It felt good to be outside and get some exercise. We had a nice talk with an elderly woman who was sitting at the tip of Long Point with her dog and we had some friends in common.

Northern Wind And White Caps

Long Point

Most Of Rocks Are Usually Under Water

Afternoon Shadows And Blue

We came home to a house smelling of slow-cooking corn beef and cabbage, which is not necessarily aromatic. We decided to have some tortilla chips and guacamole to go along with our wine time, a good choice as we enjoyed the late afternoon shadows, filling our front yard as the sun began to set. Dinner was good, especially the cabbage with vinegar, and filling. We watched some news, junk TV, and quite a bit of the Clemson defeat of number #1 ranked Arizona. I have the other games taped so I can watch them today.

A Chilly But Bright, Sunny Lake Morning

 

7:48

7:15

7:15

7:21

It's 7:30, the sun's in full bloom, filling the living room with its light and I am wearing my baseball cap. I was surprised at the temperature, 28º, because it was much warmer yesterday morning. It looks like we will have some sunshine the next couple of days.  Maybe I will get outside and get in a hike somewhere, maybe not! It's 9:21 and I just returned from breakfast at Lake Life In Bemus, a good way to start my day before leaving for yoga. 

I am getting tired of writing the same things each day and was thinking about asking ChatGPT to do it for me. Life, however, mostly stays the same during the late winter and Spring at least here at the lake. However, A calm lake morning was a gift yesterday so that I was out for forty-five minutes and paddled over to Long Point on calm days like yesterday. I was off by 9:40 to yoga and surprisingly, we had three or four new students. Our new teacher, Grace, is fine and I like her class, not too easy or hard. I was tempted to do some shopping but came straight home since the weather had turned windy and gray.

Evie was busy much of the day with her Shutterfly book of the summer of 2023 yet took time out to make me avocado and tomato sandwiches on brioche rolls to go along with the last of the lentil and sausage soup. I started a new series that I doubt I will continue called Rizolli & Asles on Max. I had enough after the first episode and couldn't wait to get back to my book, Box 88 and nap. And that was it for the rest of the afternoon, mostly reading while Evie worked on the Shutterfly album.

By 6:00, we were ready to pick up our neighbors and drive over the lake bridge to the Viking Club, quite busy because of the drawing, now worth somewhere around $5000.00. We are getting tired of ordering wings so I had a Buffalo chicken pizza and Evie ordered a chicken salad, both decent. We had a good time just catching up on the neighborhood and politics and stayed until after 8:00. When we returned home, we  Evie was tired and went up to bed and I watched the NBA before joining her. 

'Looking Back' To Camping In Austria, Probably 1976

A Calm, Partly Cloudy Morning

7:14

It's 7:30 and I have been up for an hour, surprised by the lack of wind and warm temperature of 47º. The lake looks inviting, smooth, and gray so I hope to get in a paddle. It's 9:10 and I was out kayaking for forty-five minutes, across to Long Point, back to Sandy Bottom and home, my usual paddle. I was serenaded by two loons, one to my right and left and whenever I paddled near them, they dove and disappeared so I never got a good photo. 

Kayak Morning

North

Long Point

Partial Sun

Shades Of Gray

Yesterday was windy most of the day so I didn't get outside to do anything except for yoga. I wrote the blog, had breakfast, and was on my way to yoga with Courtney by 9:10. I was the only guy and left feeling much better than I did on arrival. I did not linger but came straight home, thinking Evie might need the car. She decided to put off her shopping for another day so neither of us had any plans for the afternoon. Evie had made my lunch before I returned, a chicken parm sandwich which was heating up in the oven. Just what I wanted as I watched my show, Unforgotten for an hour. 

Our afternoons seem the same lately because of the inclement weather. I read, Evie watched some TV and I napped until 5:00 when Evie had a Zoom call with her sisters. By 6:00, both of us had showered and were on our way to dinner at Bellininis bar, in the Chautauqua Suites Hotel. We met Ron and Linda for the first time in a couple of weeks because both of them had Covid. It was half-priced beer and burger night so the bar was crowded with mostly locals. The four of us ordered the burgers, fries, and beer of course and my bill was twenty-five bucks, the best deal in Chautauqua County. It was good to see Linda and Ron again, both feeling good after their bouts with Covid. We stayed talking until 8:00 when we headed home. 

We then watched some TV until 9:30 when we both were tired and went up to bed to read and hopefully sleep, 

Gray And Windy

 

7:22

8:14

It's 8:20 and windy out there, gusts up to 40 mph. No kayaking, obviously, just sitting in my living room, watching the bird feeder, enjoying my coffee and reading the papers on my computer. It's 40º and we may have some rain.

Yesterday was a bore as I did nothing, no kayaking, yoga or walking. I was up later than usual, had breakfast, and wrote the blog as usual and it seemed strange to have no yoga. Mondays are no yoga days at Eight Limbs Yoga Studio. At 11:00, however, I had my Annual Wellness Visit with my PA, mostly a quick check-up although it turned into a decent physical and a blood test. I then stopped at Tops to pick up a few things for dinner and was home for lunch by 12:00. I had the lentil and sausage soup for lunch along with a couple of cheese sandwiches and watched my series, Unforgotten. 

Fortunately, I am into my book by Charles Cummin, Box 88, so that's how I spent a good part of the afternoon reading and occasionally napping. Evie made banana bread with avocadoes and cottage cheese for a nice midafternoon snack. We enjoyed wine time before Evie put together our dinner of chicken parmesan with the leftover chicken cutlets from Sunday night. We devoured it while watching some basketball and then a feel-good movie on Netflix called Bank Of Dave. It was predictable yet fun to watch if you avoided being critical. 

We also spent most of the evening watching UCONN and Iowa women play basketball, I was impressed by UCONN's Paige Buecker (AP Player of The Year, 2021), especially her inside play and classic jump shot. Cailin Clark had a rough go of it against a scrappy, aggressive West Virginia team yet scored 32 points in a close win. It was a good way to end the night with an Iowa victory, sending them into the Sweet 16 along with UCONN.

Full Moon At 8:45

Sunny, Windy, And Warming

Happy Twenty-First Birthday To Our Granddaughter, Marlena

7:32

8:17

I was surprised to look at my watch this morning and see the temperature was 30º, the high in the 50s, maybe Spring is near. I was tempted to paddle this morning but the wind was just too much despite the inviting morning sun. 

Yesterday was more March Madness in the afternoon and evening but we got smart and watched the last five minutes of most of the games. The day did start well, with a great paddle and a shot of a bald eagle which made my day. We enjoyed the morning sunshine and the birds at our feeder. We decided to get in a walk in the morning and decided on our usual Sunday walk at the Chautauqua Institution. I was worried it might be icy but we could navigate around the icy parts. We walked for a good forty-five minutes, literally having the CI to ourselves. On the way home, we stopped at Tops to pick up a few things before driving home. 

A Snow Covered Thunder Bridge

Brick Walk

It was just about 1:00 when we returned and Evie made me avocado toast with two eggs. Yum, a nice Sunday morning treat. The afternoon went quickly as we alternated between various games and reading, watching junk TV or napping. The highlight of the afternoon, however, was the waterfowl. Much of the afternoon hundreds of migrating birds floated or flew in circles in front of our house. We had never seen anything like it; seagulls, mergansers, buffleheads, swans, geese, and mallards roamed for a couple of hours. It was like a National Geographic film. 

A Raft Of Water Fowl

By wine time, however, they had disappeared and we sat around enjoying the quiet. By 6:00, Evie was frying chicken cutlets, baking potatoes and roasting brussels sprouts for our dinner. We watched the last two episodes of Secret State, a depressing look at the corruption and self-interest in governments. It's worth watching on Prime Video. We ended the night with our favorite HGTV series, Hometown, before watching a bit of basketball again before going up to bed.

Full Moon Rising

Full Moon 

 

Paddling On A Sunny 19º Morning

Bald Eagle

7:35

9:24

Sunday Morning

The sun is out, filling the lake with its reflection, and a cold morning. I was up just after the sun rose,  surprising me when I came downstairs. When I looked at the temperature, I didn't think I would go kayaking but the lake looked too inviting so out I went and was rewarded with my first Spring sighting of a bald eagle.

Kayak Morning

Looking  North

Mostly Blue

Hanging Out 

Yesterday could only be described as Mad, as in March Madness. It did not begin until noon so we had a relaxing morning, watching the three swans feeding in front of our house and enjoying a couple of cups of coffee before finishing the blog, By 10:30, we had gathered the trash and I went off to the Transfer Station on a cold morning. My Kia was frozen from sitting out, so I took the Outback which was in the garage. There are advantages to having two cars.

Cruising

Napping

Cuddling

Lunch was a Turkish omelet and a couple of brioche rolls and I watched some of the first March Madness game. I soon got bored and went back to my book, a spy thriller by Charles Cumming titled Box 88. I soon tired of it and took a nap, what else. The only game we wanted to see was Iowa Women with Catlin Clark. We had it taped so Evie made some popcorn, I poured the lemonade, and we watched the entire game with millions of fans. I am sure it was the most-watched game on Saturday despite it being a women's game. 

After the game, we enjoyed our wine and relaxed in the living room,  surfeited with basketball after watching Iowa and parts of other games. Dinner was the lentil, sausage, and spinach soup along with sourdough bread. We loved the soup and it was substantial, with the lentils and sausage. We decided on a 2012 series from Great Britain called Secret State and we liked it and watched a couple of episodes. It deals with politics and corruption and division in government. Sound familiar? I can see why people despise the government with the many self-serving politicians. Evie went to bed around 9:00 so I watched the end of the Tennessee/Texas game before joining her.