Tuesday, June 18, 2024

Hazy And Hot

6:27

8:10

It's 7:05 and I have been up for forty-five minutes on a 70º morning. I opened the windows, allowing some of the cool air in, and will close them when it gets warmer. The lake is gray, the sky overcast although the sun peaked through a bit ago. 

Kayak Morning

First Sighting Of A Northern Goshawk

Yesterday was the first of the severe weather days and it did get up to 88º in the afternoon. I got in a long paddle, mostly because of the wind which made coming home difficult. It was already warm when I paddled and sitting on the couch writing the blog was just as warm. I am not sure what then motivated me but I wanted to get something done or do something before it became too hot. So I got out a bucket, filled with with white vinegar Dawn, and a squeegee and washed the front windows which needed it to say the least. As I look at the windows this morning, it's disappointing because either I missed lots of areas or they are dirty inside. And the morning sun shows how smeary or dirty they are making me wonder why I bother. 

Once I was done I was done with getting something done if that makes any sense. By the time I was finished, the day was beginning to heat up so we closed the windows and stayed inside, happy to be enjoying the leisure of a June day. Evie had the great idea of making French toast for lunch so I was a happy boy and I finished my series, The Veil, and like False Flags, who were the good guys is not clear.

I managed to nap despite the heat and read for a good part of the early afternoon, not wanting to go outside and brave the 85º heat. Over the weekend, I was looking forward to boating down the lake to the Chadokoin River but yesterday was so hot that I dreaded it and it turned out to be accurate. I was meeting two buddies in Lakewood and we were hoping for a leisurely afternoon cruise, down the river and back home. It started out fine although we worked up a sweat just sitting in the sun as we cruised. Just as we were heading back up the Chadakoin to the lake, I got a text from Evie warning us that severe thunderstorms were forecast for the area. 

Captain Of Our Ship

We looked up at the sky and it was blue until we cruised around a turn and the sky was darkening. Just as we made it out of the river to the lake, it started to drizzle, then rain, get windy, and then torrential rain hit. We could barely see more than 20 feet in front of us and we worried about the weeds and shallow areas. Fortunately, I glimpsed a buoy off to our left so we knew we were avoiding the weeds. The rain pelted my glasses, and my face, as we tried to keep heading north. Finally, as we got near the dock, the sky cleared and the winds calmed down so we had no trouble docking the boat on the lift. 

Cruising The Chadakoin

What a relief, to dock the boat and head to shore only to see Jack's VW convertible, sitting on the side of the road, with the top down. He was test-driving it before buying so it was not yet his car. We quickly checked out the car. Puddles stood on the floors and the seats were soaked, so Tom went to get some towels. We sopped up the water, dried the inside, and tried to raise the convertible top but couldn't figure out how even though we had the VW booklet. Finally, Jack called the owner, explained our dilemma and she worked us through raising the top. Once that was done, Jack started up the car and the horn went off and the three of us could not figure out how to turn it off, nor could the owner. Jack didn't know what to do, called AAA but they wanted to charge him 125 bucks to tow the car and would only accept cash. That was a no-brainer so he made the decision to drive the car home, with the horn blaring and the last I saw him, he was driving by my car, the horn announcing his departure. So that was a fun afternoon.

Because it was so hot, in the high 80s, I volunteered to pick up a couple of Whopper meals after our cruise so by 7;30, I was home, drying off, regaling Evie with my tale, enjoying a Whopper as we watched the usual shows until 9:00,  Evie went up to bed and I watched the first half of the Celtics game. They were up by 15 points at half time so I went to bed, figuring they would clinch the title. They did. 


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