That Morning Sky

6:55

7:03

7:24

7:24

I am sitting at Full Strength Coffee in Westfield, and it's 8:52. I dropped Evie off for a couple of tests at the Westfield Hospital. It's warming up out there, 32º, and may get close to 40º as the day wanes. The sun has popped out occasionally, filling the coffee shop with its light. 

Westfield's Full Strength Coffee Shop

Tuesday was a boring day for me without a car. Evie left for school at 9:30, and there I sat, in my living room with my computer and Kindle, wondering what to do with the rest of the day. I like to get out and do something. After reading some and surfing the Net for positive news, I put on my hiking boots and crampons and decided to walk the campground. I had to walk through a foot and a half of snow to get to the campground, and their plowed roads. I was the only one out, except for a guy shoveling snow off the porch of a trailer. It was pleasant enough but windy on my way back to the house. I was out for 40 minutes, and it was just right, enough exercise to fill my day. 

Chautauqua Campground

Chautauqua Lake

I wasn't home until 12:45 and quickly made my lunch. I chopped up three hard-boiled eggs, added mayo, and had an egg salad sandwich to go with another bowl of lentil soup. I finished up another season of Prime Suspect just as Evie walked in from school. The rest of the afternoon was usual, with Evie watching her show, me reading, napping, then waiting for wine time. 

4:47 PM

Evie had her Zoom call with her sisters at 5:00, so wine time didn't start until 5:45.  Around 6:30, Evie fried up some perch we had frozen and made French fries in the oven and a salad. Dinner was ok, the French fries mediocre, alas, but the salad and ice cream with chocolate sauce for dessert was great. We watched three more episodes of our series before Evie went to bed. I watched the finals of the NBA cup but was bored after 15 minutes and started another season of Prime Suspect before going to bed. 

.Here Comes The Sun

8:01

7:49

7:06

The sun is out, bright and cheery over the southern sky, whitening the lake with its rays. What a difference from the past couple of weeks. I have been up since 6:30, Evie 7:00 on a chilly 18º morning. Evie's off to school at 9:30, and I will be home alone, without a car.  

7:49

Monday was another day of shoveling, although the snow was not as bad as Sunday. I was up at 6:30 and Evie slept in until 8:00. We had our coffee and wrote the blog as usual, waiting for Smerconish to come on Potus radio at 9:00. We were taking the Kia in to the dealer around 10:00, to get the 'air flaps' fixed so I went out and shoveled the driveway and pulled the Outback out of the garage. We took both cars to the dealer, and I dropped off the Kia. We then drove home in the Outback, stopping at Tops to pick up some groceries for dinner. 

7:49

7:55

So for the next couple of days, we will be a one-car family. When we returned home, I had lunch, lentil soup, and a toasted cheese sandwich topped with jelly. I watched my show, then read some, tried to nap, and shoveled the drive once more before wine time at 5:00. Dinner was great, breaded pork chops and baked potatoes topped with butter and sour cream. We watched a couple more episodes of our series, and both of us have about had it and will start looking for something new to watch. Once Evie went up to bed, I watched a few minutes of football, then finished the evening with another episode of Prime Suspect. I finally finished my Patterson novel and started my fifth Thursday Murder Club novel, The Impossible Fortune, fluff but delightful. 

7:55

More Snow, More Shoveling

7:13

8:35

A light snow is falling at 8:00, and I have been up for an hour. It's 18º and snowed two or three inches overnight. I think we have received close to two feet of snow over the past week. It is supposedly going to snow for a couple of days, and then begin again on Thursday and Friday. 

Yesterday was a snowy one, and I spent a good part of it out in the yard shoveling. We were both up by 8:00 and had the usual relaxing Sunday morning, interrupted by the depressing news of the deaths of 15 Jews in Australia. What madness! After breakfast and writing the blog, I went out and used my cordless snow shovel to clear five or six inches of snow. Each time I use it, I get more comfortable. After shoveling, I came in and read and listened to the news with Evie while it continued to snow. By 11:00, I was out again with my regular shovel, clearing a couple more inches of snow off the car and driveway.

Long Point Disappears In Snowfall At 1:00 PM

We were looking forward to brunch and the Bills game at 1:00, but I went out and shoveled again just before the game. It was a depressing first half, with the Patriots going up 21-0, and I almost went up for a nap. Fortunately, I didn't and watched an amazing Bills comeback as they won 35-31, to the complaints of Patriot coaches and fans. After the game, we watched a thrilling regional volleyball match between Texas A&M and Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska was up two games, but Nebraska fought back to win the next two, losing, however, in the fifth game, 15-13. 

Some Sun

Vast Cloud Bank At 3:45

Sun And Blue Skies at 3:59

After the game, I showered and got ready to go out to dinner. Just before 6:00, I cleared the snow off our car and did some light shoveling before driving to Linda and Ron's for our Sunday dinner. We had a fun evening with Linda and Ron, punctuated by a Boursin and fig appetizer to go along with our wine. 

Cosy Dining Room

For dinner, we had a surprise as Ron grilled individual ribeyes for the four of us. They were tender and juicy, better than most restaurants around here. We had dessert, a yummy pumpkin flan in the living room, and then left around 9:15, driving home on snowy but empty roads. 

Our Good Friend, Linda

Morning White

Peace And Love At 7:48

7:10

7:48

It's 7:30 as I start this, and I have been up for an hour, watching the dark turn to light. It's 10º, and we must have gotten another three or four inches of snow overnight. Looking out my living room window, all I see is white, lawn, lake, and sky, except for a bird or two at the feeder. A light snow is falling, so I'd better get out there soon and start shoveling. 

Stow Ferry Cottage

Built in 1812 by Tom Bemus

Saturday was typical except for the snowfall. I was up early, like this morning, having a couple of cups of coffee, writing the blog, and taking a few morning photographs of the lake. My mornings do not change much. We were in no hurry to get busy, but by 10:00, I was outside with my battery-powered snowshovel, clearing the parking area of three or four inches of snow. Evie was busy as well, cleaning out the fridge and gathering the trash. I left for the Transfer Station around 10:30, dropped off the trash, and checked whether the trail to Tom's Point was walkable. 

Deer Tracks

Beginning Of Tom's Point Trail

I came home, put on my boots, and returned to walk the trail at 11:30. I was able to follow the tracks of a couple of hikers, which made it easier to walk, but after five minutes of hiking, they obviously had enough and turned around. So I turned around as well, walked back to the car, then hiked down the street to the lake and back, so that I walked for close to forty minutes. When I returned, it had snowed a bit more, so I went over the parking area with my regular snow shovel.

Stow Ferry, Parked For The Winter

Stow To Bemus Bridge

I didn't get home until 12:30, and Evie had a pot of lentil soup ready for me and fried up some bologna for a sandwich. I watched some basketball, then finished the second season of Prime Suspect. I was tired by then and went up to read and nap as usual. I slept for maybe forty-five minutes, came down, and realized that I better get out and shovel again, but I waited until 4:30, hoping I wouldn't have to get out later in the evening. 

Afternoon White

We had our usual wine time, enjoying the ebbing of daylight, the sky an amazing dark white. Two days ago, I bought a teriyaki/garlic pork tenderloin at Tops because it was half price. So that was our dinner, along with cauliflower, potatoes, and a salad. Unfortunately, neither of us much liked the tenderloin, and we filled up on the sides. We watched three episodes of our show before Evie went up to bed, and I started the third season of Prime Suspect after watching some college basketball.

White Out

7:36

7:43

8:55

It’s 8:30, and we are both up, waiting for the snowstorm and squalls that were predicted to start this morning at 7:00 and continue until Monday at 7:00. When I woke at 7:20, the view was magnificent—the yard, lake, and sky were all white. Now, at 8:35, Long Point, Tom’s Point, and the Bemus shoreline are all clearly in view.

Long Point This Morning

Friday was a long day in some ways, mostly because I spent much of it inside and didn’t need to do much shoveling. I woke far too early at 6:15, leaving me with nearly three hours before 9:00, when I usually turn on the Smerconish show and have breakfast. Evie didn’t get up until 8:45, so she didn’t get to the blog until after 9:00.

We had no firm plans for the day, although Evie always has something she wants to get done around the house. I, in contrast, prefer to get out—hike, bike, shop, or at least visit a coffee shop. I decided to try walking Webb’s Trail in Mayville, but I couldn’t get near the trail because of the snow. It wasn’t groomed, so I would have been trudging through a foot or more of snow. Instead, I parked in the Mayville Park lot and hoped to walk the asphalt trail there, but it, too, was snow-covered. I managed about 15 to 20 minutes of walking around the park before calling it quits.

Chautauqua Belle

Mayville Park

I volunteered to stop at Tops in case Evie needed anything and came out with three or four items for our dinners. One of them was freshly sliced bologna, which excited me because Evie offered to make fried bologna sandwiches. They always remind us of a bar in Nashville that featured a fried bologna sandwich and a beer for five bucks. I enjoyed my sandwich with pickles while watching another episode of Prime Suspect.

After lunch, I went upstairs to read for a while and ended up taking a good hour-long nap—no surprise, given how early I’d been up. The rest of the afternoon passed quickly, and I was happy not to have to shovel.

We had our wine time at 5:00, and by 6:30, Evie had dinner ready: salmon cakes, roasted potatoes from the air fryer, and a salad. We ate while watching three more episodes of our series, though we’re finally starting to tire of it and are thinking about moving on to something else. I ended the night with some college basketball and, once again, Prime Suspect.

* Text revised by ChatGPT

A Day Of Snow Shoveling

6:46

6:59

7:46

It's 7:44 as I start this, and the sun is just starting to peek above the tree line. I have been up since 6:30, coming downstairs in the darkness, making coffee, and reading on my computer. The lake is frozen again, probably halfway across to Long Point, because I can see some ducks still floating. The bird seed is frozen in our feeder, so the birds are having a hard time enjoying breakfast. 

Ducks Floating In The Open Water Of Bemus Bay

Early Morning View From My Couch

Thursday, we were both up by 7:00 because I had breakfast at 8:00 in Bemus and Evie had to leave for school by 9:30. By 8:00, I had shoveled a path to my car, cleaned off the snow, scraped the ice off the windows, and driven to the Lake Life Cafe for breakfast. I met my good friend, Jack, just back from a great week of hiking in Costa Rica. He regaled me with his trip, the hikes, the monkeys in the back yard of their cottage, and the humid, 80+º weather. It sounded good. I was home just after 9:00 and spent 25 minutes clearing our parking area with my cordless snow shovel. Evie took off when I finished and I had the morning to myself. Because I had a prescription at Wegmans, I drove there in the snow around 10:30 and picked up a few things for our dinner. It was surprisingly crowded despite the bad weather and snow-covered roads. I took my time coming home, driving around 30 mph on #394. It was good to get home. 

By noon, three or four more inches had fallen, so I shoveled the parking area once again, using both my cordless snow shovel and a regular one. I wasn't that hungry after breakfast, so I used up the last of the ham, made a sandwich with mustard and pickles, and watched another episode of Prime Suspect. Evie surprised me by coming home early, around 1:30, because the kids were watching a film and she didn't stay for it. Around 2:00, I went upstairs to read, and because I was up early, I took a good nap, not waking until 3:40. By then, more snow had fallen, so I went out and shoveled our parking area once again. Fortunately, the snow was light, so I used my old snow shovel. It was a wild late afternoon on the lake, with winds, waves, and lots of wildlife.

4:15 PM

Wind And Waves At 4:49 PM

4:50 PM

By 5:15, we were enjoying spicy tuna rolls from Wegmans, pretzels, hummus, and a Manhattan. Before happy hour, Evie had grilled a couple of salmon filets in the air fryer, and after our Manhattans, made a great salad topped with the salmon, our favorite way to enjoy salmon. We watched another episode of our show, then The Colbert Show because he interviewed Taylor Swift. It was a great interview, and she comes off as a real person. I ended the night with a quarter of football and an episode of Prime Suspect. 

Windy, Gray, And 20º

7:14

9:20

It's 7:20, and we are both up, surprised that the lake has opened in front of our house, although much of it is still frozen. I have breakfast at 8:00, and Evie has class, so I will be off around 7:50, after clearing the snow off the car and doing some shoveling, so Evie can leave at 9:30.

Lake Is Open

Long Point And Ducks Floating

Yesterday was a stay-at-home day for both of us, the first in a long time for me. I was up early for no reason and waited for Evie to get up for a couple of hours because she could sleep in. We had our coffee, finished the blog, and I had breakfast, all by 10:00. I knew I had to do some shoveling and was not looking forward to it because of the wet snow. So I used my battery-powered snow shovel and it takes quite a bit of effort to clear the snow, especially when it's wet. It's not a solution to my snow shoveling problem, but I will test it again today because we got three or four inches overnight. So it was quite a workout, but I got it done. Afterwards, I decided to do some yoga rather than go to class, so I turned on some yoga music and practiced for half an hour. While I was busy, Evie was upstairs putting together 18 Christmas bags for her kids, with goodies. 

I read until lunchtime when Evie made me a toasted ham and cheese sandwich and I finished off the tortilla soup. Since I was up so early, 6:20, I was ready for a nap by 12:30, so I went upstairs and read for maybe ten minutes before falling asleep for an hour and a half. I was groggy when I came downstairs, read a bit, then decided I needed to wake up put on my boots and crampons, and decided to go for a walk, a bad idea. The woods were wet and slushy so I stayed on the road, which was mostly slush and turned around and came home after five minutes.

Late Afternoon Melt

I read until 5:00 when Evie brought me a glass of wine, and we listened to fake news on CNN until dinner time. Dinner was tasty, the leftover orzo and hamburger, with added spinach, along with a salad. We watched All Saints until Evie went to bed, and I started a new series, which I have watched at least once, Prime Suspect, with Helen Mirren. 

A Cosy Evening Snowfall