Fog Rising

 

7:51

7:51

7:50

7:49

9:00

It's 9:15 and the fog has almost obscured Long Point, quite a contrast when I woke and started paddling in 39º weather when there was little fog. I was out for 50 minutes, across to Long Point, glimpsed the duck hunters hugging the shoreline, then came across to Sandy Bottom and home. 

Kayak Morning

Into The Sun

Northern Blue

Yesterday was a strange day because I didn't get in much physical activity other than a nice long paddle to start the day.  We both took our time getting busy, enjoying our morning coffee, and finishing the blog. By 10:45, we had begun moving, and I gathered the trash and drove off to the Transfer Station. I then had a few stops, first at Ryder's Cup for coffee, then to Spectrum Internet, to return the modem and box; otherwise, I would get charged. Then I was off to Jamestown, to pick up some cherry sleep gummies for Evie, and finally, I stopped at a strip mall on 3rd and bought us dinner at Best Kitchen, a take-out Chinese restaurant. 

I was home by 12:30 and had some wonton soup and an egg roll for lunch, along with the leftover artichoke spread on crackers. I watched some of my series before tiring and going upstairs to briefly read and nap. Neither of us did much the rest of the afternoon, mostly waiting for 5:00 when we could have a glass of wine. Dinner was mediocre, not what we had wanted, and we started watching a new series on Prime called The Girlfriend, but we gave up after 20 minutes and returned to All Saints. I wondered how many seasons of All Saints there were, and was shocked to find out that there were 12 seasons, comprising 495 episodes. It looks like we have our viewing planned for the winter, perhaps the spring.

A Changing And Striking Morning

Morning On Victoria/Woodlawn

7:53

9:21

It's later than usual, 9:46, partly because I slept in to 7:45 and was out paddling for over an hour. At first, it was overcast with fog rising, but eventually the sun burned off the fog, and lit the fall colors of the shoreline. It was a great way to begin the morning.

Kayak Morning

Sun's Beginning To Light The Shore

Woodlawn From The Reeds

North

Friday was a different day. It began as usual with my first paddle in a couple of days because of the five inches of rain that fell over a three or four-day period. In fact, I started my paddle in a light drizzle, but it soon cleared up. I also spied a couple of herons, making my morning. We then finished up the blog and waited for the technician from Kinetic Internet because we were cancelling Spectrum, which was too expensive, and switching to Kinetic Internet, and then adding YouTube streaming, saving us close to a hundred bucks. It took him a couple of hours because he had to climb a couple of telephone poles before bringing the line to our house. He arrived around 10:30 and left around 1:30, and we really liked him. He made sure we were comfortable with the new streaming service and that we could get apps like Netflix and Prime.

Lunch was the last of my chicken and beans with garlic sauce, and I watched my show. By the time I was done, it was 2:00, so I read on the couch and fell asleep. Around 3:30, I walked our woods, getting in some exercise before the sales rep who arrived at 5:00, to convince us to get a new walk-in shower, done in a single day or two. 

The Woods

Victoria Creek Four Days Ago

Victoria Creek After Five Inches Of Rain

Clouds And Lake

Bemus Point

We came across this builder online, and they are from Hamburg, NY, about an hour and a half from us. He was your typical salesman, going through various costs of walk-in showers, recommendations from their customers (all five-star reviews), and then he went through everything we might want in a walk-in shower, including wall colors, shelves, seats, and shower heads. Once he was done, he pulled out his phone and added up the price, and it was outrageous, but-- he then went into the discounts we would be getting, dropping the price quite a bit, but it was still too much. So he then pulled out a letter from his boss, emphasizing that if he could make this sale immediately, they would drop the price by another 10%. It was the highest price I was willing to pay, so we said YES.

He left about 7:00, and Evie then grilled lamb chops for our dinner, along with baked potatoes. We were still on a high from our decision to finally go ahead with a walk-in shower and stayed up later than usual, watching three episodes of our show before Evie went to bed, and I watched another episode of Spooks. What a day.

Trump's Biggest Lie Of The Week: It (the ballroom) won't interfere with the current building...it will be near but not touching it. And pays respect to the existing building, which I'm the biggest fan of. It's my favorite place. I love it."

Paddling In Drizzle On A 40º Morning

7:54

9:14

It's 9:20 and I just returned from a close to an hour paddle. I was excited to get back out there after a few days off because of the rain. I was lucky to spot a couple of herons, and the sky at times was striking, though mostly cloudy. While I paddled, I listened to Scott Galloway interview Heather Cox Richardson, and it was an interesting interview because both Scott and Heather are brilliant. There are so many takeaways that I don't know where to begin, like Trump's White House is run like a reality show, or the observation that No Kings Day was mostly older white people, those who remember when government worked. Both also agree that national service would be beneficial for the United States because it would bring different groups of young people together. Cox, who is a professor, suggests that most young people are not ready for college after high school and would benefit from a year or two of service. I tend to agree because I wasted my college years academically.  If you are not familiar with Heather Cox Richardson, you can sign up for her daily essay by Googling her name, and it's free.

Kayak Morning

Amazing Sky

Sandy Bottom

Victoria

In The Reeds

Northern Clouds

Heron

Yesterday was a full day of rain so no kayaking. Fortunately, I didn't care because I had breakfast at Bemus at 8:00, and after that, I finished the blog and then drove to Lakewood for a Yin Yoga class. I did not linger and came straight home to an empty house. Meanwhile, Evie was at luncheon for Americorps volunteers in Chautauqua County at Moonbrook Country Club. She enjoyed meeting other volunteers and the many different ways they help support the community without being paid. It began at 11:00, and she was home by 1:30, glad she went. 

For lunch, I had another bowl of garlic chicken and beans, topped with both sour cream and pita chips, and I am beginning to like it more and more. I watched my show, then finished my book, Wild Dark Shore, and started the newest Fredrik Backman novel, My Friends. Most of the afternoon was spent either on my computer or reading. Evie had some lunch while watching her show, and we met at 5:00 for our wine time, marveling at the rainbows that filled the late afternoon sky. 

Wow

For dinner, we had Greek turkey burgers from Wegmans with all the fixings and loved them. Besides the burgers, we had roasted cauliflower and a salad. Our viewing doesn't change much, so we watched All Saints until Evie went to bed. I then watched a few minutes of the NFL game, then a bit of the NBA, tiring of both and going back to Spooks, where the third major MI5 player is killed off. 

It Looks Like A Rainy Day

6:21

9:10

I was up way too early, at 6:20, and came downstairs to a dark house and rain. I made my coffee and realized I had a good hour before driving over to Bemus Point for breakfast. It's 9:25 as I finish this, having just returned from breakfast in Bemus. 

Heron Fishing

Yesterday was a day of leisure for me since I had nothing I had to do. Unfortunately, it was raining when I woke, so there was no kayaking either. I had a long coffee hour or two. Evie left for her kindergarten class at 9:30, and I am not good at just sitting around the house doing nothing. So I decided to go for coffee at Ryder's Cup around 10:30. None of my buddies were there. I then texted a friend who has been housebound with lung problems to see if it would be a good time to stop over.  I visited with him for about 20 minutes, which was just right because he tires easily. I then went to Walmart to pick up a few things to make  Slow Cooker Garlic Chicken from the New York Times.

I then stopped at Panera's for lunch, an eating place we had completely forgotten about until one of Evie's students gave her a ten-dollar gift card. It was surprisingly crowded, mostly with seniors, and they all seemed to be regulars. I waited in line for five minutes before ordering a sandwich to go, and waited another ten minutes to get the chicken club sandwich. I was home by 12:30, put together the Slow Cooker Garlic chicken, turned it on for four hours,  then enjoyed my sandwich, leaving some for Evie. Just as I finished, Evie came home from school, tired from two days in a row. She watched her show, enjoyed the sandwich, while I read and napped for a bit. Around 4:00, I decided to walk in our Victoria/Woodlawn woods, hoping to get it in before it was forecast to rain. And despite the recent rain, the trails were fine, and the creeks were still mostly dry. In other words, we really need rain.

Woodlawn Maples

Black And Green

Verticals And Leaves

Path To Lake

c

Dead Leaves

Dangerous Bridge Over Victoria Creek Gets Railings

We enjoyed a glass or two of wine, listening to the latest directive from Trump, which was usually something out of nowhere, like tearing down the East Wing,  imposing sanctions on Russian oil, suing the Justice Department, or whatever. He is certifiably nuts, and Republicans are afraid to challenge him because they might lose their seat in the House. Dinner was my garlic chicken, and it was edible; I will leave it at that. We watched a couple of shows until Evie went up to bed after her long day. I then watched the Cavs lose to the Knicks and the first half of the Dallas/San Antonio game before going to bed. 

Gentle Rain And 41º

7:34

7:44

8:05

It's just after 8:00, and both of us have been sitting in our living room for forty-five minutes. The rain has been falling since we woke so I guess I won't be kayaking this morning, maybe later in the day. Evie has school this morning because she has a luncheon tomorrow and won't be able to go to school. 

Tuesday turned out to be a decent day. I had a doctor's appointment for an echo at 2:15 in Westfield so I had to arrange my day around the appointment. I was able to get in a good paddle, spied a couple of eagles so I was happy. Once Evie left for school, I had three or four hours until my appointment that needed to be filled. I didn't want to sit around, so I hitched my bike to the Outback and drove to Mayville, hoping to avoid the predicted rain. I almost did as I biked Webb's Trail and Sea Lion Drive. The last ten minutes, however, it started to drizzle, and by the time I returned to the car, it poured. I was going to stop for a sub at the Lighthouse, but I forgot my wallet, and they don't take my iPhone's American Express card, like quite a few businesses around here.

Biking Webb's Trail

I was home by noon and took a chicken pot pie out of the freezer for my lunch, and watched my show. I then showered and was on my way to Westfield by 1:30, checked in, and was quickly taken for my echo, which was nice. I stopped for gas because it's 14 cents cheaper in Westfield and was home by 3:30, just as Evie returned from school and a stop at Wegmans. I helped her unload the car, read some, then wanted to do something, so I fired up the gas mower and mulched the front yard's leaves, although you cannot tell I mulched them this morning. 

Taking A Timeout From Mowing To Take A Photo Of Bemus

While I was mulching, Evie was zooming with her sisters, then put together our dinner, a couple of chicken thighs with orzo and tomatoes. At 5:00, Evie had a Zoom call with her sisters, and I watched another episode of Spooks. We had dinner at 6:30, and we were surprised at how good it was, considering Evie hadn't followed a recipe. We watched an episode of Doc, then a couple of episodes of All Saints. and finished up the Watergate cake. Yum.  When Evie went up to bed, I turned to the first NBA game of the year, the Rockets/Thunder. I stayed with it until the beginning of the second overtime, when I was too tired to see it to the end. The Thunder won by 1 point, and the game's leading scorer was Alperen Sengun, a player from Turkey with 39 points. 

Chilly , Blue Skies, And Light Wind

7:16

8:44

It's 7:30 and we are both up, with our coffees. I am waiting for the sun to rise before going out kayaking. It should be up in a couple of minutes. It's 42º so I am going to have to wear a couple of layers, gloves and a stocking cap. I was out for just under an hour, spotted an eagle, and paddled south into the wind to Sandy Bottom, and with it on the way home. 

Sunrise At 7:46

Into The Sun And Clouds

Eagles

Up Close

Male Mallard

Female Mallard

Yesterday was a bit of a bore because I didn't do much. When I got up, it was raining and windy, so I didn't go kayaking. Instead, I surfed the web, read the newspapers, wrote the blog, and had breakfast. Because of the weather, I couldn't hike or go for a bike ride. Instead, I decided to get rid of all of our empty cans and take them to what I call the Can Man at Don's Car Wash in Lakewood. Usually, when I drop off my bag of cans for 5 cents a can, five or six teenagers take the empties, bag, and count them, then give me cash. Yesterday, however, the machine took over, taking away jobs as one kid took my bag, dropped my cans into a machine, and it took them along a conveyor belt, and I assume counted and bagged them. Once they were in the machine, the kid went over to the cash register and gave me nine bucks and change for my cans. So I now had enough for coffee, so I went to Ryder's Cup, ordered a coffee and sat down, and talked with Bob, one of the regulars, for half an hour before heading home.

Mechanized Can Man

I was home by 11:30, and Evie had been busy, doing some washing, things like that. I read until lunch time, 12:30, and Evie made me a couple of schnitzel sandwiches, and I watched my show. I then read some, napped a bit, and read until it cleared up some and the sun came out around 3:30. So I did some yard work, picking up the deadfall in the front yard, from yesterday's rain and wind. It also knocked down the cosmos, so I had to pull them, and between them and the deadfall, I filled up a garbage pail.

Late Afternoon Colors Of Houses On Lakeside Drive

Heron Along Our Lake Wall

By the time I was done, it was almost wine time. It turned out to be a striking late afternoon, with a lavender sky and a heron walking along our lake wall, looking for dinner. We had the leftover Lev's chicken for dinner along with a salad and a couple of slices of Watergate cake. We watched The Great English Baking Show, although we seem to be getting bored with it. We then watched Old Saints until 8:30 when Evie went up to bed. I watched the first half of the Buccaneers/Lions game then went up to read and sleep,