Waking Before The Sun Rise

5:45

9:14

Our House

It's 7:25 and I just returned from an hour paddle down to Wells Bay and back. I was up at 5:45, alas, and out on the quiet lake at 6:00. I managed to shoot a couple of ospreys and a heron. My neighbors, Jeff and Nancy, were up as well, getting ready to ski, something they do most mornings during the summer.

Kayak Morning

Sun Rising

Sandy Bottom

Great Blue

Same Guy

Osprey

Another Osprey

Same Guy

Looking Over His Shoulder

Wednesday was not an ideal day, although it started and ended well. I got in a good, long paddle, off to Tom's Point and back, and was home in time for coffee, breakfast, and writing the blog. By 9:30 I was on my way to Jamestown, to the dentist's office, for a teeth cleaning. It's not as bad as getting a filling or crown, but it's still not fun — they dig around my gums so my mouth is sore for much of the day. On my way home, I stopped at Jamestown's Tops grocery and picked up some pork chops, two packages for the price of one, a good deal.

I was home around noon and read until 1:00, when Evie made me a couple of toasted ham and cheese sandwiches, and I watched my series. By 1:30, I was upstairs trying to nap, but mostly reading my new novel, Whistler, by Ann Patchett. We had a lazy afternoon after that, reading, watching TV, or trying to nap. I wasn't thrilled about sitting around but couldn't come up with anything I wanted to do, so I read and dozed until 5:00, when I showered and got ready to go out to dinner.

We were meeting old buddies from Cleveland, guys I taught or played basketball with. We try to get together for dinner with our wives once a summer, and meet for breakfast once or twice a year in Erie. We usually meet at La Cucina della Nona, an Italian restaurant in Jamestown. John and Penny live in Concord, an eastern suburb of Cleveland, and Stan and Carol spend their winters in The Villages and their summers here in Chautauqua. Since we only get together once a year, we had a lot to catch up on. I ordered my usual, chicken parm, and Evie had broccoli pasta. The waiter was attentive and made it a pleasant experience. We ended up talking and staying later than usual, and didn't get home until 8:00.

We watched some of the news — what's going on in Iraq — Evie went to bed, and I watched my show before heading up to bed at 10:00 to read and sleep.