A Sauerkraut Morning

Slicing Cabbage With Tom

6:19

7:34

It's 7:53, and the sun is so bright in our living room that we have to move off the couch to read on our devices. I am not complaining, though, because it's a beautiful Saturday morning on the lake—just a few clouds, lots of sun, and a light wind.

Great Blue Heron

Same Guy

A Teal

Sun Rising Above The Reeds

Into The Sun

Kayak Morning

Yesterday began with a great paddle, as I was treated to plenty of lake-life photo opportunities: herons, eagles, and cormorants. I was out for close to an hour and back by 8:00. After breakfast, I wrote the blog and had it published by 9:00. I then picked up Jim, my neighbor and fellow sauerkraut worker, and we drove to Tom and Julie's house, where a couple hundred pounds of cabbage heads awaited us.

The Sauerkraut Boys, Tom, Jim, And Moi

Tom buys the cabbage at an Amish market for a dollar a head. Wegmans charges $1.29 a pound. We have our method for making sauerkraut down pretty well, since the three of us did it together last year. Jim cores and halves the cabbage heads and brings them to me, and I put them through the electric slicer. Once I have about eight pounds of sliced cabbage, Tommy puts it in a pot, adds salt, and vigorously mixes the cabbage and salt until it's well marinated. He then packs the cabbage into crocks, where it will sit for the next couple of weeks, aging and turning into sauerkraut.

Crocks Filled With Salted Cabbage

We started at 9:00 and finished cleaning up the mess right around 11:15. In a couple of weeks, Tommy will dole out bags of kraut for us to freeze and use throughout the year. It's a fun way to spend a morning.

I was home just before noon and was greeted by the aroma of corn chowder simmering on the stove, our grandchildren's favorite summer soup. I was tempted to have it for lunch, but we decided to save it for dinner, so I finished up the leftover lemon chicken and rice and watched my show.

We then had a leisurely afternoon. Evie sunned herself briefly in the backyard, and I went out on the dock to read until the breeze made it too cool. Around 5:00, we had our wine time and once again marveled at how lucky we are to have a home on the lake.

Dinner was easy, as Evie had already fried up bacon for the soup and had plenty left over to make BLTs. Along with the corn chowder, we had a great dinner. We watched a couple more episodes of ER, and after Evie went up to bed, I watched the second half of the Indiana Fever's twenty-point defeat of Connecticut. Both Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell scored 34 points apiece. Around 8:30, I went in the kitchen and noticed the moon just starting to rise above the Bemus shore.

Moon Rising Over Bemus shoreline at 8:30

Moon Risen

Full Moon Rising

I ended the night with the final episode of Goliath and am ready to start Season Two today.

Two Eagles, A Cormorant And Four Herons

6:30

8:08

Immature Eagle

Eagle

It's 8:10, and I've been out for 75 minutes, paddling to Tom's Point and back as the sun slid in and out of the clouds. It was a beautiful morning on the lake, though the wind picked up on my way back, making the paddle onerous and the water choppy enough that taking a photo was difficult.

Kayak Morning

The Rising Sun

Bridge

Looking North

Heron On Neighbors Dock

Tom's Point Heron

Tom's Point Heron

Cormorant

Wells Bay

Thursday was a good day, starting with a paddle at 6:45, then breakfast in Bemus with the guys — I ordered my usual: coffee and an English muffin with sausage, egg, and cheese. Yum. When I got home, Evie and I finished up the blog and published it, then made a list of a few things we needed from Wegmans. I'd decided to skip yoga and ride into Jamestown instead, so on my way I stopped at Peterson's and picked up some homegrown tomatoes, hoping they'd be tasty. I parked at the start of the Jamestown Riverwalk — asphalt all the way to McCrea Point — then biked to Third Street, over to Main, and took the path along the Chadakoin River before heading back to Main and stopping for a coffee at Crown Street Roasting. From there it's a 15-minute ride back to my car. By 11:30, I was at Spectrum Eyecare getting my glasses adjusted, especially my sunglasses, which had been damaged when I fell. It took about ten minutes, and then I was on my way to Wegmans. It wasn't very crowded, so I was in and out quickly.

Mc Crea's Point And Chadakoin River

Jamestown Riverwalk

When I got home, Evie had been busy but was still willing to make me lunch — a salami sandwich to go with a quarter of my sub. I watched another episode of Goliath, then went back to my book and tried to nap. Evie wasn't feeling well so she went up to bed for a bit too. I checked in with the guys, who've moved on to our neighbors' place to hook up their sewer; it's a tricky job, since the area between the two houses is so narrow. I sat out on the dock and read until wine time. Evie had put dinner together earlier — lemon chicken — so by 6:30 we were enjoying that with rice while watching a couple of episodes of ER. Evie was feeling better but was ready for bed by 8:30, so I watched a few minutes of football before going back to Goliath and watching until 10:00, when I headed up to bed.

Moon Rising At 8:26

A Darkening Morning Sky

6:16

7:27

It's 9:15, and I just got back from breakfast at Bemus Point with my friends. I was up at 6:15, on the lake by 6:40 for forty minutes, and shot photos of two herons, both perched on Woodlawn docks. Evie was up early too, at 7:45, just as I was leaving for breakfast.

Kayak Morning

Northern Sky

Finally, Some Color

First Heron

Second Guy

Same Guy

Yesterday was a good day — until 2:30 in the afternoon. I'll explain later. The day began around 7:00 with an hour-and-twenty-minute paddle. It was a striking, sun-rising morning, though in all that time on the water I never saw anything more interesting than thirty or forty seagulls perched on a boat lift's canvas roof. After I got home, Evie and I finished up the blog and published it around 9:30. After a breakfast of brownie and ice cream, and some talk with the guys finishing up tearing apart our yard, I decided to go for a bike ride. I drove to Mayville, parked the car, and rode my usual route — Webb's Trail out and back, then down Sea Lion Drive and back. My new bike seat is more comfortable but still not perfect. On my way home, I picked up corn at the Amish stand next to the Lighthouse House, then grabbed a chicken salad hoagie for lunch.

When I got home, Evie wasn't feeling well and was lying down upstairs, so I read for a while. Around 12:30, I ate half my sandwich and started a series I'd seen before but really liked — Goliath, starring Billy Bob Thornton. I was tired from the bike ride, so I went up to read and maybe nap. I napped, for forty five minutes and woke at 2:30, and for some reason, I realized I had a CAT scan appointment in Westfield at 2:00 — completely forgotten. I raced downstairs, grabbed my phone and wallet, jumped in the car, and called the office to see if I could still get the scan in. After a few minutes, they said they weren't busy, so I made it there in 20 minutes. I was literally in and out in 15 minutes and on my way home, stopping only for gas and a root beer at McDonald's.

When I got home, Evie still wasn't feeling well and didn't want wine or dinner. For some reason, despite being tired, I felt like mowing the lawn, so I mowed for the next 40 minutes, stopping only once for a water break. When I finished, Evie went back upstairs, hoping she might feel better. By 5:30, I was really tired and relaxed with a glass of wine for an hour, until 6:30. Then I made myself dinner — a couple of BLTs. Tasty, but not as good as the ones Evie makes. I wasted the evening watching three episodes of Goliath and treated myself to another brownie and ice cream once the kitchen was cleaned up. I went up to bed around 10:00, read, and fell asleep.

A good day?

Love It

A Bright Shiny Morning

8:22

6:32

6:46

The sun's up, filling the lake with its reflection on a beautiful, mostly blue-sky morning. I was up at 6:30 and on the lake just before 7:00 for an hour and 20 minutes. I paddled north this time to Snug Harbor and back and didn't see any birds other than seagulls.

Kayak Morning

Paddling Down To Snug Harbor

Sun Rising In The East

Into The Sun And Clouds

Wow

Tuesday was a good day except for our yard, which continues to be a mess. Since both of our houses seemed to be hooked up to the new sewers, today may be the day the guys put our yard back together. So Tuesday began as usual with a good paddle, and I was back home by 8:00, giving me over an hour before I had to leave for yoga. I was able to enjoy another cup of coffee and finish the blog by 9:00. It was good to get back to Tuesday yoga with Courtney, although I left feeling tired and achy for some reason, and all I wanted to do was go straight home. Evie felt the same and was lying on the couch reading. I decided to go upstairs and lie down on my bed and read. I could have napped, but I wanted to wait until after lunch.

Our Side Yard

Matt Digging 

Blue Skies, Destroyed Yard

Our Hydrangea Tree

 
For lunch, Evie made me a couple of toasted cheese sandwiches, and I microwaved an ear of corn. I watched another episode of my Swedish series but couldn't wait to get up to bed and nap, which I did for a good half hour. The rest of the afternoon, neither of us did much. I'd read for a bit, then go out and talk with the guys working our yard, then come back in and read until 4:00. By 4:45 we were both showered and on our way to a five o'clock dinner at Bellinis, with friends Jerry and Jane, Tom and Julie. Bellinis is famous for its half-price happy hour from 5:00 to 7:00 and its specials, so it's busy, especially for the white-headed gang like us. It was great to see Jane and Jerry, who live in the Villages in Florida most of the year. Everyone ordered libations, beer or wine, supposedly at half price. Evie and I had the burgers, eleven bucks each, and they were really good. We had a good time, of course, and the four of them have known each other for years. When we got our checks, I couldn't believe mine — they'd charged us 36 bucks for three glasses of wine. Then I found out only the house wine was half price, not the ones we ordered. Idiot! So it wasn't a deal, but we still had a fun evening.

Dinner With Good Friends

Because we got there at 5:00, we were home by 7:00, in time to watch a couple of episodes of ER before Evie went to bed. I finished my series, Blood Sacrifice, which I really liked except for the ending. I then watched some basketball before going up to bed to read and sleep. Sort of a good day.