A Sun Filled Morning

6:38

Purple Martin Scouts Are Back

I was up at 6:30, in time to see the sun rise, the lake choppy, rafts of ducks floating on the lake, like flotsam, small pieces of black.  It's 37º and dare I suggest it, winter like days may be a thing of the past. There is little evidence of spring in the yards and woods, no daffodils, no tulips, at least in our area. Only  hundreds of dead perch, on the eastern shore of the lake, a result the newspaper suggests lack of oxygen in the lake because of the heavy winter.

Yesterday was a nice day, lots of sun but still relatively cool, in the low 40's.  Neither of us felt particularly energetic, so we did not have any great projects.   I did go to Yin Yoga, a small class because of spring break for the area students.  As usual, a good class, with lots of attention from Danielle.  On the way home, I stopped at the Tri James office, next to Smith Boys, and talked them into letting me pick up some #2 stones from their stone quarry next to RT #86.  For ten dollars, I get 20 buckets though I have to fill them myself.

 When I got home, Evie was ready to go to the gym, after having been in Mayville early for a doctor's appointment.   While she worked out, I ate lunch, watched some TV, and started my new book, having finished AMERICANAH, a novel I really enjoyed and would highly recommend.  I will blog on it later in the day.  Around 3:30, I was antsy, so I drove off to the Tri James quarry, shoveled my requisite four buckets of stones, drove them home and spread them out on our road, which always seems to be set with puddles.  I think Shane, who clears the road of snow during the winter, takes off the top layer of stone each year, leaving mostly mud.  The only problem with this task is its hard on my back, so I have to be careful to not overdo it, to keep my back straight when I shovel, learned this from yoga.

Another semi easy dinner for Evie, pre cooked barbecued ribs from Trader Joes, sweet potatoes and home made coleslaw.  We relaxed before dinner with a beer, enjoying being back in our living room, as 'the long day waned,' the title of a wonderful trilogy, set in the Far East, by Anthony Burgess, the British writer, most famous for having written A CLOCKWORK ORANGE. We were at a loss as to what to watch, so I put on the newest Hunger Games film and we watched about half of it, as we lost interest when the games were to begin...too much violence for Evie.  So we watched some American Idol before heading off to bed.

By the way, I noticed recently that I have written over 1600 blog entries, having started it in 2009, but have not missed a day since October, of 2010, when I started to take it seriously.  Amazing for me since I am not very disciplined.

Back At The Lake

6:22

Full Moon Over Tom's Point at 10:00 PM

A crisp, partly cloudy morning at the lake, 30º out, long white streaks of clouds criss cross the sky over Bemus Bay.  We have only been away from the lake for a day but it still feels good to be home.

Yesterday, as I mentioned in my blog, was a full day, starting with breakfast at my sister and brother in law's house on Lake Erie, where we had spent the night, a two hour drive from Chautauqua.  Rich was up early, to play tennis, so we did not have breakfast till after 9:00 when he returned.  He loves breakfasts, usually makes them, so we had scrambled eggs, bacon, home fries, and English muffin toast, all great.  We left about 10:00, for Eton Square to hit both the Apple store and Trader Joe's.  While I went to the Apple store, Evie shopped at Trader Joe's, picking up lots of goodies we like but don't really need...it's what we call shopping.  I had my Mac Air diagnosed and there was a problem with my software, that only could be fixed if the entire hard drive was erased and I had to then go home and download all the settings and applications from my Time Machine, a scary process.  I gave the go ahead, though I was worried that Time Machine would have bugs.  Well, I am on my Mac this morning so it worked, but it took close to ten hours to download everything from Time Machine.  And it looks like I need my Microsoft word  serial number to get Word on my machine but I have no idea what it is.  That may be a problem.

Enjoying Lunch Out With Our Good Friend Vi

Anyways, we met our good friend Virpi Buck for lunch at the Redhawk restaurant in Painesville, and we had a good time catching up with Vi, about OU, her grandchildren and travels.  She is an inspiration.  We lunched for an hour and a half, then drove back to the lake, getting home around 2:00.

Putting The Finishing Touches On the Lamb Shanks

Dinner

We relaxed until 6:00, when we went to the McClures for dinner.  Linda out did herself, with a Moroccan lamb shank dinner, with prunes, raisins and apricots, couscous and a Greek salad.  We loved it.  And Linda had been following the NYTimes wine writer, who is taking the readers through various types of wine, and this month he recommended a couple of Bordeaux's, talked about how to pair them with a dinner, what they tasted like.  So she picked up one of those 'expensive' bottles in Pittsburgh, and we had it for dinner.  Although it was highly recommended, none of us were taken with it, in fact, we like our cheap ten dollar a bottle wines better.  I am not sure what that says, perhaps cheap wine has ruined our taste buds, we are used to a certain kind of wine, or we just don't know how to appreciate good wine.

The Big Pour

We got home around 10:00 ready for bed after a fun day.  As we drove home, we were shocked by the huge full moon, hanging over the lake, like a fall night.

A Night Of Family And Volleyball In Euclid

 A Family Affair

Grandpa Rich And The Boys

We have been in Euclid, at my sister Linda and her husband Rich's house,  for twenty four hours, and it's 7:10 in the morning. I am looking at Lake Erie, out their family room window; it's fairly calm after yesterday's crashing waves, snow, and sleet.  Huge rafts of buffleheads are floating on the lake at the moment, the skies clear, a fine Ohio morning.

Yesterday, spring was out of sorts, no doubt, cold, snowy, sleet, rain, just about every combination of moisture it could think of.  We spent the morning waiting to drive into Euclid at 2:15, a strange way to spend the morning, no tasks, no yoga, nothing, just waiting to drive to Ohio.  We did pack a few things, but it's an easy overnight.  We were worried about the weather but the roads were fine, some rain but it did not seem to be freezing even though the temperatures had to be below freezing.

Sophomore Daniel Gail

Senior Connor Gail

Freshmen Richie Holzheimer

Cousins Meet On The Court

We arrived at my sister Linda's house around 4:30 and sat around and talked till it was time to go to the Villa Angela/St. Joe- St. Ignatius volleyball game on Cleveland's westside. Two of my grand nephews, Connor and Dan Gail play for St. Joe, one, Richie Holzheimer, is the setter for St. Ignatius, so it was a family affair.  All of the Holzheimer family were in attendance, even those who did not have kids playing, so we go to see all four of my sister's kids, and their families, a total of twenty one, quite a cheering section.  Unfortunately, the St, Joe team was very young, so Ignatius won in three games, but it was fun to see the boys play.  The nieces had made signs supporting their cousins on both teams, so that was fun, and we got to take pictures of almost everyone after the game.  I think the coach of St. Ignatius knew that family had come not only from the Cleveland area but from New York state to see Richie play, so he made sure to play him for two games, kind of neat.

Kirsten and Kathryn, My Nieces

Vince and Sally

JP And Owen

Sweet Emily Gail, Rising Volleyballer

After the game, we all went to Scotti's, a neat little Italian restaurant on 185th Street, in Euclid, for pitchers of beer and pizza, and there were 15 of us at dinner, congratulating the winners, consoling the losers.  It was fun to see family again since we don't get to see them as much since we have moved to Chautauqua Lake.

We returned to the Holzheimer house around 10:00, but we were all tired so we went to bed around 10:30.

It's 9:00, time for a Rich Holzheimer breakfast (he's just returned from early morning tennis), then we are off to Azman's for Slovenian sausage, Trader Joe's for various goodies, a stop at the Apple Store Genius Bar, then lunch with Vi Buck at the Red Hawk in Painesville,  before heading home to the lake, and a lamb dinner at Ron and Linda's...a full day, fun day.

Morning Sun On Lake Erie

Spring Forgotten: Rain, Sleet, Snow

7:32

A miserable morning, rain hitting the roof, dark outside, slowly turning to an overcast sky and much colder than the spring like weekend.  Not exactly a morning to excite the senses, to make you want to get up and go.  More like a day to stay inside, listen to NPR,  read a good book, and make some Turkish tea.  When I was teaching,  I paid little attention to the seasons, to nature, to birds, trees, the like, which has become one of the great joys of retirement.  I have time to pay attention to the natural world, to write and read about it as well and it enjoy it.

I really liked today's poem about spring from The Writer's Almanac and another one from the past week, so I thought I would include them in today's post.

Spring Song by Edith Wharton "O primavera! Gioventit dell' anno." The first warm buds that break their covers,   The first young twigs that burst in green, The first blade that the sun discovers,   Starting the loosened earth between. The pale soft sky, so clear and tender,   With little clouds that break and fly; The crocus, earliest pretender   To the low breezes passing by; The chirp and twitter of brown builders,   A couple in a tree, at least; The watchful wisdom of the elders   For callow younglings in the nest; The flush of branches with fair blossoms,   The deepening of the faint green boughs, As leaf by leaf the crown grows fuller   That binds the young Spring's rosy brows; New promise every day of sweetness,   The next bright dawn is sure to bring; Slow breaking into green completeness,   Fresh rapture of the early Spring!

Yesterday was also overcast much of the day though warm, with rain coming late in the day.  No action on the lake, which surprised me because I thought some fishermen might be out in their boats, pulling in the crappies.  There have been quite a few Amish fishing off of bridges, in the streams so something must be running.  I started my week, as usual, with yoga at 9:30, a good class, new, interesting stretches, and lots of laughs, and I am getting to know just about everyone.  I have even been invited to a special introductory class on Friday, combining balance and breathing.  Not sure what that means so I will have to wait and see.  After yoga, I stopped at Ryder's, then went to Home Depot and Wegman's to pick up a few things for the house, for dinner.  Both stores were surprisingly busy, as if spring has brought everyone outside.  

Early Evening Darkening Clouds: 6:32 p.m.

Lunch was the rest of the barley/mushroom soup and a bagel with cream cheese, and Evie went off to workout at the YMCA.  I did little the rest of the afternoon, reading, taking a nap, and watching some TV.  When Evie got home, she put together our dinner, Santa Fe chicken, one of my father's favorites because it had hominy in it, along with chicken, garlic, chiles, green taco sauce and tomatoes, making a great sauce. With rice, it was good dinner, stew like, tasty and filling, enough leftover for a lunch.

After dinner, we started the new season of two TV series we have enjoyed, Nurse Jackie and Mad Men.  Nurse Jackie is back to her old ways, lying to herself and her colleagues, back on opiates, thinking she is strong enough to handle both work and being a drug addict.  Edie Falco, from The Sopranos, plays Jackie, a tough, no nonsense nurse, struggling with drugs, her job, an estranged family, an angry daughter, and a new boy friend.  The new episode of Mad Men was confusing, partly because we had forgotten how the series ended last spring, but also because things have changed so much over the years in some ways, stayed the same in others.  Don is now on hiatus from his job, his wife living in California because of her job, and Peggy, the female protagonist,  is struggling with a new boss.  But both Don and Peggy are also the same, Don lying to himself and to others, unsure of his life, the importance of advertising, the only thing he's really good at, and Peggy continues to crave approval, in her job, but is unhappy with the void of her personal life. Mad Men needs to be watched a couple of times, reviews need to be read, and only then do you begin to get all the subtleties, the allusions to Sharon Tate and the Manson murders in 1969, the appropriateness of the music,  the similarities between this episode and the very first episode from seven years ago, and so on.  

Prairie Spring

by Willa Cather

Evening and the flat land,
Rich and sombre and always silent;
The miles of fresh-plowed soil,
Heavy and black, full of strength and harshness;
The growing wheat, the growing weeds,
The toiling horses, the tired men;
The long empty roads,
Sullen fires of sunset, fading,
The eternal, unresponsive sky.
Against all this, Youth,
Flaming like the wild roses,
Singing like the larks over the plowed fields,
Flashing like a star out of the twilight;
Youth with its insupportable sweetness,
Its fierce necessity,
Its sharp desire,
Singing and singing,
Out of the lips of silence,
Out of the earthy dusk

Breakfast At Red's Best Pancake House

Enjoying Pancakes, Sausage and Maple Syrup at Red's Best 

7:09

Up at 6:20 to an overcast morning though it's still warm out, 64º, no paper, the start of a week that's going to turn increasingly colder, bringing perhaps some snow flurries tomorrow during the day.  We have no plans for today other than yoga for me, a workout for Evie, as we try to get back into our routine after a great weekend.

Yesterday was a day of utter relaxation for both of us, not wanting to do much other than lay around the house, watch the Master's, and fill up in the morning on Red's Best.  Ron McClure picked us about around 10:00 (Linda, the good girl, was in church), and we drove to Sherman, then off on the Sherman/ Clymer road.  When we got there, the parking lot seemed full, and we had a short wait to get a table, though the owner, the maple syrup master,  gave us a fairly detailed description of the process.  He is close to 4000 gallons of syrup this year, a record and much of it is sent to Vermont.  It's a very homey place, no pretense, just pancakes, sausage, juice and coffee.  And it's all you can eat pancakes.  The waitresses are quick and helpful, local high school girls, and we had our pancakes within five minutes of sitting down.  We have been here twice before, once with our daughter Jill and family in 2012, and last year with an old friend who was visiting us from Hawaii.

At Reds, With Our Daughter Jill's Family in mid February, 2012

With Our Friend John Allen, March 23, 2013

Ron McClure, With Red's Owners, Duane and Kathy Redlecki

We were home by 11:30, with little mojo, though we did fuss around with the purple martin house, putting on the predator guard and painting the perches, getting it ready for the return of the purple martins on April 15th.  Our neighbors, the Kinney's, Fox's and Johnston's put their houses up this weekend as well.  Most of the afternoon, Evie relaxed upstairs, watching old movies on the tube, so unlike her, and I watched the Master's until I got bored around 3:30.  So I went outside, put on my waders, got out the sledge and poles for the martin house, and pounded the pole in the water, then put up the purple martin house, now ready for the invasion of martins, with a predator (we hope) proof house.  It took about forty five minutes, so I was able to watch the last nine holes of the Master's as Bubba Watson and the rookie Jordan Spieth fought it out. Unfortunately, Bubba was the master, won his second title in three years.

Earlier in the day, Evie had gotten some chili out of the freezer for dinner as neither of us were up to much fuss.  So, Evie made a salad, cooked some spaghetti, and I had a large bowl a Cincinnati chili for dinner.  It tasted really good to both of us, as we must have been hungry once again after our big breakfast of pancakes and lots of syrup.  We watched this past week's Parenthood (will Joel and Julia get back together?), then Bill Maher's Real Time, and finished the night with The Good Wife.

Groovy Night at Tom's Tavern, Bemus, NY

6:35

7:35

It's  just after 7:00, and I have been up, alas, for almost an hour.  We had, as the title suggests, a pretty wild night (for us) and I had hoped to sleep in but not to be.  It's summer like warm outside, birds chirping, a few sounds I don't recognize, perhaps a mockingbird or phoebe, birds our neighbors heard yesterday.  I wish I were more able to recognize birds calls.  Anyways, it's partly cloudy, may clear up later in the day, 60º at the moment, but will get into the mid 70's later in the afternoon.   Alert...NPR just announced we might see snow on Tuesday!

Yesterday, it was good to be back to Saturday yoga with Chris.  I was one of two students so we talked about his experiences living in Thailand for a couple of years, where his wife is from.  Jamestown must be quite a change from the Far East, but I think he has family here.  After yoga, a coffee at Ryders, then home to clean out the garage, head to the Transfer Station.  It was a great afternoon to enjoy, so we worked some in the yard, trimming the privets, hoping to encourage lower growth, and general clean up.  I filled three garbage cans with yard detritus, the second time in a week.  We kayaked down to Whitney Bay mid afternoon, too nice of a day to stay off the water.  A few fishing boats were out as well as an intrepid jet skier.  Spring is definitely here.

Spring Time Paddle

Jim Fox Putting Up The Martin House

Late afternoon, I relaxed, watching the Master's for about an hour before getting ready for a night out.  Our neighbors, Barb and Jim Fox, mentioned that a band they have enjoyed was playing across the lake at Tom's Tavern and wondered if we would like to go hear them.   So we joined them for a beer at their house along with other neighbors, Debi and Bud Kinney, and we then went to Tom's around 7:45. Tom's has to get an award for 'lack of atmosphere', as there's not a bit of charm to the place, all 'raw bar.'  For example, the band was in a corner, and in front of them, sat a pool table with a piece of plywood on top, a place for the band to set their beers I suppose.  Anyways, we were able to get Table #1, quickly ordered a pitcher of Yuengling, the first of many to come.  The band was not as advertised, however, we all loved them, Flash and The Creepers, singing along, as they played everything from Neil Young, to America, to Pink Floyd and John Prine.

We ordered food and I would recommend the burgers, the wings.  When Evie asked the bartender what the chicken sandwich was like, he said 'It's OK, I would suggest the combo.'  He was right.  We sat around, listening to the music, talking over it, and we got to be the band's favorite, as they kept referring to Table #1, asking whether we wanted to hear another Pink Floyd or Neil Young.  This may have been because other patrons were avidly watching NASCAR on the tube, cheering when a car wrecked. This gives you some sense of the ambience and the clientele.  Just as we we thinking of leaving, a guy came over, obviously in his cups but happy, and asked, 'Did you see that guy?  He's the spitting image of the bespectacled character Carl Fredricksen from the movie UP.  He was so excited about this that Evie offered to take a photo of the guy and send it to him, so he could show his kids he met Mr. Frederickson.  He gave us his email and before we could get up, another pitcher of Yuengling arrived so the Fox's and Evie and I had to stay for another half hour as we would not want to waste a pitcher.

With Barb and Jim Fox, Bud and Debi Kinney, at Tom's Tavern in Bemus Point

Patron with "Karl Fredricksen", from UP

Flash and the Creeps

We got home around 11:30, a really fun night, reminding me of the old days, when we would stay out too late, drinking too much beer, paying for it the next day, but happy none the less.  We both feel decent this morning, no hangover, just tired and thirsty.  And we have enough time to work up an appetite because we are going for breakfast at Red's Pancake House in Sherman later this morning. Pancakes and maple syrup are sounding better and better.

The Drummer in Motion

Hiking The Westside Overland Trail, Kayaking On Chautauqua Lake

6:37

7:10

I was up at 6:30, a streak of pink above the shore line, a partly cloudy sky, 39ª, a high in the 60's, and mostly sunny.  I woke to what I think was the call of a loon, through our open bedroom window.  We have been hearing their call the last few days but have yet to see them.

A Well Prepared Hiker

Cathedral-like Trail

Because there was no yoga yesterday morning, I wanted to do something fun and the thought of hiking in the woods grabbed me.  Despite the cloudy sky, Evie was up for it, so we drove ten miles to Panama, to the trail head, just west of the city.  Just as we parked the car, it began to rain in earnest and we even pondered throwing in the towel.  But we decided we had driven this far, we would walk for a bit and if it was too miserable we would head back.  Fortunately, the first twenty minutes was in a wonderful pine forest, so we had an umbrella of pines for awhile.  Then, it stopped raining, and the rest of our walk was fine, naked woods still, antlered trees, often muddy paths, leaves strewn on it, with ferns beginning to stretch their arms on the forest floor.  We walked out to Warner road, just short of two miles, then back, a great hike, mostly flat, perfect for cross country skiing, and by the time we got back, the sun was starting to peak through the clouds.  Like most of our walks, we never saw an animal, no deer, squirrels, or bears,  though I was armed with my anti bear pepper/mace spray.  Be prepared!  We were both excited by our first spring walk on the Overland Trail, vowed to continue walks like this in various forests over the rest of spring, before it gets warm and mosquito ridden.

Spring Ferns?

Spring Greens and Browns

We did not get home till 1:00, a good part of our day already gone.  So we had lunch, watched some Stewart and Colbert.  Around 3:30, since the sun was out, the sky blue, the wind had died down, we decided to go for our first kayak paddle of spring, the day after the ice broke.  Like our morning hike, it was amazing to be out on the lake, the sun warming our faces, on a surface that one month ago,  I was cross country skiing.  We meandered along the shoreline, down to Wells Bay and back, about forty five minutes of sun and water.  Just as we were putting our kayaks away, our neighbor John Johnston, paddled by in his canoe, with the same idea as us, to enjoy a day on the lake.  It was a perfect way to end the afternoon.

Kayak Afternoon

Evie Of The Lake

At 5: 15, we drove over to Mayville, picked up our friends the McClures and drove to Fredonia, about a half hour drive, through mostly open fields, many people heading home from work.  We had a great dinner at the Ellicottville Brew Pub, in a neat reconverted and modernized brick building, just off the main square.  It was quite crowded at 6:00, many large parties enjoying the end of the week, the beginning of spring and warm weather.  At 7:30, we went to the 1891 Opera House for a Folk Music and Clogging Program.  The theater was just over half full, the show a mixture of blue grass music, and various dances, mostly tap or clogging, with some Native American, Appalachian, Black, African, and Hungarian influences.  It was a fun way to spend an evening, good to get out of our winter hibernation, and do something different.

Dinner With McClures at EBC Pub in Fredonia

We were home a little after 10:00, enjoyed some marvelous chocolate covered  Easter eggs that Linda Mc Clure had made the day before, filled with coconut, cherries, nuts, and other good things.

Adieu