Bass Boats Cometh As Summer (Almost) Arrives

6:10

6:12

It's now 7:30 and I have been up since 6:00, awakened to the sound of bass boats roaring out of the Long Point Marina, a sound of summer for sure.  So the lake has been busy, with boats zipping up and down the lake, others moving slowly along the lakefronts, throwing their lines under the docks, hoping to get that large bass.  At the moment, four bass boats are fishing off of Woodlawn.

Rose-Breasted Grosbeak

Yesterday began with yoga at 9:30, with a friend for our teacher, Julie Lescynski.  She called me the night before to tell me that a Turkish man had come to class and she thought I might like to meet him.  So, I went to class and we were able to talk a bit about why he's here.  His son has a internship for six months at Cummins, and he's staying with him for five weeks.  His name is Khalil, and I assume he is retired, from his job working at a bank.  He lives in Izmir, on the Aegean Coast, about four hundred miles from Istanbul.  I left it that I would call him, and we would have him and his son over for dinner sometime in the next week.  He seems a bit lost, having little to do during the day since his son is working, and I am not sure if he has a car.  I doubt it.

A Female Northern Cardinal

Checking Us Out

Afterwards, I stopped for coffee, then came home to a busy wife.  We were having the McClure's over for dinner, so Evie was prepping, getting everything ready by 2:00, so she could enjoy life 'on the dock', and relax when the McClures arrived.  I had some pizza for lunch, and the two of us then watched Jon Stewart's heartfelt take on the terrible shootings in Charleston, SC.  He's become the arbiter of American morality, it seems, and his message was the most read article on the NYTimes this morning.  We will miss him when he retires in August, for sure.  I then drove to the Smith Library, in the Chautauqua Institution, to see if I could find something to read.  All the books I wanted to read from the Chautauqua digital library were out, so it's back to reading a book in hand.  I am looking forward to it.  I came  home with four very different books, and I have started the THE SOUND OF THINGS FALLING by the Colombian writer, Juan Gabriel Vasquez who has gotten rave reviews; it's political of course, about the corrupt governments that at one time, oppressed the much of South American along with the drug cartels.  I then joined Evie on the dock for the rest of afternoon.

Summer Begins On Our Porch

Around 5:00, we both came in and took showers.  Linda and Ron arrived at 6:00, and we adjourned for the second time with company, to our porch, to enjoy the early evening, with beers and shrimp cocktails, a real treat.  I can remember as a kid that a shrimp cocktail was a big deal (and a rare occurrence) when going out to dinner with my parents.  Anyways, they were the perfect first course for our evening.  We ended up boring the McClures with more stories about our travels in Europe, camping each summer from 1970 to 1977.  For dinner, Evie made a dish called chicken boursin, fairly easy because you melt a couple of packages of boursin cheese, combine it with cooked chicken and mushrooms, and you have a easy and tasty dinner.  It was great, along with salad, asparagus, rolls and rice.  We then sat out on the porch until 9:30, welcoming the darkening summer sky, talking about our plans for the next couple of months here at the lake.  There are lots of things we want to do, places we want to eat.  We will have to see what we actually end up doing because it's pretty hard to leave our house, the best place on the lake to enjoy a meal or sit on a porch.  We often ask why leave to got somewhere else when we have this view, the lake at our fingertips.

Dusk

Today is an open field, nothing planned until 5:00 when we have the first of our three Woodlawn picnics, a chance for the summer residents to get together after a long hiatus, a cold winter.  It's always fun which is why we have three each summer.  It's now 8:30 and I thought I would go kayaking but it has clouded up and the wind has picked up.  I guess I will clean the gutters instead.

Surprise...Wet, Overcast, And Foggy

6:18

6:53

I was up for some reason way too early,  5:40, just enough light in our bedroom to keep me up.  It looks miserable outside though it's not cold, 64º, just rainy, windy, and foggy, not enough, however, to discourage the bass boats, which are up and out early as well.  A huge heron just flew by, paused, as if fighting against the wind, then alighted on our dock,  The wind is strong enough to churn up the lake, making it tough to fish.

Three Families

Yesterday was a day from hell, at least for me, just another episode in life with an aging automobile.  I made an appointment in Erie for my Pilot, as I mentioned, to have it checked over before we go to North Carolina.  I thought I would make a fun day of it, drive to Presque Isle,  about 20 minutes from the dealer, and go for a bike ride.  Of course, when I got to the park, it was raining, so I drove around a bit, hoping the rain would stop and miraculously, just after I parked, it did.  The park has a great paved ten mile trail which follows, for the most part, the shoreline of the peninsula.  It's usually busy with skaters, bikers, hikers and families but because of the weather, it was not very crowded.  I rode for about an hour and a half, out to the Oliver Hazard Perry Monument and back, exploring some of the off road trails.  Just as I was putting my bike in my car, it started to rain again, so my timing was perfect. The gods are with me, I thought.

Then, the agony of waiting began.  I dropped my car off at 1:30, was told I needed the wheels aligned at 2:00, then a new ball joint at 3:00.  The ball joint would take another hour and a half if I wanted to wait.  At 5:00, I was told they needed another part, and it was on its way but the car would not be ready till 7:00 or later.  So they lent me a car, and I drove off to TGIF for a beer and a burger.  They called me at 7:00, to say the car was finished.  I drove the loaner back, paid my bill, a couple hundred less than I expected, did not ask questions, and drove home.  So my ten hour day to get my car fixed finally ended.

Nuthatch

Evie had a similar day, also making the wrong decision, to work in the yard in the morning, shop in the afternoon.  It rained in the morning, of course, and cleared up in the afternoon.  And shopping ending up being a joke, as she had an appointment to get her hair trimmed, but when she got there, they could not take her for an hour and a half.  Not sure what an appointment means anymore.  So, she wasted much of her day, just like me.

We commiserated when I got home at 7:45, were able to laugh about our day, and watched some Jon Stewart and Rita, which lightened up our evening.  I was really tired from sitting around in a dealers' waiting room, so I went up to bed to read early.  Maybe that's why I woke at 5:45.

Another Morning, Another Day

7:24

8:02

Up at 7:40 to a slate gray sky, a bit of light streaming off in the distance.  It's 63º, warmer than yesterday but the highs will remain in the 70's.  Rain is forecast much of the day.  We will have to see whether we get more or not.  For now, our yards are saturated and the lake's high, so we don't need more rain.  I cannot imagine what our area would look like if we were Houston, which was expected to get 15 inches of rain.

Yesterday was as expected, mostly cloudy, some sun later in the day.  I started the day with a good yoga class, though baseball cap attended, late of course.  Why does it bother me?  Breathe.  Repeat. After class, I got my first iced coffee of the summer, drove to Home Depot, then Wegmans before coming home.  While I was gone, Evie had been working in the yard.  That's the strange thing about yards and gardens.  Once we think we have them under control, we can spend the next day working in them, weeding or trimming or cutting, thinking we are finally finished.  But the next day, we can do the same thing.  It's like Groundhog Day.  So, Evie spent most of the day outside, weeding and reseeding the parts of our yard that we reseeded the day before.  Of course, we ran out of top soil, so I went off to Tri James and picked up another six barrels of gold and spread it.  Admittedly, we do have low spots from the felling of the tree, so we can use quite a bit of dirt.

I finished A GOOD IN RUINS by Kate Atkinson before my loan ran out and loved it.  Along with LIFE AFTER LIFE, they both paint detailed and realistic pictures of life in Great Britain during the WW II, with Ursula, as a daughter and nurse, trying to survive the Nazi bombings, and Teddy, as a pilot of over 70 missions over Europe. And much more.

We finished up around 5:30, in time to sit out on the dock for a beer.  I had a Shandy, Labatt's attempt at mixing lemonade with beer.  The results are fair, not a fan but I have a 11 pack to go.  Earlier in the day, Evie had slow cooked a pork shoulder, so we planned on having barbecued pork for dinner.  We had bought a barbecue sauce from Gio's, a  great little restaurant on our way to Virginia.  Unfortunately, the sauce must of gone bad because neither one of us much liked the pork.  Evie ended up not eating it and I had a stomachache, real or imagined after I realized something was not right.  We watched the first couple of episodes of PBS's series, Case Histories, based on the novels of Kate Atkinson.  They are worth watching and we especially like the main detective, Jackson Brodie, a Jon Hamm look alike from Mad Men.  He exudes masculinity and good looks, like Hamm and the women agree.

Today I am driving to Erie, to Presque Isle State Park, where I will ride my bike on the great trails, all flat and paved.  At 1:30, I have an appointment for my car at the Honda dealer, getting it checked over to make sure it's safe and running well for our trip to North Carolina for the Fourth of July.  Rain is forecast but it should not bother my bike riding unless it really pours.

Less Heat, Still Cloudy

6:26

I was up as usual, around 6:25.  It's difficult to tell how light it is because of our new curtains which keep our bedroom dark despite the sunrise. The sun was up, obviously, partially obscured by clouds but still managed a reflection on the lake's surface.  After a couple of hot and humid days, today's 52º morning is refreshing, calling for more than just a tee shirt.  The high will get into the 70's but will remain cloudy most of the day, with a chance of sun late afternoon.

Yesterday was a mixed day, mostly because of a wet morning, an afternoon of some sun.  We could not make up our minds what to do, so the rain settled it for us.  We drove off to Falconer, to look at Adirondack's chairs at a hardware store, which had a large inventory of various types of outdoor furniture.  None, however, were comfortable so we passed.  We then drove to Robert's Nursery, to look at privets but they were too expensive so we will wait till fall when they have their half price sale.  We did buy some herbs, geraniums, and profusion zinnias for some of our pots.  Evie was happy.

We got home around 12:30.  My dentist then called and they wanted me to come in to finalize my new crown.  So I quickly had some lunch, then headed back into Jamestown for the second time that day. Evie, meanwhile, was in the yard, potting the herbs and flowers, getting our still swampy yard in order.  I drove back through Jamestown, stopping at the bank but it was closed, of course, at 4:10, banker's hours.  This disappointment was softened somewhat by Donald Trump's announcement that he would run for President, again.  Nothing like the Donald to keep us happy and amused.

When I got home, Evie was out on the dock, enjoying the late afternoon sun, taking photos of our neighbors' windsurfing, and fishing, her new obsession.  She loves to cast that lure.  We were heading out for dinner around 6:15, with the Mc Clures, to celebrate Linda's birthday, so we both showered and Evie got 'dolled up,' and me, 'cleaned up.'

Celebrating Linda Hepp's Birthday at Brazil's

Evie's Favorite Micro Brew

We drove into Jamestown, again, and stopped at Brazil's Craft Beer, on 4th Street. Surprisingly, it was practically empty, so we had no trouble getting a seat.  It's a great place for a beer, lots of choices, and we had some appetizers, as we sipped our micro brews.  We then went to one of our favorite restaurant's, Forte, just around the corner, and had seats in the bar, by the window which we always have liked.  Forte was busy but not full, so we enjoyed the ambiance.  Evie and I had the bar special, for twelve bucks we got a sirloin, garlic mashed potatoes, Caesar salad, bread and a beer, hard to beat.  It was a fun evening, and Linda was in fine fettle, celebrating her birthday.  We were home by 9:45, in time to watch the DVR-ed Cavs first half.  I only stayed up to watch the first half and  things did not look good, as I found out this morning, as Golden State won the Finals.  Sad for the Cleveland fans but they are used to coming in second.

More Rain, Less Heat

7:07

I was up just before 7:00, to another wet morning as we had at least another half inch of rain overnight.  Fortunately, our side yard has absorbed most of the the rain, so we don't have puddles,  just on the road.  It's 68º, cooling off a bit but it still feels close.  Rain is possible this morning, the sky certainly looks threatening but it will clear up this afternoon.

I began the week, like most with a really good yoga class, nothing vigorous, but lots of softening, so that I felt energized, even good after class.  I had lots to do, so I did not tarry, stopping for coffee, then on to Home Depot to pick up grass seed for our damaged yard.  And I made a quick stop at Wegman's, dropped a package off at the UPS service, returned recyclables, then stopped at the Tri James Gravel pit, and filled six buckets with topsoil.

I Know, Another Happy Heron

When I got home, sweaty and uncomfortable, I jumped in the lake to cool off some, then Evie made my lunch, the leftover koftes with pita bread and tomato sauce, just as good as Friday night.  I then spread the buckets of top soil on the lawn, filling some of the holes created by the downing of our tree and went back two more times to get top soil, enough for the day, for my back especially.  While I got the top soil, Evie was leveling the yard and putting down grass seed, the kind guaranteed to grow, whatever that means.  What if it doesn't rain?  Will it still grow.  I had a hard time picking out grass seed because there were so many choices, each with its advantage, like less water needed, or quick growing, sun/shade mix, or guaranteed to grow. We used to just buy grass seed.  

We were done around 4:00 and we both went out on the dock and went for a swim, the waters refreshing but murky from the rain and run offs from the creeks and yards.  We then decided to reward our hard work with a Manhattan on the front porch around dinner time and watch it rain.  But every time we say that, it clears up, which it did, and the yard, dock, lawn, and lake all looked freshly washed, the sun brightening up everything.  We sat out for an hour, always marveling at our luck to be able to be sitting on our porch, with an ever changing view of the the lake and Long Point.

Thanks To Paul Storey, For The Ohio Bobcat Glasses

For dinner, Evie had put together portabello mushrooms, stuffed with garlic spinach, three cheeses, and tomatoes.  All she had to do was put it in the oven for 15 minutes and we had dinner, with a couple of fried eggs to set it off.  Earlier, we had an email from Netflix saying that one of our favorites series, Rita, third year was available.  We wrote Beth to tell her and she wrote back 'awesome.' And my sister Ellen also emailed us to say Rita was on Netflix.  I guess some of us like it. So we watched a couple of episodes before going up to bed to read, knowing that thunderstorms were coming.  I, of course, slept through them, but Evie was up, wakened by the heavy rains.

We are looking forward to today, to celebrate our good friend, Linda McClure's 40th birthday, with stops at Brazil's Craft Beer in Jamestown, then on to Forte for dinner.

It's after 8:00, just started to rain, so Evie decided it was perfect weather to go for a swim, gray, wet and muggy.  She loved it, swimming while it rains, of course, and I should have gone with her but was too comfortable sitting here on my couch.  Next time.

Lake Waters Rising (Some)

6:13

Fishing

Mid Sunday Afternoon Respite From the Showers

Up at 6:00, to a stormy looking sky but no rain fortunately, as we had enough yesterday late afternoon and evening, a couple of inches, flooding the yards and roads down here on Woodlawn. The lake is obviously high but not yet threatening any of the docks.  Let's hope things settle down for a bit though rain is forecast on and off for the next week.  I am sure once July comes around we will be praying to the weather gods like Zeus or Aeolus for some rain.

Yesterday continued the muggy, wet weather we have been having, with bouts of sun, making it feel like we were in a steam bath.  Fortunately, we have the lake a few yards away, to jump in and cool off, which we did on and off during the day.  Neither of us started with much energy for some reason; we had done little if anything the day before.  I went out on the dock with my breakfast of yogurt and granola abut 9:30, Evie joined me to fish some, and we then both jumped in the lake for a swim and to cool off.  That perked me up at least and I decided, despite the muggy weather to take a bike ride around Bemus and Long State Park.  So I parked my car, just over the bridge, rode through Bemus, up Lakeside Drive, through the park to Warner Bay, then back to Long Point, then home, about an hour and fifteen minutes.  Despite not having ridden in a couple of weeks, I felt good and it was not too hot.  Interestingly, I met no cars on Lakeside Drive, no one in the woods, a few people out on Long Point fishing and that was it.

Breakfast During A Storm

When I got home, we had our usual big breakfast around 1:00, eggs, bacon, and bagels, and sat on the front porch enjoying it, as it started to rain for the first but not last time of the day.  The rest of the afternoon, I read, watched it rain as we also went out on the dock to fish or read in between rain showers.  Around 5:30, we drove over to the Viking Club for the celebration of local musician and past owner of the Surf Club, Junie Schenck.  He was a legend for anyone who grew up around here in the 1970's, 80's, an 90's, and loved rock music.  We have never seen the Viking Club so crowded, and it was hard to find a place to park.  There were tents up, burgers and dogs available, a couple of beer tents, a band, so it was a  great tribute to Junie.  We knew of him but did not know him personally though we have met his wife and son recently.  Our friend, Barb Johnson, was responsible for the party and did an amazing job of organizing it.  It turned out to be a great success despite the rain.

Evie and Barb, At The Viking Club Tribute To Junie Schenck

We stayed for about an hour, talking with friends and observing the group.  Barb introduced us to her good friend, Jeff Gathers, who lives on the lakefront in Stow. We left about 6:30, drove through rain to the Casino for wings and a beer.  The front entrance to the Casino was closed because of flooding, so we went in the side door.  We struck up a conversation with the fledgling bartender, Amber, a neat, ambitious twenty one year old.  She is well on her way to a PHD in physical therapy, after two years at JCC.  We had their wing sampler, 15 wings for 15 bucks, decent but not great.  We were home by 8:00, in time to watching the depressing Cavs loss to Golden State though not unexpected. Tuesday's game will be BIG.  Still loving A GOD IN RUINS and cannot wait to get back to it today.

Storms Hit Viking Club

Plans for today?  Hair cut in the back yard, a swim, yoga, coffee at Ryders, then pick up grass seed at Home Depot, stop at the Recycle center, then Tri James, where I will begin to fill buckets of top soil as we begin to put our yard back together.  Right now, it looks like a swamp

A Wet, Gray, Hazy Sunday Morning

7:24

One Tree Less In Woodlawn

I am up at 6:50, the walks and garden wet from last night's rain, a gray lake and sky, a few boats, a water skier, and 66º, the high in mid 70's.  At the moment, all I can hear are the songs of the purple martins and Terri Gross' Fresh Air.  I am not sure why I am sitting in the house (habit), so I am going out to sit on the front porch, break the pattern, be Zorba like.  It's nice.

First Cut

Timber

Nicely Sliced,  Like A Huge Beef Tenderloin

Yesterday was taken over by the downing of our huge maple, which was so damaged by Friday afternoon's microburst, that it had to be taken down.  I am amazed at the efficiency of the tree guys. We have used them before, so they were familiar with our yard.  Malan, the main guy, decided to take the tree down in one swoop, dropping it right in the middle of our yard, damaging nothing other than the yard.  It took about three minutes, dropping more quickly than expected because the middle was rotten.  He then did more trimming for us (Evie), climbing the tress, using ropes, taking a couple of huge branches off our willow in the backyard, which tended to lean over our neighbor's house, and trimming a few branches on the maples in our front yard.  It then took three guys a couple of hours to mulch the smaller branches.  They, then, brought in a small tractor to pick up the huge pieces of the trunk and drop it in their truck.  They will be back later in the week to grind the stump.

Cleaning Up With A Chain Saw

I think the shock and anxiety of the tree, the storm, having company, took it out of us, so that we were not much good the rest of the day.  The dishes sat dirty in the sink and dish washer, and we did little in the yard or house.  I am really enjoying my new book on my Kindle, A GOD IN RUINS, by Kate Atkinson, so I spent a good part of the day reading it, mostly because the loan expires in a couple of days.  Evie mostly sat out on the dock, fishing, with some luck.  My only chore was a trip to the Transfer Station always stimulating.

Around 4:00, even though it was gray, the lake looked quiet and inviting, so we kayaked over to Long Point, to the bay, only to find that everyone else seemed to have the same idea, so lots of power boats appeared, cruising the lake, creating a choppy, at times difficult to travel the lake.  So we cut our paddle short, came home, grabbed a couple of beers and pretzels and sat out on our dock for the rest of the afternoon, enjoying the quieting lake.

For dinner, we had the leftover koftes from the previous nights dinner, and struggled to find something to watch on TV.  We started a couple of series which were supposed to be good but we did not have the patience to stay with them because they seemed so silly, so gross at times.  We are getting old.  I was anxious to go read, so went up to be early, around 10:00, hoping for a good night's sleep, now that the excitement and anxiety of the tree downing was over.