Cloudy And Rain (Jack's Farm)

6:11

6:19

6:28

It was a surprise to come downstairs this morning to a ruffled lake, an overcast sky after the last two perfect mornings on the lake.  The lake actually seems to be flowing north, as the wind is coming from the southeast.  It's warmer out than it looks, 56º and we will have rain off and on during the day.
Because yesterday morning was so sunny, the lake calm, I went for a kayak paddle early, enjoying the sunny morning, the lake smooth like glass. I noticed that there were sparrows in all the martin houses at the present so the martins had better get back soon.  When I came in, Evie was up and we finished the blog, putting it to bed so to speak.  I did not go to yoga because we ordered pea gravel for our road and they were going to deliver it in the morning.  So about 10:30, I got a call and the truck came by and was able to spread the gravel on our road and parking spaces so that I had little raking to do.  It will make a big difference, as the gravel I have put down over the years has sunk into the ground and we ended up with mud when it rains.  This should solve our problem.

Evie spent most of the morning and a good part of the afternoon working on the Shutterfly album.  It keeps getting bigger and bigger as there as so any great photographs that she has a hard time eliminating any.   At the moment, she's probably half way home, with lots of lake photos to go.  As Evie concentrated, I went fishing around 11:30, the lake too inviting, so I paddled down to my sweet spot, caught nothing, had one follow but it was nice to be out casting on the lake.

Lunch was easy, vegetable soup and a peanut butter and banana sandwich on my homemade bread, toasted of course.  I watched a bit of TV, read, took a brie nap, then went out and cut our grass for the first time this year.  I gave it a trim, keeping the blades at their highest level because some areas, the grass was six to eight inches high, in others three or four.

On The Road To Amish Country

We were looking forward to a fun afternoon because our friends, Jack and Diane, invited us to go for a hike on their sixty acre farm, on the Chautauqua ridge, with a view of Lake Erie between the trees.

Lake Erie From Chautauqua Ridge, Six Miles Away at 6:25

When we go there,  Jack was working on his hops, Diane in the  garden.  Before we started, Jack packed some beers in a cooler and Diane gathered some snacks, a few folding chairs and we crossed their road into the woods and walked maybe a quarter of a mile to their cabin, one room, set above a creek, surrounded by leafless trees at the moment.

Quiet Among The Hemlocks

Vinca Patch

We left the beer, snacks and folding chairs and then spent an hour hiking through their woods, looking for spring wild flowers, crossing creeks, finding vast patches of vinca, then another area rampant with ramps, but much of the forest floor brown with last fall's leaves.  We really wanted to see spring Trillium and finally found a patch of ten or twelve near the creek.

Spring Trillium

Trillium Opening

Full Bloom

Our  goal was a maple sugar shack, a half mile in, where their Amish neighbors make syrup from Jack's trees.  Because of this sugar making, many of the trees are connected by plastic tubes, which carry the sap to the sugar shack.  And we saw the results of heavy rains last year which not only changed the path of the creeks but moved huge empty vats used for the making of maple syrup.

Porch On Jack And Diane's Cabin In The Woods

We ended up back on the porch of their cabin, overlooking the creek, enjoying a beer and snacks, talking about how much fun they have had as a family over the years at the cabin, often going there at Christmas time with their kids, now their grandchildren.  There's enough room in the one room cabin to sleep two or three people comfortably and Evie and I have an open invitation to try it any time. We both enjoyed the hike, loved the woods and want to hike the woods in the fall, perhaps snowshoe in the winter.

With Jack And Diane

We left around 6:35, stopped at Tops in Mayville to pick up a few things, then drove home to a darkening sky.  Evie got some hot dogs out of the freezer, quickly grilled them and heated up some baked beans because neither of us was very hungry.  It hit the spot, and we watched the usual news, then Vice and the most recent episode of BETTER CALL SAUL.  We are not quite sure what is going on with Gus but assume it has something to do with drugs.  We will have to wait till next week to see.  Around 10:00, I was happy to  get back to my book, Greg Iles MISSISSIPPI BLOOD, the final book of his Natchez series with Penn Cage.

Clear, Blue And Cloudless Morning Sky

6:27

6:40

6:41

Woodlawn At 8:00 In The Morning

What a morning to wake up to.  A crisp morning, a cloudless sky, blinding sunrise, calm lake, a few ducks, a single fishing boat and me.   I want to get in my kayak and go.  And I did, just got back from a short paddle, surprisingly cool, in the high 30's I suppose but enervating.  

Cruising Buffleheads 

Yesterday I went kayaking around 8:00, to enjoy the lake, the martins, and flush out the ducks as I paddled near the shore.  It's the best way to start my morning.  When I got home, Evie was up and I had my breakfast, yogurt and homemade granola, while I finished the blog and Evie proofed it and picked out the photographs, our morning routine.  Around 10:00, I drove to Celoron, to the Hollyloft Bike shop, and picked up my bike which I have tuned every other year.  And the technician took me through the process of taking off the front wheel so I can fit it in my Outback without having to buy a bike rack.  When I got home, Evie was back at it, working on the Shutterfly album and listening to Micheal Smerconish on POTUS, our morning show from 9:00-12:00.  It's what retirees do, listen to the radio while we do something else.

For lunch, I had vegetable soup and a can of sardines which, supposedly, are very good for you despite the olive oil.  I have always liked them, learned to eat them from my father back in the days.  I watched the rest of a SPIRAL episode before tiring of watching TV and read and took another nap.  It gets to be a habit.  Evie was off at Sherwin Williams, helping her friend Linda, pick out colors for the inside of their new home. They were the only customers in the store so they could really take their time and go through the various shades of white, hundreds of them, before finally coming to some consensus.  Afterwards, she did some shopping and stopped at the Y.  

Evie returned home around 3:00 and we both wasted the rest of the afternoon, feeling guilty about doing nothing.  I made a stab at doing some weeding and thought about cutting the lawn but thought better of it.  We made it, finally, to wine time, a quiet, calm late afternoon on the lake.  Dinner was leftover spaghetti and meatballs, so that was easy and Evie also put some asparagus in the oven and sprinkled some parmesan cheese on them for a vegetable to go along with a salad.  We caught up on Billions and half the time, we cannot figure out what's going on but we keep watching.  Then, we watched American Crime, a depressing series, to go along with Vice News.  The only good thing was that the Cavaliers won ugly, again, and are now two up in their series with the Pacers.  

A Few Days Of Sunny Spring Weather

6:14

6:15

6:53

7:18

Kayaking at 8:00

I was up at 6:15, to an overcast sky, the sun unable to break through the clouds.  It's a gray day for now on the lake, with the sounds of martins in the distance, none in our house so far.  A few Canadian geese are floating by, like small boats, honking and always annoying.  It looks look a good day, lots of sun and coolish, with a high around 58º.  It's 7:30, Evie's still asleep so I think I will go out for a paddle.

Morning On The Lake

Yesterday was a typical Easter, lots of changeable weather, at times welcoming, at others sending us inside.  After a leisurely morning coffee, we decided to go for a walk around the Chautauqua Institution.  It was a mistake because by the time we started our walk, we already realized we were overdressed and both of us were uncomfortably warm, even starting to sweat.  It made us cut our walk short alas but at least we got in some exercise and were able to see how far along the Amphitheater had come.  After our walk, we drove over to Linda and Ron's, to see if they were home and get another walk through to see the the progress on their house.  I was hoping Linda was home because she always makes us coconut cream filled chocolate eggs for Easter.  Fortunately, she arrived from church as we were going though the house, so we got our eggs.  The house is coming along but they still have lots of decisions, in fact, Linda is meeting Evie today at noon to go to Sherwin Williams to help pick out paint colors for the inside walls of their house.

Torrential Rains At 1:30 pm

We had our usual breakfast when we got home, eggs, bacon, and this time, my homemade bread toasted, so good.  We watched CBS Sunday morning and then spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about working outside but a torrential rain storm which lasted about a half hour ruined our plans.  I was content to stay inside, reading and napping and Evie watched some TV before getting back to working on the photo album on Shutterfly.   I watched the NBA game, Golden State and Portland and both teams looked so much better than the Cavs.  It was a fun game to watch.  Afterwards, I went outside because the sun had come out and did some useless weeding, as it never seems to make a difference even though I spend hours out there, like the old days, with a basket and my weeding tool, pulling them out one at a time.  It's my kind of mindfulness.

For dinner, we were going to a have lamb but decided to make it easy, so Evie got out some frozen meatballs and pasta sauce and we had dinner, with a salad and bread.  We watched the movie LION and both of us loved it, a true story, of a young poverty stricken Indian boy who is adopted by an Australian couple after he gets lost and is put in an orphanage.  The last half of the movie tells the story of his attempt to find out where he came from and reunite with his birth mother.  It reminded me some of SLUMDOG MILLIONAIARE, the other wonderful film set in India.  We ended the night watching the political show on Showtime called The Circus, perfectly named for what's going on in the political world, not only in the States but also in Turkey, where Erdogan, Turkey's president has consolidated power, literally making him an Islamic dictator or mullah.  Sad and Scary.

Easter Sunday Sun Rising

6:35

6:45

6:53

7:07

7:18

Kayak Morning

It's 8:40 and I have just gotten back from an hour paddle, leisurely going down to Bootey Bay and back, occasionally taking a photo, of the sky or ducks when striking.  It's warm, 68º and I was too hot in my fleece.  One neighbor yelled good morning from their porch but other than that, no one seemed to be either home or up on this delicious morning on the lake.  I was up at 6:30, just in time to catch the amazing sky and sunrise.

Kick Back Kayaking

We hoped to get some work done outside yesterday but just as Evie fired up the lawn mower, it started to rain.  And by mid afternoon, just as we gave up and put away the tools and lawn mower, the sun came out and for the rest of the afternoon and evening, it was a pleasant day.  Go figure. Around 10:00, before we went out to do some gardening, we put the bread dough in the oven, checking it after 35, 45, and 55 minutes before pulling it out.  It's a great and healthy recipe, with flax meal, oats, quinoa, as well as the usual, flour, water, salt and sugar.  It turned out well, nice and round, brown on top, a hearty crust.

Perfection

We both had some toasted for lunch, with tomatoes and tuna.  Around 11:30, however, before lunch, I drove into Lakewood, a mistake because everyone else had the same idea, to get in some shopping before Easter Sunday.   I went to get a coffee but there was a line of at least ten people, so I skipped it, and went to Sam's and picked up three pounds of scallops, frozen and on sale, as well as a rack of lamb for Sunday dinner.  Then, on to a crowded Wegman's, to pick up some staples for the week, and then home, for a good lunch.

 Mallard

Early Morning

We poked around outside during the afternoon, depending on the weather and I watched the Cavs almost blow a game in their first playoff appearance.  They looked terrible defensively, so I am not optimistic about a repeat.  Around 5:30, after Evie had prepped some dinner, we relaxed for an hour with wine and appetizers, on a warm, sunny, late afternoon and early evening.  We had precooked ribs for dinner from Sam's Club, not as tasty as those we usually get from Trader Joe's, along with coleslaw and sweet potatoes.  There was not much to see on a Saturday night, so we watched a couple of episodes of Property Brothers after a thrilling, just kidding, episode of Designated Survivor. By 10:30, we were both tired and went up to bed.

A Saturday In The Seventies

6:50

7:00

7:15

 I was up at 6:15, made the coffee, walked outside to a warm 50º morning.  The sky slightly pink along the horizon and by 6:50, the sun had risen on a partly cloudy sky.  We are going to have a warm day with the chance of rain and thundershowers later in the day so we hope to get some work done outside before it rains, perhaps even cut the grass for the first time this spring,

We spent most of yesterday outside because of the nice weather.  I started my day with a great paddle down the lake.  Evie was up by the time I got home and soon, she was outside working in the yard, edging, weeding and raking, as there is always lots to do in the spring.  I wanted to get a few things done before my lunch, taking more twigs and leaves up the hill, spending some time doing yoga. First, however, I put together a no knead bread dough, hoping that our new oven will be the difference maker in its texture.  When I finished, Evie reminded me that  I had forgotten to attach perches to our purple martin house, so I donned my waders once again, walked out to the house, took it down, brought it back to the yard, attached the perches and went back out and raised the house now with perches for the martins.

I had the last of the Cuban sandwiches for lunch, the third day in a row, watched some TV and took a nap while Evie worked outside. She had our Sonos speaker sitting on the back porch, so much of the afternoon, we had 21 Pilots playing in the yard.  I came out to help, did some weeding and messing around in the yard until 4:30 when we came in, showered and went over to our neighbor's house, Jim and Barb's, for a beer and appetizers.

On The Porch Again, With Barb And Jim

We had not seen them for awhile so it was fun to catch up.  Around 7:30, we realized we better start thinking about dinner, so the four of us decided to go to the Seezurh House in Bemus for dinner.  It was a noisy, raucous place, crowded with patrons enjoying the fish fry and a gaggle of guys having a great time at the bar, making most of the noise.  It was hard to hear each other at times but we enjoyed being there, liked our meals, and it was good to see  the Seezurh House busy, quite a difference from our Thursday night winter dinners when we were the only patrons in the bar.  We did not get home until almost 10:00 so full of the fish fry, french fries, and beer that we had to waddle home.  We stayed up for a bit, watched some TV but we were soon tired and went up to bed.

That Morning Sky (Birding at Allegany State Park)

6:31

6:32

7:31

7:50

A speckled morning sky, lots of waffle like clouds, a calm lake as the sun peaks in and out.  It's 42º and we should have some sun today before a rainy Easter weekend here at the lake.  Well, it's just after 9:00 and I have been out kayaking down to Whitney Bay and back, a great way to start my day.

Kayaking To Whitney Bay

The Beauty Of Kayak Morning

Yesterday was different because we were planning on going birding at dusk, hoping to see the elusive woodcock with a group at the Allegany State Park.

What A Woodcock Looks Like

So we planned our day around it.  For me, it meant doing little most of the day other than ordering 15 yards of stone to be delivered sometime next week, to cover our road. When I got home, the sky was overcast but the lake was smooth, perfect weather for putting in my purple martin house.  So I got it out, put in the doors and the owl guard, then put on my waders.  First, I have to pound an aluminum tube into the muddy lake bottom, about 15 yards from shore.  Once that's in, firm and straight, I  put the house on a pole, walk it out and slip the end of the pole into the aluminum tube.  Then I raise the house, pound the aluminum tube a  few times to make sure it's straight and I have my bird house up for another year.  Other than that, I cannot think of a thing I did of consequence, no walks, hikes or kayaking, just a lunch, a nap, and more TV watching than usual as I started a French series from 2005 on Netflix called Spiral.  So far, it's seems worth watching, at least I watched two episodes yesterday to waste the afternoon.

Purple Martin House at 8:00

While I acted like a sloth, Evie spent part of the morning raking and weeding our garden beds, a good start before the rains begin.  And the rest of the day, she was bent on putting together a Shutterfly book from last summer.  She puts one together each year and they are worth the effort although the process can be onerous, as yesterday proved.  It involves going through literally thousands of photographs from last year, picking out the best, making sure they are cropped, then sending them to the Shutterfly website.  There she has to then arrange them in some way that makes sense and pick out appropriate template for each page.  And each year it's a process of relearning how to move the photos around the website, how to change their order or size.  Thus, it can often be frustrating.  And for Evie, she becomes obsessed, so that she cannot let it go but has to keep at it unlike me who would easily put it off till the next day.  Anyways, that's how Evie spent the day.

Birders At Allegany State Park

Around 6:45, we headed to Allegany State Park, forty five minutes away, and parked our car just off the Redhouse maintenance road.  Last summer, they built an amazing boardwalk over a marsh. We were then able to walk out on the boardwalk and with a group of 12, enjoy the setting sun, some wildlife like muskrats and wood ducks but we never got to see the woodcock, alas.

New Boardwalk

And just as the sun disappeared, the peppers came out in full force, literally drowning us in their croaks, amazing.  We stayed for an hour, got to know some of the people and really enjoyed talking to Tom, a registered bird bander and employee of the park.  We then headed to the Horseshoe Inn, about 15 minutes away, just above the Allegany Reservoir.  Its kitchen was still open when we got there at 9:00, so Evie ordered her favorite, a double order of hand cut fries and I had the special, chicken and biscuits, not a typical late night bar snack but good.  When we got there, there were only three or four people in the restaurant, one at the bar and we closed it down at 9:40.  We took our time driving home, strange to be on highway at night and got home around 10:30, happy but tired from our evening.  We will sure to go back.

To listen to the Peepers, Click on video below:

THE EASTERN SHORE: WARD JUST

Ned Ayres story, the protagonist in Just's nineteenth novel, begins when he's a young boy in Herman, Indiana, a typical, small Midwestern town.  His father is the local judge, respected and well known and Ned, the well liked son.  Much to his father's dismay, Ned early becomes enamoured with newspapers, refuses to go to college, and begins his career at the Herman Press-Gazette.  His career soon takes off, as he becomes editor of various newspapers during his life, in Indianapolis, Chicago, and finally, in Washington, D.C.  We follow his life as an editor as the newspaper business he loves begins its decline, with digressions about two or three people who have had the greatest influence in his life, one a local haberdashery with a shady background, two, Elaine, the love of his life who dies in Africa, and three, the owner of the Washington paper.  Ned is always the steady one, never one to let passions rule over his career, his editing, and never does succumb to the lure of the world, never going to Europe despite the protestations of his friends, not even the West Coast.  The novel ends with Ned in his 80's, retired and settled in an estate on Maryland's Eastern Shore, as he looks back at his life and attempts to write his autobiography with little success.  Not my favorite of Just's novels but an easy read, with not much plot or suspense, a touch of nostalgia for a world now gone, and the story of a life 'perhaps well lived,'