A Veil Of Fog And Humid (95%)

A Noble Bird

Kayak Morning

It's just about 7:00, and I have been up for an hour waiting for the gray sky to change.  No luck so far as the light fog, like gauze, blurs the shoreline.  A heron walked by our front yard, his head sticking above the wall.  I scared him away when I walked outside, but I was able to get a few photos of him a few docks from ours. None were blog worthy, as Evie would say, as the camera was unable to focus became of the distinctness, the gray of the water, sky, and heron.

Blurry Photos Look Like Paintings

Yesterday morning was similar to this morning, a haze obscuring the clarity of morning.  And I assume that despite the drizzle, the fog, I will get out on the lake sometime this morning before I head to yoga. I did go to yoga yesterday, a beginning class, perfect for me because I still, after seven years, consider myself a neophyte.  It differs from other classes only in that Julie sometimes has to take time to help a newcomer.  After class, I stopped to get some gas and beer, an unusual combination I suppose...a  Facebook post: "Is it beer o'clock yet?'

I was home by noon and Evie had been busy, of course, and I was already hungry.  She had my lunch out, ready to microwave, the leftover lemon chicken, and rice.  I watched Jack Taylor with my lunch, and Evie spent part of the afternoon talking with our daughters, Beth and Jill.  Both are doing well and all of us are trying to finalize when all three families visit this summer.  Mid-afternoon, Evie convinced me to call the doctor's office to see if I could get in that afternoon. I had what looked like a boil on my back and she thought I should see a PA.  I was able to get an appointment, drove to Mayville, and ended up getting a shot of novocaine and a slicing and draining of the growth. It was probably a good thing I listened to my wife. 

When I returned home, the kitchen smelled amazing, as Evie was putting together the wine, shallot, and garlic sauce for our dinner of linguini and scallops.  Once the sauce was made, we sat down to enjoy a glass of wine, listen to the news, and talk.  Around 6:30, Evie added the pre-seared scallops, boiled the linguini and made a salad.   The scallops were amazing, the sauce the best ever, no exaggeration.  We watched a movie, THE DARKEST HOUR, about Winston Churchill's decision to go to war with Hitler and rescue 300,000 British soldiers from Dunkirk.  Gary Oldham played Churchill, won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance.  Neither one of us were overwhelmed by the movie or by his performance.  His speeches, for me, were not compelling, did not move me.  I thought John Lithgow as Churchill in THE CROWN was more authentic, a curmudgeon but convincing.

New Think:  Why Trump Calls The News Fake: 'You know why I do it? I do it to discredit you all and demean you all so that when you write negative stories about me no one will believe you.'"

Waiting For The Showers

7:37

I was up at 5:45 to another gray, overcast morning, with more showers to come.  We received hardly enough rain last night to measure.  It's 59º and looks like a good day to stay inside and read, take it easy after yesterday's marathon.  It's 7:50 and I managed to get in a half hour of paddling before the rains came, but I was lucky to follow a heron and get his photograph.  He was the only bird I saw as most of the migrating birds have left the lake for the North.

Kayak Morning

A Hungry Great Blue Heron

I began yesterday too early, a habit lately, getting up at 5:30 as the morning light arrives earlier each day.  I was not sure if I could get in a paddle because it was so foggy but by 7:00, I could make out Long Point so I was able to get out and find a heron to photograph.  It made my morning.  After breakfast and finishing the blog, I drove to Lakewood, forgetting there was road work so I made it to yoga just in time to find a place for my mat in a very crowded class.  Yin Yoga was great, as I felt good stretching and holding positions which is not always the case.  I then stopped for a coffee, picked up eggs and dropped off a return for Amazon.  Evie wanted more mulch so I parked at Home Depot and picked up four more bags which should do it.  I ended my morning shopping at Wegman's, picking up a few staples we had run out of, like bananas and French Vanilla Ice Cream. 

When I got home, Evie had put together some tuna fish with mayo for my bagel.  She was off to Mayville for another bout of PT.  I watched some of the NBA game but soon lost interest, picked up my book, read for a bit and took a cat nap.  Evie returned around 1:30 and promptly went out to the dock to enjoy the afternoon sun, a smart move. Our grass was getting overgrown from all the rain, so I fired up our mower and spent forty-five minutes giving it a trim.  I then joined Evie for a half hour but got bored, so I went in, fired up the mower and cut our neighbor's yard. By the time I finished, I had worked up quite a sweat so I put on my bathing suit and went or a quick dip in the cold, cold lake.

We both left the dock around 5:00 and Evie quickly put together four chicken thighs of lemon chicken and put them in the oven to bake.  She then gathered some appetizers and libations and we went for a good hour boat ride over to Bemus Point, along Lakeside Drive and home, on a sunny blue sky, blue lake afternoon.  We are lucky to be able to enjoy the lake at this time of year.  When we returned, Evie made a salad, some rice, and cauliflower while I covered the boat and helped clean up the kitchen. We ate around 7:00, one of our go-to meals over the years, lemon chicken with rice.  We watched the usual line up of shows, Colbert, Billions, some of the Cavs game and the news.  By 10:00, I was exhausted from my busy day so I went upstairs to read and quickly fell asleep.  Evie soon followed. 

Shades Of Gray

A Heron On A Sunday Morning 

5:37

5:39

It was dreary and gray when I got up at 5:30 and Long Point was visible.  At the moment, an hour later, we are fogged in, the dock barely visible.  We can just make out the silhouettes of our pair of purple martins, and an occasional heron flies by.  We just noticed what looked like a twig floating by but when I got out my binoculars, I realized it was a water snake.  Cool beans.  Well, I was able to get in a paddle, as the fog cleared up enough to see.  And I was able to get within 20 feet of a great blue heron, perched on a log,  as he hardly paid attention to me.

We spent most of Sunday waiting for 3:00 when it was supposed to clear up.  Evie predicted it and like magic, it did.  Because of the rain during Saturday night, the yard was too wet to cut but we did manage to get some work done in the garden before and after our big breakfast around noon.  It was actually pleasant out, cool enough so we could get things done without working up a sweat.

After our coffee, I went for a long kayak paddle despite the clouds, down to Whitney Bay and back.  It was one of those days where it was work and I just wanted to get it over with.  I did run into a couple, Tina and Jim.  We have seen them paddle by for the past few years during the warm months.  They own quite a bit of lakefront, 700 feet, just before Sandy Bottom and sold 200 feet to the Chautauqua Conservancy a few years ago. While I was gone, Evie was busy having read about delicious sounding biscuit for strawberry shortcake.  So when I returned, I was able to sample a warm biscuit or two. Yum.

The Stow Ferry Retired?

We had our big breakfast, then, around 12:30 as we were both hungry, eggs, bacon and, yep, freshly baked biscuits.  We watched CBS Sunday morning and loved the interview with a British family, where all seven of the children seem to be classical music prodigies.  This is the kind of story that makes this program so excellent.  I fell asleep reading, took a nice nap and we both went outside to weed and transplant around 3:00.  The weeding never ends, nor does my talking about it and we are constantly transplanting, this time a plant called Goat's Beard (astilbe-like) which was hidden on the north side of our house.  We had a goal in mind, enjoying a refreshment on the dock by 6:00.  It was put off a half hour by the arrival of Chris, who checked out the plugs and bailer on our boat to make sure they were working properly.  So by 6:30, we were enjoying a libation along with chips and dip as the wind died, the lake calmed down and we sat enjoying the acrobatics of both purple martins and barn swallows, both marvelous fliers.

A Solitary Loon 

While we were on the dock, our dinner, the leftover pork and sauerkraut was warming up and the salad was made.  We stayed out on the dock until 7:30 it was so delicious and reluctantly came in, probably because of the promise of strawberry shortcake with whipped cream for dessert.  The pork was just as good if not better as a couple of nights ago.  We watched Bill Maher's Real Time, then SNL as we enjoyed our strawberry shortcake.  A great way to end the day.

Geese out for a Sunday Swim with their Goslings:

A Gray On Gray Sunday

7:54

It's 7:15 and I have been up for an hour and the view has not changed much, just a slightly brighter shade of gray.  When I walked outside, it was drizzling and overnight, we received an inch and a half of rain. It looks like cool temperatures, in the low 60's and overcast skies until 2:00 or 3:00.

Orange On Green

Saturday was a day of contrasts, overcast and drizzle early, then some sun and blue skies mid-afternoon but by 6:30 heavy thunderstorms moved in for the rest of the night.  We enjoyed the morning and did not really get outside until around 10:30 when I took our trash to the Transfer Station.  By 11:00, we were outside, pulling weeds, mulching, and seeding, and Evie made a barrier for our fall clematis which keeps safe from the local bunny population.  Around noon, I went inside and heated up some leftover beef stew for my lunch, watched some Jack Taylor, finished up my Bernie Gunther novel and started a new Alice Mc Dermott novel, THE NINTH HOUR.  I also took a much-deserved nap!

Around 2:00, we gathered up some gardening tools, the plants we were taking to Linda and Ron's home and drove over as the sun began to appear.  We then spent a good half hour digging and planting the Jerusalem artichokes along the edge of Clear Creek, which runs behind their house.  They will make a nice barrier of tall, yellow flowers in mid to late summer.  They had also gotten their mattress repaired by Jamestown mattress and no longer needed their topper.  So they offered it to us and we quickly accepted, not realizing how heavy and bulky it was.  It took both Ron and me to get in downstairs, into our car, then take it to our house, and somehow get it upstairs into our spare bedroom and on the bed.  Both of us needed Advil for our backs after the digging and moving of the topper.  But, hey, now we have a much more comfortable king size bed in our spare room.

Afternoon Calm Before The Storm

We then just plopped down on our couches for an hour, reading and surfing the Net before showering and getting gussied up for dinner.  Linda and Ron came by around 5:45 but I  drove the 35 minutes to North East, PA, where we had reservations at the newly renovated Skunk And Goat Restaurant.  It was our second visit, their first.  It's a renovated bank, on the square of the picturesque town of North East.  The restaurant was crowded but we had reservations, a good idea.  We all agreed that the food was good, especially our appetizers of Firecracker shrimp, with sriracha, soy, and cream.  I had a flat iron steak, Evie a great chicken sandwich, and Linda and Ron ordered appetizers and soups. Our only beef was a slow, unapologetic waiter and service. We waited over an hour for our dinners. Still, we liked the ambiance, the bar and will go back.  We left in a light rain and didn't get home until around 9:00, in time to watch some of the Cavs game.  It was nice to see them play defense, with some intensity.

Saturday Night Fever

A Rainy Saturday Begins The Weekend

6:14

9:00

I was up at 6:15, stepped outside, checked the rain gauge, and a quarter of an inch had fallen overnight.  There's an uncomfortable southeasterly wind, strong enough to knock over our 15-year-old dwarf Myer Lemon tree which was sitting in a pot in our yard.  The lake's surface is ruffled, the wind howls, the purple martins hunker down in our martin house.  No fishing boats out yet despite it being a weekend.

Purple Martin Pair

Yesterday morning was full, as I wrote the blog, got in a paddle, all before 9:00 when I drove off to Erie with Stan for breakfast at Bob Evans with some summer basketball friends from Cleveland.  We meet periodically during the year, usually in Erie, in Chautauqua during the summer.  It's a trip back to the good old days, our neighborhoods, basketball courts, mostly our lives in high school and college, before we started working.  And of course, we brag about our kids and now our grandkids.  It's fun, we sit around drinking coffee after the Sun Rise Special (two eggs, over easy, sausage, hash browns, and biscuits).  Stan and I were early, so we made a quick stop at Home Depot and I picked up four bags of mulch, then arriving at Bob Evans just as our buddies arrived, good timing.

I was home by 9:30, after dropping Stan off and the house was empty because Evie was at PT, then shopping.  I was exhausted, mostly from getting up so early, so I took a long nap, waking just as Evie returned home, around 2:15.  She had stopped at the Lighthouse and picked up one of their rotisserie chickens for dinner.  She had, earlier, before PT, done some weeding in the garden but we also ended up spending the afternoon out there as well, getting rid of weeds, mulching areas that were difficult to mow.  Evie has figured out a way to work in the garden while protecting her back by wearing her brace and sitting among the plants. Things are shaping up, the dahlias are beginning to pop out of their pots, and the petunias are planted in the planters.  We finished off the day by digging up a number of Jerusalem artichoke plants for Linda and Ron's creek bank once again.  They were washed away by a heavy flooding of Clear Creek this past fall.

We then spent an hour out on the dock with a beer and appetizer, hummus with pita chips, admiring the pleasantness and our industry the past couple of days, knowing it was going to rain over the weekend.  Around 6:30, the wind picked up enough so we became chilly, so we came in and Evie cut up some cauliflower, added potatoes, and roasted them in the oven for dinner.  With the chicken and a salad, we had an easy dinner.  We watched the usual, finished up the series SAFE and finally found out who the killer was, no obvious clues, of course!   It's not our favorite series but we stuck with it.

First Swim

First Swim

5:40

6:20

 A partly cloudy morning, with a nice breeze, some sun, some clouds.  I have been up since 5:30, surprised by the first light off towards the northeast end of the lake.  It's 57º and once again, should get in the 70's later today before the rain arrives overnight and tomorrow.   It's 8:20 and I just got back from a paddle on a breeze but sunny morning on the lake. At 9:00, I pick up a buddy, Stan and drive to Erie to meet some old basketball buddies from Ohio for breakfast at Bob Evans.

Yesterday was a busy day for both Evie and me.  I decided to skip yoga despite the guilt and just enjoy the morning here at the lake.  Once one gets used to something, like yoga each morning, it is strangely liberating to skip it.  We had made a to do list Wednesday night, so once we had our coffee, finished the blog, we got busy.  First, we changed the water filter, an easy job although we forgot to turn off the water so we got a quick shower before we could turn the knob.  Live and learn.  Once that was done,  Evie put together our dinner, by searing country ribs and putting them in a crockpot with sauerkraut and tomatoes, and I washed the front windows, as they are constantly dirty from the bird feeders.  I suppose I could do it every day if I really wanted spic n span windows.  The rest of the morning we spent outside, getting furniture out of the garage and wheel barreling it out on to the dock.  This is the second time I have taken out the Adirondack chairs, alas, but now they are there until fall when we take in the dock.  Evie did some potting of the wave petunias and worked some in the garden before we decided it was too nice on the lake so we decided to take a cruise and have lunch.

Spring Perfection

It was the perfect day on the lake; I do not exaggerate.  We were one of maybe two or three boats on the lake and there was hardly a ripple, other than our wake.  We cruised slowly down to Prendergast Point, over to Sunset Bay and home, enjoying the sun, the lake, and lunch.  It reminded us of those few fall days when there's not a whisper of wind, the lake like glass, the sun warm.  We hated to come back to the dock.  After our cruise, we took it easy until 3:00 when we both went back outside and got busy.  I drove to Tri James and filled a couple of buckets with topsoil for our garden and yard.

The Beauty Of A Spring Hosta

When I  got back, I skimmed the sod off an area where we were going to transplant some hostas and took the sod and put it in low areas near the garden.  We then split the hostas, dug holes, filled them with good topsoil and planted them.  They look pretty healthy this morning, so we are hopeful that they will thrive.

Empty And Marvelous

It took about twenty minutes to clean up everything, put away the tools, the wheel barrel, the buckets and by the time I was finished, I had worked up a good sweat.  Evie suggested I take a shower or go for a swim, so I put on my trunks and we went out on the dock to enjoy some sun and perhaps swim.  I stepped down the ladder and thought there's no way I am going into this cold water.  Soon, however, I stepped down another step or two and it did not seem that bad.  So I stepped down to the bottom, waist deep, then neck, and finally, I dove underwater.  It felt amazing.  I do not lie.  Afterward,  I just reclined on the dock and drip dried as Evie enjoyed the sun.  We were not sure whether to take another boat ride or not but the wind picked up so I decided to put the cover on the boat.  Why does a boat cover go on easily one time, but is difficult the next time.  Well, yesterday was the next time so I ended up working up another sweat just getting to all the snaps.  Once it was done, I decided to take another dip.  This time it was easier and quicker although I admit to not lingering in the water.

Second Swim

After my swim, we went to the house and took some beers and appetizers back out on the dock to enjoy the late afternoon, the blue skies, light breeze, and sun.  We came in around 6:45 and dinner was ready.  All Evie had to do was make a salad and because I like mashed potatoes, we decided to try Bob Evans mashed potatoes.  Microwave them for five minutes and they are done.  Dinner was great, another favorite, fall apart pork ribs, sauerkraut, tomatoes on top of mashed potatoes.  It was a good evening for TV, as we watched THE AMERICANS, then SAFE, and finished the night with Colbert.  We were proud of ourselves for having done most of the 'to do list' for once.

A Curtain Of Fog

A New Sighting and Evie's New Favorite, A Yellow Warbler

6:00

It's 7:00 and I have been up for an hour, hoping for a break in the fog.  No luck, however, as I can hardly make out our dock.  It's 58º and will get up into the 70's later in the day, a good day to work outside and Evie already has her to do list made up.  And we finally got fed up with the MSNBC patter and put on classical music, a welcome relief.

A Rare Event, A Cardinal At Our Feeder

Springtime Goldfinch

Yesterday's paddle was surprisingly good, mostly because of the photographs I was able to get of the great blue herons and wood ducks, a good way to start my day.  After finishing the blog with Evie, I drove to Lakewood to yoga and again, I was the only guy in class.  What's with it, guys.  I am beginning to think I'm a sissy (a good old 1950's word), the only guy who likes/enjoys yoga.  After class I came straight home because I was feeling a bit off, something yoga usually cures but not yesterday.

Looking For Breakfast

When I returned home, Evie was ready to drive off to Mayville for an hour of PT.  It seems to be helping some so she will stick with it for another week or two despite the somewhat brusque manner of her therapist.  I did not feel like leftovers for once so I made myself a menemen, scrambled eggs, tomatoes and crumbled feta cheese and toasted a bagel.  It was just what I needed although it did not take away the pain of watching the Cavs lose again to the Celtics despite a heroic performance by Lebron.  I then took a good nap, actually going upstairs and fell asleep reading. 

When I woke, around 2:30, I felt better and went out and joined Evie on our dock.  She was enjoying another sunny and pleasant afternoon on the lake, taking advantage of every nice day we have in May.  I soon got bored and fired up the lawn mower and cut the lawn.  It takes a little over a half hour if I don't stop for a break which I did a couple of times.  Cutting the lawn is one way to make Evie happy, especially if she can do the mowing; she loves a nicely turned out lawn.  When Evie had enough sun, we did some transplanting before coming in and getting ready to go out for dinner.

Golden Sunset Over the Bridge

We decided to go to our favorite Wednesday night eatery, the Viking Club.  Obviously, lots of other Vikings had the same idea as the parking lot was crowded and people were sitting outside eating and drinking on the patio for the first time this spring.  We found seats at the bar and Evie quickly went to the counter to order our dinner because there was a long line of people waiting to order.  We probably sat at the bar for over an hour, talking with various Vikings, enjoying our Rueben sandwiches with chips.  People seemed happier than usual, most likely because of the warm weather and beautiful setting sun.  We were both tired so we did not linger and were home by 8:15, in time to watch our usuals, Colbert and an episode of SAFE on Netflix which is getting more and more ridiculous.  I realize life is trouble but this is too much, too coincidental.

A Bit Of Nostalgia:

Didyma, Turkey, Spring, 1971