Just Enough Snow To Paint The Dock White

Throwback Thursday: August 1975

6:11

6:25

8:27

It's 8:35 and I am just beginning to get warm, my fingers especially after a fifty-minute paddle down to Wells Bay and back.  It was more enjoyable than yesterday, not as windy or wavy and I was able to shoot a couple of photos of an osprey, in the same area as the last few times I have seen him.  I started the day listening to Morning Joe, soon tired of their anti-Trump mantra, switched to Fox News and if I listened to them daily, I could see why people might vote for Trump.  I then turned to NPR or National Propaganda Radio as Sean Hannity calls it and left to paddle, not knowing who or what to believe. This, I believe, is the central dilemma for many Americans as facts are muddied with opinions.  It makes all of us long for days of Walter Conkrite.

Kayaking Towards Woodlawn On A Gray Morning

A Perched Kingfisher

A Morning Osprey

Loon

Wednesday began with my habit of paddling each morning getting the best of me.  I should not have gone out as it was too windy, cold, and the waves were big enough that I had to be really careful.  Because of that, I almost stayed in this morning but I am glad I didn't because the wind was more manageable as were the waves.  After kayaking, yesterday morning, Evie and I finished up the blog and I had breakfast, wondering what to do with our day.  Neither of us felt like walking because of the weather so I decided to practice Yoga with Adriene on YouTube.  I was tempted then to get in a walk but Evie smartly advised me to wait to later in the day when it might clear up a good decision.

I had the leftover spaghetti squash, with mushrooms and Italian sausage for lunch and finished my series on PBS called Baptiste, decent not great.  I figured out my book dilemma, by switching back and forth between books, reading a feel-good novel by Elizabeth Berg in the afternoon, saving my Tana French police procedural for the evening.  Because I had a restless night, I took a good nap, one of those where you wake up wondering if its morning or afternoon.

Wednesday Afternoon

The sun came out in the afternoon and despite the wind, I decided to walk in the Woodlawn/Victoria woods.  It was a good decision, as the trees protected me from the wind and the sun-warmed as I walked.  I ran into John, my neighbor, and alls well with him and his family.  I was home in time for wine time until it was time for dinner,

Kinney's Run

Brown And Blue

We were having chicken enchiladas, over a cabbage salad.  The enchiladas were pulled out of the freezer and warmed in the oven so Evie did not have much fuss for dinner.  We then watched the marathon-like two hours Trump Reality Show.  After a while, I could not stand it any longer and went into the kitchen, did the dishes, read some, and surfed the net before returning as the ridiculous misinformation show ended.  I know we watch it mainly for the question and answer, waiting for Trump to get pissed, call a reporter a nitwit, or whine about his coverage by the fake news.  But it's getting old after a month or more of this.

It was a relief to watch Colbert.  He interviewed environmental alarmist Michael Moore who ended the interview with a brief, hopeful song from Mary Chapin Carpenter called "Why Shouldn't We", bringing both Stephen and Michael to tears. We then watched another episode of The Plot Against America.  In this episode, fascist Charles Lindbergh defeats FDR, frightening many Americans with his populism and xenophobia, especially the Jewish community. As usual, we ended with a couple of Cheers.

Earth Day Fifty Years Later

6:16

6:46

6:47

7:00

It's after 8:00, 27º, and I just returned from windy, wavy, and cold paddle.  It was not much fun fighting both the waves, the wind, and cold and it was too difficult to take any photographs except for one of the sky.  I probably should not have gone out because my kayak was iced up, both in and out so I was sitting on a frozen then wet seat. I had to change when I came in to warm up after 35-minute paddle.

Kayak Morning

Paddling North On A Rough Lake

Yesterday was the strangest day yet here at the lake, as it alternated stormy, with either rain, sleet or snow, and blue skies.  It would literally change from sunny to snowy within five minutes.  Evie loved it.  On Monday evening,  I told Evie if it snows on Tuesday, we are going for a hike.  Well, it snowed on Tuesday so we drove over to Long Point, braved not only the vicious wind but sleet and snow as we walked out to the tip, loving it.

Loving The Snow And Wind

On the way back, we stopped at a bench overlooking the bay which, for some reason, is protected from the wind and we were able to sunbathe for ten minutes.  We left, excited to have gotten in a hike, feeling good about ourselves.  I forgot to mention that before we left, I practiced yoga for forty-five minutes, following Yoga With Adriene on YouTube.  So by noon, despite it being too windy for kayaking, I got in yoga and a hike.

Long Point Trail

Our Winding, Windy Path

A Gray, Rough Lake

For some reason, soup and toasted cheese sandwiches sounded good to me, so Evie toasted a couple of cheese sandwiches and heated up the last of the chicken and sweet potato soup for both of us and we had a typical lunch.  I am almost finished with my show so I will be looking for something new today, I have been having trouble finding a book I like; either I cannot find the right one or I just don't feel like reading.  Finally, I gave up on two I had started and surfed the local library site and settled on what seemed to be, an easy read, no murders, no drugs, just an older guy making life after the death of his wife of fifty years.  It's called The Story Of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg.  It's a bit predictable and corny but I stuck with it.  As usual these days, our afternoon went slowly, with nothing we had to do.

12:58

3:10 PM

5:56 PM

6:05

Basically, we waited for wine time, then dinner.  Around 6:15, Evie ordered two steak and fry dinners for twenty bucks from Steeners and I picked it up around 6:45, having to wait because it was busy.  It was nice to see.  Fortunately, by the time I returned, the Trump Hour was over so I could relax and enjoy my dinner.  We watched a Colbert, then started HBO's new series, The Plot Against America, based on the Phillip Roth novel.  It's good, set in the 1940s as Charles Lindbergh, famous for his flight across the Atlantic, embraces fascism, Hitler, antisemitism, and much of America join him.  It's scary with its echoes of the present.  We ended the evening with laughs, watching Cheers. 

Trumpers Exercising Their Freedumb

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Wet, Windy, And Wild

6:53

7:10

8:19

What a contrast this morning between yesterday's blue skies and sunrise and today's gray on gray.  Today, the wind is howling, the flag flying, the lake wrinkled, gray like the sky. The temperature is dropping and we even had snow predicted for today but I think that's no longer true.  I wonder if we will get outside today for a walk?

It's only 8:00 as I finish this and Evie's still sleeping.  Usually, I am out kayaking and don't get to the blog until 9:00, so it seems strange to be done with my morning, with nothing else to do.  Maybe yoga?

Gizmo and Feeding Loon

Yesterday felt like Spring, with lots of sunshine and yet still a chill in the air.  I couldn't get enough of the lake, paddling for close to an hour and a half, even getting a suntan paddling south.  Strangely, despite the nice weather, we never did make it out for a walk.  Instead, we both worked out the yard.  Evie worked on the privets while I worked for a couple hours on building up some low spots in our yard and seeding the areas that were bare.  It was fun to be outside until I tried to start my Outback.  I had pulled it out of the garage earlier so I was surprised when it wouldn't start, the battery seemingly dead.  I called AAA and they sent a guy out so, by noon,  I was driving off to my car guy in Lakewood to check the health of the battery.  As I expected, it was dead and I needed a new one.  He had one on hand so I was on my way home by 12:45 with a new battery, a slowly growing Visa bill.

It was a busy, frustrating morning so Evie made me a nice lunch,  chicken and sweet potato soup and a sandwich, with turkey, salami, and tomatoes.  Yum.   I watched another episode of Baptiste before taking a quick nap on the couch, falling asleep while reading.  I slept only twenty minutes and was up and ready to work in the yard with Evie by 2:30.  She wanted all her flower beds cleaned up, so I got out a couple of large garbage cans for the leaves and twigs and raked and cleaned the garden in our back yard, filling up both barrels.  By 4:00, we were done and I took the garden wastes up the hill to the wood pile.  It's always fulfilling to empty both pails so they are ready for the next time.

Fat Tire Bikers Gather On Long Point

We then enjoyed the beauty of the late afternoon and early evening, the brilliant blues of the lake and sky, with a couple of glasses of wine and an appetizer of crackers with red pepper jelly and cream cheese.  Dinner was already done, as Evie had put together spaghetti squash with mushrooms, cheese, and Italian sausage.  All it needed was to be heated up.  We had it along with a salad and rolls as we watched part of the Trump Reality Show questions and answer.  He reminds me of a  nasty grade school kid in the playground, whining and attacking his playmates, feeling sorry for himself.  We watched another episode from HOME on AppleTV.  Yesterday, it was a home built within a greenhouse by a Swedish couple.

Home Surrounded By A Green House

Last night, it followed the creative genius of a woman who grew up on the island of Bali, worked for Donna Karan in New York before returning to Bali and building unbelievable homes out of bamboo.
We finished the night with Cheers, as we are almost finished with Season One.

Amazing All Bamboo Home

A Splendid Lake Morning

6:02

6:14

6:36

6:36

7:06

I was out kayaking for an hour and twenty minutes it was so nice, down to Whitney Bay, then back to Sandy Bottom and home.  It felt like a summer morning except for the cold although on my way back, I loosened my jacket despite the 30º temperature.

Kayak Morning

Blue On Blue

Buffleheads

Mergansers

Sunday was a typical Sunday.  It started with a paddle, then the blog and breakfast.  We looked at the weather and it looked as though we were going to have a sunny morning.  So after a shower, we drove over to the end of Lakeside Drive and parked our car along with many others.  We are usually the only ones there.  We had a good hour walk through the woods along with many others, out to get some air and enjoy the sun.  We followed one of the many new trails built by the Fat Tire Group.  It was fun to walk somewhere different.  We ran into three or four bikers, so the path was not very busy. 

Bicycle Path

Dwarfed By The Woods

We both were looking forward to a big breakfast and CBS Sunday Morning, so Evie got busy making home fries, eggs, bacon, and bagels.  For both of us, it is one of the best meals of the week.  We watched our show then filled out the afternoon we large leisure, doing the usual, watching TV, reading, napping or thinking about doing something but not doing it.  I was tempted to practice yoga but thought better of it so I stayed on the couch.

Sunday In Long Point State Park

Around 6:00, Evie got busy in the kitchen, fortified by a glass of wine and made our dinner, marinated salmon, rice, spinach, and a salad.  We are having trouble with our oven but after a couple of checks, the salmon was done right and we enjoyed our dinner, watching a Colbert, not Trump.  We saved his briefing, watching only the question and answer portion because it's pure theater, like a silly and ridiculous reality show.  This time he insulted a reporter because he asked him a difficult question, telling the reporter he 'lacks the brain he was born with.' 

We then watched a new show on AppleTV called HOME which looks at spectacular homes around the world. The first episode was filmed in Sweden where a family built their home inside a greenhouse so they have Mediterranean type weather year-round.  We got to know the family and with this particular family, much is made about how they adjust their life to their autistic son, especially the Type-A father.  It's really good.  We ended the night with Cheers.

Springter On Chautauqua Lake

6:27

6:38 

8:30

9:20

It's 8:30, a 40º morning, and I just returned from kayaking, south to Sandy Bottom, into the wind, then home to Woodlawn, the wind at my back.  It seemed colder then the 23º days, perhaps because of the wind.  No glimpses of eagles or ospreys, just lots of buffleheads, mallards, a wood duck and a pair of juvenile hooded mergansers, sitting on the shoreline.  While I paddled,  I listened to a great John Prine album, Prime Prine, from the 1976's.  What an amazing lyricist.

Kayak Morning

Paddling Towards The Sun

Mallard Couple

Wood Duck

Yesterday, Saturday, I think it was Saturday began with a wild paddle, heavy winds, out just long enough to say I kayaked and took a photo, not much fun.  Fortunately, the sun came out so it was a nice enough morning.  We took our time, enjoying our coffee before marshaling up our energy to gather the trash, clean out the refrigerator.  I then drove to the Transfer Station where practically no one was wearing a mask.  After returning home, we got in a walk around the neighborhood, then I walked the woods for a little extra exercise and to see the snow still hanging on the limbs, covering much of the ground. The crisp morning air awakened us, made us want to go off and do something, alas.

Saturday Morning Along Woodlawn

Woods On A Saturday Morning

We had lunch instead, doing something I guess.  I had the rest of the sub from the Lighthouse Grocery and some delicious homemade soup Evie made yesterday, with homemade chicken stock, sweet potatoes, carrots, and noodles.  Delish.  I watched a show, then returned to my new book, The Secret History, by Donna Tartt.  I started it a few months ago but put it aside.  I am liking it more now.

Young Hooded Mergansers

Hooded Mergansers Blend Into The Brush

Around 4:00, I decided to practice yoga and followed a program on YouTube recommended by my niece's daughter, Shea, called Yoga With Adriene.  It was pretty good and I will follow her more often rather than just making up my own routine  While I was doing yoga, Evie prepped our dinner, taking a couple of nice pork chops and breading them, letting them dry before frying.  We decided it was too nice to stay inside so we walked down to the campground and back, stopping for 15 minutes to talk with a couple of neighbors, observing a six-foot distance.  It was really nice to talk to someone.

After our walk, Evie put some potatoes in the oven to bake,  roasted some cauliflower, then fried up the pork chops and put them in the oven to bake.  Both of us were hankering for a nice thick pork chop with applesauce so we were looking forward to dinner.  The chops did not disappoint us, nor did the cauliflower or salad.  Why not just stay home and have dinner!  We watched a C- film called Molly's Game, stuck with it for a couple of hours, a mistake but it's hard to leave a movie midway.  We ended the night with what is becoming a nightly ritual, a couple of episodes of Cheers.  We always go up to bed with a smile.