All's Well At The Lake

8:15

Happy To Be Back In Chautauqua

It's a bright, sun shiny morning, blue skies and lake, Evie and I are up sipping coffee, listening to the pundits discuss the important business of Republican policy, whether Melania Trump's speech last night was plagiarized (big deal), and both our daughter Beth and her daughter Marisa are upstairs, still sleeping off jet lag.  It's a almost chilly 56º, the kind of morning I love and yesterday's ridiculous humidity has disappeared.

Yesterday Beth and Marisa were flying into Buffalo at 3:25, so most of the morning was spent vacuuming, cleaning and straightening up a house that I thought had already been vacuumed, cleaned and straightened up.  I  guess not.  And as I mentioned, the humidity was 86%, so even the easy task of vacuuming brought out a sweat.  It was a cloudy, overcast morning, the kind that usually means rain but not this summer.  It just looks like it's going to rain this summer.  Once we got things ship shape, we both jumped in the lake to cool off.  I made myself a lunch of leftover rice and spinach topped with two friend eggs, imaginative use of leftovers and quite good.  I watched some of the run up to the Republican Convention before we left for the airport at 1:30.

Happy To  Be With Her Granny

Almost 13!

Beth and Marisa arrived on time, and it was fun to see the smiles on their faces when they saw us waiting anxiously at the airport.  It's great to know that our kids and grandkids love the lake as much as we do.  It's the grandchildren's second home, having been here each summer of their lives.  Our ride home took the usual hour and a half, with Marisa asking, "Are we there yet?"  We were home around 5:00 and Marisa quickly got on her bathing suit and Evie heated up some corn chowder, Marisa's favorite.  We had soup on the porch before going out on the dock, and Marisa and Evie swam, and Beth and I sat on the dock and talked.  The evening sky was getting increasingly picturesque, the eastern shore of the lake vivid, the sun lightning it.  It made me understand once again how lucky we are to have this view everyday of our lives.

A Brief Dinner Al Fresco

For dinner, Evie had made chicken and black bean burritos, so all she had to do was heat them up and get out the fixings.  Because it was such a beautiful evening, we wanted to eat outside.  Unfortunately, after 10 minutes, we were so bothered by bugs that we finished eating in the dining room.  Where are those bats?  We then finished up dinner, did the dishes, relaxed a bit but everyone was tired out by 9:30, so both Beth and Marisa went up to bed, Evie watched some of the Republican Convention, and I read some before falling asleep.

Very Early Morning Thunder, Lightning And, Yes, Rain

6:16

6:56

I was up way too early for some reason and came downstairs, sat out on the porch and was entertained by thunder, lightning which lit the entire sky, and a heavy rain at times.  It's 7:00 now and it's still overcast and we get an occasional shower but nothing sustained.  It's muggy 72º, and we may have more showers this morning and early afternoon.  The rain and cloudy skies are welcome change from the past weeks of heat, a dearth of rain.  Today we start the fun part of our summer, as Beth and Marisa arrive in Buffalo at 3:25, the start of three weeks of family.

Yesterday I felt like a mini ironman, as I kayaked for an hour early, over to Long Point, along its shore, then sitting in the middle of the lake, meditating and drinking coffee, enjoying the solitariness of it all.  When I got home, Evie was doing some wash, organizing the bedrooms for Beth's arrival today.  She also finished up a final grocery list of things we needed from Wegman's and drove off to Lakewood around 11:00.  I still felt energized so I put my bike in my car and drove over to Bemus, for another hour bike ride through Bemus and Long Point State Park.  It was still cool with a nice breeze so I really enjoyed my ride.  The marina was packed with trucks and trailers as the lake was riddled with bass boats although I did not see any evidence of their being a weigh in or tournament.

I got home just as Evie was returning, so I helped unpack the car and put things away.  After my bike ride, I rowed out and put out another buoy, to discourage boaters from coming too close to the docks. And I got out my trusty weed rake, and worked at cutting weeds for another hour.  Our swimming area is in good shape and ready for lots of play from our grandchildren.  I then had a quick lunch of vegetable soup and a bagel, and watched the tragic unfolding of the police shooting in Baton Rouge.  Another tragedy, a hate crime I would suggest, and another brief, articulate and deft speech from President Obama, urging calm and careful use of language, especially cautioning against using these tragedies to score political points.

We then did little the rest of the afternoon, taking in some sun on the dock and swimming before the noise and busyness on the lake drove us back to our porch.  We were both hungry, so Evie broiled the salmon, made the rice and garlic spinach, and we had dinner around 6:30.  We watched Bill Maher and cannot wait to see him this week because he will be broadcasting from the Republican Convention.  We ended the night watching Leslie Stahl interview Trump and Pence on 60 Minutes. Trump, as usual, bulldozed his way through the interview, interrupting Stahl and Pence, making it difficult for him to respond to Stahl's questions.  It was embarrassing to watch, humiliating for Pence, but he was loyal soldier,  happy to carry the water for this inarticulate, ignorant, bombastic bully.  There, I said it. I actually feel sorry for Republicans because they have little choice but to support Trump if they are party loyalists. Hillary, no doubt has her liabilities, blown out of proportion by Fox News for the past 20 years.  She is, however, the most qualified candidate ever to run for President, having lived in the White House for eight years, getting elected as Senator to New York State, and being appointed Secretary of State for four years.  People may dislike her but she is extremely knowledgeable and qualified and before she ran for President, she received kudos from both Democrats and Republicans alike for her skills in both the Senate and as Secretary of State.

After The Roar, A Quiet Lake

6:02

6:15

Wading In The Shallows On A Kayak Morning

It's 8:20, the sun's blinding, as I look out at its reflection filling the lake.  It's been a busy morning for me, up at 5:20, out on the dock to catch the bass boats roar out of the Long Point Marina at 6:00, then catch the sunrise.  The morning was so fresh and clear that I went kayaking for an hour, off to Long Point, along its shore and back.  And I found the best coffee shop in the country...sitting in the middle of the lake, kicking back, just me a seemingly empty lake, the vast sky and my coffee.  The good life. When I got back, Evie was up and busy in the kitchen, getting things ready for the first flight of family to arrive, Beth and Marisa,  Monday afternoon.  We cannot wait.

My Private Coffee Shop

Yesterday was not the best of days because Evie woke up with a headache.  It did not deter her from working in the kitchen and later enjoying the dock, albeit wrapped in a towel because it was so cool, a result of the strong wind.  Fortunately, it was a nice morning, so I took a paddle down to Bootey Bay and back, a good way to start my day.  And I did the usual, taking the trash to the Transfer Station, after we cleaned out the refrigerator, the garage, getting rid of the junk from the past couple of weeks. About 10:30, I was on the road again, to do some shopping, get things done.  I had coffee at Ryders, picked up a couple of dozen of their organic eggs, stopped at the bank, Walmart (to get a couple of shot glasses, a boat scrub, and a few other things for Evie).  It's always a trip to visit Walmart.  I then made my last stop at Sam's, to pick up some of the staples for the next three weeks and a rotisserie chicken for dinner.  All this took longer than I thought so I was not home till 1:30.

Early Morning Fog At Tom's Point

A Shining In The Morning

By then, Evie had finished her cooking, cleaned up the kitchen and was out on the dock.  I had some vegetable soup and naan for lunch, then read, finishing, finally, my David Downing spy novel, then went out on the dock with Evie.  We did not last long because of the wind, so we came in and relaxed on a leisurely Saturday afternoon until 5:30.  We were having another Woodlawn picnic, so I went for a half hour, as Evie was still bothered by a headache.  It's always fun to catch up with the neighbors and share a libation or two and appetizers.  It was not as well attended as usual, as many families have guests.

We had fresh corn, fried potatoes and chicken for dinner, easy and tasty and tried to find something worth watching on Saturday night TV to no avail.  So we ended up watching some old Stephen Colbert shows and channel surfing before heading up to bed.  By the way, Evie feels better this morning as her headache is gone.

Coup d' Etat In Turkey Dominates Headlines

6:14

6:15

For those who are wondering what is going on in Turkey, let me give you a  brief primer.  Since the 1920's, Turkey has been a secular democracy, a first in an Islamic country.  Ataturk, father Turk, westernized Turkey after WW I, banning the fez, the veil, the head scarf, and Latinizing the Turkish alphabet. Thus, Turkey was a democracy, with a clear division between mosque and state. The military, however, considered itself guardian of the democracy and occasionally took over if the government veered too far  to the left or right.  When we lived in Turkey, there were battles at the universities between leftists (Communists) and rightists( Islamicists), often shootings, and two or three times, the military stepped in and established martial law.

Turkey prospered during the 1980's and 1990's with a more stable government and lots of money from the Middle East.  Around 2000, Recep Erdogan was freely elected as Prime Minster.  Over the past 16 years, he has slowly moved the country towards an Islamic State, derogating Ataturk and his secularism.  Most of my friends feared for what Turkey was happening to democracy back in 2009 when we visited. They sensed the change, a limiting of human rights, especially for journalists and women.  So this coup is no surprise in that most of the middle class, the educated, want a secular state while the underclass, the masses from the Eastern part of Turkey, support Erdogan and are happy with a move towards an Islamic state.  So, that's a brief and most likely inaccurate analysis of Turkey. Neither the Generals (very conservative) nor Erdogan (an Islamicist) is good news for Turkey.  The possibility of a Civil War is growing as I listen to the news.  I fear for my friends, teammates, former students, and colleagues.

This morning it sounds as if the coup has been defeated, the tragic results, hundreds dead, thousands imprisoned.  It's still not clear who is in charge and I have already read conspiracy theories that suggest the coup was orchestrated by Erdogan to consolidate his power. Silly. Or by Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish imam and Muslim cleric, founder of the Gulen Movement.  Interestingly, Gulen, once an ally of Erdogan, fled to the US in 2001, fearing imprisonment in Turkey.  He has lived in the Poconos, in Pennsylvania since then yet his influence is still obvious in Turkey, as he has many followers.

I fear Erdogan (elected to Prime Minster in 2003, President in 2014) will use this coup attempt  to further consolidate his power and limit the freedoms guaranteed by democracy.

Anyways, it's a peaceful, partly cloudy morning here at the lake and a deliciously cool 60º.  It's fairly quiet on the lake for a Saturday, the only sounds, those of purple martin parents, anxiously parenting their babies. The next couple of days should remain somewhat cool, the highs in the 70's, the Chautauqua weather we love.

Yesterday, a Friday, began with coffee, news of the terrible terrorists attack in Nice, France and the prosaic watering of the lawn, my early morning task in this arid area.  Evie was busy early, organizing the cupboards, pantries, etc, a result of her excitement over having a new refrigerator.  She was happy to be busy, so she encouraged me to go for a bike ride in Bemus.  I attempted to put my bike in my new Subaru but it did not quite fit, so I put it in my Pilot and drove off and parked it at the bridge and pedaled into Bemus, down Lakeside Drive to Long Point Park, through the park and back. Bemus was hopping for an early morning and a CLA crew had a barge piled high with weeds that have accumulated and started to smell along the shoreline.  This is a real problem in Bemus and for the entire east side of the lake.  It's going to take constant vigilance and work to rid areas of the rotting weeds.  It was a easy bike ride,  a nice breeze to keep me cool and as usual, I was the only one riding or walking the trails in Long Point State Park.  I stopped for a cup of coffee at Wired and recognized the barista, a state champion cross country runner from the local school, Maple Grove.  I asked her about the team's training and she said they meet every morning at 8:15, at the top of Lakeside Drive, for a workout.  My granddaughter, Hayden, is coming for a week and she said she would be welcome to run with them if she liked.  How neat.

When I got home, the kitchen was a mess, as Evie was making her eggplant appetizers, which involves lots of baking and frying of breaded, stuffed eggplant.  She neither wanted nor needed my help, so I did what I do best: cut weeds.  I worked in the water for an hour, staying cool before coming in for lunch, a tuna sandwich and another episode of Dicte.  The rest of the afternoon was easy and leisurely for both of us.  Evie quickly cleaned up the kitchen and was on the dock by 1:00, to enjoy the sun and water, and play with our neighbors' grandchildren who seem to migrate to our swimming area when she's on the dock.  I did some reading, napped and joined her on the dock until cocktail hour, around 5:30.  We enjoyed a special cheddar cheese, crackers, pistachios, and endamame along with a Manhattan or two, listening to the terrible news from Turkey.  We had an easy dinner of leftover chicken curry, watched some TV, then took a break from the news to kayak around 8:30, as it was a fine early evening on the lake.  We went to bed with the same feelings  of sadness we had the previous night, after the terror attacks in Nice.  And we wonder if it's now our turn, again, as the Republican Convention starts on Monday, in Cleveland, where everything seems to be banned except for the carrying of a gun.  What an absurdity.

We Go To Bed After Another Tragic Night Of News

6:00

7:00

I was up just about 6:00, a cloudy sky, 68º, as the radio continues to relay first person accounts of the monstrous attack on innocents last night in Nice, France.  Terrorists, through the ages, have always preyed on the innocent, inciting fear in the populace, hoping to bring about change.  But in today's modern world, with bombs, machine guns, and trucks, the results can be devastating.  And there's no easy answer, all of us are vulnerable.  It's easy to over react, to want to ban all Muslims or as Gingrich suggests, test every Muslim in America to see if they believe in Sharia law.  Ridiculous. This is America, not Nazi Germany.   We need to get at the cause, the root of this radicalization (mostly in the Middle East) and with the help of Muslim countries, work to remedy it.  It's racial, cultural and religious, so it won't be easy.  Mostly, we need the cooperation of all the Muslim nations and their people and they must  condemn this sort of action and work against it.  Having lived in Turkey, a Muslim country for seven years,  I know everyone of my friends would condemn any and all of these attacks and are just as horrified by them as we are.

Back to reality at Chautauqua Lake.  Yesterday began with breakfast with the guys at the Bemus Point Inn, always a good, gossipy way to start the day, as I get not only the local poop but that also of the Chautauqua Institution.  Afterwards, I drove to the Honda dealer in Erie, to get a simple oil change and two hours later, left with a car which they deemed might not pass the state safety check.  Much of the underbody is rusted, other things are in disrepair, so that they are not even sure it can be fixed.  A bummer because I really like having a SUV for transporting dirt, stones, gravel, weeds, things like that.  So now I will have to figure out what to do with it, whether I will  be able to sell or it or just junk it.

I stopped at Orton's Market in Northeast, PA, to pick up a half gallon of Pot of Gold milk and then to assuage my depression at the car news, I stopped at Plummer's Tavern, on Rt. 5 or Lake Road, just inside the New York State line, for lunch.  The bar was packed with workers, having lunch so I had to sit at a table.  I ordered the special, a crab cake sandwich with fries and a beer, noticing that all the workers were drinking cokes, not a beer like me.  Thirty years ago it would have been a beer.  I then drove home, along RT. 5 which skirts Lake Erie, with vineyards covering much of both sides of the road, some winding down to the lake's edge.  It's always a beautiful drive.

When I got home, Evie had been busy, defrosting and cleaning our freezer. And she was particularly happy because after she cleaned it out, stored all the frozen food in iced coolers, she plugged it in and it would not start up.  She tried a couple of times, hit the breaker twice before realizing she was plugging in the vacuum cleaner.  This was something I might do, not Evie.  Around 3:00, she headed off to the Mall to do some shopping, stopping at Wegman's, while I hunkered down in the house, avoiding the sun and humidity until Evie got home.  We quickly put away the groceries, put on our suits, cracked open a couple of beers, and got out some tortilla chips and salsa and enjoyed them on the dock until about 6:30. The lake and docks had settled down by the time we got out there, so it was a peaceful, quiet cocktail hour on the dock.  And a breeze picked up, cooling us.  We ended cocktail hour with a swim, and Evie then went in and heated up the Indian curry dinner she had made earlier in the day and sauteed a couple of bunches of chard which I had bought at Orton's in PA on my trip to Erie.

Late Afternoon Clouds

Dinner was great,  chicken curry with some naan, and we both loved the chard, wondering why we don't make it more often.  We started The Shipping News, an older movie but stopped after a half hour because we realized we had already seen it.  So we watched an episode of Bosch, as we needed relief from the terrible news of the attack in Nice.  It was hard to watch the coverage of the attack, knowing that women and children were run over. The thought of bed was comforting, knowing we could leave this violent world behind for a few hours.

Sultry, Sultry, Sultry

5:27

6:03

6:12

6:42

 I was awake at 5:20, not sure of the time, so I came downstairs to read the kitchen clock and was awake enough that I stayed up to watch the sky slowly change and lighten.  It's now 6:04 and the sun is trying to break through the clouds. There's blue sky above, clouds off to to east, a pink and gray eastern sky.  And the relentless Amish fishermen next door have just started up their ancient motor and are off to catch some morning fish.

Weed Cutters In Action

Yesterday was another 'hot one', the kind we really dislike, too much heat and humidity, the high around 90º.  It was an exciting day, however, filled with anxiety and impatience.  First,  just as I was about to drive to the store, the CLA weed cutters, like huge grasshoppers, pulled into the Woodlawn area, ready to cut weeds.  Evie's been in touch with them off and on over the past few weeks, trying to get them to cut our weeds.  So she spent the next few hours, walking up and down the shoreline, making sure they got to everyone's docks, helping to get the truck down here to pick up some weeds. They worked on the Woodlawn/Victoria area all morning and part of the afternoon.  They had a bad start to the day as they got stuck in our neighbors lakefront and the other weed cutter had to couple to the stuck one and pull it out of the rocky area.  Later in the day, I kayaked the lakefront and though they missed some spots, they did a pretty good job and the weeds in front of the docks are definitely gone.  Once they were gone, Evie could relax for a bit.

A Huddle Of Baby Purple Martins

While all this was going on, I was in Lakewood, getting coffee and a dozen organic eggs from Ryders Cup.  I then stopped at Harbor Freight which was having a big sale.  I picked up a step ladder, a rechargeable flashlight, gloves and a free tape measure, a deal.  A quick stop at Aldi's to pick up some Yuengling brats and another deal, two brooms and a dust pan for 10 bucks.  What a day.  I ended the morning at Wegman's, as we begin our stocking up on supplies for the arrival of our family over the next couple of weeks.

My shopping therapy done, I drove home, and Evie was waiting patiently but anxiously as our new refrigerator was supposed to arrive some time between 1:30 and 5:30.  About 2:00, they called and we quickly emptied the old refrigerator, putting the stuff in coolers with ice.  Two guys with long hair, shorts and hiking boots arrived about 2:30 and couldn't have been nicer nor more helpful.  They were professional and efficient, first measuring both the door and the space for the new refrigerator to make sure it fit.  They then put on their straps and easily carried the old refrigerator out and brought the new one in.  I went under the house, to the crawl space and waited for them to hook up the water to the ice maker, something they are not supposed to do but did anyways, saving us a trip from a plumber.  I turned on the water, crawled out and voila, we had a new refrigerator.  Evie tipped them because they were such good guys, offered them a cold Squirt, and they were off.  Now Evie could relax.

We both then went for a swim in our refreshing lake, and mostly enjoyed the rest of the afternoon, looking for a cool spot to relax.  Around 4:30, the refrigerator was cold enough to start putting things in, so Evie pulled out all the drawers and cubicles and washed them to get rid of the new smell.

By 6:00, everything was back in the refrigerator and we were ready to go out to dinner with Linda and Ron because the Seezurh House was having their rib eye special.  They picked up at 6:30, came in to ogle our new refrigerator and the topper our neighbors made for Evie.  We then drove to a very busy Bemus for dinner.  We had to park quite a ways from the Seezurh House, by the primary school and ball field. Fortunately, the restaurant had some seats available, so we quickly ordered beers, to cool off after the heat of the late afternoon.  We had the same waitress as last week, Kalie, and all four of us ordered the same thing, the special.  It was not quite as good as the previous week but still, a good steak, cooked to perfection with a salad and potato, all for 12.99.  Afterwards, we walked past the very busy Ellicottville Brewery, the newest restaurant in town.  I estimated there were at least 150-200 patrons enjoying their beers and food.  We then walked down to the Lenhart Hotel, the old lady of the lake, and had a beer on the porch.  We ended up talking to a guy who had an Ohio Club tee shirt on, a restaurant we ate at and loved in Hot Springs, Arkansas.  It turns out he and his wife were there in the fall, enjoyed the restaurant and town.  He is a baseball buff and Hot Springs was a spring training destination for baseball teams with the likes of Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb staying there in the 1920's and 1930's.

We were home to our stifling house by 9:30, turned on the air conditioner in our room and watched some TV until the bedroom was cool enough to sleep.  And so a very busy day ended.

This morning I have breakfast at 8:00 and then I am driving to Erie to get my oil changed and Honda Pilot checked out at the dealer.

Back To The Reality Of Politics

6:46

7:43

A hazy morning at the lake, as the sun rose above the clouds and now is hidden behind them.  It's still close,  a warm, humid 71º at 7:00 in the morning.  Both Evie and I are sitting hear listening to the pundits talk about Hillary and Trump for the first time in awhile, as we have been focused more on our guests than on what's happening politically.  Or it's that the terrible tragedy in Dallas has preempted the talk of politics for a few days. We often wonder if there were not an election going on, what would the pundits be talking about?  Probably politics.

A Raft Of Ducks On A 'Raft'

Yesterday was uncomfortably warm and humid, with a high of 88º, so un-Chautauqua like.  Yesterday we were up early as usual, had coffee and an early swim with Hudson Barb, in town to visit friends and attend the funeral of a old friend.  I got out the hose and sump pump and watered the new grassy areas for a half hour, hoping it will make a difference.  And, of course, I gave both of our new tress a watering, as these arid days of summer are not helping them.  Barb left for the CI and its House and Garden tour with friends.  So Evie and I did what we do best in this warm weather, cut weeds and stay cool, standing knee to neck deep in the water.  I have to admit I am getting tired of hauling weeds out of the lake and up the hill but there is some satisfaction in swimming in an almost weedless area.  I say 'almost' because these pesky weeds just keep coming back like...weeds.

I had enough by 12:30 though Evie, the trooper, kept at it, in fact, kept at it on and off all afternoon.  I had the rest of my chicken salad sub and watched Ray Donovan.  I have to admit it's a guilty pleasure because the story line borders on absurd, silly, with some violence and nudity thrown in.  A perfect combination for a hit show!  Barb stopped back around 1:30 and she and Evie enjoyed the dock for a couple of hours while I hunkered down inside, avoiding the heat of the mid afternoon.  We said our goodbyes to Barb around 4:15 and around 5:00, we went for a booze (one beer a piece so you don't get the wrong idea) cruise over to Bemus and back.  Evie then relaxed on the dock till 7:00, the best part of the day while I finished a few chores, putting on the boat cover, putting away the sump pump and hose and hauling more weeds up the hill.

Three Generations of Special Woodlawn Neighbors

Dinner was great, BLT's, chips and dip.  Nothing like a good BLT, lots of bacon on good bread with juicy tomatoes, lettuce and a generous smear of mayonaise.  We started a movie, BROOKLYN, but we soon got bored (and I had read the book), so we channel surfed, watching some of a documentary on the White House on PBS which was pretty good until going up to bed around 10:30 to read and sleep.

Today we get our new refrigerator...yippee.  They are coming between 1:30 and 5:30...precise, right. Evie is excited to have the French doors, a larger area and an ice maker that works.  She's tired of making ice cubes.  Time to do something with my life.  Not sure what.