Cool, Windy, And Partly Cloudy

6:10

6:40

7:22

Well, I was surprised by the early morning wind, perhaps keeping me from a morning paddle.  It's a pleasant 57º and the sun keeps peeking in and out.  Because the windows are closed, I barely hear the morning birdsongs.  It looks like this cool weather (it never rose to the 70's yesterday) will continue to the weekend. I did get out on the rough lake for a half hour paddle but no photographs of herons.

Kayak Morning

We had a typical Monday, an early morning paddle for me, then off to Yin Yoga in Lakewood.  A good class and I was home by 11:20, not having to stop for coffee or groceries.  Evie was busy helping our neighbor set up her new phone, to no avail and taking great photographs of  both herons and Baltimore Orioles.  I did a few odd jobs before lunch, changing the oil on the lawn mower, cleaning the caked grass from the pan.

Heron On A Bench

Around 12:15, Evie left for her PT appointment and I heated up the leftover spaghetti with mushrooms and sausage for a tasty lunch.  I am watching a film of John Le Carre's TINKER, TAYLOR, SOLDIER, SPY.  It's quite well done and I wonder why I have not watched it sooner.
Evie was home by 1:30, just as I was falling asleep on the couch.

Evie had an easy afternoon, working some in the garden, what else, moving some plants and putting wire cages around some of them that are being eaten by varmints of some sort.  I helped some but really didn't do much.  Wine time arrived sooner than expected, so we closed up shop and came inside to enjoy the late afternoon.  Evie had already breaded some chicken thighs, getting them ready to fry.  I had a good phone call with our daughter, Beth, from Dallas.  They are moving into a new house, so they are quite busy and their kids are doing well, Marisa's just finished 9th grade, Mitchell is in Barcelona for a couple of months, and Tyler now has a full-time job.  And all of them, we hope, will be in Chautauqua this summer.

Dinner was fried chicken, with roasted potatoes, salad, and coleslaw.  We decided to get back on track and watch some series on TV.  We watched the first episode of a new series on HBO called SUCCESSION.  It's too early to say whether we will like it or not.  We then watched ACORN TV's KEEPING FAITH, a series we had started a week or two ago but forgot about it.  We ended the night with Vice News.  They had a segment where a number of Oklahoma teachers, all dedicated to their students, are quitting because of the lack of support.  By the time they were done speaking, both of us were close to tears because they were so passionate about kids.  What is wrong with people, with legislators, with politicians in general? Children are the future, yet they don't seem to care about them, just lowering taxes, saving money, cutting education funding.

Spring Temperatures Return For The Week

Mallard Mom And Her Ducklings

Northern Sky at 7:25

Southern Sky At 7:38

It was quiet and cool, 57º, when I came downstairs at 5:50.  No observable sunrise this morning because of the clouds.  A light wind rustles the flag, the lake, as the birds sing their early morning songs.  It's 8:00 and I am back from a paddle.  It's worth the effort each morning, especially if I get a  good photograph of a heron.  It was difficult today because the lake was choppy and it was difficult to steady the camera.  Fortunately, I was able to photograph a mallard family, practically hidden by the shoreline.

Heron On Driftwood

Heron Among The Reeds

We planned our Sunday around the weather report, as usual, a mistake.  It was supposed to start raining at 11:00, so after a paddle, after our coffee and breakfast, we both went outside intent on getting things done in the yard before the rain.  Well, it didn't rain at 11:00, in fact, it waited until 5:00 to start a drizzle.  As a result, we pulled weeds, dug up the ground and spread mulch for most of the morning, trying to give to health to the red twigs we chopped down yesterday.

Gourd (present from Ellen)  In The Garden

Around 12:30, we had our big breakfast, eggs, bacon, and for a change, naan.  We watched CBS Sunday morning and loved the section where they discussed the putting of pianos all over New York City, to encourage people coming together in music.  They even have volunteers who will cover the pianos with a tarp if it rains.  This is why CBS Sunday Morning is such a good show; there's always something uplifting, in contrast to the usual political news.

Amsonia or 'Bluestar" from Sandy's Perrenial Garden

Namaste

Our afternoon was not much different from the morning.  Because we felt we had to get things done in the garden before the rain, we ended up outside the rest of the afternoon although I did get in a nap and some book time, as I am reading the biography of Wilt Chamberlain.  I was curious about his life and requested it from the Olean Library.  For Evie and most gardeners that I know, the garden always needs more work, more digging, weeding, trimming, or planting.  So she spent the rest of the afternoon doing just that while taking frequent breaks.  I, however, went back to my old tricks, cleaning out the garage, reorganized the shelves, throwing out things I no longer need, then sweeping it out.  In other words, getting it ready to get messy again.

7:33 PM

7:36 PM

It actually did start to rain around 5:00, continuing into the early evening, but a measly eighth of an inch fell if that.  We hoped to sit on our front porch and watch the storm come in but found it was too windy, even cold to sit outside so we had our libations and appetizer inside, listening to music.  We watched it rain, then clear up a bit and enjoyed out pretzels, radishes, carrots, dips and almonds.  By the time we finished our wine time, we were not that hungry so we ended up having burgers, done inside in pan, for dinner, with a helping of coleslaw.  We watched some of the Cavs, a Colbert, some news before going up to bed.  In my book, at the moment, Wilt is in a fraternity at Kansas in 1957, seemingly just one of the guys, enjoying college life despite his notoriety.  He's well-liked, obviously, a superstar on both the basketball court and track yet seems to be a normal college guy.

Overcast Morning, Rainy Afternoon

6:30

8:00

I woke with the birds at first light and came downstairs to turn on the coffee at 5:35.  I stepped outside to enjoy our handiwork in the garden although cutting back the red twigs has definitely left a big gap in our garden.  It's a delightfully cool morning, as I sit out on our front porch, listening to the birds, watching them fly around, gathering bits and pieces for their nests.  One even flew through the porch as I was sitting here.  A few mallards are cruising by, the purple martins are trilling.  It's 56º, cool enough to wear a fleece.  On my paddle, I finally photographed a heron, standing on our neighbor's dock.  And, unfortunately, I had a first sighting of the ugliest birds around, turkey vultures.

A Noble Heron

 Vultures Are Back

Yesterday we woke up with no plan, perhaps because it was a Saturday.  I got in a quick, rough paddle before settling down with another cup of coffee and trying to decide what to do with our day.  It did not look promising outside and we thought of driving off somewhere, perhaps to look for some perennials or bushes for our garden.  Evie, however, decided to put together her world famous vegetable soup, so I gathered various cans of beans and tomatoes and for the next forty five minutes, she was busy in the kitchen.  I gathered the trash and drove off to the Transfer Station, getting home just as she was finishing up the soup and letting it simmer. 

By 11:30, we both decided it was not going to rain and we would do some more damage to our backyard.  I decided to make a few trips to the gravel pit, shoveling gravel into a couple of buckets and spreading them on both our driveway and alongside our house where we have placed a waterproof storage box.  I had no trouble with the pit manager and I also brought back a bucket of top soil to use on our compost pile.  I feel surprisingly good this morning despite the shoveling and spreading of both dirt and gravel.

I then had lunch, Evie's soup and a sandwich and watched a few minutes of TV before deciding to finish my book, LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE by Celeste Ng, and taking a nap. When I came back outside, Evie was working on clearing the weeds from the red twigs but wanted me to do some trimming.  We wanted them to start their new branches from the base so we ended up giving all of them a good haircut, hoping they will grow back quickly and create a wall of red twigs and leaves.  I fear it will not happen until next year.  I cut enough branches so that I had to make a couple of trips up the hill to get rid of the red twigs.  While I was doing this, Evie was cutting the lawn for the first time, taking her time, wearing her brace so as to not bother her back.  She did pretty well which is encouraging for both of us.  We finished up our work just after 5:00 and I took a shower before we settled on our front porch for a glass of wine and appetizers. 

Wine Time On The Porch

Around 6:30, Lori and Tim, walked over after working in our neighbor's yard.  They are both from Buffalo and are helping out next door, getting the house and yard ready for Bill and Joyce.  We had a fun time talking with them, lots of stories about their parents and uncles and aunts, especially Bill and Joyce. We sat out on the porch, sipping wine and talking until after 8:00 when they decided they better head home to Buffalo before it became dark.

Earlier in the day, Evie had putt together a pasta sauce of mushrooms and sausage, so she heated that up, boiled some noodles and made a salad and dinner was ready by 8:45.  We watched  Real Time with Bill Maher, lots of laughs and insights into the current political situation, as he had one of our favorite conservative columnist on, Brett Stephens from the NYTimes and formerly Wall Street Journal.  Despite being a  Republican, he's a Never Trumper and thinks the Dems motto ought to be: MAKE AMERICAN SANE AGAIN.  I could not agree more.  It's reassuring to see an avowed conservative speak up against the disaster of a Trump White House.  Amen

Cooling Down With A Morning Mist

7:44

 I woke at first light, around 5:30, to the symphony of birds, turned over and slept in, for me, until 6:30.  It's a deliciously cool morning, 62º, a much-desired change from 80º weather and humidity.  At the moment, it's overcast, foggy, gray with a light wind, not very inviting for kayaking.  But I went out anyways, fighting the wind and waves most of the way.

Rough Seas

Yesterday began with kayaking and yoga at 9:30, a small but good class.  Julie always takes time to help new students.  After class, I felt like doing something, so I took a quick trip to Aldi's, mostly to look around at all the 'stuff' on sale this week. I bought a few staples, nothing interesting, and some radishes for Evie.  What a good guy.  When I got home, Evie was ready to head to PT and I made an Aldi's turkey sandwich, to go with some Asian noodles.  I watched the end of the film, ANON, and I would give it a C+. worth watching but not riveting.

We then alternated between working in the yard and coming in because of threatening thunderstorms.  We did get some drizzle but there was flooding in the area, with 3-5 inches of rain.  We were just lucky to avoid it.  We did get some more weeding done and are about finished with it, thank goodness.   It's back-breaking work and makes me wonder why have a flower garden.  Why not just gravel the yard over like in Arizona.

Smiling Unhappy Diners

We were going out to dinner with neighbors, leaving at 6:15, to the Stockton Inn, a place we have liked and been to three or four times of the past year.  A BIG MISTAKE. We should have known when we could hardly find a place to park.  Also, we had to wait twenty minutes for a table even though we had a reservation.  Unfortunately, that was not the only wait.  We sat down at 7:20 and an hour and a half and a couple of beers later, we finally got our fish fry, the restaurant practically empty.  To say we were unhappy would be an understatement. According to our waitress, the kitchen staff was new. I vaguely remembered seeing the below message on the restaurant's Facebook a few weeks ago.  Why didn't we pay more attention?

This is no excuse really for any restaurant.  After some discussion, the manager knocked 50% off our bill and sent us home with five desserts.  It's going to be difficult, however, to go back or even recommend it to friends even though the fish fry and french fries were quite good.  As our friend said, at least we will have a good story to tell.

Beth, Overlooking The Bosphorus, In Istanbul, Turkey, 1972

A Happy Birthday to our daughter, Beth.

Beth And Daughter Marisa, Summer, 2017

Wow...It's June 1st

Heron Hunting

6:06

Up as usual, just before 6:00 to a cloudy sky, gray sky and lake, some fog sitting just above the Bemus shoreline.  The morning serenade by the birds continues, filling the air with chatter, just like our lilac tree fills the air with it's sweetness.  It's 8:30 and I have had a good, long paddle, made worthwhile by the sighting of a heron perched in a tree.

Fishing Among The Reeds

A Lonely Female Mallard

Yesterday began with a wet paddle, as it began to rain just as I started out, cutting my morning paddling constitutional short.  I returned in time to make it to breakfast with the guys at 8:00 at the Bemus Point Inn.  And I was home in time from a fun breakfast to make it to yoga at 10:00, lucky to find a spot in the class.  I think many of the new students are from the Chautauqua Institution or were south for the winter.  I stopped at Ryder's for an iced coffee and then did a quick shopping at Wegman's, picking up just enough so I don't have to shop this weekend.  I also returned some things at Home Depot.  I don't know what we would do if most of the stores we shop at have an easy return policy....probably not buy things in the first place.

When I got back, Evie was bravely fighting the heat and humidity, weeding some more in the garden, around the privets and spreading some fertilizer.  Before I sat down to lunch, I turned the soil in the areas where we are going to plant our dahlias, now that we are beyond the freezing point, June 1st usually in this area.  Once I was done, Evie heated up the leftover grits with sausage, fried a couple of eggs and I had a good lunch, perfect for watching more of the film ANON.  I then read, napped briefly, woke refreshed, however, ready for bear.  So I joined Evie and we worked on planting about 15 dahlias.  Since I had already turned the soil, I put an inch of compost on top.  Evie then placed the plants still in their yogurt containers where she wanted them and we then dug holes, put in more compost and planted them.  I then carried buckets of water back from the lake to water them despite the fact that rain was predicted.  One never knows for sure.

5:40 PM

5:50 PM

5:52 PM

We both were sweaty and dirty after our planting so we walked out on the dock and jumped in the lake to cool off.  It's still mighty cold at first but enervating once we are used to the temperature.  By the time we came in, it was  5:00 and threatening clouds were starting to move in.  We quickly changed, put together some appetizers to go with our well-deserved Manhattans, and sat on the porch, watching the storm move in.  It rained hard for about 15 minutes, so hard that it almost obscured Long Point.  When it stopped, the air had cooled and everything, the yard, garden, trees, seemed cleaned fresh, like after a bath.  And the sky was spectacular, as the below photographs show.

6:43 PM

7:36 PM

We had the leftover roast beef and rice for dinner with a salad and were excited to watch the final episode of THE AMERICANS, which we had saved from Wednesday night.  *SPOILER*:  We were not disappointed because its ending seemed plausible, as friendship, Stan's friendship with Elizabeth and Phillip, trumped duty and we felt that was the right thing to do.  The Jennings, however, received what they deserved, to be separated from their kids and returned to Moscow, no longer their home.  It was an appropriate ending we thought.  I saved the Cavs game but am not sure I want to watch it today as their loss sounds heartbreaking, the result, surprise, of a bonehead play by J.R. Smith, the one Cav I do not like.

A short excerpt from Hal Borland's June 1st entry in SUNDIAL OF THE SEASONS:

Every field, every meadow, every roadside is now rich with the proof of sustaining abundance, evidence that the earth is essentially a hospitable place no matter what follies man may commit.

written June 3, 1962

Kayaking In The Rain

6:10

7:30 Down Pour

Up at 5:45 to a cloudy sky, a light wind, a choppy lake.  No rain overnight although it was predicted.  The unseasonably warm weather continues as it's already 72º at 6:30.  Maybe we will have a break when/if it rains.  Well, it rained, just as I went out kayaking at 6:45, a light rain albeit a rain that by the time I returned at 7:30 has soaked me through.  It was great, loved it.

A Wet Kayak Morning

Yesterday was back to normal, an early morning kayak, a leisurely morning until 9:30 when I left for a yoga class.  It's always a good class but not that well attended and I cannot figure out why.  Jen is one of the most experienced and versatile teachers, yet her classes never match those of Yin Yoga, no doubt a less vigorous class.  And usually, the same five or six people attend.

After class, I stopped at Ryders Cup to pick up some eggs, returned used egg cartons and get a coffee. I then drove to Walmart to return an umbrella and stand which did not work for us out on the dock. I then stopped at Tri James, to pay for some gravel.  The guy at the pit charged me three bucks a bucket; the gal at Tri James 50 cents.  I think the pit guy ripped me off and I cannot wait to go back.  The road to and from yoga has been torn up the last two weeks so there's one-way traffic for a good part of it.

When I arrived home, I passed Evie on the way as she was off to another PT class.  She had made me not only a lemon pound cake which I saw on the NYTimes website yesterday morning, but some tuna fish for lunch, so I had that along with a bagel and pickles for lunch.  Yum.  I started watching a recent film called ANON.  It's interesting, set in the future, where there is no privacy.  No one has privacy, everything is recorded except for one person who happens to be a serial killer.  Wouldn't you just know.  I watched half, enjoying some pound cake for dessert.

Evie stopped at Tops after PT, picked up a few things and arrived home around 2:30.  It was too windy despite the heat to enjoy the dock, as we had an unusually strong southeasterly wind most of the day.  We did not do much the rest of the day, other than try to find a cool spot near a fan the rest of the afternoon.  I did do some yard work for about 15 minutes but the 88º degree heat was too much.

Around 5:00, we decided to go to the Viking for 'Wings And Things,' so we both took showers to cool off and drove over around 6:00.  We once again were able to find a seat at the bar.  Just as we were finishing our first beer, our friends, Linda and Ron walked in, so we joined them outside on the patio for dinner.  It was a pleasant night to be outside, the wind had died, the beer was cold, the wings were hot so we were happy.  We stayed until 8:30 when we both headed home happy with our evening out.  We had time to watch a silly episode of STRIKING OUT.  We hope it gets better.  We wanted to stay up and watch the last episode of THE AMERICANS but decided to keep it for tonight, hoping to avoid any spoilers in print or on the radio.

Sunny, Hot, And Humid

6:02

6:06

I was awake at 5:00, up at 5:30 and out on our porch, enjoying the cool air until the sun rose, blinding me and sending me back to the couch in the house.  No complaints as it's another clear morning, a couple of fishing boats out already at 6:15, and the birds, mostly purple martins, continue their morning serenade.  It's 8:00 and I have been out for a quick paddle, rough going because of the wind, hot and humid on the way back as the wind calmed down.  No heron or wood duck sightings.

Yesterday was a great kayak morning, and I had decided even before going off, that I would skip yoga and enjoy the day if working outside encompasses enjoying the day.  I felt like I was skipping school as if yoga is a must each day.  Anyways, I did get lots done much of the morning, wanting to have an afternoon free to enjoy.  And though it does not sound like I did much, it did take me a good part of the morning, with many breaks because of the heat.  First, I cleared sod in two or three places, getting the yard ready for the planting of dahlias.  I then took the leftover sod and filled in bare or low spots in the lawn.  I then cleared another space for our stone spider, mulched it, so I do not have to move the spider to mow.  Finally, I mowed the lawn, with a couple of stops, to check on Evie who was finalizing the Shutterfly album.  And as always, when she went to send it in, there were problems so she ended up speaking to a rep for a good 15 minutes.  It was worth it, however, because we are getting a $170.00 book for $25.00.  Evie is a wonder on the phone. 

A Gaggle Of Geese

Lunch was easy, a leftover pork chop and rice and I watched the last half of the Golden State/Houston game which was disheartening if you are a Cavs fan.  The three-point shooting of the big three, Curry, Thompson, Durant, is going to be hard for the Cavs to overcome.  Most of the afternoon then was spent either out on the dock under an umbrella, mostly Evie, or on the porch or inside the house by me, seeking a cool spot.  It seemed as though we were into the hottest part of the summer, with the temperature in the high 80's, lots of humidity, and little if any wind.  Neither one of us like this kind of weather so we are looking forward to tomorrow when we should get a break, some rain and more spring-like temperatures. 

Moonlight at 9:16

We had hoped to go for a boat ride but it seemed too warm even for that so we sat inside for our wine, in our closed up house.  When the temperature outside reaches that of inside, we close all the windows, a cheap method of air conditioning.  So when it was 86º outside, it was 77º inside, bearable.  For dinner, Evie had pulled some leftover eye of round and gravy from the freezer, roasted some cauliflower and potatoes, and made a salad.  The meat was really quite good, especially with horseradish, so we had a tasty dinner.  We started a new series called STRIKING OUT on Acorn TV and so far, we like it.  At least we don't have to listen to politics although we did watch a Vice News.