Quiet And Calm

Henrietta Heron, Strutting Her Stuff

7:20

Well, it's a gray morning, with close to an inch of rain in the past 36 hours.  Since yesterday evening, it's been eerily calm and quiet on the lake after a busy summer and early fall. To say we love it would not be an exaggeration.  I was out paddling by 8:00 for 50 minutes, the only vessel on the lake for a good half hour until a couple of fishermen appeared. 

Kayak Morning

Woodlawn/Victoria

Northern Sky

Sunday morning was spent at my sister's home on Lake Erie, a quiet morning after a busy Saturday clambake. The four of us relaxed with our coffee, reliving the previous day and fun until breakfast time when Rich, my brother in law and short-order cook extraordinaire, made us eggs, hash browns, bacon, toast, to go along with Evie's kuchen, a good way to end our stay.  We left for Trader Joe's at 11:00, spent a good half hour blowing a wad on wine, cheese, and other goodies on a crowded Sunday morning.  People seemed to go to Trader Joe's these days instead of church.  We were in no hurry, so on the way home, we listened to the Browns game, then filled up on gas at the Ohio border, arriving home in a drizzle around 2:30.  

Neighbors Crewing Late Afternoon

Absolute Calm And Silence

Taking A Photo Of Taking A Photo

It took us a half-hour to get everything put away so we could relax, mostly in the TV room watching the Buffalo Bills destroy Houston.  I of course fell asleep, missing a couple of touchdowns. Around 5:30, we had cocktail hour on the front porch, with our favorite cheese, San Andre from TJ's, with crackers. It was a gray evening, overcast and quiet, not a boat on the lake and we loved it.  Dinner was easy, warming up the leftover ratatouille and rice, with salad. We then watched some TV, Jeopardy, and Colbert, before finishing the night we a piece of our friend Tina's apple pie from Friday night's dinner. Yum, a good way to end a fine weekend.

Raindrops And Bees

 

Clambake Saturday On Lake Erie's Shores

Siblings

7:49

It's 7:20 and overcast, as I look out the window of my sister's family room at Lake Erie, a gray vastness that seems to never end compared to a closed Chautauqua Lake.  It's a muggy 68º and we should have rain much of the day if not the next few days.  

Yesterday was another fun day, a traditional day actually, as our family has been having clambakes since we were kids growing up in the 1950s.  And my sister and her husband Rich have followed that tradition and have had fall clambakes since the early 1980s at their home on Lake Erie.  So yesterday morning for us was the usual kayaking and blog but then getting ready to drive to Euclid for the bake.  I did stop at the Transfer Station to get rid of trash and picked up 30 ears of corn for the bake.  We left at noon and Evie had made Mrs. Snavely's coffee cake, a family recipe for our breakfast this morning.  We stopped for gas at Love's and I had lunch, a chicken sandwich from Mc Donalds.

Clambake Master

A Yard With A View

A Bake For Thirty

We were the first to arrive at 2:30 although the sons and grandsons had been over earlier to help set up everything, the tables for thirty, the bake, the coolers with drinks, all that sort of stuff.  Like Evie, my sister Linda is a great gardener and her backyard is filled with flowers as it overlooks the lake, a perfect setting for a clambake. We sat out on their porch and talked until it was time to light the fire and get the water boiling before adding all the goodies, the clams, sweet potatoes, and chicken. My sister had everything ready so it was easy to get started. By 4:30, everyone had arrived.  This year it was children, grandchildren, the boy's girlfriends, and a few family friends. Three of the boys came home from college just for the bake. 

Antipasto

Shucking Grandsons

Great Granddaughter Molly

Dayton Grandson Vince And Girl Friend

O, Yea, Lobsters

The Coming Of Dusk

My nephew Pat, also a great cook, brought an antipasto, a huge board of goodies and we all sat around watching the bake, eating appetizers, and drinking beer.  Some played bean bag, others just relaxed and enjoyed the view.  It was fun for us because we had not seen many of the grandkids for a year because of Covid.  Around 5:45, the lobsters and corn were added to the bake as everyone enjoyed a cup of clam chowder or clam broth, sure to burn the roof of your mouth if you were not careful.

New Grandpa And Molly

Bean Baggers

Grandpa, Son In Law, And Molly

Grandpa And JP, A Senior At Miami

Clambake Dinner

Four of us made a mess of the kitchen as we had a heck of a time cracking open the lobsters and pulling out the meat for serving.  Once that was done, everyone loaded up their plates with grilled chicken, corn, and sweet potatoes, they went over to the bake to get their bag of clams.  Everything was great, of course, the clams tender and tasty, as was the chicken.  The corn was the best we have had in a while and a taste or two of lobster set it all off. My niece Kirsten always makes cheesecake for dessert and we also had a birthday cake because it was the birthday of my sister's oldest granddaughter, Claire, who is also a new mother. So everyone got to hold two-month-old Molly and get their baby fix.  It was fun catching up with the lives of everyone and we have made dates to see two granddaughters play college volleyball this month, one at Allegheny College, the other in Binghamton.  

Nephew Kevin And Son and Girl Friend, Wooster College Grads

Ice Hockey Fans

Around 8:00, it started to drizzle so everyone helped bring everything in and the buys broke down the tables.  We then realized that one grandson, Colin, who is spending a gap year playing hockey for a team in British Columbia, was on Hockey TV so many of us sat around and watched him play goalie as his team won 5-2., the miracle of modern communication. When everyone left, the four of us had the traditional highball, a paean to my parents, as we talked about the day and our wonderful families, the end to another great day. 

Sunday Breakfast With Brother In Law Rich

Sunday Morning At 10:35

October Arrives

Heron In The Sun's Reflection 

6:58

7:07

7:27

I just returned from a fifty-minute paddle, the sun occasionally breaking through the clouds, lighting up the lake. It's a 46º morning, perfect for kayaking. Evie just got up and it's already 9:00.  We have a busy morning because we are driving to Euclid late morning for a clambake at my sister's home on Lake Erie. 

Kayak Morning

Blue Skies

Sea Gull Dock

A Great Blue

Yesterday was a fun but busy day for both of us, mostly Evie I guess.  After kayaking, the blog, and breakfast, Evie got busy prepping our dinner because we were having friends that we met kayaking over for dinner.  Not only was she putting together a ratatouille, homemade applesauce but making dessert as well as a coffee cake to take to Euclid this morning.  So she was busy on and off and I helped out when I could.  

Barcelona Beach On Lake Erie

Quilliam Road

I had to get a blood test, so I drove to Westfield and fortunately, was the only one at the lab so I was in and out in ten minutes.  I then decided to take a brief walk on the shores of Lake Erie and parked my car at Barcelona Beach which was empty, just me and the blue waters of Lake Erie.

Mom Reading The Vows

When I returned home,  Evie did not have to worry about lunch because we were invited next door for a luncheon to celebrate the wedding of Kathy, our neighbors' daughter to Medio, a college friend.  There were eleven of us sitting on their front porch, enjoying a lunch of wraps, fruit, chips, and wedding cake.  They were married Thursday afternoon at Allegheny College's chapel, where both went to college. 

The Happy Couple

So it was a nice way to have a couple of neighbors help celebrate their special day.  Everyone left around 2:30, after presents, and the couple was heading back to Pittsburgh for a couple of days before returning to the lake to help their parents move into their new home in Sewickley, PA.  

Rockin On The Dock

The afternoon went quickly, with both of us readying the house for company, finishing prepping for dinner.  I did get in a nap and some reading before cleaning the porches, helping clean up the kitchen.  Tina and Jim arrived at 6:00 and we were fortunate it was warm enough to enjoy wine and appetizers, horseradish cheese, crackers, and grapes on the front porch. Around 7:00, I grilled teriyaki pork chops outside just as it was getting dark.  We had them along with a ratatouille, rice, rolls, and a salad, a perfect fall dinner.  We sat around the table having some heated but fun political talk until it was time for Tina's amazing apple pie. It was scrumptious, with a caramel topping and of course, I had mine a la mode. They stayed until after 10:00.  We then did up some of the dishes before going to bed.  It was another good day. 

Sun Rising On A Foggy Morning

7:12

7:37

What a chilly, almost cold morning here on the lake, in the low 40s.  I thought about getting out my stocking hat and gloves as I paddled out into a foggy lake. It's cleared up now, at 9:10 but earlier, both ends for the lake were fog-bound.  My paddle was spectacular, with the fog, clouds, and sun breaking through.

Kayak Morning

Northern Sky

Long Point

Yesterday was sunny and cool, perfect fall weather and though I did not get in any kayaking, I still enjoyed the day.  I went to breakfast with the guys, then to a Yin Yoga class which was not as crowded as usual. I then stopped at Home Depot to pick up a carbon monoxide alarm and Wegmans' for a few essentials that Evie wanted. 

Lunch was an omelet with tomatoes and feta cheese and I watched my show.  Evie took off for Mayville after making my lunch, to drop off some packages to be returned and also stopped at the Lighthouse to pick up tonight's dinner.  We spent the rest of the early afternoon inside reading because it was too chilly to sit out in the sun.  Around 4:00, I went for a half-hour hike in the Woodlawn/Victoria woods, the trails overgrown from lack of use.  At one point, I even lost my way, unable to find the trail.  It felt good, however, to be back out there and it's literally in our backyard so I don't have to drive anywhere.

Woods Of Woodlawn

Victoria Creek Bed

We relaxed with a glass of wine until 6:30 when Evie put together our dinner of garlic spinach, scallops in a wine sauce, on top of linguini. Yum.  We watched Colbert, then a couple of episodes of Goliath which we are beginning to enjoy, and ended the night with Jeopardy. Matt, a polymath,  has won 32 games in a row, tying James for second place. 

Autumn Blooming Dahlia