Sunny Saturday

6:50

6:50

7:01

It's 7:30 and I have been up for an hour, watching the orange globe of the sun rise over Long Point, chasing crows off our front yard and upset because the lake flies seemed to have arrived on our windows and screens.  Well, it's late, 9:22 and was paddling for an hour and twenty minutes, north, down to Whitney Bay and back.

Kayak Morning

North

Bald Eagle Above Whitney Bay

Same Guy

Taking Off

Blue Heron

Yesterday was Friday but seemed like Saturday. That happens a lot when you are retired. I got in a good paddle, saw lots of birds and then came home and finished the blog with Evie's help. Around 10:00, I decided to drive off to Lakewood, stopping at both Home Depot and Wegmans, Home Depot to see if they could find my receipt for the Ryobi lawn mower which is giving us trouble. They can't because I paid in cash so Evie wouldn't know I bought it for her as a birthday present. Typical luck. So I left and went to Wegmans and picked up a few things for our dinner and came home, pissed at my inability to get a receipt.

A Perfect Dahlia

I wasn't hungry so I skipped soup and finished the last half of a chicken salad sub and watched my show. I then tried to nap because I was up so early but had little luck so I suggested to Evie that we take a boat cruise. It was a beautiful afternoon for a boat ride and we took our usual route, along the shorelines of Victoria and Wells Bay to Bemus Point, then along Lakeside Drive to Long Point and home. We were out for a good hour with a few other boaters. When we returned home, we both stayed on the dock and enjoyed the sun for an hour or so, for the first time in quite a while. Now is so different from the old days when we would sunbathe for hours, getting that great tan. 

Mid-afternoon, Evie did some work in the garden until happy hour when we had a good cheese and crackers along with a libation or two. It was another amazing evening lake and sky, with little action even though it was a Friday night. We didn't get to dinner until 7:30 and had leftover pasta and a salad. We watched the usual and were a bit at a loss not having the Democratic Convention to watch. The pundits were talking of course about Boobie Kennedy's endorsement of Trump, betraying the Kennedy legacy of his father and uncle.  Clearly, he had been promised a role in Trump's lineup of stooges if elected. 

Herons, Ospreys, And A Northern Goshawk

6:59 AM

7:00

7:01

Another fog-rising morning, a brilliant sunrise and 51º, with hardly a boat on the lake at this hour, 7:40. I was up an hour ago, just in time to see the sun rise over Long Point. It's later than usual, 9:45 because I was out for an hour paddling and photographing herons, ospreys, and a goshawk, a great morning.

Kayak Morning

North

Sandy Bottom

Sandy Bottom Heron

Sandy Bottom Osprey

Victoria Pines, Juvenile Northern Goshawk

Victoria Heron

Victoria Heron

Thursday began with breakfast in Bemus, a good way to start the day. When I got home, we were in no hurry to decide on the day so we lingered over our coffee and wrote the blog. Evie wanted to get in another walk so we decided on driving to Mayville and walking Webb's Trail, an easy down and back, a couple of miles. It was another perfect day for hiking, with temperatures in the low 60s and we love walking the trail, a tunnel of green for the most part. It follows an old train track so there's hardly a rise.

Webb's Trail

Mostly Green

In The Woods

On the way home, we stopped at a very busy Lighthouse Grocery for a chicken salad sub and picked corn from an Amish cart in the parking lot. We were home by 12:30 and I ate my sandwich and had soup while watching my series, Justified. I then read my book, Mr. Texas, falling asleep until woke my next-door neighbor's loud lawn mower. Annoying. So I returned to my book while Evie fired up or turned on her electric mower and cut the lawn until she started having trouble with the mower stopping. We cleaned it, and checked the various parts but could not determine what was wrong. So she fired up the gas mower to finish the lawn. Meanwhile, I called what I thought was Ryobi but was a website to answer your questions about a problem. I had to wait for ten or 15 minutes to talk with a technician who was no help. What a waste of time. 

The Boys

At 4:00, Dick and Jack came over for beers and because it was such a beautiful afternoon, we sat out on the dock. Evie put together a tray of appetizers so we were happy, drinking beers and enjoying corn fritters, dip, and pretzels. We stayed out on the dock until 6:00 when the guys headed home for dinner. Meanwhile, Evie put together a tasty pasta dish with spinach and fresh corn. We had it with a salad and started watching Wednesday's convention speeches, by Tim Walz and Oprah, both were powerful, and I would give them both A's. We then switched to last night and Evie stayed up for Kamala's speech but I had enough, went to bed and will watch it today. 

Fog Rising And 51º

 I

7:12

9:18

It's 7:35 and I have been up since 7:00, watching the fog rising, the morning clear. The lake's calm, as usual, at this time in the morning a few fishing boats are just visible through the fog off of the reeds. It's now 9:30 and I just returned from breakfast. It's a beautiful morning, the fog has lifted and we are enjoying the last of our coffee before figuring out what to do with our day.

Yesterday was a good day, uneventful and leisurely. I started the day with a good paddle, and photographs of a couple of ospreys but no herons to my surprise. When I  got home, Evie was still sleeping in, lucky gal. So I had another coffee until she got up and we finished the blog. We celebrated or 59th anniversary by putting photos of us and our families on Facebook, something we rarely do but we thought it might be nice, We decided to start our 60th year together with a hike so we drove over to Long Point and walked the woods for around 50 minutes, just right. it was a lovely morning, nice and cool, so we hardly worked up a sweat. 

Beginning Our 60th Year With A Hike

August Green

We didn't get home until almost 1:00 so Evie made me a couple of cheese sandwiches and soup and we watched some of the Democratic Convention from Tuesday night. I was impressed by Doug Imhoff's speech and of course, both Obamas hit it out of the ballpark, with Michelle hitting it a bit farther. We miss them. After watching part of the convention, I read and napped, per usual and we both relaxed the rest of the afternoon, happy to be doing nothing.

We had our wine time at 5:00 on another lovely late afternoon as the wind died down and it was warm enough, if we wore fleeces, to sit on the front porch. Around 6:30, Evie grilled up some mushrooms, and a couple of rib eyes and made a salad. Unfortunately, the rib eyes were not the best, a bit tough, but the carrot cake for dessert was to die for. We spent the evening watching the convention and for me the highlight was the couple talking about their son still being held as a hostage by Hamas. We ended the night watching Bill Clinton, good but showing his age. From listening to the pundits this morning, I missed the best of the night, speeches by Tim Waltz and Oprah. I will watch them today. It was a great night for Democrats, an occasion for Trump to whine and complain about being mistreated. How rich!!!

Clear Skies, Sunny And 49º

Celebrating Our 59th Anniversary

6:45

9:10

I could not believe the temperature when I woke at 6:40, after all, it's August! Fortunately, despite the chill, the lake is nice and calm, perfect for a morning paddle. It is 9:30 and I had a good paddle, shot a couple of photos of Ospreys until I paddled home and the wind had picked up, making it tough. 

Kayak Morning

Osprey

Tuesday was another easy day with nothing either of us had to do, nor wanted to do so we kicked back and enjoyed the windy day, the lake with white caps. I skipped paddling of course so I enjoyed a long coffee and blogging morning. By 10:00, however, I was off to Ryders Cup for a coffee, then the bank, and finally did a quick run through Wegmans, goodies for tonight's anniversary dinner, cheese, steaks, and carrot cake. 

I was home by noon and had lunch around 12:30, Evie's soup and a sandwich. And, yep, I am still watching an episode of Justified while I eat although I did glance at some of Monday night's Democratic Convention although to be honest, I am not that interested. I finished my Spencer book and started a couple more but ended up staying with Lawrence Wright's Mr. Texas, about the weirdness of Texas politics, where a rancher turns hero. Sounds accurate. I napped of course, and watched some of the convention with Evie after she made a couple of trays of snickerdoodles. Mid-afternoon, after a nap, I did some work outside, weed whacking, picking up deadfall, then taking deadfall up the hill to the woodpile.

We were going to dinner at our neighbors Jim and Barb's house at 5:30, so we showered and walked over with snickerdoodles and a bottle of wine. It was warm enough to sit on their front porch and enjoy appetizers and conversation with another couple, Tom and Julie. The six of us have gotten together a couple of times over the last year and its been great fun. 

The Guys

Tom and I joined Jim as he barbecued shrimp and chicken skewers, leaving the ladies to girl talk. Dinner was the skewers with two great salads, one great green, the other pasta and for dessert we had Klondike bars.  Of course, we went through more than a couple bottles of red and white wine before we decided it was getting late and walked home at 9:30. What a great night and how lucky we are to have such good friends. 

Woodlawners Dinner On Tuesday

November In August

 

8:42

8:25

8:01

7:20

It's a chilly, windy morning, 51º when I woke and I decided to skip a paddle because of the wind and waves. It's 8:30, and Evie and I are enjoying the cool morning air and the occasional blinding sun's reflection on the lake's surface.

Heron On A Dock

Yesterday would best be described in one word: dreary. It was gray, and overcast most of the day with occasional drizzle, making it a good day to hunker down on a couch with a book or watch TV. So that's what we did for the most part. However, I was bored by 10:00 and volunteered to drive across the bridge to Peterson's Farm and pick up another basket of peaches. So by 10:45, I was driving home with not only a couple of baskets of peaches, one for our friends, Linda and Ron, but some red potatoes and red onions for German potato salad. I dropped the peaches off in drizzle and was home by 11:30. 

Peaches From Peteresons

By 12:30, I was enjoying the last of the beefsteak tomatoes on sourdough bread and Evies Tuscan Parmesan and Bean soup. I started the third season of Justified which picks up where Season Two left off, with many of the same characters but new bad guys. After lunch, I napped for maybe an hour or more since I did not get more than five hours of sleep. I am into my Spenser novel, set in Boston, and read much of the afternoon or watched TV with Evie as the news stations prepped for the beginning of the Democratic Convention in Chicago. Fox News of course highlighted the protesters, hoping for violence and a big story. 

We had our wine in the living room, listening to CNN until dinner time. Evie fried up some sausages after putting together a German potato salad, which was dinner. Yum. We watched a couple of episodes of The Split, then returned to the Convention and fast-forwarded through the boring parts but by 9:30, the major speakers had yet to come to the podium, so Evie went to bed and will watch the interesting speeches today and I watched another episode of Justified before bed.

Morning Drizzle And Dreary

Our Great Grandson Rhys At 3 Months

6:47

8:10

It's not an attractive morning, with drizzle, fog, and gray dominating the morning. Nary a boat is out on the lake now, because it's so dreary. I remember driving past lakes near Thessaloniki, Greece and my good friend, Jim Lovett, named them Lake Weary And Dreary. It's 60º out with a 98% humidity. It's 8:20 and because of the drizzle, then rain, I paddled for only 15 minutes, alas. It was only me and a couple of ducks bobbing up and down on the lake

Kayak Morning In The Drizzle

Sunday was a day in full oncc again despite the weather. It started with a good paddle, a photograph of a single osprey, then home to finish the blog and have breakfast. We had little planned during the day so I decided to get in a bike ride and drove over to Bemus and parked my car just north of the bridge on a side street. I rode my usual route, along Lakeside Drive, then through the park and woods to Long Point, then back. I stopped briefly at the park because they were having a craft gathering of local artists. It was well attended, good for Bemus merchants I am sure. I then rode back to my car and drove home. When I returned, Evie had been busy getting something done while I played and both the back porch and kitchen were spiffy. 

Long Point

Art And Craft Show In Bemus Point

I felt like a light lunch so Evie made me another tomato and mayo sandwich on sourdough toast and I was happy, watching my show. At 1:00, however, I had something else in mind since the morning and drove to the Rod And Gun Club where their next-door neighbor was organizing a boat parade for Donald Trump. Patriotic music was blaring from the house as the boats gathered, a few with Trump photos or signs on them but all had American flags. They numbered perhaps 20+ before the parade began as they began their cruise to Bemus Point and back. I had enough and as halfway home, a torrential rainstorm hit and I had to turn on my emergency blinders it was so blinding. When I got home, it had let up but we got a half inch of rain in those 15 minutes. 

Maga True Believers

I was tired from my busy morning and early afternoon and took a nice nap, with windows open and a nice breeze as it began to cool down even though the humidity was high. At 3:30, I was happy to relax and watch Caitlin Clark's Fever defeat Seattle. I enjoy watching her and the team. By 6:15, we were both showered and ready for dinner with Ron and Linda to celebrate their 23rd anniversary. We had reservations at Splash, a fairly new restaurant in Bemus, a renovated gas station. 

A Couple Of Cuties

We decided to sit at the bar rather than a table and ordered beers and a bottle of wine for the girls. The dinner options are quite different from anywhere else around.  For instance, Ron and I ordered small plates of smoked brisket and mashed potatoes, four or five bite-size slices of brisket in a bowl of mashed potatoes

Celebrating Twenty-Three Years Of Marriage

We stayed until 8:15 then returned to our house and had a libation on our porch as the sky darkened. They left around 9:15 and Evie, tired from the day, went up to bed but I stayed up, watched the final episode of Justified, and enjoyed a serving of peach/berry crisp with ice cream to top off my day.