Tundra Swans Depart

Well, yesterday's Post Journal had an article about the arrival of swans, making it clear they were tundra not trumpeter.  Supposedly, there are only 1600 trumpeter swans left, as they were basically massacred by hunters, at times, 70,000 a year were shot in the late 1800's.  As of the 1930', only 70 survived, thus the moratorium on shooting them.  There wingspan seems to be close to 6 or 7 feet, so they are much larger than geese.  They only spent the night and are now heading south, in fact, I can see little wild life other than the birds at our feeder, seemingly the same each day, the pigs!  It was 23 degrees when I got up, fairly late for me, 7:40, and it looks like another gray day.  In fact, the weather report for the next few days is the same as the past few days, cloudy, with snow flurries to showers, and no sun shine.  This really seems like a Chautauqua winter, with nary a ray of sun.  It makes me thing of Florida, walking the beach in the warm sun.  If I am thinking of Florida now, how will I feel in late February?

We talked with Tom and Marlena yesterday and she has started a blog.  When we were there during Thanksgiving, she kept up a journal and  really seemed to enjoy it, writing in it the first thing each morning.     Here blog seems like the perfect catalyst for her both enjoying and improving her writing skills.  So far she has three entries, and we have responded to all three.  Let's hope she keeps it up.  It would be fun if Hayden and Marisa started one up as well, and they all could keep track of what their cousins are doing and thinking.  The reason I didn't set one up for her was I didn't want to get in the way of her handwriting practice, which will be forgotten if we all just use computers.

Trumpeter or Tunda Swans?

We went to bed last night listening to the honking of the swans; Evie actually thought their might have been some people out in the yard but I am sure it was the swans, though they are gone this morning.  After looking up swans in my field guide, it's clear that it's very difficult to visually tell the difference between the two, that the sound they make is the most telling, thus I would say it's trumpeter.  They come from Canada, though it looks as though some my summer in the northern US.  It as 27 when I got up this morning,  gray and motionless, with a wafting of snow.  We have about two inches of white on the lawn, with more to come over the next couple of days.  According to SUNDIAL OF THE SEASONS, December is the shortest month, despite having 31 days because each day has only 9 + hours of sunlight, as we get up to lamplight and arrive home from work or school to darkness.  The sun rises in the southeastern sky, over towards the Power Boat Club, though the days have been so snowy and cloudy that they has been no discernible sunrise.

Last night's duck dinner was a spectacular success; we both loved the duck, its moist dark meat and especially the crispy skin.  One 4 1/2 pound duck is just right for two people.  I cooked for just under three hours at 350 degrees and it was done perfectly.  Add roasted potatoes and braised brussel sprouts and you have a meal fit for a king, to use a cliche.

We are off to Peterson's Farm Market, just over in Driftwood, as they are having a Swedish Open House, with free tasting of Swedish delicacies.  They are open till Christmas and always have great fruit and vegetables as well as Swedish food.

Yesterday, I sent my article on playing basketball to my friends both in the US and Turkey.  Interestingly, I received nice responses from two of my most successful friends, Jim Maggart here in the States, and Muharrem Kayhan, a successful businessman in Turkey.  Perhaps this tells you something about successful people, that they don't put things off, respond immediately, and get on with their work.  Anyways, I was impressed by the responses from both, especially Muharrem's, who also send me a piece of writing done by his daughter, a creative writing student at Columbia.

Roasting Duck Friday

Just took the innards out of the duck, then set the duck on our brand new vertical beer can cooker, and set it outside on the back porch to air until we throw it in the oven around 4:00.  It should take a bit less than three hours to cook, dark meat near the leg bone should be 180 degrees.  It's a cold morning, in the high 20's, and snow falls lazily outside.  The sky is gray but it's light outside, with a gray lake, dotted with buffleheads, white lawn, a sky in between gray and white.  We are struggling this morning with putting plastic insulation on the downstairs windows, as the whole process is much harder than they explain on the box. We did it last year so we can do it again, though we may have a faulty kit, so we called the 800 number and they are sending us two new boxes, with the backing that sticks.  The customer is always right.

Last night's Lebron Fest was a bore, the Cavs played poorly, Lebron played well, and his team won.  What else is new.  I was disgusted by the Cavs PA announcer and the lead in the the Cavs introduction...how ridiculous; it's like they have just saved America from a fearsome foe, rather than a mediocre basketball team being introduced.  I went up to read at halftime, having my fill of NBA basketball for the night.  The college game is much preferable.

Last night's French yogurt cake was amazing, nice and lemony, moist, with a icing on top, just what I wanted.  We are off the the gym in a few minutes, to get a work out in, both machines and cardio.  I am not too psyched about it, but it's worth doing, to get in shape, and at least you feel righteous after having done something physical.  I intend on shooting hoops for a bit, as well, which is as good a workout as the tread mill, perhaps better.  On the way to our workout, we are going to stop at Smith Library, as they are having a Christmas sale to benefit the Fire Department.  They may have something someone in our family might like, as the days till Christmas are counting down.

Well, the sky is darkening, as Evie hangs lights around some of our windows.  We have the fire going, NPR on, and the duck is roasting in the oven.  We just noticed about 15 swans on the lake, a first for this year.  We tend to see them about this time, as they head south.  From a distance, they look like mammoth sea gulls,  but as you look closer, it's clear they are swans.  It's amazing the wild life we see on this lake, as the migrations take place.  We did pick up a few things at the library sale, and our first serious work out went well, as we stayed over an hour.  I got some basketball in as well, and Evie worked up quite a sweat.  A good day.

Leisurely Morning at the Lake

Up later than usual, around 7:30l, with just a dusting of snow, though heavy snows have closed Interstate 90 just this side of Buffalo.  We still may have snow today and or tonight but it sounds like it's narrow bands of heavy snow, 10-15 miles wides.  If you are in the way, you get hit, ten miles away, nothing.  So far, it's been nothing.  We don't have to go anywhere today, unless we feel like it, which sounds good.  Evie will be making bread, her seven grain, and yesterday she experimented with Turkish simits.  It took all day, as they had to rise twice, and you dip them in molasses and water, then sesame seeds, before baking them.  They were pretty good, tasted authentic, though heavier than the ones from the Gulloulgu Patisserie in NYC.

It's a big night for Cleveland as Lebron returns.  I don't know how I feel, other than I hope the fans chill out a bit.  Lebron's team is struggling; my theory is the big three all need to be the 'man', and when they have all of them together, the two who are not the center at the moment, end up standing around.  In other words, in basketball too many great individual players, and that's what they are, is not a good thing.  We will be able to see if they can change their games by the end of the year.

Finally, the birds have returned to our feeder, after a ten day hiatus, as we were in KC.  For now, lots of sparrows, chickadees, finches, and woodpeckers.  They seem to be the most common for now but others will come.  Also, as I mentioned yesterday, the buffleheads have arrived.  Over towards Giarizzo's, near the reeds, at least 100 of them are feeding in the water, eating weeds and other vegetation.  I have also seen a few mallards, even some geese though they have not stayed around long since I gave Evie her Xmas present early: a pellet gun from Dick's...it shoots over a hundred yards and makes a popping noise so crows, geese, and squirrels beware, the little woman is armed and dangerous.

We went for a walk around 4:00 over at Bemus, braving the cold weather and light snow.  As we had a beer at the Seezurh house afterwards, it was amazing to watch the news from Buffalo, as cars, some having been stuck for 14 hours, were finally dug out.  Some areas had 32 inches, and we have hardly had one, though tonight we could get up to six inches.  Evie has been busy, making a French lemon yogurt cake I found on the web, after making two days ago, my favorite, tas kebab, served on mashed potatoes, a simple stew really, of meat, onions, tomatoes, tomato paste, cloves, cinnamon, and a bit of water.  Cook it for two hours, tenderize the meat, with a wonderful gravy, and serve over mashed potatoes.  I love it.  The good life.

Dusting Of Snow as Buffleheads Arrive

I was surprised to see a dusting of snow, as it was 50 degrees last night, when we went to bed.  It was 33 when I awoke, to a wet but still white world, with lots of snow to come in the next 24 hours.  Outside, it was so gray, so indistinct that I could not tell where the lake ended, the land and sky began.  But then, as more light arrived, I could see lack spots out on the lake, got out my binoculars, and voila, the first bufflehead ducks arrived.  They are smaller than mallards, mostly black until they dive, when you can see the white markings, which distinguishes them from others.  They usually stay till the lake ices over and reappear briefly in the spring. Both Evie and I enjoy their arrival, the way they seem to stay underwater and travel great distances.

At 9:00, I have my first appointment with a trainer at the Turner Center, to go over the machines, and prescribe a workout routine for me, one that emphasizes the core and cardiovascular health.  I am not into muscle building, becoming a Charles Atlas.  Evie has her appointment at 10:00 and we should both be back by noon when the snow storm is coming, if the weather predictions are correct. I will also stoop by the library, perhaps get another Jack Reacher nove, as I have finished the two I took West  I think we are ready, though I have yet to put the small car away in our garage.  I think I will wait a couple of weeks, so we have two cars for our use, unless a huge storm is coming and then I will put it away.

I just got back from my first workout and enjoyed it, especially learning how to use some of the machines.  Those that isolate the core, my back and stomach, seem to me to be the most valuable.  The rowing machine, also, seems really good as it exercises lots of muscle areas and while I used it for a few minutes, I could tell it would give me quite a workout if I kept at it for 15 or 20 minutes.  I went up and worked out on the elliptical and the treadmill for about 35 minutes, then went to Chautauqua Library, to return books, and take out a couple more.

I don't know what I would do if I didn't have something good to read this winter; I enjoy reading immensely though I find I am reading serious stuff less, thrillers more.  Maybe I am tired of thinking, or just want a relief from heavier texts.  We'll have to see if a long period.  I do get more serious stuff from the Internet but don't read anything longer than a thousand words.

Love and Other Drugs: DON'T SEE IT!

Well, it was a rainy afternoon and we got sucked in by the trailers on TV, thinking this movie would be a funny and different romantic comedy.  Boy, were we wrong.  Right  from the start, it bored you, from the opening scene, like most of the movie, a cliche, with the two brothers, one successful, the other just having lost his job.  Of course, he then becomes a drug salesman, using his powers of seduction, to seduce doctors and receptionists, to peddle his wares.  On the way, he happens upon Anne Hathaway, an artiste, of course, in the trendy loft apartment, and she just happens to like sex, lots of it, with Jake.  It's as if the filmmaker could not think of anything to do other than film them screwing.  O, yes, I forgot about the idiot brother, a loser, like George in Seinfeld, only not funny, egregiously gross, to the point where you wondered how the filmmaker could think it was funny.  Without him and his antics, the movie might have been palatable...maybe.  O, yea, Anne has Parkinson's disease, incurable, and Jake eventually must decide whether he can love a women with this illness, or take the 'dream job' in Chicago, live the cool life, and be successful.  Of course, he just happened to meet the husband of a women who had had Parkinson's for years...his advice, ditch her while you can.  This of course lengthened the movie, unbearably long as it was, as he had to fight his guilt and conscience  Eventually, the good little angel surfaces and he flags down her bus (she accompanies elderly to Canada to buy drugs), like Dustin Hoffmann in The Graduate or  Richard Gere in An Officer and a Gentlemen.  All's well that ends well, as they live happily every after in their loft, drinking wine, hugging, kissing, and of course, screwing. I looked at my watch an hour into it and could not believe we had another hour.  We had no interest in the characters and the only thing I wondered is if Hathaway would die in the end.  Fortunately, she didn't, so I did not throw the shoe in disgust,  At least the filmmaker had some scruples.  Don't see it!

Rainy Morning at the Lake

It was pitch black when I got up, around 5:30, and I could hear the rain hitting the windows and roof, not an attractive first morning at the lake.  I turned on NPR, read my emails, got the paper, and browsed the web until the sky began to lighten, about 7:00, though sunrise is not till 7:25.  It's now 8:00, Evie's up taking a shower, and it looks miserable out, lake rough, skies gray, wind howling, rain pelting the front windows.  I had hopes of kayaking but will probably have to put those on hold for a  few days, as this weather is only supposed to get worst, colder, with snow coming over the next three or four days.  Welcome back to Chautauqua Lake.

We are heading off to Wegman's this morning, stopping at the library, and picking up our held mail at the post office in Ashville.  It looks like a good day to sit around and drink tea, read, or watch a good movie on TV.