BASS BOATS ROARING

Jack's Barcelona Drive Inn on Lake Eire

I woke about 6:30 and as I sat having my coffee, the roar of bass boats filled the lake, as one boat after another raced around Long Point, as the local lake fishing tournament began.  It amazes me how they race off in different directions, to their sweet spot I suppose, which they scouted out the day before.  From kayaking, we have talked to numerous fishermen, none seeming to have much luck but they may have been amateurs, not the pros that come to these tournaments.

Amish Vegetable Stand

We were thinking of heading off to Edinboro College this morning, as the Aultz's daughter is a freshmen on the volleyball team, but I looked at the statistics from last night's game and saw she hardly played at all, normal for a freshmen, so we will head north to the Westfield Market, perhaps to see the beginning of the grape harvest, perhaps have lunch on Lake Erie if we can find anything open.

Amish Buggy

We watched a unnoticed film last night, QUEEN TO PLAY,  about a middle aged French women, seemingly destined to spend her life cleaning hotel rooms, finds her self as she learns how to play chess from a local scholar/recluse, played wonderfully by Kevin Kline.  It's a typical rags to riches story, as she ends up winning a local tournament, defeating the arrogant organizer, but it's told lovingly, as she struggles with her husband, teen age daughter as well, giving the film verisimilitude.  Set in the south of France I think, it's beautifully filmed, lovely mountains and of course, water, perhaps the sea, possibly as lake.

Melons

We just returned from heading up to Westfield and Barcelona, on Lake Erie.  We hit the Amish market in Westfield, walked around the town, browsed briefly Patterson Library, the drove west on Rt. 20, through the vineyards to the Westfield Nursery (they were not having their sale yet), on to a couple of farm stands, then headed north to RT. 5, and drove along the Lake Erie shores to Barcelona, where we had lunch at Jack's, chili for me, a perch sandwich for Evie.  We then headed home, exhausted from not doing much, most likely having eaten a big lunch, so now its time for reading, watching football or taking a nap, which ever comes first.

DAWN SKIES

6:31

6:34

6:49

7:24

As you can tell from my blog, I never tire of taking pictures of the morning sky, either from my porch, when the leaves have fallen and the lawn is snow filled, or from the lake's edge, as I did this morning.  The sky is never the same, constantly changing even from minute to minute as today's pictures show; they are taken perhaps ten minutes apart, each time drawing me outside to take another shot. Even now I am tempted as the sun has peaked through the clouds, filling the living room, almost blinding me as I sit writing.  What a difference from this morning when I arose, about 5:30, to a pitch black sky, lit solely by a misty, cloudy moon.  It was 48 degrees outside when I got up, a fall sky, as you can see, and the fisherman in the cottages were stirring, ready to launch their boats as it seems there is a tournament this weekend.

We watched the Ed Helms movie CEDAR RAPIDS Wednesday night, for some odd reason, then found THE REMAINS OF DAY last night on Showtime, a movie I have seen at least five times.  What a difference, one vulgar, stupid, idiotic, perfect for today's  puerile audience, I suppose, the other thoughtful, slow moving, intelligent, wonderfully acted, directed and shot, with not a hint of sex or violence, yet poignant, filled with irony, as Stevens, the butler, slowly realizes his life has been a sham.  It's almost too terrible to watch, as he slowly becomes aware of his master's Nazi sympathies, the weakness of his code, the emptiness of his life without love.  What a wonderful movie, even a better book (I have taught it at least three or four times).  And to watch it after CEDAR RAPIDS is like the difference between potty talk at a day care center and learned, adult conversation in a college classroom.

A WALK THROUGH CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION

Water Garden Buffer

Grasses

It's mid afternoon, the lake is gray and frazzled by rain, the wind's howling, the temperature is 54 and Evie loves it, as she sits on the front porch reading, wrapped in a blanket.  It was gray and wet when we got up, about 4/10ths of an inch had fallen over night.  I went off to Bemus for breakfast with my friends from the CI, are first gathering this September, as we take the summer off, so it was good to catch up on all the gossip and see them all.  Also, I went with a couple of friends, my neighbor Ken Scholtz and his buddy, Charlie,  last night to the Pine Junction restaurant in Sherman, a place they had never been.   Fortunately, the loved it, thought it was the greatest, so it was a good night.  It's definitely a beer and burger place, though they also have steaks but they had a special, beef stroganoff, so we all ordered it and it was quite good.  It just seemed strange not to be eating a burger and fries in a bar.

As you can see, Evie and I took a walk through the CI, a beautiful morning to do it, cool and crisp and sunny by the time we got there, though the early morning was cloudy and wet.  Few people now people the streets, mostly a few retirees who spend the fall here before heading south.  After our walk, we went into Mayville to Tops, to pick up a few groceries, as we have a 8 lb. pork but roasting in the oven.  We will have barbecue pork sandwiches for dinner, then pack up the rest to use in tacos, ragu, or with sauerkraut and tomatoes, one of our favorites.  It goes a long way and is very versatile.

HINTS OF AUTUMN BUT STILL SUMMER

Sunrises Due East in Mid September

A cool morning, as I sit here in the morning quiet, no crows, no cicadas, just NPR filling the air.  It's supposed to be cooler today, high in the 60's, with a chance of rain later in the day.  Not much on the agenda today other than baking some bread, getting in a walk, perhaps a kayaking excursion this morning. As one of my retired friends puts it, 'Retirement is like 'endless summer.'

It's amazing how quiet September has been, little traffic on the lake, few people here on Woodlawn, though Pine Hill has had some guests the past few days.  I just took a stroll out on the dock, noticed the trees are just beginning to show some color, the lawn has some leaves spread out, though our willow in the back yard has been dropping its leaves for the past month, a messy tree most of the year.

We took a long kayak ride north on the lake, all the way down to entrance to Snug Harbor, a leisurely paddle for sure, as we were in no hurry.  The lake is still green, the weeds are terrible in certain areas, and the seeds still are prevalent in most parts but it was still a lovely way to spend a couple of hours in the morning.  It was cool enough so we hardly worked up a sweat and it was interesting to see the number of docks that are in, that come in on Labor Day.

And I went to the gravel pit for three more loads of stones, to shore up our parking spaces for the winter.  I am getting used to it, know the guy there, and he wonders why I don't just get a truck load full.  I am wondering the same thing.  There is a nice breeze out on the dock, the temperature is 67 so when the sun hides behind a cloud, it gets cool enough to want a jacket

TOMATO RED-DANIEL WOODRELL

This is the second book I have read by Daniel Woodrell, after his BAYOU TRILOGY.  Unlike the TRILOGY, which was set in the bayous of Louisiana, this novella is set in the Ozarks of Missouri.  A drifter, loser, narrator hooks up with a sister and brother from Venus Holler and the troubles begin, mostly a result of the ‘haves’ who could care less about what happens to the ‘have nots,’ specifically, Sammy, JamAlee and and her gay brother,  Jason, and their Mom, Bev, the good hearted whore.  There dreams take them into forbidden territory, thus the problems, and the novel ends, like many of Woodrell's, with the ends untied, leaving you wondering.  His depiction of the lives of these forgotten folks, especially their young, is quite realistic and makes you empathize with their fates, seemingly written for them by their circumstances.  A quick read, lovely language, sometimes even hard to follow as he mixes the high with the low, with the usual sprinklings of sex and violence.  

THE BAYOU TRILOGY: DANIEL WOODRELL

I am not sure what made me pick up this trilogy, either I read about it, or it was on Obama's reading list for his vacation this summer.  Anyways, I knew about Woodrell because he wrote the book Winter's Bone which was made into one of our favorite movies this past year.  The trilogy is set in Louisiana, a mythical town of St. Bruno, and once again, you read it for the language, the combination of cajun low and artistic high, a hard act to pull off.  Woodrell's sentences and images take me back to reading Banville's mysteries, also so well written.  All three follow the low life's one finds in St. Bruno, though all three have at the center, more or less, the Shade family, especially Rene, a detective in the first, suspended in the second and third.  He's about the only honest person in the three texts, as he goes up against killers, crooked cops and politicians, even his family at times.  The stories have rolled together so I cannot remember the plots except for the last, which follows the Shade's derelict father, John Q Shade, who abandoned the family some 30 years ago, but comes back to St. Bruno, with his eight year old daughter, because he has no where else to go, and is fleeing from Lunch Pumphrey, who he owes 48,000 dollars, which he ain't got.  Quite a character, they both are, seemingly never worked a day in their lives, other than playing pool, gambling, chasing women, and getting in trouble with the law or other low life's, like themselves.  Easy reads, wonderful dialogue, a bit weak on plot, though the characterization is strong. Go get them.

Orange Morning, Rains to Come

Orange Pop in the Morning

I got up to a house filled with orange light, as the sun had yet to rise but it's reflection turned the sky off to the east orange as well as the lake, a glimmery mass of color.  It's warm enough, 66 degrees, perhaps reaching the 80's later, then this afternoon, things change, the rains come, and the temperatures drop to the 60's tomorrow.  We are looking forward to the cool weather, as usual, as it energizes us in a way warm weather doesn't.  Let's hope there's not too much rain.  

I think I will continue my car watch this morning, making sure the Pilot is all set for the winter, with new fluids as needed.  It's hard to keep track of what needs to be done though the dealers always recommend this, then that, and I am not sure if they know what they are talking about or not.  I am  going to stop by today and see if their computer records show anything.