A Fine Day Ruined

7:27

8:29

It's 6:50 and pitch black outside. We must have gotten some drizzle last night because the brick walk looks wet. I have been up since 6:15, waiting for some daylight so I can get out on the lake before yoga class. It's 7:25, just becoming light, or gray I would say and it looks like Indian Summer is over. It's cloudy and windy, and I am wondering if it's worth kayaking. 

Kayak Morning

Sandy Bottom

Heron On Shoreline

Yesterday was about as perfect a fall day as there can be. I know I said the same thing a couple of days ago but Monday was spectacular, the lake a big, smooth pond, the sky blue. I had an eighty-minute paddle down to Snug Harbor and back. After coffee, breakfast, and the blog, we sat around trying to decide what to do on such a beautiful day. Take a long drive to Zoar Valley, hike its woods, then maybe enjoy an early dinner at the Slovenian Club in Gowanda. So that was our goal but first, we would get a few things done in the yard and before we knew it, we had bagged the idea of the drive and hike and we worked in the yard until 4:00, getting things done but ruining the beautiful day.

Evie spent the day working on her dahlias, pulling them out cleaning the tubers and saving those that she wanted to store for the winter. I helped on and off but mostly spent the day working in the yard, mulching, and taking three containers of leaves and twigs up the hill. I also gathered a couple of containers of pine needles from our Austrian pines and spread them around the roots of a number of small trees that we planted on the hill last year. They are supposedly great mulch. We also put up the curtain on our porch, after taking everything off and cleaning and sweeping it. Now we are ready for winter.

We both took time out for lunch and Evie made me an omelet with sauteed meatloaf, something we used to call a western, with a bowl of chicken noodle soup. I watched my show and Evie relaxed a bit. I then read some, tried to nap but couldn't, and joined Evie outside and worked until 3:00 when I drove to Hogan's and bought chips and dip. We decided to treat ourselves to a special happy hour since we never did leave the yard. By 5:00, the containers were empty, the leaves in the backyard were mulched and the tubers were in a container, ready to be stored in our crawl space. We had beers to go with our chips and dip, Evie's favorite, and we were happy, finally, with our day, having gotten a lot done. As we sat enjoying our libations and chips,  the colors on Long Point dimmed as the sun began to dip. We also marveled at the falling leaves and wondered why they continued to fall on a windless afternoon. 

6:21

Dinner was leftover meatloaf and mushroom gravy Evie put together, to go with our fried potatoes, and salad, a feast after a busy day. We still are looking for a series so watched Jeopardy and a couple other shows, none of which we liked enough to stay with them. 

Another Spectacular Lake Morning

The Last Dahlias

7:14

7:50

I didn't think I could come up with a better morning than today. The lake is like glass, not a cloud in the sky, with a light southwestern wind, and 50º, perfect for kayaking. And what makes it even better is that I was able to shoot a couple of eagles, high in the trees, above the homes along Magnolia. I was out for 80 minutes, paddling north to Snug Harbor and back. Unfortunately, my half-paddle hour back, heading south was into the brilliant sun and its reflection on the lake.

Kayak Morning

Into The Sun

Loon

Loon

A Pair Of Eagles

Sunday was a carbon copy of Saturday, a precursor of today I assume. The day started with another long paddle on a blue sky, calm lake morning. We didn't finish the blog until 10:00, as we were in no hurry. After breakfast, we decided to take our usual Sunday walk around the Chautauqua Institution. It was still fall-like, with lots of colors and fallen leaves, as we walked the historic and picturesque streets. As we headed back to the car, we ran into our good friends, Linda and Ron, at Thunder Bridge. 

Linda And Ron

Thunder Bridge

Thunder Bridge

CI Street

We were home by 1:00 and Evie made a special breakfast of egg and sausage on her homemade bread. We watched CBS Sunday Morning as is our wont. And while watching CBS Sunday Morning we were taping the Browns/Ravens game. We then watched the first quarter and had enough football. I returned to my book, The Winners, and tried to nap to no avail. So I read until 4:00, then went out and mowed the lawn, mulching the leaves, a fool's errand because the yard is just as covered with leaves this morning. While I was mulching, Evie was putting together our dinner, meatloaf and baked potatoes.

Our New Maple

Late Afternoon

6:33

Bemus Bay Farm

At 6:00, we relaxed with a slice of good cheese and a Mannie, commenting on how busy the lake was at this time of year. At least 10 boats were still out on the lake, either fishing or just cruising. It was that kind of late afternoon. Dinner was great, the meatloaf covered with ketchup of course. We watched another episode of Kleo, then Jeopardy, and a series on Netflix, Somebody Feed Phil. It has six seasons and we started with the first episode, taking place in Thailand. We really liked the insight into Thai life and food but we are not crazy about Phil. He tries too hard to be amusing or excited. We may stick with it. 

The Cry Of A Loon

Duck Hunters At Tom's Point

7:50

9:28

It's 7:15 and I have been here enjoying my first cup of coffee, taking photos of the morning sky when I heard the cry of a loon, always mournful. I walked out to see if I could see him but he must have flown off. They always seem to be alone, rarely if ever in pairs.  Perhaps that is the reason for the cry. It's 9:35 and I am just finishing this because I was out for an hour and a half. It was so spectacular on the lake that I didn't want to come in. I was shocked literally out of my boat by multiple gunshots. Later, I took a photograph of a hunter and his son, and the boat that I am sure filled the sky with gunshots.  I also captured a couple of herons, scared off a couple, and saw an eagle fly by. All in all, it was quite a morning paddle. I mellowed out listening to Harry Styles, yes, I like him ever since my granddaughter Marlena and her Mom flew to Chicago to see him in person last week. 

Kayak Morning

Empty Duck Boat

Victoria/Woodlawn

North

Through The Reeds

Heron In Brown

Still Hanging Out

Yesterday was another classic autumn day, with moderate temperatures, and lots of sun, perfect for a bike ride. So after my chores, a long paddle, gathering the trash, and taking it to the Transfer Station, I drove over to Bemus and road for close to an hour, my usual, down Lakeside Drive, through the park to Long Point and home. It was perfect weather, warm enough in fact that I worked up a sweat. 

Long Point Trails

The Woods

Our Neighborhood

Evie had lunch ready, tuna fish on our homemade sour cream bread, yum, and another cup of chicken noodle soup. And that was it until 4:00, as I watched some football for a few minutes, and started a new book, The Winners by Fredrik Bachman. By 4:00, Evie was washing windows, so I went out and worked some in the garden, chopping down the Jerusalem artichokes that grow around our porch and fence. Then, since Evie was washing inside, I involuntarily did the front windows outside. And I want to make a correction. Yesterday I said I finished my Elizabeth Strout novel, O, William, when I meant to say Lucy By The Sea.  William is in it but it's mostly about Lucy. I highly recommend it. 

Notice The Sun's Reflection On The Copper Tray Above Our Mantel

By 6:00 we were both showered and dressed and drove over to Bemus Point to meet Ron and Linda and their friend, Prudence, at the Seezurh House, We were lucky to get a round table in the bar and quickly ordered our beers, catching up on what both.of us have been doing. As always, it's a noisy place and the acoustics are not the best. Our dinners were tasty, three fish fries, salad for Linda, and a barbecued chicken sandwich for Evie. We left at about 8:00 and we home in time to watch some TV. We couldn't find anything we liked so we started a new series on Netflix called Kleo. It's decent, set in East Germany, just after the fall of the Berlin Wall. 

Morning Light

Colors Of Autumn

7:02

7:11

It's 7:00 and the skyline is an orange glow just above the horizon, a light blue above, the lake a shimmering gray on a 43º morning. It looks like a stellar day, perfect for hiking, paddling, biking, working the yard, and mowing. It's 9:10, I just returned from a long, 90 minute paddle, and Evie just got up, lucky gal. I chased off three herons but finally photographed one above the reeds, then some coots and a hawk, although he is hard to see. In other words, it was a great morning on the lake, over to Long Point, back across to the Power Boat Club and home. 

Kayaking As The Sun Rises

Victotria/Woodlawn

Into The Sun

Long Point

Great Blue Heron

 Coots

Friday was a preview of today, lots of sun, moderate temperatures, a welcome change from the past few gray, wet, days. After my paddle, breakfast and the blog, we decided to get in a hike. So after some clean up and organizing, getting a sour cream bread going, we drove off to Mayville, mailed some packages, then drove to Barney's, parked and walked a couple of miles on Webb's Trail, nice and flat, leaf covered with trees on both sides, an old railroad track. As always, walking in the woods changes your mood, picks you up and makes you happy to be alive. 

Walking A Leafy Path

Webb's Trail

When we returned, Evie put together the bread dough, kneading and putting it in a bowl to rise while making me a couple of baloney sandwiches and heating up chicken soup. To say it was a great lunch would be an understatement. I started the second episode of Endeavour, then read more of Lucy By The Sea and attempted to nap without any luck. So I spent much of the afternoon reading until I decided I needed some exercise so I mulched the front yard which was covered with leaves. Austin was mowing next door so he helped me move a couple of tables, getting them out of the way for winter.

Leonard's And Ours

Long Point This Morning

Woodlawn

We then had a nice wine time, as the afternoon waned, the sun began to set, the lake and shorline darked. We had little worry about dinner because the chicken, artichoke hearts, mushrooms and rice was heating up in the oven. We made the mistake of buying into the crowd's raves about the film Top Gun Maverick. We wasted six bucks on Prime, watching it, predictable and often silly and boring, with echoes of the first Top Gun. So we switched to something more our taste, like,Jeopardy and The Great Brithish Baking Show. We are so predictable.