Lewis

Lewis just celebrated his 8th birthday.    I can't believe he's that old already.   I don't know where the time goes but I do know it moves too quickly.

just hours hold, lunching at Cafe MaMa

a few weeks old in the lap of dear Pat

He wants you to see what he did on his birthday.  I'll tell you, in advance, that he didn't do anything out of the ordinary but he still wants you to see so we'll humor him.....it was his birthday after all.

he slept in

enjoyed second cup on the balcony

took care of a little business

sniffed the fresh lake air

waited for Dave to come out of the bathroom.....

helped Dave try out the canopy (in case of  rain on the fireworks party night)

selected just the right pieces of wood to build the bonfire

and then supervised the worker

he made sure there were no mice hiding in the daylillies

and waited for Dave to come out of the basement

he enjoyed a bit of play here and there in the otherwise busy day

he waited for Dave to finish vacuuming Beluga

and rescued his "fish" from the crown vetch

He tried out Dave's new SUP
(please don't tell him one is supposed to STAND on it, not sit)

he enjoyed a relaxed happy hour on the lap of a friend

anticipation of a salmon and kibble dinner made him lick his lips!
(we tuck his ears into his collar at dinner time, keeps them clean and dry)

And then there was the annual, somewhat embarrassing, ritual of the taking of the birthday picture.....He's a very patient boy.

nothing very interesting

Life sitting in one place isn't as interesting as being on the road, but it has it's pleasures.     Our days follow pretty much the same routine.    We enjoy our time outside in between the ever present rain storms.   Almost every day we have some rain.   Just enough to make us run around closing windows, taking sheets off the clothes line, racing off the dock with our second cup sloshing wildly, but not enough to keep the crocks and pots outside watered.

Dave has resigned himself to grilling under an umbrella

Last week we had Beluga's parking area dug up and refilled with the appropriate stone base.   We use her for our second bedroom suite so we consider her "spot" to be part of our outdoor living room.   Dave worked alongside the driveway guys and Lewis stayed out of the way when the machines were moving.

But when they stopped, he'd zoom around to inspect each step.   We're all pleased with the way it turned out, now we can enjoy our outdoor room, when the sun shines.

Lewis always seeks the shade while "working"

done!

Lewis is keeping busy chasing ducks off his property.   They tolerate his antics and only swim far enough away to satisfy him....then they turn around and come right back.   It's a bit embarrassing for him but he pretends he doesn't notice them return.  More ducks to chase says he!

One day last week fantastic Fred (our friend and house watcher) called to say he had prepared one of his specialties and wanted to bring it over for our dinner!   How great was that?

Fred's masterpiece

It was wonderful...he outdid himself this time.   Shrimp and scallop alfredo with seafood in every single bite!    Thanks Fred, you're the best.

Our good friend, JoAnn, came down on Thursday and we had lunch and good conversation.  It was good to see her but I didn't remember to take any photographs!

The Sheriff doesn't take kindly to balloons coming down too close to his lake

This pretty Cessna 172 did a number of touch and goes on Thursday afternoon

People have been enjoying this beautiful lake and it has been busy, but we're nestled back in our little cove away from the hustle.   Nice to watch and not participate.

The End!

Wet

Monday morning was spent at the Geneseo DMV filling out the necessary paper work to get my little car's new license plates and inspection sticker so we could put it back on the road.    After a quick lunch at Tom Wahls (local favorite burger joint) we drove out to Horsepower Motorworks where the car has been in residence for over 2 years.    It started right up and I felt great to be driving it again.   Even the somewhat rough ride from it's lengthy storage related flat spotted tires didn't bother me.   I think I'll call Mr. David's A-1 Mercedes Tire Distribution Center and see if he can take care of the problem.   I know he can.

Our dear old friend Judi (she's been our friend for over 60 years.....) came out on Tuesday and we enjoyed a day of visiting in the shade and having a good dinner out at the Caledonia Village Inn.   We always laugh and have a great time with Judi.   She stayed overnight in our guest suite (Beluga) and left in the morning.

Wednesday Dave took the borrowed trailer to his old company, AIM Co., and picked up skids and wood for the our Lake of Fire's celebratory bonfire and I stayed home and took care of other business.

Today was wet.   Storms bubbled up and blew through one after another all day.  This early morning began cool and clear but strong winds and black skies pushed in hot, muggy and wet air.   Watching the storms rise up in the west, blow over the lake and then exit are fantastic to watch (from inside....).

We enjoyed it from the shelter of the cottage but the Loon couple in our cove and the ever present Merganser mob didn't seem disturbed in the slightest.

Who can resist moonshine on the water, in between storms that is....

First swim of the year

Cool air.   Can you see the cool air coming out of the registers here at the lake?  I can't see it either but I sure can feel it.   When the cottage was built the air conditioning unit was installed but not completely hooked up because it was below zero outside.     This morning the HVAC guy came and finished the job, just in time for the weather to change from cool and rainy to hot and humid.   Nice.

Nothing too exciting going on other than that.  We had a nice dinner with Tom and Robin at the Rabbit Room on Thursday.  We borrowed brother Mike's trailer and drove to Victor and picked up bales of pine straw to spread behind the house where it is simply too shady for grass to grow.   I love walking on pine straw.  We'll use it later this week to pick up some wood pallets Dave's old partners have saved for us.    They'll be the foundation of Dave's Lake of Fire (our 3rd of July party) bonfire.

John helped build the last one in 2014 

 We've been monkeying with the driveway (ding dong) alarm which is supposed to chime when someone pulls into the driveway.   It does that, but it also chimes when a motorcycle goes by and sometimes chimes for no apparent reason.   Lewis jumps each time it makes noise so we're trying to fine tune the system to avoid unnecessary ding donging.

Evenings bring the waterbird mom's out with their kiddies.   We really enjoy watching them parade by.   These gals run tight ships and their little ones do exactly as they're told.

Mallard Mom and babies

the Merganser mob

Tonight there was a bit of a traffic jam and Mrs. Merganser had to move her brood out of the path of an incoming Canada Goose family.   They're bigger.

Our Welcome Home Robin is also busy feeding her two (maybe three) babies over our entry light fixture.   We're hoping they are all Robins and not baby Huey's from a lazy Cow Bird like we often had at our farm.

they look like Robins....

a baby Huey fledgling from a tiny Wren's nest at the farm

It was quite hot and humid today.   That's not a complaint, just a description of our weather.   We sometimes take a beach umbrella out to the end of the dock to provide a little shade for our delicate flower, Lewis.  Don't laugh, he's black and wears a very heavy curly coat so the blazing sun is not his friend.    At any rate, Dave and I sat on the dock with our feet dangling in the water, cooling off, and a gust of wind blew Lew's shade over our heads in right into the lake.

Dave, being the gentleman he is, downed the last of his happy hour gin and jumped in and swim out to grab the umbrella as the waves began to take it away.

From the sound of his voice as he came to the surface I knew the water was still very cold.    Anything for dear Lew.

He was very appreciative of Dave's efforts but didn't really want to sit under his now soggy umbrella so he trotted off the dock and parked himself in the shady grass near the cottage.