nothing exciting

Work and visiting continues.   Nothing very exciting to show you or tell you about.    We've been enjoying some second cups and happy hours with Nina and Paul, even a dinner or two.

happy faces

We've had a few nice sunny summer days, but more cloudy and rainy ones it seems.

rain rain go away

Beluga's washer/dryer is out and taken to the recycle center, an empty spot in her bathroom awaits the new arrival.

The refrigerator is out also.  Paul and Dave will drive Beluga to our old company next week to take possession of the new refrigerator and washer/dryer.   We had them delivered there because they have a forklift to aid in the lifting of these two heavy appliances!

lift with your knees Paul!

The side window has been removed and reinstalled, just to make sure all will go smoothly (finger's crossed) next week.

Dave and I took an afternoon off and went to the Hemlock Fair to see the Mounted Police Horse Competition.   We always enjoy watching the horses negotiate a homemade obstacle course designed to test their ability to remain calm and biddable in emergency circumstances.     Some do better than others!

These horses are all owned by the officers and come in all sizes and shapes.

One of the obstacles was designed to approximate an construction site with fluttering tarps, cones, various poles and pots, manhole covers.

One they had to push a "cart" forward a certain number of feet, using their chest or nose.

Pushing through hanging strips of rubber didn't give many of the horses a second thought.

At one point they were to stand with their nose directly on a huge, idling fire truck.    The truck driver would then blast his horn right in their face....didn't phase many of them either.    Spectators jumped though!

We ran into the fabulous Fred and his wife Jeannie and we enjoyed the competition together.  

It's always interesting to see the different approaches each rider used to coax, cajole, convince, or command their mounts to complete each obstacle.  

My favorite, and I think all the horses favorite, was the last one.   A police cruiser was sitting on the track in front of us with a crowd of "rioters" surrounding it yelling and rocking the vehicle.   The horse was to ride up to it and peel the rowdies off each side and move them away from the car, then canter along side it, escorting the flashing and wailing police car from harm.   The horses rose to this job with pricked ears and determined movement.   I think they loved being able to move forward and assert themselves.   Fun to watch.

Nina and Paul are traveling right now and we have sweet Polly in our charge.  She misses them very much and is slightly confused by their absence, but she is settling in nicely as the days go on.

Dogs that spend a fair amount of time in the lake (as Polly and Lewis do) eventually get a little - well - stinky.   It's because they never really get a chance to dry.    Before Paul left he gave his girl a quick bath.   She didn't particularly like it, but evidently he did!

Lewis got his bath too.   He was fishing with Dave after dinner one night and got so excited that he fell off the end of the dock, upside down,  and sunk like a stone.    He's never done that before, he's usually pretty surefooted but there's a first time for everything!    I only saw the splash from the window and by the time I got down to the water Dave had been able to show Lewis the way to the shore and he was swimming along strongly.    His hair was so long, however, that it was completely over his eyes, poor guy, he couldn't see where he was going!

We took the opportunity to lather him up with his lavender baby shampoo and dried him off before he knew he'd had a bath.    We clipped him yesterday so if he ever falls in again, he'll be able to see his way to shore.

all sweet and clean

visitors and a bit of work

We continue to enjoy friends and family visits.

Cousin Bill and his wife Patty

Cindy and Norm K

We continue to stress our friendly and patient post office employees with numerous packages.    Now that we're in one spot for awhile we've both been ordering things we have held off on while on the road these past few years.

Dave bought a new grill and he's getting the hang of it.   Last weekend he grilled with overhead entertainment provided by Geneseo's National Warplane Museum.
The burgers were only slightly overcooked, it was hard to keep his attention focused you know.

We bought a new kayak and returned Lisa's with our thanks.   Dave slips away often for a quiet glide along the lake's shoreline.

Nina and Paul et al have brought "the beast" and settled into Beluga's driveway spot for a few weeks.   Both motorhomes fit nicely in the driveway and it's so pleasant to visit with them on a relaxed schedule.   We haven't seen them for a year so we have lots to catch up on.

Our buddy sites with a view

everyone likes sitting in the ivy, even Taggart

Lewis is enjoying his visitors enormously (they've come specifically to see him, haven't they?) and it's fun to see how he and Polly relate to each other as adults.  They play a bit but mostly just walk around and sniff things together. Occasionally they lift their heads and bark (in unison) at nothing in particular.      Mostly Lewis wants to go inside the beast.   It has kitties.

In their younger days they were insane, playing and romping and running together.    They kept us in stitches!

in Quartzsite, Polly would wait outside Beluga until Lewis noticed her and came out to play

Nina had their attention at White Water Draw

they used to be darn hard to photograph, just a black blur...

Sometimes Polly will come into the cottage on her own, if I leave the door open.  She knows where the treats are and enjoys receiving them but politely waits until someone notices her.

She also enjoys her daily swims.   When Paul swims, she races him.  He lets her win, she likes that.

he's gaining on her!

Lewis participates by flying along on the dock next to them, or encouraging from the shore.    Different strokes for different folks.

Dave and Paul have kept busy working on their mobile homes.   Dave really has a great time with Paul and they get lots of work done together.   Later on I think they'll find some time to play some golf.

this day they're taking Beluga's washer out and tomorrow the refrigerator goes, oh dear....

Dave and Paul kindly allow Lewis to help

Thursday night we had a good dinner at the Rabbit Room and have shared second cup and happy hours together most every day.

Life is good when friends visit.

relaxing and entertaining

Most of the work around here is finished.   We've been continuing the entertaining and visiting part of our stay.   Sometimes I remember to take pictures, sometimes I completely forget.   I'm not as good photographing people as I am "things" - and Lewis of course.

He wanted that floating stick soooo bad,   Well, not bad enough to swim out for it.

After the busy time of Jesse and Erin's visit and the Lake of Fire we all spent a bit of time resting and recharging.

they're not resting...the ball is under the dresser and they're discussing the
best way to retrieve it.

Dave took a few hours to enjoy a few of the floating things we have managed to accumulate this summer.  

we borrowed Lisa's kayak

It makes Lewis very nervous when we go for a swim.   That translates into a screaming poodle following as far as he feels he can and then racing up and down the dock trying to "save" us.    Its funny at first, but wears thin quickly.

come back!

We ran errands, had lunches at some of our favorite restaurants and began to order things for some Beluga upgrades.   Before we went refrigerator (Beluga) shopping we ate at our favorite Greek restaurant, Olives, and then walked across the parking lot to browse in one of Dave's favorite stores, Pittsford Lumber.

He so much loves walking the rows of exotic woods, running his hands down the different grains, inhaling their fragrance, remembering his time at the School for American Craftsmen at R.I.T., chafing under the hand of Wendell Castle.   He loves looking at the racks and shelves of woodworking tools, antique and state of the art.

isn't nature beautiful!

Dave did spend a little time cutting up some of the left over bonfire wood into pieces that would fit the chiminea.   He had some nice oak skids in the pile and they make a hot and long lasting fire.

We had a bit of excitement the other night when our friend Barb came for an overnight visit (keep your comments to yourselves.....)  We were sitting by the fire, enjoying moon rise on one of our rare clear nights.

The chiminea was burning merrily, hotly, and we noticed smoke coming from behind it.    Dave told me that the spot I had chosen to locate the chiminea wasn't a good one.   It was too close to the deck railing post and probably would cause it to burn.    What does he know!   We had a few fires in it previously and all was well, he was just overthinking it.

Soon the smoke became a bit more obvious and when we looked behind the chiminea we saw that the post was, indeed, catching fire.    Mea Culpa Dave, you were right, I was wrong.  It was probably due to the hard oak burning so hot, but his prophecy had come true regardless.   We will be moving it this week.

Barb and I enjoyed the rest of the evening by the fire and Dave stood behind it with my sprinkling can, pouring water on the post in between sips of wine.   What would we do without him.


Wednesday night we had a great four hour dinner with a lovely couple who are considering getting "on the road" in their motor home after retirement.   They are acquaintances of our dear friend Tom and he suggested they call us to talk about our experiences.    They did and we did and we are happy to have two new friends in this wonderful traveling community.   No pictures, sorry.


Last night Don and Carol came down for dinner.   The weather didn't cooperate and allow us to eat outside, but we did manage to get a decent happy hour in under Beluga's awning.

That's pretty much all for now!