Life in the Bristolwood

the lake!

I cannot believe that today is April first and we actually went out and launched our little inflatable kayaks at Woodville today!   We left the house early this afternoon,  just after saving a sweet little Eastern Bluebird from our chimney! Yes, another one of those gorgeous little birds flew down the chimney.  This time, however, we heard it and took quick action to save it!

We heard the sound of scratching on the chimney pipe, just above the stove.  I immediately opened the little door on the new damperl we bought for the pipe this year. Sure enough, I saw tail feathers sitting in the little ledge at the right angle of the pipe.  Mark suggested getting a large clear trash bag after I said I thought the little bird could hop out through the door on the damper. 

We placed the open bag over the pipe, then I forced the little door open.  Soon, the bird’s tiny head was seen poking out the door.  Then it hopped through the door and into the garbage bag.  I quickly raced to the back door and after Mark and Michelle followed me outside,  I opened the bag and released the beautiful bird!  It flew right up onto a tree and sat for a bit, before flying off!  What an amazing rescue and what a smart little bird!  It had the sense to hop into the bag, saving us the work of having to disassemble the chimney pipe from the stove….then hoping we could corral the wee one outdoors!

Now, back to the lake!

The temperature rose today to mid-summer highs.  The sun was out with blue skies and everything was just so nice, we had to take out kayaks out for a spin on the lake!

As I paddled out, I couldn’t believe we were really on the lake!

As I got into my kayak right off the shore,  the water was cold, but bearable.  We worked our way across the lake to the other side and as I got overheated along the way, I splashed water on my arms. Yikes! That water felt as though it had come straight out of the freezer!  It was c-o-l-d!

Our journey today was slow and steady, since this was our maiden voyage for 2010.  We weren’t out too long, either, as Michelle had plans to meet friends down in Naples later in the afternoon.  She was going to watch a tennis tournament.

As we made our way back to shore,  Ben began taking off his life vest and sunglasses.  Next thing I knew….

Ben the brave! polar bear!

And, Michelle bringing in Ben’s kayak with her….

We hurried home and Michelle got ready to go down to Naples.  We all went along for the ride.  As we slipped into a parking lot,  a Mourning Dove seemed to enjoy our company;  it just sat and watched us as it plucked at gravel in the parking lot.

Even tonight, looking at these photos,  I find it so hard to imagine being out on the lake, paddling on the first day of April!

Before taking a trip to Canandaigua this afternoon,  we went down to Woodville to visit my friend, the eagle.  I hadn’t been by to visit in a couple of weeks and I really wanted to just get out for a few minutes.  In the end,  I threw out many photos because as I poised the camera to shoot,  the currents in the water would move me along, causing my camera to struggle to stay focussed! Ah well…..

I bought some yarn so I can knit a sweater for the fall.  I brought the yarn up and placed a couple of skeins on the bed to photograph them.  These skeins were taken from a plastic bag, so they haven’t even been handled by people.  Murphy, however, smelled *something*!  Little bugger wouldn’t leave the yarn alone!

Today was Mark’s and my anniversary. Tomorrow is my birthday…Michelle has orientation for college, so we will be busy a good part of the day.

isn’t always so easy!

This morning,  I asked Ben to head down to Woodville with me.   I wanted to see if the Eagle(s) might be sitting in “the tree” where it/they are often seen.  Ben loaded the little kayaks into the back of the Explorer, along with the life vests.  I gathered my things together.  I had decided that since my Nikon D-80 is getting “old” and I have gained confidence in handling a camera in the kayak,  I would try taking it along instead of the point and shoot.  I found that even with the long lens,  I was able to fit the camera with the lens mounted into a gallon Ziplock bag!

After all the effort put forth for a short outing, we were totally disappointed when we arrived and the birds were nowhere to be seen.  We lingered on for a time, then decided it was futile.  I had gotten out of the Explorer to look around a little (oops, forgot the camera in the vehicle!) and saw the cutest turtle at the lake’s edge.  He was all covered in green grunge, looking so cute, so I raced back for my camera.  As soon as I bent over to photograph the little fellow, he ducked his head into his shell and actually scurried backwards and plunged back end first, into the water! Ben scratched his head and pondered aloud whether fact or fiction regarding turtles being dreadfully slow.  This little fellow “boogied”!

As we were about to leave the parking lot, Ben called out he saw an Eagle!

Yup, fourteen-year-old boy humor!  T’was but a boat trailer.

Mark and Michelle were antsy to leave the house as soon as we got back.  Mark needed to get parts to replace the inner tube on the little trailer we pull behind his ATV for firewood.  He also wanted to run to Rochester to shop a little.

We were off!  As we drove along, it was evident the day was going to be quite “steamy”!  It seemed like the thermometer in th car just kept rising and rising as we continued on.  We finished our trip and returned home again by about four in the afternoon.  It was so ridiculously hot, but Ben wanted to do some weedwhacking. 

By about five-thirty,  I decided to just drive down to Woodville and sit by the lake.  As I was driving down the driveway,  Ben called out he would go along with me.  So, off we went!

Once again, arriving in Woodville, there was no sign of the Eagle.  I was so disappointed,  but Ben and I decided we would just paddle around briefly.  I had the Nikon with me and was quite happy that I was able to confidently get into the kayak with the camera and not have any accidents!

We had barely put into the water when this threesome came past….

The coloration is off…the sun was shining on them and they appeared a gray color! These are some of the tiny babies we saw just a few short weeks ago.  Now they are lovely,  nearly full-sized ducks!  They were swimming about with no sign of an adult in sight.

Ben and I paddled towards “the tree”.  He called out, asking if I saw anything?  Nope.  As we drew closer and closer, I did see “something” in the tree.  It certainly wasn’t the highly distinguishable white head of an adult.   We paddled on and on….

Please do click on these photos to appreciate the full size!

Yes,  I do believe we are looking at an immature American Bald Eagle!  I was so excited.  Ben kept ribbing me, saying it was “just a hawk”.   I laughed and told him any hawk I have ever tried to photograph flew away immediately!  This bird just sat, looking down upon us.  (it was only in looking at the photos I took today that I discovered this bird is “banded”)

The bird sat with its wings spread apart and its mouth often open.  I read that Eagles don’t sweat and so they do spread their wings and pant to cool themselves off.  (I did say it was hot today!)

 I took so many photos of the bird.  I was afraid none would turn out as I don’t have lenses with vibration reduction. Even though the lake was smooth and calm, I could sense the bobbing motion in my little kayak!  I was pleased to find I had several good shots.

As we made our way back to the land,  I turned to photograph  a sailboat/yacht that has recently been moored a couple hundred feet out in the water.  You can see the beautiful green hills located on the east side of the lake.

Somehow, I felt such a sense of satisfaction as we returned and put our kayaks into the Explorer….

YES! Today, the sun has returned! Although I really don’t mind our “rain pattern” of late, it has really left many feeling quite discouraged because of the cool weather. 

Carly, her husband, Jeff, and their kids came down yesterday to celebrate the 4th.  It was funny watching the kids as they hopped from pool to hot tub several times,  warming up to cool off! They had a lot of fun even though the weatherwas a tad chilly and windy. 

Mark and Carly had fun using their cameras, trying to capture a good shot of the twitty, elusive hummingbirds.  The feeder hangs very close to the table on the porch, so the birds kept swooping in and out for a sip of nectar.

This morning was pretty cool, but the sun made its way out and the sky is blue as can be!  The wind has died down and it is a nearly perfect summer day,  even though the weatherman says the temperature is several degrees below normal for this time of the year.  I will gladly take it!

Here are three Sunday morning photos that I took today. 

The kids and I are going to go out in our kayaks at some point today.  The perfect ending to a holiday weekend!

Well, okay.  So, it was just tiny Cuba Lake!

We met my parents and Randy at this most wonderful little corner of the world today and lingered there for some six terrific hours.  But rather than wasting a lot of words, I will allow my photos to speak for themselves! (if you hover over each photo, a description will show!) 

We had such a fabulous day.  We paddled, laughed, talked, admired our doggies, and had a picnic starring food from a local establishment. 

Although we all know I am rarely at a loss for words,  I am too tired to think! (think fresh air and sunshine!)

Wow…what a weekend this was..it seems to have disappeared like a vapor!  We covered so much territory and now I need the rest of the week to relax!

Today was the “official” Memorial Day.  Memorial is a day of remembrance….the day when we pause from our busy days and lives to remember those who paid to keep the US a free nation.  Yesterday afternoon, we visited the grave of my father-in-law, who was a Korean War veteran.  We bought some artificial flowers which I arranged and placed on his grave, along with an American flag. It is always sobering to visit the war sections of the cemetery and see the names and often short-lived lives buried there.

We had planned to meet my parents and Randy today at a lake located a couple of hours from our house.  It is a small lake and we consider it a “hidden gem”  that is great for our little inflatable kayaks! The only “snafu” encountered today was my “oops!” plan to secure pizza and wings from a fabulous pizzeria located only a few short miles from the lake.  As it turned out, the establishment was closed for the holiday!

Funny the things one sees while walking behind a closed business!

We thought perhaps because it was still relatively early in the day (at least for pizza and wings) the business just hadn’t opened for business.  So, we headed to the lake!

The next few photos were taken with my little Panasonic TZ-5 while “floating in the boat”!  The image stabilization on that little camera is so nice.  I was bobbing up and down in my little kayak and really wondered if any of my photos would even turn out…

Michelle and I tired a bit sooner than Randy and Ben, so we headed back.  It was such a terrific day. The temperature was very comfortable and there was a cool breeze coming in off the water.  We could not have ordered a more fitting day for our outing! We chatted with my parents and Mark while waiting for Randy and Ben’s return.

There was a cute little restaurant located right on the lake, but it was a little pricey, so Mark looked on his GPS and found another pizzeria in town not far from the (closed for the day)  one we had initially chosen.  We ordered pizza and wings and feasted like kings and queens at our little space we had claimed at the water’s edge.  I had brought a table, chairs, and all the little necessities for a picnic.  My mom also made the most heavenly fruit mix that was really the “icing on the cake”!

We chatted and laughed and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, not wanting such a delightful day to come to an end.  But, it did indeed end and we made our way back to the Bristolwood.  Not too far from home, we saw beautiful colors in the westen sky….

If only there was a way to save these memorable days!

While we were off on our camping excursion, we decided to visit Randy’s and my hometown for a little journey down the end of Chautauqua Lake. This extension….I guess it is a river, goes quite some distance, but we were to travel only two miles.  No big deal.

Mark had us stop by a marina on the lake to ask the flow of the current and to find out if it was okay to kayak this. Oops…I forgot to mention to the guy I talked to that we were going to go down in our little inflatable kayaks.  He told me two things: 1. the current flow, and 2. people refer to this adventure as the “jungle tour”.  Actually, he told me three things, the third being that we needed to keep the speed of our craft at five miles per hour…hahaha….

Let me enlighten you on the particulars of this day….It was H-O-T! While *normal* (whatever that term means….) temperatures at this time of year are about 72 degrees, Fahrenheit,  on this day, the temperatures climbed well into the 80′s. (nearing the 30 degree mark  on Celsius thermometers)

We entered the water at Celoron Park from a public boat launch.  Celoron was once noted for a rather fabulous amusement park.  I do not remember anything about it as I think it was torn down when I was very young.  Oh, and Celoron is also the hometown of Lucille Ball. Not sure if the crazy redhead ever made it across the “pond”, but here in the US, it seemed everyone tuned in on the television to watch the crazy (mis)adventtures of Lucy and her Cuban band director husband, Ricky Ricardo, on the I Love Lucy Show.

Okay, so, now we know that the temperature was up there, and….I HATE hot weather. (or, perhaps IT hates ME!)  We pumped up our little inflatable boats….phew. That in and of itself was a monumental task in the heat.

As soon as we made our way into the water, the winds began to blow.   Ah, a bit of a cooling effect, right? W-R-O-N-G! Imagine placing a fan in front of an open oven and blowing the heated air at yourself.  There, you have it!  Did I mention that my life vest is made of Neoprene? Thick-walled, float your boat neoprene? Neoprene does NOT breathe. Not at all. Oven-like air blowing at me in my neoprene vest. Terrific.

Yup…there is the buoy warning us (hahaha!!!!) not to exceed five miles per hour.

Remember the fellow at the marina telling me people call this the “jungle cruise”? Here am I feeling as though salt crystals are popping through the pores of my skin in my HOT life vest.  Add to that the HOT air sweeping over the water.  Ahhhh…..

Take a look at this scenery!

Yes, it rather *did* appear as though we were touring the jungle! Okay, you *know* that I am rather steady with the camera…..even with image stabilization, this poor camera was bobbing about in my boat, along with me!  Those (heated) winds were blowing directly the opposite direction we were paddling!  As I held the camera up, the image would quickly end up on the right hand side of the LCD screen as I drifted backwards!

As we paddled onward, Michelle uttered things like….I really am not *that* fond of kayaking.  And, (this one I loved!) Dad always finds these LONG trips for us to paddle! I couldn’t help but giggle and laugh!

Every now and then, the water would calm down and  we could actually make some time with our paddling!  Good sense said we should have climbed out at this pretty little dock where the owner waved to us as we passed by…..

But, we ventured on, in the company of some terrific looking skies above us!

When the sun hid behind those clouds, we were ever-so-thankful, as it seemed as though the temperature dropped about a zillion degrees! But, we had come so far and we must continue on……

Michelle saw a big patch of lily pads and she advised us to stop for a break.

Randy and Ben both heeded Michelle’s request,  but I ventured on. I just HAD to place a phone call……

You see, Michelle had blurted out that this trip was six MILES long….UGGHHHH!!!! No way! I just HAD to call Mark and ask him. But, I didn’t want the others to hear in case I needed to SCREAM!

As it was, Mark plotted the route on his GPS, (well, following a straight line, not the route the river flowed) and it measured two miles. We probably paddled about two and a half miles.

As I spoke to Mark, I told him Michelle was getting really tired.  The paddling was a bit tough as we were going against a very brisk wind. (it was about 20 miles per hour)  At times, the wind blew across the water, splashing water up on us.  I told Mark we seemed to be heading along an “S” shaped part of the river, and he told me we were nearing the end. Hurrah!

Ben grumbled when he saw that I had unzipped my neoprene prison and just snapped the snaps on the outside of my vest….he threatened to tell Dad, which had little to no impact on me. At this point, I was so overheated, I was sure I was going to pass out!

We paddled on, and sure enough, the end finally came into sight.  We were thrilled as Mark beeped the horn of the truck, telling us to get out a bit sooner than we planned!

As it was, we got out and delflated our boats. Everyone was moving so slowly, as we were all so tired! The good news was that we were going to meet my parents for dinner a little later. How I was looking forward to that!

As we met my parents at the restaurant later, my mother said, Oh, you got dressed up for dinner! Little did she know that only about an hour or so before, I had been paddling in that same t-shirt and where the neoprene vest was, it was soaked! Although I do not sweat, I guess I did under that neoprene!  My face was beet red from  the sun and wind!

We ate our dinner, enjoying the air-conditioned surroundings.  It certainly seemed like such a good end to a rather trying paddling experience!!!! Oh, and my face is STILL red from our “jungle cruise”!

 I spoke to our neighbor who paddles a canoe. She showed me her cute little vest she uses. It is a kids’ vest, so it is short and won’t end up around my ears! I tried it on and I think it will work. No more melting inside a non-breathing vest! Now…I just need to find one!

My entries to this blog might be a tad out of sequence of when they actually happened, but that is okay…

We left home on Thursday afternoon and went camping at Allegany State Park. We camped there last summer, and it is a fabulous destination for those who love camping.  It isn’t that far from our home but is just so wonderful. Because we went after the Labor Day holiday,  the number of campers has greatly decreased and made it all the more fun.

Some of the highlights were that my brother, Randy, took off Thursday and Friday to join us. He tented with Ben and Randy has boundless energy….he and the kids would gather in the tent to watch videos and play games until late. The kids love Uncle Randy so much! He is like a big kid with all his energy and good fun!

I managed to sneak off one morning when that “oh-so-terrific” sunlight was pouring out its goodness and bathing everything with glowing golden light! The following are from those shots…

On Saturday night, I prepared a spaghetti and meatball meal….LOVE those crockery cookers!!! My parents joined us. My mother brought a basic salad, with tons of goodies in small dishes. The end result was that everyone was able to choose what they liked, just like a portable salad bar! Mom also brought a loaf of good Italian bread to go with the spaghetti. I tried to bake a cake in the teeny-tiny oven, but could only bake one layer at a time. One layer was fine and the other….well…it kinda “bit the dust”.  Thinking quickly, I spread cherry pie filling over the chocolate layer, then topped it off with whipped cream! Pseudo Black Forest Cake! It was pretty good.

 When my parents left, Mark and I escorted them to the park exit. On our way back, we caught sight of eyes in the headlights. We pulled off the road and were treated to the cutest little family of seven “bandits”! It must have been a mother raccoon and her six “children”. We finally left when they came in closer to the truck!

Today, we went kayaking on Cuba Lake,  located about 30 miles east of the park. We pulled up our tents and camper and headed to the lake where we spent a little more than an hour paddling. The lake is small, but so pretty; we had  fun on the lake, then stopped at one of our favorite spots for pizza and wings.

We parted ways with Randy at about 3:30 and Randy headed west, while we went east. It was hard saying our good-byes after having such a fun mini-vacation!

My blog-friend, Jackie, over in Scotland,  featured a lion on her blog entry for today:

http://glasgowdailyphoto.wordpress.com/2008/08/28/guard/

This lion reminded me of a pair I had snapped pictures of the other day while picking up a pizza in Naples.   The photo I took while trying to get both together was no good, as the lion on the left was in the shadows, and the one on the right was overexposed, bathed in bright sunlight!

This pair resides at the Maxfield Bed and Breakfast , which is absolutely lovely in the photos in the link given. However, the business is now for sale, and those pretty privets that border the sidewalk are now in need of a “haircut”! Being height-challenged, I could barely reach over the hedge to photograph the lions!!!

Even though this lion is in the shadows, I wanted to show him as you can see the inviting rocking chairs on the front porch with their pretty golden seat covers located behind him..

And, the lion on the right (a bit overexposed!)…

And while on the subject of lions,  I always think of my maternal grandparents when I think about lions.  For a large portion of my life, my grandparents lived in State College, Pennsylvania, home of Pennsylvania State University.  The Penn State mascot is…..the Nittany Lion.  Wow….I have not seen that lion in probably thirty  years…

While posting this entry, I realized that Jackie was away when I “caught” a photograph of the gorgeous eagle that lives on the south end of Canandaigua Lake. (I am told there is actually a pair there, although I have only seen one at a time.)

I cropped this photo a  bit, and in all honesty, I cannot believe my trusty little point and shoot did such a good job! Oh, and I had to “park” my little inflatable kayak in some lily pads to catch this bird!