Postcards from the Lake: A Wet, Lonely Week

When watching the yahoos hired to take my neighbor's dock and boat ramp work away is the highlight of one's week, you know it has been an odd and unexpected week!

When I came north about a week ago, it was with the idea that Rick would join me as soon as he could. I was thinking within a few days and so was he. But he's been up to his eyeballs with painting the duplex, doing repairs and loads of stuff outside -- not to mention (hopefully) getting a new tenant booked and ready to move in. I realize I really miss the guy! But one does what one must, like adding a lantern to the mantel!

We've had loads of rain, making porch and painting time pretty much an impossibility. (I don't have a good painting spot inside). I did this before the weather went downhill. It's a re-do from a 2017 painting of a Martha's Vineyard cottage. I'm better now.

I've been reading, felting and putting in final corrections on my family history book. Next up, looking for a printer. Right now it's over 300 pages (which I guess is really over 150 in book speak, so not as thick as it seems!). I've been looking at my computer so much, I think my eyes are going to fall out of my face!

I said the dock-removers were the highlight of the week. That's not really true. The best part was enjoying visits from a couple of friends who came for lunch. I don't have a pic of Holly, who moved north when she and her husband retired. But we had a wonderful visit, catching up after several years of space and Covid lockdowns made such gatherings impossible.

Gretchen (above) splits her time between Michigan and Florida, so a lunch with her provided a lot of good catch-up time. I was glad the lunches were on consecutive days. I made a huge vat of pumpkin soup and salad, which I served with apples and cheese. Holly brought banana bread and Gretchen some fun Halloween cookies. Aren't they clever? The food was good; the conversation even better.

There hasn't been a lot of change in color since those earlier splashes I shared HERE. But on one of the very few days when it wasn't raining for most of it, I saw some hints of the fall to come. I love these berries.

And these sunflowers by the railroad tracks are a cheery greeting. 

And the fungi are out! I don't know why I get such a kick out of seeing these and all their variations.

I went into town for groceries and stopped at the elk park. I was lucky -- a large part of the herd was gathered under a tree and near the water trough.

Then along came the big guy! (Actually, there are three big guys in the herd that I was able to see, but most were quite distant.)

Without warning, some unheard of communication, they all took off for the lake down the hill. They're fun to watch and so majestic. 

I mentioned the guys taking out my neighbor's dock. There were three of them. One -- the guy who drove the boat -- must have been the boss because he did no work and bossed the other two around constantly.

It was a cold afternoon, but they were in the water, trying to move this massive boat hoist. The guy in the blue trunks was named T.J., and he got the lion's share of yelling from the boss in the black shirt, who I named Iggy because he had a beard that reminded me of Iggy Pop. The third guy, "Tattoo," after the elaborate ink on his back, took his turn yelling at T.J. too. It isn't pleasant work, even on a warm day and couldn't be fun when it was cold and windy -- but at least it wasn't raining.

 

Rick called and said he can't make it up for another day or two -- there's still too much to do. So, it's just Lizzie and me for another few days. As I write this, the temperatures promise to move up into the 60s and the sun seems likely to appear. But those nights are still pretty nippy.

I think I'll need to go buy more wood.

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