A short trip to the Lake

Yesterday, Tuesday March 6th, we took a ride over to the Lake house. We generally try to get over once a week. As we drove up the driveway we were dismayed at the damage to our shrubs. The snow was so heavy that it had bent many of the bushes down. So the first thing we did was hop out of the car and shook trees, evergreens and bushes to release the branches from being held down by the snow.  That work removed the snow and we then turned our attention to the decks. Unfortunately several limbs had come down onto the front deck. The good news is that the deck itself was fine.  

We also found out that the electricity to our little group of houses had been off for two days! Fortunately we have a generator - unfortunately it ran for two days! 

 I took some pictures of the storm's "work" before we went into the house. After checking out the house carefully and seeing no problems there, we went home. 

The front deck got several branches - from both the tree to the right and a tree in the back left. Both trees appear to be OK and the deck is not damaged

*******

In the front by the driveway this bush that has stickers was bent over. While I'd really not care if the darn thing died, I did kick it to remove some snow. 

*****

Not sure if it was the wind or the weight of the snow that caused this branch to rip off

****

And B went around the upper deck removing the snow from the railings

***

Again, the back of the front deck 

***

And the front of the front deck

*****

And a bush by the upper deck that was weighted down by the snow. It should bounce back!

A Snowy March Day

After some nice rather warm days, it's snowing.....again.....

It's a lovely snow - large soft flakes that started last night. Honey and I went out for our final walk of the day around 9:50 and the flakes were falling. This morning we awoke to several inches on the ground and more coming. As I look out my office window, it looks like a snow globe that someone just shook. Lovely fat flakes that are making a lovely view. The borough truck just did another pass dropping cinders. Many local schools are closed - and that gives the kids a three day weekend! 

I went out after breakfast and took these pictures.... We plan on going out this afternoon and dealing with this "mess" by both blowing the driveway and cleaning off the cars. The forecast is calling for colder weather over the weekend with temperatures well below freezing. So what's there will stay and most likely freeze solid. Then we could get more snow early next week. The Scranton St. Paddy's Day parade is scheduled for this weekend. A very cold day for those who venture out. 

As I stepped out onto the back patio, the chairs just caught my eye. 

As I looked to my right the steps up to the deck that's off the breakfast area looked interesting

And the trees in the back were draped with snow

And it's still snowing.....

A Beautiful Snow Fall

This morning we awoke to a lovely site - the snow fall overnight was just beautiful! I got the camera and took pictures before we even cleaned the car off. Often the snow will melt or the wind will blow and what was once beautiful loses something. Here is what we saw

From the driveway looking at the sun just coming up

A bit later, I looked up at the trees still wearing the snow

At the end of the driveway looking at the house

And then we drove to the lake and saw the sun 

And I turned and got a picture of the shore line and the trees with all the snow

By the time we got back from breakfast much of the snow on the trees had melted. At the lake we could see prints on the ice/snow of both foot steps and snow mobile tracks. We have seen people out on the lake with tents and such ice fishing. That is something we are NOT about to do! This was really a great snow - looked nice and melted fast!

Boating on the Lake

It was a lovely morning. We turned the air off late yesterday afternoon as the humidity was to be lower as were the temperatures. The sun was out and it was a bit cool at home. We loaded up the two large totes, one from our boating days on the Chesapeake and one relatively new (and a bit larger). While we had been out before, the Bimini top was not yet open and we wanted to take the cover entirely off and make some changes to the dock lines as well as take a short ride. With those goals in mind, off we went.

The boat looked good as we hopped on after unsnapping the cover part way. This is the first time we had a full cover - before there were several covers each covering a seat or bench. Boy, the cover is BIG and very bulky. We had used WD-40 to make the snaps easier to use and so the removal went smothly. We then opened up the top cover - and found a wasp nest in the folds. Fortunately, it didn't appear any wasps were using it. Opening went smoothly but we had trouble fastening the two arms to the side of the boat as the canvas was not stretching. It finally fastened and hopefully it will be easier now that it's staying open for a bit. Then we cast off and away we went!

The Captain! He was checking the mapping app on the iPhone. It shows us where we are in relationship to roads and towns.

All the "stuff" that the Captain needs to be captain.  On the side you can see the arm of the cover and there was the very small pin to fit into the slot to secure the cover. Working together, we got it!

I tend to take pictures of the wake. I'm sitting on the sofa area beside the Captain, where a good first mate often sits, looking back over the expanse of the aft lounge. The smooth area pops up for a dressing area (great storage when down) and the back textured area is for lounging.

Another "this is where we were" picture - wake, land, clouds, water - all the needed components for a nice screen saver or computer background. Great to look at in the winter when all you can see is snow!

We did a great job docking and then worked on the lines. When we go out, the two spring lines stay on the dock and the four docking lines get tossed on the boat. The spring lines were way to long so B cut them and then I secured them properly to the finger docks. They look much better! Had a great time and was home for a good lunch of Costco pizza I had frozen.

The Boat!!!!

 

This picture is for Mike. We took these in the fall when we purchased the boat. I’ll be taking more and posting them soon. So Mike, HERE IS THE BOAT!!