Let The Summer Begin

The summer heat has arrived just in time for Memorial Day Weekend. Time to take Moxie out for a spin on Lake George.

We thought we would beat the masses by going down to our favorite spot in Log Bay Island Channel in the morning. Oops, I guess we were too late...

Remember that photo from our Shelving Rock hike this spring, where the lone boat was anchored out? This is what it looks like now...

However, we did find about 30 turtles lounging in the sun on this little island between Dark and Gull Bays. The last time we went by here I counted almost 50 of them!

Now it's time for us to be like the turtles and try to find out of the way places to go to avoid the crowds.

Birds Of A Feather

Not only do they flock together, they nest together. That certainly is what has been happening here and we have nests in just about every garage and portico. A few of the them were built at human height so we can watch them up close. These robins were eggs the day before I took the photo...

These robins are a bit older but their home was made on a hose reel!

I have been watching the Washington DC live eagle cam and it makes me laugh to see these two birds and all the room they have in their huge nest, when the robins pack in three to four birds in a tiny area. Click HERE for the DC eagle cam, but it looks like they will flying soon. It's fun to see them hopping around and flapping their wings in preparation for the big departure day.

Back In The 'Saddle' Again

The weather is warming up and we decided to exercise a couple more watercraft. Actually, Dave exercised the SeaDoo while I exercised myself in my kayak.

Once again, because it is still early and very few boats and docks have been put in the water, there was barely a soul on the lake. Dave zoomed all the way down to Silver Bay and I found a pair of loons near the middle of the upper lake.

We were only out for a little over an hour, because the water is still chilly (even though we were on it and not in it). As we were hauling out the SeaDoo, this brand new locally built HackerCraft was being test driven.

With its strange design, having stern drives no less, we had a feeling that it was being built as a tender for a mega yacht. You could tell by how the crew member drives from the front and the guests are all protected in the cabin, almost like a water taxi or ferry. As we walked to the stern of the boat we found we were correct when we saw the name...T/T (Tender To) Freedom!

We talked to the builders and found out that Freedom is a 230ft. Benetti and is available for charter. Anyone want to go on a little trip? Just land your helicopter on the roof and away we go!

Afternoon Delight

We spent a nice afternoon at Waterford's Canal Fest with Kenny and Kerstin and their sons Tim and Tyler. It was great walking along the waterfront, checking out the vendors and showing our friends the first lock of the 'Flight of Five' along the Mohawk (they had never been here before). There weren't any tugboats this time, but we look forward to going to that festival in September.

We will also be stopping down to the docks periodically during the summer to check and see if any boaters we know are traveling the waterways, either on the Champlain or Erie Canals.

Early Arrival

Welcome to the world, Bradley Romine! Our niece Melissa and her husband Ben are now proud parents of this little 3 lb. 10 oz. bundle of joy who arrived 6 1/2 weeks early. He will need to stay in the hospital for awhile, but he is doing well.  I can see that he has changed quite a bit already and he was born less than a week ago.

Congratulations to the whole family! 

If you are wondering about the baby's middle name of Romine, it is a 5th generation name starting with my grandfather, father, then my brother, his son Matthew's middle name, and now Bradley's middle name. What a wonderful way to carry on this family tradition.

Ready, Willing, & Able

Our first 75 degree day up north and we couldn't resist getting Moxie ready to launch. Time to put in all seven of its drain plugs, get it running, and flush out the pink antifreeze.

We figured the conditions couldn't have been better for a quick jaunt on the water, so we launched the boat and stayed out for an hour. What a chilly difference with the light breeze off the water. I wonder what the mathematical formula is for determining the actual temperature and wind chill, considering the air was 75 degrees, the water was 53, and we were traveling at 25 mph. I call it brrrrr...definitely not time to go swimming yet! I even counted at least 42 turtles hanging out in the sun on one of the rock islands, so apparently they think the water's cold too. LOL I wish we had the camera with us, but we'll try again for the next outing.

Remember Toad Fest?

Now we have tadpole fest! The egg cases the toads left behind disintegrated and turned into little black specks on the bottom of the fish pool. As soon as the weather got to 60 degrees they came alive...

Finally it is not freezing in the morning so we added the goldfish back in. In a few days we'll see how many tadpoles are left. It's a fish eat fish world.

The Final Result

The metal roof went up in a day. It was fairly easy, except for the corner section, and then we ran out of material. Once it arrives, the rest of the project will only take an hour to complete. Eventually we will paint the framework white to match the garage and house, and put down gravel all the way around.

Ta Da!!! Instant museum. We have plenty of antiques to put under cover already... 

...but we'll always be looking for more!

The Project Continues

It has been a challenge working on the veranda project, especially with all the rain and chilly weather we have been having. Once a cold front came through today (with more rain!) we were able to complete the stringers that the metal roof will be attached to. We had to make it heavy duty due to the possible snow load during the winter months. This is important since we couldn't angle the slope of the roof very much without compromising the height clearance.

Making the corner fit together was challenging also, with each piece having to be measured, angled, cut, and fitted to meet the adjoining stringer. That corner beam is longer than the rest and is actually two beams sistered together and nailed with spikes into the notched post. There are no posts along the back wall, so the main beams have been attached with joists on another beam secured to the garage.

Tomorrow we pick up the metal roofing and continue working while the weather is dry. One of these days we may even get back up north to do some early season kayaking or boating...if it happens to hit 70 degrees!