Life on the Bay

Butterflies are graceful,

varied and enchanting,

small but approachable.

   

Butterflies lead you

to the sunny side of life.

And everyone deserves

a little sunshine.  

~ J. Glassbergh

The night walked

down the sky

with the moon

in her hand.

~Frederick L. Knowles

We sit out quietly floating on the boat. It feels good to float. If You're not used to it, floating can be a strange feeling. Once you learn to like it, it feels safe and sleepy and relaxing. M pours small glasses of wine and we watch and listen as the birds begin to roost and the sun goes down.

 

At first, it is yellow and white hot with the last blasts of the day. Some clouds get in the way and the sun pushes through them with powerful rays.

 

The clouds thicken as if to challenge and the sun just drops further and reddens and finds a spot to burst through.

A moment of magic begins as the white rays go sideways illuminating the sailboat masts and making a surreal vision out of ordinary things.

Then, the last glorious blaze descends as the treetops light up and the new night begins.

  As a last reminder of its power, the curving rays begin to paint pastels on the edges of the cloud. It's just a teasing way of saying that if you get up early enough, you might see the other half of the show.

Did I mention that M was pouring some wine?

I never met a color I didn't like.

~ Dale Chihuly

 

Fishing is not

a matter of life or death,

it's more serious than that.     

    ~ Unknown

I thought it would be fun to show a photo from the archives of the fishing village I live in, this is not a fish story like the one we have been following about the piranha caught in Lake Erie. 

I never saw a fish this big since I've lived here but I'm sure if anyone was going to hook one it will be one of the guys in my neighborhood, they are passionate about fishing.....

Go out and fish today, but don't call me to take it off the hook! 

Even a fish could

stay out of trouble

if it would just learn

to keep its mouth shut.

~ Unknown

*ps: If you want to catch a fish as big as the first picture I'd call Bomber the guy in the photo!

It takes a real storm

in the average person's life

to make him realize

how much worrying

he has done

over the squalls.
~ B. Barton

 

When a front is on it's way, we can smell it. It starts with a ding, ding, ding noise as the loose lanyards ring in bellish tones against the aluminum masts of the sailboats. It is a  frenzy of forewarning. Then, everything goes gray. There are no colors.

   

     It hits like a wall. The first instinct is panic, but I tell you now's the time to enjoy the wind devils as they whirl their circles on the water. It may be the only time in your life when you can actually see the wind. It can't hide itself as it hits the water in swirling chaos that suddenly decides to move off in another direction only to be replaced by a moody small tornado that will bear down on the same spot until it looks like something from a different world. The all-gray unpredictable world of fury has arrived.

  The loose lawn chairs now have their only chance to fly. The rules have changed. Umbrellas that have fought the wind for years suddenly submit and fly, fly, fly. The water itself decides to go with the wind to the east side of the lake and the channels rush and surge with the flow.  The Sun bursts through. We look for,,,, no,, we demand a rainbow as a sweet treat and reward to our voyeurism and then,,,, son of a gun, there it is! I hope you can be at my house someday when the wind decides to have a party. The thing is that it never calls ahead to let us know when, where, and how big?

After every storm the sun will smile;

for every problem there is a solution,

and the soul's indefeasible duty

is to be of good cheer.
~William R. Alger

If you want the rainbow,

you've got to put up with

a little rain. 
~ Dolly Parton

There are some mornings that you just simply want to sleep in. You hear the rain beating down on the roof and you smile.  You could stay in bed and pull the covers over your head or go out and embrace the day.  So I say "put on a pot of coffee, go in your bare feet, dance in the puddles on the walkway and wait for your rainbow!"

Go confidently
In the direction of your Dreams.
Live the life
you've imagined!

~ Henry David Thoreau

A sailor is an artist

whose medium is the wind.

~ Webb Chiles

 

Sailboats, sailors and sailboat racing are as much a part of the front yard as the water itself. It's a rich culture of  people who give every free moment of good weather to their passion of sailing. We have always had powerboats, or (stinkboats) as the sailors call them. Now, we get to live and learn in both boating worlds.   M&I got lucky and caught a ride with two of our neighbors who have over 100 years of combined experience. You don't really understand until you feel the wheel with your own hands. Every line and piece of the sail is stretched to bursting with the wind as the boat heels over and flies past the village. You soon learn that experience, choices, and a tiny bit of luck determine your speed. It’s amazing to see a master at work as the smallest adjustment is made to the rigging without thought.. 

I get it, and it’s got me thinking. From here, I could sail anywhere in the world!

It’s pure magic.

The art of the sailor

is to leave nothing to chance.
~ Annie Van De Wiele

Ignore dull days,

Forget the showers,

Keep count of only,

Shining hours.

~unknown

It always amazes me to see these kids fly through the air with total abandonment...what joy that must feel like to be so agile and free.....I have to admit I'm pretty jealous when I see them having so much fun!

 

Kids: they dance before they learn

there is anything

that isn't music.

~William Stafford

Memory is a way of holding onto

the things you love,

the things you are,

the things you never want to lose.

~ The Wonder Years

M & I both love history. In our travels we have been able to stand on the blocks of the Great Pyramids of Egypt. We have been deep in the jungles of Mexico exploring magnificent Mayan ruins recently discovered. We have walked up the stairs of the Temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and touched the bejeweled walls of the Taj Mahal in India. It doesn't have to be epic or thousands of years old to be history. We have become fascinated with collecting some of the history of our own little village. What fun to discover a photo of our own house circa 1908.

  

Some of the old photos are in bad shape but the message still comes through,,,,

The fishing is good here.

 

Some of the photos can be enhanced with modern editing tools to bring back some life and color to them. We are getting good at picking the exact era from some undated photos based on architectural details or identifiable people. As Important as the photos, we are collecting the stories that linger after a century plus of close living people.

( Who are these rascals hamming it up for the camera?)

One day, after all of the pieces begin to fall into place, I hope to do a small book. The history of the world is amazing, but it starts with the history of our lives.

PS:  If you have any memories or photos you would like to share about life on the bay front in Erie, Pennsylvania please write to me, I'd love to here from you....Thank you!

The days pass happily with me

wherever my ship sails.

  ~ J Slocum

I watched the young sailors from the Erie Yacht Club racing on the bay this afternoon. I'm not  a sailor yet I  have come to understand the intricacies and beauty of sailing. It's kind  of funny but I get to see the only part of sailing that the sailor misses. He can't see the amazing light on the hull of his boat as the water frothy and blue sprays off the bow in a plume of chaos. He can't see the tanned smile on his own face as his beautiful boat flies by my house.

To all of you sailors Young and old,,,,Thank You.

I find the great thing in this world

is not so much where we stand,

as in what direction we are moving:

To reach the port of heaven,

we must sail sometimes with the wind

and sometimes against it

- but we must sail, and not drift,

nor lie at anchor.

        ~ Oliver Wendel Holmes

To forget how to dig the earth

and to tend the soil

is to forget ourselves.

~ M. K. Gandhi

I think I'm too much a product of our modern techno world. I like things to develop quickly which might explain why I love photography,,, instant gratification.  Here on the bay my view is constantly changing,,, which I love.  Some days I don't even want to commit to watching a whole movie because it takes to long.  So in my garden planting asparagus and waiting years to harvest a crop seemed way to much of a time commitment....then, I peeked out back today and the hydrangea bush we planted ten years ago that never blossomed is in full bloom... the simple joys of waiting...hmmm I may have to rethink my impatience and need for speed. 

Adopt the pace of nature:

her secret is patience.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson