A Fortnight on the Lake Ends

Fourteen nights on Keuka Lake has come to an end. It was a pleasant two weeks with great weather, warm water, fun in and on the water. The last night, Erik's nearly 7-year-old cousin wanted to fish. We had tried early without much luck, but this night she caught 9 fish in the span of about 20 minutes. She was nervous at the first catch, but quickly became very adept at setting the hook and reeling the fish in. She caught perch, bluegills, and a bullhead catfish.

The image above shows some of the wonderful peaches we enjoyed.

I also include a few photos of the family leaping off the second story of a boat cover near our beach. Even the 60+ year-old matriarch of the clan managed to take the plunge (from left to right: Carlos, Greg, Inga and friend, Pat, and Cindy).

Feeding the Fishes

Feeding the fishes is a sometimes euphemism used for intentionally drowning a person. However, in the case of the title of this entry, it is meant literally. We bought live minnows from the bait and tackle shop down the lake this morning and managed to get a number of strikes, but caught not one fish after being on the water for about two and a half hours. We essentially spent the day feeding the fishes.

Fishing on the lake with Erik has been a real pleasure. Typically, I have been paddling from the rear of the kayak, while Erik trolls or casts from the front. We have ventured out north and south of the dock and also crossed the ~1-mile wide lake and explored the other shore. Most times we catch panfish: smallmouth bass, perch, bluegills, ... Certainly most were edible size, but nothing too impressive.

However, on one encounter, Erik was reeling in a good-sized smallmouth bass to the side of the kayak and noticed what he thought was the reflection of the kayak paddle in the water. When the apparent image of the paddle began to swim away from the boat, we both realized it was a bigger fish following the hooked smallmouth, about to make a meal of it, when the boat must have spooked it. We both felt chills run down our backs when we realized just how big this predator fish was. We tried for 10 or 15 minutes to get the interest of this big fish again, but to no avail.

Western Weather on an Eastern Lake

The weather today is just fantastic, clear blue, sunny skies with low humidity and comfortable temperatures. Today's weather reminds me of the weather we had when we lived out west. It seems to occur more regularly out west, so we are enjoying it here while we can.

Today I had the stitches removed from my surgery and was informed that the pathology tests indicated that there was not a clear margin on the perimeter of the incision. Meaning they found some nasty cells on the edge of the portion they removed, indicating they did not get the whole thing. So, they are going back in in two weeks to establish a clean margin.

I was pleasantly surprised with how quickly I recovered from the first surgery, so I am anticipating that I will do likewise with this follow-up.

Mountain Bike Ride Around Keuka Lake

This afternoon two friends from work came by to ride mountain bikes around Keuka Lake. I had a haphazard start: I transferred the bottle holders from my road bike to my mountain bike and dropped one of the screws through the deck. With some help from Carlos and Cindy, I crawled under the deck, which was cloaked in spider webs and crawling with bugs, and in about 3 or 4 minutes located the screw. Additionally, I needed to fix a flat tire that had a slow leak, enough to completely flatten it overnight.

We got off a little behind schedule, but were soon enjoying the wonderful weather and some beautiful views of the lake. We stopped for lunch in a small park on the beach just below the chapel at Keuka College. We then continued down the bluff in the crotch of the lake with a short climb up to another beautiful stone church overlooking the lake. Keuka is the only Y-shaped Finger Lake, where the piece of land between the tops of the Y is called the bluff or crotch of the lake.

We then made a brutal climb up a hill to follow a high road above the lake. It was very hot and sunny and really sapped my strength. A short rest and some cold water and fresh grapefruit helped me recover. We then continued into Hammondsport and then back up the east side of the lake to the rental house. For those interested, here is a link showing the ride in a google-maps mashup program (it is a little slow to load, but click the "show elevation" button to get a profile of the ride).

After a short dip in the lake, we all enjoyed a pleasant dinner with the rest of the family (minus Steve and Lelia, who drove up to Lake Placid to pick up their dog, Lucky).

Keuka Means Canoe, Not Kayak, Landing

Yesterday, our friends stopped by and dropped off their deep lake canoe for us to use. I had spent quite a few summers paddling my Uncle Robert's canoe in Connecticut on the lakes and rivers there. I had become proficient at paddling alone, with others, maneuvering the canoe with great control, loading and unloading the canoe from the car top, and launching and beaching the canoe. I recall once when some friends from graduate school and I went up to a cabin on a lake in New Hampshire, I was very pleased with myself when I showed them how to get into the canoe while swimming in the water, maneuver the canoe in windy weather, and a general proficiency at controlling the canoe.

So, when we delivered my friend's canoe onto the beach here at Keuka Lake, I figured I would take it out for a "shake-down" cruise before taking Erik for a fishing expedition, fully expecting to display that "general proficiency." Well, I got about 5 feet off shore with the empty canoe and began a J stroke to turn the canoe to the right, when I felt the canoe pitch. I swiveled my hips, but the empty canoe quickly rolled to the point where I simply fell out into the water. Needless to say, I did not display the "general proficiency" I had hoped. Maybe canoeing is not the same as riding a bike. After retrieving the canoe and emptying it, Erik was happy to go out in the kayak again.

Fishing on Keuka

The picture shows the view from the path leading from the house down to the lake. I found out that Keuka means canoe launch in local Native American dialect. We rented a double kayak and have been putting it to near-constant use since we arrived, primarily with Erik in the front seat where he has been fishing. He has caught several smallmouth bass, bluegills, perch, and a catfish.

Last night before supper, during the quiescent period when the wind dies out and the surface of the lake becomes calm and smooth, Erik and I went out in the kayak. We trolled up and down the coast for about 2 hours. Erik was using a segmented lure that has a pair of treble hooks: one at the mid point of the lure and one trailing off the end.

As we were returning to the dock Erik got a big strike. From the bend in the pole and the inconsistent pull he knew it was a big fish. It was exciting to see him work the line in, trying to keep it under tension. When the fish got close to the boat Erik hollered, "Did you see it?" I could not quite see it, but as he continued to bring it closer to the boat it revealed itself to be two fish! One larger and one smaller smallmouth bass. I have seen this type of feeding-frenzy behavior when schools of fish attack bait, but this was our first double on Keuka Lake.

Summer Vacation on Keuka Lake

After reading the inspirational blogs of Alina, Bill, Clif, Dimitri, Hope, and Tamara, we have decided to take the plunge and blog a little from the shores of Keuka Lake (home to famed Keuka College) in upstate New York during our summer vacation.

Last weekend we were in Granville for a wonderful memorial to my Grandmother's sister, Aunt Mitzi who passed away recently. It was a short stay, but we managed to pack in lots of good times, as can be witnessed in the pictures of Clif and Bill (Gathering, Corn Roast, Memorial Service, and Doughboy Night).

This weekend we sit on the shores of Keuka Lake with family members from Cindy's side of the family, who have traveled from Bennington, VT, New York City, NY, Rochester, NY, and Washington, DC. The rental house is a wonderful property perched on the sloping hillside of the lake, nestled into trees to give us a sense of privacy, but open enough to give us a tremendous view of the Lake and opposite shore.

The yard features stone steps down one side of the house where I am sure faeries dwell. The hillside of oak trees, laden with acorns, is also, no doubt, a wonderful little milieu for squirrels. No hostile encounters to report, as of yet.