Other Things

Upper Hudson River

 The past week started off with a kayak excursion to Harris Lake and the beginning of the Hudson River. It was a 2 hour drive just to get to the lake, which I'll only do if it's worth it. Luckily it was worth it - a remote, pristine wilderness paddle, but also a town park with a fabulous beach for swimming. We kayaked for 3 hours, had lunch and a swim, kayaked another hour, then swam again. It was a fantastic day of savoring the late days of summer. Ginny, Sue Ellen, and Charlene were in the small group. We wanted to stop somewhere for dinner, but there really weren't any options that far out in the wilderness - and it was a Tuesday when many restaurants are closed. 

Harris Lake

Parked for our second swim of the day.

Cardinal flower

Turtleheads

The yard remains a mess and its going to be another 2-3 weeks until the fence is installed. I'm trying to remain patient about this. Anyway, I do have a hot tub! (or spa as the sales person kept saying). It was delivered quite promptly and setup was not a problem. However, getting it connected to the house electrical system was a little bumpy. 

Just starting to fill it.

The electrician my contractor suggested told me it would be about $900 - $1000 to connect. I was OK with that because the spa salesman told me it should be under $1000. But when the electrician came to set up a date, he gave me another estimate of $1800. I balked at that so he said he'd write up the costs and email me. 

In the meantime I got on the phone to the salesman, who had his electrician call me within 2 minutes. He said he'd stop by in the morning to give me his estimate. It was $475, so I hired him after asking him a bunch of code related questions and making sure he was qualified. I sent a text to the $1800 electrician, told him I was going with the spa recommended electrician and thanked him for his interest. He said ok, but was going to invoice me for the estimate. I did not reply and do not intend to pay for an estimate.

The gentleman who did the work was lovely - a retired electrician from the Watervliet  Arsenal - a federal employee. He was angry with the other electrician who's estimate he said was heavily padded and greedy. He carefully wired up my spa and explained a lot of what he was doing because I was curious. I ended up paying him $650 as he had to get some other supplies to move an outlet and make sure it would pass inspection. He also explained how the spa worked and made sure to show me how to get the water balanced.  He was such a nice guy !

I've been painting the deck a solid gray and will choose a very dark (not quite black) for the posts and rails. 

I'm getting the occasional walk in.

Meanwhile back in my garden, butterflies are loving the fire toned flowers.

I have made several trips to the hardware store buying test paints before deciding on medium grey and cracked pepper for the deck. The weather is perfect for painting so I am getting after it.

Testing color which turned out to be the priming coat.

I would have loved to keep the natural wood, but years of neglect
left it too beat up to make refinishing worthwhile.

I reluctantly agreed to go to SPAC to see James Taylor, and I'm glad I did. It will probably be the last time I see him as his voice is losing its strength. I remember seeing him here 3 years ago and the first song was rough but then he rallied to his usual energy. The three years since have definitely taken a toll on his voice.

But his charm and wit were greatly appreciated!

A chilly night at SPAC to see the amazing James Taylor. The opening montage was epic - Something In The Way She Moves video of him singing it, from his teens throughout his career, to him finishing it onstage at age 76.

Our group of 6 morphed into about 25 of us hiking friends meeting up on the lawn.
JT still packing them in as the place was sold out! 

Now back to painting. As the deck is looking so nice, the sun shade is going to be replaced next. I'm keeping my eye our for new furniture too.