Today is my brother’s birthday. He was my day-before-my-birthday gift.

He’s a keeper (even if his hair is MIA).
Love you Bro!

We went to Lake Chautauqua in New York last month for the Great Grape Walk at the Johnson Estates Winery in Westfield, NY. We didn’t participate in the actual walk as the weather wasn’t cooperating but managed to walk through the part of the grape vineyards.

They had harvested most of the grapes and these were some that were left on the vines. I don’t remember exactly which grapes these were. We sampled a couple and other than the seeds, were quite tasty.



Halfway through the vineyard we started to feel sprinkles. We headed back to the main building but were pretty wet by the time we got there. Fortunately it was warm enough that we weren’t chilled and the rain shower didn’t last very long.
They had an outside dining area set up for tastings and charcuterie boards. Mr. Aitch and I shared a flight of red wines and a charcuterie board with foods that would enhance the wines. My brother and his wife tried the dry rosé wines and had a charcuterie board with foods that enhanced their selections. Both had similar items but they were not exactly the same.

Here is another example of the charcuterie boards. (I wasn’t thinking or would have taken some pictures of ours that day.)

It was a great afternoon with wonderful wines, foods, and family.

My brother and wife have a cottage (They call it a cottage but it’s really a house) on the northern end of Lake Chautauqua in New York. The lake is just east of Lake Erie.

Last Thursday night my brother captured some pictures of the Northern Lights, aka Aurora Borealis, that were visible. There was a geomagnetic storm on the sun last week which causes energized particles to interact with atoms of nitrogen and oxygen in the atmosphere, causing them to emit light in various colors, such as green and red. Click here for more information.



I did not alter these photos, only adding his copyright information.
These two are from the Friday morning.


God certainly did create a beautiful world and universe.
Have you ever seen the Aurora Borealis?

The night before our anniversary party, we had a mini family reunion. Our daughter and her family, Mr. Aitch’s brother and his wife, my sister and her sister-in-law, my brother and his wife and, of course, Mr. Aitch and me.
Our daughter used her magical skills and made her family and Mr. Aitch and me these shirts that we wore that evening.

We grilled burgers and hot dogs. Sides included potato chips, veggie platter with dip, fresh strawberries and watermelon. Water, iced tea, lemonade and adult beverages. We didn’t want too many leftovers as we knew we would have some from the official party the next day.
Our 11-year old grandson coerced asked everyone with a pulse to play cornhole. By the end of the weekend, was the champion!
It was a wonderful weekend and we have souvenir shirts to remind us of it!
