My home town--
Black Brook, New York
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Black Brook, New York
— Town —
Keesville, NY
Black Brook, New YorkLocation within the state of New York
Coordinates: 44°30′6″N 73°47′11″W / 44.50167°N 73.78639°W / 44.50167; -73.78639
Country United States
State New York
County Clinton
Government
- Type Town Council
Area
- Total 134.3 sq mi (348.0 km2)
- Land 130.2 sq mi (337.2 km2)
- Water 4.1 sq mi (10.7 km2)
Elevation 1,263 ft (385 m)
Population (2000)
- Total 1,660
- Density 12.7/sq mi (4.9/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
Black Brook is a town in Clinton County, New York, United States. The population was 1,660 at the 2000 census. The town is named after an important waterway in the town.
The Town of Black Brook is in the southwest part of the county and is southwest of the City of Plattsburgh. Black Brook is inside the Adirondack Park.
[edit] History
The town was first settled around 1825. The town was formed from part of the Town of Peru in 1839. Early industry included farming, mining and smelting iron.
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 134.4 square miles (348.0 km²), of which, 130.2 square miles (337.2 km²) of it is land and 4.1 square miles (10.7 km²) of it (3.08%) is water.
The west town line is the border of Franklin County, New York and the south town line is the border of Essex County, New York.
The Ausable River forms part of the south boundary, and the Saranac River forms part of the north boundary.
US 9 passes across the southeast part of Black Brook. New York State Route 3 crosses the northwest corner of the town.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 1,660 people, 651 households, and 455 families residing in the town. The population density was 12.7 people per square mile (4.9/km²). There were 957 housing units at an average density of 7.4/sq mi (2.8/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.31% White, 0.12% African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.24% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.66% of the population.
There were 651 households out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.0% were non-families. 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 102.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $32,634, and the median income for a family was $38,580. Males had a median income of $32,059 versus $20,652 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,049. About 9.8% of families and 14.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.2% of those under age 18 and 13.1% of those age 65 or over.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
It's very pretty in my neighborhood these days. Color is not quite peak but it's getting there. There was heavy, heavy fog this morning. Cloudy and foggy skies bring out the best colors--sun sort of bounces off of the leaves so the colors aren't as intense. We're getting to peak color, but, as always, we'll have a storm that will blow off a bunch of the leaves. NO! Please no! Don't grab the leaves! It always ends up being beautiful anyway.
We still haven't had a killing frost, which is strange for late Sept. My cosmos are at peak. I picked a big bouquet yesterday to take to Linda's. It was very, very pretty. We had dinner together, along with a couple we know. Yes, Linda and I are often considered to be a couple. Like my friend Lin. We're often paired up, too. We used to go to the dump together every weekend & I'm sure Dump Lady thought we must live together. I go to the dump by myself now--I should say to D.L. "we broke up."
There's a peaceful air around my house these days--the noise and traffic of summer people are gone. It was really, really still during the weekend, not a sound except for the occasional flock of geese. That sounds pretty corny, but it was great. I sat outside & read a bit, painted my new (big and white) mailbox & made a mess of it, cleaned a bit (not nearly enough), read some more, took a long walk with the dogs. It's early bear hunting season, which I forgot until we were deep in the woods. I was wearing a black vest & the dogs are brown & bear-ish. Duh. I felt really stoopid so I made a lot of noise. "YES, THAT'S A GOOD GIRL, TESS. HELLO CHANCES, HOW ARE YOU?"
I walked past the riding rings that were used by the girls' camp many years ago. The rings aren't recognizable as riding rings anymore, but my sister & I can find them & remember what they were like. There were horses at the camp, about 6 or 8. Some years my sister & I would spend all morning watching the girls' ride in the rings, taking their daily riding lessons. We were unbelievably jealous but of course we survived. I don't think we ever thought through what it would mean to be at camp, we just wanted the riding part.
When we were growing up in Rkfd. we went to a dude ranch-type place run by a woman named Ceil Nelson. For $50 a week she'd host girls, feed them, have them spend the nights, and, best of all: have them ride horses every single day. Molly and I were in hog heaven. We just adored being there. I don't even remember who else was there the week we were, but I remember that we rode horses named Maggie and Jiggs. They were twin-like black & white paints. We rode them because we were sisters so we should have twin horses. There was supposed to be a horse show at the end of our week, but it rained the last day so Ceil gave each of us a prize for something we'd done well during the week. I won 1st prize for cantering because there was a day when I got my horse to canter without any trouble. What was the prize? An ashtray with a picture of horses on it. I can understand now that she rounded up odds & ends to give as prizes, but really--an ashtray? I kept the ashtray for years & years.
I think I was in 4th grade & Molly was in 5th. That was when my very best friend was Janet Michaelson. One of the things I liked about her was that they had a color television. This was 1961 or '62 so it must have been a revolutionary thing. Every Sunday night I'd get to go to her house to watch Bonanza in color. Nice of my parents (and hers) to arrange transportation for that, huh. My parents gave it their best shot at being friends with Janet's parents. The Michaelson's were into sports cars & had a beautiful Corvette. They were also Shriners, which was so not like my family. My parents went to a Shriner event where Mrs. Michaelson was named Princess of something. My father always said it was Princess Pippsissiwa but I don't think that was it.
Once I was out for dinner with my friends at a nice restaurant here and it was Shriners' night. Every man brought in a little hat box that held his fez. Most of the men were pretty old and shaky. There was a big fuss when it was discovered that two of them had their fezes mixed up. The other thing I remember about the Shriners is that they rode in these teeny cars in every parade. Sort of like the Barbie cars they have for kids now.
We still haven't had a killing frost, which is strange for late Sept. My cosmos are at peak. I picked a big bouquet yesterday to take to Linda's. It was very, very pretty. We had dinner together, along with a couple we know. Yes, Linda and I are often considered to be a couple. Like my friend Lin. We're often paired up, too. We used to go to the dump together every weekend & I'm sure Dump Lady thought we must live together. I go to the dump by myself now--I should say to D.L. "we broke up."
There's a peaceful air around my house these days--the noise and traffic of summer people are gone. It was really, really still during the weekend, not a sound except for the occasional flock of geese. That sounds pretty corny, but it was great. I sat outside & read a bit, painted my new (big and white) mailbox & made a mess of it, cleaned a bit (not nearly enough), read some more, took a long walk with the dogs. It's early bear hunting season, which I forgot until we were deep in the woods. I was wearing a black vest & the dogs are brown & bear-ish. Duh. I felt really stoopid so I made a lot of noise. "YES, THAT'S A GOOD GIRL, TESS. HELLO CHANCES, HOW ARE YOU?"
I walked past the riding rings that were used by the girls' camp many years ago. The rings aren't recognizable as riding rings anymore, but my sister & I can find them & remember what they were like. There were horses at the camp, about 6 or 8. Some years my sister & I would spend all morning watching the girls' ride in the rings, taking their daily riding lessons. We were unbelievably jealous but of course we survived. I don't think we ever thought through what it would mean to be at camp, we just wanted the riding part.
When we were growing up in Rkfd. we went to a dude ranch-type place run by a woman named Ceil Nelson. For $50 a week she'd host girls, feed them, have them spend the nights, and, best of all: have them ride horses every single day. Molly and I were in hog heaven. We just adored being there. I don't even remember who else was there the week we were, but I remember that we rode horses named Maggie and Jiggs. They were twin-like black & white paints. We rode them because we were sisters so we should have twin horses. There was supposed to be a horse show at the end of our week, but it rained the last day so Ceil gave each of us a prize for something we'd done well during the week. I won 1st prize for cantering because there was a day when I got my horse to canter without any trouble. What was the prize? An ashtray with a picture of horses on it. I can understand now that she rounded up odds & ends to give as prizes, but really--an ashtray? I kept the ashtray for years & years.
I think I was in 4th grade & Molly was in 5th. That was when my very best friend was Janet Michaelson. One of the things I liked about her was that they had a color television. This was 1961 or '62 so it must have been a revolutionary thing. Every Sunday night I'd get to go to her house to watch Bonanza in color. Nice of my parents (and hers) to arrange transportation for that, huh. My parents gave it their best shot at being friends with Janet's parents. The Michaelson's were into sports cars & had a beautiful Corvette. They were also Shriners, which was so not like my family. My parents went to a Shriner event where Mrs. Michaelson was named Princess of something. My father always said it was Princess Pippsissiwa but I don't think that was it.
Once I was out for dinner with my friends at a nice restaurant here and it was Shriners' night. Every man brought in a little hat box that held his fez. Most of the men were pretty old and shaky. There was a big fuss when it was discovered that two of them had their fezes mixed up. The other thing I remember about the Shriners is that they rode in these teeny cars in every parade. Sort of like the Barbie cars they have for kids now.
leaves 020
How gross and disgusting is this? This is what Martha (Stewart, of course) considers to be a "good thing." This is her idea of a clever and attractive Halloween wreath. Fake snakes wrapped around a grapevine. The woman is sick, very sick. Poor Fred if he ever saw this--
leaves 022
There's peace in my home. That's Chances, pleased because she got to spread out on the couch. Tess is in the chair so C. has the place to herself. More or less.
tupper 005
Ah yes--"I understand about indecision." This tree can't decide whether to be yellow or red. Instead of being orange, the leaves look like this. Pretty. and funny. pretty funny.
tupper 001
Everyone wants to get in on the action. This looks as if the maple and fir trees are embracing. Well, sort of but not really. I just like the effect.
tupper 003
Isn't this pretty? The ferns in the bog are getting ready to look the crappy way they look in the winter. In the meantime they're really pretty. I like the way you can see them way into the forest. How lucky I am to see things like this all the time--
tupper 006
I went to Tupper lake last week to take a look at their substantial & unique local history collection. It's a great collection, and I'm going to catalog it (the unique items). This is what the lake looked like. The library isn't ON the lake, but it has a great view of the lake. It's an hour from my house, a pretty drive in the fall, lots of color. I'll be spending lots of time there, like, maybe a day a week. Unless I have fun & tell my boss that I like going there. Last time I did that she pulled the plug on the project. rats!
leaves 010
no, not a cave. Some kind of fungus/ mushroom growing on a tipped-over tree. It's really very small but it looks pretty nifty here.
leaves 012
I just think there's something really cool about tree roots growing above the ground. There are tons of these on the trail to the bluffs. Creepy crawly, easy to trip over, but soooo pretty.
leaves 015
Is this what's giving me a daily headache? And making poor Tess itch so much she falls over when she scratches? it's goldenrod, gone to seed. I don't think I've ever had a reaction to it at this point, but usually we've had a killing frost by now.
leaves 017
And Chances, always Chances (Tess doesn't like to have her picture taken: as soon as she sees the camera she moves really, really fast so it's impossible to take a picture of her). This is looking toward the bog from my driveway--it's the road I live on.
leaves 014
OK, this will be on the test. What is this called? I can't remember, though I sure knew things like this when I was involved in forestry and the lumber industry. hmmmm...
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
sept home 007
My cosmos. A fancy variety I grew this year. Very pretty. Someone commented on the name Cosmos. Like, an organized universe?
sept home 003
Ready .. set .. GO! My outdoor station for the weekend. I love sunny, warm Sept. days. There's something really nice about the texture of the air. As if it's a gift, something to really enjoy. Oh, how I do go on.
sept home 012
All I see when I look at pictures like this is the space between my front teeth.
In college I went to the dental hygiene school, where you could have your teeth cleaned for free. The students were told to take a picture of anything interesting they came across. "Oh boy!" said my hygienist wanna-be. She took a picture of my diastema. Fancy name for big space between teeth. I had them bonded a long time ago but the dentist said that, if he added enough to get rid of the space, the teeth would look like tree stumps. huh?
In college I went to the dental hygiene school, where you could have your teeth cleaned for free. The students were told to take a picture of anything interesting they came across. "Oh boy!" said my hygienist wanna-be. She took a picture of my diastema. Fancy name for big space between teeth. I had them bonded a long time ago but the dentist said that, if he added enough to get rid of the space, the teeth would look like tree stumps. huh?
sept home 011
Tess, the captive audience. She has to be cabled so she'll stay home, boring old home, instead of walking the bog with fascinating strangers--making new friends. I can't count the number of times people have brought her to the house, called to see if she made it home, etc. She has a tag with her name & address on it, but someone suggested I have a tag made that says "I'm Tess the Bog Dog and I know my way home."
One year she got a Christmas card addressed to Tess the Bog Dog. It was from some people in Texas who'd been vacationing in the Adks. They sent a picture of Tess with one of them. Interesting notion. I communicated with them for a while--they sent pictures of their cattle, a cross between long-horns and Angus. Good for meat and could withstand the heat. They said they worried about mountain lions, not things like raccoons or red squirrels, the way I do.
One year she got a Christmas card addressed to Tess the Bog Dog. It was from some people in Texas who'd been vacationing in the Adks. They sent a picture of Tess with one of them. Interesting notion. I communicated with them for a while--they sent pictures of their cattle, a cross between long-horns and Angus. Good for meat and could withstand the heat. They said they worried about mountain lions, not things like raccoons or red squirrels, the way I do.
sept home 016
Almost-frost on a tamarack. This was the other day. This morning the temp at my house was 36. I drove by a small patch of frosty pasture on my way to work. Run! Run! Run! it's coming.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
bluffs trail 09 2010 002
Cool shot, huh. This is drops of dew on a spider web in the early morning bog. If you pay attention, even just a little bit, you can see really great things along the boardwalk. The hardest part of taking a picture like this is keeping the dogs away. They're always sooooo interested in what I'm looking at, and they jiggle the grass, branch, whatever.
Today I walked a different way, a much longer walk. Through the woods (past the trail into the old girls' camp riding rings) a long, peaceful way until we hit the trail up the bluffs, then we went down the trail to the bog. Chances got pretty tired and huffed a lot. It was interesting to see how much both dogs perked up when we got to the bog. What, they don't want to try going a different way? what dorks.
Today I walked a different way, a much longer walk. Through the woods (past the trail into the old girls' camp riding rings) a long, peaceful way until we hit the trail up the bluffs, then we went down the trail to the bog. Chances got pretty tired and huffed a lot. It was interesting to see how much both dogs perked up when we got to the bog. What, they don't want to try going a different way? what dorks.
bluffs trail 09 2010 005
On of the great things about the bog is that you see so many things in so many different forms. This is just a plain old conifer, but it's covered with lichen. It looks prehistoric. Well, if you squint when you look at it
python or root?
This is just the root of a birch tree, but I thought it looked like a giant snake.
My good friend (well, do I have any bad friends?) Fred is phobic about snakes. He won't come to my house in the summer because he'll have to walk from the car to the house & there are lots of snakes in my woodpiles, grass, etc. Our friend Linda, long ago, before we knew of Fred's phobia, was renting F's camp and left a rubber snake on the path to the lake. Poor, poor Fred.
My good friend (well, do I have any bad friends?) Fred is phobic about snakes. He won't come to my house in the summer because he'll have to walk from the car to the house & there are lots of snakes in my woodpiles, grass, etc. Our friend Linda, long ago, before we knew of Fred's phobia, was renting F's camp and left a rubber snake on the path to the lake. Poor, poor Fred.
Friday, September 10, 2010
summer people? still here
As my friend Linda said this morning, "Aren't you getting tired of eating out?" Well, yes, a bit, but I always remind myself that I won't see these people until next year. Ken and I used to tell each other to visit with the summer people as much as we could because it would be a long, solitary winter. Right now that sounds just dandy. I love these people dearly, but enough is really enough. Dinner with people 3 nights this week. Quick stop at someone's house once, with an anticipated quick visit with Linda after work today. Linda will be here until mid-October, but that's coming up, isn't it.
Weather is very fall-like. Semi-warm days and in the 40's at night. My nights of staying in the boat house may be over. But then again, sometimes Sept. brings wonderful weather with sunny days and warm nights. No dock, so swimming is doubtful.
I'm taking Monday off from work (wait, I would take it off from something else?). Just needed a day to force myself to work on the house. Must dump pots of dead flowers that are on the deck, bring in the hummingbird feeder, hang the new, "squirrel-proof" bird feeder I bought for winter birds, and--this is crucial--do some work INSIDE the house. It looks as if someone lives in it but has never thought to put things away. I guess I'm home just long enough to toss stuff around but never long enough to clean it. I did tidy up a bit last weekend when someone came over to dig up horseradish and I thought she might want to come inside. I changed my mind when she arrived, and even though I knew she wanted to visit, I was a bad, bad friend and didn't invite her in. Not many people get to come inside my house--mostly I stand on the deck to visit with them. Winter presents a problem with that.
The sun is shining and it's a really nice autumn day. I guess--I can't see much from my desk, mostly the driveway and the wall of the public library next door. I'm leaving early, though--time for an oil change and rotating the tires. of the car. I think I must need new shocks by now, the bridge is out by my house and I've been driving the 4-mile stretch of pot-holed and washboarded dirt road to get around the river. Sometimes I go fast, believing I'm flying above the washboarding, mostly I go slower and listen to my car rattle. I can't guess how many bolts must need tightening.
I suppose it's time to get back to cataloging the Rugr*ts now. I have a bunch of books that are published, 2 to a volume, with one book upside down to the other one. TWICE as much cataloging for a single book. Brother--what torture will they think of next for us dorky catalogers?
Weather is very fall-like. Semi-warm days and in the 40's at night. My nights of staying in the boat house may be over. But then again, sometimes Sept. brings wonderful weather with sunny days and warm nights. No dock, so swimming is doubtful.
I'm taking Monday off from work (wait, I would take it off from something else?). Just needed a day to force myself to work on the house. Must dump pots of dead flowers that are on the deck, bring in the hummingbird feeder, hang the new, "squirrel-proof" bird feeder I bought for winter birds, and--this is crucial--do some work INSIDE the house. It looks as if someone lives in it but has never thought to put things away. I guess I'm home just long enough to toss stuff around but never long enough to clean it. I did tidy up a bit last weekend when someone came over to dig up horseradish and I thought she might want to come inside. I changed my mind when she arrived, and even though I knew she wanted to visit, I was a bad, bad friend and didn't invite her in. Not many people get to come inside my house--mostly I stand on the deck to visit with them. Winter presents a problem with that.
The sun is shining and it's a really nice autumn day. I guess--I can't see much from my desk, mostly the driveway and the wall of the public library next door. I'm leaving early, though--time for an oil change and rotating the tires. of the car. I think I must need new shocks by now, the bridge is out by my house and I've been driving the 4-mile stretch of pot-holed and washboarded dirt road to get around the river. Sometimes I go fast, believing I'm flying above the washboarding, mostly I go slower and listen to my car rattle. I can't guess how many bolts must need tightening.
I suppose it's time to get back to cataloging the Rugr*ts now. I have a bunch of books that are published, 2 to a volume, with one book upside down to the other one. TWICE as much cataloging for a single book. Brother--what torture will they think of next for us dorky catalogers?
sept 2010 017
The oh-so-often taken image of Alder Brook. I never get tired of looking at it--I don't know why, it's just a nice bunch of scenery.
The yellow flowers are Jerusalem artichokes, also called sunchokes. They grow wild all over the place and make big yellow swaths along the roadside. Very nice.
The yellow flowers are Jerusalem artichokes, also called sunchokes. They grow wild all over the place and make big yellow swaths along the roadside. Very nice.
sept 2010 016
Across the road from my driveway. It doesn't show very well, but there are a couple of sun-rays beaming down on the lake. I recently read a book in which the author said he thought these were messages from God when he was a child.
sept 2010 009
Ah, yes, the proverbial bog shot. I haven't been walking the bog as often as I'd like (and not nearly often enough to suit the dogs). I've also been able to keep Tess the Bog Dog at home, too, so she's being cheated out of her regular visits with strangers. And she hasn't been to the top of the bluffs, either. I don't go to the top of the bluffs, I'm afraid Chances, who can't see very well, will walk over the edge. Also, people tell me that Tess sometimes scares them at the top. And it's not because she's growling, either. She's a reckless little fool.
sept 2010 012
And here's proof that autumn is nearly here--the ferns in the bog are turning brown. I guess they do more than just turn brown, they sort of shrivel up as if they were dying. They don't die, though--they're back every spring.
Thursday, September 09, 2010
Grannie's house
Pardon the queer alignment, I'm having trouble changing it.
This is a picture from the early '60's, our annual visit to my grandmother's house in New Jersey. Notice:
the dolls are allowed to be at the table (my sister's is, I think, a Betsy Wetsy doll: mine, I think, is NOT). Even the cradle is allowed--on the table no less. Note my sister's shoes. How cute are they? I remember having shoes like that, mine were red. The glasses were red and were my grandmother's favorites. That is my mother on the right. She's cheerful, in spite of the look Grannie is giving my brother. Wonder what my brother has done to deserve such a look. You didn't have to do much to be looked at like that. When we were young, Grannie would take my sister and me to Lord & Taylor for lunch. Very fance, and we had to weare white gloves. I kid you not.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
update
I know, I know, it's been a long time.
I've been filling in for my clerk, who took a vacation. This has meant I don't have time to do my own job, let alone blog. Now I have a little time at the end of the day, though.
We're waiting for the bookmobile to return--some lady smacked it and reportedly did a lot of damage. She got the ticket, but how could she not see a bookmobile?
I've been busy at home, too. Lots of people around, lots of dinners, a wedding, cocktail hours, and lots of visiting. It's starting to tone down, though--people leave after Labor Day and it will be just the few hardy souls who stay into October. Plus the locals. I don't care how many months seasonal residents live here, they're still not locals. Sorry.
I went to a wedding on Saturday. It was nice, held on the shore at a huge lodge-type building. The former main building for a girls' camp that has long since closed. The bride is a friend, or actually the daughter of a friend. I went with my friend Joe (he's married, don't get interested in this) and we knew nobody there, out of 150 people, except for 5 other locals. The couple has a really nice German short-haired pointer, who of course was in the wedding. They dressed him up in a queer PetSmart doggie tuxedo, and he was the ring bearer. He behaved well, in spite of the 500 requests that he SIT to have his picture taken. He's a nice dog.
My dogs are fine. Tess is suffering from her annual ragweed reaction. Lots of itching. Touch her anywhere and she does that air-scratch with her hind leg. She's taking Prednisone but the ragweed is really prolific this year and it hasn't cured her condition. Me? I'm taking something for allergies, too. Not cortisone, something else, which helps most of the time. A library building full of dusty books is not a good place for an allergic person to spend time. Last week I spent a lot of time in the stacks, where many of the books are dusty. So much for a thorough weeding project, huh.
I had a cocktail party on Sunday. Doesn't "cocktail party" sound sophisticated, though? Well, it was a party, and we had cocktails. I had it in the living room at camp, where I'd built a really nice fire (in the fireplace, of course). About a dozen people, all very cheerful and happy to be together. I liked it a lot. In spite of the fact that we'd had a huge Sunday dinner at noon. It was fun to have a different group of people gathered, and I do like hosting these things.
Tonight I have NO PLANS. Tomorrow is a trip to Canton for a committee meeting, dinner with friends at Linda's. Thursday is dinner with other friends. Friday I'm taking the day off. I didn't get much done yesterday, Labor Day. I didn't labor much, but did clean the bathroom. A friend was coming to pick up something so I cleaned and tidied up a little. Then I didn' invite her in. I know she wanted to visit, but I was not in the mood. Bad friend, bad, bad friend.
I stayed at the boat house a few nights last week, but those days might have ended. It's cool at night, and I usually draw the line at 60 degrees. It's only supposed to be 50 at night this week. It was 40 one morning. Besides, my cousins took the docks out on Friday so it's hard to get in the water.
One of my work goldfish died. This is big news. Someone here brought in one from home. That one has some white, with orange lips, so we figure she must be a female. Anyone know how to tell a male goldfish from a female? I can tell guppies apart, but not the goldies.
I must be running out of things to write about. There should be more, and there is of course, but I have to get some more things done before the end of the day.
I've been filling in for my clerk, who took a vacation. This has meant I don't have time to do my own job, let alone blog. Now I have a little time at the end of the day, though.
We're waiting for the bookmobile to return--some lady smacked it and reportedly did a lot of damage. She got the ticket, but how could she not see a bookmobile?
I've been busy at home, too. Lots of people around, lots of dinners, a wedding, cocktail hours, and lots of visiting. It's starting to tone down, though--people leave after Labor Day and it will be just the few hardy souls who stay into October. Plus the locals. I don't care how many months seasonal residents live here, they're still not locals. Sorry.
I went to a wedding on Saturday. It was nice, held on the shore at a huge lodge-type building. The former main building for a girls' camp that has long since closed. The bride is a friend, or actually the daughter of a friend. I went with my friend Joe (he's married, don't get interested in this) and we knew nobody there, out of 150 people, except for 5 other locals. The couple has a really nice German short-haired pointer, who of course was in the wedding. They dressed him up in a queer PetSmart doggie tuxedo, and he was the ring bearer. He behaved well, in spite of the 500 requests that he SIT to have his picture taken. He's a nice dog.
My dogs are fine. Tess is suffering from her annual ragweed reaction. Lots of itching. Touch her anywhere and she does that air-scratch with her hind leg. She's taking Prednisone but the ragweed is really prolific this year and it hasn't cured her condition. Me? I'm taking something for allergies, too. Not cortisone, something else, which helps most of the time. A library building full of dusty books is not a good place for an allergic person to spend time. Last week I spent a lot of time in the stacks, where many of the books are dusty. So much for a thorough weeding project, huh.
I had a cocktail party on Sunday. Doesn't "cocktail party" sound sophisticated, though? Well, it was a party, and we had cocktails. I had it in the living room at camp, where I'd built a really nice fire (in the fireplace, of course). About a dozen people, all very cheerful and happy to be together. I liked it a lot. In spite of the fact that we'd had a huge Sunday dinner at noon. It was fun to have a different group of people gathered, and I do like hosting these things.
Tonight I have NO PLANS. Tomorrow is a trip to Canton for a committee meeting, dinner with friends at Linda's. Thursday is dinner with other friends. Friday I'm taking the day off. I didn't get much done yesterday, Labor Day. I didn't labor much, but did clean the bathroom. A friend was coming to pick up something so I cleaned and tidied up a little. Then I didn' invite her in. I know she wanted to visit, but I was not in the mood. Bad friend, bad, bad friend.
I stayed at the boat house a few nights last week, but those days might have ended. It's cool at night, and I usually draw the line at 60 degrees. It's only supposed to be 50 at night this week. It was 40 one morning. Besides, my cousins took the docks out on Friday so it's hard to get in the water.
One of my work goldfish died. This is big news. Someone here brought in one from home. That one has some white, with orange lips, so we figure she must be a female. Anyone know how to tell a male goldfish from a female? I can tell guppies apart, but not the goldies.
I must be running out of things to write about. There should be more, and there is of course, but I have to get some more things done before the end of the day.
100901 Naples and Torca 040
This is what it looked like where my sister was recently. She got to swim in the Mediterranean.
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