Tuesday, October 26, 2010
bog october 2010 002
The boardwalk in the bog, of course. I walk the dogs there every weekend. Yes, that's snow. Looks more like confectioners' sugar, though. I walked it nearly every morning in the summer, but it's too dark now. Who wants to take a morning walk using a flashlight? Well, The Ladies wouldn't mind, of this I'm sure.
bog october 2010 013
This is better, though it looks sort of more like a daisy than a paw print. I call them foot prints, but of course they're paw prints. I also call the dogs' muzzles their noses, their hind ends their butts, and I talk to them, pretending they understand all I say. They have a pretty good vocabulary. They come when I call "Ladies!". They know "get in your cage," "get in the car," "want to go for a walk?," "go to bed," "HUNGRY!" "EAT!", "DINNER TIME," "Want some LUNCH?", and of course MILK BONE. They are multi-lingual when it comes to Milk Bones. They know "treat," "biscuit," and Milk Bone.
bog october 2010 016
Chances waiting and observing, while Tess does her best imitation of The Flying Dog. Notice her ears. how cute.
The gold trees are tamaracks/larches. They're the last trees to offer color there. People often think tamaracks are fir trees, but they're deciduous. What look like needles are leaves, shed in the fall. They have the most beautiful bright, bright green color (what we used to call Tamarack Green) in the spring.
A friend of mine has a row of big tamaracks in front of her house. Nice. I used to have a bunch of them lining the road by my house, but the town cut them down to make room for the snow plow. How could I argue with that? I need to have the road plowed, but I really minded losing the trees. I'd been watching them grow for many years. They were proud trees. I have a lot of them growing on the north side of the house, where it must be damp, since they like to have their feet wet. I'm watching them get taller. There's one on the south side that's doing really well. It got all bent over from an early snow storm, but I tied it to another tree and it almost points straight to the sky now. I have a great fondness for that tree.
The gold trees are tamaracks/larches. They're the last trees to offer color there. People often think tamaracks are fir trees, but they're deciduous. What look like needles are leaves, shed in the fall. They have the most beautiful bright, bright green color (what we used to call Tamarack Green) in the spring.
A friend of mine has a row of big tamaracks in front of her house. Nice. I used to have a bunch of them lining the road by my house, but the town cut them down to make room for the snow plow. How could I argue with that? I need to have the road plowed, but I really minded losing the trees. I'd been watching them grow for many years. They were proud trees. I have a lot of them growing on the north side of the house, where it must be damp, since they like to have their feet wet. I'm watching them get taller. There's one on the south side that's doing really well. It got all bent over from an early snow storm, but I tied it to another tree and it almost points straight to the sky now. I have a great fondness for that tree.
bog october 2010 017
It's impossible NOT to take a lot of pictures of this. Not just the trees, but also Chances Are.
bog october 2010 036
Leaf of big-tooth aspen. How do I know we have those in Hawkeye? I learned a lot being married to a forester/logger. These are among the last leaves with color--the beeches are brown, and their leaves stay on all winter (I don't know why), other aspens are yellow and gold, and the few red oaks we have are (surprise!) red. And the tamaraks, of course.
bog october 2010 025
yes it's real. No, it's not alive. Tess found it, staring at it for a while, waiting for it to move.
bog october 2010 028
A future Christmas tree--this one shows great potential.
When I was married we would cut down 40-foot tall balsams (always balsams--our parents taught us that that's the only kind of tree appropriate for a Christmas tree) and cut off the top 6 or so feet to use for our trees. A few times we took friends along to get trees, and we always cut one for J's parents. Is this tree cruelty, wasteful? Not really--balsams only live so long, then they rot and fall down. How may balsam bodies did we leave in the forest? A lot. Mostly we took trees from our land (where I now live) and had to drag them out to the hardtop, half a mile. This was before the road was plowed so sometimes the snow was really deep. What dedication to tradition!
When I was married we would cut down 40-foot tall balsams (always balsams--our parents taught us that that's the only kind of tree appropriate for a Christmas tree) and cut off the top 6 or so feet to use for our trees. A few times we took friends along to get trees, and we always cut one for J's parents. Is this tree cruelty, wasteful? Not really--balsams only live so long, then they rot and fall down. How may balsam bodies did we leave in the forest? A lot. Mostly we took trees from our land (where I now live) and had to drag them out to the hardtop, half a mile. This was before the road was plowed so sometimes the snow was really deep. What dedication to tradition!
bog october 2010 030
This is what the riding ring used by the girls' camp now looks like. Birch trees are usually the first hardwood to start the process of reclaiming the forest.
When my sister and I were girls we were obsessed with horses. There was a girls' camp up the lake from us that had horses and the girls got to take riding lessons. We befriended the instructor, named "Mr. John," and would watch the riding lessons pretty much every morning. We got to be pretty well known, but only as "those two who watch us ride every day." There was a horse show at the end of the season, and we were introduced to the group by the camp's owner.
Our dream of riding in the ring came true the last year Mr. John was there. He let us ride our picks of the 7 or so horses he had (he owned the horses & brought them every summer), and for as long as we wanted. Talk about ecstasy!. We could never ride because of insurance, etc. liability. Now that I think of it, that was a little strange because they were HIS horses. Anyway, we had a grand time that day, it's something we both remember fondly.
My cousin, who sometimes accompanied us to the ring, found Mr. John not too long ago, got in touch with him & visited him. She photographed him and sent me a picture. I could recognize him, even 45 years later. How cool is that? Well not so strange when you consider he was someone who played a really important role in our lives. We learned a lot about riding and horses from him. Like, which diagonal you have the horse trot on, how to change leads when the horse is cantering, that horses bite, how to get into the saddle, and oh, so many oher things.
When my sister and I were girls we were obsessed with horses. There was a girls' camp up the lake from us that had horses and the girls got to take riding lessons. We befriended the instructor, named "Mr. John," and would watch the riding lessons pretty much every morning. We got to be pretty well known, but only as "those two who watch us ride every day." There was a horse show at the end of the season, and we were introduced to the group by the camp's owner.
Our dream of riding in the ring came true the last year Mr. John was there. He let us ride our picks of the 7 or so horses he had (he owned the horses & brought them every summer), and for as long as we wanted. Talk about ecstasy!. We could never ride because of insurance, etc. liability. Now that I think of it, that was a little strange because they were HIS horses. Anyway, we had a grand time that day, it's something we both remember fondly.
My cousin, who sometimes accompanied us to the ring, found Mr. John not too long ago, got in touch with him & visited him. She photographed him and sent me a picture. I could recognize him, even 45 years later. How cool is that? Well not so strange when you consider he was someone who played a really important role in our lives. We learned a lot about riding and horses from him. Like, which diagonal you have the horse trot on, how to change leads when the horse is cantering, that horses bite, how to get into the saddle, and oh, so many oher things.
bog october 2010 033
This is about all the evidence left to show there was ever horsey actvity around.
Tess is trying to figure out what it is, and why anyone would want a picture of it. As well she might.
Tess is trying to figure out what it is, and why anyone would want a picture of it. As well she might.
bog october 2010 041
And here's the cabin that Mr. John stayed in (can you find it?). Some friends of mine from the rival camp called it "Hernndo's Hideaway." It's up on a little rise. Very few people know that I own it, and probably even fewer know it exists. It used to be clearly visibile, but in my neighborhood everything disappears into the forest sooner or later.
bog october 2010 044
Here it is! It seems to be listing to one side--maybe it finally fell off of its cinder blocks.
Friday, October 22, 2010
sheep fall oct 2010 003
Not much color left. This is a pretty spot, part of Terry Mountain. There's a huge tower on top of the mountain, a TV station's. I met someone who changes the light bulb at the top of the tower. I can't imagine doing that, but the view from there must be amazing. The tower is tall, really tall.
sheep fall oct 2010 008
So, is it just because farm animals are curious, or is there something strange about me? This sheep is looking at me, staring at me. What's up with that?
These are sheep owned by my friends Lin & Ralph. L & R are good friends and I love visiting with them (not just because of the sheep). We've had a lot of meals together. L is a great cook, plus we used to go out for dinner every Friday night. R is notorious for always ordering the same thing: fried spring chicken. All I know about a spring chicken is that we use it to describe people. Like, I'm not one.
The structures on the hill are full of wood, cut and marked by R. He has a great collection of wood that will be used for making tops of guitars, violins, violas, cellos and other instruments. Adirondack wood is highy desireable. Heck, everything about the Adks is.
These are sheep owned by my friends Lin & Ralph. L & R are good friends and I love visiting with them (not just because of the sheep). We've had a lot of meals together. L is a great cook, plus we used to go out for dinner every Friday night. R is notorious for always ordering the same thing: fried spring chicken. All I know about a spring chicken is that we use it to describe people. Like, I'm not one.
The structures on the hill are full of wood, cut and marked by R. He has a great collection of wood that will be used for making tops of guitars, violins, violas, cellos and other instruments. Adirondack wood is highy desireable. Heck, everything about the Adks is.
sheep fall oct 2010 009
L & R's house. It's an old farmhouse, very pretty. We all agree it's much too close to the road, though.
sheep fall oct 2010 010
L & R's barn. Lin & I have spent a lot of time in the barn, playing with tiny baby lambs. Wait, that's over redundant and extra superfluous. Lambs are babies. Anyway, we used to pick them up and tickle their precious and cute little noses. Muzzles, snouts--whatever. Newborn lambs are wonderful. They don't have puppy breath, but are nice anyway.
sheep fall oct 2010 014
Tamaracks (aka larches) along the base of Silver Lake Mountain. That's the top of the mountain. Doesn't look like much of a mountain, does it.
sheep fall oct 2010 016
Nothing too dramatic about this angle, but those are the Silver Lake Mountain bluffs. No one ever walks along them even though they're just past the trail up the mountain. This mountain is a really popular spot--sometimes the parking lot at the trailhead is full. I don't like walking in the woods with a lot of strangers. heck, I'm not even that crazy about walking with my friends. I really do like solitude.
sheep fall oct 2010 017
The falls--water over the dam--at Union Falls this morning. I love to see such turmoil in water, and the dam usually just has a trickle going over it. We've had a lot of rain (duh). I listen to the noise my sump pump makes when the water table is high. Right now it's pumping away like mad--music to my ears. I can do laundry without worrying about the well, can leave the water running while I do dishes. These things are pretty reckless in my world.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
what is, is
Some sadness these days. The brother of someone I work with committed suicide last weekend. He was an addict, living in his car. I didn't ask how he did it, but she felt comfortable talking to me about it (because--guess what? my brother is dead, too). She's taking it well--no funeral now, a memorial service in the spring. That makes it a little hard, in my experience, to accept the death.
So I've been thinking about death and brothers. Hers was particularly sad because, in a suicide the survivors torture themselves about how they could have prevented it, what they could have done, etc. My brother's death, too, was a shock, but he was in what was one of the happiest times in his life. And it was pretty sudden--not totally, because he was close to death for a while (too long), but we were surprised that he had so much damage to his heart and circulatory system. That was a stunner, and put my sister and me into panics. We both had lots of tests and conferences with doctors after that--my brother's problems were congenital, and my father and grandmother had deadly arterial and heart problems. Both my sister and I passed our tests, but my cardiologist finally said that nothing he did would prove that I wouldn't prove that I might die of a heart attack any day. Thank you very much. Every chest pain is my heart getting ready to fail. not. I try not to worry about it--death comes when it comes.
ANYWAY: I feel the sorrow of this survivor, as anyone who's lost a sibling does. One of my therapists (yes, I've had more than one) said that the death of a family member is particularly sad--if your spouse dies you can remarry, but you only have one set of parents, and in my case, 2 (now 1) siblings. Oh how morbid this all is!
I'm not really feeling dreary, but have been thinking about death a bit. Mostly I'm pretty cheerful (dare I say perky?) and enjoying the change of seasons. All but the aspens and tamaracks have lost their leaves, which makes the world very brown and gray. This is a little disappointing--always a shocker after the cheerful and pretty colors of Sept. & Oct. I really like bare trees, though--you can look way into the forest, and it's so much quieter without those noisy leaves. Plus, of course, it's a step closer to winter. And we know that, once we get through winter spring will come. What??? Already thinking of next spring? Yes, always.
My friend Ken and I used to play "how many months of winter are left." He maintained that mid-February was the halfway point in winter, and he was right, by number of days. I prefer to think that February means we're closing in on spring, we just have to get through March (the ugliest month), then April will come. April can be not too bad, you can smell the earth losing its frost and thawing. Plus it's when the ice generally goes out. Anyway, I like to think that November and December aren't too dramatic. January and Feb. present some complications and problems, and can be monotonous even though there are wonderful things about snow filling up my world. So let's see ... that leaves, basically 3 months of winter. Jan., Feb., and March. If there is no really cold, miserable weather in Nov. & Dec. I can heat my house with just the wood stove and sometimes it gets too hot in the house. I can leave the door open when I'm home so the dogs can control their comings & goings. One December--and it was one year when my mother was visiting--the temperature was sub-zero for 14 straight days. And it was REALLY sub-zero. Fortunately we haven't had a repeat of that. so far.
I'm having fun at work, just placed a big book order of craft, cooking and holiday books. Although it's a lot of work, it's nice to search for something other than bestsellers to add to our collection. I'm also weeding a collection at one of our member libraries, and the director is actually discarding books, following me through the collection (chasing at my heels, even). That's really great fun.
So, although this may have begun sounding as if I'm miserable and sad, I'm truly happy. I accomplished a BIG and NOT FUN task yesterday when I got home from work: I closed the boat house. I put it off every year, not because it's particularly difficult, but because I don't like the way it looks when the furniture is in the front room instead of on the porch. Plus there are dirty dishes (mine, always mine) and the power's been shut off (not by me) so the contents of the refrigerator are pretty disagreeable. But, praise me, I got it all done last night. The car is full of dirty laundry and different forms of alcoholic beverages, but it's easier to empty a car than a boat house.
Yes, I'm doing well. Someone recently said I sound as down as she is. That's so not true.
So I've been thinking about death and brothers. Hers was particularly sad because, in a suicide the survivors torture themselves about how they could have prevented it, what they could have done, etc. My brother's death, too, was a shock, but he was in what was one of the happiest times in his life. And it was pretty sudden--not totally, because he was close to death for a while (too long), but we were surprised that he had so much damage to his heart and circulatory system. That was a stunner, and put my sister and me into panics. We both had lots of tests and conferences with doctors after that--my brother's problems were congenital, and my father and grandmother had deadly arterial and heart problems. Both my sister and I passed our tests, but my cardiologist finally said that nothing he did would prove that I wouldn't prove that I might die of a heart attack any day. Thank you very much. Every chest pain is my heart getting ready to fail. not. I try not to worry about it--death comes when it comes.
ANYWAY: I feel the sorrow of this survivor, as anyone who's lost a sibling does. One of my therapists (yes, I've had more than one) said that the death of a family member is particularly sad--if your spouse dies you can remarry, but you only have one set of parents, and in my case, 2 (now 1) siblings. Oh how morbid this all is!
I'm not really feeling dreary, but have been thinking about death a bit. Mostly I'm pretty cheerful (dare I say perky?) and enjoying the change of seasons. All but the aspens and tamaracks have lost their leaves, which makes the world very brown and gray. This is a little disappointing--always a shocker after the cheerful and pretty colors of Sept. & Oct. I really like bare trees, though--you can look way into the forest, and it's so much quieter without those noisy leaves. Plus, of course, it's a step closer to winter. And we know that, once we get through winter spring will come. What??? Already thinking of next spring? Yes, always.
My friend Ken and I used to play "how many months of winter are left." He maintained that mid-February was the halfway point in winter, and he was right, by number of days. I prefer to think that February means we're closing in on spring, we just have to get through March (the ugliest month), then April will come. April can be not too bad, you can smell the earth losing its frost and thawing. Plus it's when the ice generally goes out. Anyway, I like to think that November and December aren't too dramatic. January and Feb. present some complications and problems, and can be monotonous even though there are wonderful things about snow filling up my world. So let's see ... that leaves, basically 3 months of winter. Jan., Feb., and March. If there is no really cold, miserable weather in Nov. & Dec. I can heat my house with just the wood stove and sometimes it gets too hot in the house. I can leave the door open when I'm home so the dogs can control their comings & goings. One December--and it was one year when my mother was visiting--the temperature was sub-zero for 14 straight days. And it was REALLY sub-zero. Fortunately we haven't had a repeat of that. so far.
I'm having fun at work, just placed a big book order of craft, cooking and holiday books. Although it's a lot of work, it's nice to search for something other than bestsellers to add to our collection. I'm also weeding a collection at one of our member libraries, and the director is actually discarding books, following me through the collection (chasing at my heels, even). That's really great fun.
So, although this may have begun sounding as if I'm miserable and sad, I'm truly happy. I accomplished a BIG and NOT FUN task yesterday when I got home from work: I closed the boat house. I put it off every year, not because it's particularly difficult, but because I don't like the way it looks when the furniture is in the front room instead of on the porch. Plus there are dirty dishes (mine, always mine) and the power's been shut off (not by me) so the contents of the refrigerator are pretty disagreeable. But, praise me, I got it all done last night. The car is full of dirty laundry and different forms of alcoholic beverages, but it's easier to empty a car than a boat house.
Yes, I'm doing well. Someone recently said I sound as down as she is. That's so not true.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Ahhhhh.
So how am I doing, alone in my neighborhood? I love it. I have my solitary lifestyle, my incredible silence outside, pretty leaves, heavy mist on the lake in the morning. That's the only way I can see the lake right now, identified by the mist each morning. Water temp is dropping, but so is the air temp. I'm not right on the lake, but up a hill in the woods so I have a limited view of the water. I can see a big white plain in winter when the lake freezes and is covered by snow. White, very white.
The forest is reclaiming the land around my house. I should be conscientious about getting out there & cutting down small trees (they'll just get bigger and will block all the windows before they fall on the house and smash it). Jenica cut down a bunch a long time ago and it was wonderful. Looked great. I cut down a few but there's soooo much more to do. My friend Annie loves to run her chainsaw and has cut some of the bigger trees, promises to cut some more. She'll make good on that promise, she's a good and true friend.
I weeded the collection of one of our libraries yesterday. I like consultant visits to our libraries. Each one is different and special. This one has a pretty good adult non-fiction collection. Too many self-help books fer shure, but lots of nice gardening and dog books. Love those dog books. They also have a book on grey parrots and one on parolets. I couldn't figure out what parolets are, even after looking at the book. hmmmm.
The forest is reclaiming the land around my house. I should be conscientious about getting out there & cutting down small trees (they'll just get bigger and will block all the windows before they fall on the house and smash it). Jenica cut down a bunch a long time ago and it was wonderful. Looked great. I cut down a few but there's soooo much more to do. My friend Annie loves to run her chainsaw and has cut some of the bigger trees, promises to cut some more. She'll make good on that promise, she's a good and true friend.
I weeded the collection of one of our libraries yesterday. I like consultant visits to our libraries. Each one is different and special. This one has a pretty good adult non-fiction collection. Too many self-help books fer shure, but lots of nice gardening and dog books. Love those dog books. They also have a book on grey parrots and one on parolets. I couldn't figure out what parolets are, even after looking at the book. hmmmm.
peru 2010 017
This is Frog Hollow, on the Buck Hill Road in the neighborhood we lived in when I first moved here (26 years ago!). It's in the Town of Peru, which has lots of pretty views. This place is pretty in all seasons. There is a roaring sound of singing frogs in early spring. Hence the name, I guess.
OK, find the heron in the picture.
OK, find the heron in the picture.
peru 2010 013
The view from the road to Frog Hollow. It was a very pretty neighborhood, full of good scenery and nice people.
peru 2010 012
More of the view. That's Whiteface on the left. You can see it from all over the area, easy to spot because of its shape. And the area where there was a big slide, hence the name. White face.
peru 2010 010
A large part of the neighborhood is farm land. Dairy cows, mostly. These are special cows, though--belted Galloway cows, also called Belties. (watch, now everyone who's looking for information on the breed will find their way to this blog). They're really pretty and rare. Not many left in the US, originally from Scotland.
Check out the cow in the middle--she's very interested in what I'm doing. Look pretty for the picture, cowgirl.
Check out the cow in the middle--she's very interested in what I'm doing. Look pretty for the picture, cowgirl.
peru 2010 004
The view from the Fred Thew Road. Lots of roads here are named after people, first and last name. The Barney Downs Road. As opposed to Hawkeye, where we just have Laundry Lane and plain old Silver Lake Road, Old Hawkeye Rd., etc.
I named the Old Hawkeye Road--when we got 911ed they renamed the roads (my road had no name before that). The town decided my road should be Girls Camp Road. This did NOT please people who'd gone to the co-ed' camp (the girls' camp was a rival camp of the camp most of my friends went to). Bill came over one day and asked if we would speak to the town about changing the name of the road. He wanted Hawkeye to be somewhere in the name, so I picked Old Hawkeye. Now I wish I'd just called it Hawkeye Road--I don't have the foresight to realize what a drag it is to have a road wth 2 words. Like ... Old, yes that's right, Hawkeye (spell the word here), 2 separate words, Road. I do like the sound of my address, though.
I named the Old Hawkeye Road--when we got 911ed they renamed the roads (my road had no name before that). The town decided my road should be Girls Camp Road. This did NOT please people who'd gone to the co-ed' camp (the girls' camp was a rival camp of the camp most of my friends went to). Bill came over one day and asked if we would speak to the town about changing the name of the road. He wanted Hawkeye to be somewhere in the name, so I picked Old Hawkeye. Now I wish I'd just called it Hawkeye Road--I don't have the foresight to realize what a drag it is to have a road wth 2 words. Like ... Old, yes that's right, Hawkeye (spell the word here), 2 separate words, Road. I do like the sound of my address, though.
peru 2010 002
Here's the house we lived in. Great porch, plenty of room inside, creek in the front yard. It's an old schoolhouse. We were happy there, had a nice chicken coop. One big drawback was that it's right next to the road. The farmer next door used to ride by on his tractor and wave to us while we were sitting in the living room. A little close for comfort.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Season's end
I hate to sound unkind, but FINALLY, AT LAST, the summer people have left. Now I can get on with my life. The weekend was too hectic, dinners with friends every night. Time for me to get back on my Wt.Watchers program, that's for sure. That's one reason I'm happy to have the neighborhood back. The weekend was nice but there were plenty of hikers and peepers around. I saw, oh, about 5 groups of friends. There will be a set of visitors next weekend, to finish closing their camp, but I'll only visit with them briefly. Two very elderly and frail people and their son & his wife. Very nice people, I've know them for a long time.
I've know many people here for a long time. I'm sort of amazed at the number of friends I have around the neighborhood, how long I've known them for, and my social life in general. I always think of myself living a solitary life--never lonely, but happily enjoying solitude.
It was a time for everyone to close camp over the weekend, which meant that I got the contents of almost everyone's refrigerators. Like, half a jar of corn relish (I hate corn relish), two half-full cartons of very old ice cream (thank goodness for greedy dogs), 2 half-full jars of peanut butter (ditto the dogs--trying to get the p'nut butter out of the jars kept them busy for a very, very long time, then add to that the amount of time they spent licking the smears from their legs and paws and noses), 2 half-full containers of ketchup, stale bagels, half full containers of pickle relish (too many to count), mustard, half a jar of mayo, a stick of butter--oh heck, I could go on for a long time. Anyway, I'll have a big bunch of stuff to take to the dump this week. I went there on Saturday. It's always so satisfying to go to the dump. Get rid of magazines & catalogs, piles of newspapers, bags of plastic, tin and glass containers, plus a nice chat with a very pleasant dump lady. We have a relatively new dump person, she's too young to be called a lady. It costs $4 for a big bag of garbage $2 for a small one. I never have much to take there: I feed leftovers to the dogs and I burn paper (HORRORS!).
I have 3 dirty fish tanks to attend to. 2 here at work and one at home. It's a banner year for algae. The goldfish don't seem to mind but it's getting harder and harder to see them through the green yuck on the sides of the tank. The tank at home is a mess, too, plus I only have 2 tetras left. The heater doesn't work right so they were very slow & cold until I messed with the heat. Boy did they perk up when the water got warmer!
I'm trying to decide what to put in the tank at home. 2 years ago my mother & Mark had 5 goldfish in a tank. They schooled and were beautiful. Though I'm not fond of goldfish, those guys were a lot of fun to watch. Which is one reason my mother didn't want the tank once they died. Mark would sit at the dinner table and instead of talking to my mother he'd stare at the fish.
The fish were what we call "feeder fish," small goldfish that are meant to be eaten by others. They tend to die young. That's what my mother & Mark have in their fish pond, lots of feeders. Mark does this remarkable and fancy dinner thing where he covers the table with plastic & mirrors, then fills it with water & puts a bunch of feeder fish in it. It's the coolest thing. The plates are elevated, of course. Candles to reflect the sparkle. Really great. Once my exhusband and I were treated to the dinner. Exhus refused to believe that the feeder fish would die quickly. There were 50 of them for that dinner. We had to buy a big goldfish bowl & other stuff so we could take the fish home--J. always was one who has to prove his point. On the way home 14 died. Over the next few days a bunch more died. Like, a big bunch. Finally we were down to 2, then of course one. Mark is too polite to say I told you so, but really ...
I've know many people here for a long time. I'm sort of amazed at the number of friends I have around the neighborhood, how long I've known them for, and my social life in general. I always think of myself living a solitary life--never lonely, but happily enjoying solitude.
It was a time for everyone to close camp over the weekend, which meant that I got the contents of almost everyone's refrigerators. Like, half a jar of corn relish (I hate corn relish), two half-full cartons of very old ice cream (thank goodness for greedy dogs), 2 half-full jars of peanut butter (ditto the dogs--trying to get the p'nut butter out of the jars kept them busy for a very, very long time, then add to that the amount of time they spent licking the smears from their legs and paws and noses), 2 half-full containers of ketchup, stale bagels, half full containers of pickle relish (too many to count), mustard, half a jar of mayo, a stick of butter--oh heck, I could go on for a long time. Anyway, I'll have a big bunch of stuff to take to the dump this week. I went there on Saturday. It's always so satisfying to go to the dump. Get rid of magazines & catalogs, piles of newspapers, bags of plastic, tin and glass containers, plus a nice chat with a very pleasant dump lady. We have a relatively new dump person, she's too young to be called a lady. It costs $4 for a big bag of garbage $2 for a small one. I never have much to take there: I feed leftovers to the dogs and I burn paper (HORRORS!).
I have 3 dirty fish tanks to attend to. 2 here at work and one at home. It's a banner year for algae. The goldfish don't seem to mind but it's getting harder and harder to see them through the green yuck on the sides of the tank. The tank at home is a mess, too, plus I only have 2 tetras left. The heater doesn't work right so they were very slow & cold until I messed with the heat. Boy did they perk up when the water got warmer!
I'm trying to decide what to put in the tank at home. 2 years ago my mother & Mark had 5 goldfish in a tank. They schooled and were beautiful. Though I'm not fond of goldfish, those guys were a lot of fun to watch. Which is one reason my mother didn't want the tank once they died. Mark would sit at the dinner table and instead of talking to my mother he'd stare at the fish.
The fish were what we call "feeder fish," small goldfish that are meant to be eaten by others. They tend to die young. That's what my mother & Mark have in their fish pond, lots of feeders. Mark does this remarkable and fancy dinner thing where he covers the table with plastic & mirrors, then fills it with water & puts a bunch of feeder fish in it. It's the coolest thing. The plates are elevated, of course. Candles to reflect the sparkle. Really great. Once my exhusband and I were treated to the dinner. Exhus refused to believe that the feeder fish would die quickly. There were 50 of them for that dinner. We had to buy a big goldfish bowl & other stuff so we could take the fish home--J. always was one who has to prove his point. On the way home 14 died. Over the next few days a bunch more died. Like, a big bunch. Finally we were down to 2, then of course one. Mark is too polite to say I told you so, but really ...
casey road 10 11 2010 001
Looking back from Laundry Lane, toward the hardtop. My aunt used to call the hardtopped road "the macadam." She also called avocadoes "alligator pears." She was a funny thing, my father's sister. She and he were very close, the youngest in the family. There was a 5-year difference in their ages, my father being the youngest of 5. His oldest brother was, I think, 10 years older than he was. Or than him, if you want to speak modernese English.
casey road 10 11 2010 003
Laundry Lane, on the way to Linda's camp. It's a pretty lane, dirt road, of course. Not very long at all, but a pretty jog through the woods.
casey road 10 11 2010 005
Mystery shot. Heavy fog/mist from the falls. This is water over the dam at Union Falls. It was so cold this morning that the water created a heavy mist.
casey road 10 11 2010 006
So, like, does this look clearer, easier to identify? No, about the same I'd say.
casey road 10 11 2010 012
Ah yes, the infamous Casey Road. The washboard effect isn't as bad--plenty of traffic on a muddy road has pressed down the ripples some. Still lots of potholes.
The foliage (called, by some "foilage") is certainly past peak, but the browns and yellows are still pretty. Last to come along will be the aspens, tamaracks, poplars and birches. I'm sort of happy to get the foilage over with, now we can move on to the next thing. November. Very brown but boy can you see a long way into the woods.
The foliage (called, by some "foilage") is certainly past peak, but the browns and yellows are still pretty. Last to come along will be the aspens, tamaracks, poplars and birches. I'm sort of happy to get the foilage over with, now we can move on to the next thing. November. Very brown but boy can you see a long way into the woods.
casey road 10 11 2010 015
My picture of the day. This is Lyon Mountain, standing proud behind Dannemora Mountain. Foreground is a frosty meadow. We had a great frost overnight. Temp at home was 29 degrees at 7:00. Still hasn't killed my cosmos, which is nice because there are tons of buds on the plants. For some reason they're peaking now.
Friday, October 08, 2010
FRIDAY FRIDAY FRIDAY
And even better, it's a 3-day weekend. Not supposed to call it Columbus Day. I can't remember what the correct name is. All I remember is that I don't have to come to work on Monday. There are several things I hope to (HOPE to) get done this weekend: close the boat house, mow the lawn (? a big maybe), go to the dump, laundry, clean--well, MY definition of clean--the house. At least get the kitchen in shape. Cleaning the refrigerator, however wonderful an achievement that was, doesn't count as cleaning the whole kitchen.
I took cans & bottles to the "redemption center." Why can't they call it something else, like "nickel trickle," or "return your valuables here," or something more entertaining. No, wait, Redemption Center is pretty entertaining. I always feel so redeemed when I dump off 150 cans & bottles & get money in return. Never mind that I've already paid for the stuff and it's just a refund--it always feels like a gift. yeah, right.
Busy weekend, as Columbus Day always is. The last hurrah for summer people. Dinner at Linda's tomorrow to celebrate Bill's 65th birthday. Dinner Sunday at someone else's. I offered to make cheesecake for that one. Why did I do that? Linda's going to get rid of her strawberries by making a rhubarb-strawberry topping. She's having a hard time emptying her fridge and freezer. She bought half a pig this season and it turned out to be more pork than humans can consume. What's for dinner Sat. night? gee, pork maybe? Smoked turkey Sunday night. We're a predictable group, we are.
I spent a lot of time this week with good friends from Minnesota. They have a camp down the hill from my house and they are some of my favorite people. It was nice to have some quiet visiting time with them, just us without a crowd for dinner, cocktails, whatever. They left yesterday. Others left this morning. Linda leaves Tuesday. Fred won't be there much longer, nights are cold and it's hard to get his camp warm. Not fun.
I've been having fires in the stove, so nice to burn dry wood in a clean stove with a clean stovepipe. It actually warms up the house. Ahhhhhh. I need to figure out what to do under the house. The house is built on posts so there's space between the ground & the bottom of the house. The ground is covered with plastic and there was insulation between the floor joists, but the insulation is dripping down. Looks like crap but worse, makes the house colder. I can put up more insulation but I'd like to find another way of doing it. I hate working with insulation. Ah, the joys of home ownership. And living alone.
I don't live alone--I have many pets. The dogs are fine, very patient with me when I spend so much time away from home. The cat, previously apathetic, now seems to care if I'm home or not. She likes my lap. Astonishing, for a cat who cares only about food and a place far from humanity. The fish are problematic. The heater in the aquarium seems not to work anymore so the water is chilly for the poor tetras. There was a massive fish kill when I changed the water, then the new ones got too cold and crossed the rainbow bridge. Except for 2 hardy souls. They look pretty pathetic but are determined to survive I guess. So the ratio of dead to living in my house is 5:2. Not great odds for an innocent fish.
I did a workshop on weeding library collections this week. I did a Powr Pt presentation, passing out copies of course, so the audience could read along. It was well received and I've already had one request to travel to a library & weed the collection there. Success! Our libraries tend to have outdated non-fiction collections that don't circulate and are in bad shape, crammed tight on the shelves. Not appealing. One library director reported gleefully that she'd tossed the Princess Di biographies, as I used as an example of what one might consider no longer necessary in a collection. Biographies can stand to be weeded pretty often--do we really want an old autobiography of Patty Duke?
I get to leave at 3 today (yahoo) for a doctor's appointment. I'd even rather be in a doctor's office than at my desk, how pathetic is that. I got my flu shot this week, then had a sore throat the next day. OH NO!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!! No, nothing happened.
Time to get back to MARC records and authority control.
I took cans & bottles to the "redemption center." Why can't they call it something else, like "nickel trickle," or "return your valuables here," or something more entertaining. No, wait, Redemption Center is pretty entertaining. I always feel so redeemed when I dump off 150 cans & bottles & get money in return. Never mind that I've already paid for the stuff and it's just a refund--it always feels like a gift. yeah, right.
Busy weekend, as Columbus Day always is. The last hurrah for summer people. Dinner at Linda's tomorrow to celebrate Bill's 65th birthday. Dinner Sunday at someone else's. I offered to make cheesecake for that one. Why did I do that? Linda's going to get rid of her strawberries by making a rhubarb-strawberry topping. She's having a hard time emptying her fridge and freezer. She bought half a pig this season and it turned out to be more pork than humans can consume. What's for dinner Sat. night? gee, pork maybe? Smoked turkey Sunday night. We're a predictable group, we are.
I spent a lot of time this week with good friends from Minnesota. They have a camp down the hill from my house and they are some of my favorite people. It was nice to have some quiet visiting time with them, just us without a crowd for dinner, cocktails, whatever. They left yesterday. Others left this morning. Linda leaves Tuesday. Fred won't be there much longer, nights are cold and it's hard to get his camp warm. Not fun.
I've been having fires in the stove, so nice to burn dry wood in a clean stove with a clean stovepipe. It actually warms up the house. Ahhhhhh. I need to figure out what to do under the house. The house is built on posts so there's space between the ground & the bottom of the house. The ground is covered with plastic and there was insulation between the floor joists, but the insulation is dripping down. Looks like crap but worse, makes the house colder. I can put up more insulation but I'd like to find another way of doing it. I hate working with insulation. Ah, the joys of home ownership. And living alone.
I don't live alone--I have many pets. The dogs are fine, very patient with me when I spend so much time away from home. The cat, previously apathetic, now seems to care if I'm home or not. She likes my lap. Astonishing, for a cat who cares only about food and a place far from humanity. The fish are problematic. The heater in the aquarium seems not to work anymore so the water is chilly for the poor tetras. There was a massive fish kill when I changed the water, then the new ones got too cold and crossed the rainbow bridge. Except for 2 hardy souls. They look pretty pathetic but are determined to survive I guess. So the ratio of dead to living in my house is 5:2. Not great odds for an innocent fish.
I did a workshop on weeding library collections this week. I did a Powr Pt presentation, passing out copies of course, so the audience could read along. It was well received and I've already had one request to travel to a library & weed the collection there. Success! Our libraries tend to have outdated non-fiction collections that don't circulate and are in bad shape, crammed tight on the shelves. Not appealing. One library director reported gleefully that she'd tossed the Princess Di biographies, as I used as an example of what one might consider no longer necessary in a collection. Biographies can stand to be weeded pretty often--do we really want an old autobiography of Patty Duke?
I get to leave at 3 today (yahoo) for a doctor's appointment. I'd even rather be in a doctor's office than at my desk, how pathetic is that. I got my flu shot this week, then had a sore throat the next day. OH NO!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!! No, nothing happened.
Time to get back to MARC records and authority control.
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
slmtn oct 001
The dam at Union Falls, the next lake east of us. Ah yes, water over the dam. It's usually just a trickle, but this was after the big rain we had last week. There's a power station here, 2 friends of mine run it.
slmtn oct 003
The infamous Casey Road. Dirt, bumpy, full of potholes, but I still like driving on it. Rattles your bones.
It's pretty, though, and you rarely see another vehicle on it's 4-mile stretch. The longest 4 miles you can imagine.
It's pretty, though, and you rarely see another vehicle on it's 4-mile stretch. The longest 4 miles you can imagine.
slmtn oct 004
honk, honk, honk. Everyone likes hearing and seeing the geese. We're way past our "Oh not, a sign f fall." Now we just enjoy the geese. We heard a big, loud flock the other night. Couldn't see them, which was funny because they were so loud and it was such a big flock.
slmtn oct 005
The view from my deck. Sunday there was ice on my stairs and I forgot I was wearing my slippery slippers. Slipped in my slippers all the way down the stairs. Ouch. I tryto be so careful going down those stairs, but an accident is an accident. I ended up with the biggest, darkest bruise on my butt cheek. It still hurts to sit down.
slmtn oct 013
The far shore. Lots of people mind that the mountain is named Douglas. The Douglases are not popular in the neighborhood. It's a long story.
slmtn oct 015
Past peak, the colors are, but the mountain still looks good. Water looks cold, which it is. Chances can attest to it, bug Princess Tess didn't even get her feet wet.
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