My sister is famous (in our family) for the first line of a poem she wrote in grade school--"It snowed last night for the first time this year." Well, today's the day that happened. We had barely a dusting, but it felt and looked cold. It was 30, which will feel warm soon enough.
I'm having good luck with my new stove but still struggle to keep a fire going all day. I got it right last night & there were good coals this morning, but that's the first time for that. I'm using an infrared heater at the back of the house (thanks to Barb for her input on that)--it's working out very well and gets the living room and bathroom toasty. I have a good feeling about being warm this winter.
Toward that end I'm planning to have someone put insulation under the floor, in the crawl space. I've got someone lined up, he's the son of a friend--I figure, if I could do it (20 years ago) anyone can. I need to go to Lowes and talk to the fools there about what kind of insulation to get, and then figure out how much I'll need. All too complicated and nothing that I want to deal with, but it should make a (nominal) difference.
I was supposed to have high-speed Internet installed this week, and took an afternoon off to meet the techie from Frontier, my local-yokel phone company. Well that was swell, except that "Doug" called to say he couldn't come that day after all. I tell so many of my details to so many people that I had to explain the whole thing to friends afterward--I don't know if I talk so much because I'm nervous, or because my mother used to make us "SAY SOMETHING NICE" at the dinner table every night, or I genuinely want to share details of my life with people. Probably living alone has something to do with it. Anyway, "Doug" will come next Saturday morning to do the installation. I'm the neighborhood guinea pig. We've all been waiting for years for Frontier to come through with something like this, but the summer people who are interested in it have all left, so I'll be the first in our group to try it out. I'm not optimistic, but it would be nice to have something better than dial access at home.
I've been out and about for work a bit lately, and have to do 2 presentations in Malone next week. Yesterday I was in Saranac Lake for a good workshop on appraising things for historical value. NOT monetary value, but for their appropriateness for archival collections. OK, so it sounds pretty boring, but it was good.
What's up for the weekend? Not much. A dump run, no doubt. Oh, and CLOSING THE BOAT HOUSE. I've been walking down there and taking care of things bit by bit, but need to drive there to collect bedding, towels, etc., and take the furniture off the porch. It's not a complicated or involved process, and I always put it off until it's too cold to be pleasant. I have sort of a head start this year, and there's not much else to do there.
The foliage is gone, except for the tamararcks, which are golden and lush. I have a pet tamarack tree near the house--it just appeared one year and is now quite tall and pretty. It got bent over one year because of snow and I tied it to another tree to straighten it out. That worked well and it's now at least 25' high and fairly straight. There was a row of huge tamaracks along the road on my property, but when they widened the road so the plow could fit (for me, only for me) they cut them down. I was distressed, but it was one of those life lessons, when you have to accept things that have happened. What's done is done. The trees were grand, but the plow's arrival after snowfalls is even better.
Dogs are fine. They seem to have more energy these days, maybe because it's colder. I gave a friend permission to take his son hunting on my land on Sat. He wants to teach his son, who's 14, how to sit still and wait for the deer to appear. I said there sure are plenty of deer on my land. They can't shoot anything right now, it's muzzle-loader season, but they'll be entertained I'm sure.
The neighborhood is quiet. If I got lonely, I'd be lonely right now at home. I don't get lonely, though, and don't get afraid, either. Someone drove into my driveway the other night, probably looking for a good place to jack deer, and that made me a bit nervous but truly I rarely worry about invaders. Life is peaceful and I'm happy.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Last of the color near Paul Smiths
Saw this on the way to Potsdam last week--the tamaracks are at peak, then it's all brown & gray until spring. Oh, and white.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
And the season comes to an end...
We had a great Columbus Day weekend--the weather couldn't have been better. Sunny and warm, with just enough color left in the woods to impress us. It wasn't as busy as some C.D. weekends have been, which was sort of nice. I didn't get to see all of the visitors but I did get some things done at home, and I had a WONDERFUL few hours reading on the boat house porch on Sunday. Wow was that nice.
I only saw the Neels briefly, which was too bad--they're wonderful people. I did see the Holts, who are also wonderful people. I had dinner with them on Sunday night. Poor Rush is totally frustrated by what's happening in Washington. Very disheartening. Annie had a great trip to Spain and is getting ready for retirement.
I walked the bog after the hordes of bog walkers left, on Monday. It was cloudy and drizzling but lovely. There was an unbelievable number of visitors to the bog over the weekend, which I guess is good. Hard for me to be enthusiastic about day trippers like that. Tess was good and stayed home, but she was tethered part of the time.
Saturday Jenica & Justin came with their dog Malcolm. He's huge and a sweetie. My dogs thought he was pretty imposing but also thought maybe he'd want to play with them. A bit of confusion on how to do that.
We went to Lin & Ralph's for the cider pressing. I had picked a ton of wild apples from my trees, which pleased Ralph (wild apples make the best cider). We stayed for a while and took home some cider. J & J wanted to see what Malcolm would do in the water so we walked to camp. What did he do? Walked right in, lay down, sat down, wallowed, swam--had a great time. After that we sat on the porch and visited for a while, which was pretty and nice. What great weather. They went home and I did...NOTHING. A quiet Sat. night.
Sunday I "helped" Rush & Annie take out their dock--barely did anything, but got to see people there. Another beautiful day. I ended up on the boat house porch in the afternoon, reading Border songs, which is a nice book. Well written. Boy do I like sitting on the porch there, the only person in the world.
I saw my cousins on Sunday--they came to camp looking for me. They're wonderful, have a camp on the other side of the lake but take good care of camp and me anyway. They always make an effort to visit with me when they're here, which is flattering. I really enjoy seeing them. I remember them as toddlers, which makes me feel very old--they're married with children of their own (well, as opposed to what? children of someone else?) now. They have nice wives and sweet children.
I had morning coffee with the Nadals, sitting by the lake in the sun--oh so very nice. They packed up, closed their camp and might come this winter.
Monday was a holiday, YAY so I did a few things at home. Had intended to close the boat house but I think it's just too warm for that. Wouldn't be closing time unless I have to wear a jacket. I managed to put plastic on 2 windows a the back of the house downstairs. My big effort at energy conservation. One year I did all the windows on the first floor, including the big living room windows. Not this year, but I do hope to do more--the kitchen window is broken and leaks, and the bathroom window doesn't quite close all the way, so those are contenders.
New stove is great. I conferred with Annie about fires and how to make the most of the stove--their stove is the same model but a bit older and, of course, not cobalt blue. I'm still figuring out this stove's burning habits. It's very different from my old stove, which I suppose is the point.
Today I have a webinar in the morning and will visit the AuSable Forks library in the afternoon. They have some things they think are archival and want my help to identify and classify them. Tomorrow I head to Canton for a meeting with people I like to see. Should be a pretty drive, too. Maybe I can stop at the farm stand in Nicholville. To get what?
Linda leaves tomorrow. Joe & Martha leave next week. And that's it for the 2013 season.
I only saw the Neels briefly, which was too bad--they're wonderful people. I did see the Holts, who are also wonderful people. I had dinner with them on Sunday night. Poor Rush is totally frustrated by what's happening in Washington. Very disheartening. Annie had a great trip to Spain and is getting ready for retirement.
I walked the bog after the hordes of bog walkers left, on Monday. It was cloudy and drizzling but lovely. There was an unbelievable number of visitors to the bog over the weekend, which I guess is good. Hard for me to be enthusiastic about day trippers like that. Tess was good and stayed home, but she was tethered part of the time.
Saturday Jenica & Justin came with their dog Malcolm. He's huge and a sweetie. My dogs thought he was pretty imposing but also thought maybe he'd want to play with them. A bit of confusion on how to do that.
We went to Lin & Ralph's for the cider pressing. I had picked a ton of wild apples from my trees, which pleased Ralph (wild apples make the best cider). We stayed for a while and took home some cider. J & J wanted to see what Malcolm would do in the water so we walked to camp. What did he do? Walked right in, lay down, sat down, wallowed, swam--had a great time. After that we sat on the porch and visited for a while, which was pretty and nice. What great weather. They went home and I did...NOTHING. A quiet Sat. night.
Sunday I "helped" Rush & Annie take out their dock--barely did anything, but got to see people there. Another beautiful day. I ended up on the boat house porch in the afternoon, reading Border songs, which is a nice book. Well written. Boy do I like sitting on the porch there, the only person in the world.
I saw my cousins on Sunday--they came to camp looking for me. They're wonderful, have a camp on the other side of the lake but take good care of camp and me anyway. They always make an effort to visit with me when they're here, which is flattering. I really enjoy seeing them. I remember them as toddlers, which makes me feel very old--they're married with children of their own (well, as opposed to what? children of someone else?) now. They have nice wives and sweet children.
I had morning coffee with the Nadals, sitting by the lake in the sun--oh so very nice. They packed up, closed their camp and might come this winter.
Monday was a holiday, YAY so I did a few things at home. Had intended to close the boat house but I think it's just too warm for that. Wouldn't be closing time unless I have to wear a jacket. I managed to put plastic on 2 windows a the back of the house downstairs. My big effort at energy conservation. One year I did all the windows on the first floor, including the big living room windows. Not this year, but I do hope to do more--the kitchen window is broken and leaks, and the bathroom window doesn't quite close all the way, so those are contenders.
New stove is great. I conferred with Annie about fires and how to make the most of the stove--their stove is the same model but a bit older and, of course, not cobalt blue. I'm still figuring out this stove's burning habits. It's very different from my old stove, which I suppose is the point.
Today I have a webinar in the morning and will visit the AuSable Forks library in the afternoon. They have some things they think are archival and want my help to identify and classify them. Tomorrow I head to Canton for a meeting with people I like to see. Should be a pretty drive, too. Maybe I can stop at the farm stand in Nicholville. To get what?
Linda leaves tomorrow. Joe & Martha leave next week. And that's it for the 2013 season.
Who's a pretty boy? Malcolm, of course!
That's Jenica & Justin's dog. He's very nice. Wallows in the water like a hippo.
008
Pretty view from the boat house deck. The leaves in the foreground belong to an oak tree that my father grew from an acorn he brought from RI. It got too big and my mother cut it down, but it refuses to die. Does this mean something?
009
Always a nice view--from the boat house porch. I didn't have a party there this Columbus Day. Just didn't seem to have the time.
Monday, October 07, 2013
Come and gone
I think our color peaked last week. We've lost a LOT of leaves in the past few days, and a windy day like today won't help. There's still color, but it's not that great. Or maybe it will be for people who haven't been here yet. Big crowd will come this weekend for Columbus Day.
I had a good weekend, enjoyed myself and was mildly productive. Thursday night I had dinner with Linda & Erd. + friends, Friday night Bill had a catered dinner at his camp that was WONDERFUL. He had a cook from his favorite restaurant come and cook a fantastic meal for us. Only problem was that Bill suffers from portion control issues and the servings were HUGE. Sat. Linda cooked a Thanksgiving dinner for Bill's birthday (same people as Friday night). That was delicious but a lot of food. Last night was book group at Linda's & she served another delicious meal. Yikes. I told Linda she wouldn't need to see me tonight but she invited me to stop for dinner so maybe I'll do that. They'll be leaving next week.
I picked a lot of wild apples by my driveway on Sat., which was fun. It was a really warm day, though cloudy, and I managed to pick 2 small bags. My friend is having a cider pressing this Saturday and they always like to have wild apples to add to the mix. There are still many, many apples on the trees--too high for me to reach so I'll whack them with a spade or something. The dogs wait patiently under the tree to be hit on the head with yummy apples. The apples are huge and wonderful this year, which is very different from last year's crop.
Book group was nice. We finished Isabel Allende and have selected our next book. We'll meet at Marylou's house and have Thanksgiving dinner. Her husband cooks a spectacular turkey with stuffing.
Yesterday I went to a yard sale with friends--the brother and sister-in-law of one of my friends are selling everything and moving to their place in Florida, so we picked over a lot of stuff at the end of the sale. I got a nifty blender for $5--I've been wanting a blender so this was perfect.
I stopped at the AuSable Forks library on Friday to pick up my keys. They were lost in a box of archival things that I delivered to the library earlier. I thought I was very clever to figure out that that's where the keys were. I hate losing keys.
Thursday night I'm having a friend come for dinner--I'm not sure he's ever been in my house and his wife isn't coming with him this week so I thought it would be nice to cook for him. What I'll cook is still a mystery. At least the house is moderately clean so that won't be a problem.
Raining hard right now, just as predicted. It's amazingly warm these days, and warm sunny days are predicted for the rest of the week. Yowie.
I had a good weekend, enjoyed myself and was mildly productive. Thursday night I had dinner with Linda & Erd. + friends, Friday night Bill had a catered dinner at his camp that was WONDERFUL. He had a cook from his favorite restaurant come and cook a fantastic meal for us. Only problem was that Bill suffers from portion control issues and the servings were HUGE. Sat. Linda cooked a Thanksgiving dinner for Bill's birthday (same people as Friday night). That was delicious but a lot of food. Last night was book group at Linda's & she served another delicious meal. Yikes. I told Linda she wouldn't need to see me tonight but she invited me to stop for dinner so maybe I'll do that. They'll be leaving next week.
I picked a lot of wild apples by my driveway on Sat., which was fun. It was a really warm day, though cloudy, and I managed to pick 2 small bags. My friend is having a cider pressing this Saturday and they always like to have wild apples to add to the mix. There are still many, many apples on the trees--too high for me to reach so I'll whack them with a spade or something. The dogs wait patiently under the tree to be hit on the head with yummy apples. The apples are huge and wonderful this year, which is very different from last year's crop.
Book group was nice. We finished Isabel Allende and have selected our next book. We'll meet at Marylou's house and have Thanksgiving dinner. Her husband cooks a spectacular turkey with stuffing.
Yesterday I went to a yard sale with friends--the brother and sister-in-law of one of my friends are selling everything and moving to their place in Florida, so we picked over a lot of stuff at the end of the sale. I got a nifty blender for $5--I've been wanting a blender so this was perfect.
I stopped at the AuSable Forks library on Friday to pick up my keys. They were lost in a box of archival things that I delivered to the library earlier. I thought I was very clever to figure out that that's where the keys were. I hate losing keys.
Thursday night I'm having a friend come for dinner--I'm not sure he's ever been in my house and his wife isn't coming with him this week so I thought it would be nice to cook for him. What I'll cook is still a mystery. At least the house is moderately clean so that won't be a problem.
Raining hard right now, just as predicted. It's amazingly warm these days, and warm sunny days are predicted for the rest of the week. Yowie.
Thursday, October 03, 2013
Looking across Chapel Pond
I drove to Albany & back yesterday so I got to see lots and lots of good color in the mountains. I think it might be peak in the mtns, though in other places there's still a lot of green. It was really pretty, though, driving through Keene and Keene Valley, and then on to Silver Lake. Where it's especially pretty.
Just about peak color from the Keene cemetery
I like this cemetery--it's almost as nice as the cemetery my family "uses." The view from this one is sure way better than the view from ours, though.
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