Adirondacks

Maybe a Mabey Bridge

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The bridge separating from shore

 

 

We spoke with engineers last week about our closed bridge.  I thought they told us we may be  getting a new bridge.  Or we were maybe getting a bridge.  But what they were actually talking about was a Mabey Support Bridge as a stopgap measure.  It seems like it arrives, prefabricated and is rolled over the new bridge relying on a longer portion of the road as its support.   It’s a good thing too because the rain we had the past couple of days is really undermining the support and the adjacent road.  Our neighbors walked home last night and luckily missed this new gaping 15 foot deep hole.

 

 

 

Since the High Peaks were closed this weekend, we explored our backyard and the views were beautiful.   We walked up to a very large beaver pond behind our house.  The dam raised the water level by six feet and the beavers had worked on some enormous trees.  Now it explains why I heard a tree fall one day from home.

The view above our house

Beaver dam with pond behind it

 

Tim dwarfed by an abandoned log

Tree fungi

 

What would a beaver outing be without some fungi?

Whose stool?

After Irene – reduce, reuse and recycle

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Since we’ve been home, I have reduced, reused and recycled. But not enough. Especially since we’ll have to haul trash ourselves since our bridge is closed to cars and garbage trucks.

While I am hopeful the bridge will reopen to cars someday, when it does, it may not allow heavy vehicles like garbage trucks to cross. Yesterday, I stopped a UPS driver and asked him how much his truck weighed.  He had no idea.  If we can’t get UPS deliveries and can’t shop online, I may have to move. 

But back to our trash. I reduce – we buy no processed foods, which means way less packaging and we eat healthy foods. I reus e and recycle – old sheets become rugs, dog hair is spun into yarn and duct tape becomes all sorts of wonderful gifts for Tim.  I sort and haul our recycleables to the “transfer station”.  

However, for one reason or another, we never composted. It was literally a dirty word for a while because we spent one summer and a month last year at a lighthouse with indoor composting toilets, which we ultimately stopped using because we couldn’t find the happy balance.

We gingerly composted in Australia with some success but were reluctant to start at home. It’s too cold, we don’t have a garden, we’ll attract deer, rats or even worse, bears. But these times call for desperate measures.Our deluxe compost bin

After Irene – We’re the lucky ones

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We sat comfortably in our dry house during the storm and listened to the wind whistling through the trees.  I thought we might lose power and made dinner early, since we only have a small generator, which couldn’t power the well pump or stove.  The power flickered on and off and was out for about a half hour. To prevent a mess in the freezer, I finished what was left of the half gallon of ice cream stored there. Then the power returned.  We got a call from neighbors to let us know our dead end street was under water from the river a half mile away.  We donned our foulies and headed out.  We didn’t get far.  We live atop a hill but when we got down to river level, we were walking through a three foot deep, rushing stream.  The road was flooded, with more water streaming onto it, for a half mile and I was unwilling (perhaps unable) to forge against the current to check out the bridge over the actual river, which is our only way to and from our house.

Our road becomes river road

Thigh high

By morning, the water had receded but washed out the road.  No problem.  I had my bike and walked/rode it down the street, over the bridge and merrily made my way to work.  I passed major road erosion, downed trees and detours and closed roads.  I stopped at the food store on my way home and by the time I got back to my road, it was already repaired – filled and graded with sand and stone.

We are amazed to see the amount of damage Irene caused in the North Country.  Neighboring towns have extensive flooding, small brooks flooded with the 11 inches of rain and became locomotives tearing things down along the way — roads, bridges and houses.  The entire Eastern High Peaks, where we camped last week, are closed because of washouts, flooding and limited access.

Yesterday a NY State Trooper pulled into the driveway to tell me the State DOT had inspected our bridge and found damage and was closing it until it’s repaired.   How long? Can’t say.  So for now, we’ve left our cars on the other side of the bridge and will ride our bikes or walk to them.   We are used to this after spending a winter on Fire Island where we had to ride two miles to our cars.  But we had garbage pickup.   I haven’t figured out how we’ll haul our trash out.

The bad news

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Fun and Games

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Yeah, it’s the holidays and family is starting to arrive.  Cooper and Liz were our first guests and we had a great visit.  I felt like a tourist at home.  We wanted to see ski jumping but it was 0 degrees F and the wind was blowing too hard – some things never change – and the event was postponed.  No worries.  We had our own events.  We went to the Olympic Museum,  went ice skating, tested beer and played darts at a microbrewery, soaked in the hot tub and played Cranium.  Oh yes and ate nonstop.
I’ve owned Cranium for years but never played it. My first game made me own up to my aging eyes and admit that I need to wear reading glasses.  I thought the sculpture clues were particularly hard when I had to sculpt UPS.  I moaned  and worked the clay.  Cooper and Liz looked at each other like I was nuts.  I made a truck, a package, an envelope, opened the envelope and then my time was up.   Liz said she could have made the clue, LIPS, in seconds.  No point for the home tea m.  Doesn’t UPS look just like LIPS?
The Weary Travelers
On the Ice at Lake Placid

Cubs at the pub

A fine example of a well cropped photo discreetly shot. The real subject was Liz to the right.

Icing on the cake

I think I need to Zumba

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I’m finding it hard to exercise here.  First of all the days are short but I think we turned the corner a few days ago.  Sunset is currently around 4:30 and I often don’t have my act together by then. Need to eat, drink water, can’t be too full.  Yesterday we took a nice walk in the woods with snowshoes.   I’m very particular though.  Temperature has to be just right, I don’t like going out to play when it’s 0 F.  Snow is OK but I don’t like it to rain on my activity.  The hike shouldn’t be too easy but can’t be too strenuous.  If skiing, no sharp turns on a downhill.  And I shouldn’t see too many dismembered body parts along the way like we did yesterday.  We came across a deer, sans head and coat.  Further along, I spotted an arm bone (humerus) and wing bone (scapula).  Tim says all i do is complain.  It looked like it was being cleaned by the local coyotes.  The Zumba form of exercise is becoming more and more appealing.

Woodie in the Woods

Snow Flower

Warm hot tub

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Once again, it’s all about timing.  We ordered a real hot tub and are trying to give away the claw foot one.  The excavator came the day before our major snowfall and said, wait until the spring thaw to set up it’s final resting place.  So here it is…in our driveway.  At least it’s pretty private.  Next problem, setting it up.  First we had an air lock and no water spewed forth from the jets.  We figured this out in the dark when it was about 10 degrees outside.  This meant it also wasn’t heating – after it was filled, luckily, with hot water from our outside tap.  So I had a mildly sleepless night thinking about our new hot tub freezing out there.  The water temp only fell to 80 degrees but not warm enough for my taste.  After about 10 phone calls to the manufacturer and 3 trips to hardware stores, Tim fixed it and this morning, 3 days later, it’s 103 degrees.  When Chelsea and I were in New Zealand, one town boasted tepid springs.  Now I know what they are talking about.

Avatar 3D

We saw Avatar this week.  Not to be missed.  I laughed, I cried and I spent $20 for matinee tickets.

Touch mohair scarf

This is knit from yarn I bought in New Zealand.  I love it!  Very light and warm.  Maybe I’ll wear it in the hot tub.



I’m on a Knitpicks Podcast!

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This is very exciting.  More exciting than being interviewed on TV or the Radio for medical issues because this is a KNITTING podcast.  I’m interviewed by Kelley Petkun in the last third of the episode for you non knitters.  Actually it’s more about my knitting disasters than any knitting prowess but it was fun.  Any of you that have received knitted gifts from me know what I am talking about.  I was interviewed by phone while sitting on a pier in Salem, MA after we had moved off our lighthouse caretaking stint and were in the process of provisioning the boat.

This is the first knitting podcast I listened to while commuting to Manhattan by train and it remains one of my favorites.  I have learned a lot from it.  Oddly enough, now that I am sort of retired, it is harder to listen to because I don’t have dedicated downtime and my internet connection is less than ideal.

It’s all about timing and trust

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We went to watch the Nordic Combined competition today at Lake Placid.  Participants were from around the world and they were vying for spots on their Olympic teams as well as endorsements from sponsors.  First they jump off a 90m ski jump at about 60 mph and travel 80 – 95 meters before landing.    Happily there were no agonies of defeat.  Then somehow (using the Gunderson method) the ski jump score is weighted and they compete in a 10k cross country ski race.  The start times are staggered based upon the score from the ski jump – the best start first – so that the winner of the cross country race is the ultimate winner.  Unbelievable how fast they fly overhead.  I tried to snap some photos but missed a lot and never really captured their speed .  Their grunts and the rush of the wind was incredible.
We took the elevator up to the top of the 120m jump, which wasn’t in use, and watched from there a bit.  The views of the High Peaks was great.  It was a balmy 14 degrees so with about 20 layers of clothes on, and lots of knit and woven wear, I was toasty.

Oops I missed

View from the top

Right place and time

After the races, we stopped at a sugar house to buy some syrup.  Despite some problems with navigation, we made it there.  The shop keeps costs down by not paying anyone to man the store and relies on the honor system.  They must not read the Press Republican.   There was a lot of money in the till when we got there.

Trusting Maple Sugar Shop

Home sweet home

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Looks tranquil doesn’t it?  Not according to the local paper.  We can only get one local paper, the Press Republican, delivered daily.  I may stop reading it.  It has about one page of national news and the rest is dedicated to the horrors of the Adirondacks and its environs.  The printed news is in sharp contrast to my daily experiences.
Every day contains an article about bestiality in the north county.  Dogs, horses you name it.  Another serious problem reported is abuse – of everyone, children, husbands, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends and elders.  Every driver is either under the influence or going too fast for road conditions.  Hunters shoot people instead of prey.  It’s a jungle out there.   If I  relied on what I read in the paper as the whole picture, I would think twice about ever venturing out.
Then there is the reality of my own experiences.  The kindness of our neighbors who are there to lend a hand with anything.  Friendly people who stop to say hello.  Today I even had a sweet young thing buy me a cup of coffee!!  It reminds me of a study of people who watch a lot of  TV (news?).  They develop an unrealistic fear of the dangers out there.
I’ll have to keep my head up and my eyes open…and maybe cancel the newspaper subscription.