adirondacks

I may be lazy but the beavers are not

/ one2travelfar / Leave a comment

IMG_0643.JPG

After a wet start, the summer has been beautiful. I’ve enjoyed a few hikes and bicycle rides, not nearly as many as I should but I’m working on this quilt…and working and even got to crew a couple of days on the Friendship Schooner, Whistling Man, with Tim. He got a big kick telling people I was his mate on and off the boat. I refrained from saying he was always my captain! We had nice wind the first day and dead calm the next. I had to enlist paying customers to help me raise the sails. Kids that came on the boat really only wanted to check out the head.

IMG_0652.JPG

IMG_0661.JPG

We spotted this porcupine lumbering in the woods when we went for a hike on a quest to find some beaver dams I had seen earlier in the spring. He wasn’t in a rush and didn’t even flinch when I whistled for Tim who had gone on ahead. He casually climbed this tree and perched there and watched us as we entered the woods.

I had a couple of non-believers when I kept saying I was sure I had seen the dams on the Beaver Flow trail. Wouldn’t you think? It turns out they are near the Beaver Flow trail but not exactly on it. We had to bushwack quite a bit along the flow to find their work after we made a phone call for better directions.

Finally we were rewarded with lots of evidence of beaver work and at least one broken and two functioning dams.

IMG_0672.JPG

The fungi take over where the beaver left off.

IMG_0666.JPG IMG_0671.JPG  

These are the country roads we ride close to home. Luckily this was only uphill in one direction.

IMG_0679.JPG

I eat eggs benedict while beavers and fungus eat trees

/ one2travelfar / 1 Comment

IMG_0636.JPG

I didn’t know dragon flies came in bi-plane varieties

.IMG_0638.JPG

I am not sure if he had it before, but Tim’s recent fascination with log construction extends to logs cut and used by beavers. We’ve watched The best dam movie, about beavers, and visited his favorite beaver dam on route 73, more than once. It’s right on the road and has defied man’s attempts to stop it, dammit.

IMG_0641.JPG

In the meantime, fluorescent fungi take a slow approach.

IMG_0650.JPG

I was under the weather the other day and it was hot out so I sat in our cave-like basement and watched cooking shows. Cooking as a competitive event takes the fun out of it. Except of course when a contestant wanted to sample something he was making in the blender while it was blending. You get the picture.

One show’s final challenge was eggs benedict in 20 minutes. I decided to give it a try since I had made a fresh batch of english muffins. I pulled out my good old Julia Child cookbook and away I went. The canadian bacon turned out perfectly and I lost a few pounds whisking eggs when the temperature was 90 degrees.

Then I decided, Elizabeth Zimmermann is to knitting as Julia Child is to cooking. That’s why I am a fan of both.

Just chillin’

/ one2travelfar / Leave a comment

IMG_0388.JPG

This frog says it all. We found him under our kayaks when we took a trip a few weeks ago. He hung out for a few hours and then was gone. We are enjoying our first summer in our new home and enjoying the local customs. We found several swimming holes and also get to watch teen boys jumping from high heights to land in the rivers.

Yesterday we went to a parade. All the town’s firetrucks and  autobody(?) trucks were on display along with bagpipers, veterans and a high school class of ’76 reunion. The one thing I don’t get is the practice of throwing candy on the street.  Perhaps it avoids immediate injury but then the little kids pick it up off the ground, or scuttle under cars to recover candy. Sounds like a dangerous practice to instill, on so many levels. Boy am I getting old.

Here’s a knitting aside. I had planned to make Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Baby Surprise Jacket for years because it is a marvel in construction. I almost lost the faith along the way because I couldn’t believe my straight blob of knitting would become a neat little jacket. But I placed my trust in the simple pattern and it worked. This reminds me that I want to knit more of her patterns because they are always interesting to knit, if only for the whacky construction.

IMG_0400.JPG

By simply knitting every row, adding a few increases and sewing two shoulder seams, this irregular piece of fabric became a cute little baby jacket.

I knit it with the remnants of yarn I had spun and dyed with Kool Aid. Now it’s been distributed to various grandnieces and nephews of the original sheep (owners).

IMG_0401.JPG

IMG_0408.JPG

Hard to believe.

We had many house guests recently and when we were wandering around looking for something to do, we found these crazy kids jumping off the ski jumps into pools and some sort of astro turf. The freestyle type jumpers were getting 35 feet into the air before landing in the pool with skis and ski boots on! The youngest we watched was 7 years old!!! I think this first shot is him and his brother jumping in tandem.

These “small” jumps are designed to give the skiers loft. We ventured off to the towers where the ski jumpers go for distance (just recall the “agony of defeat”) and watched them for a while until the beautiful blue skies and billowy clouds turned into a nasty storm and they had to turn off the chair lift that brought us to the top and evacuate us.

IMG_0494.JPG IMG_0517.JPG

Downsizing

/ one2travelfar / 1 Comment

After living on the other side of the world for the winter, my life has shrunk.

IMG_0324.JPG

I bought this beautiful, dimunitive pie plate from my friend at the local farmer’s market so Tim and I can maintain our youthful figures.

Otherwise we would eat a whole pie in a few days. Now we start with 3/4 a pie. We just finish it faster

IMG_0326.JPG

Tim is preparing to build a log cabin. I helped one day but there were mosquitoes and the logs were big and we were standing in water and (insert any amount of whining here).

Instead I vowed to build a model so we would know how many logs we need. It’s not done yet but coming along nicely. I’m counting on strapping young men and women to do the real work.

IMG_0334.JPG

My projects are small but the insects are not. We had a swarm of dragon flies for a few days.

I grew up thinking mosquito hawks were the bad guys. They look so much scarier than mosquitos. They are enormous here. As big as the trees.

IMG_0360.JPG

Log Cabin, Quilt

/ one2travelfar / Leave a comment

The comma belongs there. Today we visited the Adirondack Museum, specifically to look at log cabins and quilts.

IMG_0293.JPG
IMG_0309.JPG

They have an assortment of buildings on the premises including a cute cabin that is getting its finishing touches after three years. We were checking it out and had a few questions when we found a man working on the exterior. It turns out he built if for the museum and he knew every cut and log.

He had all sorts of neat toys (oops I mean tools). We saw a chain saw sawmill, log scribes and a lancelot grinder which he demonstrated on Tim’s arm.

IMG_0312.JPG
Kids, don’t try this at home.

Next we explored the quilt exhibit, which had beautiful quilts from the 1800’s to today. Many were made of scrap material and one was made from old neckties.
I still have a long way to go.

DSCN0719.JPG

Click your heels together three times and say, “There’s no place like home!”

/ one2travelfar / 2 Comments

It’s true.

We are joining a farm CSA and are enjoying fresh milk, eggs, chicken, beef and veggies. It’s the end of the season so I made some borscht and home made bread with home made butter. OMG!DSCN0706.JPG

I’m near my sewing machine and started quilting again.DSCN0707.JPG

And today, I rode my bike to meet up with a great group of women (and one man) to walk up Gilligan Mountain and enjoy the views. My little bug net came in handy and protected me from the black flies, which are coming into their own.  DSCN0708.JPG

Love is in the air

/ one2travelfar / Leave a comment
CIMG0594.jpg

It’s finally spring in the Adirondacks. We have had plenty of April showers, in fact it has rained all May. The grass needed mowing and the birds are going wild. There are all sorts of feathered visitors at our feeders. Not so much the bird bath but maybe they are waiting for summer warmth. We have at least three ruby throated hummingbirds drinking our homebrew nectar (4:1 water to sugar). This morning, we saw a male perform a courtship dance, flying in a vertical arc, like a “U”, back and forth, over and over again. Then the female came to the feeder and drank primly. I’m not sure if he won her over. Here’s the male stoking up.
We’re investigating ways to stoke ourselves up. We’ve been looking into CSA’s and/or farmstands as a way to continue to eat healthy. Farm stands are only seasonal but a couple of the CSA’s produce all year. I don’t think I will get a garden prepared and planted this year, but maybe next year. In the meantime, we are checking out local produce, dairy products and meat. Sounds like we’ll be tromping through a lot of cow manure to get there.

My head is still in the clouds

/ one2travelfar / 2 Comments

I can’t believe we’ve been home a month already. We’ve been busy organizing and getting reacquainted with family, friends and our lovely home in the mountains.

.IMG_0178.JPG

I made my first batch of cream cheese from a batch of yogurt that I heated too high and killed all that good bacteria. It was delicious on home made toast with jam. ‘ve got bread, bagels and, almost, english muffins perfected, I still need to get those nooks and crannies like Thomas’ does. Now that I’m discussing food, I imported ten boxes of Tim Tams and gave them away to a select few (and ate a couple of boxes myself with a little help from Tim). I was shopping in Brooklyn, NY and right at the checkout counter my son discovered Pepperidge Farms Tim Tams. Apparently they are an affiliate of Arnott, the original Tim Tam baker and sell them in the United States from October to April. So we can all enjoy the Tim Tam slam next winter and fill the void when the Girl Scout thin mints are all gone.

IMG_0181.JPG IMG_0203.JPG IMG_0215.JPG

We’ve got a new visitor too. This pheasant seems to enjoy our house, walks up to the window and pecks and cleans up after the birds at the feeders

IMG_0263.JPG

House hunting and foraging

/ one2travelfar / Leave a comment

Not us, the birds. We are comfortably settling in at home and are adjusting to a life among people again. I am very happy to get to spend time with my family and to become reacquainted with friends.

IMG_0004.JPG IMG_0006.JPG

The birds, however, are just moving in. A pair of blue birds checked out all the bird houses (five in total) and selected one on the fence. They got down to business and built their nest in it. The feeder has attracted goldfinches, chickadees, purple finches and blue jays. The northern flickers, robins and blue birds are dining on whatever they find in the grass.

IMG_0152.JPG

IMG_0162.JPG

In the meantime, we are having our own little Caddyshack battle. Moles are digging up the back lawn faster than Tim can flatten the mounds. He was even standing on one while it was still getting bigger. Soon there will be dynamite and those words, “Hello Mr. Mole, it’s just me Mr. Squirrel”.

Reluctant Paddler

/ one2travelfar / Leave a comment

Tim wanted to take advantage of beautiful warm weather today and go kayaking on Lake Champlain. I’ve been something of a couch potato since I returned home and was reluctant to uproot myself. Reason prevailed and we had a great day. Tim tried out his new (to him) kayak, which was a birthday present and I got to try a new (to me) neoprene skirt. It was choppy at first, with waves breaking over the bow and skirt kept me dry. I was prepared to mutiny and lobbied for a trip in the lee of the land. We found smooth water, mountain landscapes and loons.

PA260042.JPG

PA260037.JPG