Farewell to 2007

Photo
Smiley face. Three birds in flight.

I don’t know if this photo is for real or not. It was sent by email and I don’t remember who sent it to me. Apparently it was found on the web somewhere. It may be a composite put together by someone who can really work in PhotoShop! I don’t know.

But I do want to leave this year behind with a smile.

May the Universe Bless you with an Abundance of All Good Things in 2008 and beyond.

Happy New England Sports Fan

Photo
This is the picture that appeared in the Reminder News along with a story about my bike riding.

A full day of exciting sports—that was Saturday (yesterday).
UConn football team played Wake Forest in the Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, NC. UConn didn’t win, but just to be there was an honor.

Then the UConn women’s basketball team took on Coach Jen Rizzoti and the Hartford Hawks. UConn ran all over them. You have to feel sorry for teams like the Hawks who are 0-9 against UConn. To save face, the other team usually says they took a lot away from this game that they can use to make them better in their own league/division. The Hartford Hawks are at the top of the America East League. They are good. They just aren’t UConn.

And, THE PATRIOTS barely beat the Giants. It was one of the best games I’ve seen Eli Manning play. Now he needs receivers who can hang onto the ball. I had a feeling the Giants were not going to roll over for the Pats. If the Giants had not dropped so many passes, the result might have been different!

Change of subject
I DID go for a bike ride today! Temperature in the low 40s, wind-chill around 34°. I had three layers on my legs and four layers on my upper body plus a quilted vest. Everything but my arms was quite comfortable. Now I know what I need for a cold/cool weather riding jacket. I also need a helmet cover and shoe covers. I doubt I get that this season. I think my riding days are over until spring. However, if all goes well maybe I can pick up some of this equipment on sale by that time. Now I know that if a day comes along that’s 40°, little or no wind and the roads are in decent shape, I can go for a ride. I’m excited.

The stats for this year’s bike riding are as follows:
1,129 miles since March 27th.
I spent 116 hours pedaling so that makes my over-all average speed just under 10 mph. Not spectacular, but when I think of the hills I’ve walked and the hills I’ve ridden up at 3-5 mph, I’m happy my average is 10 mph.

Another subject change
Friday afternoon (12/28) I went down to Johnnie’s service station to have my front tires checked. I was pretty sure I needed new ones. This coming Wednesday morning he will put two new tires on the front. The back tires are still ok.

I Need To Get Out More

Photo
You are looking at the Sagamore Bridge over the Cape Cod Canal and the bike path next to it.

Call of the open road
This morning's walk was so exhilarating! It felt good to be outside, breathing that crisp, cool air and moving my body to a comfortable walking cadence. I thought of taking my bike out for a spin, but there is no time for that today, even though the temperatures and weather in general would be perfect—sunny, 45°, no wind, and the black ice melting rapidly. Perhaps I can celebrate the New Year with a ride!

Every one celebrates holidays; some celebrate with a slightly different twist. I’m not talking lemon or lime here. I've been thinking about going for a ride on Monday, New Year’s Eve, the last day of the year. Right now it doesn’t look good weather-wise. If I get to ride at all it will probably be Sunday. But that’s OK. It will be an experiment in “how foolish can I be on the last Sunday of the year?” What a great title for a story in Vol. III of my family book, Come Ride With Me. It all starts with, “I’ll never know if I don’t try.”

I’ll keep you posted—right here.

Christmas Greetings

MAY THE BLESSINGS
OF THE CHRIST CHILD
BE WITH ALL OF YOU
FOR ALL TIME

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Divvy Up the Goodies

Photo
This big guy is a snapper I spotted by the side of the trail on one bike ride. Click on the photo to enlarge and get a good look at that hooked beak.

Sugar Sugar Everywhere
The last few days have been filled with people stopping by bringing Christmas goodies. The Bahler girls (Marge and Marilyn) brought over their traditional Swedish Christmas Bread. Then Pauline brought over brownies, and cookies and Hershey Kisses. Yesterday’s family gathering brought popcorn, candy, more candy and honey roasted peanuts. Mom and I have divvied up everything but the kisses. That can wait. I’ll be in orbit for weeks! I have found that by eating lots of protein at times like these, keeps high/low swings of my sugar levels within reason. Define “reason”.

Family Gathering
I enjoy being in the company of my kids and grandkids (along with spouses and boyfriends). Anne and the boys couldn’t make it up from Maryland, as I told you previously, and Joe was among the missing also. He wrestles with East Windsor High School and had a meet that he couldn’t get out of. Every one is growing up so fast. Jonathan is our youngest family member (for the moment) and he’s 6 already. Speaking of Jonathan, he received a miniature all-in-one tool kit for Christmas. Good thing, too. His dad needed it to assemble one of Jonathan’s other gifts. Santa came through again. We took some great pictures, which I will not post on this site. I mentioned doing just that and the family’s reaction indicated that would not be a good idea. OK. That’s one way to get them to regularly read my on-line journal. Threaten to post their pictures.

I do want to thank James for the box of Jell-O. My favorite color—green. ☺ ☺ ☺

Reading Nature

Photo
The icy Scantic River in Enfield.

"Guests fly in for winter get together" by Steve Grant.
This story in today’s Hartford Courant is exactly what I’ve been talking about when it comes to this winter’s weather— northern birds coming way south. I hate to say I told you so, but here it is. Things up north this winter will be very difficult for birds. I saw my October birds in my yard in August. Do not believe the Woolly Bears, people. They are trying to deceive you into thinking all is well when it is not! ☺☺ (I hope you realize I’m only kidding. I don’t go for that Mother Nature Conspiracy Theory)

It is interesting, however, to see that there are certain things in Nature, if we would observe with understanding, that tell us what’s going on – or will be. Hopefully you will get to read the story and start to read Mom Nature.

Family Christmas
The kids are coming over this afternoon for Family Christmas. I’ve already warned my mother that the thermostat will have to be lowered around noon to give the house a chance to cool down before everyone gets here. Part of Andy’s gift has not arrived yet, and it’s probably the serious gift since the other two seem to be jokes. Nothing I can do about it now. Anne will have to research it with the shipper.

Speaking of Anne, she and the boys will not be with us this year for Family Christmas. They will be going to Chicago to spend Christmas with Rick’s folks. We will see them, hopefully, in February. I sent the boys’ gifts to their house so they will have them Christmas morning. I will give them their copies of Come Ride With Me when they come here. It would have cost too much to mail them.

Furball Rumble

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My backyard and shed where the fight ended.

Remembering
As I cleared the snow off the back steps after our last storm, I was reminded of a morning almost 3 years ago. It was January and the visible evidence of an over-night animal fight inspired the following short essay.

Furball Rumble
Wednesday, January 11, 2005
The exact identity of the combatants is uncertain. Tufts of black fur, reddish blond fur, paw prints and the size of the combat zone was all I had as evidence. It apparently began under the back steps that come down from the deck. That's where most of the black fur was. Then it appeared to have escalated with the black-furred one running around trying to escape. The final battle probably took place at the edge of the lawn — over by the storage shed — where there was a large area of trampled snow, blood and more tufts of reddish fur and black fur.

Today, one day later, I gaze upon a battlefield made pristine by last night’s snow. It's as if nothing happened.

Two furballs know differently — or maybe only one is licking its wounds and remembering.

A Very Special Day

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My friend, Eileen, in 1984 at the first Celebration of Life.

Every day is special, but some days more special than others.

Today was one of the “more” variety. I heard from an old friend today. Eileen has lived in Haifa, Israel for – I going to guess – at least 15 years, maybe longer. She is a member of the Bahá’í World Headquarters community.

We had lost track of each other for several years, but managed to reconnect. We email each other once in a while, but not often enough. You know how it is, she's busy with her life and I'm busy with mine. Busy does not diminish friendship.

We go back a long way, having worked on many, many projects together. We were a formidable team.

Photo
The snow shoveled off the deck flowed off the steps on both sides forming this nice little hide-a-way protected from the northeast wind by the snow that I never shoveled off the steps. I wanted Sunday’s icy precip to fall on snow – not on bare wood. The junco's, in particular, like to hang out in there.

Fooled again
Yesterday I said we got the Sunday Hartford Courant on Saturday. That’s true. I didn’t even have time to look at it so I didn’t know we didn’t get all of it. The sections that came Sunday morning were the ones that actually had what was new(s). At the risk at being wrong again, I am assuming the bulk of the paper was delivered on Saturday just in case weather prevented the delivery of the entire paper. Some is better than none? Now we know how much of the Sunday paper is printed in advance. How far in advance is the question now.

Wind Chill
This morning (right now) the temperature is 15° with high winds. That puts the wind chill down in the single digits. And I have to go out there and do the snow blower thing again. This is not going to be fun. And of course the deck has to be shoveled because I don’t like to leave that weight on the deck. Then again, I need to get out to the birdbath to help my birds have drinking water. This time of year no birds are using the water for bathing. But the birds do need drinking water. When the temps are this cold it’s a challenge to keep the water fluid. I don’t have any place to plug in a birdbath water heater and I haven’t researched to see if anyone carries a battery-powered heater.

Right now I'm off to get dressed and have a good breakfast, then do battle with the mess that fell yesterday. It looks like about 4-5 inches of the stuff. The challenge will be at the end of the driveway where the town has piled it up. That is probably pretty icy. It will take Big Red and me a little longer, but we’ll get it done.

Credit On My Electric Bill

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Bath, ME after a recent storm. This picture sent to me by my cousin Cathy. She and my cousin, Rick, are the parents of Craig and Derek (two of the Marines I write to). It's all in the family.

Electricity Summer Savings
This past summer our electricity provider, CL&P, offered a summer savings program. Any customer (who signed up for the program) who saved from 10 to 20% over last year’s usage would get a 10, 15 or 20% credit on their November bill. I signed up.

Here’s the breakdown:
849.8 kWh less electricity used from June 1 to October 1
42.9% difference in consumption
20% credit for Summer Savers Rewards
$131.07 equals the generation charge difference
$26.21 credit on my November bill (20% of $131.07)

The main source of the savings was my electric clothes dryer. All summer (and well into fall) we used the clotheslines to dry our laundry—even towels. We have long been in the habit of shutting off TVs and lights when we leave any given room for a length of time. Also this past summer, we did not have to run the AC as much as last year and I did not use my dehumidifier at all.

Another storm
Here we are, Sunday morning and we can’t catch a break. I woke up at 3:45 a.m. and the ground was covered with snow—about an inch of accumulation. It didn’t take long before I could hear the windows and the side of the house being heavily pelted by sleet. The plow trucks are out keeping the roads cleared. We have experienced the wind intermittently but the expectation is the winds will pick up and become sustained up around 30-40 mph with gusts. Our newspaper delivery person delivered the Sunday Hartford Courant yesterday. At least we know Claudette will be safe today and off the roads.

I’ve been tracking the number of storms so far this year. Today’s storm is #5.

Storms, Angels & Toys

Photos
On the left is the before and after is on the right—like you couldn't tell. This is Thursday's storm.

Storm Alexander
The snow started before 11 a.m. Thursday. Before 11:30, the state snowplows were plowing the state highway that runs past one side of my property. Took a while before we saw the town plows, but I thought the state trucks jumped the gun somewhat. The snow covered all surfaces rapidly and visibility was not good. It looked like all towns across the state wisely canceled school and other events for today. I ran out early to refill a prescription for my mother and then all we had to do was hunker down and enjoy the first BIG storm of the season. By 1 p.m. we had 2” on the ground and lots more to come. WFSB, Channel 3 has been naming winter storms since the 1970s. This one was Alexander. Early on I kept hearing emergency vehicles, but they didn’t come past my house, which was odd. Then I realized they were going into the housing development behind me. It was snowing so hard I couldn’t see what kind of emergency vehicles they were.

A case of the Yuckies
After lunch I picked up a book hoping to get in some reading and immediately took my nap instead! ☺ When I woke up, I was coming down with “something”—my skin hurt, I felt warm and achy. Started taking Coldcalm® right away. Friday morning I woke up feeling tip top.

All I need is Big Red
Tip top on Friday morning was good since I had 10 inches of snow in my driveway that needed to be dealt with. And deal I did. See today’s photos. Big Red is the snow blower. Who needs youth when you have a Honda (snow blower)!

My three Angels
Friday night, Dec. 14, I was on my way to the Portland, CT Middle School for an event, “One Soldier, One Poet”. Several poets from all around CT, including several students, picked the name of a CT Iraq or Afghanistan fallen Hero and wrote a poem or essay about that person. A friend of my, Dolores, was going to read the poem I wrote about my grandson, Philip. As I traveled down I-91, an overhead sign indicated a traffic backup further south of Hartford. A whisper (inside my head) told me how to get around the traffic snarl. That was Angel #1.

When I came over the Arrigoni Bridge, I missed Spring St. and fearing I was lost, stopped at the post office where a woman was dropping letters into the outside mailbox. I asked for directions to the Middle School on High Street. She started giving me directions then said, “Follow me. I’ll take you there.” She went out of her way to make sure I arrived safely and on time. I can’t thank her enough. She’s my Angel #2.

Angel #3 is Dolores for reading the poem for me. I never could have read it out loud in public. Several students performed music or dance. All in all, it was a very emotional evening for the public in attendance, the families and the poets.

Last of Toys for Tots
Kathy and I went down to Plainville again this morning to help with Toys for Tots. Kathy brought a young friend of hers, Natalie. We worked for an hour and the announcement was made that they were closing down operations for an hour for lunch. Everyone out. Last week lunch was served but we worked right through since we had just finished breakfast. We expected to do the same this week. Not to be. So we came home. By the time they were going to let us back in, we would have only one more hour to work. Not worth sticking around doing nothing. We’ll wait ‘til next year.

Weather Happens

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Earlier this year Kathy, Lou, Jess and I went swimming with a Beluga whale in Mystic Seaquarium. The day was a gift from Jess. We had such a good time.

By now you have noticed that the pictures I post don't usually have anything to do with the content of my blog. Did you really think I was that clever?

Wicked weather
Our weather is going from bad to horrible. Right now the predictions are: 1) starting Thursday afternoon we could have 3 to 6 inches of snow. Then, 2) Sunday, we could have our first nor’easter. Plus, 3) our temperatures are expected to drop into the single digits by the weekend.

Please refer to my weather predictions on September 7th and October 10th right here in my on-line journal.

Important events and the weather
It looks like the “One Soldier, One Poem” event in Portland, CT on Friday night will be OK. I will be going to that. I know the Patriots will probably play Sunday regardless of the weather. I have concerns for all the fans who will go to the game.

“One Soldier, One Poem”
Friday, December 15th, many of Connecticut’s poets will gather at Portland (CT) Middle School to read poems they have written to memorialize service personnel from CT who have made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan. I had already written a poem for my grandson, Philip, but there is no way I could ever read that out loud in public. A poet friend of mine, Dolores, offered to read it for me. I can’t thank her enough. It will be a very emotional evening, and I have already told the organizers that I’m not sure how long I will be able to stay.

Patriots and Jets
Sunday’s game will be against the Jets. The last time they played was the SpyGate incident. Because this rivalry is heating up I’m sure every Patriots fan who has a ticket is going to make darn sure they are in the stands to harass the Jets, regardless of the weather.

Mom’s MRI
Last Friday evening, my mom lost her balance and fell into the living room from the kitchen. Once I got her up off the floor my assessment was that she was OK. Bruised and sore, but OK. Today she had a routine appointment with her doctor and to be on the safe side he ordered an MRI on her head. The results came back negative. No injury and no evidence of anything that could have caused her to topple over. Good news. Just knowing nothing is wrong has made her feel much better.

Working with Toys for Tots

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In the spring of 2006 the pair of osprey on the CT shoreline snagged some poor kid's blue teddy bear. The bear stayed in the nest until early Sept. when the remnants of Hurricane Oscar blew it off - never to be seen again. This photo was captured from the Audubon osprey cam web site.

Toys for Tots
Today Kathy and I went to Plainville, CT to help the Marine Corps do Toys for Tots. Our job was to fill “orders” from the bins, which have toys according to gender and age. A good friend, Jim, (a Marine of course) is in charge of the program. After I saw him interviewed on TV and knowing the urgent need for volunteers, how could I not respond!

Kathy and I put in a full 4 hours before we had to leave. Some of the bags were quite heavy by the time we filled them, so Kathy would help me drag them to where they needed to be. At different times we worked as a team: I would hold the bag and she would fill. She became the “Dragin Lady” and I was the “Bag Lady”. We’ll go back again next Saturday to help finish the job. Thanks to me, Jim’s parents were able to surprise him by showing up ready to help. I emailed them with the info. Since they live in way upstate NY that was quite a surprise!

Toys for Tots

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Little girl sitting on a teddy bear (speaking of Toys for Tots).

TOYS FOR TOTS
This program is in need of volunteers. Every incoming toy has to be checked against a list of Recalled Toys. Imagine how time consuming and tedious this is. The Marine Corps could use some help here in Connecticut. If you can volunteer some of your time call 1-860-747-1643 ext 4 to find out what days and times the facility will be open. The location is 1 Linsley Dr in Plainville. If you go to volunteer you will have to bring valid ID to sign in. I plan to be there Saturday, Dec. 8th from 11-ish to 2-ish. Hope to see you there.

GO HUSKIES!
Last night I met Leslie for supper and we went to a Lady Huskies basketball game. My goodness those young women are good! This year they seem to be playing effortlessly. Their passing game, in particular is so much better, sharper, crisper. Foul shooting is sub-lousy although they did start making them late in the game. Congratulations to Mel Thomas on getting to the 1000 point mark. Way to go!

Patriots Win #12

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Ashuwillticook Rail Trail looking north toward Mt. Greylock. The trail starts at the entrance of the Berkshire Mall and runs north for 11 miles on a 10 ft. wide paved surface and ends in Adams, MA. You will find food and drink at a pub/café right at the end of the trail or swing around the corner to the left and eat at the Adams Diner. There is also a large information station at trail's end. All three locations have restrooms. The scenery on this trail is beautiful. And best of all, the trail is flat except for the beginning downhill that poses no problem on the return trip. On the way back, stop at Diane's Twist at 13 Main St. in Cheshire. She serves great frozen yogurt as well as over-stuffed sandwiches and shakes, etc.

Sleepless over a football game!
Refer to what I wrote on Nov. 26th. I said the Patriots should have an easy win over the Ravens, but this could be a dangerous game if the Pats took the Ravens too lightly. Boy oh boy was I right. I stayed up into the 3rd Q and went to bed only after the Pats tied it at 17. Once in bed, I turned on the radio to listen to the game and the Ravens scored to make it 24-17. I turned the radio off. No way was I going to listen to any more of that! And so I slept in fits and starts all night. My dreams were filled with the final score of Ravens 39, Pats 38, and saying over and over again it’s only a game. The first thing I saw when I turned the TV on this morning was the crawl at the bottom of the screen about the Pats winning 27-24. What a relief. The teams on the remainder of their schedule should have a pretty good idea from the Eagles and Ravens games just how to possibly beat the Patriots: play physical, run the ball hard and pressure Brady. Hopefully, by the time they play their next game the Brady bunch will have figured out how to counter this new attack. It’s only a game. Yah. Right!

Icy Days and Mondays

Photo
An icy Scantic River in Enfield.

Surprise email
The day started with an email from my friend Leslie. It was an invitation to use a spare ticket to the UConn Lady Husky’s basketball game on Wednesday at the Civic Center. What a treat—supper with a good friend and a basketball game. Makes the whole week special!

Icy conditions
The storm we were expecting arrived over night. Not much snow where I am, but a thin coat of ice on trees, roadways and driveways makes getting around a bit treacherous. All over the state there are thousands without power. We are thankful we still have ours. The Universe always welcomes a prayer of Thanks. It likes to be thanked as much as we do – if not more. I expect the temperature to go up enough by lunchtime that I can get to the post office. I need stamps to mail my Christmas cards. I also need more cards. I didn’t create my list first, so I fell short. However, compared to other years, I’m early and have plenty of time.

Mailing Christmas presents
I still have to mail gifts for Jacob and Andrew. They will not be joining us this Christmas season since they will be going to Chicago to visit their other grandparents. I would like to get those mailed by today or tomorrow. Santa became confused by their change in plans and left some of their gifts here. Santa takes care of the “off site” gifts early in the season, that way he can concentrate on accurate “on site” deliveries on Christmas Eve. Bet you didn’t know that!

BOOM! Wake up!

Photo
Since today wants to be unusual I thought this tree fit the mood. It's located deep in the Dunhamville Forest. I just take pictures, I can't always explain 'em.☺☺

Not my usual wake-up call
My Sunday morning started at 6:43 with a rumble and a boom and a flash of light. I jumped out of bed thinking the transformer directly across the street had blown (again), but all was quiet. Hmmmmm. Since I was up, I might as well stay up. Out to the kitchen to turn on my coffee pot. There’s my mother all a twitter about the leaves on the corner being on fire. I looked and sure enough they were. 911. They already knew about it. Then I saw the guy from across the intersection coming over with a rake. I called out to him to let him know the fire department was on their way. He said it was a squirrel that got itself fried and proceeded to snuff out the flames by raking the burning leaves onto the road. It’s a good thing he was out there because it took the fire department at least 20 minutes to show up. I’m hoping the response would have been faster had it been a house fire.

A gang of crows
About an hour later, there were six crows surveying my back yard in the vicinity of the bird feeder. After they finished fighting over all the bread crusts they started on the dropped seeds on the ground. The seed-eating was most unusual. They don’t normally bother with seeds. Bread crumbs and crusts is their usual interest and road kill, of course. Hey, guys! I know where there’s some fried squirrel! They can’t hear me. Crows are so difficult to communicate with. It’s the attitude they strut around with. They intimidate by size alone, not like the blue jays who attack and screech at all the smaller feathered ones.

Another year
Here it is, December. Where did this year go? As of this moment (early Sunday morning) we are expecting some messy weather between now and tomorrow morning. Yesterday I made sure we had all the essentials in case the roads get bad. I think I’ll go out to Agway this morning to get more thistle for the birds and top off the gas can in case I need to use the snow blower. Other than that, it’s college basketball and pro football for the remainder of the day.

Woods vs. Blue Back Square

Photo
Dunhamville Forest cemetery on the left. Jon and the obelisk on the right.

Walking in the woods
Yesterday Jon and I went walking out Mansfield way. We did a short walk south from Eagleville Dam along the Willimantic River. It was a pleasant, easy walk of about 1 mile. From there we drive east to Dunham Woods, which became Dunhamville Forest. Well marked with yellow blazes to start, becoming yellow/white blazed, and ending as a white blaze the trail was easy to follow. This was one of the Joshua tract walks. In total, we did just under 4.5 miles. A little more than we usually do.

The Joshua Tract walk-book we were using as our guide, described a small cemetery that is said to have 4 unmarked graves. Surrounded by a substantial stone wall, it’s hard to miss. We had no problem finding the “obelisk”, either. It looked like it was created by man. One side of the stone looked like it had been dressed. We surmised it was left there because it was too big and too heavy to move. What we didn’t find was the two old house foundations and the old well.

The insanity of shopping
Today I went out to West Hartford center to do some shopping. I was focused on two stores so I didn’t do the Blue Back Square tour. I needed to go to Whole Foods for my Quinoa and REI for some special gifts for my three youngest grandsons. I will be going back to REI during a quieter time of the year to really go through their bike section. I have never seen such a variety of chain lubricants. I need to talk to them about bikes, frames, racks, front and rear panniers, etc., etc. Depending on what I find, this could become my new toy store. It might be worth becoming a REI Co-op member. I didn’t know until today they were a co-op.

Park me free
One big drawback to Blue Back Square and downtown West Hartford in general (you might include Hartford) is the lack of FREE parking. I’m spoiled by the suburban malls, and I do not pay for parking. I won’t drive into Hartford if I have to pay for parking. I’ll park at Great Meadow in East Hartford and walk across the Founders’ Bridge (or ride my bike) rather than pay for parking. Whole Foods has free parking for their customers—and you better shop in their store if you park in their lot. I was told they have people watching and had cars towed.

A walk in the woods was way more pleasant! ☺ ☺

Hiking & Sports

Photos
First is a stand of birch trees. The second is a mere stone. A mere stone is used to mark boundaries. This one marks the boundary of once privately-owned land from state-owned. Today it is all one. See Sunday's hike.

Great weekend
On Saturday Kathy, Jess and I went out for breakfast and to pull names for Christmas. I don’t remember how many years ago we started pulling names. When there are 10 adults and increasing numbers of little kids every year, Christmas can get outrageously expensive. Ergo, pulling names. I think Jess and her Uncle Andy have had the most fun with this—giving each other gag gifts several years in a row.

Sunday was a perfect day for a hike and that’s what we did. My friend Jon and I joined a group of about 25-30 people to hike a new land acquisition in Glastonbury. Two tracts of land (32 acre Brielo and 78 acre Terwilliger properties) have been acquired for protection by the Dept. of Environmental Protection as additions to the Mashomasic State Forest. It was a great 2 mile hike. There was one very challenging hill, but the rest was fairly easy. Because of the leaves on the trail and loose rocks under the leaves, walking was an adventure. It sure was a good workout.

And of course if there is animal poo anywhere near the trail I’m the one who is going to step in it. Yep. I did. On the way back to Jon’s house I could smell something and told him one of us stepped in something. It turned out to be me. Tomorrow I’ll take the stiff brush to my hikers—again!

We got a lot of ideas of where we’d like to do more hiking. As long as the weather is cool/cold we don’t have to worry about the abundance of rattlesnakes up in those rocky ridges, ledges and outcrops. Once the weather is warmer I will be hiking elsewhere!

Eagles vs. Patriots
Did the Eagles give the Pats shivering fits last night or what? I stayed up until the Pats scored in the 4th Q to put them ahead 31-28. I had to go to bed. First thing this morning I was looking for the final score. What a relief to find I hadn’t missed anything – like an Eagle’s score. The only other team to play the Pats to a close score (24-20) was the Colts. Next up, Patriots @ Ravens. Should be an easy win for the Pats, but these are games they can’t take the opponent for granted.

Basketball
The Lady Huskies won the tournament championship (Paradise Jam) in the Virgin Islands by soundly beating Duke 74-48. It is amazing how Maya Moore changes a game when she comes in off the bench. No wonder Pat Summit was mad and doesn't want to play UConn any more. The ladies are a lot of fun to watch - as usual.

Blessings

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

May the Universe shower you with

an abundance of all

Good Things.

Snowfall Folklore

Photo
Yesterday’s snow.

First Snow
According to folklore, the date upon which the first significant snow falls, will be the number of snow storms we have. I hope that is not true, since yesterday we were treated to a little over an inch of the white stuff. It’s going to warm up so I didn’t bother taking Big Red out of the garage.

I hate shopping
The snow messed up my plans from one end of the day to the other. Instead of grocery shopping in the morning I waited until after lunch. Big mistake! Even the store personnel were grumpy. The parking lot was jammed; inconsiderate people all over the place; couldn’t find anything I wanted; and couldn’t get down any of the aisles I needed to get down. That was where the inconsiderate people came in. When the store is crowded, you cannot park your cart across the aisle and carry on a conversation with your next-door neighbor who you happened to bump into. IT CAN WAIT UNTIL YOU GET HOME, PEOPLE! If you don’t see what you are looking for, keep moving to the end of the aisle, turn around and go back. Keep moving! I should have waited until today to shop. But then, I will get a chance to shop today—I still have all the Other-Store-Specials to pick up. ☹ ☹

Treasures & Trash

Photo
Yesterday I talked about my books. This is them. (Don't let Wolf scare you.) You can see I have more than books. Most of the stuffed toys have significance. If you click on the photo to enlarge, you will see Nameless, Faceless Baby Doll on the far left.

Fall cleaning – just a little late
After my workout yesterday, I started cleaning another area of the downstairs. This is a raised ranch with a completely finished lower level. This is where I have my sitting area complete with three overloaded bookcases, couch, bentwood rocker, TV and stereo. Then there’s my office section. Desks, computer equipment, phone, etc.,—usually the messiest area. I concentrated on part of this section. I have a couple of shelving units and I tore them apart. Once I had them empty I moved them away from the wall in order to do a thorough vacuuming. Not everything made it back to the shelves. I tossed out a lot.

An educational blast from the past
I came across a term paper I wrote back in 1991 for a class in Oceanography I took at Manchester Community College (including all my research notes and sources). At the time, I had a need to know, one way or the other, whether Atlantis did or did not ever exist. I took a huge chance (for that time) with the title, The Mid-Atlantic Ridge (a search for Atlantis). I needed the course in order to learn all I could about the ocean floor.

☺☺ Just to be clear: I have cleaned since 1991, but I had forgotten what was in that particular box. ☺☺

My conclusions:
Between science and mythology there was no conclusive evidence for or against Atlantis ever existing in the Atlantic Ocean.

However, maybe
A) Atlantis exists in a parallel universe. Perhaps Plato’s “Pillars of Hercules” referred to the constellation Hercules.
or
B) Atlantis existed on another planet that blew up giving us the asteroid belt.
or
C) Perhaps we are remembering our future.

I was given an A+ with a score of 148 out of a possible 150. The teacher actually liked it. Called it “fascinating.”

A day of rest (thank goodness)
Between the workout and the cleaning, I’m happy today is a day off from both. It will be grocery shopping in the morning followed by running around, in the afternoon, for the Drug Stores and Other Grocery Store Specials. Frankly, I’d rather work out and clean! ☺

Working Out at Home

Photo
My home gym equipment.

Working-out on a schedule
From hand weights to leg weights and everything in-between, this is how I will be keeping myself in shape this winter. Now that cold weather has arrived I won’t be bike riding as often, if at all. And, by the way, bike riding does not build strong bones unless you do all your riding standing up on the pedals riding up hill. My workouts will vary from day to day working out the upper body one day, legs another, and the core the next. In between, if the weather cooperates, I get out and walk. I walked on Saturday, but I won’t be walking again until my shins stop hurting. Walking on pavement for 2 miles is way different from waking in the woods. So, to prevent shin splints, I’ll cool it for a couple more days before I walk again.

So much for lists
I have all my books, tapes, CDs and records cataloged on Excel spreadsheets. Turns out, the list of my books is not much help when it doesn’t tell me WHERE the darn book is! I have a book of core exercises, The Core Program by Peggy Brill. But, do you think I can find it? No! I found the Boot Camp book, but there is no way in Hades I’m doing those exercises! I have been wanting to weed out my books for quite a while—give away, set aside for a tag sale, keep. But I’m not going to do it just to find one book. I cannot imagine having loaned it out. I don’t know anyone who would use it. When and if it does turn up, I hope I remember I was looking for it and why. ☺

Let it Snow!

Photo
Big Red, my Honda snowblower from last February. It doesn't look like this around here....yet!

Snow?
The weather forecasters around here have been talking about snow flurries, snow showers, coating of snow, etc., for several days now. Let it be known, I have rolled my snow blower out of the garage and got it started. I let it run for a couple of minutes and everything looks good. Let it snow!

Labor of Love completed
The Christmas book, Come Ride With Me, is finished! All 12 copies have been loaded into individual 3-ring binders—one book for each of my kids and grandkids (that’s 10 copies), and two for me. One never leaves my possession and the other one is for lending to friends who want to read it. My mom is the first one to read the book and she loved Volume II (she loved Vol. I last year, too). She’s my greatest critic. If she didn’t like it, well, that would be tough to take.

Saturday Morning Walk

Photos
Oriole nest seen on the Windsor Locks Canal bike path. It's not unusual to hear and see Orioles when biking the path in spring and summer. Now we get a chance to see their nests. Click on the photos to enlarge.

It's good to get out and walk
It’s 9 a.m. on a gorgeous Saturday morning. Temps in the mid 20s, clear blue sky, and yesterday’s gale force winds are gone! Just got back from a 2-mile walk. I haven’t walked in the morning for quite some time. Last year in October I hurt my hip so walking hurt. I didn’t let that stop me from hiking once a week, though. ☺ Then it was bike riding and hiking season from March until now. Although I hope to get some bike riding in over the next few months, the chances of the temps being warm enough and the road conditions being good enough are slim to none. Now is the time of year where I get out my hand weights (I have leg weights, too) and yoga mat for strength training indoors. I’ll try to alternate my indoor routine with my morning walk every other day. Much will depend on the weather.

A couple years ago, on just such a walk, I was inspired to write the following poem:

Morning Walk

As I crested the hill
a carpet of grass stretched before me
each blade topped with a twinkling diamond

Breeze-caressed
sun-drenched blades of grass
colors within dewdrop prisms
changed slowly
no two drops the same

Deep blue sky
not a cloud to be seen
glorious sun
birds sang their gratitude
squirrels paused in awe of this morning's beauty

A prayer of thanksgiving
offered to the Sun
Sustainer of all life

I went to church this morning
God was there
At the top of the hill

© Beverly R. Titus
04/29/05

Wild Rabbit Bar and Grill

Photo
Evidence of a perfect late fall day.

Coyotes
I couldn't imagine what that noise was, but it jolted me out of bed. I don’t know what they were talking about but they woke me up at 4 o’clock this morning. One coyote was in front of my house (although I couldn’t see it) and the other was on the move down the street. I don’t know if it was a territorial dispute or the Wild Rabbit Bar and Grill had just closed these two were on their way home. Both of them were just barking back and forth at each other. Have you ever heard a coyote bark? It is the strangest noise. I’d rather listen to them yipping off in the distance. Now that I know they have been that close to the house, when I go out in the yard after dark (to put out the rubbish and recyclables) I will definitely bring something to defend myself—just in case. It’s been pouring rain, windy and chilly all day today so I don’t think they will be out and about tonight. But then, what do I know?

Life Gets Busy

Photos
Top left: Tracks above.
Top right: Water below
Left: Looking at the north tip of Terry's Island through oak leaves.
All photos taken on the Windsor Locks/Suffield Canal path.

Man have I been busy!

Cleaning
Once the electronic junk was out of my downstairs space, I can begin to breathe a bit. I started rearranging and cleaning and that soon got way out of hand. I had two piles of paper type junk to go through. One pile has been dealt with; the other will have to wait. However, I did find where that House Mouse had been camping out while he waited for the coast to be clear. He was along the wall behind the filing cabinet to the right of where I sit at the computer! I cleaned up all the droppings and now I know where to keep looking for signs of its (their) existence.

Christmas Book
Yesterday I took the Christmas book over to Staples for printing. What a beautiful job they did. Three pages had to be re-done, however. Sometimes a document looks and behaves differently from one computer to another—which is the case here. I brought the pages back this morning for re-do and should have the complete book ready to assemble by tonight.

Bike Riding
I went for a bike ride yesterday (Tuesday the 13th) and took some pictures, but didn’t have time to download them until now. This morning was spent running around doing errands and getting my hair cut. Now I am on my way to do another bike ride. Temps near 60° this afternoon, and that’s the last we will see of that kind of weather for a while. Get it while you can. I’m off!

I’m back! That was quick. I did some exploration of side streets for a safe and easy way to get to and from Tri-City Plaza in Vernon. I don’t usually have any reason to go biking in that area, but I was curious to see if I could get there if I had to. And sure enough I can. However, it’s the same old story: to get there it’s almost all down hill; to get back, well you can figure that out for yourself. ☹ ☹ I rarely bike directly from my house just because all main roads lead steeply downward. The one side street (or back roads if you will) isn’t too bad.

Recycling and Hiking

Photos
Trash Museum entrance and entrance to Temple of Trash inside. The other two photos were taken behind the Audubon Center in Glastonbury. The yellow painted words on the front of the bridge says, “DANGER KEEP OFF.” You gotta do what ya gotta do. Click on the photos to enlarge.

Trash Museum
Jon and I took a load of old computer equipment to the Electronic Recycling event this morning. The Trash Museum was open in honor of America Recycles Day and of course we had to go in. At the inside entrance, the Temple of Trash was still a big attraction consisting of examples of some of the stuff people have tried to recycle but are not acceptable. We just recently started recycling cereal boxes and the like. Back in the viewing area overlooking the tipping floor everything was quiet. I hoped to see the new machinery working, but I’ll have to go back another day. ☺

Great day for a hike
After recycling we went over the river to Glastonbury and did some hiking down behind the Audubon Center on Main St. What a perfect day for a hike in the woods. Temperature around 45°, beautiful blue sky and while we were in the woods there was very little wind. We were unable to access the Connecticut River so we doubled back to the parking lot and drove to an area that looked more hopeful. We finally did reach the river at the entrance to Keeney Cove.

By the time we got back to the car my pants were covered with “stickers”, those small (about 1/4"), triangular in shape with two prongs at the bottom. I can’t find the plant these come from in my reference book. They’re not burrs. The plant stands about 18” high and these stickers are arranged in a circular, downward facing arrangement. Thank goodness I was wearing layers. I was able to take the pants off and turn them inside out before getting back in the car. I hung the pants out on the line when I got home and will deal with the stickers tomorrow. It was interesting to note they did not stick to the canvas fishing vest I was wearing. If you know the plant these come from please leave me a message in “Comments”.

Come Ride With Me
I went to Staples yesterday to price the printing of my Christmas book and they can do it for lots less than I can. Last year I did it all myself as a labor of Love. This year it’s: been there, done that, don’t need to do it again. I’ll put the entire job on a CD and take it over to Staples on Monday.

Active Transportation Initiatives

Photos
Wild turkeys on Cape Cod. Pictures taken in 2005 by my friend Barbara out the car window while I drove.

Wild turkeys
I had a flock of wild turkeys in my back yard this morning. I tried to get a picture of them, but they were too far away and there was too much underbrush that made them difficult to pick out. However, I made up for it with the pictures from the Cape.

Walk or ride a bike
Thursday night (Nov. 8th) I went to a meeting in Hartford regarding the Active Transportation Initiative. There are many initiatives these days in surrounding towns as well as the Capitol Region as a whole devoted to the region’s bicycle and pedestrian needs and plans in concert with vehicular problems. The meeting, held in Union Station, brought out a sizable crowd of biking enthusiasts as well as members of town governments. There is an urgent need to get more people riding bikes and/or walking and/or taking public transportation in order to decrease congestion, clean up the air we breathe, link communities and have healthier residents. In Hartford (as other cities) you can ride a bike into the city, then put your bike on the bus bike rack for the remainder of your trip. This is handy when the remainder of your trip cannot be done safely by bike. If any of these subjects interests you, check out the CRCOG website, and click on Active Transportation.

There is another meeting coming up next Thursday (Nov. 15th) of the Advisory Committee for the Buckland Transportation Study, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Friends Room in the South Windsor Library at 1550 Sullivan Avenue, South Windsor, CT. The study is to “identify and address near and long term transportation needs within and around the Buckland area.” All Advisory Committee meetings are open to the public. I will be at this meeting also. The transportation needs of the Buckland/Evergreen Walk area are huge. The ability to walk or bike safely in this area is extremely limited. It will get better, however, thanks to the Advisory Committee’s work. I don’t know if the improvements will ever be made in my bike-riding lifetime, but hopefully in my physical lifetime—and I plan to live to at least 150. ☺

Snow showers
In some parts of the state, mainly the south of Hartford, there have been snow showers. These could be observed on Doppler Radar as well as traffic cams. I guess summer has really let fall take over.

From Mice to Bike Riding

Photo
What's left of the Enfield (CT) dam at the beginning of the CT River rapids. If it wasn't for the rapids, there would be no Windsor Locks/Suffield canal or bike path (which will be closing Nov. 14 or 15 for the winter).

This is War!
If there is one thing I can’t stand is a mouse thumbing its nose at me (or worse). When I went to look at the packet of Tom Cat® I had put under a flowerpot outside, I found it unopened and covered with mouse droppings. The ultimate insult!

It’s been several days now since I have seen any droppings so I’m convinced it (they) are out of the house. Many thanks to Anonymous (or should that have been A Nony Mouse?) for your suggestions on how to rid myself of these pests. I have taken the most direct route. I know I have mice living under my front steps, and that’s where I feed them Decon®. I just spoon it into a crack between my sidewalk and the steps. In a matter of minutes (if I go back and check) the Decon® is gone. My mice have more respect for that than they do for Tom Cat®. As soon as the Decon® remains untouched, I’ll stop spooning it in.

Come Ride With Me
The edits are done and the draft copy is ready to be printed. I will take it to Staples to price the job. It might be cheaper to have them print it (it’s 63 pages x 12 copies!). Last year, when I produced Vol. I, I did it all myself. It was a true labor of love. When I figured out the cost, it came to about $25/book including ink, paper, 3-ring binders and sheet protectors. That didn’t include time. Vol. II should be about the same.

Happenings
On Tuesday I had Breakfast with the Girls. We are high school classmates who get together every two months for breakfast at a local diner and have formed a strong network of friendship and support for each other. If one of us finds we have a need, we know we can call any one from the group and get help. It’s comforting to know there is someone out there you can call on in an emergency or even a long-term need.

I’m still hanging laundry, but I think today may be the last time for anything but sheets. Shorter days, weaker sunshine and not enough wind all contribute to needing to use the dryer now. However, I have saved a bundle by not using the dryer going back to June.

This coming Saturday, there is an electronics recycling collection event at the Trash Museum on Murphy Road in Hartford. I have a load of stuff going down.

If the weather holds I will try to get a bike ride in on Sunday. I need to find the time to clean my chain, etc., so I can start using a cold weather lubricant. It’s no fun trying to pedal in cool/cold weather when you’re using a wax-based chain lubricant!

Publishing, Hiking and Mice

Photos
Llamas on the Air Line Trail this past June. It turned out to be a hot day and the animals became over-heated. The owners ended up having to get permission to bring their llama carrier down the trail to rescue the poor things.

Second photo is of a shelter we saw on the Sellew Walking Trail. No one was home that we could tell. We observed; we photographed; we moved on.

Working on my book
For the last week I have been working very hard on Vol. II of Come Ride With Me—a book of my poetry and prose (true stories of family, adventures, and articles, etc.)—for my children and grandchildren. I thought Vol. II would be much smaller than Vol. I, however, I think it will have almost as many pages. I have done the proofreading and now I’m ready to do the edits on the computer. From there I will go to Staples and see if they can print what I need cheaper than I can. I didn’t think I would need to buy new 3-ring binders this year, but I was wrong. So I have to go out and price binders. But you know what? I think the whole project is worth it. My kids and grandkids will always have that part of me—my words.

Hiking
Recently I have done two excellent hikes (ok, walks). The first was the Sellew Walking Trail in East Hampton, CT Thursday, Nov. 1st. The trails leads right to the Air Line Trail between Ripallo viaduct and what is known as “the rock cut”. We were able to clamber up the embankment (it is environmentally ok in this area) onto the Air Line. It took moderate exertion to get up the ridges and embankment, but it was fun. The Ripallo viaduct is about one to one and a half miles from the trailhead in East Hampton. The viaduct as of this writing is under repair and the trail user will be unable to get through—the trail is closed at this point. Coming from the other end, you can’t get into East Hampton. One would have to know the area or have a good map in order to know how to get around this barrier.

The second walk was Sunday, Nov. 4th, on the Air Line trail from the parking lot at Bull Hill Rd. east to the commuter parking lot 4.5 miles away. As we walk, the history and anecdotal stories are recited, which makes the walk that much more interesting. I’ve done this walk before and I always learn something new. The Colchester Land Trust sponsored this walk.

By now you should have guessed the Air Line Trail is one of my favorite places. If you go to the website, visit the photo galleries. Spectacular! If you are a railroad history buff, you probably already know the history of the Air Line.

House Mouse
I think I know how the little bugger got in. I have a closet under the stairs and the outside wall has exposed insulation. A corner of the insulation seemed to be pushed out and there was lots of debris on the foundation ledge. I cleaned up the debris and poked the insulation back where it belongs. I had to clean up more droppings downstairs and the worst of this whole episode is the droppings I found on a table in the living room UPSTAIRS. How it got on that table I’ll never know. I just hope it (all of them?) were out of the house when I pushed the insulation back. Tomorrow I will get some Decon and hide it where my mother won’t see it. If I can take care of the situation without her knowing about it that would be wonderful!