A fronte praecipitium a tergo lupi

Winer(ish) Hike

2012-02-04T07:41:00.000-08:00

In no particular order, since that's how blogger.com likes it

2011-12-11T15:32:00.000-08:00

This is Rambo's hunting season outfit. I think he looks extra cool.

Sarah and I went on a hike last weekend. Among other things, we found these cool I-don't-know-whats.

This is one of the other things that last thing was among. Cool sun coming through the trees. Love shooting into the sun.

Eva in her favorite spot.

Sarah and Eva by the Taghoouasdfnock river. (I've given up trying to remember how to spell it)

Sarah and Murph.

Shooting from the hip.

Under a cloudless sky.

Sarah and her Appaloosa Gelding (He'll have to due 'til we find her a Black Stallion)

This is my favorite photo of the bunch and the best one I think I've taken in awhile. See ya'll soon.

Still workin on the shed.

2011-11-12T14:26:00.000-08:00

It's like government work in more than one way. Takin me firever and the quality is dubious at best. Anyway, it outta keep the rain an' snow off'n ma firewood.

I tried to get a picture of me in front of my roof. Note the safety glasses. I'm learning. Slowly, like maybe one of the more primitive species... a coelacanth perhaps, but learning.
(like that sentence structure? even Kerouac would have winced.)

Tried again

Gave up and just pointed the camera at what I wanted a picture of. Novel idea.

I have no idea how long Grandpa Cressman had this saw for, but it's still going strong. I've used it on several projects and, despite it's appearance, it hasn't turned on me yet.

It is an evil lookin' thing isn'it?

Thanks for the help with the plans and all the advice, Dad. Don't look too close at it, it ain't pretty, but I learned a lot and, for what I need, it'll do. Lookin forward to sittin under it this spring and sippin a beer.

Another weekend

2011-11-06T14:15:00.000-08:00

Sarah took this on our ride this morning. I love it.

I took this one of Sarah. It looks a little washed out maybe. I like the contrast of her hair and the yellow leaves. Love the hand at her side, too. So casual

New toy. Happy boy.

Sarah mixed and poured a lot of mud. It's so great to work with her. I'd rather spend a day working on a project with her than do most anything else.

Will we make it. The sun is low and just one rafter is done.

That's a self portrait, thank you. Impressed even myself on that one.

Fortunately we left some of the wood so I could walk around on it. It was both inconvenient and precarious.

Below is a series of stupid faces I make while working. Sarah captured these for posterity.

The supervisor.

The universal aptitude for ineptitude makes any human accomplishment an incredible miracle.

2011-11-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

Sarah made an amazing harvest pie. She casually asked if I'd just peel the pumpkin real quick. She has a sick sense of humour that you can only appreciate if you've tried to peel a pumpkin before. Amazingly resilient, those.

Weeder and I gettin' a little cuddle time in by the wood stove.

Sarah and I are building a shelter for our fire wood so that we can really stock up in the summer and have it be good and dry by the time we need it. This means, of course, that I dug some more holes. 18" x 3.5' Jonas promptly fell in one. Amazing.

Talked to Dad about how to get everything parallel and perpendicular... Step one: unstack all the wood that we've been carefully stacking for 3 months. Of course. Sarah helped here, but took a break to document the Sisyphean effort.

With B's help, and that of all our dogs (note black tail center frame), perpendicular, plumb parallel looking posts up. We'll see whether they're all really parallel and in line this weekend when we attach the cross beams and the roof itself. Should be exciting. Bet on Murphy.

New stuff has come to light, man.

2011-10-27T16:55:00.001-07:00

Sarah and Emily rode Rambo double. He was a pretty good sport about it.

I bought a lariat a couple weeks ago, and we have since come up with a game called Rope the Indy Dog. Here, Sarah demonstrates the basic precepts of the game. *Note that Indy ducks and runs when the lariat is swung. I assume this means she is enjoying her exercise.

Here Sarah demonstrates the inevitable second stage of the game... rope hits the ground.

Ever wonder how there are so many caterpillars and so many moths and yet you never see any chrysalises? Here's how; they're nearly invisible.

Look at those tiny little web-like connections to the log. Amazing. I set this one aside so that the chrysalis might "hatch" or whatever it's called.

Lastly, it's snowing tonight. What the heck?

Slicker Break a Bronco

2011-09-26T03:52:00.000-07:00

When you're breakin' out a bronc,
better get him slicker broke

For you'll have to try it sometime
when it isn't any joke

When the wind begins a blowin'
till it snaps his mane and tail

And a big black cloud's a comin'
full o' lightnin', rain and hail

You know if you get off him
he will likely pull away

So you try it in the saddle
and you're hopin' that you stay

But your horse starts a buckin'
When you get it halfway on

While your arms and sleeves are tangled
then he throws you and he's gone

Your slicker's torn and busted
and the wind has took your hat

And you see your horse and saddle
go a-driftin' down the flat

Bout that time you get an idea
and you don't forget it, pal:

Better slicker-break a bronco
in a mighty good corral

-Bruce Kiskaddon-

Buck: Day 2

2011-09-24T16:11:00.000-07:00

Sarah watchin'

Buck talkin' and gesticulatin'
New game to play: herding the cow... but with horses.

The Riding Clinic with Buck... Day 1

2011-09-23T16:25:00.000-07:00

I haven't written any clarifying information in a long time, so I thought I would this time. First off, thanks to everyone for the birthday well wishes. I always feel a little weird about it; like I'm getting a pat on the back for being born... didn't do much of the work there, or for not dying... for which, I too am grateful. But still, I appreciate the thoughts and the gifts.

For Sarah's birthday we are in New Jersey... now wait, I know what you're thinking, and no, this isn't a joke. It just happens to be the closest that Buck Brannaman is coming to our little town. For those of you that don't know anything about him, having a chance to ride with him is akin to learning to play basketball from Michael Jordan. (I know he's like dead now or whatever, but I haven't been following sport in awhile and don't know any current players' names) We took two days off each and are here for the whole weekend with no dogs and no responsibilities (besides the stack of papers I have to grade and the lesson plans I have to write and the fact that Sarah's getting like 30 e-mails and 100 texts a day from work). Sarah is getting to ride in the clinic with Buck and a few other students, I am watching, and then there is another class in the afternoon that we are both auditing. Today was the first day and there was so much going on that I filled three pages in my notebook, and my head aches from thinking.

The lighting is terrible, but I present a few photos for documentation sake anyway.

Buck Brannaman rode his new filly for the morning class. He's only been working with her for 4 weeks. He considers her to be green broke, though I've seen people riding horses they've had for years that are more poorly trained than this little girl.

Artsy tack shot. This is the bridle that Sarah is using with Cassandra, her loaner horse while we're here. On a related note, if anyone has a three horse, goose neck trailer with included tack and bedroom that they're looking to unload on somebody, we're open to offers.

Buck riding his horse in figure eights at various speeds without the reins.

Big frickin' horse. That lady is about as tall as Sarah.

One good shot. If the light's not workin' for ya... silhouette.

This one is for James

2011-08-26T17:41:00.000-07:00

Here is just a small sample of all the jobs I was able to complete with my Gerber this summer!

Camp Daze

2011-08-12T11:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Ian

2011-08-12T11:07:00.000-07:00

The height of the Perseid Meteor Shower is tonight. Make a wish and blow out the stars, man.

John at his best

2011-08-07T15:09:00.000-07:00

After agility practice, John let all the kids load their chairs onto his golf cart. He even let a couple of the kids climb onto the back bench! He's such a nice guy.

Then he pushed the chairs and the kids off the cart.

Then he drove away. So really, John's not that nice, but he is funny. And as Confucius advised, "If you're going to be a curmudgeon, at least be a funny curmudgeon."

Camp 1... done

2011-08-04T20:00:00.000-07:00

Loki, my surrogate dog... I love him
A boy and his dog
Loki in his favorite spot when I'm out of the RV
Stream Study
The whole gang at Spring Farm CARES

Jul 17, 2011 Bocce

2011-07-17T18:04:00.001-07:00

So, we really did play bocce. But in between, we played the most dangerous game: bocce juggling.

Working out well here...
Oh, and this looks good, too...
Gettin' cocky...
So let's juggle together for the camera. Hell, we've got the same hats. Maybe a Harrington brothers circus act?

Huh, how did the leaf get off of the ground and onto Ian's hat?

A couple'a dangerous gun slingers?

Nope. Clowns.Oh... who saw this coming?
Add another activity that Ian needs to wear a helmet for. How has this kid survived?

There's the shot.

Ian's Visit

2011-07-17T15:18:00.001-07:00

Jul 11, 2011 Headed Home/Virginia

2011-07-12T06:31:00.000-07:00

The Foggy Lens Series

2011-07-09T10:14:00.001-07:00

Oh... That's better.

Splinter

2011-07-08T09:26:00.001-07:00

Ella View series

2011-07-08T08:55:00.001-07:00

The original shot. Overcast day. Diffuse light. Shutter 125, f2.9

Edit 1: rounded edges, muted colours, added grain and edge blurring.

Edit 2: rounded edges, black and white, heavy saturation, sharpened, over-exposed, high contrast, heavy dark grain

Edit 3: overexposed, muted, darkened and blurred corners

Just playing around with photo editing on a rainy day. Thought I'd share a little bit of the process. I think edit 2 is my favorite.

North Carolina Trip

2011-07-07T19:48:00.000-07:00

This whole post is backwards. Start at the bottom and scroll up if you're chronologically pedantic. Info to come later. Muskrats are much cuter than I imagined them, and Sarah continues to be hard to capture on film.

At Pea Island Wildlife Preserve we wandered around for awhile and tried to wrap our minds around the quantity of herons that hunted there. On our way back, a couple muskrats came up and posed for pictures. Sarah and Bob named this guy Splinter. I'm surprised by how cute they are.

I'm pretty happy with this shot of a tri-colored heron hunting. Unlike the great blue herons that I'm used to, these guys have a tendency to run from one place to another looking for fish. They're like the bass fishermen of the Ardeidae family.

I watched this great egret walk slowly, head first, then body through the water, occasionally striking like lightening, bringing doom to pisces in a flash from above.
Sarah is the most elusive of subjects, but here I've captured her with a tricky camera move. You can see me here as well beneath my Australian Trapper hat.

An old wooden kayak hanging on the wall of the boathouse in Manteo.
Zhora, Bob, and Jenn in the horse drawn carriage that Bob arranged for Zhora's first birthday.
Monkey fist hanging on from an adjustable keel in a disintegrating but venerable sailboat.

I was really impressed with this well preserved old boathouse until Sarah told me that the town of Manteo had built it a few years ago to replace their water treatment facility. I'm not sure what the town does with its waste now, but I'm sure this is an aesthetic improvement. Makes me wonder where the bell in the belfry marked 1941 came from though.

The birthday girl, Zhora, and her mom.

A family portrait... note the water monster.

Posieden rises from the depths.

Sarah's New Toy

2011-06-12T15:56:00.000-07:00

Self Portrait

Inside the self portrait.
I had to laugh when Sarah and I were getting ready to go today. I looked in the back of my truck and thought about all the times I say, "Nothing's up". So here is what is always up with me.
Left to right:
Oiled cotton cowboy hat for riding and looking good, green nike duffel bag filled with shotgun shells, Carhartt hat for yard work and general construction, mountain bike shoe (middle front), mountain bike helmet (middle back), Bill Dorrance's book, True Horsemanship Through Feel, pfd for kayaking and sailing, flip flop, rain coat, dry top, apple, and binoculars. Now that I look, I can see my jumper cables, a tie, and my oiled cotton riding jacket as well. So the next time you ask, and I say nothing, this is what my nothing is. Pretty good life all in all.

Life just got a little better, too. This is Sarah's new toy.
It's good to have activities to pursue together.

Zombie Chickens get shot in the head... double tap.

2011-06-03T17:09:00.000-07:00

Yellow, Red, and Black and Blue.

2011-06-03T16:55:00.001-07:00

Linked up Yellow 1 to Red2 to Blue 6, then back up on Blue 4, Blue 6, Yellow 2, and finally Yellow 1. Thought of you the whole time, Ian. Rode the crap outta the bridges and obstacles, too. Picked up a chocolate milk, fig Newmans, and took a dip in the B-dale swimming hole after. Not a bad evening.

Memorial Day Weekend 2011

2011-05-31T04:14:00.001-07:00

More stories to come later. Check back in soon.

Memorial Day Weekend 2011

2011-05-30T10:38:00.000-07:00

James and Rambo hit it off right away. He wasn't interested in riding this weekend, but after he caved to the peer pressure and ate "the fat kid" burger at Ale House, James was pretty open to anything.

James was soon supervising other riders at the ranch. Here, he sits his horse like an old hand.

Megan rode Bo, too, but felt more at home on Murphy. I think he reminded her of her Passat. Perhaps it's his German engineering.

Doing my best Judge Holden impression. Pale and hairless. I didn't take any scalps though.

Swimming a horse is... strange.

Nori at Kathleen's

Comin' in for his close up.

Longhorns

2011-05-22T17:13:00.000-07:00

Spring 2011 at the O'harribassington's

2011-04-22T12:17:00.000-07:00

Doesn't look half bad to me.

Jonas the canine pin cushion. Getting some acupuncture. Seriously. He seems to enjoy the attention at least and hasn't complained about his chi being blocked in ages.

Sarah officially smashed a bottle of champagne on the bow of the 2011 grilling season.

Ready for the maiden voyage.

Hunting camp in the Adirondacks. Only thing that got shot was a growler of Ithaca's finest.

2011 Sprouts.

Seeding the flats. Corn, snap peas, green beans, peppers, hot peppers, cherry tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, fennel, butternut squash, carrots, onions...

WHO ARE YOU WORKING FOR?!

The trusty steed.

Spot, the rooster.

Shooting from horseback

2011-03-27T14:53:00.000-07:00

From Mar 27, 2011 Horsey Ride!

Весна священная

2011-03-26T13:19:00.000-07:00

Looked like spring, but didn't feel like spring today. We had a nice walk all the same

Bake Sale!

2011-03-20T09:22:00.000-07:00

Sarah and her friend, Kelly, organized a bake sale for one of the girls at work whose dog needed a coupl'a grand worth of fixin' up. I'm always amazed by Sarah's thoughtfulness and wanted to share that and the fruits of her labor with you... so to speak. I feel bad that no one has invested in smell o vision for such occasions. Well, let your eyes smell the sweet flavors.

These are Sarah's famous cream cheese cookies. I love them more than life.

We always have lots of help when we cook.

B picked up this sweet apron on our trip out to Seattle. It has interlocking sunflowers on it. Here we see the chef preparing precise miniatures of her beloved cherry pies.

The pies cooling. Sarah asked for $5 per pie, but people donated $10. The bake sale wound up raking in over $400 for the puppy and its person.
Pretty great people out there at the vet school.

Gypsy Punk for Ian and others... but mostly for Ian

2011-03-16T18:14:00.000-07:00

March 7th Snow Storm (snow day!)

2011-03-07T07:36:00.000-08:00

Thank you. That is all.

2011-03-04T15:26:00.000-08:00

Just like McCarthy, but with more smiling and less scalping.

2011-02-22T05:16:00.000-08:00

First, fourth, and fifth images captured by Sarah. She's getting good... or maybe it's the subject matter.

Me and Mike

2011-02-18T03:59:00.001-08:00

That's me in the center there. Filling the rest of the frame is Mike, the biggest horse I've ever personally stood next to. He's one of Cornell's new work horses, but I think he wanted to come home with me. You should see the size of his hooves... think dinner plates!

More horse pictures. Can you imagine when we have kids?!

2011-02-14T15:04:00.000-08:00

Another weekend riding

2011-02-06T15:34:00.000-08:00

Painting and Hiking

2011-02-02T06:40:00.000-08:00

Here're some newer pictures. We painted the living room and kitchen a couple weeks ago. Sarah picked out the colours and I did the cutting in. We make a pretty good team. I wouldn't be able to plan anything without her, she's really got the vision. We're planning on putting in a glass tile back splash in the kitchen... maybe over February break.

The rest of the pictures are from a hike we took in our woods. I still enjoy the fact that we can hike right out of our front door. And now, my friends, I am going to return to my book (The Crossing) for a little bit on this, the first snow day of the year.
Cheers,
Keith

Great Northern Winter

2011-01-23T07:14:00.000-08:00

That's what we've been having, a great winter. It seems as if it's snowed almost everyday. We have at least 6-8" of base, but the sun has been out daily, too. I've been skiing a lot. Last week I left after school a couple times to lay down some runs on the "mountain", then Fridays are ski club days and Sarah and I skied together yesterday. We got a couple inches of fresh powder during the day on Friday which made for great conditions after school. There was even enough powder for me to try some stunts in the terrain park. I caught like three feet of air off some sweet jumps! Although strapping lumber to my feet and rocketing down an icy mountain makes sense, the addition of rails to that activity continues to elude me.

We had a little scare with the horse earlier this week as he wasn't eating and, consequently, pooping much. For Rambo, that's a big deal. Like all of our animals, it seems he has an overdeveloped food gland in his brain, so if he's not eating, it's a problem. I've come to believe that horses are very closely related to lizards, that is, they are perfectly healthy or they are dying. Just my experience. So we worked our way through Monday thanks to some good friends at Cornell and out in Lodi and Sarah and I went out to check on him after work. It was a confusing and stressful day with lots of cooks in the kitchen predicting everything from nothing being wrong to possibly colic. The idea was floated that I could go out there by myself and do some diagnostic work and call back into the office, but after a quick google of "take horse temperature" and a couple of startlingly informative youtube videos, I decided that it might be a good idea to have someone along in case things went south. Horses it seems are rarely trained to hold a thermometer under their tongues, and one piece of oft quoted advice is, "tie a string to the end of the thermometer". Anyway, he had good digestion noises going on so we walked him around a bit, and started feeding him a serving of beet pulp a day to help his digestion and get him hydrated. He seems to be back to normal now and eating everything in sight. Him and Murphy look majestic in their wooded winter paddock and I've been back out to walk him around and practice some training exercises that I've been reading about. I enjoy scouting the property from the saddle looking for turkey tracks, too. Makes me feel like I'm on the trail of a cattle thief that I will catch up with one day. And when I do... BANG!, and straight into the marinade.

Well, that's about the news for now. Yesterday was ski day, so that makes today pick up the crap around the house day... and believe me, there's plenty of it, too. Seems like somebody comes in and makes a mess while I'm away at work during the week with the sole intention of ruining my weekend.

99.9 degrees by the way. That was the reading from the thermometer. Another check mark on my bucket list.

Gone back to Ohio: Christmas 2010

2010-12-30T06:44:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting here on our couch this morning, warming myself by the wood stove and the sunshine streaming in the window; the dogs cast about me like so much flotsam. It feels great to be home again. Sarah's still trying to squeeze a couple more moments of sleep out of day, but the coffee's on now, so she'll be up soon and we'll be off. I just want to share some of the better photo's that were captured on our camera from a great weekend with family. We hope you all enjoy the rest of your holiday together and welcome you to our house any time. All the best.

Sorry I cropped her head here, but I love the smile!

Ian took this one. I think it looks like we're racing!

Ah History, the Destroyer of Hope.

2010-12-02T11:42:00.001-08:00

Just a quick story about today, before my mind purges the information in its on-going quest to save space for my mailing address and phone number.

We've been learning about the industrial revolution and the labor movement in the United States in the late 19th century for about three weeks now. It culminated today with a guest lecturer talking about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire and the Uprising of the 20,000. She spoke at length about the conditions in the garment factory, about the age and wages of the women, about the 78 hour work week and the fact that two strikes failed to change conditions at the Triangle Factory. Finally, the revelation that the courts failed to indict the co-owners of the factory was too much for one young man in my class.

"God, everything about this sucks!" he blurted out, then looked back to find me smiling.

"Couldn't have said it better myself."

Next on the syllabus, immigration and city life with such stupendous topics as tenement life, the Chinese Exclusion Act, the rise of the Klan, the nadir of race relations, and race riots. A fronte praecipitium a tergo lupi.

For all my friends lucky enough to still be teaching science

2010-11-17T19:23:00.001-08:00

I found this really cool site that allows you to scale up and down and see many important objects from our lives relative to one another. Have fun with it.

http://primaxstudio.com/stuff/scale_of_universe/

Just another Sunday...

2010-11-14T14:38:00.001-08:00

Horse bus

The Man: Rambo at his new home.

Sarah and The Man having a chat.

I think he approves of our carpentry.

Sarah riding Murphy, Pat's horse.

Murphy trying to pretend he's not interested in his new pasture mate. He was really funny at first, all aloof and looking back over his shoulder or peaking around the corner of the barn, but he quickly warmed up and they were soon standing side by side.

of having a dream fulfilled!

Exciting weekend

2010-11-13T16:32:00.000-08:00

So, we had a pretty exciting weekend (still one day to go!). Two of our main ambitions came to fruition this weekend. Below, find pictures of the new wood stove and Rambo, infused with supporting images.

Rambo doing his best Zhora impersonation.

The view from Rambo's new pasture! I think he'll be happy. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

Rambo's new digs

2010-11-07T14:54:00.000-08:00

So it's a long story, but it ends with us adopting a great Morgan named Rambo from our friend, Kathleen. Job one, figure out where to keep him. Fortunately, our friend Pat has an awesome place out in Lodi and has practically laid out the red carpet for us. She already has an appaloosa named Murphy who's in need of another friend. We spent last weekend riding, and this weekend preparing Rambo's new home. We had to build a second stall off of one side of Pat's barn. The pictures that follow chronicle that process.

The barn, all ready for a second stall.

Nailing up supports

The pond, fenced in and ready to go.

Yesterday, the girls put up the fence to divide the front pasture, took pictures, and rode Murphy while Nick and I put up the first side of the shed.

Sarah looking beautiful on a cold Sunday.

The Murphinator trying to figure out what the heck we we're doing and why it's so noisy.

Sarah utilizing the miter saw

Doin' my best to look manly.

The (almost) finished product. Just add horse!

Fall in B-Dale

2010-10-24T16:17:00.001-07:00

As you all know, chopping firewood is one of my favorite things to do. I find it very therapeutic to focus so hard on not burying an 8 lb. maul in my shin.

Sarah took this picture. I just think it's really cool. I like the way it's framed and it seems to capture the season really well. At least in my mind.

I always have help. Eva works hard to keep the wood chips from piling up.

This is from a walk that we took on Sunday morning at the Ornithology Lab. The lighting was only mediocre, but the walk was great.

Continuing to learn about the camera Mom and Dad donated to us. Messing with the F stop here.

Fall maple leaves.

The hills by the house
Male Downy on the feeder
His woman-friend

Please consider donating to our gubernatorial candidate!

2010-10-19T14:54:00.000-07:00

Waterfalls and Frost

2010-10-10T11:14:00.000-07:00

October in the Southern Tier

2010-10-03T17:45:00.000-07:00

Sarah perusing the produce at the farmer's market

Avoiding the paparazzi at the park.

Russell, seen here circumventing more ridiculous New York state laws

So... we went to get pumpkins and found a "Spook House" (that's what the sign said) with goats in the rafters.

At least the goats were cute, which is more than I can say about the Spook House... and most of the people at the Iron Kettle Farm. Still, the the pumpkins are cool. See them below.

Russ, looking manly and helping out around the homestead.

Bustin' wood into little pieces.

Something about this seems very ominous. Not sure if I took a good picture or if Sarah's really good at looking ominous.

Not our mother's pumpkin carving.

Russ at Pete's... makin' friends

Sarah at Pete's. The building used to be a livery stable for horses. It's been remodeled to resemble a bar.

Sarah spotted this girl hunting in front of the bank.

And here she is doing her best, "I'm going to fly into your car and rip off your faces" impression.

New thing: we're composting

And... it's almost full. Have to buy a second one when I get paid.

New multi-tool that G'pa and G'ma Rockwell got me for my birthday. Thanks. I already used it to pull a bee stinger out of my hand, fix my sun glasses, and tighten a loose screw on the table.

Thanks for the new tie and shoes, Mom and Dad. Note the deer skull is rocking a full Windsor knot, just like me. I had to watch a lot of YouTube to figure that knot out. I bought pants, a shirt, and have money left over. You guys are awesome!

Here's Sarah's Lite-Brite pumpkin surrounded by the freaky looking albino ones

Still Going Strong

2010-09-26T15:50:00.000-07:00

Jay gesticulating along with another of his stories. Don't even ask...

Jay's new barn. Built with the help of Amish slave labor.

Cowboy. Doin' what he does.

Weasel in all her glory.

Crazy apple orchard that we went to with Erik and Margaret on my birthday. Making vodka out of apples in no way improves the taste, but it was a nice day anyway

Sarah cleaning the new used wood stove. It even came in her favorite colour! Hopefully we'll have it in before the first snow. Come on up and see it in action!

Sarah loves her lawn mower. We love all the free fire wood our friends are giving us!

Been riding out at our friend Pat's place. That's Murphy (under saddle) and me (over saddle) taking a little trail ride. Not sure why I look so bewildered. At least Murphy looks like he knows what he's doing.

The Murphinator walking Sarah through some low branches. He used to be and still is a barrel racer. It's kind of like riding a Ferrari with a mind all its own.

Seattle

2010-09-04T16:16:00.001-07:00

The Cyclops or something. Bob says it sucks, but I liked the eyeball against the blue building behind it. Downtown Seattle
A balcony on an apartment complex across from Pike's Place Market.
Out the window of Pike's Place
Still a port city
Sarah and Zhora on the balcony at the townhouse
Me, babysitting
Fishery at Westport on the Pacific
Tugboat with the Olympics behind
For Dad. Wish there were five of 'em, but I can only do so much without a National Geographic grant
Jenn and Zhora on the beach.
The Stickel family at the beach
Sarah, Zhora, and Jenn (from left)
Bob and Zhora
Douglas Firs at the house (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
Jenn and Zhora at Agua Verde.
Acer of some kind
Lichen at the arboretum
See above
Anna's Hummingbird at the arboretum (Calypte anna)

Douglas Fir
Doing a better job on my second try.

Flora and Fauna

2010-08-22T04:21:00.000-07:00

Camp 3 Dog Walk

2010-08-22T04:17:00.000-07:00

Bird houses and Chez Maury

2010-08-14T16:46:00.000-07:00

Nature Study

2010-08-14T16:35:00.000-07:00

Handicappers

2010-08-14T16:32:00.000-07:00

Swimming

2010-08-14T16:30:00.000-07:00

Bemis Cemetary

2010-08-14T16:01:00.000-07:00

Wolf Rescue (note arctic foxes in summer phase)

2010-08-14T15:50:00.000-07:00

just have a second

2010-08-12T07:59:00.000-07:00

Glen Highland Farm Summer Camp

2010-07-31T16:23:00.000-07:00

I'm exhausted. When is the period over? This has been an amazing learning experience. After the first two days I thought I'd gotten in over my head, but then the tide began to shift, the bickering began to stop, and the kids gained focus, determination, and purpose and camp got fun. I've been running and biking with the kids everyday. They tolerate my horrid basketball "skills" and I praise their ability to not drown in 3 ft of water wearing life vests. Old Man Bemis was told around the fire last night and visited the cabin soon after. I've never laughed like I did this morning when I awoke to find 6 city kids crammed in two beds to thwart the ghost of Bemis. The first session ends on Wednesday and I'll miss almost all of them. Can't wait to see their final performance with their dogs.

My Fleet

The UnFixables

The View

Zee. One of the many lucky ones... I love her.

At Spring Farm Sanctuary... Lots of cats...

and horses

and donkeys

and more horses

and kids connecting.

A Summer Morning on the Ranch

2010-07-21T06:51:00.000-07:00

Though diminutive, I've come to love our little piece of America. There are no Republicans here at least.

Our first garden "trinket" from Drumms... Go big or go home.

a QUICK trip to Ohio

2010-07-20T07:36:00.000-07:00

Pat's sweet new ride

Sarah's cannoli in Kent

I promised Gigi that I'd protect her identity. Kent after lunch at Taco Tontos

Beauty, even at the Akron slum house

Who says Medina's gotten too snooty?

Fire-architecture. Just one of my talents

A bold sky

MOUNTAIN BIKING!!!

2010-07-15T14:48:00.000-07:00

"Get a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live." Mark Twain

I never miss my brothers more than when I am riding. Here are some pictures to tempt you two to come ride with me. Ian, Cornell, IC, SUNY Cortland; these fine schools are all at your disposal from Brooktondale. Just saying.

I wrecked here in a manner that'd've made Ian proud.

Drivin' fast on dirt roads, rockin out to Ulysses.

Well I sit and hear sentimental footsteps
Then a voice say, "Hi, so?
So what you got, what you got this time?
Come on, let's get high"

Come on, Lexo, what you got next-o?
Walk twenty-five miles-o
Well I'm bored, I'm bored
Come on, let's get high

Well I found a new way
I found a new way
Come on, don't amuse me
I don't need your sympathy

La, la-la-la-la
Ulysses
I've found a new way

I've found a new way, baby

Drive outta the woods to be greeted by beautiful little fluffy clouds. lalalalala

Pictures from Glen Highland Farm

2010-07-15T06:55:00.000-07:00

I will be working at Glen Highland Farm in August as a counselor and naturalist (and apparently a bike mechanic). They have a camp each summer that brings at risk kids from NYC, the Bronx, and Newark out to the country. The program revolves around the rescued border collies that the farm saves, heals, and adopts out year round. To see more about the farm click here.

I took a trip out there on Tuesday and what follows are some of my pictures.

Quick Update

2010-07-10T15:00:00.000-07:00

Sarah's picture of one of the many woodpeckers visiting one of our many feeders. Note the tail used for balance and the grip of those zygodactyl toes.

Radishes. Starting to get food from the garden

Sprocket

Working on the 'ol Trek 8700

Sweating like a pig wearing a buffalo coat in the Amazon

Datura of some kind

Two of the three varieties of garlic we've harvested

Finally got the bird hotel in. Garden to come...tomorrow?

Detail of deer's nasal cavity. Deceased.

More stuff around the house

2010-07-06T08:29:00.000-07:00

This is the view of the homestead. She's comin' along nicely. The fence is a dream! It looks good, the dogs LOVE being outside to lay about, sniff, or help us around the yard. And, as an added bonus, Tony can't ride his scooter across my yard anymore. Yes, unfortunately that was a real problem

We have raspberries and blackberries ripening all over the place. In fact, I think I'll spend some of my day picking them. Delicious. Incidentally, I finally figured out how to use the macro setting on the camera...which explains (if not excuses) the following flower pictures.

Rudbeckia hirta Bellis perennis

This is from a nice little wildflower garden around the side of the house. Note the artistry achieved with a shallow depth of focus... very classy

Asclepias tuberosa: This is a butterfly weed that Sarah planted. We have had little luck attracting butterflies in any above average numbers, but our humming bird population has skyrocketed this season.

Our lettuce. Almost ready

Pisum sativum
The beautiful and delicious pea.

This last is of our cucumbers. Sarah picked one so far and there are several more that are ready to be pickled. Have to go get the canning supplies today I guess. Can't wait to start learning a new skill!

I, Keith Harrington have tamed the shed. And I fixed one of the rototillers. And I fixed my truck's tailgate. And I built a fire. It was a very manly day.

Still can't believe this is our backyard! I love it. Note the fence.

I really like taking pictures into the sun. This is one of the many aspens in our yard. I find it fitting that we have them.

Lilium canadense
This'ns not in our yard. There are a bunch of them growing down along the old railroad trestle down by the swamp.

Agway. My favorite store. TSC follows closely.

Proud Eva

Happy Eva

So, I've been thinking about this for a day now, and I still can't quite wrap my head around it. I'm really proud of our little dog. It's not that I wanted her to kill the groundhog or even that the groundhog was a bother, and I certainly didn't enjoy seeing it happen. On the contrary, I was scared that Eva was going to get hurt and I felt bad for the groundhog. But in a way, through this act, Eva seems to have achieved her dogness. There was no doubt in my mind, nor hers of course, that this was her job. She was supposed to keep the house and yard free of vermin. At any rate, she dispatched the gopher quickly and sustained no injuries. It's great that just the other day Sarah purchased a book on crock-pot stews.

Hope all is well in everyone's world. It's been nice to see the flurry of posting. Swing on by. Between the garden and the wildlife, we should be able to whip up a meal for ya anytime.

Cap'n Sarah

2010-06-13T05:04:00.000-07:00

Sarah Sailing

2010-06-12T19:13:00.001-07:00

Things I've learned from two gates and 150 feet of fence

2010-06-03T17:03:00.000-07:00

Haven't written anything in awhile, so I thought I'd do just that for a minute. As you can see, Sarah and I have been spending most of our free time working on or around the house. Sarah's worked hard with the garden this year and seems to be taking full advantage of the fact that it's seasoned for a year. We have 4 varieties of garlic coming up in different stages, corn stalks rising fast, broccoli, squash, cucumbers, carrots, snap peas and purple [green] beans, at least 6 or so varieties of tomato (stagger planted this year!), radishes, and a few types of lettuce! That's all her, too. All I did was rototill and weed a little bit. Our herb garden is looking good...lots of mint for mojitos of course, and our wild flowers are attracting hummingbirds. Sarah followed Mom H and Mom V in breaking up some plants, so the hostas are now planted, well, pretty much everywhere as far as I can tell.

We've been punishing the grill with some epic sessions as well. It's cooked two rounds of turkey, a cow's tucus worth of hamburger and several quivers of brauts, veggie and otherwise. It's holding up well and cleans up nicely. Ironically, for all the stink I made about the necessity of a side burner, I've yet to use it. But I've a family size can of baked beans that are ready to go.

I thought a lot of Granpa and Grandma H this past weekend for a couple reasons. First, because I neglected to call Grandma on her birthday despite repeated reminders from Sarah. Second, because memorial day is lost on me except for parades in Medina and then walking to the Harrington's for picnic and playing at the park. And lastly because I spent at least part of the day shooting at squirrels with my bb gun. I'm trying to condition them to pain in the rear whenever they are on the feeder, but they seem to be conditioning to the sound of the pump on my gun instead. It's effective when I'm sitting on the stoop watching for them, but otherwise useless.

So here's a list of things I've learned from fencing so far...about fencing and life.

Always wear protection

On two separate occasions I would definitely have at least lost a finger nail and/or had to go to the hospital. Of course I whacked my thumb with a hammer in full swing. Surprisingly, when you hurt yourself really, really badly, curse words don't come easily. I reverted to the full-cro-magnon. I swear I've never made some of those noises in my life. Must be writ deep in my European DNA. The second occasion was less dramatic and more of a slow creeping, building pain after I almost ripped my finger off on a bit of fencing.

2. Repeating, "Fencing is not an exact science" is no substitute for measuring stuff.

3. 3' deep is two and a half feet deeper than a foot and a half.

4. 3' across the ground is in fact eight inches shorter than three and a half feet.

5. Gates are a pain in the ass.

New Music From MBD!

2010-05-26T09:12:00.000-07:00

As Long as there is Whiskey in the World

Fencing

2010-05-24T16:44:00.001-07:00

Sarah starting a big job. Brush Hog.

Jay. Happy his chainsaw works and happy to have work for it... maybe.

Touche. Enlarge to see detail of exit wound.

Happy or heat stroked. You decide.

If sweat is equity that's $20,000 worth of fence you're looking at.

Gardening

2010-05-16T16:41:00.001-07:00

Making the House Safe for Summer

2010-05-12T09:22:00.000-07:00

Many Grills Come from Boxes

The Grill May Require SOME Assembly

Fortunately I had Help

6:05. The Directions say 50minutes for Two People

YAy!

Not sure how long the grill will last, but I gaurantee there will be evidence of this purchase for some time. Like 25,000 years.

Oh good. There's more. Sneaky Chinese product packers.

50 minutes for two people.

Lots of supervision.

7:45...you do the math.

STILL supervising

Look what i did, he says

DONE.

Thanks Mom and Dad. It cooks a good turkey!

Meet Arlo... I wish he came to live with us

2010-04-28T06:54:00.001-07:00

Sarah gets to hang out with adorable new born owls and puppies. I hang out all day with smelly, hormonal 13 year olds. Seems unfair somehow.

Megan's wedding

2010-04-14T17:08:00.001-07:00

Here're some pics from our trip to Ohio.

2010-04-14T14:09:00.000-07:00

Glad the atlatls were such a big hit. To buy your own go to www.thunderbirdatlatl.com and talk to Bob or his great wife, Cheryll. Keep checking here for the date and events listing of the upcoming Summer BrooktonGames. You are all invited!

WOW!

2010-03-05T05:55:00.001-08:00

Cory turned me on to this guy. What a brilliant video

Where is my brother?

2010-03-04T09:28:00.000-08:00

This is an old picture, but you may be able to identify him from it. Please let me know if you see him. He is relatively self sufficient, but if left completely alone, he may not bathe or eat real food.

Winter sets in.

2010-03-01T08:03:00.000-08:00

Skiing my face off and other fun

2010-02-15T17:20:00.000-08:00

Hey, haven't written anything in awhile. Things are good up here. I started my WWI unit and enjoying it. We did two days of stations and learned a little bit about the weapons of war and read some letters home. On Thursday and Friday we're going to explore propaganda and hopefully the kids'll create some of their own.

The house is good. Sarah is redoing the guest room, so to those of you who've visited and invariably, and justifiably, complained about the bed back there, come back and visit this spring, it should be improved. We're still planning to fence in the yard this spring and expand the vegetable garden some. The big news is that Sally might be pregnant! Sally is my friends Percheron, so our family may be expanding. It won't be soon, they gestate for 11 months, and then the foal would have to be weened and all, but maybe someday.

While Sarah was out gallivanting around Ohio I held down the fort here. And by held down the fort I mean I avoided doing anything and minimized my mess by spending all of my time skiing. I've really been enjoying learning the sport. I'm getting pretty comfortable and usually only fall a few times per visit. Like they say, practice makes perfect, and I've practiced so much that I can now fall in most places without hurting myself too bad. Today I skied from 8:20 until 3:20 and then went to swim practice.

As you probably know, the regular season is over now. We ended our season undefeated and took 1st at sectionals. 5 guys will have the chance to go to states for the 200 medley relay, the 500, the backstroke, the breast stroke, and the 200 IM. All in all, it was a really exciting season.

Lastly, to continue the tradition of posting youtube videos, here're a couple from a band called Carolina Chocolate Drops who you may have heard on All Things Considered today.

The End of the World is Nigh

2010-02-08T16:57:00.000-08:00

Is anyone else aghast at the fact that this year's Super Bowl surpassed the finale of MASH as the most watched television event in history? Makes me want to cry.

Music and a book for my bro

2010-02-02T19:48:00.000-08:00

New Fan in the Bedroom: Operational

2010-01-31T18:08:00.000-08:00

7 degrees outside...Fahrenheit

Great find from Ian

2010-01-31T11:27:00.000-08:00

How not to install a fan

2010-01-31T11:10:00.001-08:00

Here's what I've learned:

A: Electricity terrifies me (already knew that, but hadn't tested it lately)

B: My house was built and wired by magicians who started construction with the roof and worked their way down

C: Don't just look at the wires and say, "I'll have to remember that..."

D: Diagrams are easier to draw from reality than from a flawed and anger addled mind

E: Dave Barry was right

Ah, home ownership... AGH, Home OWNERship!

2010-01-31T11:00:00.000-08:00

#@%&*!@#%^

New Hobby: Fun with home chemistry

2009-12-07T15:42:00.000-08:00

Exhibit A: Nice clear workspace at the beginning of the night. We all know where this is headed

Haven't quite got it all set up yet. Looking forward to bolting the grinder to something. Eight pounds of barley grain becomes ample when you have to hold the grinder in hand

See Erik. See Erik's heat stick. See Erik smile when the wort boils before 3 a.m.

We still almost forgot to take the original gravity reading before pitching the yeast! It's criminal! How could we be so forgetful?

I present exhibit B: Table top at the end of the night

New Hobby:

2009-12-07T14:18:00.000-08:00

Yeah, it's not quite as nice as Great Lakes Brewery yet, but most nights we serve pizza if you want to swing by. The beer selection is usually limited in style, but we make up for it in 5 gallon carboys!

The "wonderwand", horrifying and dangerous.

Milking the mash tun. Ahh, sweet ambrosia

The new batch. Brookton-Ale Pale Ale

Home Owners

2009-11-30T15:42:00.000-08:00

Well, it's official, Sarah and I now own a house! So the next time something breaks, I won't have to call my landlord to come out and do an inept job fixing the problem, I'll do it myself. Thanks to all of you who've been so supportive. Grandma Cressman and Andy, I've already put the cordless power tools to use and plan on putting up a fence in the spring, too. Grandma and Grandpa Rockwell, thanks for coming and looking it over for us. If I ever need a screw hammered in I know who to call. Grandma and Grandpa H, thank you for the sponsorship, I'll have to see if I can get someone to sew me a NASCAR style "Team Harrington" patch for my coat. Mom and Dad...thank you.

So who's down for a deck raising in the spring?

Halloween

2009-10-30T08:12:00.001-07:00

Mr. Harrington and Mrs. Myers (I hate Halloween)

It's not Wyoming, but hey, first snow on October 15... I'll take it.

2009-10-16T05:25:00.000-07:00

Fall Fun with Atlatls

2009-10-11T14:56:00.000-07:00

Veneta notching the dart

Sarah: Deadly atlatl assassin

Sarah's a pumpkin killa'

Veneta launching a dart into orbit!

Mason Jennings for Ian

2009-10-08T17:20:00.000-07:00

Sarah says, "I heard a new song today that for sure would have gotten played at the climbing gym. It's got an awesome guitar riff." So this is her find. We thought of you, Ian.

Late Summer 09

2009-10-08T09:29:00.001-07:00

Montezuma Wildlife Sanctuary

Sarah and Gary at the Cornell showing of Philosopher Kings

Layton's new beach house

Bluegrass Night at Sixmile Creak Winery

Miscellaneous Photos from the end of Summer

2009-10-08T09:23:00.001-07:00

Click on the image to find out why white people like Banksy

2009-10-07T11:29:00.000-07:00

Birds I've Seen in One Week! (not my pictures though)

2009-08-23T13:04:00.000-07:00

Caspian Tern
Sterna caspia

Common Merganser
Mergus merganser

Double Breasted Cormorants
Palacrocorax auritus

Bald Eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus

American Kestrel
Falco sparverius

Highway 12: August 7

2009-08-07T14:03:00.001-07:00