Still getting used to being outside

I'm pretty manic right now. This is a rough time of year for me because I still feel like every sunny day is a gift that can be snatched away at any moment and we'll be sent scurrying back to the wood stove. The upshot of this is that every time I see the sun, I want to drop whatever I'm doing and get the bike down, the boat out, lace up my running shoes, put on the hiking boots, head into the woods, down the trail, out onto the road, down the river and away from responsibilities.  But now I am older and more mature, so I can't just head out at every whim.  I mean, I do... but only like 90% of the time, and at least some of the time I feel guilty about shirking responsibilities... at least for a few minutes.

"Papa, slow down!  I'm trying to explore!"  We haven't had a late hard frost for the first time in three years.  As a result, the flowers are in bloom everywhere.  We compared flowers and cones and catkins and buds.  This one here is on a river birch, I think.

At the arboretum last weekend.

Awesome lichen on a tree branch

More lichen and some moss.

On April 23 we celebrated the Earth Day weekend with a big hiking party on a new trail.  A couple of friends met us there, too.  The trail was muddy, but very fun.  We saw trout lilies, hepatica, may apples, trillium, and ramps and lots more.  We also got our shoes super muddy.

It's always nice to have a helper.  "How about this?  Does this need yanked on?"

"How 'bout if I pull on this, here?

"What about that thing?  Want me to whack that thing?"

Grilling has been super satisfying lately.  We bought a couple books, one about cooking with fire and one about campfire cooking.  I've been going through those books and looking for different ideas to try.  Grilling corn is pretty basic, but damn is it good!

And, of course, I have a helper.

Had to pull over the other evening to take this shot.  Our house is just out of the shot on the left about 2/3 of the way up.  That's the swamp in the center there.  I LOVE where we live.

Spring peeper on the door during a thunder storm Thursday night.

Turkey season is here, so not only am I up at 4am (nothing new), but I'm outside listening to the world wake up.  Good stuff.

I came home this morning and picked up my own little turkey to go for a walk.

What alien thing is this?!

My grill helpers this evening.

Looking good!

Anybody remember that lifetime when I was a vegetarian?!  How about a beer boiled, bacon wrapped, grilled brat on rye bread with Ommegang Gouda cheese?  Don't worry, we steamed some green beans and sliced some pickles too. 

Hope everyone is well.

Adventurey day

The Chopper and I (and Sarah and Zhora) had an adventurey day today.  So, of course, Emmett had to start by fueling up!  Some pears and prunes to get the ole engine going, today.

He and Jonas and I then headed down to Johnson City to meet up with a guy about a boat.  I've had an eye out for a solo canoe for quite awhile now.  I missed out on a couple that I was eager for, but finally found this one down in PA.  The guy who was selling agreed to meet us half way.  I have this vision of camping with the family and some friends on the banks of a great Adirondack lake.  To be able to do that, at least one of us has to be able to carry gear.

It was great fun to tie the canoe onto the roof rack and go full Subaru.  Emmett and I just wish that it wasn't going to be so long til we can get out on the water.  Still, that gives him some time to learn to swim.

We hadn't been home too long when it was time to go back out on our next adventure.  The girls (Sarah, Zhora, and Eva) had been hanging out and making lasagna, and were eager to go hunt a Christmas tree.

We'd looked around at a bunch of different farms and settled on Moore's.  There is a barn and wreaths and cider and Santa, and lots and lots of trees.  No horse drawn sleigh or anything.  For the price we paid to bring a dead tree into our house, I think a sleigh ride wouldn't be to much to ask.  Still, we had a good time searching for the just right one.

The kid just loves being outside!  We're so lucky.

He definitely recognizes and is infatuated with Zhora at this point.  It's hard to get a picture of him with her around because he's always looking at her.  It's obvious that she's going to be his "big sister".



A successful hunt!

The tree is only about 6 ft tall, but it's pretty and should be fun to decorate.  We had a good time getting it.  It was fun to strap stuff to the car today, too.  Looking forward to a nice christmas season in the near future, and some awesome canoe camping in the spring/summer.

The girls went out to the Ice Festival and to see a movie.  The boys (plus Eva) went home and chilled.  It was wonderful.  Emmett and I ate and played and read lots of books.  He played with Jonas for awhile, too.  It was very sweet.  All in all, a good day.  We're looking forward to getting the tree up and to getting the canoe in the water.  The timing on those two events is gonna be a little different.

Just some filler

Not too much news. Just been keepin on keepin on, lately. Cleaning, gardening, biking and hunting. 

Sebastian's new ride! Note the home brewers bumper sticker... Priceless. 

My eternal supervisor. 

My rides. 

Our dandelion farm.

The kid is going to sleep in this room?!

Climbing trees somewhat safely. 

Then this fell off. 

Chaperoning the junior prom. 

Drove past this guy riding his bike in long underwear and black socks, then past a park full of "adults" hitting each other with Nerf swords. Gotta love Ithaca. 

In a similar vein, we attended an event the other day in a small space with a loud band and a bunch of extroverts who wanted to talk. As we were walking up, I heard the singer ask, "so, who likes kale?!... Awesome! We're going to sing our kale song!"  Then he turned to his band and said, "Don't be afraid to jam out for a bit here at the beginning. This group will totally dig it!"  Everything after that is a blur. 

To Ohio and Back...

We had a lovely trip to Ohio this past weekend.  In addition to a lovely baby shower filled with friends, family, and sewing machines, we had lots of unscheduled time to just hang out with our folks.

There were lots of laughs.  This was one of them.  Eva fussed and pushed and tossed the pillows and blankets on this chair for a good two minutes, only to settle for this uncomfortable  looking position.  I'm convinced she just tried to make it look comfortable to save face.

The moms and aunts did an fantastic job putting together an meaningful and entertaining celebration for Chopper and us.  We had five or six sewing machines set up and a bunch of fabric and patterns and instructions set out.  It looked a little like a sweat shop, but everyone seemed to have good time.  (I think Walmart makes that same argument) It was exactly what we hoped; people chatted and helped one another and made fun little things that we will use and remember them by in the near future.  We'll tell Chopper about what great family he has!

One of our most animated helpers!

Andy made a really cool neckerchief with plaid on one side and cowboys on the other; he is quite the seamster (I assume that's the masculine version of that word).  Gail made a cute one with whales on it.

In the end, we received 8 handmade bib/kerchiefs, 6 burp cloths, and 1 pair of diaper covers.  A friend of Veneta made us the little hat you see in the picture!  My favorite part of the whole day was watching people help one another and work together.  Seeing first time sewers create something functional from raw fabric was very gratifying, while some of the experienced sewers created works of art with their accuracy and precision.  Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone involved!

Special thanks for set up, sewing machines, expertise, fabrics, etc., etc., go to Mom B and Mom H, Becky, Maribeth, and Denise!  Thank you all so much!  We had a great time!  Thanks to Alyssa and Jared for dish washing, on-site support, and transportation.

As reported in previous posts, I have been manic about mountain biking lately.  Fortunately, by design, Ian's bike is in Medina, so I had something to ride.  And in the last 15 years, a place TO ride has been developed in Huffman and Reagan Parks.  The bypasses and bridges were really fun.

In addition to the jumps and bridges and switchbacks, it was quite a wilderness ride.  A herd of deer showed up repeatedly on my ride, several red squirrels crossed the trail, a pair of banded king fishers chattered from a branch, and a pileated woodpecker raced me through the trees.  Not bad for an urban park.

We had such warm, beautiful spring weather up until the last day... then the front rolled in.  Mom and Dad H, Mom B, Zhora, and Sarah and I met at On Tap for dinner.  The food and beer were good.  The company and conversation were great.  The wind was a little much.  That night, we snuggled in and listened to the wind blow and the lightening and thunder crash.

By the time we got home on Tuesday, we needed a fire in the stove.  Ridiculous.

This morning, I got up and headed to the arboretum.  I am mentoring Jasper as he completes his independent study for his senior English class.  His project is to climb trees.  You can check out his blog here if you want.  We met with the head arborist at Cornell University for a lesson on single and double rope climbing, knots, and limb walking.

It was a pretty cool morning.