Sunday, November 11th, 2007
We were going to go for a hike this afternoon, but I feared the ground would be swampy when we got to our destination. I wanted to hike down to a pond a few acres away. I think we’ll get to that another day, but for today, we stuck with our usual walk down the road.
I have to say, for all those people who put off hiking in the summer because it’s too hot, today was the day for you. Weather.com tells me it’s 44 degrees outside…perfect for walking or hiking. No sweating and no freezing. Just perfect.
In an unusual move, I thought I would bring the camera along. It’s nice and sunny, so I knew the photos would come out nicely. Wanna see a few?
This is a piece of property down the road that both Laura and I are very jealous of. I am not sure how many acres it is, but they have a pond, a grassy area, a main house and another house out back. They also have a table and chairs set up near the back of the pond. I would like to drink my morning coffee there.
Moving further along, there is a river that flows pretty much along the entire road. When Rob came up to visit a while ago, we looked for salamanders under the rocks in this river.
This is Laura’s favorite house on this road. It’s an old white farm-ish type house. It’s hard to see back there, but what I was trying to get a picture of was the nice driveway and Pacasandra planted off to the right.
I just had to grab this one on our way back. The sun was hitting it and the leaves were bright yellow. Also, this is a great stone house to look at.
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Saturday, November 10th, 2007
This is getting pretty bad. I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. I noticed there was snow on the ground and immediately thought about writing a blog post about it. Yes, I probably should pursue therapy.
In any event, yes, it did snow last night. It was the first snow of the season for us in this part of New York. It actually hasn’t been cold really and there are still leaves on the trees…green ones on some. That strikes me as weird. Laura keeps telling me they are on the trees until after Thanksgiving. It’s nice to have a little brain so closeby.
When I woke up in the middle of the night, there was more snow on the ground. I guess some of it melted. I have to say, the sight of snow does give you a nice feeling. With all the Christmas commercials on TV these days, it is starting to feel like the season. Also, just a word of warning, these are the days that I start dreaming. These are the days of reflection on what I want to do with the rest of my life. I probably think this way because snow calms me down and gives me some breathing room.
We have had the pellet stove burning for most of the month of November and some of October. I am so happy we got this stove. It’s clean and very easy to operate. Gone are the days of splitting wood, dust and a mess in the house. I don’t think I will ever forget all the bark in the living room when I was a kid. I did like burning it though.
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Wednesday, November 7th, 2007
Well, Laura did anyway.
She was letting Holly, the dog, back inside this evening, (which is now dark by the way) when she heard something in the leaves. She told me about it and grabbed the flashlight. I told her I was going to go out the front door and we would surround whoever was out there. Somehow, Laura ended up going out the front door with me. I don’t think she heard me. So much for surrounding the enemy. Either way, we walked out onto the front porch and saw their eyes sparkle in the moonlight…two hungry deer.
I ran out on the lawn and watched (and heard) them run away into the neighbor’s yard across the street. That’ll teach ‘em. Yeah, right. I walked downstairs and grabbed my big sprayer full of deer spray and had my way with all the trees on the property. Now, the whole place stinks to high heaven.
Tomorrow, I will wrap the trees with fencing.
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Wednesday, November 7th, 2007
I know, I know, I complain about the same thing every year.
I kept forgetting to spray my three new crabapple trees with the Liquid Fence deer repellent spray. I sprayed them before, but it seems like every time I do, there are heavy rain showers. Even though the spray claims to stay on in the rain, everyone knows that is just a dream. By the way, if you are going to buy this spray, purchase the concentrated bottle. It goes a much longer way than the other pre-mixed stuff.
So, the deer have been nibbling on the end tree. I thought the other two trees were a different breed that the deer weren’t interested in, because they weren’t touched. Well, this morning, I noticed that the trees were bare. When I say bare, I mean the wood was eaten too. The damn deer even broke a few branches to get to the leaves at top.
I love animals, but at this point and want to strangle these deer. Today I am going to the Depot to get some of that see-through black deer fencing. I will take a picture for you.
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Sunday, October 21st, 2007
Wow, what a day.
Laura and I had to get new sneakers, so we headed up to the “Prime Outlets at Lee.” I will tell you, I thought the place was much bigger. It was refreshing to visit something so cozy and nice. People were just walking around enjoying the day. There didn’t seem to be any attitude that usually comes alond with these places…well, the ones in New York anyway. Yeah, you know what I’m talking about.
We found a good shoe store. Laura bought two pairs of sneakers and I bought one. It has taken such a long time to do this, it feels good to have it done. After that chore was finished, it was time to have some fun. We took Pleasant Street, or Rt. 102 West into Stockbridge. I think everyone else had the same idea for today. After all, the leaves are almost in full effect and the weather was perfect. Stockbridge was a little crowded, but not too bad. We parked our car on the side of the road and headed down towards the Red Lion Inn for some lunch. Right across the street from the car, there was a little park that I never noticed. It’s pretty cool, so I grabbed a photo.
We made it down the road…almost to the Inn, when I remembered that I left the gift certificate Laura got me for my birthday in the car. We had to walk all the way back to get it. Upon our return to the place we were standing ten minutes earlier, I decided to take another photo.
This is the ally that leads to the back of the Red Lion Inn. I wanted to eat lunch in the courtyard. Well, I guess they aren’t serving lunch there anymore, because there were no tables set up. Instead, we went downstairs to “The Lion’s Den.” It’s more of a tavern type deal.
We had a great lunch. We did get a little tipsy because we decided to have a little drink before we sat down.
That was fun too.
After we finished eating, which seemed like a really long time, we headed upstairs to make our Thanksgiving dinner reservations. We have been trying to get in here for a few years, but they are always booked up. This year, they had one table for two open. Yeah!!! We made it. I made the reservation and we are in. That is so cool. After that, we left.
We have been planning to go apple picking for a couple of months now, but have yet to get the chance. Today seemed like a perfect day to head down Rt. 7, a little South of Stockbridge and a little North of Great Barrington, to a place called Windy Hill Farm. We have been here a few times and really love it. They have pumpkins and apples and everything else.
I tell ya, it makes me sooooo happy.
Unfortunately, we showed up at 4:35 and they stop the “you-pick” at 4:30. Good thing our friend Eric let us up to pick a few apples on our own. I climbed a nice sized tree to get two shiny apples way up on top. I handed them off to Laura and we headed back down to the store.
We bought a big bag of mixed apples for $8 and a pumpkin for $8 too. Oh, yeah, we are all set up. Remember last time we got a pumpkin up at this place? Man, I love the Berkshires.
Oh yeah, before I forget, take a look at the picture I took while crossing the Castleton Bridge over the Hudson River.
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Sunday, October 7th, 2007
Although I have been noticing a lot more color in the trees around here, I would have to say that for October 7, it’s still pretty green.
I ran down to Home Depot this morning to return a dying Boxwood and White Pine. Just in case you were curious, I traded them for three nice China Girl Hollys. Since I am planting them late in the season, I hope they don’t have the same fate as last year’s Hollys. Anyway, during the trip to the store, I noticed a lot of leaves falling on this back road that I like to take. I pulled over and took a picture. Then the camera went dead. Good thing I got a pic.
Oh, and just in case you were curious, the winter damaged Holly from last year did grow new leaves this year. Here is a photo…
There isn’t much new growth, but there are leaves. Maybe next season there will be new growth.
Below is a photo of a new China Girl Holly that I just got today. See the new sprouts up on top? That’s what I like to see. Even my Boxwoods are sprouting with new growth. I guess they do that late in the season.
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Saturday, October 6th, 2007
It has been a very dry Autumn. It has rained only once in as long as I can remember. My memory isn’t that great though. The one time it did rain was a heavy downpour for a few minutes. You know, the kind of rain that rolls right off the hard dirt?
I have been out watering each night, trying to keep my young trees from drooping. I like them fresh looking. Now, if I can just keep those annoying hungry deer away from the bottom branches, I will be set.
Anyway, I wanted to show you a nice Red Maple in the front yard. It’s strange…usually, the leaves just change color and drop. This year, because it’s so dry, some leaves actually are getting crunchy right on the branches and then dropping. Weird. It better rain soon. Here is the photo…
The leaves around here are very pretty right now. I would say they are in the first half. I have seen very few trees with all their leaves down.
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Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007
Laura and I had a tough weekend. A lot happened that called for a kind of peaceful getaway. We were in the Copake, NY area, so we decided to visit one of our favorite places, Bash Bish Falls in the Berkshires. I think the Berkshires are just great.
We didn’t actually see the falls…all we did was drive up to the top parking lot and turn around. Laura was wearing heels, so it would’ve been a tough hike for her up the rocky cliff. I wouldn’t have minded helping, but she was pretty straightforward with her resistance. Instead, we decided to stop off at the Depot Deli at the bottom of the mountain.
There was something about this place that I haven’t felt in a long time. It was so peaceful and restful. We pulled into the parking lot and just sat for a few seconds. It felt good to stop. We got lunch in the deli and ate outside at the picnic table. We had a visitor…
This cat was very friendly. I had to shush him/her away a few times because he/she kept jumping up and trying to eat my food.
We discovered something really neat in this area. The Harlem Valley Rail Trail.
This rail trail goes all the way from Wassaic to Chatham (in the future).
In the area is the Taconic State Park.
Maybe the whole area is the Taconic State Park…who knows. I think it is.
After we finished eating, I asked Laura if she wanted to talk a walk down the rail trail. At this point, the whole heel thing was history. The trail is paved. She agreed and we walked down a few hundred feet.
What a beautiful trail. It’s the kind of place you want to sit and enjoy for hours, if not a lifetime…and believe me, we have had that conversation. I couldn’t get over the quiet.
We walked to the bridge and started talking to a woman who lived across the street. She was telling us about the area and the Berkshires. She was retired and was enjoying the weather. What a great place to live near.
I took a few pictures of the river under the bridge, but this one was the best.
I am not sure of the name of this river, but it’s the same water that comes from Bash Bish Falls.
We are going to try to go back soon with our mountain bikes to ride the trail for a few miles. It’s nice because it’s all flat and level and with tons of trees.
Till then…
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Tuesday, September 25th, 2007
I did a little weaving today, but nothing too dangerous.
If I had a really good camera, I would love to pull over to take a picture of the Shawangunk Ridge. There are a few parts along Rt.52 that offer great views. One day I will do that…when I get some guts. Until then, here are today’s pictures of the beginning of Autumn in New York. Believe me, the leaves are changing now…
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Tuesday, September 18th, 2007
Back in the day, Laura and I lived in Naples, NY. It was an interesting adventure, I would say. If you have never lived in Western NY, I would recommend it. Even when we talk about that year today, I always mention the peace and quiet of it all.
At times, usually around the holidays, we would travel back to Southern NY to visit family and friends. We were always kind of disturbed by the buzz that was in the air. I mean, we had fun, but were getting way too used to the quiet of upstate. We would drive back to Naples and (I always say this) right at the entrance of town, I swear the buzz would slide right off me. It was a really nice little town.
One of the best things about that town was the wine. Naples is a wine town. The biggest winery in town is called, “Widmer Winery.” There were vineyards all over the place. In the Autumn, you could smell the grapes in the air. After the winery would scrape the barrels, they would dump the pulp in the fields. That pulp filled the air with scent.
The other night, Laura and I went down to the local Chinese restuarant in town to grab some veggie Chinese food. I didn’t order over the phone because I wanted to spend some time outside the house, even if that meant sitting in a parking lot waiting for the food to be prepared. She sat in the car reading while I walked down and placed the order. During the wait, I decided to walk up to the liquor store to restock some of what we have been craving. I walked in a picked up a bottle of Manischewitz Wine. I like the rasberry one. I also got some Brotherhood Winery spicy holiday wine. It’s a great dessert wine. I like sweet wines. After I had those two wines in my arm, I walked to the back and picked up a gallon of Carlo Rossi Sangria. That’s my favorite cheap red wine. It should be on the counter all the time.
What’s the point of this post? Well, it really has to do with Naples and Manischewitz Wine. Widmer Winery makes the Manischewitz Wine. When we went on the wine tour, they showed us that brand of wine. It’s fun because you can mix it with a bunch of other stuff on hot summer days. After the tour was over, we sampled some of it and bought a few bottles. They do a good job of “getting you loose” to purchase more.
I drank a glass of Manischewitz Wine the other night. It tasted delicious, of course. The only issue is that I think this wine has something in it that gives me a headache. I really like it, so I think I will have to drink it in smaller doses.
Wow, that was an abrupt ending.
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