Bolt Hole, July 7, 2011

A beautiful day here at the Bolt Hole. Clear skies with just a few fair weather cumulus clouds and temperatures in the upper 70s.

I got the rest of the lawn cut once the heavy morning dew evaporated. That took a little longer than expected since the grass was so long. Additionally, some of the wild strawberries and clover were visibly transpiring water at the edges of their leaves. Still, I was able to get the mower out there around 10:30 and work in the areas that got the early sunshine before moving on to the rest. It took me two hours to cut the grass. Normally it takes about that long to do the entire lawn but...well, see what I said about length of grass and the moisture.

After lunch I went in to the woods looking for some downed trees (or standing dead ones) to use for firewood. I located six downed cherries and maples form a few years back that I can cut up. Two cherries are going to be easy to get to as they are right next to one of the easier ATV trails. Two maples are in the middle of a trailess patch and getting to them will be a chore. Too many boulders and hummocks and marshy spots to make it easy. The remaining two trees are again near a path but that path is a wee bit overgrown with cedars and hemlocks and will require some clearing and widening. Also, those last two trees are NOT on the ground but hung up at one end and it may be necessary to take the support tree down to get to them. They will be the last ones I will take, if I take them at all.

In all, I spent three hours mucking about in the woods with brush loppers in hand. I should have brought some surveyor's tape with me to mark likely paths to the downed trees.

Saw numerous deer tracks in the mud of the ATV trails. Nothing absolutely HUGE, but certainly a doe and at least one fawn based on the size of the tracks. I did not see any critters, however, not even a red squirrel--which is really strange since they have been very abundant in the past in the areas I explored today. Then again, there haven't been any mice around in months. I wonder if the presence of hawks (I saw a goshawk when I drove in yesterday) and fisher cats have anything to do with that.

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I disconnected the kitchen stove from the copper pipe that carried propane into the house. Now that I've got the pieces in hand, I can more easily go to Tractor Supply and get exactly what I need to do my own hook-up. Aside from having to drill a new hole in the wall, it should* be an easy enough job.

(*I say should because nothing is ever as easy as it first appears. Nothing!)

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As I mentioned in the update to my last report, Terry did NOT go to NJ to see her Mom. The birthday girl had plans of her own and took a senior citizens' bus down to AC to visit the casinos and sit on the boardwalk.

At the Bolt Hole, July 6, 2011

Drove up to the Bolt Hole today just to see how things are. They are just peachy-keen! If you forget the tall grass that still needs cutting (Mark did the largish area west of the cabin and in front of the barn and garage, but the rest needs mowing), the deer flies (Mark says they are horrible, I've not seen one), the need to cut firewood somewhere, and the thunderstorms that rolled through at 3:15 PM while I was doing some of the grass cutting. Those storms lasted for an hour and a half and dropped quite a bit of rain on my yard. Using the old "one thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three..." method, I estimated the closest lightening was about a mile away. At least the rain dropped the very warm temperatures (82 degrees) to more reasonable levels (68 degrees). (I got readings of 90 and 91 degrees on the NYS Thruway on my way up.) The rains put a halt to any plans to cut the remainder of the yard today. There's still a watch on until 9 PM tonight but the radar looks pretty tame at the moment.

I'll get out there tomorrow around 10 AM if there are no more showers and get the rest of the yard done. Might even get a little of the shooting lane and the ATV trails cut if they're not too tall for the mower. Then again, I could pull out the brush hog.

Then it's off into the woods to scout up some firewood. I've got my thoughts on some old blow downs that--in the past--were just a little too far off the ATV trails to make hauling cut wood out easy. Might have to look for a way to cut a new trail in closer to those downed trees.

I've also got to get some measurements for a new propane line. I had the energy supplier pull his tanks (two 100# hulks) since I only use about one 20# tank a year for my cooking purposes. I'll need to figure out how to run a line from the woodshed into the stove and what size fittings I'll need. I thought about using the same stuff we have on the trailer, but that's rubber hoses and mice and red squirrels trouble me on that count. There's also a metal flexible fitting available at Tractor Supply that just might do the trick if the diameter is AOK.

So those are my tasks for the next few days: cut grass, find firewood, hook up stove to a new source of propane. None of them are difficult--if the bugs remain scarce and it doesn't rain any more. (Even then, the stove stuff is indoors!)

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Terry's off to see her Mom in NJ tomorrow. It's Mom's birthday. The Lady will be 87 88 years young. She's been complaining about some sciatic pain but it's hardly slowing her down a bit. (Well, except for begging out of the trip to Maine last weekend.)

Terry will have to return to the Aerie by Friday noon. The new furniture will be delivered "between 2 and 4 in the afternoon" they say. We hauled the old stuff out in to the garage this morning before I left and I'll take it to the dump when I get back. There are a couple of pieces here at the Bolt Hole that need discarding and I'll be taking out with me. The cats were looking around as we hauled the stuff into the garage and you could see the little cogs in their heads whirling as they thought about the loss of lounging chairs. I'm sure they will have the new stuff broken in by the time I get home Sunday night.

[UPDATE: Terry had to cancel her trip. Seems Mom was going to AC for the day, sciatica be damned! It's "only" a 2 1/2 hour bus ride. One way.]
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It's that time of year again. Saw signs this morning for U-Pick Blueberries at our favorite farm. Guess I'll have to give Joe a call as he wants in on stocking the freezer and jam shelf. I know I'll be there come Monday morning. That's the best day of the week since they are closed on Sunday for some family time, R&R and grass cutting.

Sunday...Home again. Monday the 4th.

Terry and I headed back home again after church services (Terry attended with her cousins) and breakfast hosted by the bride's parents.

We back tracked our route and even stopped at the same diner for lunch. (Yeah, it was that good the first time.) being Sunday, July 3rd, traffic was light and the weather cooperated until we got on I-88 in New York State. Just south of Cobelskill, we ran into some torrential rain and thunderstorms. They really limited visibility and traction on the roadway, so it was a good thing there were so few other vehicles with which to share the road. We hit two such storms that lasted 20-30 minutes each and by the time we were approaching Binghamton, it was over. The roads were dry as a bone as we moved west on Route 17 and then back into PA and home. It hadn't rained here on Armenia Mountain at all.

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Having indulged myself with the purchase of a new GPS unit, I took Terry out today to get some new living room furniture. The loveseat, chair and ottoman we have now are 2530 years old and starting to really show their age. We went up to Horseheads and the nearest Raymour and Flannagan outlet and picked out a sofa, two chairs and a cocktail table that will look and fit nicely in front of the fireplace. Best of all, they had a sale on so we saved some $$$ and delivery is promised for Friday of this week. Just in time to entertain a couple of cousins from South Carolina who should be here around the 15th.

Saturday in Maine: Water, Boat Building and Wedding

Saturday was to be the Big Day for Eliza and David but we had all morning and early afternoon for further exploration. To that end, Terry and I set off up the coast a short distance in search of the ocean waters at the end of a couple of the many protruding bits of land along the Maine coast.

We drove up to Brunswick past the campus of Bowdoin College. Having been there before, we didn't feel the need to stop at the Perry-MacMillan Arctic Museum or the Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain Museum. Instead, we headed down Route 123 in search of the reversing falls at Basin Cove. Signage wasn't what it should be and we couldn't located the falls despite driving all the way to the end of the road. We turned about and headed north (inland) again then cut across Mountain Road to Route 24. This we followed out to The Lands End Gift Shop and the Lobsterman's Statue on Jaquish Gut.

Sailboat out in Casco Bay viewed from Bailey Island.

Lobsterman's Statue at then end of the road on Bailey Island.

The Due Time heads through the Jacquish Gut with lobser pots on board.
(Jacquish Island in rear.)

Terry pronounces the ocean's waters wet, cold, and saline.
Well, she was in the clean water division of the EPA, so she should know.

(Other's photos can be found here: Bailey Island, Maine.)

Having succeeded in finding the ocean, we headed back to Route 1 and up to Bath to visit the Maine Maritime Museum. Very comprehensive site that takes you through boat and shop building in the Bath area. You can even get a short (1 hour) boat cruise to see the boat works from the water. Or, there are tours of the Bath Iron Works and the massive floating dry dock used in modern steel hulled construction. We confined ourselves to the immediate grounds and strolled around the displays and workshops. Fascinating place.

But we had a wedding to attend! Back to the motel to get dressed and then off to the Old Meeting Hall in Yarmouth.

Elizabeth and David about to exchange vows and rings.

After a simple ceremony in the Old Yarmouth Meeting House, the party moved on to the bride's former home and an outdoor reception just a few blocks away.

Mr. and Mrs. Messinger have the first dance.

Elizabeth dances with her Dad, Stephan.

David dances with his Mom, Patricia.

Maddie and her parents, Joseph and Jacqueline. Baby brother arrives mid August.

High school sweethearts Alex and Danielle are next. They wed on September 9th.

Alex is a submariner and Danielle (David's cousin) will be starting her internship (pediatrics) in the fall.

A good time was had by all.

We're b-a-c-k....

A l-o-n-g weekend!

Terry and I drove up to Yarmouth, Maine on Thursday after feeding the cats and taking out the garbage. We tried to stay on the back roads and did a pretty good job of it after we got past Albany, NY. Riding through the countryside on state highways and old US Highways as we crossed Vermont and New Hampshire was far more enjoyable than speeding along at 70+ miles on the interstate with tons of other idiots drivers.

Even the interstate we took to get from Binghamton, NY to Albany (I-88) wasn't that bad as its direction of travel--northeast-southwest--is not a common one for most folks. And it too has an alternate: old New York Route 7 parallels it for nearly the entire length. Before the interstate, that must have been a lovely ride.

Back to our destination: Yarmouth, Maine. An old town along US Highway 1 that is now bursting at the seams along Interstate 295 just south of the quintessential old town bursting at the seams: Freeport, aka home of L.L. Bean.

We got to the motel around 4:30 PM after 10 1/2 hours and 475 miles on the road. Made a few phone calls to see if Terry's sister and her husband (Lucille and Doug) had arrived yet from Missouri (they had) and if they were interested in dinner (they were but were up the coast a ways). We met at the Muddy Rudder and had a lovely meal.

Friday we explored a little. Terry and I went up the road tohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif the Maine Audubon Society's Mast Landing Bird Sanctuary. We walked the trails a bit and got bit quite often. Tall moist grass, damp woods, an old mill stream still sluggishly flowing surrounded by bays, rivers and sounds...yeah: Mosquito Heaven! And we didn't see anything spectacular either.

Audubon Society Mast Landing Bird Sanctuary

Oh well, back to Freeport and some shopping. I got a nice pair of Rockport shoes at Famous Brands outlet and a nice short sleeved shirt at the L.L. Bean outlet before we met up with the parents of the groom (Terry's cousin Joe and his wife Pat) for lunch.

We separated after lunch and Terry and I went into the main L.L. Bean store. Yowsers! Joe had offered to hold my wallet but that wasn't necessary. I passed on the shotguns, rifles and all the fly fishing gear. (I LIKED all that stuff, but a man's got to know his limitations. I've got gear I don't use now. In part, because I don't know I've got it!) We did pick up a house warming gift for our son, Rick and his wife, Sandy, who got the keys to their first house on Wednesday. And L.L. Bean will ship it for free.

Eventually we escaped from Freeport and drove south on Route 1 to the Delorme Map Store. Here, I would have been better off if Joe held my wallet and credit cards. I dropped about $300 on a new GPS unit, a topo map subscription for the same, and power charging options pack. (I kept telling myself the Garmin I'm currently using is broken--and it is! I wouldn't lie. The screw that holds the battery pack is broken so the batteries can work their way loose and stop powering the unit. Plus it's almost 10 years old. Bloody thing is ancient in terms of technology. It was time to get a new one. Hopefully, it won't get me lost in the woods.)

Finally, it was time for the rehearsal dinner to be held at the Royal River Grillhouse in Yarmouth. Good food lots of old and new friends and relatives.

Terry speaks with Elizabeth

The Bachelder's Stephan, Julia, Elizabeth (the bride) and Deborah Strachan

Flower girl Madeline and her Mom, Jacqueline Messinger

The dinner was held on the waters of the Royal River so, of course there were boats to look at...and drool over. I kept reminding myself, that, while I could probably afford to purchase a decent sized boat, it's the after purchase costs that would literally sink me. Boat: a hole in the water into which one pours money, time and energy.

Nice boat.

Slightly nicer boat. I could learn to like living on the water in this one.

One I could get to like if all I wanted to do was sail about.

There were bigger boats--and lots of them--both sail and motor--in the harbor and in the yard. Many of them were for sale but I left the checkbook at home.
"There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."
The Wind in the Willows

More to come.