Happy Birthday to Terry!

A long and enjoyable day here at the Aerie. Long because Chester, the feline alarm cat, sounded off at 5:45 AM and would not shut up no matter how much Terry and I ignored him. Enjoyable because it is Terry's birthday and we went out to dinner and took a nice long ride in the state forests of Potter county afterward on Rt 144 and Rt 44.

When dawn(?) broke this morning, Chester started howling at our bedroom door. (We keep the door shut to the cats for several reasons. 1- I'm allergic, 2-Julie likes to sleep on the same pillow your head is on--sometimes she'll sleep on your head!, 3-Chester not only is most vocal, he is a confirmed and determined licker of bare flesh and will burrow beneath the covers to reach spots that will most definitely cause you to wake up if he starts licking!) He is the official morning-waker-upper but will occasionally get an assist from Shadow or even Julie. (Although Julie, being older and wiser usually is willing to wait down in the kitchen where breakfast will be served if/when Chester wins.) The odd thing is that despite his persistence to waking us up to feed them all breakfast, the one who is most vocal has also become the most finicky about what he eats. He'll turn his nose up at something the other two are gulping down until we put some "crunchies" on it. And they better be the "right" crunchies! The past week, he has left food in his bowl while the two ladies are removing the metal finish from their own before strolling over to empty his bowl too. This doesn't seem to have affected his weight. Perhaps because he's secretly hitting the dry food in the basement on a regular basis.

Anyway, after feeding the cats, having our own breakfast, and Terry going to Mass, I took her to The Log Cabin Inn on Route 6 over in Gaines. Excellent food, reasonable prices and they had the XM radio tuned in to an oldies (50s and 60s) station that played all the great music from before the British invasion. The Everly Brothers, Jan and Dean, Paul and Paula, Les Paul, Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper...and lots more. We lingered over a great bowl of French onion soup, our trip to the salad bar, our entrees (Terry had planked salmon, I had blackened Red Snapper), and our deserts.

When we finally made our way out to the truck again, I opted to take a little ride through the woods. We followed Route 6 west to its junction with Route 144 where we turned south toward Germania. A pleasant enough ride in itself, it became even better when we turned north on Route 44 and passed through the Susquehanna State Forest and Cherry Springs State Park. The views along this section of Route 44 are spectacular and, while not nearly as high in elevation (Brodhead Mountain only tops out at 2480 feet) as the Blue Ridge of Virginia and the Carolinas, can compare quite favorably.

What was especially nice is that we had the road all to ourselves. No one was on my bumper pushing me so we could really relax and enjoy the sights. At one point I came around a curve and saw something in the middle of the road on the double yellow line. At first I thought it was just some leaves until I nearly was upon it and then I realized it was a Woodcock or timber-doodle. The amazing thing is that although I drove past at around 35 mph ad missed the bird by a mere twelve inches or less, he did not flush. In fact, as I came to a stop and watched in the rear view mirror, he moved maybe a foot across the yellow lines and then turned around and started to bob-bob-step his way back to the side of the road. And that's exactly the way he moved. He would bob his rear end up and down twice and then take a step forward, bob-bob-step, bob-bob-step. It was a heck of a comical sight. And I, of course, had left my cameras at home! I put the truck into reverse and backed up to within five yards of the bird and still he continued to bob-bob-step his way across the road. It took him several minutes to make the trip moving like some geriatric, walker-wielding, cha-cha stepping nonagenarian. Terry and I were cracking up at the birds movement. When he got to the side of the road, I backed up further so he was just below Terry's window. She said he just hunkered down in the leaves on the side of the road making him pretty difficult to spot from directly above. Perhaps he needed to take a nap after his long stroll!

Anyway, once the show was over, we continued on our way. Back on Route 6 we turned east to head home. Now traveling at 55 mph, there was a steady "ping" on the windshield. It sounded like rain drops and, at first, that's what I thought it was for the clouds had been threatening some form of precipitation all morning. But, no, it was not rain. It was bugs. Although I never saw what kind of bug, I have to assume it was black flies. We were not terribly far from Pine Creek and the many little streams that feed into the creek no doubt are prime breeding grounds for black flies. The sound of their little bodies smacking against the windshield put a warm glow inside me where it was needed. Even at the lower elevation of Pine Creek, the afternoon temperature was still only 60 degrees. Perhaps taking that afternoon drive, just like we used to do when we first got married, will help in the temperature department, too. At just 17-18 mpg we did our part to contribute CO2 to the atmosphere. Of course, since our ride was through mostly forested regions, we may have also contributed to the growth of the trees and shrubs that are just now starting to leaf out.

Yeah, it was a very enjoyable day.