Leaf-Peeping 2008

Camp Michael

Note - clicking on photos enlarges them

Yesterday Joan and I arrived at Camp Michael in mid-afternoon.



The drive up was most pleasant. There was a variety of colors on Rt. 81. We stooped at the Tug Hill trailhead and ate lunch on a picnic bench. Once in Lowville we treated ourselves to a McDonald hot fudge sundae for our dessert.

The ride up Number Four gave us our first true Autumn leaf color.

Turning into the camp driveway we noticed that Wally's trees had been removed.



And our Christmas trees had been topped.



Wonder who was the Fairy Woodsman. He must have mowed the grass too because it did not need cutting.

After settling in, we took a walk to Francis Lake. Joan gathered some pine cones.



After checking the geocache, we made our way to Moshier Dam and Sunday Creek.





Completing a short walk to the bridge and the canoe portage launch we returned to camp.

View from the Beaver River canoe portage.



Using the Erie Canal road we drove to Brantingham for supper at the Pine Tree Inn. Heather, our waitress, was most efficient and cordial while serving us our Chicken Parmigiana dinners.

After watching the Presidential debate on television we retired for the evening.

Today after eating our breakfast sausage egg and cheese served on an English muffin by Renee at the Sawmill, Joan and I traveled to Stillwater. The reservoir appeared to be quite low.



Went back to the Big Moose Road and made our way to Eagle Bay.

Stopped at a pond on the Big Moose Road.



Another stop on the Big Moose Road.



Another stop - Big Moose Community Chapel



Yet another stop - Big Moose Lake



Turning left at Eagle Bay we motored to Inlet. After using the restrooms at the town park,



we walked out on the Fourth Lake boat dock.



Then we drove on the South Shore Road intending to visit Holl's Inn. But to our disappointment it was gated shut. Retracing our route back into Inlet we pulled over and visited with an elderly couple who were planting Spring flowers. The woman whose voice had a touch of German accent stated that the owner of Holl's Inn did not come up this summer because she was ill. However, the cottages were rented and look after by a caretaker.

While on the South Shore Road one more side trip was in order. We pulled into Loomis Road.



While Thelma and Loomis' are a distant memory, (where is Red-on-the-Head when you need him?)



the ball field lives on.



We could not leave Inlet without entering the Rochester Bar.



Upon reaching Old Forge we parked and strolled through the Old Forge Hardware and a few other shops before having lunch at Slickers. Amy, the only waitress on duty, was overwhelmed by the crowd of leaf-peepers, nevertheless, Joan's Balboa and my Chicken Supreme were excellent.

The ride to Utica provided more splendid color especially around Forestport. At which point we took a right on a whim.



After circling the Black River we ended up in Boonville. This gave Joan the opportunity to shop at Persnickety.

Back on the road upon entering Utica we pulled in to BJs for gas and artichokes. Glad we did since we may have missed an accident on the Thruway near Westmoreland. The tragic tractor trailer collision tied up traffic on Thruway for over an hour. Once freed to continue we drove trough a rain storm and arrived home safely.

Thanks to the Colonel we had chicken wraps for dinner.

Auburn - Fleming Trail

Photo - Thursday, November 20, 2008




Photo - Friday, October 03, 2008

The Auburn-Fleming Trail

Map

This afternoon I decided to use Rich & Sue Freeman's Take Your Bike! Family Rides in the Finger Lakes Region as a guide and walk the Auburn-Fleming Trail. Using an abandoned railroad bed, this trail runs from the east side of Dunning Avenue to Route 34. There are 5 geocaches ( GC8E8E - GCK7EG - GCK7EQ - GC15ERB - GC163GY ) to be found along this path.

Using the the coordinates below I drove to the parking area.

Location - N42° 54.824 - W76° 35.024

Parking - on the east side of Dunning Avenue, south of Clymer Street.

Note - clicking on photos enlarges them.

The trail sign is missing from the trailhead.



After a rough start over buried wooden railroad ties, I approached a bridge.



This metal grate bridge has been topped by a wooden bridge.



Before reaching the next bridge there was a marsh on my left.



Approaching the bridge.



After crossing this bridge I passed unmarked posted trails.



I then came upon a farm lane crossing.



A third bridge crossed over a creek.



A trail on the right heads toward a farm. This appears to part of a snowmobile trail system.



Five horses were grazing in a pasture to the east of the trail.



The trail ends at Route 34.



After pausing to take a photo of the Snow Panther sign, headed back to the car.



Revisited - Thursday, November 20, 2008

Today revisited the trail in search of a geocache - Tribute to Local Musicians! (GC1J9BJ)

During the morning hours two to three inches of snow fell, making the entrance to the trail quite wet.



Proceeding to the cache passed the meadow on my left.



Reached the cache site. This photo was taken from above the hidden cache ammo box.



Retracing my steps took this photo of the meadow which was now on my right.



Before recrossing the first bridge stopped to chat with the owner of the posted lands adjacent to the trail. He was clad in camo and orange carrying this shotgun. He informed me that the trail was safe to venture down since he and the other owners never shot in the near vicinity. The reason for his afternoon walk was to discourage poachers from using the area.

Had to navigate around the puddles on my way to the trail head.



Successful hunt. MaMa Bear, the cache owner, left CDs as a reward for discovery. Took a CD.

Mets vs. Marlins

View from our seats
Today (08.08.08) at 11 AM Ryan, Michael and I ventured forth via Onondaga Coach to Shea Stadium. Arrived at 4 PM. For some reason we made no bathroom stops. Guess this is why there is a rest room on the bus and bus drivers have ironcast bladders. Rained the entire trip down as if we expected the weather to different on this day of crazy eights. Miraculously the skies cleared and bright sunshine showered us as we were ushered to our seats in Mezzanine section 27 row box A by Joel L.

Once seated we immediately went into the concourse for food. Joan told us to take something to eat. Did we listen, of course not. Michael was a bit taken aback having to pay seven dollars for a Nathan’s hot dog, but his Coke came in a commemorative cup. Ryan purchased a classy souvenir to go with his free blanket compliments of MasterCard.

Just before the national anthem, Ralph Kiner peeled off the number marking how many games left in the old stadium.

David Wright hit a two-run homer in the first inning. Carlos Delgado homered in the late innings. Both times I neglected to photograph the apple coming out of the hat.

Oliver Perez pitched two-hit ball for seven innings. He left after 120 pitches to the cheers of an appreciative crowd.

Upon leaving and walking toward the bus it registered just how many people were at the game. It was not Falcon Park.

Before boarding the bus for our return, many of us pleaded with the driver to consider a half stop. He said he would. At 1 AM he did. MickeyD's.

Terry in an email offered a summation of our trip with this equation - bus seat (time siting down) + stadium seat (time sitting down) + bus seat (time sitting down) = butt-worry (sore).

A little after 4 AM drove into the driveway at Perrine. Before falling into bed, I think I saw Ryan, Michael and myself stepping off the bus in front of Citi Field.

Time's a-wasting

To paraphrase Bob Dylan - Time's a-wasting.

According to Mary Beth Breckenridge, the average American wastes 55 minutes a day looking for things. Almost 25 percent of adults report they've paid bills late because they lost the paperwork.

More than 90 percent of people say they have an overwhelming sense of "time poverty."

These statistics come from Nancy McGarity, an owner of Real Solutions for Living in Canal Fulton, Ohio, and a residential organizing specialist.

Organization takes practice, she says. It's a set of skills that can be learned, and setbacks and imperfection are all part of the process.

Here's a baker's dozen of clutter prevention tips from McGarity.

1 Have a home for every item.

2 Always return items to their homes.

3 Store items where they're needed most.

4 Keep frequently used items in very accessible spaces and seldom-used items in places that are harder to reach.

5 Consider your habits when deciding where something should belong. That will make it easier for you to maintain your system.

6 Label shelves, containers (especially opaque ones), drawers, etc. to make it easy for anyone — even a visitor — to find and put away items. 1

7 Choose containers that appeal to you, so you will be more apt to use them.

8 Think realistically about items you are keeping "just in case" or because "someday I might need it." That "someday" rarely comes. Remove all those items, and stop yourself from accumulating more.

9 Don't believe you haven't the time to get organized. The time involved in searching for lost things or redoing tasks is always greater and creates unnecessary stress.

10 Take a few seconds to hang up clothes or put them into the laundry basket at the end of the day. It will save time that would be spent later on scooping up the piles, sorting, ironing and relaundering.

11 Don't make a habit of picking up after older kids. That only encourages them to rely on you to do their dirty work.
12 Sort mail as soon as you walk in the door and pitch junk mail immediately.

13 Impulse buying thwarts organizing efforts. Remember that even if an item is on sale, you'll save even more money, time and space by not buying it.

"the agony of defeat"

On June 7, 2008 when Jim McKay words, "...thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat" rang out in his obituary, Hillary Clinton in the great hall of the National Building Museum ended her Presidential campaign.

Reading the New York times Op-Ed page online this morning, came across these following political explanations for this irony.

“If Barack Obama had been born 10 years earlier and had been a candidate for the Democratic nomination in 1992, neither I nor Bill Clinton would have defeated him.”
— BOB KERREY, a former Democratic senator from Nebraska and the president of New School University.

“While everyone loves to talk about the message, campaigns are equally about money and organization. Having raised more than $100 million in 2007, the Clinton campaign found itself without adequate money at the beginning of 2008, and without organizations in a lot of states as a result. Given her successes in high-turnout primary elections and defeats in low-turnout caucuses, that simple fact may just have had a lot more to do with who won than anyone imagines.

“And sometimes your opponent just runs a good campaign.”
— MARK J. PENN, an adviser to Bill and Hillary Clinton since 1995 and a top adviser to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

“A collection of Hillary Clinton’s tactical campaign mistakes would be a thick book. But she lost the race because Mr. Obama summoned the support of one group (white, highly educated, reform-minded Democratic elites) that never much liked the Clintons — and of another group (African-Americans) that always did until now.”
— MARK HALPERIN, an editor at large at Time magazine, and JOHN F. HARRIS, the editor in chief of Politico. They are the co-authors of “The Way to Win.”

“The press presented Barack Obama with his two years in the Senate as an agent of change, not a novice. In contrast, ABC’s Charles Gibson asked Mrs. Clinton if she would “be in this position” if it weren’t for her husband.

“To this day, a businessman with no elected experience is considered qualified for high public office; a woman with the same background is called unprepared.”
— CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN, the former Republican governor of New Jersey and the head of the Environmental Protection Agency from 2001 to 2003.

“Hillary Clinton’s campaign was done in by a sense of entitlement and hubris.”
— L. DOUGLAS WILDER, the mayor of Richmond, Va., and the former Democratic governor of Virginia.

“...run a traditional campaign that addressed the perceived challenges facing women (a strategy that worked in her successful Senate campaigns)...But her choice put her at odds with liberals in the primary electorate who wanted new and different, not tried and true. For this reason, it was fatal.”
— JANE SWIFT, a former Republican governor of Massachusetts and an education adviser to John McCain’s presidential campaign.

“Barack Obama’s candidacy was the Clintons’ worst nightmare. They had dreamed of the day when an African-American could be elected president. But they never anticipated it would happen on their watch and were utterly confounded.”
— CARL BERNSTEIN, the author of “A Woman in Charge.”

“This year, millions of Democrats swooned for Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton couldn’t do much about it. Suddenly, college students were registering to vote, and elderly widows were sending money.”
— MICHAEL KINSLEY, a columnist for Time magazine.

How Is This A Good Thing?

In his his book,“Raising the Grade: How High School Reform Can Save Our Youth and Our Nation,” Bob Wise, a former governor of West Virginia, laments that “international comparisons rank the United States a stunningly unimpressive eighteenth for high school graduation rates, a lackluster ranking of fifteenth for high school reading assessments among 15-year-olds in developed countries, and an embarrassing 25th for high school math.”

How is this a good thing?

Statistics tell us that a third of the students enrolled in school drop out. Half of those who remain go on to graduate without the skills for college or a decent job.

How is this a good thing?

Those involved in the presidential campaign have yet to make improving secondary education one of their major issues.

How is this a good thing?

Invitation

Invitation

Oh do you have time
     to linger
       for just a little while
         out of your busy

and very important day
     for the goldfinches
       that have gathered
         in a field of thistles

for a musical battle,
     to see who can sing
       the highest note,
         or the lowest,

or the most expressive of mirth,
     or the most tender?
       Their strong, blunt beaks
         drink the air

as they strive
     melodiously
       not for your sake
         and not for mine

and not for the sake of winning
     but for sheer delight and gratitude—
       believe us, they say,
         it is a serious thing

just to be alive
     on this fresh morning
       in this broken world.
         I beg of you,

do not walk by
     without pausing
       to attend to this
         rather ridiculous performance.

It could mean something.
     It could mean everything.
       It could be what Rilke meant, when he wrote:
         You must change your life.

~ Mary Oliver

Reprinted without permission - Beacon Press, 2008

April Fools!

Hillary's April Fools

Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton walked somberly into a press conference toady and stood before microphones. Reporters tensed, sensing something big might be afoot.

"This has been a very hard fought race," she said. "We clearly need to do something so that our party and our people can make the right decision. So, I have a proposal."

The tension grew. Reporters shifted in their seats. Was she dropping out of the race? Offering to join rival Barack Obama as his running mate?

April Fools!

"Today, I am challenging Senator Obama to a bowl-off," Clinton said, provoking relieved laughs from the assembled scribes.

Clinton carried on, making reference to Obama's disastrous outing at a Pennsylvania bowling alley Saturday.

"A bowling night. Right here in Pennsylvania. The winner take all," she went on. "I'll even spot him two frames."

"It is time for his campaign to get out of the gutter and allow all the pins to be counted. I'm prepared to play this game all the way to the tenth frame. When this game is over, the American people will know that when that phone rings at 3 a.m., they'll have a president ready to bowl on day one."

"Let's strike a deal and go bowling for delegates. We don't have a moment to spare, because it's already April Fool's Day. Happy April Fool's Day."

By Beth Fouhy - Associated Press Writer

Easter - never again in your lifetime

Megan with You-Know-Who

Easter is early this year. Easter is always the first full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20). This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that the Hebrew people used to identify passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.

Based on the above information, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) but that is rare.

Here's the interesting part:

This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above). And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier!

It's a fact: The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!).

The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!

Why, you ask?

Here's the condensed version. The Roman Empire's First Council of Nicaea convened in the year 325. The counsel decided three things:
1. They decided the rules that would determine the date of Easter.
2. Easter would always fall on Sunday throughout the world.
3. The date Easter would fall on could be determined indefinitely into the future.

So how is Easter day determined? Easter is always the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox (March 20). Just a tad confusing but as a result, Easter can never occur before March 22 or later than April 25 and the actual date that Easter falls on this year is the earliest you and I will ever see, in our lifetime.

Clayton Boyer from New Orleans did the research. Columnists Gordie Allen and Ramona Salmon featured this information.

Bobby on St. Patrick's Weekend

Senator Robert F. Kennedy declared his candidacy for president on March 16, 1968.

"I want the Democratic Party and the United States of America to stand for hope instead of despair, for the reconciliation of men instead of the growing risk of world war," he said.

Kennedy also stated, "I do not run for the Presidency merely to oppose any man, but to propose new policies. I run because I am convinced that this country is on a perilous course and because I have such strong feelings about what must be done, and I feel that I'm obliged to do all I can."

Universal Health Care

"Prescription medications have been discovered in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans. Or, as President Bush calls that, the Republican health care plan." ~ Jay Leno

Client No. 9

Lyndon Johnson once observed that the two things that make politicians more stupid than anything else are sex and envy.

Maybe Joy Behar, one of the female hosts on “The View”, got it right when she said, "Viagra is destroying our government."

Sometimers

"I have Sometimers---sometimes I remember and sometimes I don't."

~ Spike Lee

Cumulative Writing Folder

Cumulative Writing Folder

To become a better writer, you must often and review your past compositions to see how you can improve. This writing folder will help you do this—it will be a record of what you have written. The folder will also help your readers see your work over time. The written work that goes into this folder should be your best effort.

The focus correction system used in this folder might be something new to you. Don't worry; the system should help you improve your writing more quickly by focusing your attention on one, two, or three areas in any one composition. For example, in some compositions your reader will tell you to focus on your word choice and organization, while in others the focus might be on sentence variety and the use of details.

Your reader will tell what what the focus correction areas are before the final draft of your composition. Remember to follow the recommendations for composition form listed below. Some day, you'll pull out this folder and reread what you have written this year. It will be very interesting reading.

Reader Comment Key

Any time the reader stars a comment or abbreviation in the margin, it is a signal that it is a positive comment. Look for the starred comments. They will help you find your strengths.

* opening - good beginning for your composition

* closing - good ending for your composition

* W.C. - excellent word choice

* d. - excellent use of detail to support your idea

Sp. - the word with a check over it has been misspelled

awk. - this section does not sound right

cap. - there is a capitalization error in this line

frag. - this is a sentence fragment (an incomplete sentence)

run-on - there are two sentences punctuated as one

¶ - begin a new paragraph on this line

< - you left out something

? - I don't understand this

---

Composition Form

FIRST DRAFT

Do not be concerned with how the first draft looks — it's a working copy! It doesn't go in the folder.

• Write in pencil.

• Skip a line between each line you write. You can use this space for editing.

• Leave at least one inch margins on both sides of the paper.

When you have finished your first draft, read it out loud in a soft voice. Ask yourself these three questions:

1. Did I follow the assignment?

2. Does the composition sound right? Is it easy to read?

3. Have I carefully checked for problems in the focus correction areas?

When you can say yes to the above questions, have someone read your composition to you out loud. Go over questions 1, 2, and 3 together.

FINAL DRAFT (to go in your folder)

Be concerned about how your final draft looks. It represents your best work!

• Write in pen.

• Do not use paper ripped from a spiral-bound notebook.

• Write your name on the top line, right hand side; the date on the second line, right hand side.

• Keep the focus correction area(s) in mind.

• Write a title for your composition on the fifth line from the top. Capitalize all important words in your title and all other words longer than five letters.

• Leave at least one inch margins on both sides of the paper.

• Have a reader read it out loud to you, check the focus correction areas, and sign it at the end.

---

Ideas for this Cumulative Writing Folder were developed in conjunction with by John Collins.

Clinton Camp Conundrum

Will the generational gap formed by Obama's use of elegant language be too wide for Hillary to close?

Pop Culture Vernacular

Can a streetwise vocabulary draw out a demographic usually not seen near a voting booth?

Classic Speaking Gifts

Can call and response evoke a Yes in the Democratic primary?

Charm & A Smile

Can a glib golden boy be elected President of the United States?

Teddy like rock ‘n’ roll, is here to stay

As he crisscrosses the Super Tuesday primary states in an Obama financed Lear jet, Sen. Ted Kennedy opens his stump speech with this surefire applause line: One year from now, George W. Bush will be out of the White House.

The Constitution dictates Kennedy's statement is true.