July 2, 2005

We are sooooo cool and clear here in Vermont today after the heat and humidity cleared out last night. The sky is crystal clear, the sun bright, a lively breeze is blowing and I installed my new cradle system for my kayak, Namaskar. Namaskar loosely translated from Sanscript, "I celebrate and honor all of creation". Grace who is 6 and Joe who is 9 "helped" me with the installation. I don't think the kayak will move about now. I went out early again for a longer bike ride of about 10 miles. The hills are tough for me but I expect I will eventually get conditioned.

We are going to a band concert tonight at Crystal Beach in Bomoseen. I plan to wear warm clothing and bring a blanket. The high today is 75 and it promises to be much cooler when the sun goes down. There will be fireworks too sometime this weekend. We have many choices of where to view those. Probably parades in many of the towns too. I am reading 1776 by the great historian McCullough. The book is really about George Washington. I have been thinking about all the 4th of July parades I have attended in my life. One that stands out in my mind took place during my 10th summer. Our little town always had a parade and my Dad being the firechief had much to do with the planning of the celebration. I was allowed to ride one of my grandmother's draft horses, a grey percheron gelding, 17.2 hands and approx. 1800 lbs, named Duke. I wanted to ride in the parade with several horsey friends. Grandma initially said no since Duke had never been exposed to such a thing before. I did manage to convince her and I prepared to ride as a Native American. I didn't have a saddle anyway nor a bridle, just a headstall with braided baling twine reins. Duke was a spirited animal and strong willed. He really loved to run. I shampooed him, braided his mane and tail the night before. He looked grand. I rode in a bathing suit with a head band and no shoes. The morning of the parade, the organizers lined all the horses up right in front of a large brass band with lots of drums. Duke was excited and dancing around but I loved his showiness. Then the band began to play. My horse stood on his hind legs and proceeded to walk down the road with me clinging to his mane like a little burr. People lined the road and clapped thinking that we were performing for them. I couldn't get him down on all fours for long before he was up again. When he was down, he was spinning around and around. We presented quite a show. As we neared my grandmother's road which was blocked off with cars, he took the bit in his teeth and began to gallop fast. We jumped a car and proceeded to pound back to the safety of the barn as fast as he could go. I never took Duke to a parade again.

I hope ya'll have a safe Independance Day Celebration.

July 1, 2005

Photo of sunset, Whipple Hollow Road.
Bearfoot is parked under the protective canopy of an ancient Maple tree at my daughter's home in Pittsford, Vermont. We are partially on the lawn therefore our starboard side settles into the grass necessitating a releveling every other day or so. I think that will stop soon or perhaps we shall tip over to China. It is a lovely spot actually. They generously had the appropriate electrical outlet put in for me and the water is nearby. The weather continues hot and humid. It actually has felt more like July since we arrived in the northeast the first week in May. Having the AC is a blessing. Wednesday night after a T-shower, the electricity went out for 4 hours. Temperatures were still in the 80's after dark. I started my gennie which enables the AC unit to run. Several of us(this is a large family of 8 offspring) camped out in Bearfoot. I turned the lights and generator off about midnight. Everyone had a flashlight. It is amazing how older children and grandmother's can have lots of fun in the dark with a flashlight. We giggled and carried on for another hour or so. Sebastian only wanted to go to bed.

I went for a bike ride this morning while it was cooler. It is beautiful biking here except for the mosquitos. There are acres of wetlands nearby. I wanted to stop and observe but due to the bugs and lack of bug repellant, I peddled quickly by. Later on I drove over to an outdoor outfitter to find the best places in the area for kayaking. It was the first time I had driven the car with the kayak loaded. I discovered that moving the racks to this smaller car doesn't give me the stability I formerly had. I ended up buying a Thule cradle system that will fit my Yakima racks.

Now it is threatening to storm again and is supposed to cool off. I am going to bring in all my awnings since the wind is blowing hard. My plan is to kayak Chittenden Resevoir on tuesday after the 4th of July revelers leave. The Chittenden Res is approx. 170 acres of pristine water. Speaking of pristine water, Sebastian leaped in the pond here yesterday after the frogs. He came out covered in mud and pond slime. Happy but smelly. Since he insists on sleeping with me, he was immediately rinsed. He amazes me with his patience and tolerance of the

June 27, 2005

Now I can post again, hopefully on a regular basis. It has been rather hectic here in Hartford, NY with a graduation party and an 18th birthday, same person, same day. My sister and bro-in-law has tremendous energy and enthusiasm I admire the tremendous energy and enthusiasm put forth by my sister and bro-in-law in planning, preparing and cleaning up after a party that lasted for over 12 hours. Bashey was cranky and hyper from too much sensory input. We were grateful to have our own oasis, cool and quiet (with ear plugs) to rest. The weather has been extremely lovely if you are a hot weather lover as I am. The pool is at 90 degrees. There were relatives that came to the party that I was happy to see. We have a tendency to see our relatives at this age more often at funerals than at happy times. The party as saturday - sunday my brother, Gary came up from Ballston Lake, NY.

Now it is nearing time to move on. Tomorrow, Tuesday, I will pull out headed to Florence, VT which is between Brandon and Rutland. The Town closest is Pittsford which is a lovely little New England Village nestled in the hills of the Green Mountains. I will write more of Pittsford after I get settled. The trip from here is only about an hour by motorhome over 149 to Granville, NY then up 22 to Fair Haven, VT where I can pick up Rt. 4 up to Rutland. Florence is about 6 miles in on the Whipple Hollow Rd. Really lovely in the holler'. I plan to stop at my former dentist's office in Bomoseen since I have broken a tooth. No pain yet but sure feels like a huge cavern.

The heat and humidity continues. We haven't seen any thunder showers for days. Most homes here do not have central ac. The heat takes it's toll since there is really no way to escape it. In the South, we don't mind the heat as much because we have our homes where we can retreat to rejuvenate in the coolness.

Apparently, the teens had a huge bonfire Saturday night after I had gone to bed in Bearfoot. I was unaware that much of the ash and a few small live embers were falling on my roof. I have one small hole in a slide-out awning but no other permanent damage. If I had known I would have been anxious.

Today is pack it up day and empty it out day. I purchased a tote wagon for the black water. With access to the septic tank, we can empty the grey and the black water tanks. Hopefully, successfully!!