Life in the Bristolwood

Yesterday’s long day seemed like it would never end sometimes.  When Michelle inquired if we were going to be home before 11pm,  I laughed….little did I realize that was closer to reality than not!

Here is a photo of  a Swan taken yesterday.

and another…

Ben has been feeling a tad under the weather.  He has been suffering through a cold. (colds in warm weather really stink!) I was so surprised when he got up today, because he went to Mark and asked if we could go kayaking!  Poor kid, he looked run down, but thought it would still be fun.

We went down to Woodville and right away, we decided we would try to paddle the nearly five miles to Vine Valley. Ben was pretty happy with the new kayak!

Mark called and I told him our plan, so he agreed to drive to Vine Valley to pick us up when we were done.  We paddled. And paddled. And, paddled some more!  My arms did get tired and I was getting way too overheated! It is funny how everything looks so different on the lake and we couldn’t recognize much of anything!

We did eventually reach our destination.  By the time we arrived, I could barely climb out of the kayak!  Ben came over and helped pull me out…I was so exhausted! In all fairness, I should say the wind was blowing smack against us from time to time.  I think Ben and I were happy to spot the truck waiting for us at the Vine Valley boat launch!

When we got home,  I made a late lunch and then had to wipe down the kayaks.  It is so nice not getting wet, nor getting the kayak wet with the new models. When we used the inflatables, we always wound up in a puddle, no matter what.  I finished wiping the kayaks down and a little White Admiral butterfly came over on the driveway to see what I was doing….

I can’t remember when I have been so tired!  All that fresh air and sunshine was exhausting!

There’s a full moon on the rise!

(soooo….do you remember that song by Creedence Clearwater Revival, or CCR?)

When I took the photo above near Lowe’s in Henrietta this evening, all I could think about was that song!

We got home after ten tonight, after leaving home this morning around nine. I am exhausted beyond exhaustion! On the way home, my eyes were so “juicy” from being tired,  my contacts were sliding all over the place.  I was sure I was going to lose one. It is so nice to be home after a very full and tiring day!

The big news is, we picked up another kayak, so I am thinking perhaps if I wasn’t so tired, we might give those ‘yaks a good paddling….(not seriously, though!)

Now, then, off to slumberland!

and so, here is a variety of pictures…not making much sense!

These photos were taken using my new Canon Powershot S95 IS camera.

When we were in Penn Yan yesterday,  we took a drive to Bath.  I had wanted to take a road we found before called Winding Stair Road.  It is incredible, with turns to the left and right as though one was going up or down a winding staircase! Mark entered the road into GPS and plotted our destination….Hammondsport.  We drove along just enjoying the scenery and taking in everything we could!

We found the road we were looking for and drove on up a ways.  Sure enough, that road winds back and forth just as we remembered! We didn’t go too far up the road as it is a dirt road and it had some serious potholes! Yikes!  It is really cool, though, and on the way back  down, I took this photo, overlooking Keuka Lake off in the distance.

After buying a pint of ice cream to share in Hammondsport,  Mark and I drove to Bath to look at some cars. (as I talked about in yesterday’s entry)  Since we were in Bath, we drove around the town a little. I needed a couple of things and we saw a Family Dollar Store, so Mark pulled into a plaza.

As we sat there after I returned,  I saw a *huge* puddle at the end of the lot….

I have mentioned here that I am now participating in a daily journal in which one is supposed to add one photo a day. By late afternoon, I still had no outstanding  photo to post. Funny enough, if I don’t get something to post, I turn into Dragon Lady!  Yeah, I know….get a life, eh?

As I sat next to Mark, stewing,  I saw a young kid drive by in a pickup truck,  picking up speed and making an unbelievable splash as he drove smack through the lake  puddle. 

Eureka!  I looked at Mark and told him I found my photo op!  He totally understood as I opened the door and hopped down, camera in hand!  After five “takes”, I had some pretty impressive pictures of the family truck making its way through one ridiculously large amount of water!  Mark chose another photo for my journal, but I like this zoomed in version….no questioning if  the puddle was “big” or not.

Wow….water parting…just like the Red Sea, right? Okay, enough of our wild adventure.  Everything thereafter was quite boring, actually.

Now, on to house and home, where the Peonies are beginning to bloom.  They are later than everyone else’s Peonies because some seventeen years ago,  I planted them in the wrong place.  They are under trees where they don’t get enough sunlight to bloom as prolifically as they should.  I know this because I gave some roots to an elderly woman who lived down the road years ago.  She sold her house and moved a few years ago, but those Peonies she planted are gorgeous! And, she planted them where they get a whole lot more sun than mine….

Each year, these flowers become even more special because my Grandma Manelick gave them to my dad.  Grandma passed away in May,1972, and these are always a remembrance of her.

The other night as I was working,  Murphy was lying on a blanket on the couch….goodness, the wee fellow looked at me so lovingly.

hahaha…I could not resist!

This afternoon,  I wandered on down to Woodville. I wanted to see if the Eagle was anywhere around.  Nope.  I walked along the lake’s edge in the parking lot just listening to frogs plopping into the water with their unmistakeable splash and Red-Winged Blackbirds calling out.  These pretty little Forget-Me-Nots welcomed me as I strolled along.

Interesting the things one sees in the lake, as well as at its edge.  I looked up through the thick Cattails and spotted a Great Blue Heron perched on an old tree stump out in the water.  The photo is not clear, but you can see the bird sitting there….

I know I could easily spend an entire day…maybe even more, lakeside, just exploring and taking in the sights.  As much as my heart would love to wander, my head tells me I must be responsible…and so, I got back into the truck and headed on up the road.

I had noticed in coming down to Woodville that the church in Bristol Springs looked like it was getting ready for a new coat of blacktop on the parking lot.  As I came back to go home,  I saw an enormous truck sitting sideways in the road.  There was no accident,  but the truck just sat there, unmoving!

Oops. When the driver backed up to (hopefully) unload, the heavy equipment on the trailer caused it to bottom out on the road! As soon as I realized the truck wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, I turned around and took an alternate road home.

So, how was this for a topsy-turvy post?  I need to upload my photos, so I thought I would entertain give you, Dear Reader, a glimpse of  life in the Bristolwood!

Today found us once again visiting Penn Yan.  The kids have made it a weekly ritual to hang out there on Sunday afternoons, playing tag football.  Several kids get together and have a friendly game and then “hang out”…..grabbing a bite to eat, swimming,  or just visiting.  One fellow who lives there is home from college for the summer, so everyone wants to maximize their time together.

We dropped the kids off and then Mark and I decided to take a nice little drive.  The scenery is simply beautiful with Keuka Lake being one of the highlights of the area.  We drove along the lake today,  heading for the small town of Hammondsport.  This town is tiny,  and although it looks rather “sleepy”  during the off-season,  it is a hopping place in the summer.

From Hammondsport,  we drove on over toward Bath, stopping to look at new cars.  We hate to get straddled with a new car payment, but truthfully, we don’t have an efficient vehicle.  The truck can get pretty decent milage, but it is far from great economy!  The Explorer is smaller than the truck, but its gas mileage is terrible! With Michelle going to school about forty-five miles from home this fall, we need better efficiency!

We looked at several small cars and were impressed by the mileage they are reported to get.  Some would use an estimated two to three gallons of gas, compared to six gallons if we used the Explorerto drive to Rochester and back.  Yes, time to crack down.  The cars would definitely be smaller than the Explorer, but I think we would do just fine.

Here are some photos I have taken recently…

This squirrel was a real poser! The little bugger was not the least bit intimidated by me moving in close to shoot some photos.  He just sat ther dining on an acorn.  When he was done,

he hopped down and began looking around under a trailer for more of his acorn stash! The other day, we drove through Middlesex and came upon an Amish or Mennonite chicken farm.  There was a horse fenced in near the chicken barn and as we drove past, the horse had its head poked into an open door of the barn, as though it was conversing with the hens!  We quickly turned around so I could get a photo, but the horse moved away from the barn!

Phooey…a missed opportunity!

Of course, it was much cooler in the shade of that tree than standing in the sun!

Last night, I stayed up far later than I should have.  I took the Scotties out one last time and as I walked alongside the wall holding Murphy in my arm,  I noticed his very dignified shadow on the wall.  After taking the boys out, I had Murphy sit on a chair and I took his “portrait”.  The quality is terrible, but I was just playing. Or experimenting!

When Mark and I got back to Penn Yan from out little expedition, the kids weren’t quite ready to leave.  Mark parked the truck and I went to see if I could find anything to photograph.  There wasn’t too much happening, but there were quite a few Mennonite young people moving around Penn Yan. I got this couple riding side by side.

My favorite, though, was a young couple in an open “courting buggy”.  Wow, what an awesome buggy this one is!

Did you happen to catch the bicycle “in tow”?

Hope you have a great week!

<smile>

No longer the soft fluffy little yellow bundles of sweetness, but now transitioning into losing the fluff and being replaced with real feathers so in a short time, they will be able to fly!

I have no idea why I am so enamored with the eagle down in Woodville.  I think about it all the time and every time I see an eagle (there is probably more than one that roosts in that tree, I would think) it is as though I have never seen one before.

Yesterday, Michelle and I went kayaking in the morning.  The sky was a tad dark…almost “colorless”,  and I hoped we could paddle awhile any rain might come. Michelle hadn’t tried out the new kayak yet, and we wanted her opinion.  My own opinion is that the new kayak is much easier to paddle. It goes through the water much smoother and faster. When Ben tried the kayak the night before,  he also was sold!

Michelle convinced me to inflate the little yellow kayak Iwould be using (believe me, it was hard going back to the inflatable!!!) before we left home.  One yellow kayak and the new one easily fit into the back of the pickup truck with only about three feet hanging over the tailgate.  We arrived at the launch and there was an eagle…sitting in the tree once again!

I was so happy to paddle over to the eagle…unfortunately,  the lighting was miserable, but I took  lots of photos anyway!

Michelle and I decided to cross the lake over to the other side where there is a lagoon.  We paddled over the mouth of the west river and to the lagoon where the water was so calm!

I asked Michelle what she thought about the new kayak and she said it was “okay”.  When I turned around to talk to her,  Michelle was off in some greenery, trying out the  new kayak’s maneuverability.  Yeah, Michelle….the new kayak is okay, indeed!  Truth be told,  although we loved the inflatables,  their bottom is much flatter than the new kayak.  When we paddled over seaweed and plants,  the yellow kayaks would balk and complain about continuing on.  The new kayak glides right along with each stroke!  One funny thing that happened was that once we were petty far out in the lake,  Michelle said the new kayak was leaking! I looked at her and asked if there was water visibly coming into the boat.  After she said “no”,  I told her that as that new kayak breaks through the water, it makes a noise like running water!  She then confirmed that was the case!

Even though she never said so, I think Michelle was impressed!

Michelle called me over to take a photo of what she called “ a natural bouquet”.  Tiny Forget-Me-Nots seemed to appear from nowhere at the base of some pretty wild irises, mixed in with greenery.  Michelle was right…it was very pretty!

We lingered on a bit, just enjoying the tranqility and nice surroundings. We finallybegan heading back, but before we left, we went over to admire the majestic eagle just one more time. 

When we got home, it was time for Mark, Ben, and I to be off and running on a myriad of errands.  We were out for much of the  day and by the time we got back home, we were all tired!

This morning, the phone rang early and Carly asked if we might want to get together. She and the girls came down and the kids played in the pool until we called them out for a late lunch. I’m not sure if we were starving, or if the food was truly that good, but everything was delicious! Carly cooked chicken on the grill to perfection!  I had made a bean salad and Carly brought down some fresh loaves of bread.  She grilled some asparagus and it was awesome, too! Everyone ate well…the kids must have been very hungry!

I was happy when lunch was done and I could bring out dessert….

I had made a pumpkin roll andit was also a hit! I was happy with how this turned out because Wegman’s sells half  logs for (I think) over $6.00.  This was so easy to make and everyone  liked  it.  Yay for quick and easy desserts!

Well, after I left everyone….or is that “you”?….last night, are you wondering what I had to further blog about? 

I wanted to go kayaking yesterday, but the kids had friends over for a few hours.  The kids stayed until after six, so Iwas bummed.  I really wanted to get back out on the water.  Living within five miles of the boat launch makes me antsy! Ben must have taken compassion on me and decided to go out with me.

We arrived down at the lake and I brought along the Nikon D-80 with a (cheap) 70-300mm lens. (And I did  make sure the SD card was IN the camera!) As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, I got so excited!  One of my Eagle friends was perched in “the” tree at the south end of the lake! Needless to say, I was off and paddling in a hurry with the camera sitting on my lap!

Here are photos from last night…

The Eagle opens its wings and pants to cool off!

As you can see, the water was so still and it was awesome going out late in the day.  Who would have known? We weren’t out too long….not much more than an hour, but oh, what agreat outing this was!

The Bristolwood got a bit on the warm side this afternoon.  When things heat up,  I start falling apart.  I will never understand why I cannot tolerate heat,  but it really doesn’t matter that much.  So, as the temperature rose upwards,  I just walked down to the hammock and plopped down!

Note the brightly colored dress fabric…that is one of my new sundresses!  I never would have thought about wearing tie-dye,  but….well, I loved the vibrant colors in this dress for the summer.  Guess I will leave the more “drab” colors for winter!

As I rested in the hammock with my feet up in the air,  I really liked the view above me!  Yeah, it is tough admiring all those colors of green,  but somebody has to do it! 

Don’t let the photos fool you. I really only rested in the hammock for a few minutes! Actually, it was a quick shot for my Blipfoto journal, as I had no other photos today.  I was so excited, I thought I would share a photo of my new sundress with the world, literally!

As I walked back onto the porch,  I remembered a photo I wanted to take yesterday, but by the time I saw it, the lighting wasn’t as I wanted it.

I have loved Scottie Dogs for so very long.  Because of this, people who know me often give me Scottie Dog goodies for birthdays and holidays.  A few years ago,  Carly gave me a really cute terra cotta Scottie planter.  I was always hesitant to use it,  thinking someone might break it.  This year, however,  I decided to fill the planter with some Pansies.  As I walked past the planter last night,  there was a single Pansy strategically placed and it made me smile.  When asked about it, both kids said they did not do this…

As Mary Engelbreit would say,  “Too Cute”!

There is more that could be blogged at this point, but I am too tired to write any more.  So, we will put things off for tomorrow

Today was jam-packed it seems! Michelle and I got up early and wanted to take out the kayaks.  Mark and I picked up a kayak at BJ’s Wholesale Club that we thought might be worth trying out.  The kayak is made of plastic, (but given a fancy name, of course!)  and made in, of all places,  Canada!  It really looked pretty nice and the price is a fraction of kayaks sold in sporting goods stores.  If it doesn’t work out, we have thirty days to return it.

I placed my older Nikon camera (the D-80) in a plastic bag with its 70-300mm lens. I was so excited,  I could barely contain myself.  Mark wanted to watch the maiden voyage, so he drove us down  to Woodville.  I got into the kayak  (much easier than the inflatable one!) and Michelle handed off the camera in the bag.  We began paddling and I couldn’t believe how much easier the new kayak was to paddle!  WOW!  I am not a strong paddler, but outdistanced Michelle with ease.  I was so far ahead, I decided to take some photos!  I removed the camera from the bag, and began composing,  when I realized the little light warning no SD card was inserted began to flash.  Argh….I had placed the card in the computer last night to upload photos so Icould reformat the card. Oops! The SD card was in the computer.

So. No pictures.

We went home after about one and a half hours of paddling.  Michelle said her arms were getting sore and I felt guilty as I could have gone on. Quite a bit more, really!

Mark and Ben worked on a project for a bit,  then Ben wanted to go to Penn Yan to play football with friends.  It was such an awesome day, I was happy to go for a ride. We dropped Ben and Michelle off, then Mark and I picked up takeout Chinese. I wanted so much to take some photos today and as I jumped down from the truck, I saw one golden opportunity!

The horse was so beautiful!  As I looked at my photo, I thought perhaps it might look good in black and white, or perhaps sepia… Iwent with the sepia. Welcome to a world some one hundred years ago!

We went to a park by the lake to eat.  As the food cooled down,  I hopped out of the truck to take some pictures. 

There was a fairly large flock (gaggle?) of  what appeared to be domestic geese grazing on the grass in the park.

These were only part of the flock,  but I didn’t close in too much as I could only imagine what all those buggers could do if provoked! I snapped away, admiring the lot, when I kept hearing a peep,peep, peep sound.  Suddenly,  some of the geese moved aside and I saw one tiny little gosling.  Only one!

Mark and I finished eating and then went for a ride. I told Mark Iwould love to get some photos of Amish or Mennonites today, and boy, was I in for a treat! Because the weather was so splendid today,  many of these folks were out and about!

We saw quite a few young  Mennonite people riding their bikes.  It is incredible watching these kids ride their bikes….pedalling effortlessly! They must have such strong legs as Penn Yan is far from being flat….quite the contrary, with some steep hills!

This young lady was pedalling along a road that leads down to the next “finger” of the Finger Lakes…Seneca Lake.  You can see the hills on the east side of the lake off in the distance.

The last photo is terrible…taken through the (filthy from bug juice!!!!) windshield.  But look at those faces….pure fun!

I wonder why the fellow was riding beside them on his bicycle….(oh, and what a beautiful and fancy buggy to boot!)

We could have driven on and on for a long time…just Mark, me, and the Scottie boys.  But, we knew the kids would be calling and we had strayed a few miles from town. We headed back and Mark stopped to snoop around a business (lumberyard) called Knapp and Schlappi….isn’t that a catchy name?  We actually just drove around looking at lumber and building supplies. I love this “special area”….

Oh, and a out the side window shot….

We talked to the kids and they weren’t quite ready to head home, so Mark parked in an area near downtown.  Restless, (what is new?)  I hopped out and took a walk, taking some pictures along the way.

As I crossed the small bridge on Main Street,  I admired the pretty flower box mounted to the bridge.  As I looked down the bridge ahead of me,  I saw many more of these boxes, each planted with a different selection of flowers!  They were so beautiful!

As I passed over the bridge,  I looked below and saw two young fellows fishing.  I recognized right away that they were Mennonites by 1. their plaid shirts, and 2. suspenders.  I hollered on down to them and asked what they might be hoping to catch.  They called back up to me,  “Bass”!  The funny thing was, Icouldn’t see the boys’ bicycles.  There was no way they walked into town…

The view from the bridge…

Not only does Penn Yan have beautiful flowers gracing the bridge,  but also lovely baskets of blooms hanging on the lamp posts.  Can you see the bumblebee?

Aha!  I discovered the boys’ bicycles near the path!

Because Penn Yan is located on the north end of Keuka Lake, one of the Finger Lakes,  it is a popular tourist community in the summer.  A quick stroll down Main Street offered some nice photographic opportunities.  The town is small,  but picturesque. The buildings are old and have lovely architectural details.

I just loved this store entrance!

I really like the Keuka Lake sign below, and the one about unsupervised kids is pretty funny.

Upcoming events!

and one blast from the past!

How cool is that?

As you can see, this was kind of a busy day.  A wonderful day!