Life in the Bristolwood

I had mentioned I took some photos while waiting for Ben at the dentist on Wednesday.  I had forgotten to post them, so I will share them now.

Naples Creek above.

And yes, this last photo IS of a butterfly on a dandelion….IN NOVEMBER!  Strange. Very strange!

Tonight, I am thankful for each day that I am given to enjoy and spend with others.  We always hear how short our lives on this earth really are and that being said, we never know just how much time we really have.  We must spend it wisely and enjoy each and every moment!

Wow!  This hardly seems like October.  With temperatures pressing near 80 degrees, it hardly seems like fall!  Well, the thing is, we all know this isn’t going to last, right?

This morning, I awakened to a chorus of tree frogs screeching out their raspy song.  I got up with the Soctties and was pleasntly surprised at the mild temperature as we stepped out the door!  The sun just poured out all day today and it was so incredible with the vivid colors of fall, lighting up the sky against a backdrop of sapphire blue skies.  Oh, so beautiful!

We had dinner a bit on the late side.  I made Old Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings. It was after 6:30 by the time everyone sat down.  I had set the table on the front porch….hy should we eat inside when it is so mild after all?  I lit a candle and we just enjoyed the entire experience.  Apparently, eating outside makes everyone a bit more hungry than usual.  Although my BIG Crockpot was nearly full when I placed it on a small side table, there were hardly any leftovers!

We topped dinner off with Indoor S’mores! Okay, you twisted my arm….here is the recipe.

Indoor S’mores

8 cups Golden Grahams Cereal

1 12 ounce bag Milk Chocolate Chips

4 Tablespoons butter

1 bag mini-marshmallows

1 teaspoon Vanilla

In a heavy saucepan, melt butter,  chips, and mini-marshmallows.  Stir constantly and do not leave pan unattended!  After butter, chips and marshmallows are melted, add vanilla, then add cereal and mix well.  Place in 9 x 13 inch pan and refrigerate until cool.  Cut into bars and enjoy!

Mark says these are SICK!  (as in delicious!)  This is an awesome little treat to have on hand if company is coming and you don’t have lots of time to spend making goodies.  I think most everyone would like these!

Here are a few more photos I took on Friday afternoon. (I was too lazy to get the card from my Nikon camera!

I wish I would have taken a drive to see all the pretty leaves today, but Michelle and I did some cleaning in the camper.  Yes, it seems like we were just getting the camper ready for spring, and now it is time to store it away once again until next year’s adventures!

As I was about to upload yesterday’s photos to archive them,  I looked at them closely. 

Yesterday, as I visited with the young man at the farm,  as he told me about the puppies, he lifted some of them out to show me their personalities and tell me about them.  As he lifted the pup he called “comical” out, I captured this photo….

Just look how she is snuggling up next to him and looking oh, so content!!

When I got home yesterday, what a wild time I had!  Since it was eleven o’clock,  I had to quickly think about lunch.  I grabbed a package of frozen chicken thighs and placed them in cool water in the sink.  I had made some delicious Butternut Squash a few days ago….I cooked it in its shell with some 7up in the crockpot.  When it was done,  I scooped it out, adding two tablespoons of brown sugar,  1 tablespoon of butter and then plopping in about 2 tablespoons of whipped cream. I meant to add whipping cream, but I had used it all up for topping pumpkin pie.  So, I just added the whipped cream instead!  I made a quick Greek style salad and then grilled the chicken thighs.

As I placed the chicken on the grill, I thought it seemed a little “funny” acting, but Ben reassured me everything was fine.  About halfway through cooking the chicken, the tank just gave up the ghost!  Argh!  Ben quickly brought a new cylinder and hooked it up.  Phew…so much cooking drama!

As we sat on the back deck, eating lunch,  I nearly lunged off the deck when I saw a black butterfly in the weeds.  Quickly grabbing my camera,  I raced to the flowers….(why does my family react with such surprise when they see me in this mode of operation, anyway?)

Can you see this?  This little wounded warrior is actually missing a HUGE section of its left wing!  How it manages to even fly is beyond me!  So,  the next time you are feeling down….defeated and unappreciated,  just remember this little butterfly who passed through the Bristolwood!  Damaged,  misshapen, and deformed,  this little butterfly still rises up….and flies!

I must admit….I was feeling quite happy to think that the summer weather was behind us.  But, not so!  Well, I would be happy if the heat was behind us, I mean…..but today turned quite warm!   I wasn’t alone, as Mark mentioned it was “pretty hot” too.

I decided after my lovely outing yesterday, I would seek out some beauty in my own yard.  I really didn’t have to look too hard, as we have some nice autumn colors arriving in the front garden!

I bought a pathetic-looking little pot of daisies at Aldi in late May, I think.  The little pot contained a rather poor excuse for daisies, but at less than three dollars, I decided to test my own green thumb.  It was only after I got home I discovered the little tag saying that the plant was an annual.  Phooey….I love perennials…the less work digging and planting, the better! (my motto!)  Well, about three weeks ago, the pathetic plant turned into a sweet little bush with an abundance of bright, sunshiney yellow flowers!  Oh my, they are so attractive! And, I remember that the tag on the plant also declared the plant would attract butterflies.  Oops…kinda late for that, but it is enjoyable for anyone giving it a look!

Not a great shot, by any means, but I wanted to capture the bright yellow color of just a few flowers rather than showing the whole thing. Also gracing the front garden are some mums.  I have two colors….rust, and a deep red.

The mums are just flowering now, although there seem to be zillions more buds coming!  The rust mums are so pretty and I waited until a streak of sunlight highlighted them to shoot the photo above. The dark reds are also filled with buds, but they seem to be coming out a little more slowly…

The geranium I set on the stairs out in front of the house has been blooming like crazy! I moved the pot onto the stairs as I thought perhaps it wasn’t flowering on the porch for lack of sunlight. For once, I had the right idea!

This afternoon, I wanted something cool to post on my daily photo journal.  I was getting a little frustrated….since the sun is setting lower and lower in the southern sky,  our house is getting less and less sunlight through the trees. Because there is less sun shining on the flowers,  there are no butterflies or even bugs for that matter!  Seems everything packed their bags and left!

Soooooo…..I began a stroll down the driveway.  As I walked along, it struck me that I was being watched!  A quick glance around in front of me and to my sides revealed my little “spy”!

See?  Little bugger thought I would not notice him standing there in the shadows!

My walk proved to be a good move!  I got down by the road and there were several tiny yellow butterflies just flitting about from flower to flower. 

As you can see, I actually caught this little butterfly with its wings partially open. I never saw that until I put the card in the computer!  I have never seen one of these butterflies with its wings opened before!

In the above photo, you can see that this butterfly doesn’t have the black-tipped wings.  I am still at a loss to identify the first butterfly.

Yeah, be still my heart!  The little butterfly opened wings even further, revealing all its beauty!  Now, I didn’t fiddle around editing these photos. They are just as they came off the card. Never mind that these little critters were hanging out at my most favorite flower of the season!  I simply stood my ground, snapping as quickly as I could, hoping for at least one good shot!

We are supposed to be getting some rain and I hope, cooler temperatures again. So, as my UK friends would say, I am pretty “chuffed” at my butterfly shots today.  So, if you are reading this and happen to be from the UK, can you explain the word chuffed?

Of course!

It certainly was a brilliant day for photography today.  The amazing blue sky…the sunshine, the colors!!  Yes, the colors all seemed to pop today. Unfortunately, though, I didn’t get many photos.  I had an idea, but it just didn’t pan out…

Here are today’s offerings…

I am so enjoying the cooler weather. It is far from “cool”, but much easier to take than the baking temperatures of a couple of weeks ago!

Wednesday was designated as “my day”.

When I was a little girl, my mother had family living in State College, (my grandparents) and Clearfield, (great aunts and uncle)Pennsylvania.  I remember traveling the roads along the way…..through Warren, then Sheffield, and into the Allegheny National Forest.  (Don’t ask me why it is spelled Allegany in New York State and Allegheny in Pennsylvania!)

I remember riding through the woods just past Sheffield in the winter during Christmastime, and the trees would be snow laden, creating a beautiful canopy above us.  In the spring and summer, the canopy was truely amazing, bright greenery hailing the entrance into what I believed was one of the most magical places on the planet.  Don’t even get me started on the fall….I can recall as though it was yesterday that we drove along the roads, oohing and aahing over the bright gem-colored trees in their autumal majesty as streaks of sunlight shone down upon them making them even more spectacular.

As we made our way through the woods, there was a tiny spot called Russell City.  This wasn’t even big enough to be called a village or a town.  There was just a business or two there and a few houses.  That was it.  And, Russell City is where I dreamed of one day living.

God plants dreams and ideas in each of our minds.  I cannot imagine the why’s and how’s of the workings, but we are created in His image and we each have a dream.  I have always loved the idea of living off the land…an independent lifestyle.  When I was little, I used to look in books about how to survive in the woods.  The woods called out to me and to this day,  I love them.  Although I love people and being around them,  deep inside, I have this longing to return to the woods.

My great aunt had a small cabin in the woods in a state park in Pennsylvania and although rattlesnake and bear stories were sometimes heard,  I loved visiting that cabin.  There were many campfires shared there with hotdogs and marshmallows roasted on sticks. Behind the cabin was a stream with chilly water…the water was cold enough to be used for refrigeration. A little bridge crossed over the water to where an outhouse stood.

My great aunt was a tiny woman who never married.  I remember when I was just a young girl of maybe eight or nine, I was nearly as tall as my great aunt.  I loved her so much and always called her “my Pal”.  Aunt Vera also had a house in the city of Clearfield.  The house was built by my great grandfather and was quite the house!  My great grandmother was also small in stature, so the cupboards were hung low.  It was always incredible to be able to reach right up into the cupboards as a child to grab a glass!

Now that this information has been shared,  perhaps you, Dear Reader, will understand why I tell people that my heart is buried deep in the hills of Pennsylvania.

On Wednesday,  Mark got out his GPS and asked me where it was I wanted to go. I replied immediately, Russell City.  He punched the name into the unit, then asked if he had misspelled it.  Nope. I told him the highway Russell City was situated on, and as he scanned the map, there simply was no Russell City.  As much as Mark advised me I was wrong, I could feel my dander rising and insisted I knew where Russell City was!

Scary scarecrow!

 As Mark worked on his GPS along the side of the road, I saw this scarecrow in a nearby garden!

Finally, Mark began driving and I finally convinced him to just head on out toward where the ATV trails are located in Allegheny National Forest.  Secretly, I knew that Russell City was directly on ATV as well as snowmobile trails as I had seen it on the forest website last year!

We drove on for quite a while, until we came to Kane, Pennsylvania.  It was there, on Route 6 (a famous for its scenic views highway) that a sign stated Russell City was nine (I think) miles away.  I nearly jumped out of my skin!

As a girl, we used to travel to Kane to see the Lobo Wolves.  The wolves lived on a farm and were brought there to save them from extinction, by a doctor named McCleery. People traveled from far and wide to visit the farm.  When I spoke to my mom about this, she couldn’t remember where we saw the wolves, only that they were in Kane.

The wolves were sold several years ago and relocated to Washington.  Their memories and fame still lives on in Kane, though.We looked around the city for awhile, then made our way toward Russell City.We finally came to the village and there it was.  There are several more houses, still two businesses, and pretty much nothing more.  We passed through heading north, then turned around and headed south.

We stopped at one ATV trailhead, then another.  The trails are a hop, skip, and jump from…..you guessed it….Russell City!  I walked along one of the trails for a ways, and surprisingly, the kids followed.

As I walked along this trail, I was surprised at its composition.  The “trail” was more like a road than anything, and it was all a light colored sand with rocks.  The trail was level and beautifully groomed. Surely it would become more rugged as I walked on.

The two trails in this area connect and one could spend a day just riding around!  The maps are posted and from what I saw along my walk, the trails are well marked.

As I made my way along,  it was obvious that there was work being done along the trail.  A lot of undergrowth had been cut out, making the area look more parklike!

I continued on until I came to this crossroads. You can see the tire tracks in the loose sand.  I still cannot believe these beautiful trails and their fantastic condition.

The photo above this one is part of the scenic loop shown on the sign above. The scenic loop is a very short ride and it runs parallel to a gas line on the ride back to the crossroads.  You can see the trail on the right side of the photo.

This is the trail opposite the scenic loop at the crossroads.  I have never seen trails in such perfect condition!

I walked back to the truck, astonished by what I had seen and anxious to tell Mark all about the trails! I even grabbed a handfull of the sand so I could show him!  What a remarkable system this is….I am hoping we will be able to ride it. Soon!

When I got back to the truck, a Jeep drove in with a small trailer with an ATV on it.  I watched in awe as a single woman hopped out of the Jeep and began to get ready to unload the ATV.  At Mark’s urging,  I went over and spoke to her.  She works and lives in a small town a short distance from the park.  She was coming, all alone, at about six o’clock, to ride.  I asked if she was nervous about riding alone and she said she wasn’t.  She said ATV people are great people and someone always shows up on the trails sooner or later.

One of the trails has a little area designated for camping.  There were a couple of campers parked there.  We were just beside ourselves seeing all this!  I felt as though I had discovered a whole new world! And all this because I had this dream of someday living in the national forest in Russell City!

As we were getting ready to leave my little “haven”, Mark pulled into a road and there along the road were two or three beautiful Monarch Butterflies!

This is just a potpouri of photos with no continuity but I thought I would share.

Yeah….while Angus is “all about business”, Murphy is ridiculously clueless about his surroundings!  Little fellow just wants to be our baby!

On a little diversion to Salamanca on Monday, I walked around the town a little.  Coming into the town on Main Street,  one passes over a bridge and sees this pretty mural on the side of a building.  Salamanca is located on Indian (Native American) territory.  It is a pretty little city which was also the home of Ray Evans, the man who wrote the lyrics for the Christmas song,  Silver Bells.

On Monday, I took a brief walk around the park to see what I could see.  It is fun to walk as one sees things that would never be seen from the car.

Tadpoles or pollywogs? I don’t know!  There were many of them in a stream I saw while crossing over a little foot bridge.

These pines along the road were so pretty against the sky of blue!

This was my find of the day, though!

Later in the day, I was hungry so we stopped by the Administration Building at Redhouse.  I got a menu and ordered a sub. It was a toasted turkey sub. Very good and it came with a pickle and fries! Wow.  The price was good, too.  I had to run upstairs to the restaurant to grab it.  I had never been up there and what a surprise. It is a pretty little place!

Amazing how cozy this restaurant is…it has dormers on the front of the building, facing the lake.  The only downside is that the restaurant doesn’t have an elevator, so Mark cannot go upstairs.  Downstairs, though, there is a lodge area with chairs and huge windows overlooking the lake.  One of the waitresses told me that if we were to stop by when it wasn’t too busy, one of the waitresses would run a meal down!  The lodge is located down a few stairs from the main level, but there is a little lift there so wheelchairs can access that area.

After our busy day of exploring the park a little (believe me, there is TONS more to see and do there!) we stopped by the Quaker Lake gift store.  I found a real treasure there!  I am always, always uploading photos off the SD cards and forgetting to put the cards BACK into the camera.  Oops! 

Yes, this awesome brightly-colored little pouch (necklace) is perfect for storing an SD card in its case!  AND, it also gets compliments!

On Tuesday morning, we left the park shortly after ten in the morning to go visit my parents. On the way, Mark stopped at the Butterfly Field (yes, it is designated as such) so I could see if any butterflies were around.  Apparently, they are late sleepers because I only saw one as we were leaving!

This field is huge and I walked a trail that covers its perimeter.  I was so disappointed.  It was pretty hot in the sun, too!

I think I felt how this spent Thistle looks after all my traipsing about!  Although I didn’t see butterflies, the entire field was absolutely buzzing with bumblebees and honey bees, working in the Goldenrod!

I already mentioned that we went to my parents’ to visit on Tuesday.  While we were there, my older brother, Bob, came by. Bob lives in the country and has quite the garden.  He really loves gardening and has always had a garden, even when he lived in the city.

Bob brought along some zucchini squash, yellow tomatoes, red tomatoes, and corn.  Well, my dad decided to deck himself out!

Uh huh.  Now we know where my sense of humor came from, right?

Yesterday morning, I got up and went to work right away on the rubber roof of the camper.  At some point, we had developed a leak inside the camper and I was pretty sure there was a problem on the roof.  Mark said the roof should be cleaned, so he read up on the process and found Tilex is good to use for cleaning it.  We picked up an industrial strength bottle at Lowe’s, so I was anxious to get busy.

Michelle had moved a ladder around the camper a few days ago, snapping photos of sections of the roof.  She and Mark reviewed them and saw a spot or two that looked suspicious.  As I worked on that roof,  it was incredible to see the color change from grey to white!  Mark said  the company that makes these roofs recommends washing them three or four times a year…..YIKES!  It has been awhile since the last time I was up there!

As I worked, I was antsy to get to the refrigerator vent.  I was convinced that the leak was there as when it rained, water would  drip down in the cabinet below the vent.  It didn’t take long to see the problem once I got to the back side of the vent….

The big long dark “crack” in the center of this photo is where the rubber roof actually came away from the caulking that kept it water tight!  After I finished cleaning the roof,  Michelle (excellent cake decorator!)  went up with a tube of caulking and fixed that area up better’n new!  The test came last night.  We had a few downpours that would have left water in the camper, for sure!  When I got up this morning,  I went out and ran my hand inside the cupboard….it was bone dry!  Phew, that was an easy fix!

As I was looking through the photos on this SD card before uploading them,  I saw a few photos from Genesee Country Village and Museum that might be worth sharing.  There are several really nice sculptures there and I had never been able to get a decent photo of the two horses before.  This time, I took my time and took many photos from all different angles till I came up with a photo I like! Oh, and the flowers are from near the gazebo on the main green.

As we were leaving the village while we were there,  I spotted a wild grapevine growing along a fence….

These remind me it won’t be long until the grape harvest in all the Finger Lakes region! 

Since we were at the village on my birthday,  Erin went into the gift shop with her dad and Sarah.  When she came out, she handed me this really cute little Scottie dog!  He rode home on the dashboard of the truck.   What a cute present!

And, speaking of Scotties….I got this one of Murphy resting in my Nikon camera bag the other day!  Both he and Angus love this bag.  No idea why!  I got my snazzy new backpack/camera bag and it blows the doors off this “ragbag”!  I actually got the bag together with an extended camera warranty and lens.  It was a three-for deal that was too good to pass up.  The only thing is, the bag has very little padding and has developed a hole where the top closes.  I have found cardboard and paper with Chinese writing on it leaking out the hole.  It really was time for a new bag!

Now randomly from my front garden….

After spending a few hours cleaning the rubber roof last night,  I was anxious to clean the awning today.  It had gotten pretty ugly with lots of black mildew spots on it.  I dragged out the ladder and began working away.  I found awning cleaner and a scrub brush did miracles on removing much of the spotting.  As I finished up the highest part, Ben came out and helped clean the rest.  It took the two of us a little over an hour.  I think had I still been working alone,  I would still be out there!

Now the little camper is about as clean on the outside as on the inside.  The work is strenuous, only because I find myself working from a ladder!

With the hurricane threat,  I pray for folks up and down the east coast.  From all I’ve read, this is pretty unusual, but they have had to deal with hurricanes before.  Our forecast doesn’t show any rain although I am wondering if it will change.  Seems when this happened previously,  we got wind and lots of rain!

The problem with going out and getting the opportunity to get some nice photos is that once one is at home all day, there isn’t always such a great opportunity to get some new and exciting subjects! Thus, the dilemma today.

Michelle and I were outside this morning playing with Murphy.  Murphy was playing with his little “splash ball” and photographing him was akin to catching a greased pig!  Good grief….he just would not settle down.  Every time I had him in focus…..zzzzzzzzzzzooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmm!

Yup. The only halfway decent photos of the laddie were when he was STILL.

Later this morning,  I saw another butterfly…I grabbed the camera and went outside. As soon as I came anywhere near the Butterfly Bush, the thing took off!  A real day of challenges! I went and sat up on the porch until the little bugger returned.  I had to take my photos from the porch.  I tried once again to take pictures from the ground, but this little White Admiral was a jitterbug!

I did discover a really cool fact about these butterflies today!  I never realized that their closed wings are nearly as pretty as when they are open!

And that’s it!  Tomorrow, I am supposed to receive my birthday present from Mark.  He had wanted to buy me a new camera bag for over a year but I wasn’t sure what I wanted, exactly.  We looked online and I think we found a cool bag.  And speaking of bags!  As I was walking along today, the strap of my little purse broke!  Tomorrow, I am shopping for a new little purse!

For the record, we were out today, riding in the Explorer when the earthquake rumbled.  None of us felt it.

For several days, the Elusive Butterfly has evaded me and my camera.  I have seen her fluttering past, only to be discouraged that my  cameras were not nearby.

Until today!

Madame Butterfly no longer evades me!  She hung around a good long time, at the Butterfly Bush.  I am so happy!