Life in the Bristolwood

The kids wanted to go to Penn Yan late Friday afternoon to visit a friend home for the weekend from college.  Mark and I took them over, then we headed off.  I wanted to take some country pictures, so we took a few side roads here and there.  At one point, Mark decided GPS might be useful, so he pulled into a church parking lot.  Right next door was a Mennonite house, and the laundry was out on the line.  Love the look of the clothing against the red barn backdrop and the beautiful evergreens in the foreground!

Well, I was last night! 

We went out late yesterday afternoon….a drive to Sauder’s (the Mennonite store in Seneca Falls) was in order to purchase some freshly-picked apples.  When we got there, Mark was a tad disappointed that the selection was a bit meager.  We did decide to try several varieties.  I even picked up six 20 ounce apples to try for a pie.  In looking at them, I think six might be too many for a pie…those apples are ginormous!

Mark has been trying to resurrect one of our computers for Ben.  Mark’s (ancient) Dell laptop seems to have finally given up the ghost and although Ben would like another laptop,  Mark is on a NOMORELAPTOPS binge.  My three year old Dell EXP recently decided to become a bit cantankerous and is now sitting and waiting for Dr. Mark to diagnose.  Yesterday, Mark was looking for a keyboard with a PS2 (I think that is right, anyway?) adapter so he could boot up the computer…..we looked in a couple different stores to no avail.  The adapter is passe…gone….argh.

Ben asked to stop at a thrift store as we were passing by. Mark pulled in and as we waited, Angus, as always, perched on Mark’s lap to look out the window.  Angus is such a funny little Scottie….always keen, alert, and wanting to see everything that is happening!

Even to the point of watching passing vehicles!

I have a terrible time sitting still in the truck.  I started looking about to see if there was anything “picture-worthy”.  At the end of the parking lot was a stack of huge crates.  I am thinking they look like those used for shipping apples, although the one with writing that says “crisp and spicy” kind of threw me off.  Cannot think of an apple filling that description!

Yes, although that golden “honey” sun was illuminating the crates, I favored this photo in black and white.

We began our westward drive home in debilitating, blinding sun.  I cannot even imagine how Mark was able to see!  It was terrible; a band of bikers (about six bikes) pulled over to the side of the road and hopped off.  Mark wondered if perhaps the sun had become too strong for them.  We made it the fifteen miles from Geneva to Canandaigua where Mark stopped at McDonald’s as per Michelle’s request.

After going through the drive-thru,  I asked Mark to stop so I could grab a photo. I walked around the store, trying a couple different angles before settling on this one.

I really liked this photo, using it in my daily journal as well.  Michelle favored it in black and white, saying it was “more dramatic”….hmmm, what do you think?

I had to chuckle as I read the title of the last post.  Busy?

Last Sunday, we had planned to take a little trip as Michelle begins college soon.  Tomorrow soon!  Yes, tomorrow is Labor Day and the United States of America rests and pays tribute to its laborers.  However, Rochester Institute of Technology begins their fall classes on Labor Day!  One of life’s mysteries, I guess….

But I digress.

Michelle went with her boyfriend, Jacob, to his church picnic last Sunday at the county park located just a couple of miles from our house.  She came home early at four,  and off we went on our little adventure. 

We drove to Allegany State Park where we stayed until Friday. Although we had planned to relax, we were busy every day! It was very nice, though! The weird thing in all this is that I really didn’t take many photos.  This was our little niche in the world from Sunday night until Friday noon.

I always end up chuckling about us spending time at campgrounds because of the fact that we live in the woods.  Most of the folks I have met at campgrounds are city dwellers who are so appreciative of the fact that they can escape to the sanity of a less stressed and hurried lifestyle, only if it is for a couple of days sometimes!

On Monday, we explored the park a bit.  Ben remembered how we visited Thunder Rocks this past winter on the snowmobiles and he wanted to return to see them now.  I am not sure we have rock formations like this around our area, so I forget how massive they are until we visit them again! (Hoping you don’t mind seeing our kids over and over!)

Fly Tweetie, fly!

After our stop at Thunder Rocks,  we passed by Science Lake.  Not sure how the lake came to have that name, but it sure is pretty. There were a couple of young men fishing there….the lake has trout in it. Please forgive so many photos…I could not choose which to show.  As you can see, this was a day of perfection, weatherwise!  It could not have been a nicer day!

Science lake is a manmade lake, thus it has a spillway to keep it from getting unruly!  That was quite a drop!

After visiting Science Lake, we were on to see the bear caves.  Yes!  There are many black bears living in the park, although I saw n’ary a one. Drat!  I would love to have some bear photos.  There is an area where campers take their trash that is filled with several dumpsters.  The area is surrounded by electric fencing to discourage said bears from pillaging!

I remember as a child seeing bears at a dump area of the park.  People would drive there in cars and throw food from their windows to feed the bears!  Yeah, hard to believe. 

That little hike to the bear caves was pretty strenuous for this “picture-taker”!  I was getting tired! We had to take out Little Bear (Angus) along for the walk, as Mark refers to him as a bear cub!  He enjoyed the cruise through the woods, too.

On Tuesday, we went to visit with my family.  It was another beautiful day and we really enjoyed the time spent together until dusk when the mosquitoes came out for their bloodlust fest!  These days were so much fun, but passed by much too rapidly….

Front: Mom, Dad, Mark, me and Fritzie   Rear:Randy, Ben, Michelle

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!

We got home just a short time ago…we had taken the kids to Penn Yan….yes, again!…

Last night, the kids wanted to meet up with friends at the mall, so we drove on up to Victor.  Mark and I did some running around, then parked in the mall parking lot with the Scottie boys.  As we sat there, all of a sudden, the rain came pounding down on the Explorer.  It was so loud and so hard!

The rain kept up, then nearly as suddenly as it began, it stopped! Mark and I rolled the windows down and just enjoyed the crisp clean air!  Murphy rather enjoyed it, himself!

Murphy’s nose was twitching like crazy as he tried to make sense of the sights and smells surrounding him. Angus always loves sniffing the air, but it’s unusual to catch Murphy like this!

Today was a long day with a lot being accomplished….so I will bid you adieu and see you on the flip side….I will talk about today, then!

One of the guys that is a friend of our kids is going to return to Pennsylvania soon for college.  The kids are going to miss him once again…this will be his 3rdyear….so we took them to Penn Yan to visit.  It was late afternoon/early evening before we even arrived, so  Mark and I just relaxed and enjoyed the time.  I had not noticed the  huge cemetery in PennYan before, so I wanted to visit….I think it kind of creeps Mark out, but I wanted to look around.

It was interesting looking about the cemetery.  I saw graves from the early 1800′s,  but didn’t wander over to what looked like even earlier stones. I saw some stones with a tiny lamb on top-these were the graves of  little ones. 

After looking around a little, we decided to head on over to the lake.  It was beautiful, weatherwise, so listening to music and looking at the scenery was so very pleasant! I had to visit with the geese,of course…

I had walked down to the lake carefully, so as not to startle the gaggle.  I once had a farm wife tell me that every now and then, domestic geese will fly off with migrating wild geese.  Now,  I have no idea where this group came from,  but they look like domestic geese to me.  They are always at the park, so they must live there.

I counted a total of fifteen geese although they aren’t all here in the above photo. They are pretty tame.

hehehe….goose buns!  I couldn’t help but snap this one as they made their way up the hill!  They were so peaceful and just interesting to observe.  Then two young boys chased them all the way back down to the water.  That really irritates me when parents don’t stop their kids from terrorizing animals….perhaps if one of those lads were to get “goosed” a good one, they would leave the geese alone.  In thinking on it,  the parents would probably try to su the town instead.  The geese did wander back out of the lake after the terrorist attack and came up near where we were parked.  I saw the young boys coming up toward them once again and I was going to holler at them,  but when they saw me from afar,  they turned back.  Apparently,  they have been reprimanded before.

Mark, the Scottie boys,  and I,  all sat in the Explorer,  just enjoying…..sometimes it is nice to sit back and listen to whatever music we want to hear,and enjoy the view!

It really was a pleasant evening.  We picked the kids up shortly after nine and headed home.  I saw that some people had posted  about a meteor shower when I got home, but I was too tired to even look online to find out more info.  Funny….I dreamed Iwas taking photos of shooting stars!  The stars not only were awesome to *see*,  but they all made a “whizzing” noise as they streaked across the sky!

I try so hard to keep up here but it seems like so many times when I begin to write, something else calls me away, and I get distracted!  Family keeps me hoppin’!

Yesterday, we went down to the souther tier to try out some vehicles. It was a good thing we did!  Mark and I had kind of set our sights on one vehicle.  We took the kids along just to see what they thought.  Yikes!  The vehicle we had thought might just do will not do!  The leg room in the backseat is not nearly big enough when Mark puts his seat back to drive!  We thought there was plenty of space until we actually saw the kids sitting there! Wow…buying a new vehicle takes some time, considering all the options and conveniences.  We would like something pretty basic,  but some little add ons would be great.

Ah, so much for vehicles.

Photos from today!

Life will never, ever be the same.  No way.  This morning as we were working out back, Angus crawled up on a float that had been left out on the lawn.  Was he trying to tell us something?  Michelle thought so.  So, after all the work was done this morning,  Mark,  Ben and Michelle all went out into the pool.  And there they remained for quite some time.

Of course, Angus wanted to get into the swim as well.  Literally.  This Scottie loves the water.  He loves to swim.  I had hesitated to purchase a life vest for the wee wonder, as I wasn’t sure he would ever get any use from it.  I guess he is proving to me that such a purchase would be just grand!

As soon as he hit the pool, Michelle let him go on his own power and he gleefully paddled away.

Yes, Michelle was right next to him, stepping out of the way just long enough to take a picture. Of course, the antics continued on. And on….

Ben convinced Angus that he could easily swim to a float and hop on. Watching this sequence was so funny!

First, he latches on….then, begins to pull himself up…

He then pops the tail end out of the water….at this point, he looks like a sea lion coming up…now if we could teach him to clap his paws and utter, “arf,arf”!

Finally he’s on! As we know, that calls for a good SHAKE!

Oh, the humor of it all! Then, as if that isn’t enough, the lad spots a s-q-u-i-r-r-e-l in a tree.  Suddenly he hops forward and takes the most awesome stance!

It was getting late and I was hungry!  I had a hankering for a good fish fry, but I wasn’t about to slave over a hot stove.  Yes, today’s temperature rivaled yesterday’s. We do not have central air and the house was stifling hot….Michelle called in an order down to a small diner in Woodville and I would go pick up the meals.

I was getting ready to leave when Michelle snatched Murphy from me.  I called her, asking what she was going to do with the boy and she just walked away.  I had to go in the house for a few minutes and when I went out to see how everyone was doing, Murphy was…..well…..

Wait a minute….Murphy HATES the water.  He sure looks comfy on that float, though! Michelle removed him from the float and decided to check out his “doggy paddle”. Oh glory!!!! That dog acted like a two-year-old child.  He did this rotating paws thing where he slowly paddled one paw, then the other.  It looked like he was slapping his paws on the water.

As though realizing he was the brunt of a joke, he turned his body backwards.  I couldn’t tell whether he was seeking approval from Michelle or me,  but it just added further to the laughter!

You must understand, Murphy is my pup, through and through.  He shadows me and is intimidated by new things if I am not there with him.  Michelle and Ben then did such a funny thing!

Yes, rub-a-dub-dub, two Scots in a tub!

It was getting late.  I needed to pick up our supper and I wanted to make sure everyone and everything was okay on the homefront before leaving.  Of course, when I mentioned leaving,  Murphy would have called out, “take me! take me!” were he able to speak! Michelle took  the boys out of the tub and Murphy began to make his thoughts known as he started swimming toward me.

When I called him and clapped my hands, the little fellow kicked into high gear and moved headlong at a most impressive rate, with very impressive splashes!

The little fellow wanted desperately to go with me to escape the pool madness!  How could I tell him no?  I removed him from the pool and before I could even grab a towel to wipe him down,  he was off running into the front lawn, rolling about like a big ole happy pig in the mud.  With that,  I got into the car,  called Murphy, and when he hopped in, we were on our way.

We had a good dinner, then everyone decided they were shriveled enough, they got out.  Yes, the insanity of the day called for Ben,  Mark, and Michelle taking their dinners on the pool rail while I sat at the table on the deck eating mine. What a totally fun time we had with the Scottie boys today.  Funny how much happiness those two bring!

One more shot of Angus.  My favorite of the day! 

Angus,  with the very, very brave heart!

 Yesterday, as the day progressed, so did the temperature on the thrmometer!  I remember years ago when the kids were little, there was a day when the thermometer on out front porch read 96 degrees.  Well, yesterday, it actually rose just a tad above the 96 degree mark.  It was so incredibly hot!

Michelle has been lobbying for Mark to join her and Ben in the pool for a long time.  Mark loves that swimming pool. He bought it and set it up about a year before the spinal cord injury, in the hopes that the kids would learn how to swim.  When they were little, we spent a good deal of time in the water, playing, splashing, and teaching the kids about swimming. 

But I digress.

Michelle, Ben, and I all worked together to safely get Mark into the pool….It might look a bit funny to an observer, (and a whole lot less than graceful)  but it is important to make sure he enters without hurting his legs or feet as he cannot feel them very well.

After Mark was in the pool, Michelle carefully put Angus into the pool as well.  Angus enjoyed riding on the float, while Mark pulled him around.  Mark is able to move around in the pool so much more freely than on land.  He is planning on going into the pool again today as the temperature once again is on the rise!

Late in the afternoon, Michelle and Ben said they wanted to go to Penn Yan to play football. I immediately thought no way!!! They talked to their friends, and they asked Michelle and Ben to come on over and they would go swimming instead.  That sounded like a far better plan in my book.  Everyone hopped out of the pool..well, we helped lift Mark out,  and we were off again.  When we left home, the temperature was right at 96 degrees.

When we got to Penn Yan, the temperature was 100 degrees.  I thought I was seeing wrong…nope, the temperature really was 100 degrees.  It was a scorcher!  Now, this heatwave might not be so bad, except for the fact that we have had little rainfall in weeks.   We wandered on over to the Red Jccket Park and I thought I would take a few pictures.

The first shows how the grass has dried to the point that it looks like straw! The photo is dark…I was shooting into the sun and it is greatly shaded in this (grassy) area.

I (thought!) that as I moved down the hill a bit toward the lake, surely the grass might actually be “green”?,  but no.

Wow. The brown dried up grass really made it feel even hotter.  I didn’t want to linger too long. I went on over to the Red Jacket statue….the plaque below explains a bit.

I especially like the detailing on the back side of the statue’s jacket.  The intricate details depicting items from nature found in the region always fascinates me.  It is so beautifully done.

I decided to defy the heat around me, walking all the way down to the lake.  Phew!  The view is beautiful with the autumnal golds, but no!  It is summer!  It should be bright and vivid greens!

On my way back to the truck, I came upon this ginormous oak tree!  It was at least six feet across at the bottom!

No wonder the Bible speaks of the mighty oak!

Mark and I drove around a little, taking in sights and watching people.  People were warned to stay indoors because of the heat, but the lake draws folks.  Many swimming areas all around the state have issued comments that they will remain open for an extra hour to allow people to be refreshed in the water!

The heat is on for a few more days.  I cannot wait until this hot weather leaves…for GOOD!  I really, really like cool weather much better.

We just got home a short time ago…the kids went to Penn Yan to hang out with their friends.  It was dreadfully hot there.  How hot?  Well, hot enough that I am too hot and tired to post an entire blog entry…so, for now….