Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008
I can officially call it winter now that it’s the 22nd. It feels like just a few weeks ago that I had sweat dripping off my face from working outside. Now, sweat is just a distant memory.
When I woke up this morning, I noticed a blue sky peeking through the little half circle window above the closed shades in the bedroom. I was pretty happy because every time it’s sunny during these “dark” months, you pretty much have to take advantage of it. Being trapped inside a house during a very snowy weekend can get on your nerves. Not that it isn’t beautiful outside, it’s just that seeing the same walls over and over again can take its toll.
I decided that today would be a great day to take Holly down into the woods to go for a walk. Since Holly is a Nordic dog, I figured that she would jump at the chance to bounce around in the deep snow. The plan was to hike down the hill behind the house, cross the walking trail, climb over the rock wall and continue down to the river. Maybe Holly could get a quick drink while we were there and then we would figure out a way to get back up that steep, snowy hill. That was the plan.
I went downstairs to get Holly, who was asleep on the warm basement floor. I said, “C’mon Holly…c’mon,” while slapping my hand against my leg. She kind of just lifted her head to look at me. Then, I started jumping around so she would get the message. Holly isn’t the best listener, so it takes a bit of theatrics to get her to do anything. Finally, she got up and followed me up the basement stairs and out the garage door, where I clipped her to her leash. I think she was starting to wake up, because she had a little pep in her step once we hit the driveway pavement.
To get Holly warmed up for the snow hike, I walked her up the driveway to the mailbox and back down to the edge of the woods. Once we were all set to enter the woods, I gave her a tug and jumped in myself. She followed me, but once her paws hit the snow and her body sank about a foot into it, she looked a bit discouraged. She glanced up at me with those, “No way, man” eyes. I wasn’t having that, so I started to tug on her leash a little more. We got about 50 feet into the woods and she stopped. She just stopped. Her head kept on leading back to the driveway. I stood there in utter disappointment. What had this dog turned into? Oh well, today is her birthday and she did just turn 14. I’ll give her a break.
We started heading back up the driveway and she began hopping in the snow. “Oh, so there’s all that energy,” I said. She was saving it to make sure she would make it back to that warm basement floor. She might need it to fall asleep again. Oh well. I brought her back inside and headed down into the woods myself.
Good thing I had my big boots and snow pants on. If I tried to hike around in anything else, I would have been totally covered in snow. We must have over a foot, because the white stuff was well past my shins and right below my kneecaps. It’s not fun when it hits the skin and starts to melt. Winter is all about dressing the right way. I figured that out a long time ago. Believe it or not, the second time I went skiing, I attempted to go down Mt. Snow in jeans. What an idiot. I’ll chalk that up to being an inexperienced youth.
I had my camera in my pocket and was ready to take some really beautiful shots of the New England woods after a snowstorm. I made it a bit down the hill to the treehouse. I figured I would take a few pictures of it to show you. I mentioned to Laura this morning that we should make a point of fixing it up this summer, just in case we ever wanted to sit up there and watch the woods. It’s situated in a nice little cluster of Hemlocks.
Treehouse in Hemlock trees
Treehouse in Hemlock trees
The treehouse is built very well and quite sturdy, so I don’t think we’ll have any problems maintaining it. Laura already climbed up there over the summer to peek out the window. I got about half way up and turned around. I few years ago, I would have been jumping up and down on top of the roof. What the heck happened to me?
I continued down the hill, across the hiking trail, all the way to the river. It’s really not that far, but when you are lifting your knees to your chest, trying to walk, it seems a lot further than it really is.
I made it to the river and took a few photos. This one was the best.
River leading into wetlands
The water wasn’t as active as it was a few days ago, after that huge rainfall we had. It was pretty calm today, but I’m sure we’ll see a change after the rain and warm weather that’s predicted for the next few days.
From there, I stopped to smell the figurative roses. It’s not every day I am able to stand, once again, in silence. It was really nice. There were no footprints anywhere, so I knew I was alone. I took a look around to see what I could take pictures of. It was kind of challenging, because there wasn’t a lot of substance. It’s hard to explain, but in the summer months, there are leaves, trees, flowers, animals, etc…to take pictures of. During winter, there is snow and wood. I did find a few things though…
Branch with buds
Looking into the sun
Small branch with ice on it
Tree branches in winter
Dried leaf with snow on it
Small tree in winter woods
At that point, I figured that I had enough pictures. Trust me, there were many more than what I am showing you, but so many didn’t come out the way I wanted them to. With many of them, I was experimenting with the various settings on the camera.
When my fingers started getting cold, I turned around to head up the hill.
If you have never seen this hill, I’ll tell you that it’s somewhat difficult walking up when there is no snow on the ground. When there is snow, it’s all the more fun. I made it about half way back up when I stopped at the treehouse again. I saw a few low hanging Hemlock branches, so I pulled the camera back to see what I could do with them.
Close up Hemlock branches
That was fun because the Hemlock is my all-time favorite tree.
As I rounded the crest of the hill and got closer to civilization, I felt the cold air against my face. I was using a lot of energy, but not sweating in the least. I continued to walk and thought to myself how beautiful winter and snow can really be. I spend so much of my time complaining about how I can’t go outside and plant things, that I overlook much of what this time of year has to offer. Today was a great day to get outside and remind me of that.
The last picture I took was of one of the Rhodedenrums out in front. It looked to good against the blue sky, I just couldn’t help myself.
Rhodedenrum against blue sky in winter
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Thursday, November 9th, 2006
A while back, I ordered some trees from The National Arbor Day Foundation. I received the Norway Spruce trees the other day, but found the bulk of the other trees sitting on my front porch last night, when I pulled in the driveway from work. I was a little curious about the size of them.
When I opened the package of Norway Spruces, I was pleasantly surprised to see 10 trees, each about one foot high. They were pretty full trees. These trees come with their roots bunched up together and surrounded by gel in a plastic bag. It is recommended that you plant the trees immediately upon receiving them. Luckily, I saved all the plastic containers from all the shrubs I purchased throughout the summer. I mixed some topsoil with some sandy loam and planted all the Norway Spruce trees…one per container. I added these new trees to the collection of about 25 I am growing on my back porch.
As I mentioned above, the rest of the trees were waiting for me last night (by the way, I ordered a new shipment yesterday). I found two boxes with 3 Red Maple trees, 1 Paper Birch, 10 Canadian Hemlock trees and 3 Saucer Magnolias.
The common question everyone has is how big the trees are when you get them. Here is some insight. The Red Maples came about 2-3 feet high, the Paper Birch came about 4 feet high, the Hemlocks came about 8 inches tall and here is the good part…the Saucer Magnolias came about 6 inches high. They say these trees are supposed to be 1-2 feet high. Oh well. I have all these trees planted now in their own buckets on the back porch. In a few years, I will be able to plant them in their final place.
Obviously, these trees are meant for patient people, but go ahead, give it a shot and get your own!
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Wednesday, September 27th, 2006
When you think you are getting in a rut with your life, one way to climb out of it is to go for a walk every evening. Make sure it lasts an hour or more. You don’t have to power-walk or do it for exercise…just do it for the pleasure of getting out of the house and having a decent conversation with your significant other. It’s amazing how much stress you shed off and how much of the town you live in becomes noticed and enjoyed.
When we lived back on the Eastern side of the Hudson River, we used to walk around the neighborhood, on the track up at the Trinity-Pawling School and at the Pawling Nature Reserve. By far, the best place to get away from it all is the Nature Reserve.
You get their by heading north of Pawling on Rt. 22 and making a right on N. Quaker Hill Rd. Continue East until you make a left on Quaker Lake Rd. Continue on this road, past both lakes until the road turns into dirt. You should see a sign on the left side shortly thereafter.
A short description of the reserve is here:
“The Pawling Nature Reserve covers 1,050 acres ecomapssing almost the entire 1053′ high western side and top of Hammersly Ridge in the northeastern corner of Pawling. South of Pawling, the topography is considered a part of the Hudson Highlands. From Pawling nothward, however, the topography and geology is the very foot of the Berkshire Mountains. The Pawling Nature Reserve contains many of the geological features of the Berkshires with deep ravines, sheer cliffs and rock talus slopes.
Much of the Preserve is covered with second growth timber as the area has been settled beginning in 1728. Sheep and cattle grazed the Nature Reserve land from 1750 until around 1930. Logging also played a major role in the area’s history. Remenets of an old sluiceway can still be found near the main entrance, along the Yellow trail. Foundations and stone walls dot the entire reserve.”
The feature that initially attracted me to this trail system is the Hemlock trees. I just love the shade of huge hemlocks!
When we start the approximate 5 mile loop, we immediately pass the little wooden map holder and donation box. We usually look through this for things that people write. You can find very interesting comments there. Then we continue through to the coolest ravine and waterfall. There is a wooden bridge set up that crosses the river and bounces when you walk on it. It is extremely fun to cross first and then jump up and down on it when someone else gets to the middle. It makes then hop up and down on it uncontrollably. Just don’t fall off while laughing at them. Remember, this is not a nice thing to do to someone. They may begin to walk away without you.
After you apologize and pass the river, you bear to the left and follow the trail markers. It is pretty basic hiking for a few miles, until you get to a little area with a very small pond on your left. Be sure to stop there to look for frogs. They have been there every time we visited.
Right after that, you will see a sign for the Appalachian Trail. This is very exciting because you can say that you walked the “AT” while hanging out at parties. People will think you are really cool. Just be sure to stop the conversation there, before they start to ask questions. You skirt the AT for a while and the landscape becomes a bit swampy. The people who maintain the trail built a wooden path that hovers above the swamp about two feet.
Continue walking and when you arrive at the big hillside, you will know that you are on the back half of the trail. It becomes kind of rocky, but really neat because everything changes to smaller trees and mountain laurels. Follow the hillside down and you will connect back with your starting place at the bridge, river and waterfall.
The hike usually takes about an hour and a half. I would say that the best time to go, like all hiking, is in late September and early October, but it’s nice year round. You will notice that when you hop back in your car to drive home, the conversation will have changed from everyday work talk to hiking and what you want to do with the rest of your life. Ahhh….what nature can do for you.
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Sunday, September 17th, 2006
Beautiful Sundays are meant for riding motorcycles…and flying airplanes. Well, that’s just what we did. My friend Craig and I went for a nice bike ride up to Sherman, CT on an exploration mission. We had no goal and that’s the way we like it. We rode our motorcycles…and had them pose for a photo…
I wanted to show Craig a house that I almost purchased the Spring of 2005 located on Green Pond Rd. in Sherman, CT. We rode by it, took a look and agreed that it was too small. Good thing I walked from that deal. Anyway, we continued up the road because I was raving about how the house came with lake access to two private beaches on Candlewood Lake. We went through the gates and started climbing a hill and then rolled down the other side…ooh, an unexpected surprise. A small lake called Green Pond. No one knows about this little pristine treasure, because no one is allowed in unless you live on that road. It was really, really nice. There were a few people sitting on the small beach and the lake was surrounded by the thickest Hemlocks. I love that…totally private.
Enough of that. We rode up and back out towards the main road. I was in back of Craig…when he made a sudden right. I read the partly hidden sign located on the entrance of the small road he just turned into. It read “Candlelight Farms Airport.” Hmmm…what was this? Well, apparently, there is a really cool grass airport located right behind the tree line. This is actually the one that the chopper landed on in the movie “Mr. Deeds.” We continued to ride down the dirt road until we got to the hangar.
There was a bi-plane sitting outside and a guy there who was giving scenic rides. His company is called Preston Aviation and he lives in Florida in the winter and Connecticut in the summer. His plane is a Stearman PT-17, built in 1941. This plane was in awesome condition.
Ok, fine. This sounds like fun. Craig went up first for a half-hour. He came back down and said it was a gorgeous view and I just had to go up. I climbed in to the 2-seater and was pretty excited. This airplane is totally open, so your head sticks out. Great for nice warm days.
Craig was right. It was gorgeous. We flew over Candlewood Lake and parts of Sherman and New Milford. He let me fly a bit and snap lots of photos. Way too many to put in this entry. We also did some lazy eights.
Flying over this lake is a very scenic adventure. I will be sure to come back after I get my license.
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