Day 1004: Quest video lessons

Day 30: 2 miles
Total for Sept: 90 miles

We were lucky to add two miles since I had a stupid accident this morning where I injured my big toe.  Apparently, I am not capable of successfully opening a door without hurting myself.   I pulled the door right across my toe and ripped off part of the nail.

Movie progress: Almost finished Friday's talent show.  I loved rewatching Josh as he relayed the story of an ordinary cheerio who was striving to win over a frosted cheerio or when Rick played the samurai pooper.  Abby's crew was delightful as they did a fashion show of bandana fashion.  And Shane's team was brilliant as they performed twenty-five movies in five words or less each.

As I previewed the video, I was particularly moved by the tributes of the young alumni.  Alycia, Shane, Alex and Ethan all shared their thoughts on the value of Quest.  Alycia spoke of how special the program is and then welcomed all the campers to "our family".  Shane warned the kids not to take for granted all the friendships they make on the trip, whether classmates or adults.  Quest is a transformative experience, Alex said.  When he has to write about events that changed his life, he writes about Quest.  Life is hard, Ethan said, but the confidence they gain from completing Quest should help them believe they can overcome challenges and be successful.

Quest means a great deal to us, but watching the video reminds me that it has had a powerful impact on so many young people.  We've been away from it for months and now we are gearing up for Quest 2015.  Packets are edited, printed and stapled.  All the schedules are ready.  Routes have been scouted.  Volunteers are stepping forward.  I kind of regretted leaving the video project for now, but it's actually been a positive thing.  In June, we just want to escape from its demands.  Now, I'm getting excited to get back to work on the book and bring a whole new group of eighth graders into the Quest family.

Rachel and I visited a new coffee shop in town for lunch called Kasia.  Located in the old Seed Co. building, it is a beautiful space decorated in a quirky and appealing style.  Unfortunately, it is not competently run and we will not be going back in the near future.  It was clear that the owner is new to the business and does not know what he's doing.   We waited over forty-five minutes for a bowl of soup that came out of package.  It may have been organic and tasty, but it wasn't homemade.  I felt a little sorry for him cause he seemed totally overwhelmed, even by two old ladies ordering soup and tea.

Our backyard in late afternoon

Easy chair

Molly's and our happy place!

Day 1003: 80 degrees

Warmer and sunnier than most of August, September has been spectacular! If only the nights were not 54.   This weekend, Colin and April went to Jacob Riis beach and swam in the ocean!  How wonderful!  Tomorrow, we'll begin to drain about a foot of water from the pool in preparation for closing it up for the winter.  It makes me very sad to close it, but I don't want to leave the process till it's so cold  and windy that the job becomes unbearable.

So, now I am tallying the miles we walk or hike each day.  We added four more mile today so we're up to 88 miles for September.

As promised, I started the Quest video today.  I finished editing all the clips from Wednesday and most of Friday.  We're speaking to the Brocton 8th graders on Friday and will use the 2013 video instead of the 2014.   That's actually better because the photos and video from the 2013 trip were beautiful since it didn't rain at all.

The maple near the Risley St. bridge

Day 1002: CAST drill

I learned a new geographical term today: choke point.   Twenty mile Creek and Gage Creek intersect at a choke point and their waters combine to flow through a narrow channel between two high cliffs.  If a hiker happened to be caught in that spot during a storm when the water was rising, she would have no escape.  

To get there, we hiked a mile of gradually sloping terrain till we reached a hogback that dropped over two hundred feet down.  We had to navigate along the top of the long narrow hogback composed of mostly of crumbling shale that descended swiftly.  Really rugged and tough, but fun!

The team worked together on their GPS devices to mark three entry points into the ravines.  As we hiked, their devices recorded the latitude and longitude of the tracking points.  Then they saved each trail so if they ever need to rescue someone in the gorge, they can relay the precise information to first responders.  They haven't learned how to send it to the responder's radios yet and the programming is not yet available, but it will be.  At this time,  they could give verbal directions to the location.

All three access points are on private land.  The forest ranger had already gained permission to travel on their property, but they emphasized that they didn't want anyone on the team to cross their property on their own.  It was understandable because the gorge is spectacular.  I suspect that very few people know about this gorge and at 300 feet down, even fewer would try to find a way down.  Apparently, the county has purchased land that abuts the gorge, but it has 300 foot cliffs so it will not provide access.

Chautauqua Area Search Team

Intersection of Twenty-Mile and Gage Creeks

View from the top of the ridge

Falls view

Day 1001: Teddy, Franklin and Eleanor

Tonight we concluded the Ken Burns series on the Roosevelts.  It was powerful, breathtaking in scope and detail and very, very moving.  Even though we are both historians, we learned a great deal and were caught up by the stories of these courageous and devoted public servants.

"Courage is more exhilarating than fear," Eleanor Roosevelt said.  It was certainly true of all three.  Each overcame tremendous personal challenges and public obstacles, yet they served others with all their strength.

Tomorrow, Steve has a search and rescue drill in Ripley Gorge and I am going with him to photograph the team in action.  We've never explored that part of the county, so it will be exciting to travel new trails.

I tallied up all the miles we've walked in September and it's just over 79 miles.  Today we did 4.3 and I expect tomorrow will be more.  

Day 1000: Allegheny and Kinzua

So happy!  1000 days of writing!

Memories are strange things.  Over time, they are enhanced by the feelings we associated with the original events and places. Like Kinzua.  Twenty years ago, it was a special place for our family.  When the boys were young, we often took them to Jake's Rocks to climb all over the boulders, peer at the dam from high atop the lookout and explore the woods. They were such happy times and we thought revisiting this place would be fun.  It wasn't.  The scenery was lovely.  Oaks, pin oaks and maples covered the hilltop, but the rocks were insignificant, small and empty.  We couldn't escape fast enough.

Allegheny, on the other hand, was wonderful.  Although our focus was on walking and photographing the wondrous autumn colors, we enjoyed reminiscing about our adventures in the park.  Wandering through the lodge, we remembered when Colin was four years old and entertained the entire audience for a program by dancing to the music of Nan Hoffman.   Another time, we went on a guided walk with a ranger who was to teach us about beaver.  Colin asked so many sophisticated questions about the beavers' habits, that people kept saying to us, "He's an amazing child!"

One of our favorite activities at night was to gather around the campfire to toast marshmallows for s'mores.  We could hear scuffling in the woods nearby and see movement in the firelight.  Suddenly a raccoon approached the fire and reached into the fire pit to grab a marshmallow that had fallen on the circle of rocks.  The boys screeched, but it had seized its prize!

On the way to Allegheny, we always kept a "chuckie" count.  Instead of license plates, the boys were always on the lookout for woodchucks!  We also remembered the times we fished in the lake using kernels of corn as bait cause no one wanted to stab the worms.

Finally, we walked through a picnic area and recalled when Justin and his former fiancee', Heidi, joined us for a picnic in October, in the pouring rain.  We cooked hotdogs on a brazier under umbrellas.

Each summer for years, we camped at Allegheny for a few days and took the boys swimming at Red House beach.  While we watched the kids play in the water, the lifeguards would shout at weak swimmers, "You must do the crawl out to the dock or come back into chest deep water." That motivated me to become a stronger swimmer, so I could swim all the way out to the dock without stopping.  The first time I did it, I rejoiced!   

Day 999: Arab Hill shock

Wow! Day 999!  I never imagined that I would still be writing this blog when I started the 366 project.  It was only supposed to reflect one year of my life, my photos and thoughts.  I love that the blog keeps me writing every day.  I love taking pictures, but I spend so much time editing photos that it usurps time from writing and film editing.  The Quest video still awaits my attention,  but gosh, the weather has been so gorgeous, I don't want to stay inside.  To finish my book this winter, I will have to cut back on lots of other activities.

We took a long walk in Arkwright today starting at Arab Hill where a shocking scene greeted us.   A hundred towering pines at the trail head were gone, their remains slashed and tossed in mounds.  It may have taken place this spring, but we didn't know because our Thursday hike was cancelled this year.

Slash at Arab Hill

Boutwell Hill Pond

Endless fields of corn

Slurp!

Day 998: 76 degrees

The weather has been fabulous all week and the high temps promise to continue for another week.  And yet I can't swim!  The water is just too cold.  Instead, I'm winterizing the gardens by trimming lilies and weeding.

My nephew Rob lost his mother today.  She is at rest now after suffering terribly from cancer.   So Nancy will be flying to Oklahoma in a few days to help her daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter get through another loss.  What a year it's been for them.

Some folks on Facebook are posting pictures of flowers to counter the painful images of war, suffering and conflict.  It's not a bad idea.

 

The back of a purple petunia

Day 997: War in Syria

Today, the US led a coalition of Arab nations to attack ISIS and the Khorasan terrorist group with air strikes in eastern Syria.  Khorasan is an al Qaeda spin-off, very dangerous and threatening to the US in addition to Iraq and the rest of the Middle East.  This is the first time that Arab nations cooperated with the US.  Of course, several of the nations have also provided financial support to ISIS.

What do I think about another war?  I suspect that fighting extremist groups will be the charge for nations of the world for the much of the 21st century.  But I think the most important weapons against extremism are education and legitimate job opportunities.  So many of the fighters are disaffected youths who are desperate for belonging, status, feeling important.  They're angry, vengeful and hungering to inflict pain on others for many reasons, historical, religious and personal.  Decent jobs won't change every mind, but some might be prevented from joining the conflict.  That would be my naive, idealistic, liberal, long term solution.  But, virtually nothing can deter or resolve the centuries old conflict between Sunnis and Shiites.  Should the US be involved in that?

On the other hand, my more cynical, historically-trained view is that a strong response is absolutely necessary.  Genocide, horrific cruelty, rape, murder, destruction of homes and creating hundreds of thousands of refugees... We have a moral obligation to take action.  We can't let another holocaust occur.  These groups have taken advantage of our inaction and the chaos in Iraq and they consider us to be weak.  There is no negotiating with them, there will not be a political solution.  They must be crushed utterly.  Even then, it may not be enough because splinter cells will proliferate in communities scattered around the world.

It's so complex, far more sophisticated and insidious than the Cold War conflict.  How will the world proceed?

From Gregory, looking south toward Jewett and the library.

We've walked at least three miles per day for several weeks now.  We're keeping Steve's knees limber and enjoying the days of late summer as long as we can.  Our college campus has to be one of the most beautiful, especially on a glorious day like today.  

Day 996: Abbey Road

Although past its peak, the Stockton town garden still had an array of late blooms, Coreopsis, Black-eyed Susans and roses.  Lovely.

Abbey Road

Day 995: Yogurt and laughter

Yum!

Our son has returned to his home in the city after a wonderful visit.  Seven weeks till Thanksgiving vacation and fun in the city.

Day 994: Swimming in ice water

Day 89:
Air temp 76
Water temp: 57
Lengths: 80
Total miles: 97!

Just a bit crazy.... Even I will admit that today.  I could only stand 20 lengths at a time to start, then ten, then six.   My fingers were numb by the time I got out of the water.  I shivered for a half hour and then fell asleep in the chair.   At least now, I have an even number.

I must thank my husband for making this swimming regimen possible all summer.  I may have done the miles but he helped so much.  He acted as my lifeguard, first aider,  maintenance man and cheerleader.  We rearranged our activities so that I could be home during the warmest hours of the day.  He brought me cold drinks when I was over heated and warm drinks when I was shivering.  He did most of the pool vacuuming and added the chemicals.  He set up the filter and pump.  When I entered the freezing water, he stood nearby in case I had a heart attack.  Seriously.  Time to take up another sport for a few months!

Our son is home again, very happy, from his college homecoming.  This time together has been fantastic!

Hers

His

Three cords of wood, stacked and ready for winter!

Swimming in ice water

I did not get my head wet!

Day 993: Trimming lilies

We had another lovely morning with Evan before he took off for homecoming at Oberlin.  He hasn't been back to his alma mater for eight years and he hasn't seen his swim coach in many years either.  It will be a wonderful weekend to renew friendships, swim in the alumni meet and honor their beloved coach.  

Our day lilies were spectacular this year, but now it's time to put them to rest for the winter.  I've trimmed back about half to 6 inches tall and pulled all the dead leaves and weeds around them.  Once that job is done, I'll spray a pre-emergent to prevent weeds from sprouting.

Tomorrow is the final day of summer, not only by the calendar, but also by the weather forecast.  After the climate walk, I plan to swim.  I don't care how cold the water is, I'm going in.  Other than Monday, the weather is supposed to be very nice.  Then we can begin the process of closing the pool.  I hate to do it because I loved swimming for an hour or two every day.  

Birdbath garden

Day 992: Walking and talking

Over the years many of our best conversations have happened during dinners when all of us are gathered around the table or on long walks or drives.  How I miss those days when our house was full and everyone chatted around the table.  So, when one of our sons is home, meals take on more meaning than sharing food.  Conversations are so much more lively and exciting!

Traveling by car when the kids were small, we usually read full novels like the entire Little House series or the CS Lewis' Narnia books.  The boys would listen raptly and then we'd discuss the books.  We learned so much about them and what they thought.   Though it's not often that we're together, when we can dine together, the conversations are so rich!

Today was a joy!  The three of us walked six miles through the village, past our old house on Center St, through town, and then explored the cemetery where the Osbornes, Cobbs, Elwells, Rosselots and Purcells lie.  Then we strode by Rachel's to inspect the progress of the work there. Next, on to the college to see all the new construction.  Workers all over campus were busy tidying the grounds in preparation for the arrival of Bill Nye, the science guy.

I'm glad we had that time together, because then Steve was called to Busti to the scene of a tragic fatal fire at the home of an Amish family.  When he got home, we went to Whiskey Hill for wings with my brother Steve and his friends.

It was a full and lovely day!

A family hike!

Day 991: Evan's home!

Day 990: Sunny XC Meet

It was a gorgeous afternoon for a run along the shore of Lake Erie at Point Gratiot Park.  We only had time to see the modified and girls' races before EMT class.  The modified team has shrunk considerably since Steve and Cat were coaching and had 60 kids!

Beth and Rory

My dear and beloved friends

The last lily!

Day 989: Girls of Atomic City

Our book club selection for this month was my suggestion: The Girls of Atomic City, the Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win WWII by Denise Kiernan.  It profiles nine ordinary women who performed different jobs in the nuclear facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.  Several were recruited right out of high school or jobs in small shops, one was a nurse, two secretaries, a chemist, a mathematician and a janitor.  Their stories represented some of the 40,000 women at the plant!  All were sworn to secrecy, never to discuss what they did with anyone.  All work was compartmentalized and each person knew only their own job.

It's a remarkable story of the sacrifices and contributions of women to the war effort.  I always favor books about heroic women so I was delighted that everyone loved it!  That's unusual for a book that I recommend because my taste is so different from everyone else's.  They have mocked for years one of my favorites titled, Follow the River, about a young woman captured by Indians with her baby.  She escapes and walks back along the course of the Ohio River.  The best part: it's true!

We talked about the choice to use the atomic bomb and Kate asked me what I thought.  Maybe I've already told the story.  I know I would never have been born if the bomb had not been used.  My dad was a young marine stationed on a tiny South Pacific island called Truk.  He was one of thousands of soldiers waiting for the invasion of Japan to begin and he would have been in the first wave.  That invasion never happened because the bomb finally forced Japan to surrender.  But, the terrible suffering that ensued!  A book that everyone should read is Hiroshima.   It chronicles the minute by minute events of the day the bomb was dropped and the weeks that followed.

The creek in September

Day 988: The Garden Path

Our front yard in late summer

The garden path

Luscious herbs and hostas, trailing sweet potato vines, begonias, coleus, astilbe, globe thistle, and much more!

Day 987: Peach Scramble

The pool is 58 degrees!  It's doubtful that it can recover much heat this week, even though by Saturday, the temp will return to 70 degrees.

I made a peach pie, a glorious pie.  Rolling the crust as thin as possible, I draped it over the glass pie plate.  Then, I peeled and sliced a dozen juicy peaches.  Sweet juices dripped off my fingers and I popped an occasional slice into my mouth and savored it.  I topped off the peaches with a medley of sugar, flour and cinnamon then added another this crust and pinched it close.  After I slid it into the oven, I put a sheet of foil under the plate to catch any drippings.

I watched it closely as the fruit began to bubble so the crust would not burn.  When it was just perfect,  I grabbed two potholders to lift it from the oven.  Then, just as easily, that gorgeous pie slipped from my fingers and turned upside down inside the oven.  Nooooo!  My pie!

Fortunately, half of it landed on the sheet of foil and was salvageable.  I poured it back into the empty pie plate and called it peach scramble.  The rest of the pie was splattered all over the oven.  Steve got home from a funeral just in time to help me scrub out the inside.  Mushy peaches dripped from the racks and oozed out from between the door and base of the oven.  Slices burned on to the bottom.  It took us an hour to clean up.

We served the "scramble" and our guests ate every bit!

Peach scramble

Day 986: Quiet day

When we woke up this morning, it was only 53 degrees and it barely rose above that all day.  I didn't look at the pool thermometer, but I suspect the water temp dropped drastically overnight.  We walked a couple miles, but it doesn't feel like much compared to my usual workouts.

Tomorrow, we will host a "Farewell to Summer" party for my writer's group.  I baked chicken so we can just slap it on the grill for a short time when it's time to eat.   Everyone will bring a dish to pass and that's always a treat.  I also plan to make a couple peach pies which I absolutely love!  I hope our friends do, too!

So, yesterday, our April got a dramatic new haircut!  It's adorable and she is so beautiful!  I remember when I finally gave up my long hair.  After I cut it to shoulder length,  I had nightmares for weeks cause I missed it.   It was right around my 15th class reunion so I was 33 and tired of having my hair pulled by two little boys.

Day 985: Autumn arrived!

Overnight, autumn blew in with a vengeance.  Wind whipped the trees about, snapped branches  and blew over flower pots, chairs and tables.  Fortunately, the grill stayed on the deck.  Windy and 61 degrees was beyond my temperature tolerance, so I'm having swimming withdrawal today.  Instead, we walked three miles and visited with a few dear old friends that we encountered along the way.  One of the interesting side effects of not swimming is that I did not fall asleep in the chair.  Instead, I worked through the evening on organizing, cleaning and sorting my desk in preparation for the next season.  Writing season!

Yesterday, we finally got into the new science building at the college.  We've watched its progress from the initial ground breaking, through years of construction.  It's not completely done, but close.  Workers were installing equipment in the cafe and finishing up the giant lecture hall.  Only a few of the labs and classrooms were being used at the time.  We found the stairways to be quite narrow, but the great expanse of the lobby was quite impressive, though understated.  It utilizes lots of natural light and was constructed to be a "green' building.

Day 984: Record breaking

Day 88:
Air temp: 75 ish
Water temp: 65
Lengths: 450 (Crazy, right?  But now I know that next season I can do 500 or 600!)
Total miles: 96.6

I'm about ready to fall asleep in the chair.  After a 3.2 mile walk this morning, I plunged into the 65 degree water determined to swim at least 400 lengths (two miles). The water chilled me to the core, but the warmer air made it bearable.  I raced to finish my laps before the storm hit.  A huge cold front is moving across the country and is nearly atop us now.  A small town near Akron, Ohio got hit by a tornado.  That's one of my greatest fears.  I have had entirely too many close calls with tornadoes in my life!

I have to stay awake to hear the President's address on ISIS.  Another war is on the horizon, but the genocidal terrorists must be destroyed.  So many extreme forces are colliding in the Middle East.  I see many parallels with the situation before WWI in the "Balkan powder keg"  and of course, much of the mess is a result of the treaties and borders arranged by Britain and France after the war.  The "moderate" Islamic nations have long tolerated violence and discrimination against the minority sects in their countries.  Their actions have enabled and supported this extremist group.  Only a multinational partnership and cool heads can stop this dangerous force, but it will only be a short term solution.  Without the political will to address all the issues, the ME will continue to dominate another century.

Green hydrangea

Day 983: Super moon

Day 87:
Air temp: 70-75
Water temp: 65!  Blast it!
Lengths: 350
Total miles: 94. 34

During a long walk around the village, we ran into our friend, Chris N. who just recently returned from a trip out west to visit his son Mitch in Mammoth Lakes and Yosemite National Park.  Overflowing with excitement, he raved about the spectacular mountain views, their adventures on mountain bikes, ski trails, and hiking narrow passages.  It was a fantastic trip and now we must add Yosemite to our list.

Not a great photo, but I tried to capture the last night of the super moon. 

Day 982: Woodpile

Day 86:
Air temp: 76
Water temp: 67  Really? Back to this again?
Lengths: 350
Total miles: 92.5

Condition: Exhausted, but determined!  If, and that's a big if,  the water is bearable, I'll be in it till I reach 100 miles!  Tomorrow and Wednesday, I will swim as much as I can.  Should be able to reach 95 to 97 miles.  If that's the final tally, it's still far more than my 63 miles last summer.  And, I can continue inside somewhere.

Another great showing for our monthly class dinner.  Twenty-two were at dinner tonight including two brand new classmates and several members of the class of '66.  We were very loud!  Everyone was talking at the same time, but when I look around the table, it's very satisfying.  There are several very lonely people who have found a comfortable place to share a meal and good conversation.  Old friends have been reunited and new friendships are forged.  We each rejoice in our good fortune to be alive and well.

Outrageous in September

unedited photo

Another sign of autumn!  This is the first of three cords to be delivered for our winter wood supply.  As always, Steve takes good care of us.  

Day 981: 90 miles!

Day 85:
Air temp: 68
Water temp: 69
Lengths: 300
Total miles: 90.7
The big question?  Will the weather hold long enough to finish 9.3 miles?

September's Lantana

Day 980: Rest day

No swimming today, though we did walk over four miles.  My shoulders, arms and eyes needed to rest.  A cool front moved through our area and dropped the temperature almost 20 degrees, but the water stayed at 69.  My body was just too sore from yesterday's marathon session to go in.  We escaped to Buffalo to shop and had crepes and gelato for lunch.  Whenever we encounter a gelato stand, we must try it, and this was delicious!

I found a National Geographic Road Atlas, the adventure edition, that highlights America's 100 top outdoor destinations, 24 of our National Parks, and provides maps for all the states, Canadian provinces and Mexico.  We'd never drive in Mexico, but I do want to explore all the provinces as well as the states.  I've already started researching a route west for next fall.  We're talking to friends who have already traveled west to get their recommendations.  We won't do it all at once, but if we can hit a few new state every year, that would be great.  Anna was just in Argentina for a week and that country is high on our list too.  We topped off the day with a yummy dinner at Whiskey Hill.  It's never disappointing.

On our rambling walk through the college, we discovered several cellophane sculptures tucked into odd places around campus.  We tried to get into the new science center, but it was locked.  Maybe during the week, we can finally see the inside since we've watched its progress from groundbreaking.