I didn’t care how much snow we got with this storm, I was busting out my snow shoes!! I look forward to this every Winter and it’s crazy that I (we all) had to wait until March 1st this year (so far, we have 5 or 6″). But Mother Nature better hurry up and get Winter out of her system, because in a few weeks, I’ll be ready to go kayaking again (and again).
This past weekend was the symbolic, not the official end of Summer, but it always seems like Labor Day arrives and overnight, the temperatures drop, it starts getting dark way too early and the leaves begin changing color. I love Fall, but the Summer to Fall transition is the most difficult one for me every year. Scott and I made the most of our symbolical farewell to Summer.
I started off the weekend by driving 3 hrs roundtrip to Esperance, NY to drop off a big box of donated stuff for Schoharie County’s Hurricane Irene fund drive. It was clothes, shoes, belts, jackets, hats, blankets, towels… it was the little bit that we could do. I took a few pictures of the Schoharie Creek at the bridge that crosses RT 20 and the power of the water that turned a creek into a raging river was obvious. I did not make it down to Schoharie or Middleburgh to witness the destruction. We did see flood damage firsthand in Buskirk which is along the Hoosic River and only a few minutes from our house. FEMA, don’t let Washington be the bastard County – declare a State of Emergency here too for those who need it!
The rest of our weekend was split between labor and leisure.
Leisure – We went kayaking again on Fish Creek in Saratoga, only this time we went downstream instead of out onto Saratoga Lake. We also hiked Mt. Greylock, taking a slightly longer route to the summit than I did back in July. We had a few guests, including our neighbors who, after urging them to do so all Summer, finally pool-crashed, and our friend Mike who took his [gorgeous] GT3 out for a drive. We grilled, nothing exciting there, but we did have a beautiful candlelit dinner in the gazebo on Friday night.
Labor – I finally got around to turning my compost pile and OH MY, five years has turned veggies and clippings into gorgeous black gold!! I mixed two giant wheelbarrows full into my raised beds and I’ll add some more in the Spring. Hopefully this will be the magical elixir for all things wrong with our tomatoes. It’s so sad our growing season is over because now, the beds are all jacked-up on nutrients and worms and I’m ready to plant now. Bye bye garden – I’ll see you next year. I spent one afternoon chopping brush around the dogs’ watering hole because with all the rain this Summer, everything is so overgrown. I hauled away three giant piles of clippings. We also had buyers visiting our house because on Craigslist we sold our ride-on John Deere mower within 24 hrs, and a Stihl trimmer within 4 hrs. It was a great few days.
According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, this year’s Fall Equinox is September 23 at 5:05 A.M. EDT… so there is still a little time to squeeze the last bits out of the official Summer.
I have often said that I wish I could gather up all my best friends and have them live in the same town as me – Friend Town, USA. I have moved around many times so my friends are scattered about the country. We marry, [some of us] have babies, and our busy lives often get in the way of our friendships with those near and far… some two and three thousand miles away.
But this past weekend I was so lucky to have my friends Jen and Dion visit from Colorado. I have not seen Jen since June 2010 when we met in Chicago, and before that, it was September 2009 when we met in Montauk, NY. Jen was last at my house August 2008, and what all this means is that I am seriously overdue for a trip to Colorado!!!
Our time together is never long enough and I missed Jen before we even said goodbye, but we did have a few great days. We ate well, drank plenty, hung out by the pool (because those days are numbered, shut-down in T-minus 13 days), we went to a Saratoga Polo match, kayaked for four hours Saturday on Saratoga Lake, and then threw our healthy intentions out the window Sunday by sitting in the garage drinking and gabbing all day while Hurricane Irene ran her course.
We were lucky [for this storm] here in our little valley – we got about 6″ of rain, but no serious damage. And we are only six miles from the VT border where they were devastated from Bennington on up to all our friends in Waitsfield/Mad River. Also, the town of Esperance, Schoharie County, NY (where my cousin Becky lives) was wiped out. There is a Red-Cross endorsed fund drive going on right now if you are able to help. Donations being accepted at Esperance Elks Lodge #2507,111 Main Street. If you have Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=107399216031683
Monday Jen, Dion & I completed the ‘Saratoga Experience’ by having breakfast at the Race Course, shopping and strolling on Broadway and then we had one last pint at The Irish Times before we had to say “see ya next time.”
Morning Walks 