A Good Deed Done

Today I scavenged through my pantry and freezer and came up with three bags of food for our local food bank.
Laurel sent out an e-mail yesterday about how there was a shortage of food to give away and encouraged all the woman in our church to take food by.  
I took her nudge to heart and took Darcie and her BFF to help.  Not that I needed it.  I just thought it would be good for them to serve others during this holiday season.  
I talked to the man who runs the place.  He said that it's a volunteer organization open every day to the public (not sure about Sunday).  People needing food are sent to the food bank with vouchers from other organizations around town such as Red Cross, Children and Family Services, etc.  They have already determined that they are truly needy.  
It's good to have organizations like that to assist the poor and needy.  How much better it would be if the local churches were in charge instead of the government.  Our church certainly does it's part to show the love and compassion of Christ all year round.  I'm very thankful for our deacons who do such a good job.
Maybe Darcie and I will volunteer up there some this coming year.  I think it'd be great for the both of us to serve others more.  I know I'll be making regular drop-offs of food.  How hard will it be to buy a little more each time I grocery shop and then take it to the food bank?

Short-Week Review from Maxwell

Maxwell AFB FamCamp — Montgomery, Alabama
Temps: Lo 39F / Hi 71F (4C / 22C)

This review comes early since we will be leaving for greener pastures (so to speak) on Thursday.

If the first few days of March have anything in common, it’s that they were cold. With a brisk breeze cutting to the bone, we really had no wish to go out and explore Montgomery and its environs. Instead, we used the time to catch up on indoor projects at home, and Mui did some preventive maintenance on the steps outside when the temp sort of warmed up on Saturday.

Friday (March 1), we tested renting movies from iTunes. Users can buy or rent. In the latter case, you have 30 days to watch the movie and once you click the play button, you must finish watching within 24 hours before the download disappears in a virtual puff of smoke. We rented Argo for $3.99; a good price for a recent award-winning movie … sure beats the price of theater tickets. iTunes rentals look to be a good alternative to Netflix, which we subscribed to while we were living in a stix & bricks. We have started a list of movies to download when we’re in campgrounds where we have free wi-fi to supplement our own internet data package.

Saturday, I attempted to go for a walk around the lake near the campground. The chill quickly drove me back home, but not before I captured a photo of the resident great blue heron in its breeding plumage. How do I know? Check out the lore (area between the base of the bill and the eyes) … it’s blue.

Sunday dawned overcast and we were resigned to another gloomy day. But then, Mother Nature smiled on us. By mid-morning, the sun was out and the sky was a brilliant blue. Even though it was only about 48F (9C), we decided it was time to get out before cabin fever set in permanently. The short stroll we embarked on turned into a 6½-mile (10½ km) walk around the perimeter of the Maxwell airfield. A detour along the way uncovered an interesting marker that we would have otherwise missed.

Today’s military passenger terminal and base operations stand where
the hangar of the Wright Brothers’ flying school was once located.

Since it was Sunday, we didn’t expect to see any action on the runway, but we were wrong … and this time I was prepared to take pictures of the two C-130 Hercules being put through their paces.

With a day of sunshine and warm temps forecasted for Monday (the 4th), we knew we couldn’t waste it. What to do? We considered Selma, but decided we weren’t up to doing a 100-mile (160 km) roundtrip drive. So, we hopped in the car and went to the Montgomery Zoo to get our “wildlife” fix. We had a wonderful day; one that deserves a separate post (or two).

Parakeet Cove, a free-flight aviary, was our first stop at the Montgomery Zoo.

Moving on to the end of our day. We wrapped up our zoo outing with dinner at John “Big Daddy” Bishop’s Dreamland BBQ, which has been serving ribs since 1958 under the slogan “Ain’t nothing like ‘em nowhere!”

Several of the murals decorating the walls of Dreamland BBQ were painted by
Roscoe Hall II, John "Big Daddy" Bishop's grandson; the mural on the bottom left
is of the original Dreamland location in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

We can’t vouch for the ribs — I’m not a ribs person, so I got the chopped chicken plate; Mui forgot to order the ribs and got the chopped pork plate. Both meats were pit-cooked and came with a side of Dreamland Sauce, which is “rumored to have moonshine as a key ingredient,” two sides, and the ubiquitous slice of Wonder bread. It was a lot of food; half of my chopped chicken came home with us and made for tasty sandwich fixings today. We topped off our meal with Dreamland’s signature dessert — banana pudding. We were good and ordered the small portion of this yummy dessert; might have to get the double portion next time!

Mui’s chopped pork plate didn’t look much different from my chopped chicken …
just a different meat and coleslaw instead of mac & cheese.

And finally, today (the 5th). It was the warmest day we’ve had since the beginning of the month, but it was overcast and gloomy all day. And windy, too. The high wind alert was on target and we felt the gusts rocking the Phaeton until shortly after 8:00p. Mid-afternoon, a squall came through the area. Short in duration, it dumped quite a bit of rain. We happened to be inside at the time, but those who were caught unawares got a good soaking for sure.

We had a very full day in preparation for our move to a COE (Corps of Engineers) campground south of Montgomery on Thursday. Mui shopped to fill the larder, and cooked a few meals to reduce the number of pots and pans that will need to be washed while we’re at a water/electric site. I threw in a couple loads of laundry, and started processing photos for our zoo outing … blog post(s) coming soon.

End of the seaside commute

It's now official. As of Monday, my job moves to a new office in a different suburb. Given that Bundall isn't a beachside suburb (and doesn't really have much else going for it either incidentally), it effectively means the end of my ride to and from work alongside the South Pacific. Of course, I could still detour that way if I really wanted to, but doing so would eliminate the one true advantage of changing commutes, which is that it would allow me more time to do other rides, but virtue of the fact that it's now shorter.
I haven't really been in a position to snap any recent photos, largely due to the construction of grandstands and other structures for an impending car race (yes, my former commute is turned into a racetrack for one weekend a year). Incidentally, I notice the organisers have made sure all the advertising banners are already in place, despite the fact that the event itself is still a few weeks away. It doesn't bother me greatly as I can ignore them, but it must be a bitch for the local residents who find some of their local access hindered for weeks longer than is really necessary.
I'm digressing. Below I present some pictures from my old commute, snapped on different days, in an attempt to showcase some of the more appealing things I used to see on this route.





I'd like to say the possibility of a new commute is an exciting prospect, but in truth, it's all on roads that I've ridden hundreds of times before. Regardless, I'll do a "dry run" on Sunday afternoon (after riding an imperial century of course) to time it, and also to work out some bike storage arrangements, as I suspect my employer may have overlooked this detail.

Super Duper Doggeh Organizations Near Our House!

TGIF! We just pawed Ma to tell about all the people-to-dog and dog-to-people organizations within two miles of where we live! Just down Highway 101 is the Marin County Humane Society
which has a lot of amazing programs, including one of which you'll find by clicking on the "society." Our pal, Sierra Rose just mentioned its director, Trish King, in her last post, who was also at the K-9 Carnival, courtesy of the Rangers at McInnis Park. And... even closer to us is the California campus of...
Guide Dogs for the Blind (this is the Facebook address.) It is a gorgeous setting and anyone coming to this area to visit should schedule a tour - amazing! Above is one of GDB's biggest supporters - the golden girl herself with... who else? Another lovely golden girl!
And this picture is not about a furpal organization, but rather, about a TV program we caught the other night. We don't watch a lot of boob tube, but stumbled on this NOVA program by accident: Dogs Decoded. It was quite scientific and we were a bit horrified by so many dogs kept in what seemed like a zillion cages for research in part of the program. If you get a chance to see it, we'd like to know what you think. You can click on the program site to learn more about the premise, which is actually very interesting. Also, I was looking for a wintery template and want to give this blog designer a big thanks for letting me use this one that we chose! Have a great weekend!

Fallen

Fallen Sycamore leaf. (Platanus occidentalis.)

They seem to take the drought stress worse than most other trees here.
I walked out of a meeting last night and felt like I was stepping into a sauna. It's hot, it's been hot, it will be hot... but you really don't expect 90°F at 9:00 PM. (That's 32°C, for those of you in the metric world.)

Evening Thundercloud

We sure have had a lot of cool clouds filling our skies lately. This one was captured while I was kayaking the Pigeon River recently. I could hear thunder off in the distance but I never did get rained on while I was out there.

Below: Another one that I captured the same evening along the river.

Work-a-Day

We have spent a quiet, but satisfying day, working on small projects around the place. The unusually mild weather has drawn George and I out into the vegetable garden, and the wood. The list of jobs to be done is as long as our legs. They could overwhelm, so we must break them down into manageable pieces!

We visited dear Arnold, gave him some time, some attention, a couple of treats. The treat is all ours, he gives so much love back to us - and to Toby. The first time we took Toby along he was fine, until Arnold bent his neck over the fence and 'said Hello' - he nearly wet himself!





Now that he is used to Arnold - and Arnold is huge, compared to Toby, he responded in kind and greeted Arnold back. A small moment. A simple thing. A magical moment for George and I as two of our favourite critters communicated. I was too busy enjoying the moment to photograph it, sorry.

George has already planted lots of seeds and has them dotted around the greenhouse and the conservatory. The seedlings are thriving, but need careful attention for a few more weeks yet.





I have been busy digging the first of the many vegetable beds, it is wonderful to see how much the soil has improved. George 's first batch of home-made compost was put to good use this week - to say that I was impressed is putting it mildly. It looks wonderful - just like the kind you buy, only even better because it was made from garden and kitchen waste.





The Spring flowers are starting to appear everywhere, even peeping out from large stones.



Beautiful colours, lovely forms.We need to continue collecting the fallen branches from the wood, chopping, sawing, storing and drying the wood for the coming years. We also need to get to work and prepare the site for the polytunnel. We have decided where to place it, now the ground has to be cleared and prepared, part of a blackthorn hedge must be removed and the base constructed.





We have cleared the space to construct two more raised vegetable beds, now we need time to do the construction, etc.





I need another soothing turn around the gardens!

Ride to Trails Center

Since the last day I rode, we had lots of clouds and 2 storms that left us a dusting of snow. Anyway, the weather finally started turning into Spring temperatures.

At noon, it was mostly sunny and in the low to mid 50s. Light breeze from the East. HAD to get out for a bike ride. Kitted up, loaded the hybrid on the car and headed to the Wabash Trace Trailhead. No plans for just how far I would ride.

Stopped at Indian Creek Bridge for a rest and some water. Visited with another rider. Turned North on Indian Creek Trail. As I neared Veteran's Memorial Trail, I decide I was feeling good enough to continue on to the Western Historic Trails Center. After all, I had not been there yet this year - needed to show my face.

As I parked the bike, I realized its Thursday - Jam & Bread day. Stopped in long enough to sign the register. Sat on the retaining wall for eat a granola bar and drank a bottle of G2. Time to head back to the car.

Knew I would have to take it easy on the way back as I was basically riding into the wind. Rode at a steady 9-10 mph. Stopped for a drink of water once I was along E Manawa Drive. When I was ready to turn over to Lake Manawa Trail, I stopped for a little more water and starteded sucking on a shot blok. Knew one would help me make it back to the car.

Climbing up after tunnel and RR trestle, I knew that I had made the right decision as for length of the ride. Exhausted and legs almost shot when I got back to the car. Loaded the bike and headed home.

Great ride! Re-hydrated with more water and PowerAde Zero. Topped the afternoon with my large salad. It will feel good to get horizontal in bed this evening.

Today's photo is my hybrid at the Trails Center. With very little color in the photo, processed it in monochrome and added some sepia tint. OH, I ended up with 16 miles, the longest ride of the season (so far).

Quick Look II: A Peek into Another Day in the OBX

No, I’m not trying to set a new fashion trend with my bare feet and jacket attire.  The temps on Hatteras Island may well be summer-like, but with the wind blowing non-stop, a windbreak is an essential part of our attire here … especially when the sun is going down and the day is starting to cool off.

(The above will make sense to those who have questioned my sense of fashion in yesterday’s Quick Look … wink, wink.)

Following the storm that blew through here Sunday night, we have had great weather.  The forecast each day has been for temps in the low-to-mid 70F (22-23C) range, with sunshine and mostly blue skies.  The Phaeton’s temperature gauge would seem to agree with the forecasted temps, but it’s been feeling a lot warmer than that while we’re out exploring the OBX.  Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, mind you.  Unless the weather gods decide to give us a break, tomorrow just might be the last sunny and dry day of our vacation.

But, I’m not going to focus on what might be.  Instead, here’s a quick look at what we did today.

We were out the door very early this morning.  Like 6:15a early.  Heading south this time, we arrived at the tip of Hatteras Island just in time for the 7:30a ferry to Ocracoke Island.

leaving hatteras for ocracoke 
(shooting into the sun)

Our half-day visit to Ocracoke, found us making stops at …

the pony pen … home of the descendants of the wild mustangs

The British Cemetery

The Ocracoke Lighthouse

Although there were just four vehicles on the ferry going out to Ocracoke, the one returning at noon was packed to the gills, including two tour busses filled with school kids on spring break.  We left a third bus and a growing line of other vehicles behind us for the next ferry, and arrived in Hatteras 40 minutes later to loooooooooooong, multi-lane lines of vehicles waiting to make the crossing.  So glad we didn’t wait to go to Ocracoke later in the day.

The afternoon hours saw us making stops at …

The Graveyard of the Atlantic
(one of several granite memorial markers on the museum grounds)

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

We were back at the campground by 4:00p, pleasantly tired after our long day of exploring the OBX.  Armed with our chairs, and some wine and crackers, we walked the short distance to the beach and made ourselves comfortable until dinner time.

Chicken and rice, and salad for dinner.

Tomorrow we go out exploring again ...