R.I.P. Geckie

She was a good gecko.
I think her poor vision contributed to her not eating very well, especially lately. Or possibly something else was wrong. Leopard geckos can live to 25 years in captivity, and she was only eight, if the guy we bought her from was telling the truth. (She was supposed to be two when we bought her.)
She always went through periods of not eating, but would always snap out of it and make a comeback. But not this time. She died yesterday.
In this picture she was shedding her skin. Look how fat her tail was! (They store excess fat there.)
I think we're going to have to move her cage. Out of habit, I keep glancing down every time I pass it, expecting to see her. I didn't cry when we first found her dead, but that dang empty cage gets me every time.

Burring-barred?

Well, there goes my attempt for the worst, most lame pun of 2005. I reckon I'm in with a chance with that effort. It's a play on words from yesterday's ride with Martin, and another couple of new routes discovered. We met up at North Burleigh and headed south over Bilambil (and a view over a patch of land soon to be developed one suggests)



... and through the John Hogan rainforest toward Murwillumbah.



We skipped around the town on Cane Road (just how does it get this name?)



... and it was here the ride began. The climb over the Condong range on Reserve Creek Road toward Pottsville, then doubling back across the Burringbar range on Cudgera Creek Road, then into the town of Burringbar for some much needed fluids (it was HOT out there!). These were beautiful climbs, winding through green hills and the occasional patch of forest, sometimes over banana plantations in the higher areas.



After this it was a short flat, then the climb of the Burringbar Range on the old Highway, then at the top, it was time to deviate once more, on a rough dirt road through Mooball National Park. This area has only recently been declared National Park (having been State Forest prior), and hence there are any number of fire trails through (now) protected forest to be explored. A lot of ups and downs and some great views to be had up here. I may be spending more time here in the future.





Not sure if Martin will appreciate this picture, but in fairness, I did have to take it in a hurry.



After descending a steep, rough road, we eventually made our way back to Murwillumbah in the heat (now 34 degrees C), again skirting the town on Cane Road, and again returning via Urliup for a bit more dirt, and another chance to cool off by the stream. The water didn't seem quite as clean today as last time, but it was still quite drinkable.

Today was a bit of a role reversal in a certain sense -- it was Martin who was determined to ride a century -- not that I was exactly arguing with the notion. I finished with 166km at day's end, so that goal was fulfilled. That's no. 3 on the road to 25 this year -- and they've all been challenging with plenty of climbing (at 1600 metres, this was the "flattest" so far).

It seems like a sin to dwell on the negatives here, but I actually came up with a couple. The first was losing a pump from my frame on the Hogan's Road descent (and a good pump at that). Sadly, I now also owe Martin a ham and cheese roll, because I got owned in the altitude guessing competition. Actually, I misunderstood that one -- I thought he was trying to guess air-pressure induced error at the current altitide on the reading at that moment, and was going to confirm it with a topographic map later. Still, that might even make me even more dense. Perhaps I'll just stick with the "it was to guess the highest point of the ride" theory (which was just over 240 metres incidentally).

Tagged

Kiji at chti-shashin has tagged me to post the 6th photo from the 6th folder of my photo collection. Um, well, it's the reflection on the wall of the halogen spotlights in our bathroom. Not guilty - photo credits go to my daughter for this. In fact I discover that we have a whole series on bathroom light reflections... Sorry if you were expecting a glimpse of Scotland, Kiji, but if you look very hard you can detect the shape of the Eiffel Tower.

THOUGHT POPS, Edition Two

A NEW BLOG DIRECTORY FROM AUSTRALIA Stuart at Gardening Tips’n’Ideas has set up a garden blog directory featuring a blog search engine and a world map dotted with Garden Bloggers. Go to his website , also linked at left, and click the banner to see how it works. You can also add your garden blog to the map. Guess what city has the most blogs so far!

DIVAS OF THE DIRTLate January is the time each year when our annual edition of the Divas of the Dirt Diary is posted, and it went up late last night. If you’re interested in reading about what the Divas have done lately - garden projects, photos, theme song and new recipes - the adventures from .. can be found on the Divas of the website, http://www.divasofthedirt.com/

SATURDAY- Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center! Diva Candy relayed this notice:
Tree Talk and Winter Walk .., January 27, 9 am - 5 pm.
Join the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in celebrating our annual Tree Talk & Winter Walk on Saturday, January 27, where we will be helping you in “Barking Up the Right Tree”. Our event features a robust Tree Sale, with more than 80 species from which to choose. Purchase the perfect native tree for your urban landscape. Join us for walks and talks, such as how to identify & maintain native trees, & explore the importance of trees in the urban landscape. The day will include a Tree Planting demonstration, and activities for children & families. Don't forget to stop on by our Gift Store, where children's author Michael Todd will be signing copies of his book Texas State Bird Pageant from noon to 3 p.m. You can also get a 20% discount on selected items while shopping at the store (what a deal)!
This one-day free event is packed with organized walks, talks, demonstrations, children’s activities, and useful information on trees including proper tree care, maintenance, planning and landscaping with trees. Join tree experts including: arborist Don Gardner, forester Jim Houser with Texas Forest Service, arborist Guy LeBlanc, and Flo Oxley and Philip Schulze with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center . Also on hand will be participating organizations providing information about their tree related programs: TreeFolks, FireCap, and the Texas Forest Service. Enjoy the Urban-Wildland Interface exhibit, and discover information you can use for landscape planning and maintenance regarding fire safety.
Sponsored by KGSR. For more information and schedule, visit our website, at: www.wildflower.org.
Stephen Brueggerhoff, Public Programs Manager
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
4801 La Crosse Avenue
Austin, TX 78739-1702
THINKING ABOUT COMPOST Carol in Indiana [May Dreams Garden] runs the Garden Bloggers book club, with the January title called Teaming with Microbes. I’m looking forward to reading all the posts and plan to read this book eventually. While I can't do a book club post, I do have thoughts about compost.
We were composting long before we read books by Roger Swain, Eric Grissell and Michael Pollan, or had even heard the name Ruth Stout, practically the Patron Saint of Composting. We began subscribing to Organic Gardening Magazine in the middle seventies, receiving this issue in 1978.
I grew up knowing about composting in a general way: Grandma Anna had a cement bin in the alley behind her Chicago garden, complete with access door set into the front, and my dad made compost from the time we moved out to the suburbs. Philo built a compost enclosure at our first house, and when moving from one house to another in 1987, although he was willing to leave the firewood for the new owner, the whole compost pile was shoveled into sacks and hauled to our new garden.
Now our mulching mower helps the grass clippings break down where they fall. We also use this mower to chop most of the fallen leaves, digging them into the vegetable garden so they can compost over winter. We chop some leaves to use as mulch on some woodland-style beds and borders. I crack & snip smaller sticks to mix in with the mulch, and occasionally put citrus peels through the blender with water, pouring the slurry in garden beds. But we no longer have a designated compost pile or bin.
Our Northern yards were narrow and long with space for a compost pile a reasonable distance from the house. But this neighborhood has irregularly-shaped lots that are wide but very shallow, with short, winding streets. Our lot and the other 4 lots with which we share property lines don’t have right angles – they’re more like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Since we have no ‘out-of-the-way corners’, from any given location in my yard it’s a very short distance to a dwelling, whether my neighbors’ or my own. Instead of being manufacturers of compost, we have decided to be consumers of compost.

And you know what? It feels pretty valid to me. We can buy all sorts of compost from local organic dealers, sometimes going to the you-dig places like Garden-Ville and the Natural Gardener. We buy a great deal of Texas Native Hardwood Mulch, made by a firm here in Central Texas; using it helps keep tree trimmings out of the landfills. We buy organic liquid composts and soil activators like Medina Soil Activator and Terra-Tonic, Medina Hasta-Grow and LadyBug products.
Although we enjoyed our years of making our own compost, buying organic compost products is a good thing, too, encouraging these companies to continue composting on a large scale.

Surprise birthday party for Scott Fairty

Scott, surfing a wave at the Geneva Kayak Center's Yorkville site.

All good conspiracies are grounded in a solid motivation. Last night's conspiracy to host a 50th birthday party for Scott Fairty was no exception. When Scott was hired as Geneva Kayak Center's general manager a few years back, Chicago paddling instructors knew our students wouldn't be the only beneficiaries. We, too, had a new mentor--one who soon also became a paddling partner and friend.

Part one of the conspiracy was the party, attended by various local paddlers as well as Scott's three kids and his father, Jack.

Caitlin, Gordon and Tara Fairty.

Jack Fairty, who drove in for the occasion.

Part two was the gift: Dozens of instructors, students and friends pitched in to buy Scott a new whitewater boat: A Pyranha Varun. (A huge thanks to Kelly Blades and Pyranha for facilitating the purchase.)

Scott begins to realize something is up when the card contains about 40 names....

...then finds, inside a small box, a model of the boat that will arrive in a week or so.

No 50th birthday party would be complete without a little ribbing from the kids about Scott's age. "Over the hill!" the cake declared. "Happy birthday, you old fart."

Caitlin serves Scott a choice slice of cake.

There may be nothing magical about celebrating the actual day on which a person was born, but it's a great opportunity to celebrate the person. Scott has brought a lot to the Chicago-area paddling community. We're looking forward to many more years on the water with him.

Show Opening

Today was the opening of my photography show in Greenfield. Weather was cool, overcast, and some rain. Not a pretty day. Sun peeked out for a couple minutes. Rain again in the evening.
The show is being held in an old opera house. The structure is being refurbished/renovated. I got a tour the the building this evening. The original proprietor (E. E. Warren) lived in an apartment of the building. This evenings photo is of the building with the light drizzle in the air.
Some visitors came in to tour the exhibits. Many commented that they liked the photographs (but then who would say they didn't like them with the photographer right there!)
No visitors in the evening open hours. If the weather improves overnight, I want to ride the T-Bone trail (Atlantic to Audubon, IA).

Bobwhite

Colinus virginianus
Growing up, I knew this bird as "a Quail". Since there's only one type of quail in Alabama, there's no confusion. I also heard them called Bobwhites, and some people put both together: Bobwhite quail. The standard name is Northern Bobwhite, but you'll be considered an egghead if you go around calling it that.
Our place was so manicured when we first moved here, that we never heard Bobwhites. A few years of "the natural look" was more to their liking, and now it's not unusual to hear them singing. It never fails to make me a little happier, every time I hear one.
Yesterday my husband discovered one walking down our driveway. Between a fogged lens and zero cover between us and the quail, I never thought to get a photo, let alone one this close. But this bedraggled individual seemed almost as curious about us as we were about him, allowing us closer than almost any wild bird I've ever encountered. He wasn't stupid though - he walked off into the brush just as we reached him.
Bobwhites are in decline, and I suspect that their numbers here are probably hurt by the huge increase in armadillos in recent years. (They're ground-nesting birds.)
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Click here to hear a Bobwhite calling. We got close enough yesterday to hear an endearing little quiet chirping noise that he was making.
Visit the Friday Ark.

Glove, with snow

That's about it, really. Life is super-busy in our household just now, so anything more tonight is beyond me. As an example of our busy-ness: next week teenage son will be in Geneva for 3 days, visiting the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, off to Loughborough (England) for more aerospace engineering interviews 15 hours after he returns from Switzerland, at school for a day, then up to Aberdeen for a weekend orchestra project. There's more, but it makes me feel quite faint to think about it.

How to build your own adventure...

I was going to write up last weekend's adventure in one post, but a simple 118km ride to a campsite by the banks of Christmas Creek deserves it's own entry. The ride itself started later than anticipated as I had to resolve an overcharging issue from my bank -- that was the easy part. The initial ride through suburbia didn't present any problems, and even with a full touring load I pushed it aside quickly. Shortly after Nerang, at the locality of Clagiraba, a sudden heavy rain shower made things interesting.


The shower passed, leaving only a rainbow to mark where it had been, but further along the Gorge Road (which is actually a very, very pretty ride), there were other sights to see. Traffic was heavier than I'm used to on this road, but it posed no problems that I couldn't deal with. The infamous climb at Witheren, 5km from Canungra, rose into the mist like a ramp to heaven, before descending back toward the army base. This was turning into an amazing ride.

After Canungra, things got even more interesting. First of all, a major thunderstorm appeared on the horizon in the sunset, then blew over. The lightning was clearly visible to the south, and the thunder sounded close, it must have been within 2km, but all I felt from it was a minute or two of light drizzle. The plan had been to detour to Biddaddaba creek, and follow a back road into the Kerry Valley, hence cutting out Beaudesert. This wasn't possible as the "road" turned into a muddy, impassable track, which was blocked by a gate. I later found that I could have passed through legally, but it would have involved walking 5km through the mud -- and I wasn't interested.


The sunset that had outlasted the storm had now well and truly passed as I backtracked 7.5km, before continuing on to Beaudesert in dropping temperatures. This time I came prepared, and managed to keep myself warm. The moonlight accompanied me as I continued southward from Beaudesert, 15km on the old Mt Lindesay Highway, before turning off toward the "Lost World", and the evening's destination. The early part of this stretch has absolutely nothing to see, and I was reduced to counting off the kilometres to entertain myself.
Fortunately, things improved. The scenery in the moonlight was quite astounding as the road started to climb in the last 7km or so. The night hadn't cooled in quite the way I expected, but it was starting to get late now, and I was looking forward to a warm sleeping bag at the end. As it turned out, I would have a warm campfire with no effort of my own. There was only one other person at the campground that evening (who, by a staggering coincidence, was also named Chris). It was a comfortable way to end what had been a memorable ride.

Suspended Between Times

Journal Entry-Thursday, August 6, 7:25 a.m.
I love the quiet of an early morning house before anyone else is up. I sit on the couch facing the dining room watching the morning sun make dappled leaf patterns on the curtains and rug. The tick tock of the mantel clock sounds in my left ear. My journal waits on my lap to receive thoughts hovering between dreams half remembered and the day's to-do list.

Weather .... or Not!

We got up to see this again today and we are not happy about it... humpffffff.
Yesterday was totally cool though, and we got to release our pent-up energies at McInnis with some of our good pals, including Sierra! There she is with my sis, who is getting Kong retrieval lessons from me. Above: I'd give her a B+.
Heeyyyyy... nice form Ava - I'll paw you an A-!
Uh oh... wha...???? Hey... come back here. You never, ever drop a kong until you deliver it to a hooman. A Big "F" fur that boo-boo.
I guess she was distracted by her pal, Callie. I'll just tiptoe around them and grab that kong fur myself.
Hee hee! THAT got her attentions!
Now that is how you play a good game of Kong-On-A-Rope, as the Ao4 would say!
Well then Shanti's brand new baby sis, Shasta (15 weeks old) showed up and we all got to go for a walk on the nearby levies - trails that skim inlets to and from the SF Bay. Lots of these (below) and tons of ducks. Avalon loves these feathered creatures, while I glue my snooter onto the many gopher holes along the way. The lady painter up ahead was creating a very beautiful picture.
Shasta wasn't too excited about looking at those geese, but Avalon thought they were very cool and even barked quite a bit at them.
Then we turned around to head back. Lots of birdie and gopher smells. We grazed on the green grass along the way. Moo moo.
Pretty stop along the way - tide is high!
One more check before we head on home...
I think Shasta enjoyed her first levie walk!
Thanks to Sierra's Mom for taking the Levie walk pictures. Poor Sierra! That's why there are no pictures of her in this portion of our post today. Hope it's nicer weather at your places! If you desire snow today... may you receive! Happy Wednesday!

Road Closed - We Get the Idea

Two weeks agi I first saw this collection of signs at Lake Manawa. The sign is at the bicycle trail and road to the river boar landing (mountain bike trail area). The road was a popular spot to view the rive and the flooding.
That day, I figured they wanted folks off the road and out of the area because of levee work. Since the signs are still up, it seems they really don't want anyone over that way. Hope I will not get in trouble for leaning my bike (parking) at the sign (LOL).
A new map of trails closed due to the flooding has posted by Council Bluffs. This shows more closures than the June map.
Anyway, this morning parked at the Nature Trail and headed West and the bicycle trail. At the signed shown here, I transferred to the road. Followed out normal route around Lake Manawa to TSC. There, instead of riding through the streets, I rode the new bicycle trail along Hwy 92, and down along E. Manawa Road.
The newly completed trail still needs grass planted and a good sweeping (or heavy rain) to clean the trail surface. Rode over to the Lake Manawa Trail and back to the parking lot. About 6.5 miles so far.
Not enough mileage, to started lap 2 around the lake. This time at the North short, I rode over to the shelters and boat ramp. Stopped for some G2, and back to the maine road.
It was 80 when I started, 85 when I finished (basically 7am to 8am). Sunny, light breeze from the South (no wind at the parking lot - just lots of mosquitoes). 14 miles in 1:09 - pretty good speed for me. Oh, I was on the road bike.

Grace Note

This is what I saw on my walk this morning.  We're an hour from the East Coast, and this time of year the fog blows off the ocean in the mornings creating fast moving clouds and a good breeze.  You can feel Fall in the air.  
I first felt it in July.  There's an almost imperceptible change in the air.  It's a lightness in the pressing humidity that is usually present in this part of the country at this time of the year.  That's accompanied by a gentle, but definite breeze.  The light also changes.  I don't know what causes it, but it's softer.
It always makes me excited the first time I feel Fall in the air.  It's my favorite season.  I love the food, the weather, the clothes, the holidays, the everything.
I've loved this summer.  I'm not ready for it to end yet, but by September I'll probably be going through my clothes and pulling out the sweaters (even though I won't be able to wear them for another month or more).  Old habits die hard, I guess.
In Tennessee, where I grew up, you could start wearing sweaters in September.  So that's when I get mine out.  In Georgia we play this game of wearing a sweater in the morning until about 10:00, taking it off until late evening, then putting it back on; maybe.  Most of the time in early Fall I only wear a sweater on principle.  It's what I did growing up, and by golly, I'll do it now!  I sweat a lot too!  It's the same game in early Spring.  Oh well, it gives me something to do!

Early bloomer

Cherry Japanese Apricot blossoms...

... at the in-laws' this past weekend.
I haven't seen cherry trees blooming around here, and the inlaws are north of here, so I guess this one's just an early bloomer.
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Updated:
My sister-in-law emailed to tell me that the reason this is blooming before other cherry trees, is that it isn't a cherry tree! It's a Japanese Apricot. (The bark looks just like that of a cherry.)