Grateful

 A long walk just to stretch my legs yields a pretty sky. Some tiny early daffodils are poking their way up due to the warming temps. The tiniest hint of spring.



Tremela Mesenterica (yellow brain fungus). A nice pop of color in the woods.

As a person with zero interest in professional sports, I opted for an outdoor adventure on SuperBowl  Sunday. At first Ann Marie and I were just going to walk a few miles on the bike trail - very tame. But then AmyJean texted and proposed a forest walk at the Plotter Kill Preserve. We all quickly agreed. Well, it was NOT just a woods walk. We picked the red path that went from one end of the Preserve to the other for 5 miles, which would not have been too bad if we hadn't had to deal with four icy stream crossings. In the summer they are not a problem - plenty of rocks and low water flow. But it's been warm and the water was flowing fast and high. There was still a lot of ice covering the stream, but it was in the process of melting so each crossing was dicier than the last. 

At the edge of the falls early on the hike.

The 4th crossing nearly did us in. When we found a spot to cross using a fallen tree, we were met with an 8' high vertical cliff bank. AJ went left to try to find a way up; AM went right to find a different crossing; I found some roots and a single tree at the top of the bank. I just started up and used every bit of skill to find the very few hand and foot holds and sturdy enough roots. When I got to the tree, I just had to bear hug it and use upper body strength to hoist myself up and around it to the top edge. I had to crawl up the snow to find a safe spot to sit, then coach the other two up. Daylight was fading fast and this crossing probably took over 20 minutes. Then we made our way up the final steep slope - icy but with cables to pull ourselves up on. We were poorly prepared (we know better!) and grateful to have made the whole 7 mile hike with 10 minutes to spare before sunset. 

Hauling myself up the last icy slope and thankful for microspikes.

A bit inappropriate, but it's how A.M. felt!

I suggested we stop for dinner as I had no lunch and no energy to make dinner! So we drove to the River View Bar and Grill and had a glass of wine and the best fish and chips. We laughed so much out of sheer relief that no one got hurt, but we will be sore tomorrow. 

Falls overlook near the end of our trek.

The closet project is coming along. I cut in the edges before the PlotterKill excursion. I squeaked at the builder to see when the bathroom might get done, but not a word yet.


The last space in the house that has the original awful off-white paint.


Now I'm tempted to rip out the carpet and install the flooring myself.

Comments

  1. MargaretFebruary 13, 2023 at 7:22 PM

    That hike sounds terrifying; I doubt that I could have been coaxed. I'm not very adventurous and see danger everywhere besides being scared of heights and not a strong swimmer. The falls are beautiful! My tulips are about two inches out of the ground which makes me happy. I never know which ones will return each year. Since I planted them in 2013, there are fewer and fewer. Your closet paint job looks very fresh and clean!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maureen MFebruary 14, 2023 at 12:03 AM

      I wish I could grow tulips, but the deer just love them too much.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Another Rainy Weekend

Image
Another rainy Saturday to contend with, so I decided on a Van Morrison playlist while I cleaned out the garage and danced and sang. My gardening supplies and planters and pots that need sorting and recycling  were cluttering up my space. They are now sorted and the garage is cleaned out for at least another week or so. I think the shed in the back yard needs to be a project to get it into a more useful state.  The amount of rain we've had is remarkable. May was one of the wettest months in eighty years and June is starting to look the same. I would rather have too much rain rather than a drought though.  After dropping around 3 inches of rain, the skies cleared up later in the afternoon. I loaded up my bike for an impromptu ride on the Electric Trail with the thought of dinner or ice cream at Samascott's.  The first of many turtles on the bike path. Now I see just how rough the path was and how I had no business riding on it.  The trail was very wet on the way s...
Read more

Summer Solstice

Image
Vroman's Nose overlooking the valley. Summer has begun! To mark the solstice, my hiking group held a picnic at the top of Vroman's Nose, which is a short little hike up a 657 foot hill. It overlooks the Schoharie Valley and has a beautiful rock 'dance floor' that easily accommodates our group of forty. The weather was a perfect 74 degrees with a breeze to keep any bugs away. A pleasant gathering on the dance floor near sunset. I drove Sue Ellen who had her gall bladder removed last week, and we hiked up with a guy who has spinal stenosis. As I listened to them discuss their ailments, I silently gave thanks for my health and thought about how 'mature' our group is becoming.  Once at the top, the party began with burgers and dogs, salads and desserts, and great conversation.  Most of our group made it into this sunset picture. Saturday started with me being woken up by my neighbors chatting down below in the street - it was garage sale day. I didn't join since...
Read more

Random Thoughts In My Little Life

Image
 The orchids I bought in February (!) catch my attention each day and I have to marvel at their longevity. Four months of continuous flowers? What other plant does this? I just may become an orchid collector. A new stem with buds is forming on one of them too! This long horn beetle was inspecting my snow peas. They have blooms, so peas are not far behind! I drove up to the Plateau to meet a friend for a paddle. The wind picked up for awhile so we got a nice upper body work out paddling into the wind. Then we just floated near the dock when the wind died down and the sun was shining.  This wetland was covered in yellow flag (iris) on the way to the Pond. Enjoying the calm water after the gusts. This is not proper paddling form, but it was so relaxing. This angle makes my kayak look tiny! Thursday was a nice dry day - perfect for lawn garden work. I'm diligently putting the plants I keep buying into the ground. I have a dozen sunflowers I grew from seed that need planting, but t...
Read more