For the third year in a row Kathryn volunteered to do bird banding at the Crown Point station. She overcame flu-like symptoms prior to leaving and ended up staying in a hotel rather than camping with the pop-up camper. Below she is handling an Indigo Bunting.
Ruby Throated Hummingbird laying on it’s back.
Kathryn and I took a walk through the woods, but found 6″ of snow in several places. The ice cleared off of two of our ponds, but not this one.
With the help of the dogs we chased the Canada Geese off one of our ponds and then located our evergreen trees in the little triangle lot. The transplants we planted over the past two years needed to be uncovered and allowed to straighten up.
Eric had an AAU basketball tournament (MVE Spring Shootout) at Accelerate with games against Salt City and Tri-Valley Playerz. They lost close games to both, but Eric recorded 15 and 10 rebounds respectively.
Our winter weather has been sporadic for sure. This past week one of Kathryn’s friends visited with a plan to go XC skiing. They caught the last two days of snow before rain and warm temperatures melted it all away. Instead of XC skis and snowshoes it’s rubber boots and trying to avoid the soggy ground as Kathryn takes the dogs for a walk around the pasture.
It seems like spring weather. We heard red-winged blackbirds for the first time Sunday evening; they are usually the first arrivals. They have been singing like crazy since then. Our snow is mostly gone; just patches left scattered around. Which means we had to engage in the first round of the annual spring pick-up-dog-poop-in-the-yard ritual. Kathryn’s friend Gaie and her friend Pat Wegman came out Wednesday-Friday. We had planned to have them come ski, but the weather has been uncooperative. Gaie and Pat went up to Egypt Hill where there are free, groomed trails just north of here. They said it was beautiful if a bit icy. On Thursday we went up most of my main trail across the road and the snow was pretty good but not deep so we had to pick our way around wet spots and sticks. But it was still pretty good. Kathryn and her friends did a lot of sitting around talking and hot tubbing. They a lot of fun and it was nice for Kathryn to have sustained time to visit with Gaie. Pat seemed very nice.
Kathryn has been communicating with a woman who has a senior women’s team out of Victor. She went to Victor on Friday to play some with her on just a pick up basis. Although Kathryn thought she played really well, the woman, Audrey, is really looking for a hitter (which Kathryn am not). The primary focus is on qualifying for a national tournament. Kathryn is disappointed as she had gotten my hopes up. There still might be some opportunity and it is likely they will be fielding an over 65 team for the Empire Senior Games.
Eric has to have his tonsils out, although we are going to try to wait for that until school is out, since he has missed so much time already. He also has to have his wisdom teeth out. High school basketball has ended. The season for him, was mixed; he missed so many practices and games, he was solidly on the 2nd string and so only played about a quarter a game. Eric did a 5 day intensive basketball camp over spring break and came away with a certain determination to put more into basketball which lasted about 1 week. Try-outs / practices for his Mohawk Valley Elite AAU start tonight with tournaments to start in about 1 month.
Kathryn took Stone and Eric to Pacific NorthWest for an 8 day vacation. They spent 2 days in Seattle (indoor rock climbing, Seattle Center, Science Museum/Planetarium, Seattle Aquarium, the waterfront and oversized Ferris Wheel, Pike’s Place Market, and up the Space Needle.
They spent 3 days in a beautiful condo (with an outstanding ocean view) on the coast. Several of Tom’s friends had condos there as well, so it was like a big party, complete with cards and games and wine. The condo building had a pool table, so the boys played a lot of billiards. The highlight of the trip was razor clamming which we absolutely loved (and the weather cooperated). It was an absolute blast. With help, we cleaned, cooked and ate the clams too.Kathryn had a lovely birthday Debbie bought a 90 minute massage, then she got to do some laps in their community pool while Tom took the boys to the Museum of Flight. We all then had a lovely dinner (Kathryn had trout).
We were all amazed at the traffic. Everywhere. All day and all night. Expressways just packed with cars. Strip malls and congestion. It was such a relief to get back to the New York State Thruway! And so much development. Tom just moved back to the general area in which he lived during the 70’s. It was “country” but it is no longer….the outskirts of Seattle is literally one city (suburb) after another with no space in between.
The boys got a long very well. Stone was a little overwhelmed and maybe a tad homesick at times, but overall did well. Debbie went above and beyond making sure we were happy, busy and well-fed. The red-eye flight home was tough. Re-entry into the real-world is tough.
Kathryn and I picked out our tree; trimmed the lower branches and let it soak overnight in a bucket in the garage. Saturday we set it up and Sunday Eric, Kathryn and I decorated. Some of my favorite ornaments including bubble lights, some outdoor themes and decorations made by Ed.
One of the things Kathryn and Eric enjoyed from our rafting trip was sleeping under the stars due to clear skies and no bugs. With fall conditions and clear skies Kathryn sought to duplicate that experience by sleeping out on the deck in late September. Cullen joined her, but Scout opted for the comfort of sleeping inside. Of her three attempts, the 1st she experienced a lot of condensation, the 2nd had a couple of mosquitoes and the 3rd was just right.
Kathryn and I gave Eric and Austin a ride to HCCC for a basketball tournament. Eric was in the back seat with Austin playing Rap music and telling us his latest favorite artists. I asked him how the rap artists came up with their nicknames and why they always seemed to have initials like Jay – Z or P – Diddy. Eric said he didn’t know. I followed up by saying I was friends with 25 letters of the alphabet. Kathryn was driving and gave me a side-ways look and asked “Only 25?”. Yes, I replied. I don’t know Why. It was a great setup – segue.
Skip, Kathryn and I made a opening season paddle down Black Creek. We heard and saw a lot of birds; white throated sparrows, heron, ducks, buteos, Phoebees, and some geese that tried to hide along the banks. A beautiful 2 hour paddle.
