Friday, October 30, 2009

Mother's Day


Retro stereotype? Or just a bit of fun and colour? I'd certainly trade a day in the office for sweet-smelling laundry on the clothes line, a blue spring sky with puffy clouds, and flowers in the garden.

This is the same florist that gave us snow in Edinburgh when all around was bare and grey.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Squash update


Man oh man are Zephyrs good! I had a little slice raw and thought "ok". But the flavor really comes out with cooking. Mmmm. Here's the recipe I used:
Cut the tip ends off, and boil the squash or zucchini until the skin pierces easily with a fork. Slice in half lengthwise, and make a few light cross-cuts on the open faces. Spread with melted butter or squeeze margarine. Sprinkle with seasoned salt and a little Parmesan cheese. Broil until the cheese is browned, about 5 minutes.
I wrote about this recipe once before - click there if you want to see a picture of the finished product.
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I worked the garden hotline last week, and one of the calls was about problems with squash. The caller asked if she should put Sevin dust (Carbaryl) on the leaves. A lot of people don't realize that Sevin is extremely toxic to bees. And bees pollinate squash. So no, I wouldn't recommend it! The bees seem to be having a hard enough time lately as it is.
If you must use an insecticide on your squash, apply it at dusk, when it will probably harm beneficial insects the least.
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There is an interesting Cucurbit Disease key by Vegetable MD online (from Cornell).
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The other squash in the picture is a pattypan or scallop type squash, Flying Saucer. Haven't eaten it yet - review on that one later!

Snow!

The forecast was for two to four inches by daybreak.

The TV is full of snowmen and snowball fights and cantevenseethegrass, but here - not yet.
We had five inches of rain day before yesterday, so I'm thinking that the persistent puddles are melting all the snow.
It's still coming down though, so I've got my fingers crossed.

More ducks

I had to work the garden hotline yesterday and was exhausted by the time I got home. It was a day full of characters, which was interesting but not exactly relaxing. So, no time for new pictures, but here are a few more of the ducks.

My original description of Duckie's top-knot/crest/pouf is here. Basically it's a skull deformity. (But a cute one.)
Here are some views from other angles. Yes, it's very soft! But the capturing nearly gives her a heart attack, so we don't feel it too often.

I mentioned the other day that male ducks like to grab onto the crest for umm, balance, so she'd lost a few feathers. Here is the other female Runner duck, Runt, who's missing a few feathers herself.

Poor dear. Chickens do this too, by the way. Roosters seem to know their business better, though. It's quickly over. Ducks I've observed in the wild don't mess around either.
Our ducks however... well, maybe they need a how-to video. Boss-duck, and especially Tuxedo, sometimes just walk back and forth across the backs of the female ducks. Up and down, circle around, back up, back down, etc. Quacking the whole time but not really, well, doing anything.
Often the female gets tired of waiting I guess, or tired of being stepped on, and manages to escape. Sometimes they are caught again within a few steps, and the process starts all over again.
I'm not sure if all domestic ducks are this way, or just Indian Runner ducks. Or just ours.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Cross & Six Hours



Saturday I did a cyclocross clinic at Coyote point in San Mateo. We did some drills, practiced run ups, barriers, mounts and dismounts and then, towards the end, raced a mini simulation course. Twas good to get back on the cross bike again!
Sunday we drove up to Lake Sonoma where Morgan did a 6 hour team mtb race. The kids and I went along to cheer him on. The race was small, grassroots, groovy and low key - part of the Billy Cross series. Probably 20 people total. Most were solo racers, racing for the full 6 hours. There were 2 teams of 4 guys, 1 woman solo and the rest guy solos.
There's only so much you can do with smallish kids at a 6 hour bike race. It was very hot and way out in the middle of no where - and they were the only kids. We rode our bikes, ate, hiked, took pictures, ran, played with dogs, read books, ate, drank juice, took naps, ate, cheered racers on, climbed rocks, played with legos, ate, poured water on each other, played with dolls, colored, ate and on and on and on and on and on.
Laps were short - about 5 miles long, but very technical. Morgan had the fastest lap each time out of the 4 teammates and his splits were about 30 minutes each lap. He was good and consistent.
Today, I finally added in some interval work to my running. I shortened the run down to 30 minutes and whipped in 30 second intervals - 3x3 sets of 30 seconds. Not much, but a start. I think my big improvement this year will be with form rather then fitness.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

My camera's holiday




One of my excuses for the lack of posts recently has been my camera going on holiday without me on a father-daughter skiing holiday to Austria. Out of solidarity with our son, who was back at university, I elected not to go with them. That skiing is possibly my least favourite activity - I would rather go to the dentist - was also a factor. Although I am quite tempted by snow-shoeing, so perhaps next time.



Above, daughter helmeted and goggled and balaclava-ed. Below, the view from the top, and then the view from the cable car.







A day's break from skiing was thought advisable, so the narrow streets of Innsbruck were visited, and much coffee and cake enjoyed.







Now that I have my camera back, I do have some Scottish snow to show you - more soon.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Art Leads to More Art


From The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt: Her response to any performance, any work of art, was the desire to make another, to make her own.
This is my response, too, when I do any of the above. If I'm away from home, I scribble the idea into a little notebook I carry just for that purpose. If I don't act on it soon, though, it's birth and death will be in that notebook.
When I think about all the art I could have made, all the stories or songs I could have written if only I had taken the time to act on an idea, it makes me sad.
But instead of dwelling in sadness (which isn't very conducive to making art) I'll try and put that attitude away and focus instead on what I have made. Better yet, I'll plan in my head the things I'll hopefully get around to making soon.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

(End of) summer reading




Summer reading has slipped into end of summer reading. Three library books and two bought ones this time.

Being British, one is meant to look forward to Wimbledon as the essence of summer sport. That, or cricket. I used to be an avid tennis watcher, but in recent years I've found it edging towards tedious. It's been replaced in my affections by the Tour de France. Already I'm counting the weeks until next July. Three weeks of drama, extreme sporting endeavour, baroque tactics, and glorious French countryside. To compensate for the end of the Tour this year, I tracked down a couple of books in the library. First up, the autobiography of the British/Isle of Man sprinter, Mark Cavendish. A fascinating account of the life of a professional cyclist. I can't begin to imagine going from race to race, living on the road, staking everything of split-second decisions in a crush of other cyclists. I daresay he couldn't imagine the tedium of my day-job in front of a computer.



One of the things I particularly like about the Tour is the ironic commentary by Gary Imlach, Chris Boardman, and Ned Boulting. Ned's book about what goes on behind the scenes of the Tour was in the same vein.



Getting serious now, my attempt to learn some Albanian. I'm going back to Kosovo in the autumn, and want to be able to say more than 'thank you'. However, you will notice the pristine condition of the book. I have signed up for an evening class in another language, so I may have bitten off more than I can chew right now. When I was younger I soaked up new languages, but I can actually feel the language-learning part of my brain grinding and protesting.



My current read, a book about the wonder of the night sky and natural darkness. It's a subject about which I'm passionate. I need properly dark nights. When we drive north in the winter up through the central highlands, I feel something in me relax at being surrounded by the night. And on the return journey, it affects me physically every time as we come within sight of the orange skyglow of the central belt of Scotland. Read this book, visit the Campaign for Dark Skies website, or just go outside and notice how little of the night sky you can see.



I didn't mean this juxtaposition, but it so happens that a satellite image of North Korea at night will show only a faint point of light where the capital is, and the rest of the country is in darkness.



And finally, my failure of the summer. I could not make headway with this book. It was acutely perceptive, and was indeed 'a majestic work of scholarship', but it was just too heavy on the literary criticism for my summer mood. I have to admit that I read the first chapter and the last, and was very sorry to have stalled on any book by Francis Spufford, but I did not have the stamina for it.



What should I do now? Get another pile of books, or hunker down with Albanian?

Friday, October 9, 2009

Things Are Different At 11° F

Disclaimer: These aren't my fingers, but this is what I feared. Please read below. I apologize if I've spoiled your lunch.
Friday morning's pre-dawn commute saw a temperature of 11° Fahrenheit in downtown Omaha. That's not exactly ideal cycling weather.
However, since my mantra lately has been, "I'll keep biking to work as long as there's no ice and snow on the streets, and even then, I'll think about it," I rode in.
Historically, I've shunned weather reports, using the philosophy of "I'll wear tomorrow what I should have worn today," but since the weather can be dangerous now, I've made a habit of checking a day or so in advance. Seeing the predicted lows, I added the Canari Evolve Pro long sleeve jersey to my arsenal on Thursday night, made easier using a great Sports Authority coupon. I figured at 11°, I could use something more in addition to my multiple thin layers of wicking shirts over baselayer.
I also added a fleece balaclava, pulled down over my face, but stretching the hole so that eyes, nose and mouth were exposed. I can't stand the feeling of breathing in and out through a face mask. The balaclava was long enough to completely cover my neck, and that made a huge difference.
For my legs, I tried pulling the AmFIB tights over polypro baselayer tights, but that didn't work. The fleece lining was just too grippy on the baselayer, so I changed the order. Pulling the baselayer tights over the AmFIB tights was easy, and helped add another thin layer of warmth without restricting leg movement too much. I am still using the Gavia gloves. They are made from AmFIB material, but relatively thin.
So opening the garage, I headed out with only a few square inches of skin exposed on my face. I noticed that my brake cables felt a little sticky from the cold. Also, the sound of my tires on the street was a little different. At two blocks away, I got the cold air Sinead O'Connor-style tear (see 3m:28s) that rolls down my cheek each morning. I found it harder to get oxygen out of the air, so I took it a little more slowly and in a gear lower than normal.
About 15 minutes into my 30 minute commute, I felt my outside fingers on my left hand colder than I have every remembered. At first they were just very cold. Then they hurt. Then they quit hurting. That can't be good, can it? I pumped my fist, and also tried squeezing my forearm with my other hand. My fingers started hurting again. As much as I like the Gavia gloves, they aren't suited for this temperature.
All day Friday, and even now on Saturday night, my ring finger still tingles a little. It's not swollen or discolored in any way, but I can't help but wonder if I suffered some mild frost bite. Perhaps frost nip would be more appropriate.
I will most certainly be shopping for warmer gloves before the next bout of temps in the teens in early December, according to Accuweather's long range forecast. I'd really like a pair of split finger or lobster claw style glove/mitten hybrid, but I'm having a hard time finding anything like that locally in my size. Given the holiday week coming up, I don't know that Amazon could get them to me in time. I may have to go with a warm, more easily available full fingered glove.
In summary, I feel my first crazy-cold commute was successful. With the exception of the frigid fingers and a few cold toes, I was comfortable enough, and the satisfaction of arriving at work under my own power, despite the cold weather, was very rewarding.
A major part of the Shift is learning from all experiences, pleasant and unpleasant, so that adjustments can be made, knowledge increased, and then make the next ride all the better.
Credit: Frostbite photo from http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/how-to-survive-the-freezing-cold.htm/printable.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Paradise! 3 Hikes a Day

We finished up the Oh Be Joyful Trail early and decided to follow the signs to Paradise Divide


At one point it was uncertain which road was ours so of course Gary goes for the more interesting of the two across water.
It ended up being a dead end so we turn around and follow the other road up.

and up
We run into snow and can't reach Schofield Pass
Not sure if this is Emerald Lake or if that is further up towards the pass.





either way it's beautiful,

We ran into a few narrow spots on the road.
Here's a view ofpart of the road we took up.
Heading back it seems we should be aware of Marmots.
We continue on to check out Lost Lakes. Gary is tired and waits in the car while Tucson and I take a short hike.
We meet a chipmunk along the way
The Lost Lake is found

Time to head home via the Ohio Pass
One last stop to do the Beaver Pond Trail that we missed last time through.
The trail goes through a large stand of Aspen and pine.
Aspen stand alone - Birch stand in Bunches.

Guess we know how Beaver Pond got its' name


On the way home we pass by this great ranch


I could definitely live here!A long but enjoyable day!

Till Later!

Meanwhile, we keep on Trek'n

Melissa, Gary & Tucson