It's that castle

Yes, it's Eilean Donan Castle, recognisable across the world from many a shortbread tin in duty free shops. We didn't visit, I have to admit. We had already 'done' Cawdor Castle a couple of days previously, to come in a future post, and we were keen to cross over to Skye. But if you want more detail, Eilean Donan has its own website, cottage for rent, blog and Facebook page. I think I should compile a list of things from modern life that the first occupants of Scottish castles might have liked to have (F16 fighters, Facebook...).
We did take the bridge to Skye, I admit. The last time I crossed to the island was by ferry, but now there's a concrete curve of a bridge linking the island with the mainland. Much debate for and against, which I'm not going to get into here. But we came back by ferry, delightfully, and it's that short sea crossing we'll remember.

My Cottage Has A Name

I'd been playing around with the idea of a name for our place ever since we moved here three years ago. We'd never named any of our four previous house-and-gardens, but living here felt different. Was it the single-story cottage-style house that called for a name? Are there too many English novels on my bookshelf? Perhaps it was the combination of a long, covered front porch and an enclosed fenced garden with a wooden gate?
Last spring inspiration struck, and my intention was to paint the name on the top board of the green bench in the new Pink Entrance Garden, take a photo and write a post about it. The paints sit unused next to sketches and print-outs of fonts, so there's no decorated bench to photograph as yet, but Carol at May Dreams has asked if our garden & house has a name, and my answer is Yes! In October .. we bought a 'Forest Pansy' redbud tree for the shaded area at the far right of the front yard - the photo at the top of the page shows the newly planted sapling. After a few rough summers our young tree is becoming established, and so is the American Beautyberry/Callicarpa americana to its left in the photo above.
In .. we bought a Texas Redbud/Cercis canadensis var. texensis and planted it to the far left of the front yard, then added the Pink Entrance Garden this spring:
Because we lost a tree this year - the immense Arizona Ash of my YouTube song- we decided to plant a new tree in the left center of the front yard. It seemed like fate at work when we walked into a local nursery right after some small trees of the white version of the Texas Redbud were delivered. I'd always wanted a Whitebud!

So here we have them, left, right and center - three Redbuds chosen from the genus Cercis, growing in the garden of someone who loves to sprinkle her pages with botanical Latin ... what else could the name be but

What do you think?? Is it a keeper? Maybe I'll get around to painting the name on the bench one of these days. Every circus needs a Sideshow, so step right up to the obelisk and see the moonflower in close-up just before dark:

In the daytime the Butterfly Peas open blue flowers, with the long white buds of the Moonvine poised to work the night shift.

Mountain mist

Climbing a mountain into the mist is always an interesting experience. There almost seems to be a process that must be followed. First the mist is admired from afar, then the climb begins in earnest, you gradually close in on the mist, before realising that it wasn't really that high after all. Thus it was on this morning's ride to Binna Burra. In truth, the mist commenced at around 475 metres above sea level -- not a huge amount, and yet it seemed so high at the start of the day's ride.
The flood damage was considerably less on the range, predictably, than it had been in Tallebudgera Valley the previous morning. That said, an additional 24 hours to start the clean up always makes these differences appear greater than they actually are. Nevertheless, it made for a spectacular ride, as I climbed through mist on the way to the summit of Mt Roberts, before the clouds lifted, and the mountain views opened up on the return. I did manage the detour along the western spur of the range which is now becoming mandatory on that ride. Once again, it was spectacular.
The only downside to the day was yet another flat tyre, my third of the year (there was another yesterday), about 2km from home on the return. At this rate I'm well and truly on course to beat last year's tally of 28 by the end of February. It's probably Murphy's law that I should have a run just after my high-powered pump refused to work, but it seems the no-name pump that I bought in Scotland has a few tricks that I wasn't aware of (hardly surprising as it didn't come with instructions). The extendable stem means that I'm now able to pump with literally twice the power that I had thought, and this makes the job of reinflating tyres so much easier and more efficient.
I've also made some on-line equiries, and should have a replacement camera in use at some point this week. The first objective will be to retrieve the pictures from Saturday's ride.

Sunrise at Indian Creek Bridge

With temperature reaching 100+ in the afternoon, I continue riding at about sunrise. Sunday I took the day off. Breakfast at Panera Bread and back home to bask in the AC.

This morning, I was not sure about riding. Weather.com was showing already over 80, buy did not feel that warm when i stuck my head out the door. In fact, the thermometer on the car was showing 70 as I drove to the trailhead.

I was out from the Wabash Trace Trailhead at 6am. Caught this photo when i stopped at Indian Creek Bridge for hydration. From there, I continued the loop around Lake Mamawa. Added a side section to the North side boat ramp.

The air had one of those "clammy" feeling. Knew it was going to be a humid day. Parking lot had many more cars when I got back. Others out to break the heat. Ended up with 11.8 miles at 11.2 mph. Happy with the ride.

Quote of the Day

"We write to taste life twice," Anais Nin wrote, "in the moment and in retrospection."

Why We Buy (George money)

My new favorite t-shirt.
It's wrinkled, because I had to dig into the dirty clothes for it. I guess I should be ashamed of such a slipshod photo, but I couldn't convince myself to iron a dirty shirt.
One of these days I suppose I ought to start acting my age. I imagine even now, people point and whisper behind my back. Since my hearing's not what it once was, I just don't notice it.
Will I still be wearing zombie t-shirts when I'm 60? I don't know, maybe. I don't have any children to embarrass, so it's likely.
One of my friends calls the upcoming US tax rebate her George money. We plan to be good citizens and help the economy, by spending our George money instead of saving it. (Uh-huh.)
I started a little early. I've bought this zombie shirt and pre-ordered the new Charlaine Harris book. I'm already listening to my new REM CD. (I slipped up and bought a Teddy Thompson CD too, before I realized that he's British. To be a solid citizen, I should concentrate on US products only I guess.)
I also ordered this Zebra/UPC t-shirt but haven't received it yet.
I plan on buying a coffee press.
I want Annie to throw me a few bowls (if she ever gets around to pottery again).
Mmm, what else?
I've been meaning to read This Republic of Suffering and Peter Sagal's book. I want all of Elizabeth Dewberry's books. (Ack! Elizabeth Dewberry, you are brilliant, but you really need a website.)
When I told my husband I might spend all my George money on books and CDs, he thought I was kidding, and laughed.
What are you doing with your George money?
-----
The shirt is all Twinks' fault, by the way. I'd never have know about shirt.woot if I hadn't read about her Nessie shirt. I have a feeling I'll be spending lots of money there in the future.

Heading Home

Well, it was a GREAT reunion. Good to see all the guys and wives, welcome to the first timers. Lots of wet eyes with the "good-byes".
I would not resist making at least one more ride on the Santos trail system. After checking in a hotel in Ocala, lunch, and a nap - I was ready to go. Explored some more trails. Really likes Twister.
Now - I will see how I feel and what the weather looks like -- perhaps a morning ride before heading back on the road.

Where did these come from?

First of all, some quick web surfing the other night revealed that another blog, cfsmtb, is currently linking to this page. Actually, that blog has quite a few interesting cycling tidbits from Melbourne, and would be quite an interesting read for anyone with a spare few minutes. I should probably take this opportunity to ask if there are any other cycling bloggers out there who have linked to this page and want me to reciprocate.
Something else I'm wondering, is who managed to snap this picture of Dubya in this particular pose?

Someone as cynical as myself might suggest that it's entirely appropriate, given one or two polices that have surfaced in that particular part of the world in recent years.

CX Season Opener

Lots of fun & pain! Raced the women's C's. (I'll jump into the B's soon, but for yesterday the C's were right.) Technique felt great and I felt like barfing the first 2 laps. In retrospect, I should have kept it on the barf mode for the next 2 laps - b/c it was on the 3rd lap that I let up and was passed by 2 in my category. So I settled for 3rd. I even managed to pass a few women in the B's, which was a good incentive.
We brought the kids and let them run around with their bikes. They played with some of the other little kids who were hanging around and I could see everywhere they went from the little hill I was on - where I'd parked myself during Morgan's race. Once Morgan was done, we switched and he took over "lookout duty" while I raced. Each time I came around the course I could see Sam & Lu up in the trees behind the feed zone. Tree climbing occupied them for a good 2 hours, which gave us some time to hang out after my race and watch Barry Wicks race with the A's. Dang that guy is fast.
Some pIcs.
Morgan's race went well. He managed 5th in the men's B's in a field of 30 or so.

Housing options

Which would you choose? The haunted cottage, or the tents beside the burn?

The tent option comes with wake-up call from the sun at a very early hour:

And running water:


Photos taken by my daughter on her Duke of Edinburgh Award Silver practice expedition in the Southern Cairngorms.
Edited to say that we're off on holiday for a bit. France here we come, via the Ryanair 'bus' to Bordeaux. I'll look forward to catching up with blogs when we're back.

Rose Crème Brûlée

Rose Crème Brûlée, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

After seeing a recipe for rose-flavored crème brûlée on Dessert First's blog, I decided to try the recipe with my French friend.
It ended up turning out wonderful. The vanilla cream was marked by the floral, spicy flavor of roses. Delicious.

Fleet Weeks and Fun Matches Do Not Match

If my assistant could figure out how to create a bubble for me, I'd have a long story to tell today. I'm very upset with her because it's been almost a whole week since I've gotten to post, and besides that, she's barely commented on your fine blogs. Things have gotta change around here and pretty darned quick. So here's some of the scoop and it's not all good.
First of all, there have been no pictures of anything I did this week, and I did quite a bit. Then... when I'm NOT permitted to go along with my peeps (the indignity of it!), they take hundreds of photos. How do you like them apples? So yesterday, my dad was invited to take mom on a yacht thingy with some of his work cronies in order to sail around the SF Bay to see...
THESE. I've seen a couple of pix like these on a couple of blogs and they do look cool, but I would have like to have gone, so I could have made up my own mind about whether they were good or not.
I mean, I guess it's pretty good when you can travel at 500 miles an hour about 3-4 feet away from another jet without a major catastrophe.
Speaking of which, there were so many boats out on the bay, that apparently dad and mom's boat almost crashed into that sailing craft up toward the bow there. See?
Here's another near miss.
I have to hide my eyes from this one.
Nice day over the Bay Bridge... at least it looks like it. But the Blue Angels themselves got cancelled. I don't think anyone minded too much. They'd been around here practicing all week. I promise you cause I know this: they are ve-ry LOUD.PART IIThe Fun Match
If a peep wakes you up early and mentions "fun match" you can bet that it's not. It's work and I have to think and remember so much.
I'm doing a figure-eight here around two people that they call "posts."
"Watching." I promise you... if I had a dime for each and every time mom has said, "watching," I'd be filthy kibble and stuffy-rich.
THIS TIME, finally, the judge really likes me lots and doesn't have a word of criticism. That's good, cause the next fun match is a real trial next month. Well we'll see.
Good girl. (And a dime for that one too.) Mercy, I'm tired.
These guys were watching us pack up as they were getting ready to leave too. WOOF!
Gonna get me some well-deserved rest. Catch ya on the flip side. I've missed y'all lots this week.

Eagle Mountain Hike

Above: The trail starts off in a rather enchanting evergreen forest.
Last week we hiked up Eagle Mountain, the highest point in Minnesota. Despite having lived in Cook County my entire life, I had never done the hike before. It was something I really wanted to do, considering other recent "firsts" for me in the local area (hiking Devil Track River, visiting Thompson Falls on the Cascade River). The trail to Eagle Mountain is 7 miles round-trip and for the most part is a very rugged, rocky trail. We did the round-trip hike in just over 5 hours, including several stops along the way to take photos, and about a half-hour snack break at the summit.

Before too long, you cross the line and from this point on the hike is within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.


Even though this is not known as a fall color hike, we did see a lot of nice color in the underbrush along the trail.


A few boardwalks that cross some bogs and marshes along the way give the trail some nice variety in the scenery.


Lots of color along this portion of the trail! Photo by Jessica Barr


Clouds over Whale Lake - Photo by Jessica Barr


Photographing the clouds over Whale Lake - Photo by Jessica Barr


Photographing the view from the summit - Photo by Jessica Barr


Although not the highest point on Eagle Mountain, this location offered the best "overlook" view.


Jess checking out the survey marker designating the highest point on the mountain at 2,298.1 feet.

Blue Hour Beauty at Hollow Rock

Even though last night yielded about a 0% chance of a nice colorful sunset, I still wanted to head out after work and see what the ice was like at Hollow Rock. We have had really good ice production on the lake over the last several days, and Hollow Rock did not disappoint in terms of ice. The west side of the rock was littered with plate ice and here on the east side was this nice little "ice cove". The ice cove really made for a nice composition with the peninsula of ice pointing right at Hollow Rock. The reflection of Hollow Rock in the water was an extra bonus. So, not much color but still an amazing scene! Today the weather is the opposite of the serene calm that you see here. Last night the wind kicked up and it has been violently windy this morning. I heard that the wind gusts were maxing out at just over 60 MPH in Grand Marais! Hopefully some ice will hang on and survive the wind. I would not be too happy if all the ice blew away :-(