Ow.

Dear Anonoymous - you are right. That was my stand-in. WTF WAS she wearing? There ought to be some type of photo filter management here. I'll have to work on that.

Let me tell you about my perfect day. As you can see from Jerry's photos, we worked in the garden on Tuesday. It was brutally hot, hence the refugee outfit. We planted about 12 rows, without thought to the consequences of bending, digging, lifting, bending, digging, lifting. After we were through, I came in and took a steaming hot shower and couple of tylenol. "Problem solved" I thought.

When I woke up yesterday morning, I was quite sure that I had missed the swine flu bullet and been stricken with polio. I couldn't move. Just getting out of bed was absolute agony. It hurt just to breathe. I managed to get my robe on (because apparently it is winter again) and hobbled out to the kitchen where my hero Jerry had started a wood fire in the kitchen cook stove. The crackling wood smelled incredibly good, and the kitchen was toasty and comfortable. He had made a pot of coffee and handed me my cup, already prepared just the way I like it. I made it over to the recliner and sat down slowly. Really slowly. He covered my poor aching legs with a knitted afghan, and brought me my glasses, my book, and my meds. After reading and relaxing for awhile, and allowing time for the meds to kick in, I got up and filled the tub with epsom salt and steaming hot water. The bathroom here is finished like a spa, and that is what I needed. I crawled into the sizeable claw-foot tub (there's a visual) and just lay there soaking my poor bruised and torn limbs. In comes Jerry with a hot cup of tea, again, just the way I like it. I lay there for an hour or so, with the heat lamp cranked and just soaking in the salts and trying to repair the previous day's damage, sipping my tea. I came out to dry by the woodstove, and when I got my act together, we went to run some errands. Just another lousy day in paradise.

Jerry covered our newly planted veggies with plastic runners last night, because the temp was supposed to go down to 38 degrees. I don't think it went down that far, but close enough to do some damage. Hopefully all these root veggies will be a little heartier than I was and survive the spring. There is some sleep finagling going on here. Daphne has been usurping Jake from his bed for some reason unknown to us. Bailey has his bed on the floor next to Jerry, and he has been left out of this problem. He was just sleeping. Jake moved over towards that bed, and finding no room there, just lay down on the floor next to Bailey, I guess hoping to get a little body heat. All while Daphne is parked in the center of Jake's bed, like a princess in a sea of puff. This whole process offends me. As much as Jake can drive me crazy because he is obstinate and spoiled, he is top dog and deserves his own bed. I happened to wake up during the night just to check on things, and saw what had happened. I picked Daphne up, woke up Jake and told him to take back his bed while I was holding her, which he did. Once that was set right, I put Daphne at the foot of our bed, which was where she started, and went back to sleep. She is still there now. I feel like a parent making sure everyone gets their equal share. She doesn't make it easy.

So today, who knows what we'll do. We're both so sore that we're taking things kind of slow. I do have an orthopedist appointment, just to check on my shoulder. I hope he doesn't try to move it or anything. That will be a problem.

Tylenol OR Morphine

Tylenol OR Morphine ? Is the question this morning! We have been having just wonderful weather here in the North Country, The Adirondacks. So with that in mind we decided that we would try some colder weather plants, Lettuce , Cabbage and Celery . The Amish by us run a garden nursery, to be more exact Noah the fellow who build our kitchen cabinets has a nursery with very nice food plants and beautiful hanging baskets of flowers. So we started the garden yesterday, April 28Th. Since it was an new garden that I had tilled up last week or so, we stopped and picked up garden compost to help the garden along. We picked up just 10 bags to get it started today ( Oh my aching back) and are expecting a delivery of 4 yards ( compost) from Dave down the road. Did I say 10 bags....????? I loaded 20 bags into the pickup and delivered 10 to a neighbor,.........oh my aching back! Well gang I spread the compost into a small part of the garden and Jen took on the planting of cold weather plants we picked up from Noah's green houses. Here's my bride planting. Yes.......Those are Wellies that Jen has on!

You think you have a Tough Job with no Bennies!

This is ..I think Noah's son plowing the field while we are picking out our plants for our garden

After planting just 1/3 of our garden we both woke up this morning wondering which would be best...... Tylenol OR Morphine ? , for the pain.

I'm sure the only one with a "good view "on this job is the Two front horses.

As we laid in bed this morning thinking about what hurts, the T.V. was on ,the weather man was advising if you had been fooled by the nice weather that we had been having and planted your garden already.........You might think about covering them up tonight and bringing in any decorative plants as "We are getting a Frost Tonight". That was us!

Seems the rule here is no planting other then hardy plants until after Memorial Day....,A week after Memorial Day. I think we will be OK as what we planted are Hardy,Cold Weather plants....We Hope.

Anyhow it seems that just getting up and moving around is helping the things that hurt, I'm off to do some other yard work.

I have a neighbor that I need to help check for the Swine Flu.

They say while checking, if the pig or swine appears to have an over active tongue, he has the flu. Whata Think??????

Til Next Time Gang........Jerry

Happy Birthday Lily!

Happy Birthday Lily! Hugs and Kisses from us!

I had my first mobile deer encounter while traveling back from Long Island with Allison this past Sunday. We were tooling along the Taconic Parkway doing about 55 mph (I swear officer!) and out of the woods on my right came first one deer, and then a few seconds behind him, another. I grabbed Allison and dug my fingernails into her forearm, because this can often help with speed reduction. While slamming on the breaks and performing a loud intake of breath, I was calculating in my mind his rate of speed vs. my rate of speed, and if this calculation would result in us meeting face to face. We were very lucky. If a third deer had been following them, he would have been hit. Thankfully, One and Two were alone and made it across the highway pretty fast. I don't know what happened on the OTHER side, I was too busy giving Thanks to God and making a mental promise to pay closer attention to the shoulder and the woods alongside the road. It is a beautiful drive, but the hazards of the Taconic are legend to us road warriors, and I finally can tell a near-miss story first hand. It's always better to tell a story than to be the story. We had a chock-full weekend and came home to all kinds of improvements thanks to Jerry. We both treat our lonely weekends differently. As usual, Mars and Venus don't mark their time in the northwoods the same way. Surprise! What I did notice most of all is that we finally have some BUDS here. The trees are looking less dead and more like they are waiting to pop at any moment. Although the snow is gone, you can still find snow PILES in and around the property, like the north side of the garage. It's kind of weird being able to make a snowball in your hand (if you were so inclined) while experiencing 85 degree weather. This type of weather wreaks havoc on a girls wardrobe. I have so many clothes in piles here, because I'm not yet willing to give up my wool socks or flannel ensembles, and yet, it's frigging hot during the day. I need shorts and tank tops just to survive outside. So what we are maintaining here is a double season wardrobe, and it is eating up closet space like you can't believe. Yesterday was bath day for the dogs. At 85 degrees I had no problem filling a 5 gallon bucket and bathing both Jake and Bailey on the back deck, where the Hot/Cold water spigots are (thanks Jerry-you rock) We used special oatmeal soap for dogs with dry skin and although they did try to get into the house while being bathed, after all was said and done they looked and felt better I'm sure. That was long overdue. As Daphne was done LAST week in the kitchen sink, she got off scot-free, and was glad for it. As much as she enjoys her bath, this washdown on the back deck resembled a hosing way too much for her tastes. She is more a milk-bath soak kind of gal. They dried off in the sun and the day was purposeful. I always try to get SOMETHING done, however minor. The black flies are out and zeroeing in on Jerry. I am not usually bothered by black flies or mosquitos, so outside for me is a treat. We try to compromise and work on inside projects when he is being eaten alive. I don't know why but they prefer him over me. Hmm. In any other context, I would be offended, but not this time. We now have 20 blueberry bushes artfully planted in the pasture (again, Jerry was a busy guy), and will be re-seeding the back portion of the acre pasture again this week. For whatever reason, that section didn't take so well. If at first you don't succeed. . .

Boy, ain't that the truth.

Another Hot one !

Getting the yard ready for summer, thinking about moving the campfire to this new location ( inside the circle of Adirondack chairs) Whata think ? Hey Walter ,Brian , Mike and Jessie ,could use you guys up here...The old man's back not what it used to be!!! I think those chairs weighed less last fall when I put them away!

Well Gang another hot one here in Caroga lake, 80 in the shade...What happened to spring?

Been quiet here since Jen and Ali down on the Island for the weekend. Dogs seem to miss them too. They are acting up and demanding more attention from me, always under foot.

The phones and Internet where out today which forced me outside where I should have been anyhow... Was going to stay in and nurse my aching back and joints from planting yesterday and some other yard chores. My ankle hurting so I suspect rain is on the way. That being said I headed out , fixed the clothes line , cleaned up the yard and worked off some of the dogs energy with some," fetch the stick". Hey guys I could use one of those sling shot tennis ball shooters.

Seems I also used to be able to throw the ball and sticks further.

Not getting older or slower, just hurting a little bit from lack of work over the winter and now over doing it since weather broke, "not getting older or slower".

The bees are flying and doing well , it appears that Dan and I have a bee removal next week from inside of a house which will be good as we will be able to get bees into the dead hives.

Thinking about getting out down to the lake and checking on the action...

Til next time Gang.....Jerry

Summer has Arrived Here in Caroga Lake

Well Gang .....I guess it's up to me to post since Jen is down on Long Island. SUMMER HAS ARRIVED HERE IN CAROGA LAKE!!!!! It was at 4:30 pm 86 degrees here and down on L.I. 74 as reported by Jen on her car thermometer. I worked here around the camp, planted 20 blueberry bushed along side of the pasture. Then I moved over to the Bee Yard and added some more wire around the electric fence to keep the bears out. As you may recall it was May of last year that the bears made an appearance destroying the hives and eating all the honey.

So we add more wire.

Bee are flying today

Feeder jars

Ran into some friends that arrived for the summer , Dave and Cathy

A picture from last New Years Eve , here in Caroga

Good to see them again.

The town just full of summer people cleaning their camps getting rid of those leaves and branches . Doing repairs from winter damage but it's all good and everyone seems to be happy returning. The lake was beautiful today with a couple boats tooling around.

I have been leading the bachelor life and after doing the yard chores, cleaning the house and catching up on laundry headed out the last two night to one of the local restaurants, "The Outlet" for dinner. I have also been watching the Yankee's losing the last two nights against Boston.

With the sun that was out today I'm burnt pretty good , tee shirt tan, and only part of my face because of the baseball cap. After cleaning up, the summer shorts came out for the last few hours of sun, 1st time this year.

Anyhow gang that's it for tonight, Jen should be back posting Monday...( Or is it really me ?)

Til next time Gang....Jerry

Metal Roof Being Delivered

Well Gang, The new meatl roof was delivered today, They start this Monday working on that project.

Metal roofing being boomed off the truck.

And some more.

It was a Beautiful day here in Caroga Lake, The sun was shining all day and I think it hit mid 70's which was hot for me. They say we will See mid 80's Saturday afternoon.

I picked up the Blueberry Bushes (20) today and they will maybe get planted this weekend.

I drove into the heart of Caroga today and a lot of the summer people arrived this afternoon.

Some people fishing on the lake and camp fires all over could be seen.

West & East Caroga Lake

West Caroga Lake, Sherman's off in the distance

Just a great lake shot

Just a little bit of heaven!

It's late at night ,Jen's down on the Island with Ali , I had some time to share some great shots of this Heavenly place .

Here is a great Link about Caroga Lake if you want to see the history

http://carogatimes.com/

Til Next time Gang....... Jerry

The Snow Has Stopped

Well Gang...... Here in Caroga Lake , April 23 rd , 2009 it snowed even though we are expecting weather in the 80's the next few days. Nothing on the ground but it was snowing hard and the wind was blowing out of the North West From Canada. It's still blowing , gusty but now we just have overcast skies and slight rain. Been doing some inside cleaning after groceries shopping, getting ready to make one of Jen's favorites, Chicken cutlets. Cooking early as we are all of to the YMCA for a swim and a work out and I don't want to cook after that, just want it ready. Jen's out doing some retail therapy shopping down in Johnstown I should be cooking but Chicken still not thawed completely so I have a couple minuets. The Blue berry Bushes are in and ready to be picked up Friday , now just where to plant them so that we get to eat the berries and not the wild life. They say it takes two years until you have berries from these plants ( Size 18- 24 inches tall now) We had some of Dan's dads blue berries last year.....They are the size of a large thumb nail and Sooo Good. Any how that's all there is to report from the North Country , Back to Cooking. Til next time Gang......( If I don't Hurt myself at the YMCA) Jerry

Update

It's snowing. Hard. Good night.

Forget hiking. It's still a little chilly out today, and all I want to do is park it next to the pellet stove, which is in fact what I did yesterday while the farm boys were playing up and down North Bush Road. Sometimes I wonder if those pictures are just for my (our) benefit and they are really inside playing a mean game of poker or something fun like that. It's possible. I'd never check. As I said, it's cold out there. I crashed a little early last night as sometimes the only thing to do is call it a day. So at 7:30, that's what I did. Good call. This morning I do feel better. Allie and I are planning on the Y today, so getting up and at em bright and early is the way to go. Get moving. I do have to catch up on Harper's Island, as week three is on tonight and I have not yet caught week 2. Allison and I are watching it together, and I'm getting hooked too. Then there is the 70s Show, which we watch religiously every day. I have to leave room for that. And of course the dogs need to be walked and the garden worked in. We are just plain too busy for laziness. And yet, I manage to get in a good nap in the afternoon or an early tuck in if I can. I function so much better with a good 12 hours under my belt. Am I alone on that? I know Daphne and Jake are on that page as well. Bailey, not so much, but he sticks with me just the same. My Dog Bailey. He is the ultimate friend. I guess I finally know how Jerry feels about Jake - completely loved and accepted. I used to have that with Conan (our former lab/great dane mix), and I finally have it again with Bailey. It makes you a better person when a dog adores you. You become selfless and responsible. Just because they depend on you. And when they look at you with those big eyes, well I for one would walk a mile with a bum leg, just so they get their exercise and outside time. They keep me moving. Which is why I'm signing off right now. Bailey wants to go out.

2 Posts Today and Busy Outdoors

Dave Flushing the sap lines. Today Was a Busy Day here for the Blue Line Farm workers......Me, Dave and Dan. Here you can see Dave cleaning up the Maple Syrup Lines as he is done for the year tapping trees. We flushed them and then left these line in the woods til next year, will make it a lot easier next year. Rumor has it Dave is looking for a larger boiler for next year......Fred better get started working on that!

Dan (Bee Keeper) and I, earlier in the day drove to see Amish Dan (Mill owner) to pick up my pine planking that we will be putting up in our bedroom , floors,walls and ceiling.

These boards yesterday where whole round trees , now planking sitting on our side driveway to dry for the next 3 months. These are 3/4 in thick by 10 inches or 12 inches. The 12 inch boards will be our bedroom floor.

Does not seem like much , this was 3 trips with the pickup truck, hand loaded and unloaded.

Stacked with spacers for air flow. Some are so heavy that it took both of us to stack one board.

Heavy from moisture in the wood

Still cool here in Caroga Lake, wore a work coat most of the day, they say the rest of the week is going to be GREAT and some where in the low to mid 80's.

This is a short update of the happenings here in the North Country.........

Til Next time Gang...........Jerry

hiking trails These are on my mind as the sun comes out today. I think we are due for a nice walk. Probably in June, so we can swim too. It's a big decision. I'll think on it for awhile. Kane Mountain View Trail Images Kane Mountain and its Fire Tower is a popular hiking destination in the town of Caroga overlooking Canada Lake. The Tower allows for a wonderful view of the area. There are two trail heads. The main trail runs from Green Lake Rd. The .5 mile hike climbs 600 ft. to the top of the mountain at 2200 ft. above sea level. The trail is moderate in difficulty. The second trail runs from Schoolhouse Road. This is a shorter ascent to the top, however it's difficulty is higher due to a steeper grade and rocks. Directions: From the Caroga Lake Post Office across the road from Sherman's Park. Green Lake Trail Head northwest 3.1 miles on RT-10/RT-29A toward E Shore Road West Caroga, Turn right at Green Lake Rd. Go .4 miles, bare to the left at fork. Parking is a few hundred feet on right, trail head is to the left. Schoolhouse Road Head northwest 3.4 miles on RT-10/RT-29A toward E Shore Road West Caroga, Turn right at Schoolhouse Rd. Go .2 miles, trail head is to the left look for state sign. Parking is available on the road. Nine Cornered Lake View Trail Images The Nine Corner Lake trailhead bigins west of Pine Lake RT-29A. It is a gentle uphill, about 2.0 miles round trip, the hike passes some waterfalls on a mountain stream wich the trail follows. Take the fork to the right when near the lake, the left is for winter snowmobiling. The lake itself is crystal clear and great for a summer swim. Directions: From the Caroga Lake Post Office across the road from Sherman's Park. Head northwest 5.0 miles on RT-10/RT-29A toward E Shore Road West Caroga, at the RT-10/RT-29A divide at the Pine Lake Lodge continue to follow RT-29A to the left. Parking and the trail head is a few hundred feet on the right. Broomstick Lake Broomstick Lake is a nice hike, about 1.7 mile round trip following a stream. The partially grassy shored lake is nice to explore. Directions: From the Caroga Lake Post Office across the road from Sherman's Park. Head northwest 5.0 miles on RT-10/RT-29A toward E Shore Road West Caroga, at the RT-10/RT-29A divide at the Pine Lake Lodge continue to follow RT-10 to the right. Parking and the trail head is about 1 mile up on the left. Good Luck Lake The trail is an easy walk to Good Luck Lake about 1.8 to a nice sandy swimming beach. From hear there is an unmarked trail that leads up a short steep climb to an open ledge with a great view of the area and Spectacle Lake. Directions: From the Caroga Lake Post Office across the road from Sherman's Park. Head northwest 6.0 miles on RT-10/RT-29A toward E Shore Road West Caroga, at the RT-10/RT-29A divide at the Pine Lake Lodge continue to follow RT-10 to the right. Parking and the trail head is about 7 miles up on the left. Spectacle Lake The Trail is the right fork off the Good Luck Trail (above). It is approximately 2 1/2 miles up.Good for fishing and camping, the name Spectacle comes from the shape of the lake looking similar to glasses. The lake can be seen from the cliffs near Good Luck Lake. Directions: From the Caroga Lake Post Office across the road from Sherman's Park. Head northwest 6.0 miles on RT-10/RT-29A toward E Shore Road West Caroga, at the RT-10/RT-29A divide at the Pine Lake Lodge continue to follow RT-10 to the right. Parking and the trail head is about 7 miles up on the left. window.google_render_ad();

Saw Mill

Well Gang , 1st off........., Happy Administrative Assistants Day !

Dan the Amish wood worker, the logger, the guy who cleared our pasture last year has our wood planking that is going on the bedroom walls and floor ,nearly ready It's rough cut planks 3/4 of an inch thick by 8 inch for the walls and ceiling , 10 inch for the floor. Dan called last night from his neighbor who is not Amish to ask that I come down to his saw mill and start picking up the planking as it needs to be stacked and stored here to dry for a while and that since warm weather is coming this week , near the 80's it needs to be soon. If it's not stacked properly it will turn colors or blacken. I sorta know what he's talkin about. Stacked level by level with cross members so that air can flow across each board and dry.

We gave him the lumber / trees that had been standing on our land.......now I'm buying back lumber from him. The weather report for this weekend and most of next week will be in the mid 80's here in the North Country, for me that means spring is over and time to fire up the central A.C. unit.

I think Jen will be standing in front of the thermostat if I get thinking about cranking up the A.C. so soon with a Pizza Peel.

PIZZA PEEL for those of you who dont know!! ( sorta looks like the Board Of Education that I grew up with at Home...Whata think?)

Any how that's today's list of jobs, I'm sure it will take a few trips to and from Dan's mill. The sun is trying to peek thru today, they expect it's going to be 62 .Oh....Just remembered , Yesterday It appears that it was Dave's last day of tapping trees for sap as I helped him remove a few lines yesterday, think he still has some sap to boil off but thats it for the year. We tried to boil what we got from our trees....4-5 gals of sap. No luck getting it to boil outside on the side tray of the Bar-b-q. Dave does have a few more line in the woods to clean up next week and looks like I will be giving him some help making those ready for the summer.

I now have about a Gal. of Maple Syrup in cabinets which should last until company arrives.

Amish Hickory Wood Rocker for the front porch, after its completed.

Two Rockers, table and front porch swing... By the way thats the studio that the rockers are in, and at some point where Jen will be Spinning Fiber.....Soon, as soon as I get to it!!!!

The New Garden , waiting for planting.

Can you find the bird?

Til next Time Gang......, Jerry

Administrative Professionals Day

Congratulations all you hard working unsung heroes of the office world. You deserve a banquet. Pat yourself on the back, it's likely to be the only pat you'll get. We had few obligations yesterday, and accomplished great things here in the north wing. Jerry installed beautiful rustic molding on the doorways, and we're almost ready for a paint treatment. Or wallpaper. I'm not sure yet. Living with it for awhile. That always helps. I had a theater meeting last night, and the group is quick thinking and motivated. I love being a part of it. I'm hoping to get some studio space soon and start up with the tap dancing. It's time. Now that we're "working out" at the Y, I feel like dancing is not far behind. Here's a link you may enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOoNOs8Ql28

Kind of makes you want to strap on those tap shoes doesn't it? That's where i'm at today. Move it! Move it! Breezy Point here we come!

Y.M.C.A.

As Jerry said, It's raining again. I am quite disappointed in the growth of the pasture, and do feel that it needs to be seeded again. It is still early in the spring, and this rain will help towards growth as well, but it is still spotty in places, and I'd like to get it filled in BEFORE we have grazing animals. Apparently, this is the week to do it. We have been busy and now that we are members of the YMCA we will be even busier. This is a good thing. Anything that gets us out of the house and exercising is GREAT! The facility is amazing and I am thrilled to be a member. I have been attempting to get out there and walking to build up my stamina, and the weather is a deterrent for me quite often. Especially in spring, when the scenery is beautiful but the temperature is cold. The elliptical has MP3 headphone hookups and five TVs are running simultaneously with different channel choices. This will help me tremendously. If I can watch another episode of Trading Spaces while walking, I know I will keep up. Speaking of Trading Spaces, anyone who knows the Rowlands knows that re-arranging the furniture is a family trait. I am guilty of this and have been known to rearrange furniture in a travel trailer. Yes, it's possible. I am a firm believer that spring cleaning requires room placement changes. It's not really clean until you have moved its position. Jerry is not a fan of this trait, but his usual cooperative self always gives me a hand when I need it. We did get some cleaning done in the Living Room, and since we are awaiting the installation of two large picture windows, the living room has suffered in the decorating department. Just changing the furniture placement allows me to have some progress, even if it is not decorative. After that, we moved on to the Y, where I managed to get in a mile or so. Baby steps. Between the hot tub, the steam room and the sauna, I felt like a million bucks. Normally after a furniture rearrangement episode I am hobbling, but this time, I was rocking! A little tylenol and I was good to go. I awoke this morning and gingerly placed my feet on the floor - no pain! This whole membership thing might work for us. Socially, it works for me. I met a few people there that I already know - apparently the Y is a hangout for quite a few people. I like this. People who are into exercising and having fun. There is a raquetball court there. I think Jerry an I need to sign up for some good old competitive fun. We all know how uncompetitive we both are. (Side bets will be taken at rufflestuff@aol.com ) Ain't spring grand?

Rain !

Well gang Where we live it's been raining , minor amounts yesterday and heavy over night. They say it will continue thru a good part of the day today. So again we will be doing inside work. That's kinda good cause the inside work needs to be done and who wants to do it on a sunny day? Yesterday afternoon after picking up Ali from school we drove over to the new YMCA in Johnstown which we had joined. Jen and Ali did a work out on the machines , I headed to the pool and the hot tub. I did not need any work out after hanging trim here in the house, Up & Down to the basement making cuts. The hot tub is just over 100 degrees and good at easing that sore back, on the other hand I'm not good sitting for very long in one place, hot tub or not. The pool is about 82 but feels like 32 after getting out of the hot tub. I made it in after much hesitation, inch by inch. Well made it in and swam up and back a couple times.......now I'm back to,,, what to do , just like in the hot tub... No one to talk to besides the teen age pimply faced life guard and a mother in the pool with he toddler who I'm pretty sure is not wearing a diaper...so I'm keeping my distance. As Jen will tell ya.........I can talk to anyone, Jen often stops me from starting up conversations. The check out girl at the supermarket or some one just standing around is not safe from my inquires , just no real targets. Any how Jen ended up coming in and we did the hot tub thing together, then the pool. After a couple hours the three of us had enough and headed home , to find the Crock pot filling the kitchen with hunger making aroma's. Still being early when we arrived home we decided to put off the ready made dinner and caught up on a couple episodes of HBO'S series ,"IN TREATMENT". The rest of the of the night was slow, a couple Tylenols for Jen & I then off to bed to listen to rain pounding off of the bedroom metal roof. More inside work today, maybe off to the Amish to pick up our Hickory rockers and some fresh eggs. We will see. This weekend is reported to be the best so far this year, a lot of summer friends coming up for the first time since Labor Day Til Next time Gang........Jerry

Yankees Game & Bike Riding

Well Gang I'm here with my coffee watching the Yankees 2ND home game on YES NETWORK, An Encore game. I wanted to catch the 1st game the other day but missed it as I was putting in the garden... It's bottom of the 8Th, 6- 5 Yankees, anyone want to bet? LOL Missed the 2ND game too cause we did some outside fun stuff , Bike riding yesterday. The bikes had been in the garage since last summer and of course they both needed AIR in the tires. I Loaded them into the pickup down to the gas station for air. Got that done and returned back up the mountain to the house. After un loading them I found the bike rack which was buried inside of the garage, hiding under some boxes and under some other boxes.... How does the stuff you are looking for always end at the bottom of the pile? Helmets......I know we have helmets here some place in the garage.....I know they are not under the pile that I just found the rack in soooooo that leaves only a few more spots in this FOUR CAR GARAGE. I gave up after 10 Min's more of searching and remembered that one of them is in the back of Jen's car cause Ali used it for horse back riding last summer-fall and now I recall that Jen only picked up one the day she bought the bikes.. After finding the bike rack it's time to install this octopus of straps onto the back of Jen's Jeep. I know that it was on her car last year when Jen and Ali bought them and brought them home from Walmart. I'm pretty sure that I was the one who took it off the Jeep at some point last summer and you would think that the straps are somewhat adjusted near where they need to be. You would think that I took a mental picture of how this contraption mounted to the rear hatch and that it would filter out of my Brain an into my hands as I struggled with this octopus. No such luck at first.......I did some spinning of it....Is this the top? Is this the Bottom? Round and round it went until like magic it seemed to fall into place. Well after lifting these up to the rack and after some minor brake and seat adjustments we are ready to set out for some fun! I got dressed in some old work clothes from the C.O.P.E Unit and we headed out As Jen said earlier in her post.....We headed down to the cottage near the lake for some biking. After wrestling the bikes off this bike rack we realised that the rack was not really on how it should be so again we took it off and did some spinning and re-strapping and found what appeared to be "The Right Way!" Thanks Jen , We as a team got it! These are" mountain bikes seats", my butt is more like a "Recliner seat" and after the first landing as we jumped on the bikes heading down the road to the lake, Jen and I realized that that if we don't fall we are still going to come out of this adventure with something hurting....Our Butts. I notice Jen's a little Lighter on her feet and not really using the seat , you know she's a dancer and sort of floats while peddling. After not very far we end up on a more busy road and riding single file , Jen out front leading the way. My bike starts to act up, Brakes rubbing and stop. I give Jen a Little yell...HEY.....HEY, but she is making a "brake for it " and heading for town leaving this BoZo in the dust. I don't think she even knew I stopped and she disappeared off into the distance down the road. I started to work on the bike....had it upside down on the side of the road and working on that rear tire brake.. every once in a while I would look up and she her still riding down hill getting smaller and smaller. Out of the Blue I hear a "GUN SHOT!".....BANG!!!!!! Just one and it looks like they missed cause I'm not seeing any blood or having any pain. It was very close though.....very close. Is this it?......Over 27 years in law enforcement and I'm going to get whacked on the side of the road while retired. As I'm kinda looking around looking for a leak in my body....people are coming out of their cabins and looking at me cause they heard the shot too! I look down the road towards Jen and she heard it too and decides she coming back, that she heard. Well it's the rear bike tire that blew and no new ventilation inside of me. One of the guys coming out of his cabin laughing yells over to me......"A Walmart bike ?" ya need a new tube...it happened to me too. Jen got back up the hill to me and we headed back to the cottage after some discussion about the gun shot and a few minor chuckles. A short walk back ,then off to the bike shop and for $12.00 the tire fix, good as new. As Jen stated we did stop for lunch and a beer, No leaks coming out of my body. Later while out and about we landed at the Ice cream stand and it was great. Time to go, Yankees won while I was typing so if I owe money to anyone let me know!! I have not seen the 1st game....anyone want to bet? Til next Time Gang........Jerry

Bicycles

I am quite amazed that after a successful day of bike riding, I am not quite as sore as I expected. We did have a few mishaps, but all in all, it was a beautiful and sunny day, which we thoroughly enjoyed together. After strapping the bikes onto the back of the jeep, we drove up to the cottage and started to bike ride around the lake roads, as they are somewhat flatter and less demanding. About midway into town, Jerry's brakes locked onto the wheel. As he was puttering with it on the side of the road, I continued happily along, carrying on a conversation with him, and commenting on the scenery and houses that we were passing. It wasn't until I was ready to turn off the main road onto a side street that I turned behind me and saw. . . no one. He had actually stopped a good 1/2 - 3/4 mile back, and was working on his bike. I turned my bike around and was headed back to him and heard a big "BOOM". Sort of like a gunshot, although I have never actually heard a gun shot, except in the movies. Oh wait, that's not true. Skeet shooting. Hunting. Duh. Anyway, it was a gunshot like sound, I just didn't expect to hear it right there. It was his tire. So, the bike ride being over, we walked back to our car, meeting a few neighbors along the way. All of them were working on their yard, which gave us the idea to maybe do that too. After loading up the bikes, We stopped for lunch at Vrooman's Hotel, which as I've mentioned before, is not a hotel, but a restaurant. We both wolfed down our meal, because bike riding is serious exercise. I was starving! We took off to Johnstown to have the tire repaired and started out in search of compost/manure, because that is all we can do yet, here in Zone 8. We went to Montgomery County Water and Agriculture Department, and found out that they will have compost NEXT week, when the blueberry bushes come in. That makes sense, so we marked off our calendar for next week's blueberry pickup and headed home. Passing by Udderly Delicious, the roadside ice cream store, we of course had to stop. I don't know what it is up here in the Adirondacks, but when you order a small ice cream, they hand you a half gallon loaded onto a cone. It's like that everywhere! And all for $2. It's crazy. Crazy good though. I never turn it down. All the while saying "I'll never finish this, I'll never finish this", I of course finished it. So, let's retrace. For about 1-2 miles of questionable exercise, I consumed about 2000 calories. Never can get that balance right. It was great fun though. We came home and gave Allison HER ice cream, which was greatly appreciated. She is on vacation this week, and taking it VERY easy. Today, we will give the YMCA a shot. I hear they have a pool. We will have to try and work off that ice cream.

More on spring

Good morning. It actually IS good. I'm feeling remarkably better today, although I am almost afraid to step off the porch. We are expecting beautiful weather today, which means I think it is time we get some entertainment in. Jerry has been working like a dog on the garden, and his efforts are paying off. It is beautiful. I am chomping at the bit just waiting to get my hands in that dirt! I do think we need to check into fertilizer, wherever that may come from. Hello Noah! He will know. We are reading in the Almanac that we are Zone 8, which means no real planting until May (really closer to June). So fertilizing and composting is going to become our garden activity for these cooler months where spring is just peeking out. It still gets down to the 20s and 30s at night, and we're still wearing flannels and wool socks to bed (at least I am, thermal man is much more comfortable in this type of weather-he'll be freaking out when it gets up to my temperature comfort zone - 70s, 80s and 90s-Ooooh baby!) We are happily moving towards spring, no matter what we can plant. As we speak, Jerry is taking the bicycles down to the station to put air in the tires. We are taking off on the Fulton Rail-Trail - the old Route of the Gloversville-Johnstown Railroad. It was paved over years ago and is now a walking-biking trail for the residents. We have been anxious to get down there and take a ride-although the whole route is about 12 miles long (all the way to Fonda), we will do it in fits and starts. Pictures will follow - Happy Spring!

The Garden Almost Ready for Plants

Well Gang.. We worked hard today, Picked up some fence for the Garden down at Agway supply. We used metal posts that I had left from the Bee yard. Our 17 ft X 32 ft garden all fenced in , Just need a gate. I'll try and get a picture up soon. We stopped at Agway and Tractor Supply and it must be spring ........cause all the baby chicks and ducklings are at the store... Jen's eyes started to get glazed over and ready to take some home. I think we are going to hold out for some baby turkeys . We will see. The other day we stopped at the Hickory Rocker place (Amish, You recall, where Eli lives....) We paid for the rockers but due to driving down to the island we left them there after paying for them.... They are lovely and I think just what Jen wanted. You seen them in her past posts. Back to the garden , we are trying to figure what we can plant now as the weather is still cool over night, near freezing. Jen told me today that she wants to get involved in the Bees this year , helping in the bee yard, she needs a entire bee suit for it to work for her. We stopped over to the Bee yard and of the 5 that I wintered over 3 died, 2 seem to have made it and flying all over today in this warmer weather. We have little yellow flowers that have bloomed very close to the ground along side of the roads and I think that they are working them. Those of you who have seen the Garage be glad to know that I have started cleaning that out. Some Crap from when we moved in and ALOT of stuff we moved here. Three loads so far to the dump and counting. Jen's been a trooper and getting better, she has been doing some ride alongs but still in pain and her Black and Blues look more greenish now. Some people wonder, How Do We Know If Jen's Posting or out in the Pasture? She's here , cause when I post It's Like a chicken tapping on the key board . Or It could be me doing both.......Hers and Mine!! You never know!!!! Til Next time Gang....Jerry I do make myself laugh

Must be getting old!

Well gang..... I must be getting old....after Roto Tilling the garden yesterday my back and arms are killing me. Never used a Roto Tiller before but it always looked easy to use on TV! Well it's like trying to hold back a team of horses pulling forward... if you don't hold it back it wont dig in, it will just ride along on top of the soil. So you gotta hold back... my fore arms this morning feel like the Hulks . It's in and I getting reports on what type of cold weather plants you can put in now. The sun is shining here and temps are going to get into the 60's. Gotta get going , some chores to be done before Yankees opening day festivities at Noon , Time to go , I'm not going to respond to the Negative , Hope ya feel better soon. Til next time Gang ...............Jerry

NYQUIL-my new BFF

Well, sort of. I feel like one large germ, but little by little i'm getting back on my feet. Yesterday I spent moving my sore and tired body from the living room (catch up shows of "In Treatment") to the bedroom, where I took a few Nyquil and called it a day at 3 PM. It's a tough road here to be sick, because Jerry bounces back much quicker then I do, and then proceeds to be full of energy and "let's get caught up here - too much time laying around" to the point where I would like to whack him with the pizza peel, if I only had enough energy. When I get sick, I like to BE sick until I am not sick anymore. This requires nerves of steel around here, because when Jerry is sick, he continues to attempt to do things, not well, but making the effort. This just means that those of us who are not sick (at that time) are going to be coming in contact with his germs, undoing those things which he has done poorly, or explaining to him that he should be getting lots of rest and lots of liquids. He does none of these, and falls back into bed wondering why he does not feel better. AAArrrrrggh. When I am sick, I AM SICK. I have no intention of trying to half-heartedly step up to the plate and get things sort of done. I cancel, quit and drop out like nobodys business. I wallow in it. What can I say, it works for me. At this moment, Jerry is vacuuming the living room, which by the way, is where the computer is. Under my feet and around the desk. Just in case I hadn't noticed. He's a great guy. A bit of a clean freak, but a great guy. Yesterday he called me out to the north side of the property to decide where our vegetable garden was going to be, so he could rototill it. We both stated our case, which was as always, a different case, and then proceeded to mark it and measure it differently. We are operating here with left brain/right brain tendencies. Instead of that making a complete brain, it makes for constant arguing and disagreement as to what we are seeing. We ultimately got it done, but not without much head shaking and bewilderment. He did a bangup job, and soon we will have a vegetable garden to rival that of any amish farmer. Just as soon as I can get out of bed, I will give him a hand.

Sure been Quiet here on the Blog !

Morning gang..... it's been very quiet on the Blog because we as a family have been too busy and Ali's on vacation from school, very had to get near our family computer. Seems in the last couple of weeks we have been down to Long Island more then we are here in the North Country. We had Nicole's Wedding , and last weekend was a combined visit for Ali with her Dad, Easter with my Brother In law, Clint & Joanne. Thanks Guys for opening up you house to our clan...Joanne hosted about 15 of us I think in total for Easter dinner. Jen & I did Easter Mass at her Families Church ( Church of her Parents and Aunt and Uncles ) which is Dutch Reformed In Manhasset , NY. Very Nice church and it was Good to see some family. After church they had a Easter egg Hunt for all the kids on the church grounds. Doors of the church burst open and the front lawn and Cemetery flooded with children hunting the elusive bunny egg. The Bunny Now lays Plastic eggs fill with chocolate......, Hope Ya Know. I Helped Joanne with Easter dinner and whipped up a Lasagna, She made everything else that complimented her tasty ham. Thanks again! We returned home on Monday afternoon , Picked up our three dogs from the kennel and Headed to an early bed time as we have not recovered from the past two weekends. Spring temperatures have arrived here in the Adirondacks , at least our southern part of it in Caroga Lake. Our Grass in some spots have turned green and other shaded spots still have snow. Temps in the upper 50's and hitting (They say) about 61, we have sunny sky's and Long Island it is raining. We are doing as all of us do in spring time getting the yard cleaned up, Raking and putting out garbage from the yard. I'm thinking today we are going to lay in the new food garden with our borrowed Roto Tiller. We will see how long I last as I seem to take on too much. The Pasture has also started to take on a green look and we will wait and see if all the seed we put down took . The power companies tree trimming trucks have been working down the road trimming back branches to help keep the power on . Speaking to the neighbors , very mixed feelings about tree trimming, Property owners have very strong opions about their trees. I'll leave it at that and hope that by the time the job is completed no one gets hurt. Stopped by Dave's house and he has been getting what appears to be a good flow of sap in the last few days...scored some Maple Syrup. Thanks Dave...heard Fred was up doing some boiling for Dave as the flow that good. ( Fred maker of wood burning wood stove). Well Gang thats all thats all to report of Substance or No Substance. Time to get to our retired Butts to work, You know , raking, hitting the dump, turning over the garden, walking the dogs and attempting to keep the tree trimming guys from gettin hurt. Till next time Gang..........Jerry (I'm sure Jen will post soon and give ya somthing other then this chicken tapping at a key board)

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! Have a wonderful and blessed day!

What can I Say ????

Well Gang a lot of time has passed since my last post , But I see that Jen Has been keeping you up to date with the goings on here and down on Long Island...."Sooo What can I say??" The most important thing was my Daughters Wedding last Sunday, You have seen all of the pictures, Read Jen's Blog about it. Congratulations Nicole & Mike!... That wedding in one swoop made us Grandparents to Paton, Mike's 5 year old daughter......She is the flower girl in the pictures. Jen and I met the Grooms side of the family at the Rehearsal Dinner Friday night at "Legal Seafood" Every detail of the weekend and wedding as planned by Nicole and Mike where flawless . Nicole made a Beautiful Bride, and I know Michael will treat her only as she deserves, The Best! " Soo What Can I Say?" We had a Great Time! As Jen said "It's like we are Living in a Snow Globe here in Caroga Lake the last few days. Somebody has been shaking it and it has been snowing here the last few days. " Soo What can I Say?" That's Living here in the Adirondacks. We found a very nice kennel for the dogs when we go away...Sort of like a doggie over night camp that they seem to love, they even came home with pictures taken of them, playing and being hugged by the kennel staff while we visited down state for the wedding. The owner, a former Long Islander before she did 23 years "On the Job" in Fla , Now retired here in the North Country " Soo What Can I say?" They loved It! MY BRIDE , JEN .......On Monday Night after we returned home and unpacking the car walked over to our overflowing roadside Mail Box and picked out all the mail. While reading and walking up the front porch stairs..........Jen Fell up!..... That right Fell Up! I did not see it happen.... I Did not hear it happen. I did see her picking herself up and PAIN was written all over her face. Jen's count is that she hit about 5 times on the Stairs ( Those long time readers will remember the ramp!) Well here it is Thursday late afternoon and she is Black & Blue up her whole left side "SOOO,,,, I'm Not going to say it!" I'm not sure if she has turned the corner yet on the pain, seems every day it's gettin worse. I believe some ribs bruised too, I seem lately to be doing a lot of bumping into her at night in bed which is causing her to yell out, waking us both up... Feel better Jen. On another Note.... Dan , The Bee Guy. His Dad , George was in the Hospital doing Battle with cancer for a very long time. George loved to do his Gardening with his wife, a 2 acre garden that fed six other families, loved to fish and was retired from the railroad, trains that hauled freight here upstate....You know those very long trains which seemed to be pulling a million cars....those type of trains. Friday , April 3rd..... George lost his Battle with cancer. http://www.legacy.com/DAILYGAZETTE/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonId=125801268 I only met George and Dan's mom a few times before George left us on Friday but I liked him very much after our very first meeting. Helene , George's wife and Dan's mom is a HOOT and You would like her too. "Sooo what can I say?" George , we are going to miss you! I'm sure I left out a lot of the happenings since my last post but it's time for me to go as I'm a little Misty after thinking about George's passing. To all of the Kids, it was nice to see you over the weekend... "Soo what Can I say? "We miss you and love you, Dad. Til Next time gang.......Jerry

I feel like we live in a snow globe and someone keeps shaking us! More snow! Yesterday, the sander came by - he was driving the street cleaner last week! WTF?

Whew! I don't bounce back the way I used to, no pun intended, because bouncing is my problem. After having bounced off the porch steps, I look like a bruised banana, and each bruise is accompanied by serious ouches. Trust me, I hurt. I'm still looking at all the wedding pictures with a smile on my face. I was looking forward to a little down time, but Easter is upon us already. How did I hold down a full time job? I have no time for that now! We are busy socializing and recuperating from our socializing. I slept in a little late this morning, just because I could, and woke to a message from Jerry that he is off to the log guy for more window mouldings. He is a busy guy. Jerry I mean, not the moulding guy. I don't know if he's busy or not. But these mouldings should finish off the first floor. I have been procrastinating about the permits for the livestock, because we have been so busy and I want to be able to have a full-blown wallowing-in-it breakdown if they tell us no, so I needed to book that meeting when there is nothing else happening. That has not occurred yet. I'm looking at May as a better option. We will think on that some more. . .

Anyway, I said I'd share more pictures, so, here they are:

I'm still trying to find a picture of Jerry and I together because I'm sure one is out there, but we were both sharing the same camera and so. . . these things happen.