Bear!

Yesterday we were driving along a nearby road when we spotted a large black bear tipping over a garbage can.  We rolled up the windows so Finn couldn't jump out and chase, and turned back for a closer look. We found a momma and two cubs just in the woods off the road.  The cubs fooled about while their mom watched us carefully.  Amazing!

Then this morning on our own road we encountered a big male black bear lumbering across the road and into the woods.  Again we were in the car.  And both times we were without a camera. Dang.  Here's someone else's photo:

A weekend in May

Thanks Mom and Dad/ Mary and Bob for the seeds.  They are already popping up!

Brand new maple leaves.

BBQ-ing our dinner. Pork chops from our local Deutsche metzgerei (The Smokehouse of the Catskills). 

Hickory tree.  They are rare these days in America because they were nearly all harvested for tools and furniture over the centuries.

Morning aloft.

Working on another cord.

To the right is the cord we cut last year.  It is made almost entirely of maple that had fallen last winter (2010).  It will be great fuel next winter! To the left is a mix of oak and ash that fell during Hurricane Irene.

Sunning spider awaiting a meal.

Making a carpenter bee trap. We learned it from a local captenter and bee keeper who has been doing restoration work on our cabin. Tom Colucci's his name. Carpenter bees seek out dry exposed wood to bore a perfect 3/8 inch hole in, nest, and then pack with protective wax.  Three months later a new carpenter bee emerges.  To avoid using pesticides we drilled the same 3/8 inch holes into blocks of  pine and hung them under the eaves where the bees insist on boring. Tom told us to line each hole with paper so that once bees nest you can pull the paper out and toss it. We are going to go with out paper and just scoop out larvae out ourselves.

Growing things

Thanks, Mom and Dad/ Mary and Bob, for sending us seeds to grow. The flowers are planted in an area just off our deck, and the basil is in a big pot in the sun.  We are looking forward to seeing what sprouts and will post pictures!

Barred Owl!

We were puttering around on our deck when, out of the corner of my eye, something moved out on a tree branch about 30 feet away. I turned and my eyes registered a stunning sight. Looking right back at me on a branch that was eye level was a large barred owl. I pointed to where it was perched, but it took Sandy quite a few moments to locate him. In fact, if he hadn't moved his wing, I wouldn't have seen him either. We stood in amazement as the owl stared back, then turned his head in the opposite direction and back. Owls are beautiful and startling figures. Finn never saw him, or heard him, even when he took to flight across our drive and into the woods. Even at take-off he produced no sound.  His wingspan was approximately four feet.

Alas, we were without a camera.  But here are a few photos I heisted from the Internet.

We had a wonderfully quiet Saturday, which was much deserved after a hard week at both our jobs. 

Post 1st Annual Lumberjack Challenge feast

The 1st Annual Lumberjack Challenge was followed by the necessary eating, drinking, and back-slapping fellowship.

Caroline is alarmingly hungry.

Skirt steak, burgers, Rachel's grandmother's potato salad, and Sandy's macaroni and cheese!

Jonas looks like his dad when he's tired.

 Mark has eaten and drunk exactly the right amount.

1st Annual Lumberjack Challenge

This past weekend marked the first Lumberjack Challenge. 

They may not look like much, but it was an impressive demonstration of forestry prowess.

Here are the scores:

Carpenter Bee Catch and Kill

Mike     3

Mark     3

Persh    3

Caroline 3

Sandy   1

Jess     0

Rachel  0

Yvette   0

Jonas    0

Hatchet/Axe Throwing (into a dead tree)

Mike     1

Mark     1

Persh    1

Caroline 1

Sandy   0

Jess     2

Rachel  1

Yvette   0

Jonas    5

Oak Tree Chopping (a dead tree)

Mike     3

Mark     2

Persh    2

Caroline 2

Sandy   2

Jess     1

Rachel  2

Yvette   -1

Jonas    2

Log Splitting

Mike     2

Mark     3

Persh    3

Caroline 2

Sandy   0

Jess     2

Rachel  0

Yvette   0

Jonas    3

Potato Salad Making

Mike     0

Mark     0

Persh    0

Caroline 0

Sandy   0

Jess     0

Rachel  3

Yvette   1

Jonas    0

Use of Proper Lumberjack Challenge Footwear

Mike     2

Mark     1

Persh    1

Caroline 2

Sandy   2

Jess     1

Rachel  3

Yvette   -2

Jonas    3

Final Results

Mike      11

Mark      10

Persh     10

Caroline 10

Sandy    5

Jess       6

Rachel    9

Yvette    -2

Jonas     13

So the winner is Jonas with that decisive axe throw!

Thanks for the music Levon

Levon Helm, formerly of the Band, died last week. He was a great drummer, vocalist and neighbor to us. We left him and his family a small token of our appreciation--some wild flowers from our yard in an old rusty light fixture. Lots of other gifts from people's gardens and hand made signs decorate his driveway. He will be sorely missed.

Indian Head Mountain hike

It was a beautiful April day so we decided to go for a hike up toward Indian Head Mountain. The trailhead is a few miles from our cabin. We hadn't been on this trail before, so we were delighted by all the views, small waterfalls, and a couple of great surprises (see below).

Finn knows how to get in the shot.

Normally there would be a lot more snow melt rushing through here, but this winter brought record lows in snowfall and record highs in temperature. That made for a nice peaceful few minutes at this stop.

Here is the last of the snow.

Then we encountered evidence of beaver. He quit on this tree because it's a hard-as-nails cedar tree.

But here is some very impressive evidence! This is the most amazing dam we have ever seen.

Here it is from below.

We also came upon remnants of a blue stone quarry that has been made into remarkable art.

First, we found a few walls and chairs for relaxing in the sun while taking in the mountain views.

Then there was this.

King Mike's throne!

Finn's favorite place in the world

He is very passionate about the car and wishes we lived in it.

Hike to Overlook Mountain Fire Tower

The weekend weather was a perfect sunny 68 degrees, so we ventured out for a hike. We chose a trail that leads up nearby Overlook Mountain to a fire tower at its peak. On the way we passed the ruins of one of the Catskill's old grand lodges, the Overlook Mountain House. Amazing.

This a the view from the top. The haze left from the morning fog never quite lifted from the valleys, but it made for beautiful views.

Looking southwest. To the left you can see parts of the Ashokan Reservoir.

The fire tower, which is rickety, but open and still operable.

Hotel ruins.

The main lodge. Sandy and Finn are checking us in.

Back at the cabin, we have a new pile to burn in our outdoor fire pit. It's mostly refuse from Hurricane Irene.

The Ashokan

We discovered a new place just beyond the Ashokan Reservoir called the Ashokan Center. The reservoir is very important to us because of its natural beauty, and it is the very water that feeds New York City.

We discovered the Ashokan Center when we followed their signs to their annual Maple Fest last weekend. It was great watching them collect sap as it ran down lines into the sugar shack from dozens of maples in their forest. In the sugar shack they boil it down to make their syrup. Everything smelled so good! We also saw a more old-timey method of boiling sap over an open wood fire. We have dozens of maples on our property and are thinking about tapping them ourselves.

We also saw demonstrations on blacksmithing, tinsmithing, and broom making. There was also the pancake breakfast with lots of maple syrup and maple cookies. A perfect breakfast.

Finally, we got a guided tour of the Center's new facilities, which should be up and running some time this summer. The new buildings are beautiful and seem very well thought out. Super-efficient and lots of reclaimed materials. Possibly Mike's school will have trips or retreats out there some time.

Meanwhile, it's quiet back at the cabin. Almost time to come out of winter's hibernation and start planning the next phase of restorations of our own!

A little winter, a little late

We had only two snowfalls worth mentioning this year and record high temperatures. February was the warmest in recorded history for the region. It has been much easier and cheaper to keep up the cabin this year.

But we miss the multiple feet of snow. Here is three inches that fell last Friday. It's beautiful!

Walking in our woods.

Hiking up at North Lake (where there is more snow). They don't plow the roads so we walked on the quiet park roads for hours. Finn is a good listener, so if there is no traffic he can be off-leash. He had a great day smelling deer tracks and running through the snow.

Turning into mountain people.

"Man's best friend"?

She makes another sweater

January quiet

Well, here it is. It proved to be very difficult to etch into this rock because neither the rock's surface nor my motor skills are smooth enough. "Boy" is especially fat and cock-eyed, but that's very much like his personality.

Jar, thanks for the advice. The "paw" at the bottom (best I can do) is so that future generations know they are small animals. It sort of looks like an excited cat, no?

Here's the culprit, one of my favorite tools. It's a variable speed rotary tool that can do almost anything if you spend the money on the bits. The one I used on the memorial stone is a small diamond bit.

Quiz: which one is happier with the others?

Finn will learn anything and do it in less than three tries. He jumped three of these logs and ran across a board on the first go, and loved the task... and the treat that followed.