Skaneatles, NY

Hi Dear Folk,

Saturday we spent with The Boy.  In the morning we went shopping at Wegman's because Rob wanted to make pulled pork for sandwiches and I had just brought up a spare crock pot for him.  We do not have a Wegman's right in our area so hardly ever go there, it's rather upscale although fun and lots to see.  I said it's very well that mum and dad shop at Shoprite and Aldi's and here the college kid is shopping at Wegman's and is totally hooked, such a yuppie. 

Of course a trip up there must include a visit to Doug's Fish House.  It's about an hours drive to Skaneateles from Ithaca.  Skaneateles sits on the Lake, same name.  Rob does not have a car so doesn't get out to surrounding areas too much.

Here are the boys tucking in. One sandwich is literally four pieces of fish and at $6.50 I think it is a pretty good deal.

There is always a doggy bag, here are the boys with theirs.

I didn't honestly see the writing on this little drive way until I was going through my photos, GO BACK, NOW BACK GO, PRIVATE

I had just bought that lovely old woven bag, unfortunately before I got it home the handle broke.  I bought it in an antique warehouse mall.  I love it but being old it was probably somewhat dried out, I will have to try and repair it somehow.  I like the green woven into the handle as well as the bag.

What do you think of my crazy earrings which I bought in Little Havana, Miami?  Hand made by dear older gentleman.  I do not know why I didn't buy more as gifts because they were so reasonably priced.

Towards the end of the afternoon Rob got a call, could he pick up an evening shift so we left to get him back on time.

Christy
 

Lake Beebe, Ithaca, NY

Hi Dear Folk,

Following the trail back to Lake Beebe.

I took lots of photos of the roots on this tree, they have wrapped themselves around these rocks, undaunted by obstacles in their root path.

Ambling along beside the lake, we pass many wild flowers.

The lake empties into a weir system and then back down through more gorges.

This is as far as we went as we still have to walk back to the SUV.

Christy

Beebe Trail, Ithaca, NY

Hi Dear Folk,

Going back in time, wouldn't it be great if we could go back in time, insert something that was missing and then move on. Well that is what I am going to do with the following posts.  May has been so busy and I wanted to get all these posted in May.

After driving around Cornell University Campus we decided to look for a nice walk and came across this the gorge area leading into Beebe Lake.  Cornell owns a lot of real estate including some wonderful walking areas, so come with me on a little walk up the gorge and then down to the lake.

Across the bridge, Cornell has a lot of alumni and donations as seen here.

View from the bridge.

A couple of guys in their kayaks.

It is very much an Ithaca tradition to jump off certain rocks into the gorges and swim.  I can say it does look most appealing and I did the same thing as a youngster, but it can be quite dangerous, so you really have to know where to jump, most of it is all signed not to.  Here are some youngsters enjoying themselves, be careful.

Walking back again to the bridge and down to the Lake Beebe.

It was a hot afternoon but you feel the coolness of the water and spray wafting up in the breeze.  What a lovely afternoon walk.

Christy

Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

Hi Dear Folk,

Life seems to have been so busy, any free time I have spent in the garden on getting things planted and a million other things.  I just love to get out there after work.  Lots of digging up and rearranging, moving things around.  Flowering plants come and go so quickly this time of year if you don't get out in the garden you've missed the flowers blooming.  My peonies are looking exceptionally nice this year, as we have hardly had any rain, which is death to peonies as they are heavy and the rain drops bow their heads into the dirt.  On the other hand we could do with some rain.  Actually today is in the fifties so quite cool, moving on to our Ithaca trip.

The Boy was busy all day Friday, he had a funding meeting and a dinner to attend.  We did get together with him late in the afternoon.  So decided to take a tour of Cornell and a walk.  If you've ever been to a college campus they are a nightmare to park at.  I wanted to visit their Library and Art Museum, but we found out it was actually nearer to walk from our Hotel than to try and park on campus, so we gave that idea up.  Here are some of the shots that we took while driving around.

Cornell University was established in 1853 see here.  Ithaca College was established in 1892 see here

Isn't that a lovely view.  Behind us is the bell tower from which they have a webcam, so can get to see what the weather is like and the changing seasonal view.

We enjoyed looking at all the older buildings and some very modern.  Ithaca College is all modern as it was relocated in the early sixties from the down town area to high on the hill, with a view of Lake Cayuga, where it is today.

The road goes under this cantilever building and up to Cornell Plantation area.  We found two lovely ladies who suggested a place to park, and we were able to walk to Beebe Lake and along one of the many Gorges in Ithaca. 

The old building to the left I believe is one of the original science labs on Cornell Campus. 

As you can see we had wonderful weather, will post more.

Christy

 

Pots On The Patio

Hi Dear Folk,

The beauty of the blossoms this year has been spectacular, I think it's because it has been continuously cold and therefore have not started blooming before their time, maybe a bumper fruit harvest.

My little red pump that sat on this water barrel fell apart after sitting out this last winter and could not be resurrected.  So Mr. B. bought me a frog instead, but he needs to be connected up.

Most of the pots below were in my little greenhouse but I took them out before taking photos.  Some seeds will need to be separated, but it is such a thrill to see them come up, even some packs of seeds that are several years old. 

Mr. B. recently donated another pair of work boots to my collection, so need to put some dirt in them and plant some cats and kittens.

The Mammoth sunflowers are coming up a treat.

The California poppy are looking a little spindly but they will come on.

Cucumbers are striding away, I hope to pickle them.

My new neighbours chopped down three spruce trees, which were strategically placed for me, as they gave me wonderful privacy on my Simla Patio and now I can see all the way down the street, so I'm going to have to research garden privacy screens as I have no room on my side to plant trees.

Trees make a big impact on the landscape.  There was a big tree on the way to work, can't say I ever took particular note of it, until one day I came to the brow of the hill and stopped at the traffic light and thought what's different with this view, and then I realized someone had chopped down a very large tree.  No wonder Mr. B. has procrastinated on having the ash tree cut down.  I did phone someone but they never got back to me, so back to the drawing board.  This year the whole crown is dead, so it is definitely time.

Going to my friends house tonight to pick up some vege plants, he always starts lots.  I should have been over at least two weeks ago, but time escaped me.  Definitely tonight.  Hope it's a nice day tomorrow for planting.  This morning I was up early and cleaned up one little garden in the front, before getting ready for work.  My poor azalea need feeding, they are looking very sorry for themselves, as are my rhododendron and holly, must get on that.

Take care, have a wonderful weekend.

Christy

Spring Water, NY

Hi Dear Folk,

After my nocturnal AM awakening and my frenetic packing, we were on our way to Ithaca to see The Boy.  We stopped off at Hickory Run on the Turnpike.  For those of you not familiar with the States, Turnpike roads are Toll Roads where you pay a fee to travel on them.  In the UK we do not have any.  Turnpike is such an old fashioned word and is a word that used to be in use in the UK, but you no longer have Toll Roads and Turnpikes in the UK, you just get on the Motorway.

So you only have access to a limited number of rest areas.  Hickory Run, and by the way I love that name, is about half way to Ithaca, so a good place for us to pull off for a bit.  They have a Starbucks and we bought a large coffee between us and I got a blueberry scone, Mr. B. got a breakfast sandwich, at dare I say it Burger King.

About twenty miles from Ithaca is this wonderful place to get Spring Water, fresh out of the mountain side.  The Boy noticed it when we first drove up here together, we pulled over and asked the locals who were filling up their water jugs, about it.  They said people in this area have been getting their drinking water from here for hundreds of years.

It is now becoming a tradition to stop off and fill our water bottles up.  It is the most delicious water; cold, no taste, and crystal clear.  It is nothing fancy, no beautiful ornate surround, as you might see in Italy or stones to stand on, just some old pallets and piping coming down the mountain side, but it's a joy to stop here.

Christy

Odds and Bods

Hi Dear Folk,

I started this post at the end of April, but time has got away from me and here we are almost the middle of May.  Trying very hard to keep up with the garden at this time of year.  The big winter cleanup took a while, and now I have another cleanup as all the cattails have dropped off the northern oak tree and everything is covered

My wisteria bloomed just before we went away for a long weekend to visit The Boy and of course when we came back it was over, well you know past it's best and petals everywhere, the same with the lilacs.  All my seedlings which I had in my little plastic greenhouse shelving system are coming along, so now they are out on the patio, as frosts should be over.

Yes I changed my banner to a photo I took while up there, a rainbow over Lake Cayuga.  Will post more on that in the future.

Work has been busy and then you realize you are going away and you should have packed, but do not have anything together to go away and are too tired to pack, then wake up at 2:00AM and decide, I'll pack now and then go back to bed.  We did get on the road to Ithaca by 8:00AM.  Does anybody else do crazy things like that?  I like time to gather my things together, at least I did have a list and a second list for Rob's wants, which goes like this - drill, hammer, hacksaw, nails, screws, soldering iron, power strip, black fabric, crockpot, Tamron lens box, coconut oil, dish cloths.

Here is where I started with my April post.  For the want of a better title but just bringing together a few things left in the camera and what's going on.  I got to wear my posy this weekend, I am so happy with it and have been thinking that I might venture into Etsy land again and write up a tutorial on it.

Thrift shopping is cheap retail therapy so a few fun finds, such as this box, I wouldn't be surprised if it is from Florence, it's the type of thing they sell there.  I still have a tray which was a wedding present well over thirty years ago.  It's a kind of paper mache which usually has some form of gold painting on it.

This punch edge was not at the thrift, the pansy design appealed to me, then a friend said it looks like the Hawaiian flowers, and it does look a little like a plumera, so that would be fun to associate it with something Hawaiian

More books, it's cheaper than buying a craft magazines from a stationers.

I have done very well at the thrift finding brand new leather shoes.

Well just catching up and more to follow about our trip.

Christy

Studio Work In New York City

Hi Dear Folk,

Here are a few photos from The Boy.  He is up in New York visiting and getting hands on experience in a sound studio.  Just a few of his NYC photos.  Their teacher who they are staying with has worked on several Ken Burns, PBS films over the years.  She has done their sound tracks.

The above photo reminds me of Russia, why it should I do not know.  I think it's the way her hair is wrapped in the head covering.

Christy