Fun in the Winter Sun

I have bragged in the past about the Co-Habitant's wonderous winter commuting skills. But truth be told, is that really so impressive to accomplish on a cushy modern Pashley? Yesterday, he tried riding Rodney - his vintage Raleigh DL-1 with rod brakes - and reports his experience:

In a vintage bike, the freezing temperatures can really effect the brakes and steering. The cold stiffens the grease in the headset, making the steering extremely stiff. Of course you can rebuild the headset, but this takes either skill and time, or money to spend at the bike shop - so it is yet another issue to take into consideration when buying old bikes. Similarly, old brake pads tend to harden in the cold, compromising braking performance considerably. On regular caliper brakes, the brake pads can be replaced with new salmon KoolStops to remedy the problem. But rod brakes are incompatible with the KoolStop pads, so there is not much that can be done really.
So there you have it: a vintage bicycle with rod brakes is great in the snow... unless you need to stop or safely turn. Of course none of that prevent the Co-Habitant from riding it around the neighborhood - though thankfully, he does not plan to commute on it to work.

And we're out there having funin the cold Boston winter sun

Thai Dragons

'Thai Hot Dragon' chile peppers on my single plant. This plant has grown fast and produced many peppers.

There was a bit of a mystery concerning this plant: some of the peppers had absolutely no heat at all (they're supposed to be 8 times hotter than a Jalapeño). I discovered it was because those peppers were drying on the plant and not ripening.

The other day, I tried a plump, juicy red pepper. After chewing for a few seconds, I was running back into the house hollering.

The heat lasted about 1 hour.

Pink Geranium

It is so hard to get any decent photos of the Sandia Mountains and my flowers without getting the power lines in them.

Rainbow Springs State Park

Today we finally got out for a day trip. Once you are in The Villages, it is easy to forget there is a whole other world out there because you have everything you need right here. There is so much in this area that is unique and beautiful so I'm glad we remembered it for today at least. Rich and Donna graciously babysat Ava, so after dropping her off we headed to Dunnellon to visit Rainbow Springs State Park.



The first thing we noticed was the fact that the place was packed. The second was the reality that almost every person except us was wearing a swimming suit, which meant the springs were a great place to swim. Neither of those things especially surprised us. What did surprise us was how gorgeous the place was. We love most Florida parks, but this one was especially pretty in terms of the water. The water was crystal clear and fairly warm temperature wise. And it was breathtakingly beautiful.



Rainbow Springs is the fourth largest spring in Florida. The springs and park used to be a privately owned attraction. Based on how popular it seemed to be today, I am guessing it did well for many years. Before the magical mouse took up residence in Florida, I am guessing places like this did very well. It was nice to see families enjoying it and soaking up the fun still today. I am happy to say, we did not see one child using an electronic device the entire time we were here which says a lot for the place!



Since we did not bring our swimsuits, we headed off to see what the nature trails were like. We were very pleased with what we found there also.



Even with it being very hot and humid, we really enjoyed our nature walk. It was very relaxing and peaceful. There used to be a little zoo here but that is no longer in operation. There was a nice butterfly garden that was full of beautiful butterflies. We watched two that seemed to be doing synchronized flying together. And beyond a group of kids throwing rocks down at the waterfall we were looking at and almost hitting us, the crowds were not overwhelming in the least. We gave this place two thumbs up for sure.



So glad we did venture out today and see one of Florida's natural gifts. Living the life in HOT and HUMID Florida!

Fishtail Palm Frond

Looking up from beneath a fishtail palm in Oakland, CA.

Mystery Photo #10

This is the ninth post (the 10th and final photo) in a series of unidentified photographs from the Charles Wiseman Family Bible. See this post for background information. Click on the "Mystery Photo" label at the bottom of the post to see all of the photographs in this series. As always, you can click on the pictures to enlarge them.



Paper photograph on card stock. 2 3/8 x 4 1/16. Printed on the back: "H. C. Millice & Krieg, Photographic Studio, Warsaw, Ind., P.O. Box 246" and handwritten, upside down, at the top: "This One Henry Wiseman"
Based on other identified pictures I have, I'm fairly certain that this is Henry Weir Wiseman, son of Charles and Naomi Bray Wiseman, born March 13, 1859 in Switzerland County, Indiana. Henry and his older brother, Samuel Bray Wiseman, moved to Tippecanoe Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana prior to 1880.

The Best Time to Visit Your Bike Shop

Even though we live close to one another and normally cross paths on our own turf, this weekend I bumped into "cycler" from Biking in Heels 10 miles away - at Harris Cyclery. We'd both taken on projects that ended up throwing us curveballs, and now here we were. Even if you work on your bike yourself, it's good to find a trustworthy bike shop you can turn to just in case - and better still, a specific mechanic whose opinion and work you trust. The fact that I travel 10 miles to see Jim even though there are plenty of bike shops walking distance from my house, speaks for itself.



And if you are going to visit your local shop with a "project bike," there is no better time than the winter months. In the off season, bicycle shops tend to be less crowded, which means that they will be able to work on your bike sooner and will have more time to answer your questions. They are also more likely to have the components and accessories you want in stock, since things don't sell out as quickly as in the summer.



Some new floor models are likely to be available as well, since the shop will actually have time to build them up. This is the first time I've seen theRivendell Hunqapillar- the version with the diagonal "middle tube." The design is definitely not for me and I cannot help but wonder how many people buying this bike will actually be using it in a way that necessitates this construction. But I do appreciate seeing the monsterin person. The wooly mammoth headbadge and the decals are nicely done, as is the lugwork.



Never seen a seat cluster with a "socketed" seat stay like this before. Any idea what the purpose of this design is, assuming that it is more than aesthetic?



Between the Hunqapillar, the flock of otherRivendells, the vintageHetchins, and other exotic specimens, it felt as if lugwork was declaring war on modern bikes and taking over the shop. My own modestly lugged bicycle seemed like an underachiever in comparison - though he held himself proudly and was quite happy to have the mechanic's attention.



Winter is also the time when bike shops hold end-of-the year sales, where good deals can be found if you are in the market for a new bike. And for those manufacturers whose models do not change year to year, winter is often the last chance to get a bike at the current price tag, before prices go up in the Spring. If you hang around long enough, you might also learn about non-advertised deals, including second hand bikes. Some of the most interesting vintage bicycles never make it to the likes of Craig's List or e-bay, but are sold via word of mouth. Bicycle shops can act as hubs for those types of connections. If you are looking for a particular bike, try asking your bike shop about it - they might just know of a customer, or a friend, who is trying to sell theirs.

The winter months are infamously slow for the bicycle industry - but as a customer, you can take advantage of that in a way that benefits everyone: You get more personal attention, faster turn-around, and better deals - and the bike shop gets winter business. It's win-win!

Surreal Sky

I am always on the lookout for interesting clouds to photograph, and this morning I definitely saw some interesting ones. The clouds shown in this photo were very high altitude and held their shape for a very long time. I shot this photo with my Canon 100-400mm lens at 400mm.

Scottish Sport Climbs guide is here

Finally, we have the first stock of the new Scottish Sport Climbs guidebook by the SMC. It’s in the shop here. It has certainly been a long time coming. I first submitted a draft of the sections I wrote in November 2004! A lot of bolts have appeared across the lowlands, highlands and islands since then, so the book is a lot fatter than it would’ve been if it had been released at that time. So the wait has an upside.




Flicking through the guide as I took it out of the box, I was struck by the great selection of sport crags all over the country now. There are 1300 routes in the guide, on 100 crags. Who out of the slightly older generation of Scottish climbers would’ve thought we would have 1300 sport climbs in Scotland. That’s great! As you’d expect from an SMC guidebook it’s a nicely produced book with careful descriptions, good maps and plenty of nice pictures to inspire. So many of Scotland’s new routing activists have been very energetic over the past decade and the options now available for routes to enjoy has basically exploded. Now, there are sport crags for us to visit no matter what corner of Scotland you find yourself in or fancy travelling to. Also, the diversity of locations mean that I can’t see many days of the year where there won’t be some dry rock on which to clip bolts somewhere in the land.




Kudos to all who made the effort to open new sport routes, as well as all the authors and producers of the guide. It is so badly needed. Talking to the new generation of young sport climbers coming into climbing through Scotland’s climbing walls, it frequently nagged at me that so many are unaware of the lovely crags that are out there. Some of them in stunning, wild and far flung locations like Gruinard in the north west. Some of them just up the road from our major towns and cities.




The guidebook pictures brought back some nice memories for me of places like Dunglas just outside Glasgow, where I did my first 6b (Negotiations With Isaac)and 6c+ (The Beef Monster). I remember being very excited when Andy Gallagher asked me to give him a belay on the first ascent of Persistence of Vision (7a+) after watching him bolt it. A year after my first 6c+, my first 7c+ (Dum Dum Boys) was a liberating experience and straight away I wanted to get to the ‘happening crags’ of the day.




I found myself at Steall for the first time shortly afterwards, abseiling down Cubby’s project (Ring of Steall 8c+) and being totally inspired by how poor the holds were. The whole ambience of hard physical climbing in beautiful highland surroundings was where it was at for me. So in the following years, we made after school/uni/work hits from Glasgow to Glen Ogle, Dunkeld and Loch Lomondside sport crags, with weekend trips to Tunnel Wall, Steall, Weem and the Angus Quarries.




Once I got involved in exploring new routes, under the influence of Dave Redpath and Michael Tweedley, I immensely enjoyed tearing about bendy roads in Argyll developing crags like Tighnabruaich and eventually the Anvil.




One thing that I like about Scottish sport climbing particularly is that the easier graded routes in the 6s and 7s are often so much better to climb than those on the continent. In Spain or suchlike, the majority of the time, the hard routes on big overhanging sweeps of limestone are the most inspiring lines, while the easier lines can sometimes be either a bit scrappy or, dare I say it, a little boring. As with our trad, the variety of rock types we have in Scotland often make for much nicer routes in the lower and mid grades too. However, if you are into hard stuff, the two hardest routes in the book (Hunger, 9a and Fight The Feeling, 9a) give as good climbing as you’ll get anywhere. Both were climbed in good conditions in the summer and you wont find any queues or some barky dog wondering about eating your lunch at the base of the crag. The only negative on offer from Scottish sport climbing is, of course, the midge. Just remember that the wind direction is as important as the rain when you look at the forecast. Choose a crag exposed to a breeze on the day, and you’re sorted.




Enjoy the guide, enjoy the climbing. It’s here.

The Round House

It is no small task to describe the entity that is "Camberville" - that serpentine Somerville-Cambridge city line with its mazes of pocket neighbourhoods, unkempt grapevines, mysterious alleys lined with crumpling garages, and grandiose structures tucked away on sleepy side streets. Wandering through a neighbourhood you think you know, it is not unusual to encounter something wholly unexpected - perhaps a sidewalk treehouse, an enchanted forest, a small castle, or a warehouse-sized artisan incubator.






Very possibly I have cycled past the Round House before without taking much notice. The once-grand structure is not difficult to miss, now only a shadow of its former self. A lusciously overgrown garden torn out some years ago, a grass lot and chainlink fence now surround its bare walls, stripped of trim and embellishment. A thicket of condominiums stands in what was once an open space, blocking the house from view in certain directions.






But on this ghostly-quiet afternoon, I noticed it straight away. It was one of those humid days when the air stands still and the scent of flowers is sickly sweet. The weekend's explosion of lilacs was making me lightheaded. I cycled up a steep hill, and as I turned the corner onto a tiny one-way street the house appeared like a hallucination -backlit by the waning sun and tilting slightly to the left.






Stopping to have a look, I was distracted by the prominent signs discouraging trespassing. They struck me as so insincere as to almost be playful.





I was intrigued further by the curious discrepancy between the siding - which appeared newly installed - and the foundation, which seemed on the verge of collapse.






And then there was the bulging wall.






Strange to think that a Victorian-era locksmith is responsible for this cylindrical wonder. Inspired by the idea of octagonal houses floating around at the time, Somerville resident Enoch Robinson decided to take things one step further and build a round house. Constructed in 1856, the 3-story single family residence housed generations of Robinson's family.






It is not clear why the Round House was vacated and stood empty for so long. But by the 1980s it had its windowsand ornamentation removed, had suffered water damage and faced serious structural problems. There was talk of tearing it down, which, predictably, riled up residents who saw it as a landmark of historical value. Thankfully, it never came to that. Several years ago, the house was purchased by a developer with experience in historical preservation. He plans to restore the house and place it on the market as a single family home.






The Round House was created on a whim, to satisfy a personal interest - possibly an obsession, judging by the limited information I found on its creator. Yet by virtue of existing in a publicly visible and visitable space, it is also a communal resource, and will continue to be as ownership changes hands. How will the new residents feel about that, I wondered, eying the awkward battlements that surround the top story. I hope they plant a nice garden. Maybe some lilacs, dogwood and pines, against that stark beige facade.

Laurel Manor Recreation Center

This morning Donna and I went to line dancing at Laurel Manor Rec Center. I don't think I've taken pictures there yet, so I grabbed some shots while there. As always, the building is beautiful and so warm and inviting.



I really enjoy line dancing here. The instructor is wonderful and each week I am learning more and more.



Living the life in the lovely Villages!

Help Wanted! A gift received from a Genea-Angel!

The letter below was found on the internet by Jeff Somers who, just a few days ago, found my story of The Search for Hawksbill Church. And then, wonder of wonders, Jeff actually contacted me!



He was able to obtain a partial transcription of the letter, which seems to be a letter of recommendation for my ancestor, Wilhelm George Forster (aka William Foster) signed by two of Jeff's ancestors!



Here's the transcription that Jeff sent:

The Hawksbill Church

We, the complete evangelical, protestant, lutheran parish hereby state

that we have had Mr. Goster (or Foster, name is not clear) for ten years as a pastor in our parish.

He had asked us for this reference, to be presented to an "Honorable Menisteri" (?)

and we are willing to confirm that he has served faithfully and never missed any of the duties of his office.

Especially he spend much time in the youth ministry and tried to keep the youth with their mothers.

This would be desirable for others to do as well.

He does not accept help for his office duties.

He takes all the time needed, to visit sick people, in oder to be with them and to comfort them

So far, we have been quite happy with him, and he ...

I'd love to have a more complete transcription, so, if anyone out there can make sense of the Old German Script, please contact me!







For printing purposes I split the letter into two images and also enhanced the contrast a little. The original image of the letter that was found by Jeff on this Ancestry.com message board posting. I have contacted the poster of that message but have not received a response from him.



If I hadn't blogged about my little trip to find the Hawksbill Church, I would not (most likley) have found this letter on my own. Thank you, Jeff, for contacting me. It's very nice to end this year on a "high" note!!

Greetings from Montana!

So, here I am in southwest Montana, in what is called “God's Country” by some people. It is a gorgeous place. But I must say, there are many areas of this nation that can easily be referred to as God's Country. Our nation is, to put it mildly, a fantastically beautiful place. I've seen much of it in the last 10 months and, the good Lord willing, will see more of it in the future.

However, I'll be taking a short “vacation” from traveling for a few weeks. (It is hard to believe that I've been here over a week already!)

The Agenda: Simply relaxing and taking care of a few “chores” such as sorting photos and deleting duplicates from my hard drive, which is rapidly filling up. Never fear, ALL photos (except the obvious duds) are also stored on two external drives. The van is in need of a good cleaning too so I'll be removing everything from it as well as doing some sorting and discarding of things I think I no longer need, which I don't think will be all that much.

The local library has wifi (Yay!!) that is not “fast” but isn't too awfully slow so I've spent an hour or two there nearly every day (they are closed on Sunday and Monday). But most of my time has been spent working on the computer. I have made some headway with sorting and deleting images from the netbook but it is a slow and somewhat tedious process. However, seeing those pictures again has brought back some wonderful memories as well as more than a few “Huh, what is that? Why did I take that?” moments. LOL.

Now, Susan, if you're reading this, I just want you to know that I'm not complaining... but television reception is nearly nonexistent (one channel comes in but it's fuzzy) and NPR is the only radio station that comes in clear. Luckily they have a collection of DVDs and VCR Tapes (remember those?) so I've been watching a few movies (most I've never seen and some I've never heard of). It's almost like leading a “normal” life!

I haven't done much sightseeing yet, but that too is on the agenda. After all, Yellowstone National Park is only two hours away! The day after my arrival I visited with an acquaintance who also has a place here (he influenced Susan and Don's choice of vacation homes) and he gave me a list of “must see” places in the area. So Sunday afternoon (July 4th) I went for a drive along one of the area highways. Soooo pretty. I think I'm going to like it here...




I will be forever indebted to my friends Susan and Don for their generosity. I know I've said it before, but it truly cannot be said often enough – THANK YOU!

Death Valley National Park

After six days at Joshua Tree, I traveled north to Death Valley National Park, arriving there on Tuesday March 23rd.

When I arrived at Texas Springs Campground (sort of in the central portion of the park near Furnace Creek) it was almost full. It's one of those first-come, first-served self-check-in campgrounds, so you have to drive around and find an empty spot. It took a while but I pulled into what I thought was an open site at the same time as someone else pulled in to the one next to me. We looked at each other and said, “Hi neighbor!” But a few minutes later they pulled out and went to another spot. As I was standing there looking around, a little old lady (the 80-year old camp host) came up and told me I was in a handicap only site, so I had to move. She said there were only three empty sites left and told me where they were.

As I pulled into my next selected site, I saw that my new neighbors were actually the young couple that had pulled in beside me earlier. We looked at each other and laughed. They had gotten the last site that had a picnic table and fire ring. My site had nothing. But it was better than no site at all. Being nice neighbors, the young couple (Ian and Jennifer) invited me to join them at their table and campfire. They were very sweet and pleasant. We had a wonderful time sitting around the campfire in the evening and talking the night away, literally.

We were neighbors for Wednesday night also and once again they were gracious and companionable and we spent another evening talking around the campfire. By the time the night was over, we each knew quite a bit about the other. I spent two more nights at Texas Springs. On Friday night, Ian and Jennifer joined me at my camp site after spending Thursday in the back-country. (I had moved to a new site Thursday morning with a table and fire ring.) Thank you, Ian and Jennifer, for helping to make my evenings in Death Valley so enjoyable. It was great fun!

Death Valley from Dante's View, 5500 feet above the valley.

The Golden Mountains. Those two little vertical “lines” in the middle of the picture are people!

This is an area known as the Artist's Palette.

At Zabriskie Point.

Zabriskie Point.

The Devil's Golf Course. Telescope Peak, in the background, is the highest peak (over 11,000 feet) in the Panamint Range that borders Death Valley on the west.

Close up view of the Devil's Golf Course. In 1934, it was determined that the salt and gravel beds of the Devil's Golf Course extend to a depth of more than 1,000 feet. Later studies suggest that in places the depth ranges up to 9,000 feet.

The salt flats at Badwater, which is the lowest point in Death Valley at 232 feet below sea level. Walking on the salt flats was strange. It looked like concrete but there was some “give” in each step. In several spots there were muddy pools of water where small holes had been made in the salt flat.

Hammers for the Petzl Quark?

Having climbed on the Nomics for so long now, myfavorite ice tool from just a few years ago, theQuark has been ignored as of late.



In factthe last pair of QuarksI did climb on had been chopped up pretty dramatically to take advantage of the best of everything I thought Petzl offered at the time.



Details here from the Spring of :



http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/850659/How-to-trash-a-300-ice-tool



The end result? Awesome Alpine tool!

These two were eventuallypassedon via "Pay it Forward" along with thousands of dollarsin new and used gear that was donated on CCcom. Fun project that!



http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/923346/1





Same toolsspent the past season in Patagonia. By thelooks of it they were put to good use.



http://jensholsten.blogspot.com//01/jardines-japoneses-new-route-on-mermoz.html



http://colinhaley.blogspot.com//01/jardines-japoneses.html







So I guess it comes as no surprise that I really like the newest Quark based on the original Nomic's head. I was never a big fan of the head shape or hammer and adze combo on the old Quark. So I put my money where mymouth was and made both a lwt weight hammer and a light weight adze for a Nomic 2 years ago. (Justthe one adze, mine,sorry!)

Very cool that Petzl decided last winter that what I was doing,was what they also wanted to do. Great minds think alike and all ;-)

So now you can buy the production version of a designI thought was a great ice tool several years ago. Big improvement on the old Quark I think. But theone place I still think Petzl missed the boat on the new Quark is in the hammer and adze. So it is really fun that the hammer I designed for the Nomic fits the new Quark perfectly. The lwt weight Cold Thistle hammer makes a much better balanced and super sweet alpine ice tool.

This version of the Quark is one of my main alpine tools.Petzl deliversthe best production picks on the market. What is not to like on this tool? Nothing!

Production runs sell out quickly. If you are off to Alaska this spring. It is time to get your order in now.

The Cold Thistle hammers can be purchased here:



http://coldthistletools.blogspot.com//08/ice-climbing-gear.html

Pictured are my personal set of new Quarks.