Fort DeSoto Park

Sometimes we visit a place that is nearby, and I find myself thinking I can't believe we have never been here before. This park was one of those places. We knew it was in the area, and we even tried to find it one day when we were with our travel buddies but we never actually made it to the park.





I am glad we finally did because it was one of the more awesome state parks we have visited in Florida. The park sits on an island, which is always a cool bonus. That means there is a beach, pier and park facilities like kayaking and biking. There is also the fort, which you can walk through.



Fort De
Soto has the only four 12-inch
seacoast rifled mortars (model 1890 mounted on 1896 carriages) in
the continental United States. Also at the fort are two 6-inch Armstrong rapid-fire rifled
guns (model 1898) which were originally mounted at

Fort Dade, and
are the last two guns of that model year in the United States.



The walls on the fort were incredibly thick, meaning the inside was unusually cool. I can't imagine how dark and lifeless it would have seemed though, to stay inside for any length of time.





I'll be honest, my favorite part was watching Nathan explore the fort. He goes into complete guy mode in places like this.





He was trying to find evidence of firing, so I looked it up. "Ironically, Fort De Soto was never the site of any major battle, and the weapons of Fort
De Soto and Fort Dade were never fired in anger at an enemy. However,
it played a significant part in the evolution of modern weaponry. In
1977 Fort De Soto was added to the National Register of
Historic Places. Very interesting place to visit!

Cycling in Work Attire

We all have different notions of "work attire". What's yours? Today I accompanied the Co-Habitant on part of his work commute, and was able to coax him to model.

Who says you can't look chic in scrubs? I think the purple thermal tee looks quite nice under the baby blue. It was a ridiculously hot day today in Boston and a jacket was out of the question. But otherwise he wears a blazer or a coat on top. I like it!

The Pashley Roadster basking in the December sunlight. The Co-Habitant really needs to write a guest post reviewing this bicycle. He loves it so much.

And there he goes, off to work, as I cycle in the opposite direction.

This is the same passageway/shortcut pictured here. What a difference a month can make! - though ironically, it was warmer today than on the day the golden-leaf photos were taken.

Phend-Fisher Family Reunion Ledger (1922)

[page 1]
The thirteenth Annual reunion of the Phend and Fisher families was held at the home of Henry Phend at Columbia City Ind., on the first Sunday in September 1922.

There were 40 members and 7 friends present. The forenoon was spent in a social way. Songs were sung and games were played.

Blessing was offered by Jacob Phend after which a basket dinner was served. After dinner a short business session was held, Will Phend acting as president in Henry Phend's place. The secretary's report was read and approved and the following officers were elected for the following year.
Will Phend - President.
Ralph Ernest - V. President
Christ Phend - Treasurer
Fred Ernest - Secretary.

After the election of officers several short talks were given in which special emphasis was laid upon

[page 2]
the true Christain [sic] spirit which has always predominated in the Phend - Fisher reunions. Younger members of the reunion were urged to take a special interest and help to perpetuate the feeling of good - will and fellowship.

It was decided by vote that the next annual reunion would be held at the home of Jacob Phend, north-west of Elkhart on the first Sunday in September 1923.

Ice cream was served after the business session. Every body reported a good time and expressed their intention to be present at the next annual reunion.

Fred ErnestSec'y.


The Phend-Fisher families gathered for a reunion in Elkhart County, Indiana almost annually from 1909 until 1943. Usually held at Nappanee, the events of the day were recorded in an old ledger book. Spelling has been retained as it was in the original though some punctuation and paragraph breaks have been added. To view all articles in this series click on the "Phend-Fisher Reunion Ledger" label at the bottom of this post.

Foxes Feast on Food

Two foxes (of a rare sub species) are currently moving up and down the mountain from Paradise all the way up to the summit. While the mountain is their natural environment, the food they have been eating this year has not been coming from the mountain, most of it has been taken from climbers and day hikers at Camp Muir. Foxes have been consistently searching out food left in backpacks and tent vestibules.

Sadly, we have experienced what happens when foxes become habituated and dependent on humans in the park - we lost our friend Pickles.

Mount Rainier is home for these foxes, meaning we can't relocate them nor would we want to. At this point we are trying our best to have the foxes and climbers interactions be kept to a minimum. Please help us with this effort by maintaining a clean camp and storing all food zipped up, inside of your tent. Day hikers and skiers please be tidy during snack breaks and clean up your scraps (both food and wrappers). Thanks so much for your help!

Saturday Night Fun - Wordles!

Randy's Saturday Night Fun for this week is Wordles, which was inspired by John Newmark! What's a Wordle? It is a graphic representation of text that can be created at wordle.net but be forewarned - you can spend a lot of time playing with the various font and directional settings.

These surname Wordles were created back in July of last year for my maternal and fraternal lines, Phend and Wiseman, respectively. (As always, click on the images for a larger version.)


This facebook wordle was also created in July '08

And this one for the Genea-Blogger Group Games was created in August '08

The Sun's Last Glow Before Night Falls

September 8, .. - - Southwest MontanaExtremely hazy skies made for a strange, muted, monochromatic sunset.



A week later, somewhat clearer skies prevailed.



September 15, .. - - Southwest Montana

Laptop Transport: Trusting Your Bicycle with Your Precious Machine

There are basically two options for transporting your belongings while cycling: (1) on your person in a backpack or messenger bag, or (2) in a contraption attached to the bicycle itself, such as a basket, pannier, saddlebag, or other fixture. When it comes to most of my belongings, the choice on this is clear: I would rather not carry anything on my back while cycling, especially since my bicycles are fitted with racks and have great transport capacity. But when it comes to my laptop (a large MacBookPro), I just can't seem to "let go" and trust it to the care of a bicycle. I carry it either in the large leather satchel in the photo above, or in the Chrome messenger bag pictured below. The leather satchel is more suitable to my personal style, but the Chrome bag is more ergonomic and feels better on longer rides. Between the two of them, I have pretty much gotten accustomed to carrying my laptop on my back while cycling, even for long stretches.

Still, I am plagued with the question of why I do this, when my bicycles are rated to handle the weight and could make my life so much easier in this respect. There are panniers specifically designed for laptop transport and sturdy wire baskets for the rear rack that will safely do the job as well. Some even strap laptop bags directly to their racks with bungee cords, and some make their own panniers out of handsome vintage satchels using Arkel or Ortlieb attachments. So I suppose for me, it is really an issue of trust and control: Somehow it feels that the laptop is safer with me than attached to the bicycle. I have browsed countless times through all the panniers in the local bike shops, but ultimately I just can't imagine myself cycling with my laptop dangling over my rear wheel and out of my field of vision. Instead of watching the road and enjoying the ride, I'd be thinking about my laptop.

Is this a logical concern on my part? I am not sure. On the one hand, if I should fall on my bicycle, the laptop is just as likely to get damaged if it sits in a pannier than if it sits on my back. Also, the straps and closure of a messenger bag are probably no less likely to fail than the attachment points of a pannier system. However, if the bicycle itself should fall over without me on it, the laptop is more likely to get damaged. How statistically likely any of these scenarios are to actually happen, I have no idea. So I think it really comes down to one's subjective perception of security.

In the end, taking the first step towards trusting my bicycle with my laptop ended up being simpler than I thought. As it turns out, my leather satchel fits quite comfortably into the front basket on my Pashley, and the edges get lodged in the wicker, so that the bag remains sturdy when the bicycle is in motion. It never occurred to me that this could be a possibility, because I assumed that the satchel would be much too large for the basket and also that it would bounce. But there you have it. I am pleasantly surprised that there are no bouncing issues: Once stuck in the basket, the satchel does not budge; the wicker sort of closes in on it and holds it firmly in place. I feel comfortable with this set-up, because I see the bag in front of me at all times and know that it is doing okay. Not sure whether this will be my permanent method of transportation from now on, but it worked splendidly for some errands close to home.

I would love to hear how other people carry their laptops while cycling, and how those solutions are working out for them.

Their Roots are Showing

Friday, February 15th - - Today was a travel day. I left Big Lagoon State Park in Florida and ended up in Monroe, Louisiana by late afternoon. There I would spend the weekend visiting with my distant Joslin cousins, Sue and Joann (with whom I have traveled in the past), as well as their sisters Missy and Sally, and of course, their mother Ruth. Joann's son, Matt and his two children were also visiting so I had the chance to meet them. Sue wrote about their visit to the cabin - she has some really nice photos of the kids. It was great to see them all again! Thank you, once again, for your hospitality.



Monday, February 18th - - Departed Monroe, Louisiana and traveled westward on Interstate 20 then south to the Martin Dies Jr. State Park a few miles west of Jasper, Texas. The forecast called for rain, and that is what Mother Nature delivered, with intensity at times.





The sky brightened up a bit as the sun was going down, but the break didn't last long - it rained throughout the night.





By morning, the rain and clouds were gone and blue skies were all around. There are two rivers that join together at Martin Dies Jr. State Park. I don't know which one this is but the water was low - perhaps because of the extended drought in Texas the last few years.







If you've ever wondered what the root system of a Cypress tree looked like, now you know! I'm guessing that there is one large "tap-root" that extends further down into the ground that supports each clump of trees.



I traveled further westward and south a bit to South Llano River State Park. Located a few miles south of Junction in central Texas, along Interstate 10. I had picked up a "bug" just before getting to Monroe that got worse as time went on. It started as a sore throat, then coughing, and then a headache and sinus pressure. I finally gave in after five days and went to a medical clinic in Junction where I was prescribed an antibiotic and cough syrup. Within two days I was feeling much better. Thank you very much!



South Llano River State Park is a nice park. The campground was great, one of the nicer ones in the Texas State park system (in my opinion). The sites are large with lots of space in-between each site. You pick your own site so can select a shaded or sunny site, whichever you desire. It was a good place to simply lounge around and recover from a minor illness. I did take advantage of some of the shorter trails and took a walk most every day. The weather couldn't have been better - well, except for the one day (Monday, the 25th) when the temperature dropped into the 50s and the wind gusted up to 50 mph! That day was mostly spent at the library!



Wednesday, February 27th - - Another travel day. Finally feeling well enough to move on... heading further south.



Wednesday, March 6th- - I know you are wondering - Where am I now? I will say this - I'm still in Texas, just not as far south as I was this past week!

A Moveable View

Staying by the sea, I notice how unaccustomed I've become to a stationary view of any kind. Back in the city, the windows of my apartment offer vistas of a brick wall, a narrow alley, a tangle of branches and telephone wires. And I usually keep the blinds closed when I work anyhow; there is too much commotion outside.



But now I sit on this porch, just yards from the water's edge. A vast harbor is stretched out in front of me. The surface ripples of the cerulean water are like a silk scarf fluttering in the wind. Lobster buoys bob up and down. Now and then a fishing boat goes by. A family of swans travels back and forth along the shore in perfect peloton formation.



It is peaceful and almost improbably beautiful. And as I try to work, I find that it drives me nuts - the unchangeability of it. I am not used to looking at scenery so... passively. My eyes focus on the right outeredge of the harbor, where the rocky shore curves and disappears from view. As I study it, the curve begins to look hard-etched and forbidding, willfully preventing me from seeing beyond the bend.



In fact, I know - roughly at least - what lies around the bend; I have been there many times. A hilly back road winds along the shore's edge sleepily. There is a small patch of dense woods along the cliffs, then a gravel garden path, a wild rocky beach, an abandoned coast guard's tower... Soon I am visualising each of these landmarks in great detail, picturing them as they look when I cycle past them. I laugh at myself, realising that I am enjoying this mental game more than looking at the view in front of me.



I close my laptop, get on my bike and take off just as the sun begins to set, heading for the hilly back road that will take me around the bend. No one else is here. The road narrows and steepens dramatically and I get into my lowest gear. With each pedal stroke I see more and more of the landscape that was hidden from view as I sat on the porch just minutes earlier, and this fills me with an absurd sense of fulfillment. I reach the top easily, unhurriedly, and there sits the patch of woods with its narrow mossy path to the edge of the cliff. I keep going, coasting down the steep hill now at what feels like flying speed, passing all the landmarks I'd recalled. The mysterious garden path, the wild beach. And I remember now also the old sprawling house with a beautiful garden and the "bunnies for sale" sign taped to the green fence. After the coastguard's house I stop and turn around, my urge to experience a movable view satisfied. It seems silly now to have taken this short ride for no reason at all, but I am pleased.



I roll up to the porch as the last of daylight disappears. The vast harbor is still there, its fluttering silk surface now a deep indigo. A green light flickers in the distance. A stray boat is being rowed ashore. The swan peloton is making its last round. I get my coffee cup and turn on the porch light, ready to settle down in the stillness. But I know the moveable view will call out to me again tomorrow, even though I know what's around the bend.

Mystery solved

No wonder she's up barking all night.

A Figgy Embrace for GGW Picture This Contest

The theme for this month's Gardening Gone Wild photo contest is Awakening - something that's already happening in Austin and coming soon to more Northern gardens, long under snow.

Thalia the Muse of Comedy influences many of my posts and today I'll let her rule my photos, too - this photo of my Celeste Fig Tree waking up amused me because it seems to be stretching and reaching out and declaring, "Embrace Spring!"Happy Spring to all of you!

Large or XL jackets and more

Might be worth a look at the new additions. Could be an early Chirstmas if you are the right size.
http://coldthistletools.blogspot.com//12/cold-thistle-review-gear-for-sell.html

Cycling Through the Neighborhood(s)

The small street where I live is positioned between two radically different neighborhoods on the Cambridge/Somerville line in the greater Boston area.

In one direction is an affluent Harvard neighborhood with brick sidewalks, historical mansions, romantic gardens, and overarching trees.

In the other direction is a stretch of concrete lined with multi-family houses with faded vinyl siding, shopping plazas, warehouses, and unfinished construction sites behind chain-link fences.

When we first moved here, it amazed me that two neighborhoods of such different character could border each other so crisply: There is no overlap, it is as if someone drew a line between them. Over time I got used to the divide and just accepted it as a given, but having begun cycling made me hyper-aware of it once again.

Cycling towards Harvard is relatively tranquil, with roads that are in reasonable shape and motorists who seem accustomed to bicycles. I would not go so far as to call it a "Disneyworld version" of a vehicular cycling experience, but close to it.

Cycling in the other direction, the roads are covered with pot-holes, the drivers are more aggressive and impatient, and traffic patterns are chaotic. Recently, Somerville has painted "sharrows" all over the major roads and this has helped a bit with the driver aggression. A bit.

When I first began cycling, I dealt with this by staying away from Somerville and only going to destinations that could be accessed via the calmer Cambridge route. But in the long run, this was not a reasonable solution. So I started to get myself used to the area by cycling with the Co-Habitant. Gradually, the anxiety of it began to subside. And then, one morning I got on my bike and rode on my own to a hardware store that is in the very thicket of the area that used to intimidate me. It suddenly felt fine.

I know that there are many, many people who cycle through Somerville constantly and probably find my comments here ridiculous / pathetic, but so be it - cycling there used to honestly give me anxiety attacks. No more though. In some ways it is up to the person to make the area where they live accessible to themselves.

The Gift

Twinki was more than willing to unwrap the gift but it was Cassi that preferred to play with the toy mouse.

Gold Finches

We see gold finches here in the spring and the fall when they are migrating. I don't know where they go to the north or south of us. They are strange little birds that the house cats find easy to catch which I don't like. The first photo is of one I found on the shoe scrapper outside of our front door. It seemed very tired and I assumed hot as it was a very hot day. So I tried to set a bowl of water by it but it flew away. I do hope it servived. The other photo is one I took of a gold finch eating the seeds off of an Apache plume bush near a creek. These cute little finches do eat lots of seeds off of my zinnas, and small sunflowers.

Devil Track River Adventure

What a great day. Hiked up the Devil Track River for the first time (I know... one of those things... I've livedin CookCountymy whole life and never gone up there before!), got a LOT of cool new pictures, then headed into Grand Marais and had a late lunch, pizza at Sydney's Frozen Custard, WOW was that ever good! The strawberry banana smoothie made the meal unforgettable! THEN saw a CRAZY COOL storm front come over Grand Marais with some freaky clouds and a lot of lightning. AND last but not least, an awesome double rainbow over the lake as we drove back home to Grand Portage!










Devil Track Riverwas such an amazing, mind-blowingly beautiful hike that I myself can't believe I had never done it before. I had so much fun photographing the many bends and cliffs along the river. We spent almost 6 hours on the river and I could have easily spent 6 more that day. Each curve in the river revealed views even more interesting than the ones we had seen just moments before. Jessica commented that she felt like she was in a different state :-)I can't wait to go back and explore it some more!














During our hike we saw a lot of cool and interesting trees, but one stood out from the rest as being by far the most fascinating. On one bend in the river this large cedar tree was protruding out from the bank and upon closer inspection we realized that the trunk itself was no longer touching the ground at all! This large tree is holding on by nothing more than its roots... due to erosion the soil between the trunk and the bank had all washed away. It was a mesmerizing tree and even had small colonies of ferns growing on some of the larger roots.



















After our hike we headed in to Grand Marais and when we arrived in town the weather was absolutely perfect for a late summer/early fall day. Virtually no wind, sunny sky and lots of "popcorn" clouds. A couple of hours later a storm front moved in from the west and before we knew it the sky was dominated by this huge wall cloud that was rolling in overhead. Lightning flashed every few seconds as the storm approached. There was an eerie calm that preceeded the storm, but once the "wall" was over us, the wind hit shortly after and then the rain came. It poured for about half an hour, the wind blew and the lightning flashed. As we drove back home we were following the storm and were treated to a nice display of lightning ahead of us while a rainbow floated out over the lake to our right. By the time the sun went down everything was calm again.