February Leftovers

If I can't remove all of the invasive vine at least I can trash some seed pods and prevent them from becoming next year's vine. 

The view on the way to go cross-country skiing.

The view from the botanic garden.

My new LEGO figure, with a very special thanks
to my LEGO-loving sister for providing the hat.

seen on a short walk in the neighborhood

and more

I went to Skypace at night, which finishes with white, unlike the morning, which finishes with yellow.

 

September leftovers

Seen on a bicycle path
Not in Denmark

Another good thing about being back

I wonder why a curb cut was removed at the train station.

I also wondered why they were removing the time and temperature clock that I love (always try to guess the temperature before seeing it). The good news is that it is back to working order so maybe they were just updating it.

 

Cycling

When the pools were closed I did a lot of cycling but after they reopened I struggled to figure out how to fit it into my old routine. I settled on doing a weekday ride with a friend and a weekend ride on the tandem. As the weather cooled those sometimes didn't happen, but I was content. Then I was nudged to challenge myself.

On New Year's Day I cycled GMR, which was closed to traffic.

Thanks to Lisa for this amazing picture.

The downside was being so cold on the way down.
Thank goodness for the seat warmer!

My weekday partner and I went back and I got to do it again.

Maybe next time I will go past the shack, a regular turnaround spot.

I like using my mountain bike because the gearing is better and the brakes are more comfortable. The latter issue doesn't matter to some people because they barely use their brakes going downhill, like these local professionals.

The next challenge was a group ride that didn't drop anyone. It started in Pasadena but headed east so I figured I could say goodbye and last part, although that was the downhill section.

I was a bit worried about this uphill section, but I
was able to do it, even on my road bike.

Traffic came to a complete standstill but we
were still able to get there for the start.

I was happy to see a large group because I figured I could keep up with the slow people. I didn't realize that most of them were doing the short ride!

Thanks to D. for getting photo of the
nine of us headed off for the long route.

I am not feeling the need to do any more big rides. Maybe the next challenge will be a hilly 10K run in March.

December leftovers

 

Still doing a little Danish,
Hungarian, and Spanish each day

Shaker Lakes in late fall

Home of the Cleveland Guardians

And I got this great poster at the team store.
I can almost hear Tom Hanks as I read it.

My lucky day - I found some
buckeyes among the fall leaves

A Great Horned Owl in Claremont!!

Snow on the mountains

New Things

Because D. had taken some time off he was riding more, running more errands, and generally getting out more. I suppose that is why he scooped me not once, but twice.

He was the first to point out that
our neighbor now has a little library.

He was also the first to notice
the charging stations near Trader Joe's.

There are two kinds installed, Delta and
Signet, and each has two kinds of charger.

This definitely does not fit our car!

I noticed the new power box (sign reads,
"Work in progress. Please do not touch.
Thank you,"), but that was not as exciting.

This is both a new picture because I took it just
this week, but it does look just the ones I take each year!

Change of Scenery

We stayed in a cabin in the mountains for a long weekend before Thanksgiving. While it did not have all the comforts of home, it was good to be in a different place doing different things without having to be with other people.

Highlights include

cycling in the snow,

beautiful views of the mountains,

and exploring the trail

at the end of our street.

Weekend Vacation

From Google Maps

The camp where A. spent many summer and winter sessions has a large campus a little over an hour away. In addition to large cabins for campers they have many smaller cabins that are used for other events. We received an email saying the campus was hosting families for holidays in September and October and explained all the benefits. Meals were provided and could be picked up and enjoyed as a picnic or in the eating area in the cabin. 

From the campus webpage

Activities available included archery, horseback riding, swimming, outdoor art, hiking, and more, which made it sound like nice change of pace. On the other hand, the price was a little high and we had no idea where the fires or smoke would be when we planned to be there. We talked it over and decided to change our weekend vacation to a morning outing to Oak Glen.

There had been two fires in that area and there was significant damage. In these pictures you can see that close to the road everything is fine but those hills in the background are gray with ash.

It was nice to see that some things were the same, like teenagers making apple cider donuts 

and the chestnut tree survived.

We did not pick raspberries but did bring home a 35+ pound box of B apples (seconds) and have been making a lot of applesauce. Last year I wrote about different cooking methods, but this year I have decided that the pressure cooker is the obvious winner, much to my surprise.

A. cycled home 50+ miles and D. and I drove home, helping the car celebrate its 52,000 mile birthday. It was not a weekend vacation, but it was a fine second choice.

Apple season

It was a beautiful day in the mountains.

We did not pick apples because the
varieties available were not of interest.

The chestnut tree looked healthy.

I love watching the donut machine!

I always think the apples grown in the mountains aren't as good
as the apples in Ithaca, plus it is crowded and more expensive
 than I think it should be. On the other hand, no matter how
many apples I buy I think I should have bought more!

I made applesauce in the slow cooker, pressure cooker,
and on the stove top. Stove top was clearly the worse,
but it was not clear which was the winner.

I was able to give away all these peels to someone with hens
and in return she gave us some of their eggs. Good deal!