Gone

I am off on a bike trip with Lynne, and will be back in a few days with photos, I hope. There was a bloggable event over the weekend that I missed -- the COTU took their tests for the second yellow stripe on their karate belts, and they both passed. Yay, COTU!!!!! Next test, yellow belt!

One Room School House

I have heard that some of the SLO's ancestors attended this school. On their paternal blood line, of course. It is about 2 miles north-east of Kirk Park, adding a pleasant 4 miles to that ride. It is only .5 miles inland from Lakeshore Drive, but it was obviously warmer there. It's been painted since I was last there, and there is grass instead of dirt, so it seems that someone is taking care of it. It was my turn-around spot today. (Late edit: here's the map to the school. Kirk Park is more or less at Fillmore Street and Lakeshore, just to help orient yourself.)

I posted a similar picture about a year ago, here. The wind -- breeze, really -- was from the north, so the ride home was pretty mellow. I did get a cramp in my left calf about 3 miles from home -- maybe I should have ridden earlier before the sun got quite so hot. The knot in my calf sort of matches knots on each of my forearms -- the result of a small incident yesterday where I tried to ride between my truck and the garage. There was not quite enough room, and my right arm hit the truck and threw me into the garage wall. So much for superior bike handling skills.

(No new news on the turtle.)

Bagel Run

Remember the Chinese restaurant that wasn't open last year? The Dragon Express was its name. It is now under new ownership, or at least a new name. "Open Soon," it says on the sign. But not yet.
It's located right next to the bagel shop that was my turn around spot this morning. Honey whole wheat bagel -- I ate half of it -- I assume that isn't a violation of a serving size rule.

I gave up trying to email the turtle photo from yesterday to the DNR. In order to report a wildlife sighting through their website I had to download software that I didn't want to download. So I called the Allegan wildlife management office, and talked to the guy who answered the phone. He asked for my blog address and looked at the photo while we talked. Eastern Box Turtle, he says. (Good call, GZ.) Not particularly rare here, according to him, but if I see babies, I should report back. And take pictures. He was happy to check out my turtle sighting, so a nice representative of that community.

Early Morning

I was riding back from the PSPS this morning when this guy crossed the road in front of me. My glasses were foggy from the early morning humidity, and I almost didn't see him. I saw a deer along the same stretch of road, but didn't even try to reach my camera -- it was another pretty bold animal. It watched me approach for quite a while before jumping off the road into the woods. I spent some time sitting and talking with some early morning coffee drinkers at the PSPS before turning towards home, and was still back by 8:45 am. (I left the house about 6:30.) A little over 21 miles. It was nearly 90 here by noon, so too hot to ride any more today. Cooler tomorrow, I hope.

Three Rides -- and a Photo Dump

The SLO's stayed over an extra night to reclaim some of the beach time they missed because of the change in weekend plans due to the storms. COTU#1 kept an eye on Totally Jammin' while I took a 1.5 hour ride (Monday). This was the only photo I took on that ride. I don't know what's in that black tube, but I'll bet it is important. (Idlewood hill.) TOPWLH and I had an appointment at 9:00 this morning, and the forecast was for temperatures around 90 later today. If I waited to ride until after we got back, it would be too hot to ride very far. One of those circumstances that screams out for re-cycling. I left the house before 7:00 am for ride #1 and was back by 8:00. I did my ITT (individual time trial) route of 12.2 miles. 1 hour, 3 minutes and 56 seconds. 11.5 mph. Not bad for me, but I'll do better before the summer is over, I think.

These signs have been bugging me for a while. Has our politics divided us so deeply that we need separate signs for red and blue? Can't we all just get along? Both arrows point to the same place, too.

We finished with our appointment in time for me to head out again just before noon. It was getting too warm to go far or fast. Cooler near the lake is a good rule, so I followed it. The new Pronto Pup stand is on the road to the State Park.

There was a line of cars full of people who had the same thought that I did. I'll say this for a state with nearly 15% unemployment. There are a lot more people at the beach mid-week than there were a few years ago. Small consolation.....

I've been avoiding the Waukazoo woods area since the storm -- there were reports of heavy tree damage, with 70 mph winds on Friday night. The photo above is from near the corner of Ottawa Beach Road and 168th street. There used to be a box with a sign "Caution: Chinese Red Bats" in this yard, for those of you with long memories.

The ride through Waukazoo woods was depressing. Lots and lots of trees down, and the sound of chainsaws filled the air -- four days after the storm. Big trees down, uprooted. Lots of maple and pine, and I saw at least one very large, old beech tree that was being cut into segments.

I headed back to Post, thinking to take a shortcut through the fair grounds, and found the back end of the fair grounds to still be flooded. About a quarter of a mile from where I took this photo I waited while men worked to cut down the rest of a tree -- the top half had fallen on a house, and had crushed the roof. It had not yet been removed. The men had cut off all of the remaining limbs, and notched the tree on the north side, trying to get it to fall north across the road, rather than south -- where the house was. The tree was leaning south, and was not cooperating. They held up traffic for a while, then decided it wasn't coming down soon, so directed everyone through. I felt very uneasy about riding in the desired 'fall zone' -- but did, and survived to tell the tale. I'm working on re-hydrating. It's too dang hot.

Back to "Normal"

The electricity has been turned back on at both houses. The downed trees along Ottawa Beach Road have been removed from the roadway, though there are still several lying along the side of the street, and there are still power lines draped over the bike path near 152nd street. Cold food is cold again. Ice is ice again. Water runs, toilets flush. Children swam today, boaters boated. Ionia -- a small town along the Grand River -- made the national evening news because the power company released water from a dam and flooded out a parking lot full of cars at their fair yesterday. With several feet of water. They neglected to tell the mayor of Ionia or the organizers of the fair of their intentions. There is a car parked across the end of our driveway still -- it has been there since it flooded out during the storm on Friday -- our streets were rivers at the time. Apparently he can't get a tow truck to come and get it -- they are all busy in Ionia.

It doesn't look like enough water to flood out a Lexus, but it was. It was an interesting weekend -- very different from what we'd planned. TOPWLH stated that his Father's Day was fine. He spent a lot of it with his grandchildren, and made a crank call to his daughter, pretending to be from 1-800 Alzheimer's. Life is strange. I hope all you Fathers had a good day.

This is the ride I took with OSLO yesterday.

Powerless, Under Water

Yep, more rain. 4.5 inches or so, on already saturated ground. The lightening show across the lake was spectacular, but the wind gusts took down a lot of trees along Ottawa Beach Road and in Waukazoo woods. Leaving both houses without power starting about 8:30pm on Friday. There was no water in the basement, so we counted ourselves lucky.

Taken from the truck, along Ottawa Beach Road this morning.

OSLO and the kids had come into Holland earlier in the day (Friday), and we spent the night at the beach house. The water supply there comes from a well, which has an electric pump, thus the water goes out when the electricity fails. So we packed up the food from the not-so-cold box and headed north. To where OSLO lives.

Where OSLO and I took our planned Mother-Daughter bike ride, just in a different location. We got a call from an Idlewood neighbor that the electricity came back on there early this evening. It is still out at the Bay. Tomorrow we'll pack up the food we brought with us -- or most of it, anyway, and return home. Sigh......

1-800 Number*

We got 2.25 inches of rain overnight, I'm told. And some of the loudest cracks of thunder I can remember ever hearing very early this morning. Our weather patterns persist, and there was some severe looking weather on the radar near Chicago late this morning. The TV weather people seemed certain that it would stay south of us, so around noon I headed out for a brief ride. And by brief, I mean over to the Bay house and back. With a planned stop at the turn around spot to check the radar. And since it had rained so much I rode the Elite. Okay so far? It was a little damp, so the choice of bike was a good one. Except.... I don't carry a house key in the bike bag of that bike. As you can see, it was wet there, too. And I got an appropriate wildlife shot ...

So.... I had ridden this far, and had no key to get in. I had a cell phone, a camera and a $50 bill, but no key.... Nothing to do but take a few pictures and head back towards the house that wasn't locked. It started to sprinkle before I'd gotten far, so I took the short cut. I did hear thunder, but it never got to full on pouring rain. I even did a loop through Tunnel Park and around the neighborhood to round up my mileage. I walked in the house, turned on the weather channel, and saw the orange banner across the bottom of the screen warning of imminent severe weather. Ooops. * Okay, here is the footnote. There is a 1-800 number for people to call for help and information if someone they know might have Alzheimer's. The COTU think this is funny, and regularly ask if they should call the 1-800 number -- say, if I spill something on my shirt, or forget where I put something. Or leave the house on my bike with a thunderstorm on the way, and leave the key to my bail-out spot on my other bike.

No Privacy

I took a bike ride this morning -- a couple of hours, about 22 miles. Shortly after getting back I was sitting quietly, eating my lunch and watching the noon news when...... It just stood there for a while .. fortunately my camera was at hand, and I managed to get a photo before it startled, turned and ran. A peeping Bambi?

Since it now seems likely that I will be feeding the wildlife, I wanted to post a couple of photos of the progress with my 'garden.' The tomato on the left was out by the deck for a while, but it just wasn't thriving -- not enough sun. There is more sun near the steps, so I moved it. Somehow I don't think marigolds will be adequate protection from the deer.

The radishes need thinning, but maybe I'll just leave them and let Mother Nature take its course.

I left the zucchini in a pot next to the deck stairs, but it, too is not getting enough sun to thrive. Given that they have long odds anyway, I'm not sure that it is worth moving them. Ah, well. That's what the Farmers' Market is for.

Pests, but not Vermin

Ride #1. About 11:30 this morning, about 15 miles. I had barely gotten out of the driveway when I saw this deer. The white house is the one on the corner, across the street from us.

Ride #2. Late this afternoon, about 15 miles. Summer made an appearance here today. If it is nice enough for one bike ride, it is also nice enough for two. The boat is Lynne and Joe's new toy. It is a 42 foot sailboat, three bedrooms, two baths. It's slipped at Anchorage Marina. (Guest rider for scale.)

Snow

Okay, so it isn't snow. The cottonwood trees are going to seed, obviously. It only seems like it's been more like winter than spring, much less summer. I did a quick ride up and back to the PSPS this morning, leaving the COTU#1 in charge of Totally Jammin' -- with TOPWLH as back up. I had Granny Duty, but the appearance of the sun was just too tempting. It looks like it will be a rain free day, and the COTU's have been swimming and outdoor showering since I returned. TJ claimed the lake water was warm -- as did his sister. Those two are definitely hard core.

More Machines Eating Trees

What to do on a rainy day? For part of it, I watched while our neighbors had some trees removed from their property. One tree was sickly, another was rubbing up against their house.


I was concerned for the safety of our weeping beech tree, with trucks and equipment backed into our driveway. It appears to be fine, at this point.

Circle Tour

I took a longer ride than usual today, a little over 30 miles. The route went past several places that are familiar to those of you who have biked here, all on one ride. There was a steady north-west wind today, making the choice of direction pretty simple. The ride began by going north to the PSPS, further north to the Pigeon River-Power Plant-Hill, then turned inland. East then and still further north through the sparsely settled pine woods area to Stanton Corners, on the highway. Most of the land back there is either turkey farms or owned by the power company. The tracks in the photo are a spur that goes back to the plant. From Stanton Corners I turned south again, passing the PPS, also known as the WOOS, on the way to Hemlock Crossing.

Continuing on south and west from there I passed a newly designated Centennial Farm. The date on the barn is 1898, so about 111 years old. Still riding west and south, I joined Butternut again at the PSPS. The second pass by the PSPS closed the circle around the Pigeon River and the woods stuff north of it. The northwest wind held, making the ride back relatively easy, though my legs were quite definitely tired by the time I got near home. I was inspired to ride briskly up the Idlewood hill, however, by two women, both much, much younger than me, walking their comfort bikes up the hill. A just reward.

Cooking Blog

The girl COTU took a Life Management class this past semester. She learned how to make three things -- chocolate chip cookies, banana muffins and pizza bagels. Today she made the cookies for us. They are most excellent cookies. She looks forward to making them for 'the family' when they visit later this summer.

Green Shoots

With TT's salad post for comparison, here's my retirement gardening efforts for the year. This pot has cucumber plants in it, as well as a marigold for defense -- there's a pretty good sized rabbit population wandering around the neighborhood, so I don't have much hope that these will reach maturity. The fuzzy leaf in the lower corner is my poppy plant, which is getting close to blooming. It is also hard to find a spot that gets enough sun here, though these tomato plants have gotten larger since I planted them. That's a good sign, right?

I planted a few green pepper plants in with the chives, and the COTU added the marigolds. I had another pot of tomato plants there too, but they got eaten last weekend. We suspect the deer, but it could be rabbits or even raccoons.

The flat green leaves on the right are yellow irises. The purple flowers are the chives -- they are a perennial, and come up every year. (Duh...) I planted some at the other house because I like the flowers, and transplanted some out here several years ago. Honestly, I don't think I've ever eaten any. I also planted a few zucchini seeds this year. I think I have close to $10 invested in food production here. The soil quality is not good, though I did mix in some mulch like substance in the pots. We'll see if anything comes of it. I'll post a few photos now and then if anything grows.

Triple Chain Ring

After yesterday's combined miles, an easy spin sounded good today. I haven't ridden the bike shown below yet this year, which seems like a shame, because it is a nice bike. I have changed every battery on the computer twice, and it still doesn't register data consistently. So I used http://www.veloroutes.com/ and http://www.mapmyride.com/ to plot out the route, and averaged the two together to get a number to put in my bike log. I'm calling it 18 miles, to Quincy Park and back, with a stop for a little diet caffeinated red pop. That stuff is getting very hard to find around here. Yesterday's ride on the Bianchi Boardwalk was probably what triggered my choice of bikes. I walked the Bianchi up a lot of hills on TRAM I, but it is also the bike that I rode up Maiden Rock. The Allez Elite carried me through two more TRAMs, and up some serious Minnesota hills. It was also my ride for the 75 mile day that we went from Giant's Ridge to Lake Superior, downhill with a tail wind. These two bikes certainly have taken me places I never expected to go.

ReCycling

It was chilly this morning, but I wanted to take a bike ride. I had promised to be in Grand Haven this afternoon to serve as back up adult for Totally Jammin' while OSLO and the COTU #1 went on a field trip. I didn't want to haul my bike up there, and as mentioned, I wanted to ride today. So I dressed in what felt like full body armor (helmet liner, base layer, long sleeve jersey, jacket, tights, wool socks, long fingered gloves, TMI?) and rode north up Lakeshore to the PSPS, returning south along Butternut. Low to mid 50's for the entire trip, but sunny -- a rare enough occurrence here lately. I took no photos on that ride, though it was a pleasant hour and a half. Along the way it occurred to me that there was one other option that I hadn't considered that didn't involve taking my bike to Grand Haven. Ride OSLO's bike. So I did.

The Bianchi Boardwalk is OSLO's current ride. I checked the odometer, and that bike has 10,109 miles on it. The most of any of 'my' bikes. (It has more than that, as it has been ridden a fair amount with a dead battery in the computer, and just recently, with a misaligned wheel magnet.) Everything is different about that bike from what I'm used to these days -- the shifting, the crank length, the tire size -- and it is a hybrid. But I took it out for an hour or more, and it was fun -- though it never quit feeling odd. I rode around to the south side of the bayou near where OSLO lives -- she's on the north side. So here's a shot of a willow tree blowing in a 'warm' breeze on the south bank of Pottawatomie Bayou. It was a noticeably warmer ride, with just a base layer and day-glo yellow vest for warmth, and short fingered gloves. I stuck to tights, as it never got much above 65. I think it was my first re-cycling event of the season.

Tulip Feet

Today is the first of the month, theme day for some. The theme is 'feet.' Auckland Daily Photo -- link on the right -- has a particularly nice shot.