Science! Psuedo-science! Nature! Art! Nonsense!
July 11, 2019
farm, food garden, gem, harvest, photography, video Leave a comment
Rain and sun. Rain and sun. 90 degree days and massive afternoon thunderstorms. The garden is OK with all that.
First real harvest and a vegetarian dinner grown entirely on the property.
Watermellon? Watermellon.
First real harvest. Still waiting for tomatoes to get red.
July 1, 2019
fire, party, Photography amy, bitter liberals, bonfire, BORH, concert, fire, gem, jack, photography, solstice, solstice fire, summer solstice, summer solstice 2019, video 2 Comments
First a story of the lighting through the photography of Amy Barley.
Prepare to Burn
Burn
Light it Up
Fire Maiden
And that is how you turn the sun.
Things looked pretty much like this before we started
Then there were several undocumented hours in the river with the special beer float courtesy of Aubrey. We’re still not sure where he is.
The most popular guest of all was baby Cora. (Yes, that is the three McGraw brothers in kilts.)
Panorama by jackie
Idyllic
A video of the lighting.
This shot by my brother walt (at his first solstice) is one of my favorites.
From the bridge
Spectacular
When the fire burned down enough to get within 100 feet, we started the music.
Burning pile
Joel Winstead created some great sketches in real time.
Music by firelight
The fire
Gary and Gina
The the thunderstorm moved in around 11pm and we shifted the music to the barn. We played until 4am. What a joy.
Gary and Gina in the barn
Allen behind his hat
There are a few more pictures on the evite page. Thanks to all who came to the 2019 summer solstice fire!
Thanks for coming to the summer solstice!
April 10, 2019
farm, flowers, hiking, Photography, river bluebells, nature, photography, river, shenadoah river, shenandoah, Spring Leave a comment
The bluebells are peaking in mid-April this year (a bit early), so we are outta here, headed to Norway for more winter. Because we, um, actually we think we’re nuts.
Here are some pictures from the daily walk.
Willie likes Spring
Bluebells by the river (this is our home loop)
The dogs have lost the trail!
The greening of the Blue Ridge has begun
This field smells like honey
Pollen leg is a thing
Footbridge on Wheat Spring Branch
March 18, 2019
hiking, nature, trees amy, armstrong redwoods, armstrong redwoods state natural reserve, california, california coast, gem, giant redwoods, guerneville, hiking, nature, photography, redwood, trees, video 1 Comment
Whatever you do, make sure you visit the amphitheater (though this time of year it might have better been called the “amphibian-theater”). Also visit a winery and catch a buzz before you park the car.
The posse
Amy dwarfed by a giant redwood
The band at the crest
Crown
More crown
March 18, 2019
hiking, nature, ocean, Photography, trees california, california coast, David Joseph State Park, hiking, nature, pacific ocean, photography, Russian River, shell beach, sonoma, travel, video 1 Comment
On a beautiful Spring day (one of the first for months) we went to the edge of the continent with Uncle Jim and Chloe. Just south of the Russian river is Shell Beach and across Highway 1 from that is a nice set of trails traversing the coastal hills.
All told, we may have hiked 3.5 or 4 miles.
From the Pacific
Vernal mud on the trail
Spring mushrooms were everywhere (irises too)
To the fern forest
Then it was back down to the ocean.
January 2, 2019
party, who knows 2018, absinthe, new years eve, party, photography, seelbach Leave a comment
New Years Eve 2018 was a bummer. A few of our best friends actually came even though we let the dogs out and turned off all of the lights. Sorry.
Figuring out when “advance” is can be tricky near the international date line
This creepy guy showed up and flashed just about everyone
Fortunately the absinthe fairy saved the day
Well sorta. There were some killings. Accidental, of course. And the killer was really sorry before he even showed up at the party.
The Seelbach (a drink that we are really sorry about)
We’re sorry if you caught any communicable diseases. Really. The hooker said she was clean.
Look who’s pregnant now (and who has whose nuts in a very small jar)
Someone is looking crazed well after midnight when the absinthe was flowing. Â
And someone else is looking wasted
Cheers!
Braxton Hicks is a bitch
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL. WE’RE SORRY. IN ADVANCE.
December 1, 2018
flowers, hiking, mountain, nature, Photography, plants amy, australia, blue mountains, day trip, gem, hiking, katoomba, nature, photography, sydney, train, video 1 Comment
A two hour train ride outside of Sydney, you can find the tourist hamlet of Katoomba in the Blue Mountains. Tourists have been coming here since the turn of the century (1900). Katoomba itself reminds me of West Virginia in its old coal town turned bust turned tourist vibe. You can now find hipsters and artists in residence.
We took the train out in the morning and spent several hours walking from the train station to a trailhead, down the cliff face, and back up again.
Highlights on the mountain visit include the three sisters, the giant stairway (976 steps!), waterfalls, and the steepest railroad in Australia.
We started our morning at Sydney central
The two hour train ride is a little long. The tourist center by the train station is well worth a visit. That is where we finalized our plan.
8things cafe. Great food and super service
Cassiopia coffee (recommended)
We walked from the station to Echo point (2.3 km).
The Echo Point visitors center
This is where we first caught sight of the famed three sisters. Which we saw many times throughout the day.
Three sisters from Echo Point visitor center
Three sisters from the echo point trail
Three sisters from the trail
Three sisters from just above
Honeycomb cave (at the three sisters)
Three sisters from below on the Federal trail
Three sisters from Scenic World gondola
Here’s what happened in between. After honeycomb cave, we entered the giant stairway. Lots of stairs down (976 in fact). Amy did not do them all.
This is an alternative way to get down the stairs (not recommended by our attorney)
Not here
Here
Flowers and bromiliads
Amy
AMY
A tiny fiddlehead against the mountains
Down
Flowers on the mountain
Looking down 500 feet
The blue mountains
Amy contemplates
Cliff hangers
Amy takes the stairs with a monk
Cliff hangers and rare species
Eventually, we entered the rain forrest at the bottom of the cliff.
The giant stairway is well named. It has been there a while.
Rainforest ecology
Amy rounds the bend
Ferns and trail. The rainforest shift is striking
A very big tree indeed
Katoomba Creek falls
After the falls, we were back in what passes as civilization. Scenic world was first contemplated by coal miners. Just take the train thingy up.
And, why not? Try the cable car too.
We walked back from scenic world (another 2.5km). All told we may have hiked around 5 miles. We deserved a beer.
After a long day hiking, it was high time for a beer!
The 2 hour train ride back to Sydney was slightly too long.
