TAking a ride

It is Monday and I realized I haven’t blogged since Friday. I just was busy..so sorry. Let me tell you what’s been happening. 

Last week we had the stump removed from the front yard. I’ve never seen a machine that does that and it was quite a process. When the tree was cut down there was a hollow spot right in the middle which means that old crab apple tree had been dying from the inside out. It was time for it to go. But I still miss its shade. 

Don and I took a ride the other day to Gowanda in New York State. It is about an hour from home. It was such a pleasant day for a ride. Don always loved to fish and he often went up to the Cattaragus Creek to catch steelhead trout which came up the creek much as salmon do. He would hook into a big one and loved the thrill. Many times he’d bring a cooler full home. He took me down to two spots where he fished. It is so beautiful there I can understand how much he loved it. Unfortunately with his COPD he has to give all that walking and fishing up. It is a horrible disease that limits your activity. That is so hard for a man who was always strong and active. 

On the way we saw some interesting things such as this yellow submarine...

And this crazy house. 

But what we really went up there for was to go to the small fruit market. When Don fished he always stopped there to bring home some produce fresh from the local farms. We stopped at that same market and I brought home a trunk full of squash, peppers, pumpkins, and cauliflower. I love the vegetables of fall and will make some butternut squash soup soon. We had stuffed peppers for dinner that night which were delicious. 

These orchids are not just beautiful but are rare because they have so many blooms on the plant. We visited Bill and Jan and she has raised orchids for over forty years. She took me to her basement where it is like a botanical garden with two large stands full of the most gorgeous orchids I have ever seen. Bill and Don have been friends since they were in high school. Jan was a high school biology teacher. They gave us some of the last tomatoes and peppers from their garden. 

This picture is from a few weeks ago but I thought I’d add it since we are catching up. At the Willow Dale cemetery pond just a stone’s throw from my house there is a gathering every year of men who love model battleships. The drive them around the pond shooting at each other and have a great time. 

This beautiful building is the administration building at Allegany State Park, the largest state park in New York. The park is only a few miles from Bradford and on Saturday night I joined my friend for dinner there. The small restaurant is on the second floor and we enjoyed a delicious dinner there. The lake you see is Redhouse Lake and we drove all the way around it to get to the restaurant. It was such a lovely drive. 

Now you are all caught up on my activities. Besides doing all that yesterday I had a burst of energy like I haven’t had since forever. I took advantage of that and cleaned the garage, trimmed bushes and a small tree, put away some summer things, cleaned out my summer closet, changed my bed, and did all the laundry.  Whew! It felt so good to have that much energy for a change.