Outdoor Fun

You might not know it from my more sedate, indoor pursuits like crocheting, but I really like outdoor cooking.  I think it stems from my happy Girl Scout camp memories.  Nothing like s'mores, banana boats, and "hobo stew."  Yesterday, Sis and I spent some time in the woods of central CT cooking outside with other scouts.  With snow on the ground!  Certainly, I never did that as a kid in Texas.

But with two fires set up for various types of cooking, we weren't ever really cold (though we had on our snow boots and gloves.)  The girls made grilled cheeses in pie irons, biscuits in a reflector oven, sloppy joes in a Dutch oven, and spiced apples in foil packets.  Sis loved those pie iron sandwiches--just butter and white bread and American cheese!  I remember that my great-grandmother had a cast iron press that was used indoors--I even inherited it--and she made great toasted sandwiches.  Sky's the limit with those--pizza crust and meatballs, pie crust and pie filling, or pie crust and marshmallows and chocolate, white bread with cream cheese and strawberries, and on and on.  Sis has now put pie iron on her list of things to get and wants to cook outdoors with them this summer.  At least it's easier than Dutch oven to carry and clean!

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Grilled Cheeses in a Pie Iron
Spray pie irons with nonstick spray.  Spread butter liberally on two slices of bread, one side only.  Place in pie iron and add cheese.  Close.  Insert pie iron into the coals, checking your sandwich regularly.  Yum!

Sloppy Joes
Put Dutch oven on rack over coals or in coals, depending on heat of your fire.  Spray with nonstick spray.  Saute onions and peppers.  Add ground beef to brown.  Season with Worchestershire, onion powder, ketchup, and a tiny bit of vinegar.  Add diced tomatoes.  Simmer until done.   Serve with reflector-oven biscuits (just put those store-bought biscuits in that oven and cook til done.)

Spiced Apples
Slice apples and place on a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil.  Add cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and a dollop of butter.  Wrap up foil into packet and place in coals until bubbly.

The Owl and the Pussycat: A Tale of Two Animals

As you know, it is owling season for me here along the Connecticut coast, especially now since a Snowy was spotted nearby.  Last week, I went to a state park to look for the Snowy, walking up and down the boardwalk, checking the marshes where it had been photographed the day before.  No luck. And then I spotted a group of photographers in a distant parking lot, so I hightailed it across the beach, past a display of Kindness Rocks and several rock art formations ("Hi," "God," and a heart.)  There were four or five photographers and birders with binoculars, some standing on the bed of a pickup; they were all focused not on the beach but on the brush behind.

I whispered, "Good morning!  What are we looking at?  The Snowy?"

No, and they pointed into the brush.  It was an animal.  They were so excited.

I looked; I saw it.  "That animal at 11 o'clock?" I asked.  Yep.

"It's a bobcat," they said.

I raised my binoculars again and studied it again.  "Um, that's a marmalade tabby cat.  Not a bobcat."  They continued to stare, partly in disbelief, until one of the other photographers confirmed:  housecat.

I guess birders don't know bobcats.  I laughed all the way home.

I try not to get disappointed when I go looking, unsuccessfully, for the Snowy.  To paraphrase my dad, "A bad day birding is better than a good day doing chores and errands."  I try to think of it as a nice walk outside, but I can't help but be a little disappointed when I don't spot one, especially when it has been in the area.

And so, yesterday, when I saw that someone had posted about the Snowy being spotted that very morning, I headed out.  Mama was home with a head cold but decided to go with me.  And brought her camera.

I know you know from the pictures already posted how this turns out, but let me tell you the whole story.

We wandered for more than an hour.  First where the bird had been spotted; we checked with a gentleman who was also birding but he hadn't seen it.  Then we checked along the beaches, heading to the nearby point.  We talked to another birder there who hadn't seen Snowy either.  Sigh.  And so we decided to go home the way we came, via the marsh, for one last look.

That's when I saw her (probably her, or a juvenile, because of all the black flecks.)  By happenstance, I looked over the passenger's side at just the right moment and saw the owl on the ground.  Mama saw a blur and we rushed to find a place to turn around.  I figure I made more than a few moving violations, but there were few people around at midday.  We pulled up across from where I saw the owl and I encouraged Mama with the big camera to hop out; she insisted I get out, and so I did, running across the still-empty road.  And I just stood there, watching it.

The bird was about 20 feet away, on the ground in the brush near a canal--and a no trespassing sign!  It sat there--all thick and fluffy--just looking around, at me, at some of the passing cars, at who knows what.  I didn't want to stress or flush the owl, and so I didn't go any closer, stood still on my spot.  She was very white with many contrasting flecks.  Very puffy, too.  So still, except for moving her head (easily more than 180 degrees, but not the mythic 360) and squinting and then opening her eyes.

And before Mama could get back to our spot, the gentleman birder from the beach drove by!  He parked (illegally--I wasn't the only one making questionable maneuvers) and stood still watching and photographing, too.  We were just amazed at her beauty and quiet.

Mama returned and parked in front of him, deciding it was worth the cost of a parking ticket.  And then she took those gorgeous photos with her fancy camera.  The other birder left and Mama and I stayed to marvel.  The owl just kept her place.  And while we would have loved to stay until she flew off, we a). didn't want to scare her, b). had to get Mama to her doctor's appointment, and c). didn't want to cause traffic problems.

This is my favorite of Mama's photos.

I was in awe and joyful the rest of the day.  WE SAW A SNOWY OWL IN THE WILD!!!!  No binoculars necessary.  Complete luck.  I've been looking for a Snowy off and on for three years--and yes, we did see one last year (the kids and I) about 300 yards off in the marsh.  But this sighting was so much more amazing.  And I was glad Mama was with me (she hadn't seen it last year.)

Just a little bit of magic on a wintry day.

A Walk in the Woods

Last week, our Girl Scouts had a field trip to a local mountain, so-called in CT because it's a tall hill.  And I think, of all of us, I had the best time!  The tour focused on the natural history and human habitation of the area that could be read in the trees, reaching back to Native Americans and colonists and up through the agricultural use of the area, all of which I found fascinating--and I love rock walls!  I was proud that I made it through the hike, since parts of it had rocks and roots covered in leaves and unstable-for-me inclines and declines.

I'm becoming a much better hiker, a term I use loosely when applied to myself.  See, I don't think I realized what hiking was, seeing it as walking on paths through nature--not the arduous and sometimes treacherous climbing over rocks and trees and slopes that it is.  I first realized this in Vermont last weekend, when I was shocked to see what the Appalachian Trail looked like--not so much a path as a slightly-cleared thin line snaking through trees and rocks.  I'm now much more impressed with hikers than I ever was, particularly those who hike for months, sleeping on the way.

What we learned on our hike:

• cedars grow where once there were agricultural fields
• "wolf tree"--a tree with many protruding branches which was once probably the lone tree in a field.
• charcoal kiln--where farmers would gather and stack timber, cover it with leaves etc to burn it into charcoal for sale
• quarry--the holes and cuts of star drills, etc., were visible on cuts stones of an outcropping
• "three-sisters tree":  when trunks are cut during timbering and then another trunk grows out of the roots, then there are trees with 2-3 trunks, a sign of timbering
• how to roll a log--towards you to protect yourself from what might be lurking.  And always put it back!
• walnut, chestnut, hickory, and oak--local trees that produce edibles
• quartz--if you see a pile of quartz chips, it could indicate Native American tool-making.
• deer rub--an abrasion on a tree where deer mark their territories.
• rock walls--Second and third-generation European settlers (around mid-18th century) found that erosion caused by tree cutting and agriculture started to reveal all the boulders below the soil.  It was a curse on farmers!  They tried to clear fields, piling rocks as the iconic New England rock wall (most dating to late 18th and then 19th centuries), but agriculture in Connecticut ceased for the most part by the beginning of the 20th century, being too difficult and not profitable enough (hence the switch to manufacturing in much of the Northeast, as well as the move of settlers to better farmlands in Ohio, etc.)  In fact, the state is more forested now than since the settlers arrived; most trees are under 100 years old.  I love those rock walls and have been reading a history of them.

Between the hikes in Vermont and this hike, I'm of a mind to do more nature walks--as long as they are very easy access!

Rock walls

Wolf Tree to the right of center

More walls

Quarry holes

Wish Me Luck

Tonight.

Me.

Thirteen 11-year-old Girl Scouts.

4 other adults.

Camping.

Outdoors.

S'mores.

A night hike.

Flashlights.

Sleeping on the ground.

Wish me luck.

My Bird List--UPDATED

My Selected Checklist of Raptors et al I've Seen in the Wild (does not, therefore, include falconry shows, raptor rescue organizations, etc.) 

2018
1/11/18, point: Short-eared owl; marsh: 2 Snowy Owls (one attacking clapper rail), Iceland Gull
1/8/18, hospice: Bald eagle (eating lunch on ice)

2017
12/22/17, point:  Northern Harrier
12/6/17, airport: Snowy Owl
12/3/17, beach:  SNOWY OWL!!!!
11/28/17, highway: 1 bald eagle overhead
week of 8/13:  Hog Island, Muscungus Bay, Maine:  bald eagle, loon, cormorant, eider, surf scoter, white-winged scoter black guillemot, common tern, ruby-crested kinglet, American goldfinch, chickadee, puffin, sand piper, laughing gull, herring gull, ruby-throated hummingbird, blue jay.

2016
12/14/16, marsh:  SNOWY OWL!!!!!
12/4/16:  river:  Bald Eagle diving in river and rising out again
9/16/16, park:  5 turkey vultures, osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Monk Parakeets
9/15/16, park:  juvenile Bald Eagle, osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Monk Parakeets, European starlings
9/12/16, park:  ospreys (one with a fish!), accipiters, Red-tailed Hawk, Monk Parakeets
9/10/16, park:  5 turkey vultures, ospreys, accipiters, Monk Parakeets
8/28/16, Greenwich hawk watch:  turkey vultures, accipiters playing with vultures,
4/21/16, historic house:  Northern Harrier
4/16/16, Canton CT "owl prowl":  Barred Owl in a tree; heard lots of calls later
2/29/16, point:  Snow Buntings, 2 American Tree Sparrows
2/29/16, marsh:  Mute Swan
2/22/16, marsh:  Snowy Owl on a log about 300 yards out


2015
10/2/15, backyard:  accipiter going after squirrel
2/16/15, river:  Bald Eagle
2/3/15, tree near sidewalk: Red-Tail Hawk


Before 2015
11/15/14, BI:  3 Saw Whet Owls (Nature Conservancy tagging); Northern Harrier along the beach
10/14/09, side of the road in Texas at night:  Barn Owl

MNEMONICS

Northern Cardinal--birdie-birdie-birdie or cheer-cheer-cheer

White throated sparrow--Old Sam Peabody Peabody Peabody

Nashville Warbler--see-bit-see-bit-see-bit-see-see-see-see

Common Loon--who-who-ha-ha-ha

Blue Jay--jeer

RWBB--kon-ka-ree

Song sparrow--note, note, trillllllll, note  (field sparrow also has trillllll--bouncing ball coming to a stop)

American Robin--cheerily, cheerily, cheer up

Chipping Sparrow--trill

Mountain chickadee--chick-a-dee dee dee

Common Yellowthroat--whichety-whichety-whichety

Blue-winged warbler--bee buzz

Indigo Bunting--what? what? where? where? see it? see it?

NORTHEAST:

American goldfinch--potato chip, tee-yee

American robin--cheerily, cheer up, cheer up

Blue Jay--jeer!

Eastern Phoebe--fee-be

Gray Catbird--chek chek (but doesn't usually repeat)

Indigo Bunting--what? what? where? where? see it? see it?

Mourning Dove--coo-OO-oo

Red-bellied Woodpecker--kwirr, kwirr or cha cha

White-throated sparrow--Old Sam Peabody or Oh sweet Canada

Yellow Warbler--sweet sweet sweet I'm so sweet


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FIELD MARKS--Common Easter birds:

• American Crow: all black
• American Goldfinch:  black and yellow bird; short bill and black cap
• American Robin: grey-brown with orange underparts and dark head
• American Tree Sparrow:  rusty cap and eyeline; overall, rusty brown
• Baltimore Oriole: dark head, orange underparts, white stripe on wing
• Black-capped Chickadee: white cheeks with black cap and nape, grey wings
• Blue Jay: strikingly blue, black and white with crest
• Brewer's blackbird: yellow eye but all black otherwise
• Brown-headed cowbird: females are all brown; males have black bodies
• Carolina chickadee: black cap and nib with white cheek
• Carolina Wren:  tail cocks upwards
• Chipping Sparrow: black line through the eye with rusty crown
• Common Grackle: iridescent head and long beak
• Common Ground Dove: sandy brown doves with round wings
• Common Raven:  massive and entirely black
• Common Redpoll:  streaky brown feathers, black feathers around yellow bill, red forehead patch
• Cooper's Hawk: 
• Dark-eyed junco: pink bill, black body and white underbelly
• Downy woodpecker: only small red patch on males, small beaks comparatively
• Eurasian Collared Dove
• European starling: splotches, yellow beaks, black or iridescent
• Evening Grosbeak: yellow and black with white wing patch, dark head with yellow eyebrow
• Field Sparrow: white eyering, reddish cap and reddish line from eye
• Fox Sparrow: overall rust with splotchy chest, some grey on head
• Hairy Woodpecker: checkerboard wings, two white stripes on head, male red patch on head
• House Finch: streaky brown and black body and tail, red face and breast for male
• House Sparrow: chunky shape
• Mourning Dove: small head, pointed tail, black mark on cheek
• Northern Cardinal
• Northern Flicker:  brownish with white rump patch
• Pileated Woodpecker: big red crest, large birds, black and white striped face
• Pine Siskin: streaky birds with subtle yellow tails (notched)
• Pine Warblers: yellowish birds with olive backs, two white wingbars
• Purple Finch: male has pink-red head and breast; streaky breasts, dark throat line
• Red-bellied Woodpecker: red cap, pale-ish overall
• Red-breasted nuthatch: black cap and stripe with strong white eyebrow; rusty bellies
• Red-headed Woodpecker: red head, white breast and wing patch
• Red-winged blackbird: red patch on males; females are strikingly striped
• Rose-breasted Grosbeak: males have red chevron; females are brown streaked with white eyebrow
• Sharp-shinned Hawk:  rounded wings
• Song sparrow: streaky brown and white, some grey on heads
• Tufted Titmouse: grey crest and stout bill, peach on flanks, black forehead
• White-breasted nuthatch: black cap and frosty face and underparts
• White-crowned sparrow:  very bold black and white head stripes, otherwise pale grey
• White-throated sparrow: striking head pattern with yellow patch
• White-winged dove--black "comma" on cheek and white wing patch
• Yellow-bellied sapsucker:  red crest and throat, white stripe on wings

Hawk Watch

I've been continuing my own hawk watch and bird identification process.  There's a nearby park on a hill with a good view of the landscape so that I can more easily scan the skies.  Both Saturday and yesterday, I went looking for raptors and had a great time.

Yesterday was especially nice because I met a fellow birdwatcher, a veteran with 30+ years of experience.  He had lots of information and experience he was willing to share.  He was looking for broadwing hawks, who migrate through the area about one week every year.  Sometimes, he says you can see a whole kettle of hundreds of hawks streaming out of the clouds.  But there was not enough wind and no clouds for contrast, so he only saw a couple in the distance.  I had already seen an osprey carrying a fish in the telltale parallel formation that makes the fish more aerodynamic.  He helped me with more signs of ospreys--the M-silhouette of the wings, the black "wrists", the "fingers" at the tips of the wings.  In contrast, red tails have a black belly band and no "M." To differentiate ospreys from similarly M-shaped gulls at a distance, you look for a sheen of white when the bird turns--white is a gull; dark is an osprey.  I called out a few osprey on my own (probably the same one coming back and forth a few times)--I'm getting really good at those.  He also heard a red tail hawk screech, though we never saw it, and so I think I can now recognize that sound.  He was very kind and complementary, praising my "young eyes" (he was probably in his 80s.)  So, I would spot the flash of a bird in the distance and he'd site them with his binoculars and ID them quickly.  He even saw an eagle and a broadwing that I never could find.  I asked him about the accipiter I'd seen attacking turkey vultures.  He said it was probably a juvie sharp-shinned or Cooper's hawk just playing; he says they practice that way.  I also told him my monk parakeet story.

See, when I'd sat on my bench, I knew I was between two of the tall spruces in which the resident monk parakeets nest.  There were no droppings on the bench, though, so I figured I was safe; I also had my hat on.  Soon, those bright, little, green birds started their abrasive squawking . . . . and started dropping twigs on me!  The twigs never actually hit me, but five or six fell nearby and the noise grew louder.  My birdwatcher friend said that those parakeets were jerks!  I'll remember never to walk under their trees!

A few other things I've picked up in the last few outings:

• Binoculars take practice!  I can't always see well out of them, especially if my arms or hands are moving even a bit.  But I'm getting better with focusing them and seeing the one circle through them, bracing my arms against my sides.
• Lingo and technique:  the sighting of birds is identified by landforms (though I tend to use the clock, with "12" dead ahead) and by how many glasses (i.e. binocular circles) above the landform it is.  So, you might say, "Red tail at 12, two glasses above the maple." You might also try to indicate how far out it is.  To search for birds, you scan back and forth, raising up a glass each pass.  I tend to spot them with my bare eyes and then pull my binoculars up to where I'm looking; sometimes I lose them in the process.
• Birdwatchers tend to be friendly and generous with information.  I've talked to a few now, beginning with those searching for the Snowy Owl last winter.  They are dedicated and kind.
• As my interest in raptors grows (from Ren Faire falconry shows to historic falconry and our own lesson to Harry Potter's Hedwig to real Snowy Owls to raptors in general and now the Hawk Watch), so does my interest in nature in general--identifying plants, trees, noticing butterflies, watching the weather, worrying about the environment.  It can all start with birds.
• I like talking birds with Pop.  It's less stressful than our usual discussion of politics!  And he knows so much.  I'm not into ducks as much as he is.  Yet!
• I haven't started a life list or bird log yet.  But I've taken some notes below.  And I have checklists on eBird.

I'll be going back as often as I can, especially when the wind and clouds are right.

And soon it will be Snowy Owl season.

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My Selected Checklist of Raptors et al I've Seen in the Wild
9/12/16, park:  ospreys (one with a fish!), accipiters, Red-tailed Hawk, Monk Parakeets
9/10/16, park:  5 turkey vultures, ospreys, accipiters, Monk Parakeets
8/28/16, Greenwich hawk watch:  turkey vultures, accipiters playing with vultures,
4/21/16, historic house:  Northern Harrier
4/16/16, Canton CT "owl prowl":  Barred Owl in a tree; heard lots of calls later
2/29/16, point:  Snow Buntings, 2 American Tree Sparrows
2/29/16, marsh:  Mute Swan
2/22/16, marsh:  Snowy Owl on a log about 300 yards out
10/2/15, backyard:  accipiter going after squirrel
2/16/15, river:  Bald Eagle
2/3/15, tree near sidewalk: Red-Tail Hawk
11/15/14, BI:  3 Saw Whet Owls (Nature Conservancy tagging); Northern Harrier along the beach
10/14/09, side of the road in Texas at night:  Barn Owl

"Lazy Circles in the Sky"

Yesterday, we had a delightful afternoon yesterday, attending an Audubon program about hawks.  As you know, I'm fond of raptors, as is Mama--owls, falcons, hawks.  We've seen birds-of-prey shows, gone on an "owl prowl," taken falconry lessons, gone on a nighttime owl-tagging program, and taken every chance we can to see and learn about raptors.  And yesterday, we had another chance--we spent an hour or so learning about the body shapes, markings, flying profiles, behaviors, diet, "profession," and migration of hawks.

Just a few takeaways:

• Most hawks follow their food sources.  Some hawks eat small mammals mostly--like the Red-Tail Hawk--so they can stay up north during the winter.  Other hawks and raptors eat dragonflies and snakes and have to migrate south to find them.   Apparently, the peregrine will go from Greenland all the way to Tierra del Fuego!  On one occasion a few years ago, so many raptors passed through Panama City, that they had to close the airport--there were 2 million birds in the air that day!  Of course, some raptors stay closer--arctic birds think Buffalo is paradise in winter.  Connecticut is apparently one of the migration "funnels"--birds come from New England and Canada and see the Sound and turn right through Connecticut, which is why there are several official Hawk Watch spots here.  
• You can even tell the original location of a bird somewhat by size.  Northern birds tend to be larger because it helps them save more body heat for winter.  (And of course, female birds are larger than male birds.)
• The Audubon education specialist gave so much information (some of it via avian interpretative dance!) that I can't recall it all and might have mixed it up.  A bald eagle looks like a "barn door in the sky," while ospreys look like an "M."  Goshawks will fly like Luke Skywalker through trees (my comparison!), while harriers will sail low over trees or the brush near the coast.  
• I couldn't keep track all of the markings--horizontal stripes, vertical stripes, thick, thin, brown, red, gray, all changing based on the age or gender of the raptor.  I know that juvie bald eagles are brownish and don't get that distinctive white head until they are about five years old.  A Northern Harrier female is brown and a male is white with gray, "the Gray Ghost."  
• And I really doubt I'll be able to keep the size differentials of, say, the Red-Tail vs. the Red-Shouldered Hawk (smaller), straight.  I can recognize the tiny kestrel vs. a turkey vulture, though.  As my dad says, if you guess Red-Tail Hawk, you'll be right 90% of the time.  
• For more information, go to Hawk Watch International.  There are some helpful fact sheets.  There will also be a Great Hawk Festival at Greenwich Audubon on September 16-17.

Then we headed out to the field with our binoculars to spot some hawks.  I've never been very good with binoculars, but I'm getting better.  We have a nice pair from Pop and borrowed a few kids pairs so we could all look.  And the first thing we saw was a turkey vulture, of course.  But soon, there was an "accipiter"--some kind of red hawk--who actually attacked two turkey vultures repeatedly, high in the air.  It was fascinating.  And we all got to see it!  The official Hawk Watch volunteers (who are there everyday from mid-August to the beginning of December to count migrating raptors) also spotted an osprey, but I don't think the rest of us saw it.  (I did see an "M" osprey over the river driving to pick up Sis from horseback riding lessons today.)

It was a lovely afternoon and I'm so excited to try out my new knowledge.  Though, it's pretty easy to identify a Snowy Owl!

Our Fifth Honeymoon

It was our fifth annual "nano-honeymoon," our nickname for our getaway weekend without the kids, since we never had an official honeymoon (though, you could say our first 8 years--without kids--were one, I suppose.)  We've been to the same hotel near Union Square four times and then Block Island once.  We love the alone time, the break in routine, the relaxation and restoration, exploring both the familiar and the new.

The kids spent the very rainy weekend with their NYC grandparents, devouring a ton of Chinese food (both in restaurants and at home), visiting the beach when they could, and going to the movies.  They also spent some time playing computer games with their uncle, Goo, introducing him to Dragonvale.  They had a great time and were sad when we showed up.

We were a little sad to show up, too!  Re-entry into the world of chores, work, bills, and discipline can be rather harsh, but at least there were no hairballs all around the house when we got home.  We have a wonderful cat sitter who takes good care of the cats and house when we're gone.  She even made friends with our new cat, Eris.  And the tree work we had done came out just fine (our tree guy could only squeeze us in this weekend and we weren't changing our reservations.)  See, the electric company is brazenly cutting down many of the town's lovely huge trees because they are caught in the wires.  It's awful (the whole state has been razing trees along highways and state routes--it looks like another storm hit.)  And so, with hopes of saving the giant maple on the side of the house, which is officially a town tree, being on the other side of the sidewalk, we surreptitiously paid to have the tree trimmed and entwined or dead branches removed.  I hope it helps.  The tree looks shorn, but perhaps it won't be cut down, if the electric company ever gets to the secondary roads.

Okay, back to the fun part.

It was, as I mentioned, a wet, humid, hot weekend, which isn't our favorite, but we didn't have any firm plans and we could change activities as needed.  A combination of restaurants, walking, browsing, books, Harry Potter, doodles and Zentangle, flowers, and rainbows--just lovely!

Friday

Our first stop was Craftbar, one of Chef Tom Colicchio's restaurants, where we had reservations for a late lunch as part of NYC Restaurant Week.  Oh, it was so good--celery shrub tonic; my first of many mint ginger lemonades; cold sunchoke soup with a black garlic reduction; a delicious pecorino fonduta with honey, pine nuts, and crostini; a table salad; a perfectly seasoned and roasted Amish chicken breast with kale, fava beans, and pickled eggs; duck hearts with dumplings which Mama liked; a light and creamy vanilla parfait; and a divine chocolate peanut butter tart with peanut brittle and peanut ice cream.  Oh, and cappuccino!  Mmmmmmm!


We walked off the meal at the art supply store, Dick Blick, where I picked up more pens and canvases for Zentangle and Art Rocks; we also got two little books--642 Things to Draw and 642 Things to Write About--which we filled out off and on and a coloring book of Delft tiles which we used a set of blue colored pencils on.  We also made our first meander around the Greenmarket in Union Square.  At the heat of the day, we took a break in our room, a lovely back room in the Inn at Irving Place, in a  jewel-like 19th-century brownstone (a friend, seeing photos of the lobby, asked if we were staying in Downton Abbey!)  I loved the large mirror, grated fireplace and mantle, tall windows, fluffy duvet on the bed, high timbered ceiling, moldings, and wooden floors.  It's like being back in time.  But with air-conditioning, hot running water, electric lamps, wifi, and flush toilets.  (I'd never really make it in the past.)


At dusk, we walked the Highline, which I had never walked before.  It's a perfectly New York kind of garden, on the abandoned elevated rail lines.  I loved the dense plantings of the informal garden--black-eyed susans, the purple spiked gayfeather, and the lovely purple coneflowers--plus the water features (I waded one foot in!), the public art, the exposed rails, and the views of the city and river.  We got some refreshing treats from the People's Pops, blueberry with jasmine and grape with coconut cream.  The most unexpected part of the Highline were the three topless women walking around with a topless little girl and a topless man; and he was photographing the whole thing, particularly people's reactions.  Two of the women--women of color--seemed to relish the nude exotic stereotype of the female "other" by artists like Gauguin--with elaborate necklaces and translucent wraps (and she didn't have on anything underneath); they posed but didn't seem to undermine the historical paradigm at all. The Caucasian woman was voluptuous, the nice way to say overweight--with large sagging breasts that clearly breast fed and a stomach that's held at least one child--but she was subverting the Rubenesque stereotypes of languid, sexed big white women.  Plus she was cursing up a blue streak.  It was all very odd.  Especially because it doesn't seem to be illegal for women to be topless (cops came and went, actually throwing two skateboarders off the Highline.)  All of which is good, i.e. the right to be topless, but honestly I'm not quite sure I understood the point.  It wasn't particularly political or even performative art; if anything, it seemed like exhibitionism intended to shock.  And good ol' NYC barely batted an eyelid.  Everyone noticed but no one seemed particularly shocked or bothered.  I was intrigued but also a little . . . bored by it.


We went to nearby Chelsea Market afterwards, wandering the shops of arts and crafts (including cream-coloredlace in hoops, which I'm inspired to make, with a small crochet hook, a little like my mandalas), books, and food items.  We ate some delicious crepes--a lemon sugar one and a truffled mozzarella one--and some currywurst, plus some Fat Witch brownies and some chocolate orange peel from Li-Lac, which is a shop we had visited in the Village on one of our first city walks together back in 1994.  I liked the architecture--despite reminders of its role as abbatoir--and how it has been converted into a modern-day market.  And there were twinkle lights!  Also, lots of rainbows around town . . . .

We took a cab back to Union Square, grabbed some falafel with fixings (chickpeas, cabbage, beets, carrots, and garlic sauce) and another mint lemonade from Maoz, and headed back to our room for the night.  I just love walking through NYC.  I miss it.  But I know it isn't always easy to live there--so many people, traffic, expense, dirt--which is why we still visit.

Saturday
We slept in, til almost 10, and wandered over to brunch at Friend of a Farmer--toasted quick breads (lemon, banana chocolate chip, cornbread, zucchini bread) with apple butter; pumpkin walnut pancakes; chicken salad; and iced coffee.  Very tasty.  And I love the incongruity of the homey farmhouse decor--even pig and chicken plates! plus ingredients in jars, baskets, etc (looks like some of the cross-stitch patterns I have)--in downtown NYC.  But sitting chair to chair squeezed in together, you never really forget where you are.

After brunch, though not hungry, we wandered Bedford Cheese Market next door, picking up interesting things--buttermilk chocolate bar, orange blossom water candy, little pepperoncini sticks, chewy Haribo candies for Bud.  Our local grocery stores just carry the usual things, for the most part; if we want unusual international or epicurean food, we pretty much have Whole Foods.  I like the little markets of NYC.

Then we went to Forbidden Planet, which looks more and more like Hot Topics every year, with more toys of popular culture staples (Doctor Who, Marvel superheroes, Star Wars) than comic books and alternative culture artifacts than there used to be--but the air conditioning is better!  Strand Books was very crowded, typical Saturday afternoon, I imagine.  We browsed the art books and I picked up a Zentangle title which, according to Amazon, hasn't even been released here yet.  We also got a book about NY architecture.  The shop was clearly getting ready for the Harry Potter launch that night, with HP books and such around, including a "Hermione 2016" t-shirt.  We hadn't chosen where we were spending HP night.

We wandered our little neighborhood--the house where Washington Irving lived, the tavern "O'Henry made famous," and Gramercy Park, the last enclosed private garden in NYC.  I left a tangled Art Rock at the gate (I'd left another in the planter right outside our inn), after gazing at the formal garden inside.  Then we had a delightful walk through the Greenmarket; it was more packed with booths and customers than the evening before.  My favorite maple lemon mint tea, handspun and dyed yarns (picked up two skeins of cream to make some embroidery hoop hangings a la Chelsea market), artisanal garlic, and these gorgeous English garden roses with a dense sphere of petals, a light scent and delicate pink color.  I carried them around the rest of the day, as my own poesy, sniffing them as we went.  We stopped at Gothic Revival Grace Church, with its stained glass windows, faux stone plaster tracery, and a memorial to a parishioner who gave up her seat on a Titanic lifeboat for a woman with children at home.    We sat in Washington Square, looking at the surrounding buildings, the people, and the gathering clouds; Mama always remembers childhood summers there while Ma finished her PhD at NYU.


Next, lunch at Mario Batali's Otto, one of our favorites--outstanding spinach salad with ricotta salata and honey truffle dressing; roasted beets; crusty bread and thin breadsticks; delicious fusilli with sweet Italian sausage and escarole; pasta putanesca; and amazing desserts--a butterscotch pudding with coffee bourbon glaze and rosemary biscotti and a sweet corn gelato with polenta cake and corn crema.  Mmmmmm.  Mmmmmm.  And iced cappuccino.  We watched it rain outside while we debated our choices for the rest of the day.  We opted for some down time in the room doodling and resting, then another evening out, despite the rain.

I had fun with two new Zentangle books, including The Great Zentangle Book (which, according to Amazon, isn't out yet!) and Zendoodle, which together introduced me to Rubenesque and Geo-flower.  Love these new tangles!

After dark, we headed to Barnes and Noble for the launch party of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, billed as the eighth HP story (though it's a script to a West End play, not a novel, and was only written in partnership with Rowling, not her own original story.  Some fans don't count it as canon, we read in the paper at breakfast--along with reviews of the new Sharknado and the drop in ticket prices for Hamilton--but I'm not that picky, perhaps because it wasn't my childhood obsession (now, I'm much more adamant about who shot first in Star Wars); I look forward to a new installment, with her blessing.  There were a few different groups at the store--kids who are probably just now reading the novels; mid 20s who grew up with HP; and older fans like us.  There were also costumed characters (Snape, Trelawney, Hagrid, Dumbledore) and lots of store staff. We didn't need the wand making or face painting or photo ops--even Sis and Bud would have felt a little old for that.  But we did enjoy the owl show, with a live Ural Owl.  I hadn't seen one before.  We didn't need a copy of the book--ours came via Kindle at midnight, with hardback delivered Monday--but I bought a little snowy owl to carry around by way of a costume.  We popped over to the Book of Wonders party, totally prepared to buy a book for entrance, but it was so packed that we left.  It was too bad the kids couldn't be there, but they had chosen to go to their grandparents instead.  And we still all managed to have the book read in less than 24 hours!  More on that later.

In the driving rain, we stopped to pick up some Belgian food--sausage and stoemp (mashed potatoes and, in this case, carrots) plus mac and cheese, and a sugar waffle--which we ate in our room while we waited for midnight and the release of HP.  We both did some more drawing and some Dragonvale.  I'm on level 20 now.  Not bad for about a week of play.


Sunday
We finished reading HP on Sunday morning, a real page turner.  Nice to be back in that world and to see HP as a father.

We breakfasted downstairs surrounded by the lush decor of the tea room, with gorgeous pink roses leftover from a baby shower the day before.  Almond and chocolate croissants, Earl Grey tea, and the New York Times, with some drizzle outside.  An ideal city Sunday morning.  We popped back to the Bedford Cheese Market to grab sandwiches to go--a baguette with Chandoka Cheddar and Parma Cotta for me, tuna with gruyeter and pickled onions and eggs for Mama--which we snacked on in the car parked next to Gramercy Park.  We could admire the trees and surrounding buildings through our windows and sun roof.

And that was it.  We went to fetch the kiddos, stayed for awhile talking to everyone, and made it home with time for dinner and some down time before bed.  The cats were glad to see us and, though we loved our vacation, it was good to be home.

Bud's Birthday

We had Bud's birthday party last night--at the local rope course!  Luckily, the rain went both north and south of us (unlike the great storm the night before that dropped 4.75" on us.)  The park wasn't crowded, probably because of the threat of rain, and so Bud and his friends got four rounds on the course (instead of the usual three.)  Several had never done a rope course before and were nervous to start, but they all had a great time.  Bud was grinning ear to ear the whole time.  They finally stopped around 8 pm and had lemonade, pizza, and homemade Victoria Sponge Cake (his request) amid all the twinkle lights, chatting and laughing between bites.  A very happy 11th birthday party!

Beach Book

It's a week of early dismissals here, with school almost over.  I think we have a party every afternoon!

Yesterday, it was our Mother-Daughter Book Club meeting, which was held at a local beach.  And, yes, we did manage to discuss the book!  It was L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, which I had never read.  

And in truth, I didn't finish.  I started it late and the first several chapters were rather slow going.  It did pick up--with vignettes on Anne's life on PEI (Prince Edward Island.)  In fact, that vignette structure is very familiar from other "girl's" books such as the Little House series and even Little Women--the crisis at school, the crisis at the ball, the crisis at church, the crisis in the kitchen, etc etc etc.    Montgomery combines the lyrical and poetic imagination of her protagonist (the White Way of Delight, Dryad's Bubble, etc etc.) with a materialistic account of her surroundings--all those flowers, her "wincey" dress, various dress designs, the different types of tea sets, all the food (boiled pork and cabbage, raspberry cordial/currant wine) and richly drawn character studies.  I'm definitely enjoying it now and will finish it soon.

We did some activities, such as choose your own name like Anne wants to be called Cordelia.  I was "Meg" (from Little Women, also clearly feminine, which mine name isn't and it so bothered me as a child unable to find bookmarks or shoelaces or whatnot with my name and some pink, always rockets), Sis chose "Alex," and Bud was "Kevin."  (He was hanging around and so he got to choose a name, too.)  We designed the kind of dress Anne would like (with those puffed sleeves!) and tried to guess the nicknames she gave various land features.  And then the kids played a kind of red light/green light with one being Aunt Josephine.  

It wasn't PEI, but it was indeed a beautiful day at the beach.  The kids played in the shallows, finding hermit crabs and avoiding the razor-sharp clam shells.  I couldn't find any sea glass, just a bunch of rocks, no doubt from long-ago glaciers sweeping over the area and now coming down the rivers.  I also didn't find any arrowheads or the like (though I'm not sure I'd recognize stone tools on a beach) from the native inhabitants who used the site as fishing grounds, pre- and early-contact.  


I did find some nice stones and decided, last minute, to decorate one and leave it on the beach.  An Art Rock Drop . . . the kids and I have decided to leave several in various places this summer.  My first one, with just the Sharpies on hand, has the quote from Lin-Manuel Miranda's Tonys sonnet.

The full text of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s sonnet:

My wife's the reason anything gets done. She nudges me towards promise by degrees. She is a perfect symphony of one. Our son is her most beautiful reprise. We chase the melodies that seem to find us Until they're finished songs and start to play. When senseless acts of tragedy remind us That nothing here is promised, not one day This show is proof that history remembers. We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger. We rise and fall, and light from dying embers Remembrances that hope and love last longer. And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love; Cannot be killed or swept aside. I sing Vanessa's symphony; Eliza tells her story. Now fill the world with music, love, and pride. 

Our Kripalu Weekend

Zentangle.

Kripalu.

Gommie.

Wow, what a weekend we just had.


Friday:
Even the drive north on small, wooded backroads into Massachusetts was special.  I had traversed those roads with Mama years ago when the kids were small, so it was wonderful to be up there again.  The landscape is lovely--spring green trees, rocky streams, bubbling water.  We stopped a few times to admire the woods and river, watching the fly fishermen at work.  It's my favorite kind of landscape; Gommie was mesmerized.

Kripalu is a retreat center nestled in the Berkshires not far from Tanglewood, the concert venue and summer home of the Boston Symphony.  And it is gorgeous!  It used to be the Shadowbrook estate, if I understand correctly--the remains of the stone gatehouse are visible up front (apparently, the foundation of the mansion is there, too, but I didn't go looking for it.)  The setting is miraculous--mountains (or hills--I'm a flatlander) with a lake nestled in the valley, expansive lawns, lots of trees, and so much sky.  Many times during the weekend, we would just sit on the terrace of the main Shadowbrook retreat center and admire the view.

The view from our room.

Being on retreat at Kripalu is a lot like college, or as Gommie said, camp for adults.  We had classes and meals and downtime in our little room (two twins, great view, awful water control in the shower.)  But there was no stress, no responsibility, no unpleasantness.  Even before we checked into our room in the Annex which overlooked the grounds and the lake in the distance, we enjoyed lunch in the big cafeteria.

View from the terrace.

Oh, the Kripalu food.  Ayurvedic in theory (which has 6 flavors and ideas about balance of warming and cooling foods), seasonal and sustainable, with vegetarian and vegan options.  Over the six meals, we had delicious fresh salads with this great House dressing, veggie burgers, Moroccan tomato soup, coconut carrot salad, spiced chicken tagine, Greek kale salad, sauteed rainbow chard, Indian chickpeas, roasted potatoes, warm lentil salad, roasted carrots with maple syrup, kale and more kale!, oatmeal, museli, granola, vegan brownies, soy masala chai, Moroccan mint iced tea, orange Rooiboos tea, and the list could go on (yes, I bought the little booklets of recipes in the shop but there are many here, too.)  Makes me hungry just typing that up.  Breakfast was eaten in silence, a way to begin the day mindfully.  We tried to take every meal in the room overlooking the mountains and lake, soaking in the beauty and the fresh air through the windows.

Entrance to the labyrinth

After eating and unloading our bags, we headed straight to the labyrinth.  I love labyrinths, as you know, but hadn't realized there was one at Kripalu and so I hadn't brought anything to leave at the center.  Still, we walked it that first afternoon and I was just filled with this amazing joy.  Each time I walk a labyrinth, I have different reactions.  Friday was brimming with joy.  Joy to be with Gommie all to myself.  Joy to be in beauty.  Joy to be studying Zentangle, which fills me with excitement.  Joy, joy, joy.  It was Gommie's first labyrinth so I went over the basic etiquette about quiet and stepping to the side when you pass another.  The walk certainly set the tone for the weekend.

Tile #1

That evening, we had our first Zentangle class.  We'd run into the founders, Maria Thomas and Rick Roberts and their daughters Molly and Martha on the terrace earlier and had a chance to say hi.  I can't really describe what it's like to take a class with them--their stories, their humor, their rapport with each other, all of their mantras and saying of encouragement.  Even though I'd taken a long seminar just a month ago, it was all fresh and interesting again.

As at the CZT seminar a month or so ago, we received lots of great items--not just pens and pencils, tortillons and tiles, but an "Anything is Possible One Stroke at a Time" bag and a brand new journal. The theme of the weekend was extending our Zentangle practice, mainly how to connect tangles to one another, "tangle to tangle." We did a pretty straightforward hollibaugh-pokeroot-crescent moon variation for the first tile.

After class, we soaked in the cool mountain air while the bright full moon blocked out most of the stars.  We were tired and went to bed soon after.


Saturday:
This was our full day of great food, wonderful classes, beautiful views, and lots of R&R.  Gommie even took a gentle yoga class while I took a long nap.  We also walked the labyrinth again and this time I had something to leave in the center--one of the Zentangle bookmarks and a little piece of metallic rainbow bismuth I picked up in the shop.  This walk for me was more about contentment.  And I realized why I walk labyrinths:  I walk labyrinths because there have been times when I couldn't.

Tile #2

Philosophical.  Gommie and I had a lot of personal and philosophical conversations, like we haven't had . . . since the kids were born, perhaps?  It was special and important.  It even carried over into our Zentangle class.  Gommie asked Maria Thomas what creativity was and why we were drawn to it; they had a discussion about how, for Maria, creativity was central to her personality and was about liking even needing to do things differently--she still goes outside borders, figuratively and literally!  They even took this conversation to the whole class later, talking about how creation is central to the human condition--it's how we express ourselves, how we contribute to the world, how we serve.  And they thanked Gommie for sparking this reflection.

My tile #3

Tile #4--this took 2 hours!

We did a lot more complicated tiles on Saturday--"high focus" which is code for advanced. There was tile #2 with a tripoli center and rixty weaving in and out of fracas; there was tile #3 with a huggins variation and a new tangle named peeld.  I hadn't seen some of the tangles and even Maria made an oops (on the number of orbs in the huggins variation in tile #3 and so had to squeeze one in sideways) and tried to start over until the group chanted "No mistakes!"  And Maria just worked with it and it was beautiful.  Tile #4, with its spiral of nzeppel bursting into mooka and pokeleaf, took two hours!  Gommie had been tangling on her own for a year; this was her first real class.  I'm sure it was all a little overwhelming, but she did a wonderful job following along and not getting frustrated when she didn't understand. I came away with some new techniques, my favorite being peeld, seen in tile #3 where the line just seems to peel away from the design.

That evening, we attended a special optional session where we tangled another treat, a pencil case.  Apparently, you can coat canvas with Mod Podge Fabric and tangle it to your heart's content with an Identi-pen and a gray Fabrico marker for shading.  It was fun and came out beautifully.  Gommie really likes the thicker pens we used and will probably stick with a Micron .08 instead of .01commonly used.

We ended the evening on the chilly terrace, where the moon glowed eerily through the increasing cloud cover.  Another beautiful mountain night.


Sunday:

Tile #5--this also took 2 hours

We were up early with the singing birds, putting our luggage in my car before breakfast.  Then we sat on the terrace until class, communing with the chipmunk that came looking for food.  We saw it every time we were outside.

Class was one Renaissance tile that took two hours to complete--with the crescent moon variation, the raspberry center, the squib petals, the perf orbs, the etching technique on the leaves, all the shading in graphite and white chalk.  But, oh the results!  And when we put everyone's tiles together in a class mosaic, the arches could be connected in circles or pathways.  Beautiful.  And a great way to end our Zentangle class.

And our visit.  We opted to skip lunch, which was still an hour away, in order to get home so Gommie could spend more time with the kiddos.  It was a little hard to leave the peace behind, but I know we took some of it with us.


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Kripalu House Dressing

Makes about 2 cups

1 cup sunflower oil or grape seed oil
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
¼ cup tamari (natural soy sauce)
¼ cup lemon juice
1/3 cup sesame tahini
2 cloves garlic
½ tablespoon dry mustard powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ tablespoon chili powder
pinch cayenne
½ cup water

Combine all ingredients and blend using a standard blender or immersion blender.

Kripalu Moroccan Mint Tea

Makes 6 cups

6½ cups water
½ cup fresh mint (stems and all), washed
2 tablespoons or 6 tea bags green tea
1 to 2 tablespoons sweetener of choice (organic sugar, agave, or honey)

Bring water to a boil. Turn off heat, add mint, and allow to steep for five minutes. Return to a boil, turn off heat, and add tea. Allow tea to steep no more than three minutes. (Green tea becomes bitter when steeped too long.) Remove tea and mint; sweeten to taste. Serve hot, or make iced tea by refrigerating until cold, or pouring cooled tea over ice.

Masala Chai

Makes about 4 cups.

2 tablespoons whole cardamom
2 teaspoons whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 whole stars of anise
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon slice fresh ginger
4 black tea bags
2 cups milk (or substitute soy milk)
2 cups water
1 to 3 tablespoons sweetener of choice

Combine all spices and tie them in a cheesecloth. Using a rolling pin or other heavy utensil, lightly pound the spices to crush them slightly. Place milk, water, and spices in the cheesecloth in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. Bring water back to a boil, turn off, and add black tea. Let steep for 5 minutes, then strain. Add sweetener of choice and stir to dissolve. Serve warm, or chill over ice for a cooling afternoon treat.