Thanks, Miriam!

Sunday, September 19th - - It was a delightful day that was spent with one of my favs – Miriam Midkiff of Ancestories :: The Stories of my Ancestors. Miriam has already written about our day but I just wanted to add that it was my pleasure to be able to spend some time with her - to get to know her a little better and to meet her son and husband. Her son, being a teenager, didn't have much to say but her husband and I had several engaging conversations while Miriam was off doing something else. The pot roast was delicious. It was very nice to have a home-cooked meal for a change!

Miriam Robbins Midkiff and Becky Wiseman. Photo taken September 19, .. by her husband.
Even though I knew that Miriam and I probably wouldn't get together until Sunday, I arrived in Spokane about mid-day Friday. I had decided that this would be a good opportunity to have a couple of “down” days. I had to tend to some errands – get the oil changed in the van, laundry, grocery shopping – you know, things that “normal” people do on a regular basis ;-)

I also took advantage of having electricity at the RV park to work on the photos from August on the netbook. I don't normally stay at commercial RV parks (or resorts, as this one was called) because they usually resemble parking lots. But for some reason the state of Washington closed the campgrounds in some of its State Parks in mid-September so I had no alternative. This particular RV resort was actually kind of nice. There were some trees and bushes in between each parking space, which provided some degree of privacy. A rarity in an RV park! They also had wifi available but I kept getting kicked off the network after about 15 minutes online. Luckily there was a McDonalds across the street...and their wifi worked great.

My stop-over in Spokane was a nice break in my journey. Several tasks were accomplished and I got to spend some time with a friend. Thank you, Miriam! And I look forward to our next visit, someday!

Loon Mother and Baby + Baby's First Swim

We spent the entire day today photographing Loons and had some incredible luck doing so! When we came upon this nest, there was one chick already born and snuggling under mom's wing. After our mid-day lunch break we returned to find that the second chick had hatched while we were away! It was an incredible day :-)


Just moments after leaving the nest, a baby Loon gets its first taste of life on the water. If you look just above the beak of the Loon on the left, you can see the nest and the egg shells in the background.

Ye Olde Fantastic Bikeshoppe! A Visit to Portland Velocipede

[edited to add: Portland Velocipede became a sponsor of this website in January . This post was written prior to that time.]



We were in Portland, Maine (the real Portland!) over the weekend, and stopped by the Portland Velocipede. The establishment is just half a year old, but already an iconic presence.





Portland Velocipede focusesexclusively on transportation cycling. They sell Pashley, Gazelle, Batavus, Abici, Linus, Civia,Brompton and Bakfiets- as well as accessories by Brooks, Velo Orange,Basil, Po Campo,Nutcase, and more. As far as I know, no other bike shop on the East coast outside of NYC stocks this type of merchandise all at once.





The shop occupies a huge, warehouse-style space that was once an art gallery, and they certainly make good use of that space. Almost an entire wing is dedicated to a flock of Pashleys. The Roadster, the Guv'nor, the Princess, and even the Tube Rider - they have them all.





In another part of the shop stands a herd of Gazelles, as well as severalBatavus models (theOld Dutch, the Flyslan, the Bub and the Personal Delivery).





The famous "paperclip bike" (Batavus Bub), suspended from the ceiling.





For me, the main point of interest were the Abicibicycles, which I had never seen in person before. This shot reminds me of the "I want candy" scene in Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette. The colours, the colours! Well, I have now not only seen an Abici bicycle in person, but have ridden one all over Portland. I will post a test ride report shortly.





I had also never seen a Bakfiets in person before. Those things are beautiful! The Co-Habitant immediately wanted to cart me around in one, but I opted out of that form of entertainment. (Well, maybe next time!)





Instead I examined the Gazelle Toer Populair, which is the contemporary version of my Gazelle A-Touren. It saddened me to see that the Gazelles currently in production are not manufactured in the same manner as my late 1990's model. The "loop connector" is nowweldedrather than lugged, and the seat cluster is partly welded as well. It is still a beautiful bicycle, but why are manufacturers of classic bicycles moving in this direction? I suppose it cuts costs, and they figure customers will not notice or will not care? It is a sad thing to lose such beautiful details. Thankfully, the fork crown on the Gazelle is still lugged and chromed with the little embossed gazelles on it, and its lugwork elsewhere has remained the same as well.



Having now seen Gazelle, Batavus and Pashley side-by-side, I would say that the quality of craftsmanship is by far the highest on the Pashley, with Gazelle in second place and Batavus in third. If I had to buy a new bicycle today and choose from what is available in American shops, I would probably still choose a Pashley Princess (albeit I would now go for the largest, 22" frame).





Whether you turn your eye to the bicycles, to the accessories, or to the clothing,Portland Velocipedeis a sea of gorgeous colours and inviting textures.






As I wandered around the shop I felt as if I was lost in some alternate universe: Too much, too beautiful! Some of the items I knew about, but have never seen in person - and now here they were, all together. Other items were new to me, such as the clothing line by Sheila Moon (pictured above), and a spectacular line of panniers from Linus. I wish I'd had the presence of mind to photograph it all systematically, but I am a mere mortal and cannot be expected to remain calm in this kind of bike shop - so this is what you get. As mentioned earlier, we did extensively test-ride bicycles: I rode a lilac Abici and the Co-Habitant rode a Pashley Guv'nor, so reports are forthcoming.






Amazingly, the charming owners (Gillian and Josh) trusted us not to abscond with their precious candy-coloured inventory - for which we thank them! We also thank them for establishing this wonderful shop in New England, and for all the energy and care they obviously put into it. Portland Velocipede is a magical place and an invaluable resource for those interested in classic transportation bicycles.

Meeting the Grands...

Donna Pointkouski has an interesting post, Meeting Great-Grandma, in which she discusses longevity and over-lapping generations. Her post prompted me to take a look at my database. Even though I knew some of my “grands” had lived long lives, I was surprised at how many were alive during my lifetime.

My Dad knew 3 of his 4 grandparents but all of his great-grandparents were long gone before he was born.

Mom was in her late teens when her grandfather, Charles Brubaker, passed away though she says she never met him (he moved to Mississippi before she was born). She was in her mid to late 20s when the other three grandparents died and she knew each one of them. She met two of her great-grandmothers and one great-grandfather but would have only been 4-8 years old when they died. However, she says she remembers them.

Although one of my great-grandfathers and all four of my great-grandmothers were living when I was born, I don't personally have any memory of any of them. I would have been between the age of two and ten when they died. They all lived within 15 miles of where we lived.

Dad's mother's mother (i.e., my Great-Grandmother) Nancy Jane (Lavering) Shuder died January 2, 1954. I was not quite six years old when she passed away at the age of 99.

His father's mother, Amanda (Alexander) Wiseman was also still living when I was born. I was two years old when she died June 2, 1950 at the age of 89.

Mom's mother's mother, Maude (Wise) Brubaker died February 14, 1953, aged 75; I was almost 5 years old. Maude is in the middle, her granddaughter Phyllis (Phend) Mitchell is on the left and her daughter, Hazlette (Brubaker) Phend is on the right.

Mom's father's mother, Susie (Yarian) Phend died April 29, 1956 at age 84; I was 8 years old.

Of my great-grandfathers, only Mom's father's father, Henry A. Phend was still living when I was born. He passed away July 10, 1958 at the age of 92; I was 10 years old.

Henry and Susie (Yarian) Phend with their great-grandchildren at their 60th Wedding Anniversary Celebration in September 1952. I'm sitting on the ground on the left side of the picture.

Going to Interbike

Interbike will be happening next week and this will be my second year. If there is anything there you are interested in me checking out and photographing or writing about, please let me know over email. Likewise, if you're going and would like to say hello, get in touch. Contact me at filigreevelo-at-yahoo with the subject line Interbike. Looking forward to it!

Raindrop

I took this photo after our rain last Friday morning. You can see some of the other tree branchs in the raindrop

Roe-Dee-Oh :: Mutton Busting and Barrell Racing

Sunday, August 21st - - One of the events for kids (ages 4-7) was called Mutton Busting, which was basically setting a kid on the back of sheep and letting them run. It was quite funny. Some of them barely got out of the gate before falling off but the one below managed to hold on for quite a while and was a real crowd-pleaser.







The Barrel Racing event allowed the women to show off their riding ability as well as the speed and agility of their beautiful horses.

Cascading Creek

Cascading Creek, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Another creek shot from last weekend in Las Trampas.

Right now California is being pounded by yet another strong rainstorm, and this one has dropped a few inches of rain in places. As the storm heads inland tomorrow, it will leave behind showery weather for what appears to be the remainder of the week.

All the while, the rain has caused the wildflowers to start growing and budding with high intensity, as evidenced by the poppies coming up all over the hillsides. On a recent hike, you could see that the poppies had flower buds...yes!

Quick coffee in quiet Vrijthof

I like my terrace view: The Vrijthof -- Sint Janskerk, Sint Servaasbasiliek and the Hoofdwacht.




Nowadays I drive to all 4 corners of the
Netherlands. Each week I burn between 700 and 1000+ kilometres and that makes
me the queen of the road =)





Last week I was in Maastricht which is
200+ kilometres from Amsterdam. Maastricht is located at the southern tip of the Netherlands bordering Germany and Belgium. I have a business partner here and we finished
the meeting earlier than expected. I saw that I have a few
missed calls, as well as I can see continuous emails coming in to my phone so I decided to work a bit before driving back to the Randstad. A quick swing by at Vrijthof(the main big square of Maastricht)for some coffee while I check and answer my emails and call back people would be the best scenario.




While sitting at a café terrace on
Vrijthof and sipping my coffee it dawned on me that I really liked my job. Even if it is stressful.
Even if sometimes I feel the heavy weight of the responsibility. Even if I have to juggle, find out, search and justify things on my own.




Vrijthof before 12 noon is very quiet. I
have never seen Maastricht this still. However, I noticed people trickling into the square when I left about half past 12. Many of them with cameras hanging from their necks.



It was nice to have seen the quieter side of Maastricht.

Nene Way 3 Sixfields to Billing

8.8 miles. One unintentional detour turned a mile or so of the walk into the A45 Way. Just about ok if you were cycling, but noisy and unpleasant for walking. Dry, fine, no sun today.



Lots of birdlife today - from terns hovering and diving, to several families of swans, moorhens with big-footed chicks, coots, a heron, and a flock of goldfinches taking off from a patch of teasels. Canada geese flying in a mob - how does an individual goose decide whether it'll join those on the wing or stay with the gang on the ground?








We started from Sixfields, crossed the road to Duston Mill Lane and walked down to the disused Mill and the path by the lakes of Storton’s Pits Nature Reserve. We saw terns hovering above the water and diving in – but my photographic skills weren’t up to capturing them, alas. `

Express Lift tower - the 'lighthouse'

The Express Lift Tower, otherwise known as the ‘lighthouse' is visible on the left for a large part of this section of the walk. The area is left to grow pretty wild, and is an important wetland habitat

Chicory?

As we walked we noticed that the ‘lighthouse’ appeared to be on our right – we had walked round the end of one of the flooded gravel pits and missed a left turn where the Grand Union Canal Walk joins the Nene Way. As much by luck as judgment we found the Canal Bridge where the Nene Way doubles back at a right angle then over a bridge with iron rails across the river and then turned right to walk under the railway viaduct.















The path continues at the back of a shopping centre, then under the A5123. At the Carlsberg brewery, with its silos, the path turns to the left and then back on the other side of a short channel. There is a bridge, and the banks have several large willows.

Looking over the Nene from behind the Carlsberg brewery

Shortly after this there is a long high wall which forms part of the flood defences.













These decorative bricks are part of theflood defence wall in Northampton.












According to the plaque 'Local children from Delapre Middle School engraved the bricks using both the local environment and the celebration of the Queen's jubilee year as their themes.'


The plaque shows some of the industrial history of the Nene, and its importance as a commercial waterway, along with the nearby Grand Union Canal.








































The Nene Way then goes into Beckett's Park














We followed the path over a footbridge and through the Barnes Meadow Nature Reserve and site of the Battle of Northampton in 1460







The path brought us to the Bedford Road, and what I imagine is part of the Nene Whitewater Centre.

Bedford Road water control system - is this linked to the White Water centre? No one there when we walked by.

Just after this point we were diverted/distracted and followed signs for Billing via the cycle path. A mile of the Nene Way we hope to come back to - away from the heavy traffic noise and smell of the A45!

A welcome sight after our detour along the cycle path and through the shopping park.

A fine avenue of beech (?) trees in the area behind Riverside retail park.

moorings and huts along the river

Approaching Billing Aquadrome - spectacular gardens for mobile homes








Back to base . . .
















A photo taken last week. Behind the pub at Billing.