A New Tradition?

 

Back in February, Gail really needed something to look forward to that involved getting out of the living room.  It wasn't clear if leaving the county would still be an issue so she found a sweet little cabin on Cayuga Lake in Lansing that was still available and we booked a five-day stay.  On day two we started planning next year's trip back.  It came with an equally charming boat house.

The nice thing about getting a place so close to home was how many friends were able to come visit and hang out.  Temperatures reached nearly100 degrees while we were there so there was plenty of motivation for librarians on vacation and swimmers to make the trek up the lake.

We were treated to four spectacular sunsets, and lots of passing thunderstorms.  Sometimes at the same moment.

The boat house made for a fine place to hang out, the balcony stayed mostly dry during storms, and offered shade for most of the morning.

Some former and current students came up twice.  They were eager to kayak without having to pay steep rental fees being charged in Ithaca these days.  They were more than generous in supplying us with a dinner from Saigon Kitchen one night.

Gail dressed to match the sunset, and did some reading with Taughannock in the background.

The former Milliken Station coal-fired power plant was a few miles north, I kayaked up one morning.

We were near Cornell's Lansing orchard where I picked fruit (mostly apples) for over a decade.  They cut out the Cortlands where I picked my first apples there.  Cornell is attempting to sell the land but I haven't heard anything recently about it.

We were quite near Ludlowville so we stopped to check out the falls on the way home.

I saw a mink out on the neighbor's dock.

I could barely make out Taughannock Falls when I kayaked over and hiked up to the overlook.  Some messing with the photo brought out the swollen cascade.

The turbid water from Taughannock Creek was about as distinct as could be in the lake.  That's not a shadow, it's the boarder between the creek water and the lake water.

We were able to take Nina with us.  She managed.
 

Summer Storms

 

Two separate storm systems have done a number on the trees along the Ithaca waterfront.  The first hit in late June and damaged many trees in Stewart Park, the golf course and in Fuertes Bird Sanctuary.  Every trail in Fuertes was blocked by downed trees, and in Stewart Park the fence around the tennis courts was crushed by a sycamore.  Several willows were uprooted, one falling on some kayaks and the port-a-johns.  Other port-o-johns succumbed to strong winds. 

After most of the debris had been cleaned up and the dangerous trees dealt with, another storm came through and added insult to injury.  There was a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the park's opening scheduled for July 4, but it had to be postponed.

Travel

 

I went to Westfield for an overnight to see friends and finally meet the newest Joe.  He is a grand-nephew born almost a year ago and now almost walking.  John is quite happy being a grandfather and Amanda loves being an aunt.  Joey is just adorable.

Barcelona Harbor has changed dramatically over a year or two.  I'm not entirely sure how it has transpired, but I think part of the break wall was compromised and then spoils from dredging the harbor that were dumped not far out into the lake started getting deposited on the harbor side of the wall.  In the bottom of the first picture is a line that used to be the edge of the break wall.  We used to dive off there, now people fish from the edge of the sand and gravel more than 100' away.

Praise be!  Gail and I went and heard live music.  We went to Beak and Skiff Orchard to hear Lake Street Dive.  It's a sweet venue with plenty of space to maintain distance from others and the band was excellent despite there not being a packed crowd in front of the stage dancing.

Graduation 2021

 

The Class of 2021 was able to gather to celebrate their accomplishments.  We had a few current and former ENL students over for dinner the night before graduation.  

Xiao came up from Brooklyn for graduation, having gone there in the early stages of the pandemic.  I collected on some work credit at the William Henry Miller Inn for his accommodations.  He gave it a five-star review.

This year's graduating ENL students and one of their teachers.  What a treat to have been able to work with them as much as I did.

The new stadium was almost finished so commencement was held on it.  Aside from the smell of plastic off-gassing, it was a fine ceremony (actually four to limit the gathering size).  Hannah bowed her head as her classmates and the guests sang "Happy Birthday" to her.

Xiao and Mimi were such a team for four years.  You never would have guessed they hadn't been in each other's presence in over 15 months.  When they reunited at our house it was as if they'd been together all along.

 Eh Gay Mu and El Ree are two Karen kids who graduated this year, though they'd left behind ENL services long ago.  They were both the youngest of families we worked with for many years.  While it was disappointing to not see them finish their junior and senior years, I have many fond memories of sharing a classroom with them and their older siblings.

Then there are those who "graduate" to retirement.  I caught Jim entering school for his final day after over 40 years, he really showed me the ropes as far as dealing with teenagers when I first started.  Sue and I have been sharing the teaching assistant role in ENL for many years; Jen read a sweet tribute to her about how many times in our classroom we'd hear students say, "Miss C....."  They and the other retirees will be missed and their legacies will live on at IHS.

Around Town

 

It's been busy around town, in and outside, attending to some trail projects and keeping an eye on things.  On National Trails Day I joined a team of elders (there were a couple guys and one woman younger than me) to revisit and continue improving a section of the Finger Lakes Trail in Caroline.  Last year some of us removed a beaver dam that was flooding a marsh so much the boardwalk and bridge were submerged.  Now that the water level is lower we filled in some gaps of the board walk (puncheon) and straightened and braced the bridge.  It was an 85-degree day and I wasn't into the sun and heat so I went back to the dam and cleared out the winter debris to get the water flowing better again.  Nice conditions to work in the mud up to my knees.

Around Town

Nina helped me enjoy the eclipse on a perfect morning.  Did you know dogs have special powers that allow them to stare at the sun without causing damage?  I used the reverse binocular trick.

 It was a pleasure to go to Comstock Knoll at the Botanical Gardens several times.

Around Town

 Things seen while walking, and out the kitchen window:  I'm glad I wasn't around to see what emerged from the grave, the guy in the hammock didn't get hit by a rear view mirror too badly, just a flesh wound, and the archery practice didn't coincide with the soccer game or anyone sitting in the chair.

Around Town

 The city's natural areas are getting band-aid attention.  Six Mile Creek is taking a bank that was also a trail so the trail is moving up the hill a bit.  More lead is being removed from Ithaca Falls, but just like the smell of fish at the former Fulton Street Market in NY, they'll never get it all out of there.

School's Out

 If it's WISE presentation time, it means classes at IHS are over.  My Linh used Gail's guitar to demonstrate what she learned with her pursuit of improvisational jazz.  I'm always happy to be a mentor for a WISE student, and in this strangest of years with few students in person, meeting with My Linh regularly and hearing her play and trade music perspectives with her was one of a few bright spots of the 20-21 school year.  

Thanks My.

School's Out

 I might have set a record by having five photos on the same page in the yearbook, and we opened up enough to gather together during the last few days and sign yearbooks like normal times.

School's Out

Salome` used the energy of two computers to do a final presentation on climate change before moving on and cleaning out her locker.  Many European teens think it's the coolest thing Americans get lockers, so we gave her one on the last day and she got the honor of cleaning it out. It was amazing the junk that accumulated in there.