11/20 A premature Thanksgiving

Good morning. Here's our post for this week past.

After leaving Bob & Judy's Sunday afternoon we had an easy drive, about three hours on interstate highways, to Ridgefield (CT), Melanie's brother's home. Two things seemed apparent: traffic flow on Sunday afternoon was greater than it was five years ago - my imagination? - and autumn comes about two weeks later, in central Connecticut, than it does at Amherst Shore. We arrived in good shape and had time to catch up on family doings before being offered two Sauvignon Blancs to compare, one from France, the other from New Zealand. I prefered the French variety which we then had with salmon, baked with a Paul Prudhomme seafood seasoning. In case you were wondering, this is not a foodie's blog, though you are quite right if you've noticed I spend a fair amount of time commenting on and commemorating meals and recipes.  It was nice to have a hot shower this evening, something not readily available in the Casita, and early to bed.

Monday morning dawned a partly cloudy 37 F. We anticipate today being a day of rest. Melanie participated in her Zoom fitness class at 11 and I took a walk. Otherwise things were pretty quiet, except for the Canada geese honking in the pond by the house, a most comforting sound when we are far from home. I don't believe they are resident geese though they spend a lot of time here and raise young here in the spring. 

If you want to skip this next bit please do, it's rather wordy, the result of me trying an app, Live Transcribe, for recording and transcribing. It was developed by Google working in conjunction with Gallaudet University (for the blind in Washington, DC) and converts voice to text which can then be cut, copied, edited and pasted.

Can you 'hear' me? Right now I’m taking a walk from Julian's around a 3.33 mile loop. It's quite chilly. Cloudy now and breezy too, and the cry of leaf blowers is heard throughout the land. There are some gorgeous little maple trees with small red leaves and yellow leaves, truly spectacular. Lawns are still green.  

The roar of leaf blowers is interspersed with the occasional snarl of a chainsaw. People are clearing out windfalls and branches before winter. In some of the larger yards, teams of three are marching across the lawn, two carrying leaf blowers while a third man guides a large machine on wheels blowing leaves. I don't know if the leaves will finally be raked up and put in bags or are being blown into the woods where their presence is appropriate. 

Now turning onto on a two lane ‘main road,’ passing an old red barn behind a high stone wall. Lots of traditional New England homes. Painted gray or subdued shades of yellow or white. Some have stonework or dark wood siding. Along this main road there's a yellow stripe down the middle, I may have to bail for large trucks. Someone is clearing wind falls and grinding them up. Chain saws, wood chippers, lawn mowers, leaf blowers and the occasional truck - too much noise. Workers wave as I go by. This isn't exactly a walk on the wild side, though it is vaguely reminiscent of walking a country road in Nova Scotia, if only one could remove the traffic, the houses, the noise and the workmen. 

Passing an old split rail fence there's a break in the stone wall, blocked by three rails between posts. It would make a great jump for a fox hunt. I don't know that there are any foxes around here but I expect there are a number of riders. There may be a hunt but I couldn't find it. 

Yellow leaves on the maple trees, hanging over the roadway they litter the ground.  Here there's another small segment of stonewall topped by five little pumpkins. Behind them a stream wending its way through the woods, just down the hill. A lovely addition to this walk would be a light snowfall. What gorgeous countryside. You can see through the woods where farmers once cleared their fields of stone by stacking rocks in long rows - to form fences. The area is now all wooded, no more open pastures. Passing one of the larger estates with a cobblestone entrance there's a laid stone wall topped by a short steel picket fence. The house Is stone with tall columns in front. There's an arched wooden gate in the stone wall and, as I recall, just beyond there's a pond filled with reeds and bulrushes. But this is such 'civilized' country that there are drain grates in the road leading to an underground storm drainage system, perhaps emptying into the pond. Small Maples. I don't know the species. With pink leaves. No, it's not maple. The leaves have a single stem. And here's is the pond. The bulrushes are tall, 12 or 13 feet. And more split rail fence, and the laid stone wall goes on and on. Past another drain, approaching a stop sign. I'll get off this “main road.” 

Turning onto Pelham Lane, the stone wall continues but the houses along the lane are much less pretentious. There are pickup trucks parked outside the houses, not Mercedes. No Center Line on this road as it winds and turns its way over short hills, and presumably dales as well. There are not as many leaf blowers. The lawns are smaller as the houses run to split levels and bungalows. No stone walls. Even on this winding back road there are drains to collect the runoff - here's a paved driveway, leading into the woods, with five mailboxes - just a few paces on, another set of two mailboxes and then two more. And yet another stonewall, a dry stone wall, running out through the woods. Clearly a fence at one time, probably now just a property line. There's a small sign that says this is a Scenic Road, and it just got narrower. One lane, with some wide spots. On the left is a slowly collapsing, dry stone wall and on the right. Is what appears to be another stone wall, well maintained, laid with mortar. Running quite a distance, it has flat stones on top - carefully thought out. There are so many stone walls here that perhaps the town of Ridgefield, might better be named Rockfield. Stone walls are everywhere. Bordering the road; stretching perpendicular to the road; running out through the woods, farther than I can see. Approaching Rising Ridge Road where Julian lives, are more pumpkins on gate posts. I can hear water in the underground drains. Now, turning off Pelham Lane, into the Twin Ridge subdivision, onto Beechwood Lane, then to Rising Ridge Road there's a Casita parked in a driveway. Must be ours. A lovely walk not taken in several years. It's time for breakfast.  

         Thanks for sharing my walk. Your presence has contributed to my enjoyment of it.

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Since making the recording I realized there are a number of apps that do voice recording and transcription, even the G-mail app on my phone serves to do that. The Google app, Live Transcribe, is outdated. I won't be using it or inflicting it on you again. No matter which recording system I might use, dictating to my phone does not coincide, with a 'be here now' mode of walking. Yes, I look around more attentively, to find things to include in my story, but thinking about the blog is not exactly being in the present, another interesting aspect of sharing a walk....

Had a late breakfast; spent the afternoon reading and napping. In the evening we had an opportunity to taste a few more wines, one of which was given us by Tom Kay - an opportunity to compare a good commercial wine with a good homemade kit wine - not bad Tom. The main dishes this evening were boston baked beans and barbequed ribs, a favorite of mine. We said our good nights early and so to bed. Wanted to get on the road to DC shortly after sunup.

Tuesday we did get away early. A new route across the Hudson River and down Route 9W to I-95, the Jersey Turnpike, across a bit of northern Delaware, into Maryland.... I don't have much to say about the Interstate system other than it helps us get from Point A to Point B, by car, with trailer, in the shortest possible time, with a minimal effort. We'll be doing a lot of interstate travel over the next few weeks; I don't plan to harp on it. We made it to John & Shelley Gillons' in Silver Spring (MD) by one pm where, with a little juggling and some help from a construction crew, we were able to back the Casta into their yard and plug in.

After a few minutes with John & Shelley we drove to the Montgomery Mall where I was able to find a ball cap - to keep the sun out of my eyes while driving - and a mock turtleneck shirt. Then on to dinner with Art and Faye (Melanie's cousin) at the Plaza Azteca Restaurant, a favourite of theirs. We try to see them on our trips north and south each year. Back to the Casita in John & Shelley's front yard we had a view of the lighted Mormon Tabernacle through the trees.

Wednesday was a day of meals. It began with a lovely breakfast put on by John and Shelly - fruit, yogurt, whitefish in sour cream and a very nice seedy loaf to go with it. We then drove into the district to join Dunc, Kim, and Ken AKA Brad, cousins, for brunch, the second meal. We started off with Prosecco and went downhill from there. For lunch we had chilli in bread bowls Dunc head baked, sauteed broccoli and a sweet potato dish followed by two layer cake with adequate amounts of icing. Of course we talked about the difficulties of the Covid years and also discussed plans to get together in Point Roberts (WA) and Nova Scotia. A fine visit - we've not been together for quite some time. Dunc gave me a parting gift - a mason jar with sourdough starter in it. I'll 'baby' it along to keep it happy on the road and look forward to some good open crumb sourdough bread once we hit New Orleans. It won't look like the loaf in the picture but I'll get to that eventually.

Back to the Casita for a brief nap. Then, following Google map directions through the DC evening

rush, we arrived at Richard and Ellen's in the Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District. Lots of catching up to do here as well. Travel, books read, family activities, and plans for the future. Dinner was Cod baked en papillote, roasted broccoli and red quinoa, all preceded buy a spicy miso mushroom soup and followed by pecan pie with ice cream. We are very fortunate to have friends and family who love to cook.

Going 'home' we drove along Connecticut Avenue, past a few familiar spots, and so to bed. Thursday morning, up at six, we gassed up the car, came back, hooked up the Casita, and managed to get it out of the yard and parked on the street before the construction trucks came in to block everything. When John and Shelly got up we had lox, from Zabar's, and bagels for breakfast - first lox in quite some time. Shelley is a writer and we talked about my efforts on this blog. Shelley gave me several books which she thought I might find helpful - we shall see.

Around eleven we said our goodbyes and headed for Virginia Beach where Jeanie laid on dinner with a new dish for us, Chicken Tika Masala, which was nicely seasoned, tasty, and well received. Before dinner there was a heron to welcome us, fishing the shoals at low tide. For some reason, can't imagine why, I was tired and went to bed early, around eight - good sleep, well rested Friday morning, ten hours usually does the trick. After a leisurely breakfast we went to a Wal*Mart to pick up a few things, got our Covid booster shots, then back to the house for recuperation, as needed. It's getting cooler, still warm by Nova Scotia standards but the air feels damp, chilly. There's a CBD shop nearby which I visited, while Melanie did our laundry - division of labour. What I can purchase in Green Valley for $45 costs $180 in Virginia Beach. I researched Cannabis oils online - there are more than I thought, not just CBD oil but also several newer oils which seem to do other things: CBG vs. CBD vs. CBN vs. CBC. After dinner, which was very good, but I'm tired of describing meals right now (a Picatta), I dipped further into Don't Push the River while listening to the conversation going on around me at the same time, or maybe not 'at the same time' but alternating in and out of my awareness.

Saturday, up early; did some grocery shopping, got a pair of Crocs, Melanie picked up some gift items, and home to brunch - Julian and Julie had just arrived.. Melanie's L hip is bothering her so not much walking today. Took a another long nap in the PM, probably

brought on by the Covid boosters yesterday. I've been studying the maintenance of a sourdough starter while Julian and Dan are discussing Russian history and Jeanie is fixing dinner - Chesapeake Bay crab cakes, a real local delicacy, but lordy how the prices have gone up in the last few years. Thank you Jeanie and Dan!

It is very nice, having the Landau sibs all together for a couple of days in Virginia Beach, even for a premature Thanksgiving. Bye for now and best wishes to one and all.