Back in a Routine - Dog Walking

    As has been discussed previously in this blog, Nan and I volunteer at the Durham Animal Protective Society.  We adopted both our dogs from there, Finn and Hattie from APS's "death row".  So part of our week consists of at least 2 hours of walking dogs at the facility.  This is on top of the three walks a day our own dogs get.  One of our favorite places to walk Finn and Hattie is Eno State Park(no fees).  The Eno River meanders through northern Durham County and there are several accesses to the river, with a variety of trails.  One of our favorites is the Bobbit Hole - Cole Mill Trail.  These trails combine to make about a 3 mile loop which ends up along the river.  There's nothing like it on a crisp Fall day.

        Finn is a hunter, who comes alive on these walks and will almost pull your arm out of its socket if he sees a deer.  He's gotten much better about squirrels, as he's figured out he can't really catch them.  Hattie is a barker, particularly when surprised, but we've worked hard to reduce the barking and she'll usually look for a treat rather than bark now.
       On a warm, sunny day the hikes are beautiful.  The river flows softly by often stopping in deep pools like Bobbit Hole to relax and enjoy itself.

      Finn is sometimes interested in the turtles we see sunning themselves on rocks and submerged tree limbs.  But like the squirrels, he realizes that he can only dream of catching them.  When we have actually come upon a turtle on the trail, he's not quite sure what to do with them.  He sniffs, but jumps back suddenly if there is any movement.  It's funny to watch.  Usually they just slip into the water as we go by.

      Sometimes there will be a fisherman in the water.  And once we came upon a snowy egret(I think).

I not sure who gets more tired-out by these walks - the dogs or me, but they're usually worth it.

      Our apartment complex had a dog costume parade for Halloween.  Finn went as SuperDog.  Here's a shot of him taking off. Hattie went as a cheerleader, but didn't really get into the spirit of the outting

    

October Back in the Daze

      The morning after Krista's wedding we headed back to Durham.  We went the interior route, which for the most part follows I-81 down through Pa and the Shenandoah Valley.  The first part of the trip was rainy and pretty miserable.  It cleared out a bit from Maryland south.  The foliage had not started in earnest, but it is a pretty trip anyway.  Unfortunately, it is also a long trip, and seems to get longer every time we take it.  We settled quickly into our normal patterns, although the school calendar gave us a 5 day break with a Fall Break around Columbus Day.
      A friend of Nan's has a vacation house up at Kerr Lake(pronounced "Car" Lake) in Virginia.  They were kind enough to offer the place to us for the weekend.  A very enjoyable get away. 

      The house sits on a hill above the lake.  Nan was brave enough to go swimming.  I preferred the Hot Tub. A short walk through the woods took us down to the showline.  The lake itself is part of the Army Corp of Engineers projects and this year is at a record low.  It was a nice get away.

       We've also been to a couple of concerts and shows since we've been back.  The first concert we went to was by Lizz Wright.  A native of Georgia now living in Hendersonville, NC(that's out by the Smokies) her music is an enthralling mix of genres - part r & b, part soul, part jazz, and part gospel.
Her first album, Salt, was released in 2003 and rose to #2 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz chart.  Her second, Dreaming Wide Awake, made it to #1.  The concert was a mixture of the various styles, the high point for me being the gospel medley.  She was accompanied by 4 talented musicians.  I've never seen a drum solo in the middle of a ballad. It was amazing.  We bought a copy of her new album Fellowship, which is more gospel than jazz, but great just the same.
      We went down to Playmakers(the resident theater company at UNC) to see a Caryl Churchill play A Number, which was performed in their small theater.  The two person, hour long play explores the relationships between a father and his cloned sons - Bernard 1, Bernard 2, and Michael Black(all played by the same actor - obviously if they're supposed to be cloned)  The surface issue is nature v. nurture, but to me the concept of a disposable child rang through.  All too often in my legal career I ran into cases where unwanted children were dumped into the care and custody of DSS. In this play you essentially have a father who doesn't like how his son turned-out and just clones another, maybe he can get parenting right this time.  Both concepts are interesting and thought-provoking and the acting was very good.  After the play ended, there was a 20 minute "talk-back" which started, believe it or not, with a comment about how real the characters seemed.  "How did you do that?" the imbecile asked the actors.  I would have said. "It's called 'acting',stupid", but they were much kinder.
      I continue to be a Duke sport's groupie, attending men's and women's soccer games and volleyball.  The women's soccer team is excellent and highly ranked.  They have a couple of women who are on the under 20 US team roster.  It's been fun and we missed the snowstorm.

The Big Day - Spike and Krista's Wedding

        It was not a perfect weather day.  The  plan for a wedding outside the Bascom Lodge was rendered moot by rain and fog.  We were on-call in case any last minute errands needed to be run. Fortunately, Krista had things so well organized that no emergency calls were received.  At her request, we arrived about an hour before the service was about to begin, and helped with some last minute jobs, like making sure all the floral arrangements were in place and candles lit.

 At just after 5:00 P.M. the festivities began.  Music was provided by a friend of the family Martha von Schiligen and a friend of hers(I can't remember her name - the excitement of the day, not old age).

     It was a small wedding party, with only Maid-of-Honor, Erin joining her sister walking down the aisle. The picture below is of my two beautiful daughters getting ready for their walk. It's a day like this that makes me glad we spent the money on the orthodontic.

         Spike's dad was his best man, and Kent Higgins, former Pastor at Berlin United Methodist Church, performed the ceremony. I was best man at Kent's wedding in Washington D.C. at the National Cathedral 20 plus years ago.

          Readings  were presented by Spike's Uncle Robert(his only uncle) and yours truly.  I had an idea for a poem based on the hike Nan and I took up Mt. Greylock with Spike and Kris over the summer.  I wanted it to reflect how much like climbing a mountain marriage can be, with tough stretches, rewarding vistas, and the sense of accomplishment.  I was having trouble putting it in the right framework so I turned it over to the real writer in the family.  Within 20 minutes Nan had a masterpiece which not only included my ideas but put them in the context of the wonderful relationship that Spike and Krista have.  It worked very well.  Completing the Lance portion of the program, David and Erin sang "My Cup Runneth Over With Love" from the musical "I Do, I Do" which I Did, I Did at Oldcastle when Erin and Kris were just kids.  I seem to remember that her mother and I used it as a lullaby for Krista when she was a baby.

      I must tell David to button his jacket when standing.  They did a great job.  It made we wish that we'd all use our voices more.  The vows were simple and heartfelt.  Kent moved things along quickly, and the next thing you know I have a married daughter and a son-in-law.  Just as the ceremony was concluding the sun peaked through the thick foggy overcast for the briefest of moments - I like to think that all those who have gone on to the next great adventure were showing their approval. 

      A lot of the "traditions" that you see at a regular wedding and reception were not part of the rest of the evenings activities.  There was no formal toast, no throwing the bouquet, no stuff with the garter.  It was just a nice meal and get together of friends and family.  There was a short "first dance" and Kris and I dance to Van Morrison's "Tupelo Honey", but other than that, it was "PARTY TIME". Krista had put together a great playlist which included quite a few classic rock and roll songs.  Kent's wife Jenny complimented Krista's mother and I for bringing up our children to appreciate great rock and roll. We did take a little break from dancing for them to cut the cake.

       My wife and I "danced up a storm".   We left around 11:00, as we had to get up the next morning and drive all the way back to Durham. Most of the wedding party and some of the friends had booked rooms in the Lodge for the night, so all they had to do was stumble - I mean - walk up stairs. Krista had also arranged for a bus to take the rest of the guests back to their hotels in Williamstown. It was a wonderful, joyous occasion, with a handsome groom and a beautiful, very happy bride.

Wedding Time - Prelude

     The primary reason for our trip north in September was to attend my daughter Krista's wedding.  As an event planner she had e-mailed us a very detailed hourly schedule for the days leading up to the event.  The schedule for Thursday included a stop at the florists, a walk-through of Bascom Lodge with the wedding planner (the picture of Krista, Spike, Erin, and moi in front of the Lodge is shown above), and lunch at the Blue Benn in Bennington, Vt.

This is a picture of the bride-to-be and yours truly at our booth at the Blue Benn.  From the diner we went apple-picking at Harwood Hill(not far from the site of Nan and my roll-over accident in 2003).  It was quite buggy(the after affect of the tropical storms of the weeks before) so the picking went very quickly as a result.  From there we stopped off at a greenhouse in Hoosick to pick up some mums for the wedding.  It was a busy day but all done on schedule.
      On Friday morning I drove over to Petersburgh and ran 3 miles with Kris for old time sake(fortunately she set a reasonable pace so I didn't get too far behind).  The old run took us pass the graves of my mom and dad.  It was difficult not to wish that they were here to see the wedding.  So much has happened in all our lives since their deaths.  But there are times when I feel their presence and I know that everything that has happened is within the scope of their new being.  Nan flew in from Durham on an early morning flight and we were able to get a nap in before the rehearsal.
     It was a beautiful early Fall day and we rehearsed outside.  Unfortunately the weather forecast for the wedding day itself was not good and when we got to the top of Mt. Greylock we could see clouds streaming in from the southeast.  My friend Kent Higgins was officiating the service, and he took us through the program.

Daughter Erin was the Main of Honor and Spike's father was the Best Man  The blushing bride-to-be practiced her walk down the aisle - I mean slope.

   

Quick Trip

      With Nan settled in Durham and the new semester well underway, I headed to the "homeland", as Krista calls it, to get ready for her wedding.  It was an extremely full two weeks.  My friend Jim Miller picked me up at the airport and we immediately went to a talk at the Albany Public Library given by David Allen Miller, conductor of the Albany Symphony Orchestra.  The opening concert of the season was the next night and, since Nan and I had been subscribers to the orchestra, it seemed appropriate to go and hear the maestro and his guest Ralph Kirshbaum, cellist.  Kirshbaum played a few sections of the piece he was schedule to play the following night and told a great story about his cello. (Please don't hold me accountable for the names and exact dates.)  Anyway, it seems that Kirshbaum's cello was made by the premier cello maker of the 18th century and dates back to the mid-1700's.  This cello maker was as famous for his cellos as Stradivarius was for his violins.  He was so famous that certain unscrupulous cello retailers of later years would actually dismantle his cellos and stick a part of his cello on another cello made by not so prestigious a cello maker and then sell it was an original.
     It seems that in the late 1880s  the owner of a famous London/New York music store was approached by an Italian family to see if they could sell their deceased father's cello which was allegedly made by the afore-referenced famous cello maker.  Upon examination of the instrument, the music store owner was able to determine that the only part of the cello that was original was the curved piece at the top where the strings are tuned.  He bought the cello anyway, at a much reduced price of course.  As fate would have it some 40 years later what walks into his store (actually was brought into the store) but the bottom half of the original cello.  The music store owner was able to reunite the pieces and in 1967 Kirshbaum was able to purchase the cello.
     The story was good enough to get me to The Palace in Albany for the performance the next night.  Kirshbaum played Elgar's cello concerto (and several encore pieces).  The orchestra was magnificent in playing Holst - The Planets.  Not only was the concert great, but I  also ran into quite a few friends and acquaintances.  One of the things that I miss about living is Durham is not having a reservoir of friends that you can just run into like that. It was a nice way to start my brief sojourn up north.
      I showed up and sang with the choir at the Church of the Covenant the next day and went out dinner with my friends Elise and Bob the next night.  I visited friends in Berlin and watched part of a Berlin soccer game.  Of course, almost all of the kids I knew have graduated and moved on, but it was a beautiful Fall day and worth the ride. I also went up to Bennington to see the opening of the last Oldcastle Theatre Company show to be performed at the Bennington Center for the Arts.  It's sad to think I won't get a chance to work in that space again, but life goes on.  The production was good with a lot of the company regulars in the cast:  Shawn and Matt from last year's production of "Leading Ladies" (both did an excellent job), Bill Tatum, Carleton Carpenter, Sophia Garder, and Ricky Howe.  Let's hope Oldcastle finds a space for next season.
     On the weekend before Krista's wedding I drove out to Cobleskill to participate in the Fam Fund 5K.  I met my good friend Tim and his wife there and ran into (not literally) a few of the attorneys who used to appear in front of me.  The big topic of conversation was the damage done by the flooding caused by Irene and the subsequent tropical storm.  The courthouse in Schoharie had been flooded and the library(Tim is the librarian) was totally destroyed.  After having lunch with Tim(Brook's BBQ chicken dinner), I took the back road to Schoharie to look at the damage myself.  It was mind-boggling.  Virtually every house in the village had some damage and were in process of being gutted.  Not a store on Main Street was open and you could see water marks well up the first story on every building.  The Stewart's Convenience Store was totally destroyed, and the Courthouse was closed off.  It was terribly sad.
     After the race, in which I finished 156 out of 850(most people walk the course so it looks like I finished better than I did), I headed to Schroon Lake to spend the rest of the weekend with my sister and brother-in-law at their camp.  It was the weekend of the Adirondack Marathon and the runners go past Sue and George's place.  We got out early to cheer them on.

It was surprising how many runners yelled, "More cowbell!" as they went by.  After the last runner had passed our cheering section, one of the officials who was following the racers in a car stopped to thank us for cheering as they hadn't seen anybody else for 5 miles. With almost 17 miles left to go, they probably needed a little encouragement. Personally, I would have stopped and seen if I could have scored a couple of beers.

The Daze starts again - Year 3

      We headed back to Durham on August 20th as Dr. Mullenneaux's semester started on the 26th, but she had meetings leading up to opening day.  The first two weeks down here were hot and humid and  uncomfortable.  The saving grace was getting back into attending sporting events at Duke.  It was fun to catch up with Herb(Crazy Towel Guy), Spiro, and Mark at the opening Nike Soccer Tournament.  Unfortunately we lost both games in OT( UC Santa Barbara beat us in the first one and SMU in the second)  Next, Nan and I went to see a volleyball match with U of San Diego.  No contest - the west coast girls were clearly better.
       Duke sponsors a tailgate party with free tickets to the first football game of the season or all its employees.  The price was right, so we signed up to attend both.  As fate would have it, Herb had two tickets at the 50 yard line that he couldn't use so in addition to the Duke tailgate we tailgated with Crazy Towel Guy and sat in the "good" seats.  We lost to Richmond and appear to be on our way to less than successful football season.  The women's soccer team om the other hand is off to a great start and is ranked in the top 10 nationally.
      For Nan's birthday we took the day off and went to Falls Lake, which is just north of Durham.  We did a little hike on a portion of the Mountain-to-Sea Trail.  This trail will eventually go all the way from Clingman's Dome in the Great Smokey Mtn. NP to the Outer Banks, crossing all of NC. After the hike we lounged by the beach, which we had to ourselves.

After three weeks I flew back north to get ready for Krista's wedding.

What I did on My Summer Vacation

      I have been very delinquent in keeping up these posts. However, as the summer is gone and we're back in Durham the time has come to reactivate the blog.  First, a recap.
      It was a short and busy summer.  Of course it was made shorter by the trip to Utah, which has been chronicled previously on this blog.  One of the major accomplishments of the summer was the installation of new floors in our bedrooms and study.  Tearing up the 30 year old carpet was not a pleasant task, but with the help of our son David we got it done in no time at all.  More discomfort was caused by moving most of the furniture out of each room into the other living spaces within the house so the floors could be installed. So, not only couldn't we use the bedrooms, but it was also difficult to use the living room, kitchen, and sun porch. The final product was well worth it however.
      We didn't take any major hikes this summer, but did climb a number of smaller peaks.  All our hikes were with the dogs, who proved to be pretty good hikers.  We started with our old favorite Buck on the east side of Lake George and then Cat on the west side of the lake several weeks later.

Blueberries were in season at the top of Cat and who knew the dogs would eat them.  One of the more interesting hikes we took was on a relatively new trail into the Hudson River Gorge.  We just happened to see the rafts from one of the commercial float trips passing on the river as we reached the trails end.

Our final hike of the summer was in New Hampshire while visiting our friends Tom and Dag.  The summit was too steep for the dogs, but we all got a great view.

We also climbed Mt. Greylock twice.  The last time was at the request of Krista, as, although her wedding was scheduled for October 1st on the summit, she and Spike had never climbed it.  We all summited on a humid, overcast day and did not get the reward of a view for all our efforts as the summit was socked-in.
      Speaking of Krista's wedding, we hosted a small family bridal shower for Krista and Spike at our home in Averill Park.  The hike up Greylock and the shower also gave us a chance to get to know Spike better.  Erin was home from California for 10 days and David checked in.  It was great to have my three kids together for such a fun time.  Watching them, my sister Suzanne and brother-in-law George playing some variation of Marco Polo in the pool was hilarious.

Pretty good-looking kids if I do say so myself.  The would-be bride was radiant as well.

     Visiting friends and family, attending plays at the wonderful smorgasbord of summer theater in our area, and spending weekends with friends made the summer disappear quickly.