One thing I regret is having not figured out years ago how to get in the "zone" running. When I was younger and would bike intensively for miles I could get there. It's that rush of pleasure that comes from the push of muscles and energy. But biking requires a bike, and space and time and back then I thought of running as something you did on a track and it was tedious. As I have discovered the last couple years on trails and roads is that running can be intense, done anywhere, as I proved running through Times Square in NYC, can take as much time as you have or want.
Hurricane Sandy is blowing away out there. I came home early because the office closed. The drive home was fine and the rain had just begun but it is still daylight. So seizing the opportunity I grabbed my sneakers and headed out for a run into town and back, about a 4 mile run. I have learned to love running in the rain. The coolness of the rain balances the heat generated running and I just like the feeling. This afternoon it was not only the rain but the wind and as I built up some speed the feeling was great. In town it was empty and quiet and not so much rain that I could sprint without puddles, though as I did the last downhill. the rain and wind picked up and the keeping my shirt on became uncomfortable. So ridding my self of that I sprinted down that half mile hill and up the final hill to our street with the wind and rain pelting me. It was absolutely wonderful.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Monday, October 15, 2012
As I alluded to mentioned with my hard drive from my last blurb, I have little tolerance for technology that doesn't work the way it is suppose to and have about had my fill of banks and credit card companies. When you combine the two it is enough to make normally polite me into some they would rather not have to deal with. Over a weekend the credit card company, had cancelled it's card, sold my account and reissued it under another company, with only a general warning months ago that it was happening but with no specific date and also cancelled all automatic payments to or from the card effective immediately. And the bank that held the account before, Bank of America, had no information to provide. By Monday I had received the email that confirmed what I knew and that I would have to set up all automatic payments with the new card number. That is the number when I received it [they had mailed them the previous Friday]
I was livid and felt sorry for anyone crossing my pass that day. Getting a phone message that the wait time was 60 minutes at the credit card company I hit the message boards and with the help of Google found a few with people similar to me complaining about their experience. So linking from these the card sponsor I left my posts with the subject line "ABC credit card transition Sucks" and email the PR department of the sponsor letting them know that my preferred card had move to emergency back-up. I am never rude but can be very pointed and have no problem seeking out message boards on which to let potential customer know about their service. [this often works when the facts are correct and they screwed up]
By the end of the week I was getting multiple emails to try to fix things, personal calls from a dept call the "office of the president" and a hand written apology and a $ 25 gift card. I still haven't decided to take the card back out of the drawer.
I finished the Brocktrot 10k a couple of weekend ago a minute faster than my time last year an unlike last year I wasn't about to pass out at the finish line. Still in the top half of finishers but it will take some real work from me to get my time down sufficiently to move away from that pack.
I am just finishing up with a cold that came on the day before my birthday week or so ago. It has been hanging around longer than it's welcome, that is if it is ever welcome. I usually get 1 cold a year and hopefully this is it. Of course it is cool and rainy weather hasn't helped much and unfortunately my work schedule last week didn't leave much time to stay home, plus I get unbelievably bored. So I used lots and lots of hand sanitizer this week to minimize my exposure to others around the house and work.
It is full blown fall here. The leaves yellow and red and from the rain and many are turning brown. Some have started to fall, which means I have to keep the lawn mowed [difficult with all this rain] so that some or many of the leaves blow away into the woods or into my neighbor's yard. I don't feel too guilty about that as he has some big trees and lots of power equipment and time, all of which I don't have. I will still get my share and will tackle them. Did I mention that it's been raining? I though over the weekend that I might have a chance to mow the lawn and chew up some leave but the grass never got dry enough .
But there is usually something else that can be done around the house and these two pallets of wood pellets have been sitting next to the driveway getting in the way every time I back out.
Moving the pellets has never been fun and I have tried all different ways including borrowing the neighbor's cart that he uses to stack a half dozen on and wheel it in and some years the kids have been around to help out. Each pallet is 75 bags and 1 and 1/2 tons. Plus I had about 20 bags in the garage that I needed to move out of the way so that the new bags could go in first and then I'd pile the older ones in front to use first.
This year it was just me and even though I'd been working out quite a bit since the last time I figured I'd move in a half a pallet and spread it out over a few days. I was after all a year older than last time.
But to my pleased amazement it was a piece of cake. The cart was buried deep at the back of the garage so I just dove in hoisting a couple bags at a time and hustling back and forth. In almost no time the first pallet was gone and while I'd worked up a good sweat I jumped in on the second. Polishing that one off too I realized when I checked the clock that just over an hour had gone by since I started. So I guess the workouts really have had some effect. Duh!!
A few ibuprofen and I was fine enough for a 5 mile run the next day.
As heating season kicks in my daily workout will include hauling in one of these 40 pound bags off the pile. It becomes more annoying than a chore as it usually is at 10PM that I am reloading the stove before I start to crash and find out that there isn't enough to fill it and I have to venture out into the cold for a bag. By February it becomes old.
But if those are my complaints, I am doing pretty well. Life in the Shire, as we sometimes fondly refer t is, is doing ok. Work is still a little manic primarily because the individuals involved but the pace leveling off. The young'ins are thriving in their new adventures and while we don't get to see them both as much, what did we do without texting and Skype.
So this blog entry is on the mundane, as it seems blogs often become. It's still early evening and we have a late night Skype check in so I am contemplating whether to go for a run in the rain to wake myself up. Perhaps that is better than letting myself get cozy on the couch.
I was livid and felt sorry for anyone crossing my pass that day. Getting a phone message that the wait time was 60 minutes at the credit card company I hit the message boards and with the help of Google found a few with people similar to me complaining about their experience. So linking from these the card sponsor I left my posts with the subject line "ABC credit card transition Sucks" and email the PR department of the sponsor letting them know that my preferred card had move to emergency back-up. I am never rude but can be very pointed and have no problem seeking out message boards on which to let potential customer know about their service. [this often works when the facts are correct and they screwed up]
By the end of the week I was getting multiple emails to try to fix things, personal calls from a dept call the "office of the president" and a hand written apology and a $ 25 gift card. I still haven't decided to take the card back out of the drawer.
I finished the Brocktrot 10k a couple of weekend ago a minute faster than my time last year an unlike last year I wasn't about to pass out at the finish line. Still in the top half of finishers but it will take some real work from me to get my time down sufficiently to move away from that pack.
I am just finishing up with a cold that came on the day before my birthday week or so ago. It has been hanging around longer than it's welcome, that is if it is ever welcome. I usually get 1 cold a year and hopefully this is it. Of course it is cool and rainy weather hasn't helped much and unfortunately my work schedule last week didn't leave much time to stay home, plus I get unbelievably bored. So I used lots and lots of hand sanitizer this week to minimize my exposure to others around the house and work.
It is full blown fall here. The leaves yellow and red and from the rain and many are turning brown. Some have started to fall, which means I have to keep the lawn mowed [difficult with all this rain] so that some or many of the leaves blow away into the woods or into my neighbor's yard. I don't feel too guilty about that as he has some big trees and lots of power equipment and time, all of which I don't have. I will still get my share and will tackle them. Did I mention that it's been raining? I though over the weekend that I might have a chance to mow the lawn and chew up some leave but the grass never got dry enough .
But there is usually something else that can be done around the house and these two pallets of wood pellets have been sitting next to the driveway getting in the way every time I back out.
Moving the pellets has never been fun and I have tried all different ways including borrowing the neighbor's cart that he uses to stack a half dozen on and wheel it in and some years the kids have been around to help out. Each pallet is 75 bags and 1 and 1/2 tons. Plus I had about 20 bags in the garage that I needed to move out of the way so that the new bags could go in first and then I'd pile the older ones in front to use first.
This year it was just me and even though I'd been working out quite a bit since the last time I figured I'd move in a half a pallet and spread it out over a few days. I was after all a year older than last time.
But to my pleased amazement it was a piece of cake. The cart was buried deep at the back of the garage so I just dove in hoisting a couple bags at a time and hustling back and forth. In almost no time the first pallet was gone and while I'd worked up a good sweat I jumped in on the second. Polishing that one off too I realized when I checked the clock that just over an hour had gone by since I started. So I guess the workouts really have had some effect. Duh!!
A few ibuprofen and I was fine enough for a 5 mile run the next day.
As heating season kicks in my daily workout will include hauling in one of these 40 pound bags off the pile. It becomes more annoying than a chore as it usually is at 10PM that I am reloading the stove before I start to crash and find out that there isn't enough to fill it and I have to venture out into the cold for a bag. By February it becomes old.
But if those are my complaints, I am doing pretty well. Life in the Shire, as we sometimes fondly refer t is, is doing ok. Work is still a little manic primarily because the individuals involved but the pace leveling off. The young'ins are thriving in their new adventures and while we don't get to see them both as much, what did we do without texting and Skype.
So this blog entry is on the mundane, as it seems blogs often become. It's still early evening and we have a late night Skype check in so I am contemplating whether to go for a run in the rain to wake myself up. Perhaps that is better than letting myself get cozy on the couch.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Ever since the hard drive crashed and I had to reload back-ups and also replace years worth of acquired software I have been having the damnedest time with pictures. Whereas they were all uploading to roughly the same area and I could edit and move them, the updated software of the various cameras we have send them all over. Even worse I can't find pictures I have had for years.
Admittedly, I have little patience for this and were I to sit for a few hours and remap things it probably would be better. Perhaps, but then I have to document the new way so that I can repeat it. One of my first digital cameras had this basic no frills software to upload and that is what I can't replace. The basic software was just what was needed to interface with Blogger.
September has hit and so has the coolness. Last week when I went out for a run at 6, it was in the 50s. Not cold enough for long sleeves or pants but a sign of what is to come. The late sunrise is more of a challenge than weather as I end up hanging around later drinking coffee and waiting for some sun before heading outside. With the youngin's gone my schedule is pushed back a little but that means that whereas I always needed to be back from a run by 6:30 I can easily do it til 7 and still leave at a decent time. I am determined not to start going in work early as a diversion. The past several months have been so chaotic at work that if anything I would find a reason to be late. Though the last few days I've had some breakthroughs that will hopefully calm things down.
The kids are thriving in their new environments and experiences and while we miss them dearly, the glow and confidence that they emit when talking about their new experiences makes a parent's heart glow..
I did get some time in the afternoon a few weeks back to head out in the kayak. There is a section of the river that I can do in about 90 minutes. There are Zebra muscles in some of the rivers./ lakes around here and you are expected to clean your boat when you've been in such as play, which the lower part of this river is. So I am less likely to just grab the boat and go anywhere unless I've had a chance to hose it down. The other option for summer is to let it sit in the sun for a couple of weeks, which has actually been my option for most of this summer.
Tomorrow morning I do the Brocktrot -10k. 6.2 miles and it has some substantial inclines to it and in the past I have tended to get wrapped up in the excitement and probably go out to fast. I also have been very conscious of being hydrated and have my water glass or bottle with me most of the time. Last year, though I did ok time wise, I think I had let myself be a little dehydrated and couldn't make it up quick enough the day before. I felt like I was just about ready to collapse crossing the finish line and I could tell by the look on the officials faces that I looked as bad as I felt. But I recovered within a few minutes with some water and rest and a couple days off from running. So learning from that I should be fine this year and the weather should also be cooperating.
Admittedly, I have little patience for this and were I to sit for a few hours and remap things it probably would be better. Perhaps, but then I have to document the new way so that I can repeat it. One of my first digital cameras had this basic no frills software to upload and that is what I can't replace. The basic software was just what was needed to interface with Blogger.
September has hit and so has the coolness. Last week when I went out for a run at 6, it was in the 50s. Not cold enough for long sleeves or pants but a sign of what is to come. The late sunrise is more of a challenge than weather as I end up hanging around later drinking coffee and waiting for some sun before heading outside. With the youngin's gone my schedule is pushed back a little but that means that whereas I always needed to be back from a run by 6:30 I can easily do it til 7 and still leave at a decent time. I am determined not to start going in work early as a diversion. The past several months have been so chaotic at work that if anything I would find a reason to be late. Though the last few days I've had some breakthroughs that will hopefully calm things down.
The kids are thriving in their new environments and experiences and while we miss them dearly, the glow and confidence that they emit when talking about their new experiences makes a parent's heart glow..
Tomorrow morning I do the Brocktrot -10k. 6.2 miles and it has some substantial inclines to it and in the past I have tended to get wrapped up in the excitement and probably go out to fast. I also have been very conscious of being hydrated and have my water glass or bottle with me most of the time. Last year, though I did ok time wise, I think I had let myself be a little dehydrated and couldn't make it up quick enough the day before. I felt like I was just about ready to collapse crossing the finish line and I could tell by the look on the officials faces that I looked as bad as I felt. But I recovered within a few minutes with some water and rest and a couple days off from running. So learning from that I should be fine this year and the weather should also be cooperating.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
I had been on vacation just about a week and a half and went back to work mid-week. It had been an even longer break in some sense because some of the more challenging people I have to deal with were on vacation before me, so it had been over 3 weeks of respite from those issues.
My eldest came back from NYC having finished the first week of an internship, we have move him back to Boston for classes and will drop him off at the train tomorrow to resume a part-week internship in NYC next week.
Lots of emotions have been going through me this past couple of weeks. With the kids gone it is so different, so quiet. It is like the rudder is broken and we are drifting until adjust. Last week when I was out for a long run I latched on the feeling as being so much like I felt many years ago when I went into work at a job I'd held for 10 years and was very unceremoniously and rather brutally told that it no longer existed and was handed a box. You attach yourself to something that in some sense becomes part of your identity and when it disappears it is like a part of you has died. Intellectually I know that have kids go off is not the same as loosing a job but the immediate feelings are the same. What is my role now?
Many people I know dive back into work when kids go off to college and let that consume their energy and time. I am determined not to do this and to seek out what will renew and enhance rather than drain and deplete.When I returned to work the peace of the week was broken and almost immediately the bombardment of issues that build up because a lack of direction that I have little influence in. But, with a short week I am back into the weekend focusing in on what needs to be done and still on the rudderless side. I expect that when we get everyone else back on their routine, it will hit with more impact- but then it will be fall and the things that come up with that.
My eldest came back from NYC having finished the first week of an internship, we have move him back to Boston for classes and will drop him off at the train tomorrow to resume a part-week internship in NYC next week.
Lots of emotions have been going through me this past couple of weeks. With the kids gone it is so different, so quiet. It is like the rudder is broken and we are drifting until adjust. Last week when I was out for a long run I latched on the feeling as being so much like I felt many years ago when I went into work at a job I'd held for 10 years and was very unceremoniously and rather brutally told that it no longer existed and was handed a box. You attach yourself to something that in some sense becomes part of your identity and when it disappears it is like a part of you has died. Intellectually I know that have kids go off is not the same as loosing a job but the immediate feelings are the same. What is my role now?
Many people I know dive back into work when kids go off to college and let that consume their energy and time. I am determined not to do this and to seek out what will renew and enhance rather than drain and deplete.When I returned to work the peace of the week was broken and almost immediately the bombardment of issues that build up because a lack of direction that I have little influence in. But, with a short week I am back into the weekend focusing in on what needs to be done and still on the rudderless side. I expect that when we get everyone else back on their routine, it will hit with more impact- but then it will be fall and the things that come up with that.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Several false starts on posts that never got past the draft. I am on vacation. Yay! Summer is winding down, the kids are finishing up their summer jobs and thus ending the juggling that happens with 4 people working 4 different schedules with 2 cars. Dropping one off at 6:30 in the morning, I then would head off toward work and stop at the gym for a quick 30 minute workout then into the shower and off to work. A great use of time but limiting in the workouts.
This morning, with no place special to go and the cars gone, I headed out for a long run. Not sure how long but a general idea of where.. There is a 10k race that I have done several times, the Brocktot, It starts in downtown Lenox and loops around the back roads to Tanglewood then off more back roads ending up at the back gates of Shakespeare & Company. It has a good amount of hills and I have often run from my house to the starting spot and then run the first half, which easily gets me up to 7 miles. Those runs are always easier than the route on the day of the race and today I discovered why. The back half is the real killer. I just assumed I was tired by the I got there but today I started off in a direction that brought me to the end line and from there it was up and down hills to Tanglewood, at which point I was wiped and decided to make the most direct way home. It had been well over an hour.
As I approached the back side of Tanglewood and the 20 foot hedges I could hear music in the distance. Saturday morning is rehearsal for the Saturday night performance and people buy either lawn or shed tickets just as they would a performance. As I got closer I could make out the very distinct melodies of a John Williams piece. Ah hah... We were at the symphony last night for a for a performance of Aaron Copeland and Beethoven and noticed that tonight was the Boston Pops and it was in fact a John Williams program. As he was conductor of the Pops for many years, these shows are very popular here and this year they are celebrating his 80th birthday as part of a 75th anniversary (for Tanglewood). I poked my head in the gate and while I wasn't about to but a ticket to get in, I could catch a view of lots of folks sitting on the lawn and could listen to some of the music. Jogging a little further I sat up against the hedge and enjoyed a few pieces before heading into town and out towards home. This bit of music is one of those gems that you can stumble upon around here in the summer. In the end the run ended up to be 9.87 miles and as I neared home I was feeling every hill.
We are getting into home stretch around here with the youngest heading off to college next week (sniff-sniff) and the eldest splitting time between doing an internship in NYC for part of the week and then back in Boston for classes. That is when it will become really quiet around here. I have written before about this and the roller-coaster of feelings. The challenge I think is that there is no easing into it, in fact there is this enormous ramp up with all that needs to happen and at the top of the ramp, they take flight and you are left with this void to redefine and fill. All part of life.
Onward and onward....................
This morning, with no place special to go and the cars gone, I headed out for a long run. Not sure how long but a general idea of where.. There is a 10k race that I have done several times, the Brocktot, It starts in downtown Lenox and loops around the back roads to Tanglewood then off more back roads ending up at the back gates of Shakespeare & Company. It has a good amount of hills and I have often run from my house to the starting spot and then run the first half, which easily gets me up to 7 miles. Those runs are always easier than the route on the day of the race and today I discovered why. The back half is the real killer. I just assumed I was tired by the I got there but today I started off in a direction that brought me to the end line and from there it was up and down hills to Tanglewood, at which point I was wiped and decided to make the most direct way home. It had been well over an hour.
As I approached the back side of Tanglewood and the 20 foot hedges I could hear music in the distance. Saturday morning is rehearsal for the Saturday night performance and people buy either lawn or shed tickets just as they would a performance. As I got closer I could make out the very distinct melodies of a John Williams piece. Ah hah... We were at the symphony last night for a for a performance of Aaron Copeland and Beethoven and noticed that tonight was the Boston Pops and it was in fact a John Williams program. As he was conductor of the Pops for many years, these shows are very popular here and this year they are celebrating his 80th birthday as part of a 75th anniversary (for Tanglewood). I poked my head in the gate and while I wasn't about to but a ticket to get in, I could catch a view of lots of folks sitting on the lawn and could listen to some of the music. Jogging a little further I sat up against the hedge and enjoyed a few pieces before heading into town and out towards home. This bit of music is one of those gems that you can stumble upon around here in the summer. In the end the run ended up to be 9.87 miles and as I neared home I was feeling every hill.
We are getting into home stretch around here with the youngest heading off to college next week (sniff-sniff) and the eldest splitting time between doing an internship in NYC for part of the week and then back in Boston for classes. That is when it will become really quiet around here. I have written before about this and the roller-coaster of feelings. The challenge I think is that there is no easing into it, in fact there is this enormous ramp up with all that needs to happen and at the top of the ramp, they take flight and you are left with this void to redefine and fill. All part of life.
Onward and onward....................
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Summer seems a jumble. A torn up bathroom is now back together and looking much like it belongs in this century rather than the 60-70s, I even had the opportunity to strip the wallpaper off while it was cleared out and just have to get the last of the glue off and patch and paint. Sound simple and easy, but it is not. The easy stuff is off and what is left at the hard to reach places or where the sheetrock paper came off with the paper. I absolutely hate dealing with wallpaper paste [the paper itself comes off easy] and unfortunately the previous owners of this house absolutely loved wallpaper and were heavy on the paper and paste, making just about any room a chore to redo.
The family room wood floor is in though the moldings and lack of moldings and a rug have the furniture floating in still temporary positions and it echos a bit.
We had an unusual circumstance of most of the family being off on last Monday so, with lots of maneuvering I also took it off and we spent the day in New York City. It's about a 3 hour jaunt from where we are, and about 90 minutes to the station. We didn't have allot planned, we ended up visiting the UN and walking around that area of the city and then getting some really good Turkish food neat the Turkish UN mission. It was just a day trip and it was good to get out as a family.
So as the people from NYC come to the Berkshires for vacation, we head in their direction-if only for the day. My oldest is also working on getting an internship in NYC so it also gave a little chance to be come more familiar and comfortable moving around the city.
It is full tourist season here, though from my limited perspective and from my kids, who work in restaurants, it is on the slow side. The heat slowed things down, now it seems the clouds are doing the same. I don't venture out to the Tanglewood side of town except on weekends so for all I know it could be totally packed.
Vacation for me is still a few weeks away though I may get a day or so here and there. With everyone at home working and me not wanting to get in the way of the workers, the motivation hasn't been there and then there is the navigating around the vacation schedule of people at work who have structured things going on. That week or so I am off will be to lead up to the kids all going off to school and the parents heading into major depression and idleness. Not looking forward to that. As the kids were away for the week earlier in the summer the quiet around the house was not fun. So, I will have to screen posts that come out at that time, or may just keep the very generic and benign.
The family room wood floor is in though the moldings and lack of moldings and a rug have the furniture floating in still temporary positions and it echos a bit.
We had an unusual circumstance of most of the family being off on last Monday so, with lots of maneuvering I also took it off and we spent the day in New York City. It's about a 3 hour jaunt from where we are, and about 90 minutes to the station. We didn't have allot planned, we ended up visiting the UN and walking around that area of the city and then getting some really good Turkish food neat the Turkish UN mission. It was just a day trip and it was good to get out as a family.
So as the people from NYC come to the Berkshires for vacation, we head in their direction-if only for the day. My oldest is also working on getting an internship in NYC so it also gave a little chance to be come more familiar and comfortable moving around the city.
It is full tourist season here, though from my limited perspective and from my kids, who work in restaurants, it is on the slow side. The heat slowed things down, now it seems the clouds are doing the same. I don't venture out to the Tanglewood side of town except on weekends so for all I know it could be totally packed.
Vacation for me is still a few weeks away though I may get a day or so here and there. With everyone at home working and me not wanting to get in the way of the workers, the motivation hasn't been there and then there is the navigating around the vacation schedule of people at work who have structured things going on. That week or so I am off will be to lead up to the kids all going off to school and the parents heading into major depression and idleness. Not looking forward to that. As the kids were away for the week earlier in the summer the quiet around the house was not fun. So, I will have to screen posts that come out at that time, or may just keep the very generic and benign.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
I have been off work for a few days and just catching up on things. Several hours spend on just clearing out piles of accumulated mail and papers. Wednesday was the Independence Day 5k which I ran along with 1200 others and finished in the top half. Not my best time but there were no walking breaks and the humidity was thick. The afternoon featured a more or less impromptu neighborhood get together planned by neighbors the day before who said they were pulling out their grill and table to the island that runs up the middle of our street and everyone was invited to bring something to share. It was fun to actually get to visit with people I have just waved to driving up and down the street. About a dozen or so neighbors showed up and some passed on their regrets as they headed out to the James Taylor concert at Tanglewood that night.
I also got a few hour one afternoon in the kayak going down the river. The sun was fine and the rain and thunder just rattled in the distance
I got in a few morning runs and this afternoon got a massage at Kripalu, which is
always pretty chill.
Fortunately I was just leaving as the weekend guests were arriving in packs, getting to my car to discover a flat tire, but a maintenance guy was on his way home and assisted with a couple of the lug nuts that just wouldn't budge. Trying to step on a lug wrench in sandals [me] just does match being able to pound it with boots. [him]. So I guess the karma of the place was with me as I was shortly on my way with the temporary boot.
It is very crowded around town, symphony and theater season has started. The usual array of tourists walking around almost oblivious that there are people trying to do their every day routine. The average age in town also has markedly risen a few decades, at least with the snowbirds all being back.
It is muggy today. I started off getting ready to bake a birthday cake only to discover we we missing cornmeal that is called for in the recipe. I had seen a box in the cupboard but to my surprise it was actually grits.Not an good substitute. So, wanting a run I grabbed my mini pack, shirt and a towel and donned the sneakers and ran into town. Of course, arriving sweaty the towel was useful before I tossed on the shirt to get my ingredients, then back on the road for the mile and a half back After the cake came out it was back to the tire place to get the flat fixed. To no surprise it was a nail. Not all that unexpected since we have carpenters working off half the garage. Hopefully this will be the last. Tonight we are going to venture out to one of the restaurants the kids work at. One works at the Red Lion in Stockbridge and we have been there many times over the years and most recently showed up on his watch for a post high school celebratory lunch. Tonight is Spice Dragon, which has received good reviews from the youngest especially for their spring rolls.
I also got a few hour one afternoon in the kayak going down the river. The sun was fine and the rain and thunder just rattled in the distance
Fortunately I was just leaving as the weekend guests were arriving in packs, getting to my car to discover a flat tire, but a maintenance guy was on his way home and assisted with a couple of the lug nuts that just wouldn't budge. Trying to step on a lug wrench in sandals [me] just does match being able to pound it with boots. [him]. So I guess the karma of the place was with me as I was shortly on my way with the temporary boot.
It is very crowded around town, symphony and theater season has started. The usual array of tourists walking around almost oblivious that there are people trying to do their every day routine. The average age in town also has markedly risen a few decades, at least with the snowbirds all being back.
It is muggy today. I started off getting ready to bake a birthday cake only to discover we we missing cornmeal that is called for in the recipe. I had seen a box in the cupboard but to my surprise it was actually grits.Not an good substitute. So, wanting a run I grabbed my mini pack, shirt and a towel and donned the sneakers and ran into town. Of course, arriving sweaty the towel was useful before I tossed on the shirt to get my ingredients, then back on the road for the mile and a half back After the cake came out it was back to the tire place to get the flat fixed. To no surprise it was a nail. Not all that unexpected since we have carpenters working off half the garage. Hopefully this will be the last. Tonight we are going to venture out to one of the restaurants the kids work at. One works at the Red Lion in Stockbridge and we have been there many times over the years and most recently showed up on his watch for a post high school celebratory lunch. Tonight is Spice Dragon, which has received good reviews from the youngest especially for their spring rolls.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
I am feeling a bit of travel envy. My kids just arrived on an island off the coast of Scotland (Iona) for the week. Funded by a generous donor from from church, there are 20 in the group (15 kids). They left at noon yesterday and arrived almost 24 hours later traveling by car, plane, train, 2 ferry crossings and bus, and that is the direct route. The eldest came back a few months back from 3 months in Italy. I also have been following the f/b car journey of a friend relocating with his family to western Canada and he is driving the family dog and car cross country and posting pictures of the stops along the way. They'll meet up with him later.
On my home front,. I've been mowing the lawn, planning my final few days of training before the 4th of July 5k, making Gazpacho for dinner and obviously hanging out on line and tonight we are planning to go the movies. Tomorrow, after doing church "coffee hour", I'll help a family member move, make dinner and then be strategizizing about having 2 kids in college in the fall work.
See the disparity between the first paragraph and the second.
It is also high tourist season with people all around on vacation. It's tough watching people on vacation, when you have chores and work. I expect that is the same when we are on vacation.
.
On my home front,. I've been mowing the lawn, planning my final few days of training before the 4th of July 5k, making Gazpacho for dinner and obviously hanging out on line and tonight we are planning to go the movies. Tomorrow, after doing church "coffee hour", I'll help a family member move, make dinner and then be strategizizing about having 2 kids in college in the fall work.
See the disparity between the first paragraph and the second.
It is also high tourist season with people all around on vacation. It's tough watching people on vacation, when you have chores and work. I expect that is the same when we are on vacation.
.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
This past weekend, in between trips to Home Depot, we hit ball park. Pittsfield, which is about 15 minutes from here has one of the oldest baseball parks in the country, Wahconah Park. For years its been minor league and now the players are part of the Futures League, which is made up of college players. The Pittsield Suns is the local team. The game was fun with about a thousand in the stands and a big picnic area and bouncing playground for the kids and tickets only $7. Between each inning there are games for the fans such as chase the pizza slice, races or one-dance comtests - all with tickets as prizes, except of course for the pizza. One of the funniest is that "stolen bases" are sponsored by a local security company which gets an ad each time it happens. The people at the game are so different from the tourists we see for Tanglewood and the theater. Just regular folks enjoying a fun game at a fun park.
On this night the home team won, pulling out 3 runs in the bottom of the ninth. Forth of July game includes the biggest fireworks around. Another thing that is fun about living in this area.
On this night the home team won, pulling out 3 runs in the bottom of the ninth. Forth of July game includes the biggest fireworks around. Another thing that is fun about living in this area.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Summer is here. The heat wave is on us. As I left work yesterday the car thermometer read 99. This morning in the Berkshires it's around 70. It is always a little cooler here and being up on hills there is usually a breeze. Since moving here 15 years ago we haven't pulled out the air conditioners that got moved to the basement. Don't even know if they'd work= and it usually isn't worth the effort for just a few days of heat. The fans to fine.
Running in this kind of weather is tough as much from the motivation perspective. Last weekend I did my longest run, 13.6 miles, proving to myself that I could do a half-marathon if I chose to and could find one local. So taking a few days off and training lighter after such a distance is ok.
If things weren't crazy enough, we are scheduling renovations on a bathroom and installing flooring in a family room. The carpenter had been going to drop off the parts list a couple of weeks ago so that we could make all the choices and do the ordering. He got tied up and dropped it off a couple of days ago and still wants to start next week sometime. Eeek!! Being a the scheduling mercy of tradespeople is a pain. I easily get in over stimulation mode at Home Depot with all the choices and options and all the little pieces that need to be bought for such a project. The good surprise was that his bid included demolition, which is a first for us. It is usually me who is the demo crew.
Stay cool!
Running in this kind of weather is tough as much from the motivation perspective. Last weekend I did my longest run, 13.6 miles, proving to myself that I could do a half-marathon if I chose to and could find one local. So taking a few days off and training lighter after such a distance is ok.
If things weren't crazy enough, we are scheduling renovations on a bathroom and installing flooring in a family room. The carpenter had been going to drop off the parts list a couple of weeks ago so that we could make all the choices and do the ordering. He got tied up and dropped it off a couple of days ago and still wants to start next week sometime. Eeek!! Being a the scheduling mercy of tradespeople is a pain. I easily get in over stimulation mode at Home Depot with all the choices and options and all the little pieces that need to be bought for such a project. The good surprise was that his bid included demolition, which is a first for us. It is usually me who is the demo crew.
Stay cool!
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Reality Check
So...every once in a while life comes up and bites you in the butt and gives you a reality check that puts your issues back in perspective.
Last night I go an email that someone I had volunteered with several years on school drama program died of cancer. He was in his early 50s, someone who was there every weekend and heavily involved. He and his wife were one of those super volunteers and he was also a nice guy, liked by the kids and parents. He was diagnosed last fall with cancer of the esophagus and pancreas. I have no reason to see him other than in this setting as we live a distance apart and when I saw for a few minutes this spring he was in a wheelchair and was recovering from a lung infection and was a shadow the person I knew. That was 2 months ago. Many of us who knew him and worked with him are numb.
He has two kids the same ages as mine, the oldest will be a senior in college this year, the youngest just started college. I can't even imagine what they have been going through or what is going on with them now.
So a little perspective on my rants and what has been going on with me. My issues pale in comparison.
Last night I go an email that someone I had volunteered with several years on school drama program died of cancer. He was in his early 50s, someone who was there every weekend and heavily involved. He and his wife were one of those super volunteers and he was also a nice guy, liked by the kids and parents. He was diagnosed last fall with cancer of the esophagus and pancreas. I have no reason to see him other than in this setting as we live a distance apart and when I saw for a few minutes this spring he was in a wheelchair and was recovering from a lung infection and was a shadow the person I knew. That was 2 months ago. Many of us who knew him and worked with him are numb.
He has two kids the same ages as mine, the oldest will be a senior in college this year, the youngest just started college. I can't even imagine what they have been going through or what is going on with them now.
So a little perspective on my rants and what has been going on with me. My issues pale in comparison.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
systems overload
It has been an overload past few weeks and I still feel like I am on that delicate balance between overload and totally fried. The week before last it was the floor refinishing and last week it was senior day followed the next day by prom the a day in between and then graduation. A lot going on. Throw into the mix a tree partially falling down in the backyard and hanging against a main tree mid center of the yard. It had been leaning but the big wind and rain last week was too much for it. But to keep it not so simple, we have a graduation party coming up next weekend using of course the back yard and in order to get a machine back there I had to star taking down the wooden swing set / structure but can't put it someplace permanent until I know which direction around the house the machine can come, so it sits in large pieces on the lawn. And did I mention that I am at the vortex or a division restructuring / reorganization at work that I am facilitating but not-because I am delegating much of what I have been doing the past 10 years, and while no one clearly knows the outcome, I am expected to figure out how to implement a vaguely defined but graphically visual [only to the head person] of what the outcome is to achieve and on even more center stage I am coaching and tempering personalities in a major 2 year software implementation that hit one of it's major peaks this past month all the while also having to field and negotiate a major contract negotiation that has been rushed to a crowded forefront in the past month.
So, it is that seemingly run on stream of consciousness that is me at the moment. A seeming blur in the mind that reminds me of playing an old game of Asteroids where the object is to knock off the incoming asteroids before they knock off you.
It may seem like I am complaining, but I am really not. The tree and the house stuff are annoying and complicate things and the work stuff is stressful because of its lack of clarity and direction and while I often deal ok with that, this has been going on for over a year and I am just tired and I dream more and more of hat winning lottery ticket.
But the family stuff is wonderful and I am trying to soak it in. I think life is crazy at time for most of us. It just sometimes ramps up and things collide more than usual. I had someone look at me today and say that I seem to be disappearing before their eyes. It was a compliment of sorts. To control all of what is going on, I've increased the running miles which usually translates into a little more fat coming off.I still have plenty to spare so they is no concern over me fading away.
So, it is that seemingly run on stream of consciousness that is me at the moment. A seeming blur in the mind that reminds me of playing an old game of Asteroids where the object is to knock off the incoming asteroids before they knock off you.
It may seem like I am complaining, but I am really not. The tree and the house stuff are annoying and complicate things and the work stuff is stressful because of its lack of clarity and direction and while I often deal ok with that, this has been going on for over a year and I am just tired and I dream more and more of hat winning lottery ticket.
But the family stuff is wonderful and I am trying to soak it in. I think life is crazy at time for most of us. It just sometimes ramps up and things collide more than usual. I had someone look at me today and say that I seem to be disappearing before their eyes. It was a compliment of sorts. To control all of what is going on, I've increased the running miles which usually translates into a little more fat coming off.I still have plenty to spare so they is no concern over me fading away.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Yesterday as we were leaving the seniors awards day my wife I were recounting that for the past 16 years we have been transporting someone to school. At first it was across town, because the 5 minute car ride was 45 on the bus, then to the local middle school 2 minutes away and for the past 7 years to high school several towns away. While we occasionally split some of the earlier years, she has been doing the high school trips back and forth sometimes multiple times a day. That has all ended and Sunday morning will be our last high school trip as a "connected family"
Over the past year and especially the past few months we have been profoundly aware that this was coming and cherishing the events as they were occurring and the small things like me making a breakfast to be grabbed as the youngest runs out the door to school or the last lunch packed for a half day or the last basketball and baseball games. Of course we can see more game, but as many of the kids we know and have known are moving on it will never be the same.
Thirteen years ago I remember so vividly riding the kindergarten school bus with my youngest as a parent escort. Last we when she drove off for a the last final exam I got a little teary. Where did the time go? Tonight is prom and Sunday is is the community breakfast and graduation.
I expect over the next few days I be even more teary, confirming that dad is a real softy.
Over the past year and especially the past few months we have been profoundly aware that this was coming and cherishing the events as they were occurring and the small things like me making a breakfast to be grabbed as the youngest runs out the door to school or the last lunch packed for a half day or the last basketball and baseball games. Of course we can see more game, but as many of the kids we know and have known are moving on it will never be the same.
Thirteen years ago I remember so vividly riding the kindergarten school bus with my youngest as a parent escort. Last we when she drove off for a the last final exam I got a little teary. Where did the time go? Tonight is prom and Sunday is is the community breakfast and graduation.
I expect over the next few days I be even more teary, confirming that dad is a real softy.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Realizing it's been several week since I posted. As I sit here the smell of urethane drifts down the hall, not sure if it is giving me a buzz or I am just over tired. Years ago I gave up before and after shot of home renovations because we were usually so fried afterwards that we didn't want to be reminded.
This past weekend we pulled the carpet and padding that has covered the stairs to the second floor to prep the oak treads for refinishing. With the kids grown and less need for padded stairs, it was time and at the same time we would have an old foyer parquet floor refinished to see if it has any life.
The challenge to a project like this is that this is our only access to the second floor and the wood floor to be refinished also includes the only bathroom on the first floor. So it was either going to be dry enough at the end of the day to traverse or a ladder was going to be the egress through the back window. And of course with all the planning, the forecast for every day this week is rain. We are at the end of day 2 and it dried enough last night to scoot across and the same tonight. Tomorrow is the last coat so that by weekend we will be ready to put doors back on, replant the toilet and pain the back part of the stairs and trim. The contrast is so amazing that now I wish I had a before shot.
The current rush is to get this done for prom and graduation festivities next week Then the week after that one of the upstairs bathrooms gets attacked and brought up from the 1970s to current. Definitely more disruption but it will be good when it is done.
Having both kids around for the summer changes dynamics and I am going to miss it in the fall. We are already grieving the transition of last kid leaving high school and so many "last" events. I expect summer to sprint by and before we know it we'll have an empty house in the fall, but I can't dwell on that or I start to tear up.
I am doing shuttle in the early morning to get the eldest to work by 6:30 then I find I can hit the gym and get 40 minutes on the treadmill and shower and change and get into work much the normal time. So while I am a little more tired, I am getting more fit. Last weekend I did my first 11.5 mile run. An experiences of starting to run down one direction feeling a little lethargic for a few miles and then come to the beginning of a 10k race route that I've run several times and headed through those hills and back roads til the end and then being several miles from home. It was more than I though I could do before but now am determined to tackle a half marathon (13.2 miles) in the near future. I've been mulling one over for next weekend but as I slipped on some high arch sandals last night and felt a stabbing pain, I'm thinking I really need to take a few days off and train at that mileage for some more weeks. I now know I can easily finish a half marathon but I need to make sure I do it am injury free.
This past weekend we pulled the carpet and padding that has covered the stairs to the second floor to prep the oak treads for refinishing. With the kids grown and less need for padded stairs, it was time and at the same time we would have an old foyer parquet floor refinished to see if it has any life.
The challenge to a project like this is that this is our only access to the second floor and the wood floor to be refinished also includes the only bathroom on the first floor. So it was either going to be dry enough at the end of the day to traverse or a ladder was going to be the egress through the back window. And of course with all the planning, the forecast for every day this week is rain. We are at the end of day 2 and it dried enough last night to scoot across and the same tonight. Tomorrow is the last coat so that by weekend we will be ready to put doors back on, replant the toilet and pain the back part of the stairs and trim. The contrast is so amazing that now I wish I had a before shot.
The current rush is to get this done for prom and graduation festivities next week Then the week after that one of the upstairs bathrooms gets attacked and brought up from the 1970s to current. Definitely more disruption but it will be good when it is done.
Having both kids around for the summer changes dynamics and I am going to miss it in the fall. We are already grieving the transition of last kid leaving high school and so many "last" events. I expect summer to sprint by and before we know it we'll have an empty house in the fall, but I can't dwell on that or I start to tear up.
I am doing shuttle in the early morning to get the eldest to work by 6:30 then I find I can hit the gym and get 40 minutes on the treadmill and shower and change and get into work much the normal time. So while I am a little more tired, I am getting more fit. Last weekend I did my first 11.5 mile run. An experiences of starting to run down one direction feeling a little lethargic for a few miles and then come to the beginning of a 10k race route that I've run several times and headed through those hills and back roads til the end and then being several miles from home. It was more than I though I could do before but now am determined to tackle a half marathon (13.2 miles) in the near future. I've been mulling one over for next weekend but as I slipped on some high arch sandals last night and felt a stabbing pain, I'm thinking I really need to take a few days off and train at that mileage for some more weeks. I now know I can easily finish a half marathon but I need to make sure I do it am injury free.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
It was 37 degrees this morning when I climbed into the tights and went out for what ended up being a 7 mile run. I took a totally new route today which involved a hill that was easily be a mile long climb and one that if you were on a bike you'd be down shifting to a low gear. Then around the corner and up and down several hills. Yesterday I was running against 30 degree winds and didn't make it too far before turning back, but today the sun was out and while it was cold, the wind wasn't there.
Things have been crazy of late. I have written about some of that here and some is so personal and so lacking in clarity that I rarely speak of it let alone write. Heading out to the gym at lunch for a quick 40 minute run is what keeps my stress levels controlled and me from spinning out of orbit. The upside of these jaunts to the gym has been that I can set the treadmill to fit what I need and for the past could weeks its been a combination of sprints and heavy runs up good sized inclines. Both of these burn off adrenalin and also burn off the extra food that I find myself nibbling at work as stress fixes.
So this morning when I left my street and headed toward the long hill I normally would take a left and do a route that is rolling and goes into town. But this morning I kept on going straight and went downhill and then started to climb. To my great satisfaction my treadmill workouts had me ready to complete the hill and still have something to turn the corner and continue on. On a long run it takes me about 20-25 minutes before I start to feel good and at about 40 minutes I am at my peak and that is when I start to think about returning back. At about an hour I am starting to feel tired and but usually by then pretty close to home, although I always have a last quarter mile hill to get up to my street.
Finishing up the run I felt great as usual but a short while later my butt was clearly reminding me that I gave myself a strong hill workout. A few Ibuprofens and even that is under control.
So why the hell did I even start writing about this? I guess it's because with all going on around home and work I have been thinking a lot of how small changes can really have an impact when they start to accumulate. There aren't a lot of big changes I can make to make things better or calmer or more fulfilling, so I am seeking out even the smallest positive change. One of them being to gradually increasing the incline and speed on the treadmill over several weeks of short runs reveled itself this morning in my ability to tackle a 7 mile run of mostly hills in just a about an hour. Not a shabby time at all.
So I will continue to seek out those little changes and continue to see where they bring me.
Things have been crazy of late. I have written about some of that here and some is so personal and so lacking in clarity that I rarely speak of it let alone write. Heading out to the gym at lunch for a quick 40 minute run is what keeps my stress levels controlled and me from spinning out of orbit. The upside of these jaunts to the gym has been that I can set the treadmill to fit what I need and for the past could weeks its been a combination of sprints and heavy runs up good sized inclines. Both of these burn off adrenalin and also burn off the extra food that I find myself nibbling at work as stress fixes.
So this morning when I left my street and headed toward the long hill I normally would take a left and do a route that is rolling and goes into town. But this morning I kept on going straight and went downhill and then started to climb. To my great satisfaction my treadmill workouts had me ready to complete the hill and still have something to turn the corner and continue on. On a long run it takes me about 20-25 minutes before I start to feel good and at about 40 minutes I am at my peak and that is when I start to think about returning back. At about an hour I am starting to feel tired and but usually by then pretty close to home, although I always have a last quarter mile hill to get up to my street.
Finishing up the run I felt great as usual but a short while later my butt was clearly reminding me that I gave myself a strong hill workout. A few Ibuprofens and even that is under control.
So why the hell did I even start writing about this? I guess it's because with all going on around home and work I have been thinking a lot of how small changes can really have an impact when they start to accumulate. There aren't a lot of big changes I can make to make things better or calmer or more fulfilling, so I am seeking out even the smallest positive change. One of them being to gradually increasing the incline and speed on the treadmill over several weeks of short runs reveled itself this morning in my ability to tackle a 7 mile run of mostly hills in just a about an hour. Not a shabby time at all.
So I will continue to seek out those little changes and continue to see where they bring me.
Monday, April 16, 2012
wish I had a picture
We were in New York City a few days ago and after a day seeing some sights some of the family of the family wanted to go shopping, but given the option of tagging along through the womens department, I chose to head back to the hotel and go out for a run. We weren't anywhere near central park so my option was running the treadmill in the basement fitness center or to hit the streets. Most who read this blog can guess my choice. I am an outdoors person even in the city. Running through traffic and around the crowded sidewalks was a rush and there was a bike lane that I could share with the occassional bikers.
Compared with my usual routes running in the city is great. It is flat and with the exception of having to stop for lights and the heat, it was easy to get up a fast pace and 5 miles was done pretty quickly. It was much more fun than my workout yesterday of walking up and down the 19 floors to our room. In a small stairwell the back and forth of the landings left me dizzy at the bottom.
But back to the title of this post. While out for my run, I did encounter bikers and the strangest one I encountered was the person texting with 2 hands coming toward me on 6th Avenue. As I approached him I thought it wiser to slip through the crowd on the sidewalk. On my return trip I encountered him again only this time he was one foot from hitting a cab parked on the road side. As he discovered the cab a bit of shock crossed his face followed by sheepeshness as he apologized to the driver. I am sure this wasn't his first crash and won't be his last. And no he wasn't wearing a helmet.
Compared with my usual routes running in the city is great. It is flat and with the exception of having to stop for lights and the heat, it was easy to get up a fast pace and 5 miles was done pretty quickly. It was much more fun than my workout yesterday of walking up and down the 19 floors to our room. In a small stairwell the back and forth of the landings left me dizzy at the bottom.
But back to the title of this post. While out for my run, I did encounter bikers and the strangest one I encountered was the person texting with 2 hands coming toward me on 6th Avenue. As I approached him I thought it wiser to slip through the crowd on the sidewalk. On my return trip I encountered him again only this time he was one foot from hitting a cab parked on the road side. As he discovered the cab a bit of shock crossed his face followed by sheepeshness as he apologized to the driver. I am sure this wasn't his first crash and won't be his last. And no he wasn't wearing a helmet.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
The chucking of the sacred tennis balls - Happy Easter
For many years we have had a pre-Easter tradition of participating in and coordinating the chucking of the sacred tennis balls. Sounding a little irreverent on the surface it is a tradition started by an artist member of our church who figured out that if you attached fish line to a tennis ball you can hurl them up through the rafters and then connect one end to long spools of fabric that are pulled to the front and attached under the cross the other end tied off to the sides. The effect is quite dramatic effect and beautiful. Like streamers, some go the entire distance and some take off and seems to end in the middle of the air, like rays of sun.
Hurling a ball attached to a spool of fish line sounds easy until you try it. Thirty feet up with not much windup space requires a little practice as does picking out different lengths of fabric that work. While the process has been refined, every year it is a little different as it is up to the chucker which rafter is picked or accidentally hits and the different fabric used.
This all happens on the evening of Good Friday, appropriate in that everything breakable has been put away and is out of sight. Those balls do bounce and some people have really bad aim. But it is an event for all and anyone who shows up gets a chance to chuck a ball. There is one ball that several years back got stuck and hangs from one of the highest rafters dangling from a few feet of line. You have to be a certain angle to see it and whenever I see it throughout the year, it makes me smile and remember this wonderful Easter tradition.
We have been doing this for quite a while with both the kids and last year and this, my youngest coordinated the effort.
The streamers will stay up for quite a while and couples have even planned weddings to match the time that they will be up.
Happy Easter to all......off to breakfast and Church
Hurling a ball attached to a spool of fish line sounds easy until you try it. Thirty feet up with not much windup space requires a little practice as does picking out different lengths of fabric that work. While the process has been refined, every year it is a little different as it is up to the chucker which rafter is picked or accidentally hits and the different fabric used.
This all happens on the evening of Good Friday, appropriate in that everything breakable has been put away and is out of sight. Those balls do bounce and some people have really bad aim. But it is an event for all and anyone who shows up gets a chance to chuck a ball. There is one ball that several years back got stuck and hangs from one of the highest rafters dangling from a few feet of line. You have to be a certain angle to see it and whenever I see it throughout the year, it makes me smile and remember this wonderful Easter tradition.
We have been doing this for quite a while with both the kids and last year and this, my youngest coordinated the effort.
The streamers will stay up for quite a while and couples have even planned weddings to match the time that they will be up.
Happy Easter to all......off to breakfast and Church
Sunday, March 25, 2012
I think like all places it has been unseasonably warm but supposed to get down to the 40s this week. The daffodils are up and blooming an entire month early. The vernal pools are full and peepers making quite a racket. Spring is definitely here. The early morning light of spring, which enables me to run early, isn't here yet. But on the other end, the later sunsets give a little more time on before dinner.
I have this saying that there are times that I feel like my get up and go just got up and left and most weekends have been like this and definitely tonight.
It's the end of a weekend, I haven't been on here much oe around to other blogs I check in on. A combination of loosing all my bookmarks and still trying to recover software and files from the crash, numerous projects juggling and a couple of my volunteer gigs raising money and a lot of work related shit that drains the energy.
Yesterday was a burn day. The weather good, wind not heavy and a good chance to get rid of the Christmas tree which when I saw it in the yard I recalled how almost all the needles had fallen of it by the time I dragged it out of the house.
Lots of dead limbs in the yard and it was dry enough to pull vines down out of trees and cut up some half fallen trees and of course there are the wood pallets that the wood pellets came on. Use to be that you had to trek into the fire department to get a permit and then call on the day you are burning to get put on the list. Now its a county web link that tells you if you can burn on that day and then sends you to an application to records your address and cell phone number, in case you call with an out of control fire, I guess. Then automatically sends you the permit to print down. Easy enough and I am sure it saves the fire departments from having to deal with this. A little bit of the small town stuff lost but in this case progress is good and easier.
A few hours later and I am done with that project and shortly there after learning of the different muscle groups used in pulling vines out of trees that I normally don't use. I am in pretty good shape and usually don't feel much after running or working out or even moving a couple tons of pellets, so that I notice this is remarkable. And of course there comes the tick check when all is done, always made more difficult because my usually 20/20 vision is very fuzzy and unbalanced at close-up and using glasses for this task is a challenge. Ah such daunting obstacles I face. :-D.
Today was another college visit, this time around they are accepted student days so there is a schedule and program and keeping for being overloaded with information and as a parent struggling for that balance between wanting information recognizing that accepting a new level of independence is called for.
Next week winds down a big mailing on a new fundraiser I am coordinating to support a group of programs from a soup kitchen, to community support meetings (AA, NA, teen violence) and general emergency support for those on the fringes that are in need. A new initiative that has taken a while to pull together. The end of the week is my final high school musical volunteer marathon working 5 shows and then counting up and tracking all the concessions money. After 8 years I am ready to be done. Having already backed away qite a bit, especially since I haven't had a kid involved in the past 2 years, this is the final step and I am ready to pass things on. I think I'd be a bit more nostalgic if I had someone still involved but for the past couple years I have been paying back for what others gave to the program and my kids. So it will be a busy week and will distract me from work.
I have this saying that there are times that I feel like my get up and go just got up and left and most weekends have been like this and definitely tonight.
It's the end of a weekend, I haven't been on here much oe around to other blogs I check in on. A combination of loosing all my bookmarks and still trying to recover software and files from the crash, numerous projects juggling and a couple of my volunteer gigs raising money and a lot of work related shit that drains the energy.
Yesterday was a burn day. The weather good, wind not heavy and a good chance to get rid of the Christmas tree which when I saw it in the yard I recalled how almost all the needles had fallen of it by the time I dragged it out of the house.
Lots of dead limbs in the yard and it was dry enough to pull vines down out of trees and cut up some half fallen trees and of course there are the wood pallets that the wood pellets came on. Use to be that you had to trek into the fire department to get a permit and then call on the day you are burning to get put on the list. Now its a county web link that tells you if you can burn on that day and then sends you to an application to records your address and cell phone number, in case you call with an out of control fire, I guess. Then automatically sends you the permit to print down. Easy enough and I am sure it saves the fire departments from having to deal with this. A little bit of the small town stuff lost but in this case progress is good and easier.A few hours later and I am done with that project and shortly there after learning of the different muscle groups used in pulling vines out of trees that I normally don't use. I am in pretty good shape and usually don't feel much after running or working out or even moving a couple tons of pellets, so that I notice this is remarkable. And of course there comes the tick check when all is done, always made more difficult because my usually 20/20 vision is very fuzzy and unbalanced at close-up and using glasses for this task is a challenge. Ah such daunting obstacles I face. :-D.
Today was another college visit, this time around they are accepted student days so there is a schedule and program and keeping for being overloaded with information and as a parent struggling for that balance between wanting information recognizing that accepting a new level of independence is called for.
Next week winds down a big mailing on a new fundraiser I am coordinating to support a group of programs from a soup kitchen, to community support meetings (AA, NA, teen violence) and general emergency support for those on the fringes that are in need. A new initiative that has taken a while to pull together. The end of the week is my final high school musical volunteer marathon working 5 shows and then counting up and tracking all the concessions money. After 8 years I am ready to be done. Having already backed away qite a bit, especially since I haven't had a kid involved in the past 2 years, this is the final step and I am ready to pass things on. I think I'd be a bit more nostalgic if I had someone still involved but for the past couple years I have been paying back for what others gave to the program and my kids. So it will be a busy week and will distract me from work.
Friday, March 2, 2012
So it is the end of a work week and I am prepping to head off to the gym for a long run.
This week I joined the legions of folk who have experienced having their hard drive crash. It was as much the event as it was that I was pulling together 4 scholarship applications with the kids that had to be out by overnight mail to get places by the 1st. A dead computer means a printer that has nothing to talk to let alone being to update the essays and attachments. So at 3AM I get the printer hooked up to a laptop and everything assembled to go out the next day. Then spend that past couple of days figuring out what happened. Fortunately I have a data backup from a couple of months ago but at year end with taxes and college apps and financial aid forms, a hell of alot changes in a couple of months.
So having spent the last couple of nights doing diagnosics and getting tips from friends on facebook I am ready to declare it as dead and sending it off to a local repair guy to see what he can retrieve. Fortunately in the meantime, there was a spare old computer my son had that was ready to be recycled that is now back in service. A little slower than the other but it works and I can start to rebuild.
Add to this that it has been a tough work week and snow and ice and I am ready for a nice long run.
This week I joined the legions of folk who have experienced having their hard drive crash. It was as much the event as it was that I was pulling together 4 scholarship applications with the kids that had to be out by overnight mail to get places by the 1st. A dead computer means a printer that has nothing to talk to let alone being to update the essays and attachments. So at 3AM I get the printer hooked up to a laptop and everything assembled to go out the next day. Then spend that past couple of days figuring out what happened. Fortunately I have a data backup from a couple of months ago but at year end with taxes and college apps and financial aid forms, a hell of alot changes in a couple of months.
So having spent the last couple of nights doing diagnosics and getting tips from friends on facebook I am ready to declare it as dead and sending it off to a local repair guy to see what he can retrieve. Fortunately in the meantime, there was a spare old computer my son had that was ready to be recycled that is now back in service. A little slower than the other but it works and I can start to rebuild.
Add to this that it has been a tough work week and snow and ice and I am ready for a nice long run.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
So I am sitting quietly in the living room last night around 9:30 contemplating life and scholarship forms. Its quiet with only the faint sound of the TV and pellet stove a few rooms away. Gradually my ears perk up to the sound of sirens. Is it the wind, something going on in the neighborhood?
To get a context, we live on a dead end street adjacent to a state forest and the main road is about a tenth of a mile at the entrance and we live about a half mile from the high school. [remember I have this whole town measured out in running lengths]
So quiet is what it is pretty much all of the time. The town has a population of 5,000 which decreases in the winter months as the snow birds disappear and it is without a doubt off season and dull around here.
As I get up an move to the front door there aren't many house lights on as an indication of some emergency. But opening the front door and poking my head out there's the roar of ladder trucks and pumpers clearly on the move. Sensing the direction the Ah Hah moment hits.
What school team was playing tonight? A sweet tradition in town is that when ever a high school team wins the championship and is out of town, the returning bus is met at the town line by just about every fire truck and police vehicle the town has and is escorted into town and then sirens blaring, the bus is escorted around town a couple of times, ending up at the high school. What I heard was the caravan making a pass by the high school then heading back across town and then back again a couple of times. As I said, its a sweet tradition and my kids have fond memories of being in one of those bus escorts.
Not something you could do in a city or perhaps in the summer with all the tourists that might freak out, but in the dullness of the winter in a small town its one of the best traditions.
It was the girls basketball team that won the district championship by a point. Good for them.
To get a context, we live on a dead end street adjacent to a state forest and the main road is about a tenth of a mile at the entrance and we live about a half mile from the high school. [remember I have this whole town measured out in running lengths]
So quiet is what it is pretty much all of the time. The town has a population of 5,000 which decreases in the winter months as the snow birds disappear and it is without a doubt off season and dull around here.
As I get up an move to the front door there aren't many house lights on as an indication of some emergency. But opening the front door and poking my head out there's the roar of ladder trucks and pumpers clearly on the move. Sensing the direction the Ah Hah moment hits.
What school team was playing tonight? A sweet tradition in town is that when ever a high school team wins the championship and is out of town, the returning bus is met at the town line by just about every fire truck and police vehicle the town has and is escorted into town and then sirens blaring, the bus is escorted around town a couple of times, ending up at the high school. What I heard was the caravan making a pass by the high school then heading back across town and then back again a couple of times. As I said, its a sweet tradition and my kids have fond memories of being in one of those bus escorts.
Not something you could do in a city or perhaps in the summer with all the tourists that might freak out, but in the dullness of the winter in a small town its one of the best traditions.
It was the girls basketball team that won the district championship by a point. Good for them.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
I have been back and forth to the blog, posting for a few minutes a picture from the summer and then dashing back to life. I also haven't had much time to read and think about the posts of other blogs I visit either. If I have the time to drop in, I read the words quickly, but my mind is off to doing something else, much as it is beginning to do as I write these few sentences.
Dinner to start getting ready, college financial aid forms to go over one more time to be able to submit them by the deadline. Trying to follow their path of asking for information then seeming to ask for the same information again but in a different way. Am I reporting the stuff twice, is it going to hurt the results?
[three days later] February 1, 2012
I have always said that if I, who deals with financial data in the tens of millions of dollars and reports that are hundreds of pages long, finds these forms bewildering then what do others think. But then I think that because I deal with this stuff so much that I am use to analyzing and perhaps over analyzing it and making it more difficult. Could very well be. But for this year, under the gun to get 3 tax filings and 2-4 financial aid forms done by the 31st of January has been bewildering.
But I met the deadline with a day to spare. I have also been struggling with getting 350 consultant earnings statements out at work, which also had a Jan 31 deadline and which were, for the past 2 years done by someone who worked for me but no longer does. The adrenaline was pumping overtime and boy just reading this makes the tasks seem even more boring than they were.
So the college things are mostly done, I have 2 more to do but have a month to finish and because they had to match for both kids, much of it is done. The first work deadline was met and now I am working on the next part of the step. Downloads of data, cutting and pasting data fields, uploading to access then downloading again then uploading to the various states. It's a mind bender that I find both frustrating and a challenge. But I 'd much rather it be a challenge for someone else.
Plus it took me longer to shake that cold than it usually does. Go figure.
Today I escaped at lunch and did 40 minutes on the treadmill with the settings set for "hills" and felt much better. Much of the excess crap burned away.
It has been in the 60s here. A strange winter it is. My oldest is studying in southern Italy this semester (didn't mention that getting that send off implemented also happened last week) and writes that a foot of snow fell and is continuing to fall.
But I also notice that it is still a little light when I leave work and getting lighter earlier in the morning. But then I look out and see that I still have a one ton pile of pellets and that is a reminder that spring is still a bit off.
Dinner to start getting ready, college financial aid forms to go over one more time to be able to submit them by the deadline. Trying to follow their path of asking for information then seeming to ask for the same information again but in a different way. Am I reporting the stuff twice, is it going to hurt the results?
[three days later] February 1, 2012
I have always said that if I, who deals with financial data in the tens of millions of dollars and reports that are hundreds of pages long, finds these forms bewildering then what do others think. But then I think that because I deal with this stuff so much that I am use to analyzing and perhaps over analyzing it and making it more difficult. Could very well be. But for this year, under the gun to get 3 tax filings and 2-4 financial aid forms done by the 31st of January has been bewildering.
But I met the deadline with a day to spare. I have also been struggling with getting 350 consultant earnings statements out at work, which also had a Jan 31 deadline and which were, for the past 2 years done by someone who worked for me but no longer does. The adrenaline was pumping overtime and boy just reading this makes the tasks seem even more boring than they were.
So the college things are mostly done, I have 2 more to do but have a month to finish and because they had to match for both kids, much of it is done. The first work deadline was met and now I am working on the next part of the step. Downloads of data, cutting and pasting data fields, uploading to access then downloading again then uploading to the various states. It's a mind bender that I find both frustrating and a challenge. But I 'd much rather it be a challenge for someone else.
Plus it took me longer to shake that cold than it usually does. Go figure.
Today I escaped at lunch and did 40 minutes on the treadmill with the settings set for "hills" and felt much better. Much of the excess crap burned away.
It has been in the 60s here. A strange winter it is. My oldest is studying in southern Italy this semester (didn't mention that getting that send off implemented also happened last week) and writes that a foot of snow fell and is continuing to fall.
But I also notice that it is still a little light when I leave work and getting lighter earlier in the morning. But then I look out and see that I still have a one ton pile of pellets and that is a reminder that spring is still a bit off.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
there for but the grace of God, is me
We all have our reasons for doing something or not, of being a certain way or not, of connecting present situations and experiences, or not.
There is something that is very much to the core of me in the subject line. It frames the way I am on many days, the way I interact with people at work, the way I think spiritually and about my community and even the way I think of my politics.
I feel I can divulge some of this here because certainly this is not main stream media or a high traffic site. Sort of like, if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there, does it make a sound?
I have been blessed with many things throughout my life, a loving family and parents who were happily married 60+ years; and while we were far from well off, I knew we were also far from poor. I have had the opportunities of education and travel that it has taken my adult perspective to really appreciate. I have had employment that has provided the resources for me and my family to do things that many can't even consider. I am blessed with a life partner and exceptional children and a home life that is blessed in many ways. I work for and with people who care equally for those who it serves and and those who serve.
While we are shaped by many of the things I have mentioned, I believe we are also shaped by the hardships and bad experiences that come our way. It is not only on how we come out of them that is important, but also the lessons we carry from those experiences. Some of these experiences we can work with an some we can not.
My loss of a sibling when I was but a child had a profound effect on me in a way that I am repeated challenged to this day. But it is who I am.
I know that as a manager I am exceptionally good at working with people who are good at what they do but may need to be transitioned to another job or who are a challenge for others to manage. I know that a good amount of this is internal wiring, but another good share is from how poorly I was treated by managers who were brutal and demeaning and who had options to make more humane choices, but didn't. I vowed long ago, that this would never be me as a manager, that given the choice, retaining as much of someone's dignity as possible, was a moral responsibility.
Many years ago I had a health incident that I was truly lucky to recover from let alone go on to function at the level I have. I knew of someone who, at the same time, had a similar incident and was the same age as me and did not survive. What is physically left of that incident is only evident to me and certain specialists. It had taken me a long time to deal with these shadows of my past and how I now l have learned to deal with them is I run. Through this experience, as with others, I learned much, was also pretty dense and needed to be reminded of what I learned and have occasionally needed a self inflicted 2x4 to remind me of how lucky I was and am. And through this and in working with elderly parents with health issue, I learned to be very comfortable within the health care system. A knowledge that I freely share and has recently tapped a spiritual outlet for me.
So, as I remind myself repeatedly, we either let our past experiences shape who we are and how we come at life, or we use these experiences as tools to continually shape our lives and our perspectives and outlook. We are a work in process until the end.
There is something that is very much to the core of me in the subject line. It frames the way I am on many days, the way I interact with people at work, the way I think spiritually and about my community and even the way I think of my politics.
I feel I can divulge some of this here because certainly this is not main stream media or a high traffic site. Sort of like, if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there, does it make a sound?
I have been blessed with many things throughout my life, a loving family and parents who were happily married 60+ years; and while we were far from well off, I knew we were also far from poor. I have had the opportunities of education and travel that it has taken my adult perspective to really appreciate. I have had employment that has provided the resources for me and my family to do things that many can't even consider. I am blessed with a life partner and exceptional children and a home life that is blessed in many ways. I work for and with people who care equally for those who it serves and and those who serve.
While we are shaped by many of the things I have mentioned, I believe we are also shaped by the hardships and bad experiences that come our way. It is not only on how we come out of them that is important, but also the lessons we carry from those experiences. Some of these experiences we can work with an some we can not.
My loss of a sibling when I was but a child had a profound effect on me in a way that I am repeated challenged to this day. But it is who I am.
I know that as a manager I am exceptionally good at working with people who are good at what they do but may need to be transitioned to another job or who are a challenge for others to manage. I know that a good amount of this is internal wiring, but another good share is from how poorly I was treated by managers who were brutal and demeaning and who had options to make more humane choices, but didn't. I vowed long ago, that this would never be me as a manager, that given the choice, retaining as much of someone's dignity as possible, was a moral responsibility.
Many years ago I had a health incident that I was truly lucky to recover from let alone go on to function at the level I have. I knew of someone who, at the same time, had a similar incident and was the same age as me and did not survive. What is physically left of that incident is only evident to me and certain specialists. It had taken me a long time to deal with these shadows of my past and how I now l have learned to deal with them is I run. Through this experience, as with others, I learned much, was also pretty dense and needed to be reminded of what I learned and have occasionally needed a self inflicted 2x4 to remind me of how lucky I was and am. And through this and in working with elderly parents with health issue, I learned to be very comfortable within the health care system. A knowledge that I freely share and has recently tapped a spiritual outlet for me.
So, as I remind myself repeatedly, we either let our past experiences shape who we are and how we come at life, or we use these experiences as tools to continually shape our lives and our perspectives and outlook. We are a work in process until the end.
Friday, January 13, 2012
We often keep the Christmas tree up through part or most of January. This year, getting it up and decorated so late it seems a shame to not let it hang around for a while.
This year seems to have been the year of the dying Christmas lights. Having started with several strings on the outside tree that were working fine until I strung them, then half of the lengths of 2 long strings just went out. Replacing those with new ones, one of the replacements did the same. No loose bulbs on any and, though I am technically pretty savvy, I don't completely get how the fuses work. Actually I haven't spent much time trying to figure it out beyond reading the small sheet of directions which doesn't include anything about part of the string lighting and part not.
So then I moved on to the inside tree and all the lights were fine when I tested them but then when I had them all strung, the same thing happened. Being so close to Christmas, I found replacements but then the same thing happened to one of the 2 replacements. Not a good Karma year for lights.
A couple of days ago it was brought to my attention that one of the strings at the top had gone dark. Again, no loose plugs or bulbs. And now a second string has died leaving the top third of the tree dark.
So I am thinking that the way this is going, we won't be storing many lights this year as, if this trend continues, in a couple of weeks the entire tree will be dark. I guess it then will be time to take it down and next year shop for a totally new batch of lights. If we make to closer to February, then it will be "burn time" and the tree will move on to it's next incarnation.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Happy 2012 to all who venture here.
It's the last day of vacation. A one day reprieve brought on by the placement of the holiday on this Monday. Having the week off was good and mostly very low key. My wife does most of the cooking during the week, because I get home late, and she was also on vacation last week. So it made sense to to take that up last week. I like doing it, and do it every weekend so this was just a small change for me and gave me some structure. We did a trip to the theater with the family to see Santa Land Diaries. A great benefit of being a full time residents here is what they call the "Berkshire discount" which for a performance like this was half price. We also did a couple days travel to visit family and could hit some of the high school basketball games, which are fun and very fast to watch.
Other that that it was a very unstructured week. I had to check work emails a few times and handle some tasks that didn't have coverage and that was more than enough work exposure. I was conscious of not engaging in responding to some of the email rants and just forwarded them to others in case they "blew up" because I wasn't there. Sometimes people need constant stroking and reassurance and I realize that it is those parts of my job that are the most draining.
So as I am in this last day I am even more unstructured than usual and all over the place. A moderate run in the morning, checking the work emails for any land mines I'll hit tomorrow. (nothing more than the earlier rants). A few chores and getting ready for a meeting tonight, cleaning the fishbowl and thinking of the lists I need to make of all things going on over the next several weeks. We are in college application process for my youngest and anyone who has gone through that and knows the terms FAFSA and CSS profile and two kids in college, can relate to my angst about the to do list. But that too will get done.
So, I hear that the latest batch of bread is out of the oven and a visitor is at the door and I hear the dryer buzzer also summoning me. All amazingly routine stuff, which is great.
Cheers!
It's the last day of vacation. A one day reprieve brought on by the placement of the holiday on this Monday. Having the week off was good and mostly very low key. My wife does most of the cooking during the week, because I get home late, and she was also on vacation last week. So it made sense to to take that up last week. I like doing it, and do it every weekend so this was just a small change for me and gave me some structure. We did a trip to the theater with the family to see Santa Land Diaries. A great benefit of being a full time residents here is what they call the "Berkshire discount" which for a performance like this was half price. We also did a couple days travel to visit family and could hit some of the high school basketball games, which are fun and very fast to watch.
Other that that it was a very unstructured week. I had to check work emails a few times and handle some tasks that didn't have coverage and that was more than enough work exposure. I was conscious of not engaging in responding to some of the email rants and just forwarded them to others in case they "blew up" because I wasn't there. Sometimes people need constant stroking and reassurance and I realize that it is those parts of my job that are the most draining.
So as I am in this last day I am even more unstructured than usual and all over the place. A moderate run in the morning, checking the work emails for any land mines I'll hit tomorrow. (nothing more than the earlier rants). A few chores and getting ready for a meeting tonight, cleaning the fishbowl and thinking of the lists I need to make of all things going on over the next several weeks. We are in college application process for my youngest and anyone who has gone through that and knows the terms FAFSA and CSS profile and two kids in college, can relate to my angst about the to do list. But that too will get done.
So, I hear that the latest batch of bread is out of the oven and a visitor is at the door and I hear the dryer buzzer also summoning me. All amazingly routine stuff, which is great.
Cheers!
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
It really doesn't seem like it is December 28th. Last night was heavy rain and today was kind of a mix. The last few days its been cold and a mixture of flurries and snow. Neither winter nor fall.
Being on vacation this week and exposed to more food than usual, thanks to a son who loves to bake and is very good at it, I have been trying to get some miles in running on the treadmill in the basement. While I can work up a good sweat, the challenge is that the tread movement isn't always even and can jump, so if I don't hold on I could easily end up on the floor. But holding on is bad form and leads to uneven strides and lower back aches. So in this more mild weather what better motivation to hit the street.
The mist over the hills and over the fields is of course beautiful and while lush green foliage of summer is stunning there is a simpler more visible beauty in nature that is exposed without the leaves and brush. As I ran the snow flurries began and soon were pelting me like rice confetti at a wedding, but soon they too moved on.
On a day like this, it is hard to believe that this is what is was a year ago today.
Being on vacation this week and exposed to more food than usual, thanks to a son who loves to bake and is very good at it, I have been trying to get some miles in running on the treadmill in the basement. While I can work up a good sweat, the challenge is that the tread movement isn't always even and can jump, so if I don't hold on I could easily end up on the floor. But holding on is bad form and leads to uneven strides and lower back aches. So in this more mild weather what better motivation to hit the street.
The mist over the hills and over the fields is of course beautiful and while lush green foliage of summer is stunning there is a simpler more visible beauty in nature that is exposed without the leaves and brush. As I ran the snow flurries began and soon were pelting me like rice confetti at a wedding, but soon they too moved on.On a day like this, it is hard to believe that this is what is was a year ago today.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Olivia's Overlook
My blog seems to get a good number of hits from people looking for information on Olivia's Overlook. Probably because I uploaded some shots awhile ago.
So I thought I'd add some more and some links for visitors who are looking.
The overlook itself is a clearing in the woods created but the laying of gas lines and reveals stunning views of Lake Mackinac aka Stockbridge Bowl. The land is part of land trust and is connected to other land trusts and protected properties. This is part of Yokun Ridge.
The Berkshire Natural Resource Council manages many properties throughout the Berkshires. Click on their name and it will bring you to this property with access to the others.
So if you are headed to Olivia's overlook, enjoy the view but don't miss out on some of the other great views and trails as well.
This one is
There are also several pieces of land within 5 minutes from here that are great for hiking. Steven's Glen being one and another is Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary ( part of Mass Audubon)
The Michael Walsh trail leaves from the parking lot and goes up along the ridge line and into the woods.
Across the road connects to the Burbank Trail loop up to Mission Pond. As the sign warns, some of these properties are open for hunting in season, so caution is advised in the cooler months. Pleasant Vally Sanctuary does not allow hunting.
These pictures were taken in the morning as the mist was still on the lake and hadn't yet been burned of by the sun.
At close to the crest of the ridge on a road out of Lenox and past Tanglewood, it reaches a peak then the road moves down the other side of the ridge to West Stockbridge ( that is unless you go straight and end up in Richmond. The road is a shortcut for those coming in from New York and heading for Tanglewood or Lenox.
It gets confusing sometime where you are. Lenox Mountain seems very much to be the same ridge structure as Richmond Mountain. It really depends on which direction you are coming from.
For some contrast, here is the same view in the summer.
So I thought I'd add some more and some links for visitors who are looking.
The overlook itself is a clearing in the woods created but the laying of gas lines and reveals stunning views of Lake Mackinac aka Stockbridge Bowl. The land is part of land trust and is connected to other land trusts and protected properties. This is part of Yokun Ridge.
The Berkshire Natural Resource Council manages many properties throughout the Berkshires. Click on their name and it will bring you to this property with access to the others.
So if you are headed to Olivia's overlook, enjoy the view but don't miss out on some of the other great views and trails as well.
This one is
There are also several pieces of land within 5 minutes from here that are great for hiking. Steven's Glen being one and another is Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary ( part of Mass Audubon)
The Michael Walsh trail leaves from the parking lot and goes up along the ridge line and into the woods.
Across the road connects to the Burbank Trail loop up to Mission Pond. As the sign warns, some of these properties are open for hunting in season, so caution is advised in the cooler months. Pleasant Vally Sanctuary does not allow hunting.
These pictures were taken in the morning as the mist was still on the lake and hadn't yet been burned of by the sun.
At close to the crest of the ridge on a road out of Lenox and past Tanglewood, it reaches a peak then the road moves down the other side of the ridge to West Stockbridge ( that is unless you go straight and end up in Richmond. The road is a shortcut for those coming in from New York and heading for Tanglewood or Lenox.
It gets confusing sometime where you are. Lenox Mountain seems very much to be the same ridge structure as Richmond Mountain. It really depends on which direction you are coming from.
For some contrast, here is the same view in the summer.
So if you are heading to Olivia's Overlook enjoy the view and the walk in the woods. But don't miss out on some of the other great views as well.
This one is just down the mountain and past Tanglewood and called Gould Meadows, also part of a land trust and includes trails that go down to Stockbridge Bowl.
This one is just down the mountain and past Tanglewood and called Gould Meadows, also part of a land trust and includes trails that go down to Stockbridge Bowl.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)