Monday Night on the Canal

I decided that when I got home and finished with dinner Tyler and I would go on an adventure. We packed up the stroller and headed for the canal. This time we walked from Barnes Ave. to Genesee Street. Checked out a letter box that was supposedly missing in action (It Was) and planted another in the same area.
"View on the Erie Canal at West Shore Crossing Utica, N.Y."
(7754, Hugh C. Leighton Co., Portland, ME.) -- Postcard ; not postmarked ; 1908?

Along the way we heard orioles and robins, picked dame's rocket and gathered "snow" from the cottonwood trees. Avoided the mosquitoes but found instead a lovely painted turtle. Tyler who will touch anything will NOT touch turtles. This one had a traveler on the back as well which I didn't notice until I showed him to Kate who said - IS THAT A LEECH! Sure was.

The Big Move

Busy Beautiful Day. Packing is underway at the Rome Clinic. Of the four rooms, I've finished two. Not bad.I'm looking forward to the new building but sometimes change is hard. At least parking will be a plus. I've been going to the Rome Clinic twice a week for about a month. It has it's perks - like getting out earlier, getting a chance to plant some letterboxes, getting to visit with my friend Diane in Oriskany but that also means my work in Utica piles up. It is nice to know that the God that loves me and gets me through the day will also do that at work. YES.



I love my job at the clinic. Everyday is new, different, and satisfying. Tues and Thursday we see people from ALL over the world come through for Refugee Clinic. There are people who have just arrived in Utica from Burma, Vietnam, Iraq, Nepal, Cuba, Somalia, Bosnia to name only a few. On Wednesday our first floor is full of men, women and lots of children who come in for immunizations. Seeing 40 people in two hours is not uncommon. I enjoy the young children the most and love to see how parents in different cultures interact with their kids.
I'll always remember the little boy who was so tired he squatted down, rested his head on the top of a soda bottle and went to sleep or the day three little ones huddled under a wooden table in the hall way jabbering away.

Second Time Around

My second creation using the Surprise Baby Jacket. This one is large enough for Tyler. His parents call it his "hippie jacket". I have enjoyed this pattern so much that I have made two others and have two more in the progress.

Our faithful but rusty tractor. I prefer our old 9N but this is the one that runs. And someone else liked this tractor. Mr. and Mrs Robin thought it was a great place for this years home.

Needless to say, we could not leave it there. Felt a little sad after all their hard work.

I have always said that God made Dandelions so that little boys and girls would have an endless supply of flowers for picking and santa clauses to blow around. When Joshua and Katie were young we would have an annual dandelion marathon. We would make dandelion laurels and have races around the yard.

Boxing along Old Erie

Tonight I got to do what I love most of all. Hiking along the Old Erie Canal in Oriskany with my man Tyler, LetterBoxing and listening to the night music. We saw muskrats, blue herons, canada geese, a mama mallard and her babies but best of all - we got to listen the thrushes and orioles.
My little boy friend insisted I pick him a bouquet of dandelions. You can't see it, be he is covered with "santa classes". That is what we called the floating seeds when I was a kid. He held those stems for the entire hike. He is such a trooper when it comes to walking. Sits in his stroller and "chills". I can log 4-5 miles before he gets antsy.

Morning Surprise

While cleaning the upstairs bedroom today - hanging laundry in my "green drying room" because it was raining and ironing clothes - I glanced up to find much to my surprise a bird of prey - preying upon a baby bird. Now don't get all teary eyed. If it was a cardinal or thrush I would be upset also but baby starlings-- well... I always marvel at the tenacity of some birds. No matter how big the preyer is they will band together and attack. Oh that I would be so tenacious about things in my life.

Was quite sure of the id. I know after a semester in Ornithology I should be able to do that. Suspect a coopers hawk.

and the walking continues

I so look forward to coming home from work because there waits my little walking buddy. Friday was no exception. Scooped him up, put some warmer clothes on and off we went. Once that stroller starts to move he gets mesmerized. Todays journey took us down Clark Mills Road to the school playground and then around the Fairlane Dr. development. I use trails.com to figure my mileage and then mywalks.com to log in the miles.