Silver City Trailhead

Earlier this week I received from Mill County Conservation, looking for photos of the Wabash Trace and particularly Mineola, Silver City, and Malvern trailheads. I had good photos of Mineola abd Malvern, but not a shot of Silver City. Yesterday, I decided it was a good day to get that shot and a bike ride.
Did my normal ride from Silver City to Malvern (8.5 miles). Stopped at the trailhead/depot for a break, a granola bar, and G2. Allan (another SWINT board member) came by on his bike. He was riding up to Silver City. Had a good ride and conversation. Weather was pretty good, sunny with a light breeze. On the way back, the humidity was climbing. Had problems with sweat in my eyes.
Needed to get out and ride. When I headed out, I was not sure how far I would ride. Glad I made it the whole way to Malvern. Dealing with auto dealers was/is getting to me. But, that is another whole story.

My Favourite Tuscan Meal - Zuppa di Farro

One of the best meals I’ve ever eaten in my life was at the Ristorante Latini in San Gimignano, Italy. This little gem, located in the heart of the Tuscan countryside, uses only the finest quality ingredients to prepare a delicious array of Tuscan fare. The meals are cooked with simplicity and a lot of love and attention. The proof is all in the flavour. 

An enchanting view of the San Gimignano countryside.

My favourite item on their menu is the Zuppa di Farro, a delicious spelt soup. This hearty soup is well loved in Tuscany, particularly in the Garfagnana region, in the mountains northwest of Lucca. The ingredients blend together so beautifully for a flavour that will have you coming back for more.



If you visit Ristorante Latini ask for Chiara, the daughter of founder Giovanni Latini.




Here is the recipe for you to try at home.

ZUPPA DI FARRO – FARO SOUP

To serve 4 you'll need:

•6-8 ounces (by weight) farro, in whole grains (more information on farro)•3/4 pound ripe plum tomatoes (or canned tomatoes), chopped and seeded•2-3 ounces pancetta (smoked if possible)•Grated pecorino toscano cheese, or Parmigiano (romano will be too sharp) •2 cloves garlic•1 onion, finely sliced•A small bunch parsley•Some fresh basil•A few sprigs thyme•Olive oil•Salt & pepper to taste•1 quart hot broth (it can be made with bullion if need be)

Speltis an ancient grain. Thegrandfather of wheat as we know it today.

Begin by preparing the farro: Wash it well, picking out impurities such as bits of chaff, pebbles, or bad grains, and soak it for at least 8 hours.

When it's ready, mince the pancetta and sauté it in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, together with the thyme, finely sliced onion, and garlic cloves. When the mixture has browned, remove and discard the garlic, and stir in the chopped tomatoes, parsley and basil. Cook for a few minutes, then stir in the hot broth, and once the pot comes to a boil, the farro. Cook over a low flame for about 2 hours, or until the farro is done (taste a grain), stirring often, and checking the seasoning towards the end. Let the soup sit for an hour and serve it warm, with olive oil and grated cheese.


(This is based on a recipe printed in Luciano Migliolli's Il Farro e le sue Ricette.)

Night Wishes

I am really having a lot of fun with my Canon 5D Mark II. This camera is allowing me to capture images that I never thought were possible. It certainly is a wonderful camera for night photography! The waterfall seen here is Partridge Falls on the Pigeon River in northeast Minnesota. This river is the border between the U.S. and Canada in this part of the state. My friend Roger was up for the weekend and when Roger visits we usually try to do a session of night photography. The concept portrayed in this image was actually Roger's idea. I was in between shooting images when all of a sudden Roger walked out in front of me and stood near the base of the falls, using his flashlight to paint light up, down, left and right across the falls. After I saw his image I knew I had to try one of my own. I have always wanted to try shooting Partridge Falls with the stars above it but with the cameras I used to have the results, while interesting to view at web size, would have been too noisy for printing. The Canon 5D Mark II changes that. I have already had a print of one of these images made, and it is stunning!

(Above: I used my Petzl Tikka headlamp to "paint" light onto the falls during the 30 second exposure.)
(Below: In this image, in addition to my Petzl headlamp, I was also holding my flashlight in my right hand. My intent was to try to look like I was holding a lightsaber, making me look like a Jedi from a Star Wars movie. The effect sort of worked, except my lightsaber is really long!)

After shooting at Partridge Falls, Roger and I then headed down to the Spirit Tree to do some more star shooting, this time with longer exposures to produce some star trail images. In this first image below, I was looking for a unique angle on the tree and was lucky to have both the North Star and the Milky Way in this image behind the tree. Overall, this night was one of the most fun times that I've ever had with a camera!

Snow Ride at Manawa

Today I made my first singletrack ride of the year. We got an inch+ of new snow overnight, so I was the first wheel tracks down the trail.
My plan was to ride my hardtail. But, I had problems getting one of the pedals loosened (wanted to change to combo or flat for my boots). When I skinned my hand, I decided to ride the Fuel EX7.
Tried riding with the air pressure in the tires (about 30#). That was too much, so let out more air. Riding much better now. The other thing I did was lock the rear suspension.
The wind started to pick up, and felt a bit cool, so called it a ride after just short of an hour.

The first tumble

A new year, a new camera and a new fall. Yesterday I managed my first crash of the year at Tomewin, while riding across the top of the Macpherson Range on Glengarrie Road. It's the sort of thing that happens when you attempt to climb steep graidents on rocky dirt roads covered with a slick coating of mud. Very little damage was done, although my left hip is a little stiff today, and the surroundings in the Garden of Eden provided more than enough compensation.

Evidently Martin and I hadn't had enough flooded creek crossings from the day before, as we first headed toward Urliup. Much to my surprise (especially as the lost bet cost me an inner tube), only one causeway was under. Another surprise in the early stages was just how quickly the wildflowers have taken over Urliup after the flood. It's not an area known for them, but the freakish downpour may have created just the right conditions.

A punishing climb to the summit of Tomewin followed -- the punishing nature of the climb owing as much to the muggy conditions as the gradient. It was followed by the now obligatory detour along the Garden of Eden Road, before returning to the Eastern side of the range for the ridgetop ride across the top. The muddy conditions made for difficult going, and I had several near misses before "the crash". Nevertheless, I found the motivation to continue as we watched some rain approach.
The rain held off until we descended the switchbacks of the Zig-zag road, before creating a slick surface for the final descent into Bilambil (how convenient). Martin managed to pick up a flat on the way to the bakery and a welcome food stop (that still leaves me in front 3-1 however) -- a large piece of glass was responsible, and he'll probably need to replace the tyre. The final stretch through the last 30-odd km of suburbia was uninspiring, but at least a tailwind made it pass quickly. In the end we both agreed that it was one of the hardest 100km rides we've had in a while, but every minute was worth the effort.

My Garden

I took this photo at first light one winter day.  I was looking at a lot of gray and not much color.  My camera saw blue for some reason.  I was sure surprised when I got my photos back from the developer.  I love it.  It's in our backyard looking toward a big pecan tree before you get to our fields.  
When we bought our forty acres about twenty years ago, the place where we decided to put our house had been a farm many years before.  There was even an old barn and outhouse still there.  I really regret not being able to salvage either building, but the termites and time had done their work well.  
 We tore down old wire fencing from a hog pen in the area which was between the house and the field.  This left a football size area of bareness behind the house.  In what I now consider a major act of courage or stupidity, I laid out my gardens.  I collected old bricks from houses being torn down around town and laid several pathways.  I planted boxwood hedges and huge perennial beds.  I laid out an herb garden enclosed in a white picket fence.  There was only one single, tiny thing I didn't know about gardening:  YOU HAVE TO MAINTAIN IT!  I guess I thought that once it was put in and laid out, it would take care of itself.  Boy was I wrong; especially where we live.  The growing season is year round.
So, I've spent the last twenty years being frustrated and never enjoying my garden.  All I see is all the work that needs to be done and all the weeds and grass that need to be dealt with.  I now know that gardening is a daily job.  I don't like garden maintenance.  I'd much rather plan the garden, put it in, and then forget it.  In my next life, I'm going to be a landscape architect.
Anyway, as soon as it cools off a little (around October), I'm going to work outside a lot.  Child #3 has just moved back home, so I'm going to use his services in exchange for room and board. He's going to be my gardening slave.  A teenager from our church wants to earn some money for his Junior/Senior trip to Europe, so I'll hire him too for a few hours a week.  Between the three of us, we should be able to whip it back into shape.
But I'm changing some things.  Those large perennials beds far from the house are too much upkeep.  I can't keep the grass out of the beds which are edged in brick.  I'm going to let the grass retake the bed, take out the brick, dig up the perennials, and put in a hedge of roses or something similar.  I'd go with the Knockout Rose, but it's so common around here I'm tired of it.  I can keep up a bed of flowers if it's close to the house, so that's where I'm putting them.
I may redo the patio area right behind the house too.  We never use it as it is.  I can't figure out why.  I've got to do some hard thinking about that.  I'm reading a book called The Weekend Gardener which tells how to have a low-maintenance garden.  Ha!  That's funny in South Georgia.  But I'm sure I could make it more low-maintenance than it is now.
Ryan Gainey's garden was on the front of Cottage Living last month.  I've been an admirer of his gardening style for many years.  His garden is located in North Georgia; somewhere around Atlanta.  It's also open to the public, so I may pop in some day for a visit.  He inspires me.  I love everything he's ever done in his house and garden.  I also love the gardens of Williamsburg, but that's another post.  This one's getting too long!

Wolf Pups

Shoe Lake Road - Cook County, MN. I saw these cute little fellows while driving home from the Gunflint Trail yesterday. Came around a corner on Shoe Lake Road and there they were, sitting just a few feet off the road. I watched them for a couple of minutes before they wandered back off into the woods.

Tour of Palm Coast

I wanted to re-ride some of the trails we took on the Christmas Eve Ride. Monday, I parked the car at Waterfront Park. Headed North along the InterCoastal Waterway.
The photo here is of the Waterfront Trail.
The trail ends at the Palm Coast resort/marina. From there I rode North along Palm Harbor Parkway for a mile or so. Rode back down to the Linear Park trail. When that ended, I turned back, riding back to the Waterfront Trail. Back at the park, rode the spur trail over to Colbert Ln and back.
Was a beautiful day for a bike ride - Sunny and 69 degrees. Turned in 11 miles, which took me just over 1500 miles for the year.

Yep. Good decision.

Can't say we feel really sorry to miss out on that!

Settlement

Last weekend I had to confess myself slightly disappointed at the rather poor second half produced by Gold Coast United in Brisbane on Friday night. There was nothing for it other than to get on the bike and find a decent ride somewhere. I set off on Sunday morning for the old fashioned Springbrook/Numinbah/Tomewin circuit. The start was a little slower than I normally like, and I wasn't sure whether that was lethargy or just an early morning westerly wind. Either way, the climb toward Salmons Saddle at Springbrook soon shook that loose.

I was far more concerned with the potentially treacherous descent on the other side. I have ridden up Pine Creek Road a few times and measured 24% gradients there. This sort of thing tends to make one slightly nervous about descending the road -- especially in view of the fact that I hadn't done it since the infamous crash back in July. As it was, the disc brakes on the Salsa Vaya worked beautifully and gave me another of those "what the hell are you worrying about?" moments when I reached the bottom, turned south, and set out on the next part of the ride.



Why did every motor-cyclist on the Gold Coast want to share my ride today? It's enough to make you think disparaging thoughts about people who are too poor to afford a Harley (i.e. all of them) but still want to be "bad dudes". The ride through the southern part of Numinbah valley is indeed, beautiful, but these guys made it a lot noisier than it might have been the day before. A couple of them also saw fit to pass right in the middle of corners on the descent from Numinbah Gap -- again I can thank my disc brakes for making a potentially tricky situation into an easy one. Somewhere near Chillingham I got a little tired of the noise, and decided to head for a dirt road that I've eyed off for a while.

I knew Settlement Road would be quiet. As it was, I didn't see another human along the way. What I didn't realise what just how lovely the switchback dirt road that snaked it's way though Springbrook's southern foothills would be. The forest here was pretty dense for the most part, but it occasionally gave way to some really stunning views. After climbing for a few kilometres, the road deteriorated as it went past a fence line, and I decided to call off the chase here -- but only after admiring the view toward Mt Hobwee and Bald Mountain.
After this, there isn't a lot to tell. The Harley wannabes virtually disappeared after I passed Chillingham (apart from one lot at Crystal Creek). The only thing noticeable out here was the north-easterly wind that had replaced the south-westerly that started the day. Oh well, this bike tends to cope with headwinds better than any other I've had previously, and I still had Tomewin to throw at it. The climb over Tomewin was quite enjoyable, and almost rejuvenating. It left me with plenty of energy for finishing off the ride home, and another 130km racked up.

Another great ride was had. I also now have something to look forward to on the horizon, but I'll reveal that in another post.

Easton Maudit - Yardley Hastings - Easton Maudit

9 miles. Led by Barry. With Maureen and Eddie. Fine, but a chill wind. Some muddy fields.





First call was Easton Maudit church, and a wander round the graveyard, where Derek Nimmo is buried.

Then back to don boots and off along the path past this house

where the thatch is supported by some fine rustic poles - or trees. I like the orange tiles, as well!

We walked across the fields and gently uphill towards Horn Wood. In the wood we turned slightly right, and followed the path through a line of electricity pylons. Soon after these we turned left with the path, through some more woodland, until we reached the A428, which we crossed.

We followed the well-marked path (Milton Keynes Boundary Walk) south, then west until we reached the B5388 (Olney - Yardley Hastings. Here we turned right and walked along the road for about half a mile, past Pastures Farm.

The hollow in this tree looked like an ideal place for someone half our size.

Right, everyone, snack-break over!

When we reached a track to the left we climbed one of the few stiles and walked across a field - a notice warned us of low-flying model aircraft, but there were none around today.

We passed another Pastures Farm over to the right, and the path led us towards Yardley Hastings.

The first structure we saw was this one. I've discovered that it's a flood storage reservoir - quite empty at the moment.

There is a stream of sorts in the village, with bridges over it to lots of the houses. The village is very attractive, with its millenium village sign, list of residents in 2000, and human sundial.

















































There's a village shop, getting into seasonal mode

We walked through the village, past the church (St Andrews) .

The path we took goes to the right, just before a bridge at the end of the village, and continues to the right of the stream - in a deep ditch - for some distance.

When this path meets another one, you turn right (east) and go uphill gradually, crossing a minor road, and arrive back in Easton Maudit.

Early Morning Ride

The dog days of summer are upon us. The only reasonable time to ride is sunrise. This morning I was actually a little late for sunrise. There were some clouds, so I was still able to capture this image.
Photo was taken on E. Manawa Drive. Took 2 different bracketed exposure sets.
Did my 2 laps of Lake Manawa this morning, including the North shore park road. It makes a nice 7.5 miles loop and 15 mile ride. Done and heading to Panera for coffee about 8am.
Checked out the medallions in the pavement along E. Manawa Drive. The new trail is an extension of Veteran's Memorial Trail (trail along Hwy 92). Once the flood waters recede and Indian Creek Trail is open for riding, there will be a nice loop to ride almost entirely on bicycle trail.