More Travel Photos from Britain

A few more images from our last trip to the British Isles.
This path was on the hill overlooking Tintern Abbey in Wales. I love the moss and the exposed roots.
The next one is of a barn courtyard. What I love about this photo is the contract between the red bricks and the blue doors with the large black iron hinges.
The last one is of canal boats. We stayed on one for a week. It was close to Nottingham. I thought it was quite an adventure. Husband was less enthusiastic. It was cramped, for sure. But all we did was sleep there anyway. I wouldn't want to do it again, but I'm glad we did it once. We didn't go to Sherwood Forest, because friends who had gone said it is too commercial and to skip it. So instead, we went to Burleigh House. It was well worth the visit. You can read that post here: http://artfulaspirations.blogspot.com/../07/burleigh-house-my-ancestral-home.html

WMR on the Wabash Trace

The morning was damp and overcast. From the rain overnight, no dirt this morning. When I went into the garage, looking at my bikes, I said it was a day to ride the 4300.
Blaine and I were the only riders. We decided to check out the Wabash Trace - good shape for riding. Up the Trace we go. There were 2 small dead falls across the trail from the storm last night. Did our good deed for the day, clearing the trail.
At Margaritaville, I look at Blaine and asked "should we continue on to Mineola?" We did. Rested a little in Mineola and headed back up the hill. Another good ride.
My Trek 4300 is a great bike for the Trace. Think I will keep it - for now.

Cooler Weather

The heat broke - for a little while, anyway. Today I could ride a little later in the morning. Was a little cool while loading the bike on the car rack - wore a light jacket.

Ham Radio friend John decided to ride, too. Met at the Wabash Trailhead. By 8am, and ready to ride, I did not need the jacket. We headed toward Lake Manawa.

My heart monitor was giving high reading, telling me I am in A-Fib. Took it a little easy on the ride.

Wind from the NNW. Rode counter-clockwise (not our normal way. Wanted the ride down Indian Creek Trail WITH the wind. At the intersection of Veteran's Memorial Trail and Indian Creek, we had a decision - ride further or head back toward the car.

While I was feeling good, with my A-Fib, I figured it was better to just head on back. On the way back, I asked John if he had ridden the connector to the lake. He had not. So rode to the lake where I took today's photo. View of Omaha from the campground boat ramp.

The wind was kicking up by the time we headed back North along Mosquito Creek, Was enough for me.

Back to the car, loaded up the bike and headed home. Didn't really do much anytihng else the rest of the day. Seems that while I do not know I am in A-Fib unless wearing the heart monitor, I get tired easier.

Reflections on Christmas Past

I still haven't packed away any decorations. I'm aiming for Thursday when we'll be coming back into town. I'm headed to Tennessee for a few days to visit my parents.
These three ornaments are all that's left of the set that adorned the Christmas trees of my childhood. I don't hang them on my tree for fear of them falling and breaking. So they're safe on the dining room table. They make me happy.
These little Gurley candle choristers are so sweet, aren't they?
In the month of December, I only read books about Christmas. I found quite a few new ones and revisited some familiar favorites. By far, my favorite was A Sister of the Angels by Elizabeth Goudge. Such a sweet English story told in her usual quite way. I feel so at home in her stories.
Another good one was Finding Noel
by Richard Paul Evans.
And I found another Christmas story by Miss Read called A Village Christmas. I had read her The Christmas Mouse some years ago. I always love her writings. I definitely have a thing for small English village life.
I'm making some decisions about my .. reading and will be sharing those soon. On this trip I'll be finishing up The Scottish Prisoner by Diana Gabaldon. I need to have read by Friday Shark Dialogues by Kiana Davenport for my bookgroup. Anyway, more on reading later.

The burn

I don't know if it's possible for a day to get any more hot and humid than New year's day was here. I saw an ambulance go past at 9am, almost certainly treating someone for heat exhaustion. That looks even worse when the usual two-hour response time for emergency services around here is deducted. As it was, I managed 103km in Tallebudgera and Currumbin Valleys. In truth, conditions were a little more bearable deep in the valleys once I got away from the coast, much like the scenery in those areas.


The most exciting part of the day was realising I would be short of distance in Currumbin Valley, and opting to climb out on Bains Road, toward Tomewin. This climb has, for some reason, acquired a fierce reputation, but after climbing it I'm none the wiser as to how that came about. The early part of the climb is steep, but it's also very short and didn't present any major problems even in the difficult heat-wave conditions. After that it flattened out across the top of the ridge. To be honest, the ride home against the hot northerly wind was far more difficult.
Still, at least that climb is done now. I'm sure I'd still be thinking about it if I hadn't put it to the sword.

Chipping sparrow

Poor little stunned Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina).
Birds do still occasionally fly into our windows, dirty as they are.
I found a sheltered spot in the woods and left him there to recover on his own. Later I googled, and it suggested that we should have kept the bird in a towel-lined, dark shoebox for an hour or two.
-----
Don't forget to visit the Friday Ark.

Coq au Vin - Finished

Coq au Vin, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Here's the completed coq au vin, with pearl onions, mushrooms, and little pieces of bacon. The chicken became unbelievably tender, and so did the pearl onions. Coq au vin is fairly easy to make, and a great dish for a cold winter night.