New Reading Challenge

I'm always hesitant about signing on for a challenge, but this one was so different that I've decided to do it. I have several books about Ireland I've been wanting to read, so this will give me the impetus to get on it.
Here's the list from my own books that I plan on reading in this challenge:1. How the Irish Saved Civilization-Thomas Cahill2-6-The Irish Country Series by Patrick Taylor-There are five of them7.The Luck of the Irish, Our Life in County Clare-Niall Williams and Christine Breen8.The Pipes Are Calling, Our Jaunts through Ireland-" "9.Anything by Oscar Wilde10.???
Anyone want to make a recommendation for an Irish book? I think I'm going to like this challenge. I've been wanting to go to Ireland for years. Maybe after reading these books, we'll take a trip to the Emerald Isle.

Merry Christmas from Mala Compra

Overcast morning, threatening a shower, but I had planned to ride some dirt today. Headed to the Hammocks for a ride on the Mala Compra Greenway Trails.
I parked across Rt A1A from the trailhead at Mala Compra Rd. checked the trail map at the kiosk and ended down the trail. Most of this trail is rated as a "blue" trail. there area also side trails rated as "black diamond" and one that I saw rated "double black diamond".
Most of the trail is a tight, curvy trail though the wood. Solid surface except fpr short sections of palm roots and soft sand. At lease you can recognize the sandy spots because its a white sand.
Obstacles are highlighted as a black diamond trail marked with a blue bypass. (see photo) At the 16th St trailhead is another kiosk. It had some trail brochures with trail map. Just the map I was looking for 9which I could not find anywhere on the internet!.
Was not sure if I would ride singletrack on the trail back, but after a rest and some G2, I was ready to ride on. This end of the trail area had some rougher trails - longer sections of black diamond, some quick climbs and descents, ridge-running. I bypassed those trail section!
On the way back, there were several area where a wide, walking path paralleled the singletrack. At 3.5 miles, I was getting tired, to switched to the walking path. Ended up with 3.8 miles, 1:08 riding time, and 22 photos.

Ben Rinnes (2)

Before the season moves too far on, I should continue with the account of the ascent of Ben Rinnes which my husband and daughter did between Christmas and New Year. It's not a grand mountain, and it doesn't require ropes or anything much other than enough puff and reasonable leg-power (tho like any Scottish hill mist can descend frighteningly quickly out of a blue sky, and there are crags which you could fall off, so it shouldn't be taken lightly). But it's the local big hill of my home village, and a reference point for weather predictions and the progress of the seasons. 'Snow on the Ben' is a sure sign that winter is coming. 'Snow still on the Ben' is just as sure a sign that we're having (another) cold spring.
Here it is then, all brown heather and white hoar frost on the north-facing side, on a gift of a day just before New Year.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and a Happy & Healthy to all

Old soap

Earlier this spring, I attended a gardening convention held at Landmark Park in Dothan, Alabama. The old Martin Drug Store was moved there from Enterprise, and reopened four years ago. An operating pharmacy from 1898 to 1983, it's now part museum and part ice cream parlor.

You might guess which display I gravitated towards: the historical soap! None of it's for sale, alas. More of these than I'd realized are still made today: Cashmere Bouquet, Octagon, Grandpa's Pine Tar Soap, Palmer's Skin Success Soap. I'm not sure what happened to the others... soaps with charming names like Sterne's Carbolic Soap, Drexel's Wonder Soap, Flotilla Floating Bath Soap, and Packer's Charm Soap.

According to the book Boiled Peanuts and Buckeyes, the people at Martin's "were notorious for not throwing anything away and keeping meticulous records. They held onto every receipt, medicine bottle and cosmetic that ever entered the store... They had the most comprehensive collection of pharmaceutical artifacts in the nation."

I can recommend the Peach ice cream!

Seven things

While I was gone, Twinks asked me to do a meme. I'm supposed to list seven random things, but since I'm contrary, I'm going to list seven things that happened during my lost four months. It's longer than my normal posts, but since I'll be out of town for a few days, feel free to read in shifts!
1. I joined The Gym.
Really, that's what the gym in Oneonta is called: The Gym. I joined with a friend, and wheedled my way into a good deal via a long-term, prepaid, early-hours contract. I can't say I've lost any weight, but I feel in better shape. I'm getting to know my friend a lot better too, since we gab for about four hours a week more than we used to.
2. I thought I'd found a diamond.
People with a five-carat diamonds don't shop at Wal-Mart, I suppose, but I was momentarily dazed by the karmic thrill of it all. My mother lost her engagement ring stone over 40 years ago, and I imagined it had returned, with interest! Turned out to be only a cubic zirconia though, drat. Here is how you tell the difference. I couldn't read a newspaper through the CZ, and was already dreamily wondering how long the police would have to hold it before it was deemed unclaimed. The dot test worked like a charm, though. Like a big, balloon-bursting charm.

3. The garden refused to bend to my will. Again.
I had fun with the Zinnia experiment though. I got a late start, and Powdery Mildew crept in when we left town for a week. The grass got way out of control, as usual. Somehow I still managed to grow a few flowers to donate to Hospice. Maybe next year I will finally have my act together enough to get them there throughout the blooming season.
4. I won a major award.
Because I could remember the Alabama state bird, mammal, fossil, etc., when an emergency preparedness expert spoke to our wildflower group. OK, the award wasn't really all that major, but I basked in the egghead trivia glow anyway. Then a guy even more pointy-headed than me whined that my answer of "some kind of whale" to "What is the state dinosaur?" wasn't up to par. "The Basilosaurus cetoides is the state fossil, not dinosaur!" he moaned. I hugged my MRE and ran out of the meeting room.
5. We let Anatoli go. He'd developed a lump that we decided may have been from improper nutrition or insufficient sunlight. Since he was wild-born, we figured he'd fare better on his own. We saw an unusually high number of anoles this fall, but I was never sure if any of them were Anatoli.
6. I had to wait in line to vote!
There were all of four people in front of us when we arrived at our polling place. An elderly couple let us cut in front of them though, since the man was still searching his wallet for ID. There were a few local issues on the ballot so turnout was very high. The tallies from my precinct, not exactly what you'd call a democratic stronghold, included:
Obama 45, McCain 450
Figures 52, Sessions 442 (US Senate race)
Tag fee increase: Yes 59, No 392
Wet/Dry referendum: Yes (Wet): 226, No: 270
The ratios for the whole county were similar. I still haven't figured out how Vivian Figures, a State Senator from Mobile, received more votes than Obama. Most people in north Alabama weren't even familiar with her. I read that her budget was $22,000; the incumbent Sessions spent multi-millions. (I have loved her ever since I read that she was able to get the outdated, misogynistic Alabama State Senate dress code changed... the one that said women couldn't wear pant suits or slacks on the Senate floor!)
We needed the tag fee increase ($15), which would have gone strictly towards road maintenance. I had a feeling it wouldn't pass, but I was surprised at the resounding defeat.
I'm glad we stayed a dry county. I wouldn't mind alcohol sales in stores or restaurants, but didn't want a bar across the street from us. Rural counties don't have a lot of regulations, so it could have been a real possibility.
7. Alabama football, woohoo!
I had to say that before we play Auburn and Georgia Florida, just in case.

The Nantahala River

When I was growing up, our family would raft on this river in North Carolina. It's a Class 3 so is pretty mild. It's slow enough that you can enjoy the surrounding scenery but rough enough not to be boring.
At the end of the ride, there's a six foot drop off that was loads of fun to go over. Now they make you get out earlier. Spoilsports!
Earlier this summer when I was at the John C. Campbell Folk School taking a digital photography class, we took a day trip to Asheville to photograph the city. On the way back we went through the Nantahala Gorge and just had to stop and take pictures of the mist rising off the river.
Since my photo taking skills had risen a lot during the week, I was able to get these photos when the night was almost completely dark. I was in full manual mode so was able to let in a lot more light. I turned my ISO up to 1600 and rested the camera on the handrail to avoid camera shake. I'm pretty pleased with the results.
My photo-savvy friends kept telling me that when I went manual it would open up a whole new world. They were right. Thanks, Jenny and Charlotte.