Rhododendron in NY

It is a cool and rainy day here in upstate NY.

One thing I have been noticing is the multitude of blooms on the rhododendron's around the area. They are just magnificent.

Even against the gray and rainy skies.


This one was at my parents house. Bit they seemingly are everywhere one chooses to look.

Even with the rain it is a good day for visiting and I have been doing some odd jobs around my parent's house as well as catching up.

I do miss the 90's of last weekend though.

Leaving New York

A shot out the front of the car on our way to Ithaca.
Traffic is bad!

We just left the hospital and are headed out of the Big Apple.

On the Road to NYC

Crossing the Susquehanna River near Havre de Grace on the ribbon of asphalt known as I-95. The day is awesome. This was taken over an hour ago but traffic continues to be favorable and we are 54 miles from our first stop of the day in the Big Apple.
Oh yeah. Let's go O's

Surfboard Poppop

The other evening I learned all about another great aspect of begin a grandfather. I became an underwater surfboard for my six-year old grandson Ethan.

Funny as it sounds--he spent most of Wednesday evening standing on my back as I crawled along the pool bottom imitating a slow speed surfboard.

I am told he was really getting into the idea of surfing on Poppop's back--although since I was underwater I really could not appreciate his enthusiasm until I surfaced.

We spend more than an hour with me crawling along the bottom for a bit and then backing up to get him off so I could surface for a breath.

I learned a couple of things: he has sharp toenails, he has sharp fingernails, and he is tireless when it comes to surfing Poppop's back.

I do have a few scratches as reminders of times when he lost his balance.

It was a beautiful afternoon and I decided to take him to our pool rather than spending the afternoon at his house watching Phineas & Ferb.

We also worked on his swimming skills and he is finally at least breathing when he swims and can almost reliably swim the length of the pool.

What a great way to spend some time after work--working with the grandsons.

Endeavour's Final Touchdown from Space

As the era of U.S. manned space flight draws to an end, I need to comment about the final landing of the space shuttle Endeavour yesterday morning.

There is so much history caught up in the closing of the era of U.S. manned space--after the Atlantis mission in July, I do not reasonably expect to U.S. to launch a manned mission into space for at least the next 20 years.

And so--as the era of the Space Race comes to a close and we cede to the Russians and the Chinese the ability to place people into orbit--a sad day is coming. Manned access to space will no longer be possible form the United States.  The source of national pride--which I was once able to witness in person, will no longer ply the vacuum of space carrying the US flag on its side and the Canadian Maple Leaf in the shuttle bay.

I have become so accustomed to our frequent missions into space that the loss may not be apparent for a long while.  But at some point, we will wonder why we lost our adventurous spirit and become so entrenched in the mundane aspects of living that we have forgotten to refresh ourselves with the excitement and wonder of discovering the unknown and pushing the envelope of knowledge.

A bit of history about this shuttle from Wikipedia:

The orbiter is named after the British HMS Endeavour, the ship which took Captain James Cook on his first voyage of discovery (1768–1771).^[5] This is why the name is spelled in the British English manner, rather than the American English ("Endeavor"). This has caused confusion, most notably when NASA themselves misspelled a sign on the launch pad in 2007.^[6] The name also honored Endeavour, the Command Module of Apollo 15, itself also named after Cook's ship.

Discovery, exploration, pushing the edges of knowledge--all characteristics of the vessels named Endeavour!

And characteristics that used to define the United States.

Good-bye Endeavour--you served us well!

Bring on the Heat

I have heard people remark about the temperatures soaring from the 60's to the 80's and 90's without really visiting the 70's during the past couple of days.  And it truly seems like we are enjoying those mid-July type temperatures for a bit.

Last evening after I finally made it home through some of the worst traffic I have experienced since the last three day weekend after being soundly spanked on the racquetball court, I fully appreciated my oasis in Elkridge. The pool was already in shade but the sky above was clear and blue. The trees were full and green standing tall against the sky. Every time I see the leaf filled crowns of the trees I remember the barren branches of the seasons past and I appreciate the trees and their leaves all that much more.  The temperature was 90-something and the water was warm and inviting--almost too warm.

Chris and I sat in the humid evening talking about the day and the continuing struggles of life, and then I was onto a floatie in the pool with a glass of wine for some unwinding.

So--yea, when people talk about how hot it is, I sometimes forget that I am blessed with an oasis in the middle of suburbia where I can sit under palms (literally) and enjoy tropical hibiscus flowers while sipping an evening glass of wine before firing up the grill to cook the catch of the day.

My oasis is surrounded on three sides by tall and very green trees which separate us from the noise and clamor of life occurring around us.  The house shields us on the fourth.  Our solitude is pierced only by the incessantly repetitious noise of the ice cream truck--which I have to admit if I had the means, I would consider reducing it into a flaming pile of rubble. The sounds that single machine creates are the most offensive to my solitude that can ever be imagined. And the noise of the ice cream truck continues in my mind long after it has departed the neighborhood.

But I do so love this time of year--these first real days of summertime heat.  

Bring it on--enjoy it. We all will too soon be wishing for summer again when the temperatures drop below 40.