Wet Earth

I love the smell of wet earth. The smell of the ground after the rain, while it is still damp and rich with the smells of life.

I mowed my lawn last evening and it was still not completely dry after the tropical storm induced rains of the past weeks. The smell of the new mowed grass combined with the damp earth--there was standing water in some places, created a combination of intoxicating odors for my nose to enjoy as I rode the John Deere around the yard.

I marveled at how there could still be so much water in my lawn and rejoiced that I was not being covered in the dust cloud that mowing my lawn usually creates. The thick cloud envelopes me, the tractor, and the pool causing me to wonder how the simple act of mowing could produce so much dust.

Not yesterday! The earth was damp and in places soggy. I could see the out lines of the tractor tires in some parts of the lawn.

But I got the job done.

Not too many more times I expect I'll be mowing the yard before the seasons change and the grass no longer grows.

But yesterday, the sun was beating down on me as I reveled in the warm day and the rich of odors. Sometimes, I think I can catch scents of the earth in some of the wines I drink.

I enjoy those wines.

I enjoyed being alone on the tractor yesterday, too. I looked at the house, the yard, the gardens and the area around the house marveling at the blessings that have been given to me. I vowed to notice them more and appreciate them more rather than letting them become a dim addition to the crowded landscape that is my life.

And then, almost too soon, it was over. I dumped the last of the clippings from the bagger and drove the tractor into the garage. Funny, I keep the tractor in the garage, but only one of my cars. Someone told me it was a two car garage. I guess it is a one car garage plus workshop/tractor shed/storage area.

I walked back to the center of the yard to enjoy that scent one more time. The wet earth and mowed grass.

Savoring the memory for a time, not too far away, when I will long to be mowing the yard on my John Deere.



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Location:Rainbow Dr,Elkridge,United States

Monday Musings - September 12, 2011

1. In reflecting on the ten years since 9/11/2001, it was interesting to note the number of changes the we have experienced: weddings, births, deaths, and other changes. I'm not sure they are more than any other decade--but are they really more than any other decade?

2. I reflected on the events of 9/11 and I realized that we are a changed people. We view the world very differently and we, as a people, have dedicated our talent and treasure to fighting the forces of evil wherever they are in the world.

3. NFL Football is back--and so are the crazy Sunday's of massive family gatherings to scream at the television together.

4. Our local paper raised its daily rate from $1.00 per day to $1.50 per day. I'm not sure given its reduced size that it is worth the cost anymore.

5. One of the wines I tasted at Sheldrake Point last weekend was rated a 88 by Wine Enthusiast in the October 2011 issue. It was the 2009 Dry Riesling--and we though it was very good, too.

6. I watched the movie PT-109 the other night and during the breaks the skipper of the USS Samuel B Roberts was interviewed about how that ship was saved after it hit a mine in the Persian Gulf during 1988. It was a fascinating bit of history that I only vaguely remembered.

7. Makayla is very perceptive at determining when we are leaving the house and picks her moment to try to be included in the trip. It is very comical sometimes.

8. Weekday mornings around the house have returned to their school-year routine. I'm not sure that is necessarily a good thing.

9. I was reminded of an important concept during church yesterday. Paul writes of it to the Philippians in 3:13 where he states that he is "forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out to the things that are ahead." We can't live our lives looking behind us--we must move forward to affect the future because the past is already done.


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Maryland Renaissance Festival 2011 - Review

Quite suddenly, a day can turn. Yesterday, for instance, I had planned a day of working around the house and recovering from the almost 12 inches of rain we had experienced during the past week.

And then, in what seemed like only a moment, I was at the Maryland Renaissance Festival with Chris, Patrick and Tina.

It turned out to be an exciting and interesting day. It had been about 10 years since I last visited the festival, and I remembered that I enjoyed it then.



We started by renting some costumes to get in character. I was a knight and Chris a pretty maid--and she is pretty, too.

There was plenty to do and to shop for. The number of people in character exceeded those who were just visiting--and the costumes were really very impressive. It was a lot of fun to look at the wide variety of costumes and the people wearing them during the day.



It is a full day adventure with shows to see and many different things to experience. We even got the opportunity to experience some of the ambiance of medieval times as we toured the grounds and interacted with the vendors and actors. The king, Henry VIII was in attendance yesterday and of course was a curiosity wherever he went with his attendants. .

We had a fun day and I even tried on my first kilt--did't buy it, but tried it on for some fun. There is so much to do and see within the confines of the festival. I especially enjoyed the jousting events--they fascinate me and they were very well done.


Entertainment was everywhere--and not in just the acts on the stages. Chris tried on some period clothes to see how they might help her to experience life in medieval times a bit more authentically.

All in all, I highly recommend the Maryland Renaissance Festival--go check it out and have some fun. Plan a whole day and it is definitely suitable for children.

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Makayla is ready

We were looking all over the house for Makayla as we were preparing to head off to the Renn Fest. She had already figured out we were leaving and wanted to make her case for going with us.

I could almost hear her saying, "I'll drive!"

Sadly, she had to stay behind. But the thought was funny.

Rain, more Rain

I have come to realize over the past week that rain is a four letter word.

In some regions of the world it is celebrated as salvation and deliverance from drought and provide hope for crops to grow and produce a bounty upon which people will survive for the next season.

In the Northeast--it means flooding, pain and suffering right now. We have had too much rain. I think of my sister in Houston and wish we could send some of the rain to her, here they really need it to help with the drought and to extinguish the fires which are destroying acres of land and many homes.

That understood, here in the Baltimore area we rejoice when it stops raining even for five minutes. Yesterday, it seemed as if we were able to walk Makayla between storms--but by evening again the rain was falling steadily.

Believe it or not, I could not find out how much rain has fallen since before Hurricane Irene visited--but I know I keep pumping water out of my pool almost daily and that the total must be well over six inches. We only average about 41 inches of rain a year.

Thankfully--it is not snow or we would likely be under 100 inches or more of that cold, white stuff.

But even so, I would like to experience the warmth of the sun again and to have my yard dry out enough for me to be able to mow it again.

All this really means, is that when the rain does stop, we will, for a bit, enjoy being outside and appreciate the opportunity to be out of the house for a bit.

Maybe tomorrow?


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Sheldrake Point Vineyard

Last weekend we had the chance to revisit a winery on the west shore of Cayuga Lake that we first visited about two years ago--Sheldrake Point.

The setting is beautiful along the shore of the second largest of the Finger Lakes and I will confess that we almost didn't stop.

Two years ago when we last visited the winery, we were not impressed with the wines--mostly whites. They just didn't suit our palate. But we saw the sign that said that the winery was both the 2009 and 2010 New York State Winery of the Year, and so despite our remembrance, we gave it a shot.

I am glad that we did!

This winery is a gem and the variety of wines they are producing is fabulous. The whites, as you might suspect, garner the bulk of the interest and I was especially impressed with the 2010 Pinot Gris with its pear, honeysuckle, and good minerality. Their Luckystone White is a fun around the pool on a hot summer afternoon kind of wine which I also found to be enoyable.

But surprise! I found a couple of red wines to enjoy as well. The 2009 Merlot, although a bit thin by California standards is a great NYS merlot. I also enjoyed the 2008 Cabernet Franc and their 2009 Luckystone Red is interesting in the mouth with its rich flavors.

So, if you are in the area--the Finger Lakes, I recommend a trip to Sheldrake Point Vineyards--I was not disappointed.


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Location:7448 County Road #153 Ovid, NY

Who am I, Really?

The end of summer, and afflicted with this headache that will not quit, has made me a bit reflective.

September is not one of my favorite months of the year--and most anyone who knows me knows that this is true. Aside from marking the end of summer, it is also my birth month. And so, each September I am confronted anew with my own mortality and the sad realization that I am a twenty-something trapped in a fifty-something's body. Try as I might, I just can't see the upside in the equation.

I do not enjoy discovering new things that I simply cannot do as well as I used to be able to do them. Usually these things are athletic in nature, and so far I have resisted the temptation to actually damage myself proving that "I'm as good once as I ever was," or however the stupid country song says it.

I am just too competitive.

Each passing day, it seems, calls me to reexamine myself and to discover that the person that I am is not the person that I thought I was and that I hardly recognize the face looking back at me in the mirror.

I hate mirrors--have I ever told you that?

If you want a cold piece of reality--look in the mirror. Ugh. You cannot even photoshop a mirror.

So with all of the changes--it is true I'm not the same today as I was yesterday, except in my mind. I'm a legend in my own mind. I am who I was but not who I am. Just as soon as I catch up to who I am, I become who I was again.

A never ending pursuit of reality.

And then again each morning I am left with the question: Who am I, really?


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Sure Signs of Autumn

While visiting upstate NY this past weekend, the sure signs of Autumn were evident in the blooming goldenrod and the ripe grapes on the vines.



The Chancellor grapes hanging on the vines at the Thirsty Owl winery made a beautiful image against the sky on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. It had been an idyllic morning and a means to get away from the trials of life for a bit and do something that brings joy to both of us. Wine tasting is both fun and educational. I always learn something new every time I visit a winery.

Sometimes I have this irrational dream of owning a vineyard--that is farming after all. Imagine me, a farmer? Probably not, but it is fun to think of tending the vines and and enjoying the wines produced by the grapes from the land.



The golden rod is also in bloom. And that of course means that the allergy season is ramping up with the autumnal allergens. All too soon, the trees will don their autumn colors and closeout the seasons and begin the transition into the dark times.

But despite that, it was an interesting weekend of grapes and goldenrod and family.


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Monday Musings - September 5, 2011

1. Happy Labor Day. I hope the weather is good wherever you are celebrating because it is rainy and downright cold in upstate NY.

2. I have been enjoying sleeping in a bit this weekend--I wonder if I should change my arrival and departure times at work so that I can enjoy sleeping in on a regular basis?

3. It is definitely football season, I have watched more college football games this weekend than I can remember watching in a long time. And I am looking forward to the Maryland-Miami game to closeout the weekend this evening.

4. The saddest part about holiday weekends is going back to work.

5. I was reviewing the projects still on the plan for this year and realized that I am beginning to get a bit behind--crown molding in the dining room, new decking, and cleaning the garage attic. Ugh.

6. I've been asked when I plan to close the pool a lot lately. Truth is, I don't know. Sometime between now and October.

7. Wineries are a good reason to visit the Finger Lakes region of NY. We visited three on Sunday morning and plan to visit two more on our trek back to Elkridge later today.

8. I found out what the combination of blooming golden rod, fresh cut hay, and newly mowed lawn causes. Nasal congestion! Break out the Claritin and Flonase.

9. I love the sound of a quiet house in the morning before everyone gets up. Maybe that's why I get up so early.

10. If the postal service defaults and mail delivery stops, do we still have to pay our bills that we won't receive?

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Cat on the Railing

There he was last evening. One of those iconic cats that just seem to survive all and over come all sitting on the railing on the porch.



Jackson, the cat, has been around it seems like forever. He is a self assured, no nonsense cat that dogs respect and for whom people are necessary only as a food source.

Jackson has seen it all and been through it all. He is an accomplished hunter and stalker.

He is the definition of the self-reliant cat.


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Location:Hayts Rd,Ithaca,United States