Tom and Cyndys Excellent European Adventure: September 2006

Fun with Farmers

What do you get when you mix farmers with white tee shirts and farmers with black tee shirts?
A Holstein cow.

Where did all the boaters go?

Well. We stole away from the lake the other morning - just like the birds- there one day and gone the next. Yes, sad to say, we finally came home.

And now let's talk about projects. Have you ever noticed that one simple little task leads to another and another - and suddenly you have spent DAYS doing what you had envisioned would take an hour? Like getting a new bed. Erika bought this humongous sleigh bed that didn't fit in her house, and so she and Mike delivered it to us this summer. Of course it sat on the back porch for months, but I told Tom I couldn't come home until it was set up. Tom set it up a few days ago, and when I came home and saw it-it just didn't look right. So- we rearranged all the furniture (more than once). When we finally got the bedroom looking right (and the bed is great, thank you!) I realized that we had stuffed a lot of stuff in the back closet area. So- I started cleaning that- which led to trying on and discarding clothes that didn't fit- which led to typing up a list of donations for the Salvation Army.

And how about those coat hangars -where do they come from? I never buy any - we seldom take clothes to the cleaners, so we don't get many back that way, but we have thousands of coat hangars! I counted them today as I stuffed them into bags with the other donations- 152!!

ah- it's great to be home.

Sunday visiting

Sunday was such a gorgeous day that we decided to head north on the lake. John & Linda Kittredge once had a boat in our marina, and in fact used to own Serendipity at one time. They now have a cottage on the east side of the lake, about 25 miles north of us. We headed up the lake at full speed to pay them a visit. Too bad we don't have a photo of us flying along at top speed!

There's still a lot of lake left to the north!

The cottage...

Buddy's thinking about going out for a spin...

This part is for Chris & Mike - Young Johnnie designed and built the potato shooter, but notice who is aiming and firing! Just in case you're interested guys, Johnnie said he would sell you the plans for $5. (His Mom makes him buy his own potatos!) Note that firing mechanism. It's the starter from a gas grill!

Homeward bound- this coal generated power plant has been a fixture on the lake for many, many years. It is a navigational aid used by the boaters in fair weather and foul, and is named simply on the Cayuga Lake charts as "the stacks".

We're still a long way from home. The lake bends to the left just past that point, and Ithaca is another 10 miles south.

Have Sun, Will Travel

One of our favorite destinations is the Ithaca Farmers Market. There is docking space available, and we can shop for fruits & vegetables, pottery & other hand-crafted items, and of course eat. Our last trip there, the merchants were having a garlic festival, complete with a giant Mr. Garlic.

musicians...

Mr. Garlic

organic veggies...

Hmm.. I wonder what's in the cage?

False Alarm

OK,OK - so we didn't go home yet! We waited out the rain and were rewarded by some beautiful evenings. We hate to admit the season is over, but we are about the only people left here during the week. The swallows and songbirds are suddenly, conspicuously absent, and each evening we hear the ducks and geese calling to each other as they flock over the lake.