Winter Hike

Bonnie & I went on our second winter hike. We walked for 1.5 hours in snow that was 22 inches deep in most places. Unlike our first hike we saw lots of signs that animals & birds are around.

This must be a bunny hide out.

I have no idea what animal this track is from. I'm thinking it might even be from a bird.

Bonnie spotted this nest. I love how the snow hasn't melted out of the nest.

This is a view when we tunred around and walked our way back out.

It was a beautiful sunny day. It was very hard walking but that just added to the excerise value.

Winter Photo Hike

Sunday I went on a hike on an old railroad bed where the ties & rails had been removed.

It feels so good to get outside during the winter.

The trail followed along the frozen river.

The snow lightly fell during the three mile hike but when we got back to the car the snow  started coming down hard.

In another attempt to learn my camera I figured out how to use the timer.

 Bonnie enjoyed the hike so much that she made plans for a hike in a new location next Sunday. 

Lap counters. Five times around a half mile route. I just hope come spring I won't see a corn field growing in the neighborhood.

How does your garden grow?

I was able to pick a few ripened grape tomatoes from my garden.
There are many more tomatoes to come!
I wish I hadn't just planted grape tomatoes. They don't work very well for BLT's. Darn. There is always the farmers market.

Organic Green Gardening

I had an insect eat an entire field green plant. I knew it was a insect because a rabbit would have eaten the entire garden. There is also an inscet that likes my basil. The other herbs show no signs of being consumed.

At the Farmer's Market in Kingston, I told an organic farmer about my insect problem. She suggested I dust with garlic or spray garlic water onto the plants. So far the dusting seems to be working. There is NO way I would use any type of chemicals in my garden.

Blueberries

I'm not sure how long I've had pick your own blueberries less than 4 miles from the house but I hope not to long. I'm so upset I didn't know sooner.

Mike and I went out last Saturday morning and each picked 3 quarts. It was a beautiful bright & sunny morning!
The bushes were full of berries. It took 1 1/2 hours to pick 3 quarts each.

When I got home I froze up 4 quart bags with 4 cups to a bag. I had just over 1 cup left over that I used for pancakes on Sunday morning.

To bad Eric isn't around. Blueberries are his favorite!!

HHI Biking

Mick rented two bikes for three days during our stay on HHI. Cost was about $35.00 & it was so worth it.

There are bike trails on every street. The paths are beautiful. This weeks Wordless Wednesday was taken on one of the paths, so will next weeks. Next weeks photo is one of my favorites taken on HHI. The bike paths are very official, just like the roads. The small STOP signs were so cute!
Mick waiting for me to catch up. I was always stopping for photos. We saw this turtle & he was NOT very friendly.
I got a basket with my bike, it came in very handy. Both our locks had the same combination. We were always wondering if every bike from our rental had the same numbers??

The one time I wish the rain was falling down!

Tip Thursday

Today would have been my fathers 76th birthday. He died of colon cancer at the age of 68. Prior to his diagnosis he never had a colonoscopy. The standard or "tip" for having a colonoscopy is starting at age 50 and then every 10 years. If you have a family history of colon cancer, you need to have a colonoscopy starting at age 40. If you fall into one of those categories make sure you get one done.

The above page is out of the scrapbook that I made for my Dad. The photo is from his Baptism taken in 1939 when he was six years old. I'd give anything to be able to show him his album.

I've already had two colonoscopies and they are truly not that bad at all. What really burns my a*s is not having a colonoscopy when there is a good chance you are preventing cancer!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

My mother-in-law is always in my thoughts especially in October when I think about the importance of having screening mammograms. A friend who reads my Blog, told me she was several months behind in having her yearly mammogram and my blog reminded her to get that appointment. I had tears in my eyes thinking that maybe I did one small bit of good with my message.

What are the benefits of screening mammograms?

Several large studies conducted around the world show that breast cancer screening with mammograms reduces the number of deaths from breast cancer for women ages 40 to 69, especially those over age 50. Studies conducted to date have not shown a benefit from regular screening mammograms, or from a baseline screening mammogram (a mammogram used for comparison), in women under age 40.

From the National Cancer Institute Website

As the month comes to an end, I hope you still keep the message in mind and have your yearly mammogram.