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Zoom In, Zoom Out in the Adirondacks

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Tracy and I spent a lovely weekend (Saturday-Monday) in the Adirondacks with our good friends, Bob and Cathy. Tracy and Bob traditionally do a two-night packback hiking trip to one or more of the 46 High Peaks. This year, however, they did two peaks in a day trip. That turned out to be fortuitous since Saturday was cold and rainy. We made the best of it, building a fire in the Great Room of The Ledgerock Motel, and having dinner at our favorite restaurant, Caffe Rustica.

Sunday dawned bright and cold, and we all took off to the Adirondack Loj. Tracy and Bob took one trail, and this year Cathy and I decided to hike as well. We made the nearly 5 mile round trip to Marcy Dam and back. It was lovely and peaceful. As you’ll see in the photos only a few of the trees have begun to turn color.

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Marcy Dam—on the way to Mt. Marcy, the Adirondack’s highest peak

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We were on the trail by 8 am so the clouds hadn’t “burned off” yet.

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Looking up the creek at the waterfall at the dam. Another one for Rinda’s Scavenger Hunt!

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And the Zoomed-In view

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One of the few trees on the trail that had turned color.

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This one’s on its way to orange. I loved the green and orange together.

Cathy and I were back from our hike by 10:30 and took off to Keene Valley. We discovered a wonderful Farmer’s Market/Craft Show on the way. We each bought a scarf, and some pastries for the guys when they came off the mountain. The produce was wonderful, and I picked up some late peaches that are delicious.

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I’ve never seen such skinny little eggplants. I’m not sure I’d know how to cook them.

After cleaning up at the motel, having a late lunch in Lake Placid, and walking through our favorite shops (but not finding much), we returned to the Adirondack Loj to wait for the guys. While we waited we walked down to the lake, and I found another Zoom In, Zoom Out offering.

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I always love to find a cairn along the way.

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And one final view of the lake.

It was great to get away for a weekend, and Cathy and I purchased a book at the Adirondack Loj Information Center on short hikes, so I think we’ll try to make our little hike a tradition in the future. Tracy has conquered 39 of the 46 High Peaks, so he’s thinking it’s going to take a couple trips a year to finish up while he’s still in good hiking condition. I’m happy to tag along anytime.

More  Zoom In, Zoom Out offering for this week are here.

 

 

One Photo & 20 Words with Zoom In, Zoom Out

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I’m combining two favorite memes: Abi’s One Photo & Twenty Words, and Helena’s Zoom In, Zoom Out.

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They knew it would be a big project,
but they didn’t realize quite how many parts this swing set had!

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And now, a little update:

These photos were taken on Sunday night. By Tuesday it was beginning to come together, but it’s still not done. There are only a couple of hours of daylight left by the time Matt gets home from work, and it takes two to decipher the directions. The goal is to have it done in time for Skylar’s birthday party. That wouldn’t be a problem, except we’ll be in the Adirondacks for three days this weekend. 

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This one can’t wait. Last night she was able to go down the slide for the first time. She has her own tool set and is out there “helping” every minute.

Zoom In, Zoom Out At the Lake

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Friday we spent the day on Owasco Lake. It’s one of the smaller Finger Lakes, closer to Syracuse than Rochester. Our friends had rented a cottage there for a month, and we finally managed to get down there right at the end of their time at the lake. It was a cooler day than most, unless you were in the sun where it was plenty warm. The cottage sits at the top of a hill, and there are several sets of stairs down from the lake. The photos were taken from the first lower yard; the cottage is up still another set of stairs.

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It was so cool when we left home, I didn’t take a swimsuit with me. Probably a mistake, but I wasn’t the least bit unhappy soaking up the sun sitting on the deck. Tina and Tracy enjoyed floating on the rafts, and Sue took out the little kayak.

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All in all, it was a lovely way to spend one of the last days of summer. Although, I must admit, the forecast for tomorrow is for one of the highest temperatures of the summer. Saturday, when we’re off on a little road trip to Canada, is expected to be in the mid-60’s and rainy. Such is weather at the end of the season in western New York!

You can check out the other ZIZO pairings at Helena’s blog.

 

Zoom In, Zoom Out on the Lighthouse

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Another week has flown by, and it’s time for Week 35 of Helena’s meme, “Zoom In, Zoom Out.” Our church is one of ten churches within the city limits of Rochester. Most of these urban churches are struggling with finances, decreasing congregations, and buildings that need serious repair. Several years ago, the ten churches joined forces to help one another and to see how we might be able to coordinate our resources and collaborate for change. Although there are certainly still churches that are struggling, there have been some remarkable transformations and successes. We celebrated those with a picnic at Charlotte Beach on Sunday, and while I was there I took time to capture my ZIZO photos for the week.

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You can see from the photos that we had a glorious day for the picnic! We’re trying hard to celebrate every last good day of the summer!

Zoom In, Zoom Out on the New Fountain

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Early in July, we purchased a new fountain for our shade garden at the Corn Hill Arts Festival. It’s now been functional for awhile, and as much as I like the way it looks, the calming sound of it is the very best part. It’s just off our patio, so as soon as we sit down we can here the water trickling from leaf to leaf. (Sadly, the bugs seem to have been having a feast on our hostas, so the photographs aren’t as pleasing as I’d like.)

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You can find more ZIZO pairings at Helena’s blog.

Zoom In, Zoom Out: Week 33

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A friend and I spent a wonderful day yesterday on a little road trip. We started in Skaneateles, a lovely little town on a lake just east of Syracuse. The town is filled with charming shops and restaurants. While we were there I spotted a more picturesque bakery for Rinda’s Scavenger Hunt. The line was very long inside, so the Zoom In shot was taken from outside, which I rather liked in the end. And we were able to resist coming away with a bag of goodies. Which was just as well since we were headed off to Elderberry Pond for lunch.

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You can check out the rest of this week’s ZIZO photos at Helena’s blog.

Zoom In, Zoom Out

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Tracy’s mom rents a cottage each summer on Consesus Lake. All of Tracy’s siblings, and most of the children and grandchildren arrive for one or more day during the week. We drive down each afternoon after Caleb’s nap and stay for dinner. It’s been raining every night, but finally, last night, it was beautiful.

Tracy’s niece, Lena, is here from Arizona with both of her boys. Cash, the younger one, is five years old and is relishing being the “big boy” with Caleb. When Caleb got into the car last night, his first words were, “I had fun!” They had a great time trying to skip rocks on the water, chasing one another around the lawn, and just being boys! But they stopped long enough to “pose” for Zoom In, Zoom Out photos.

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For more Zoom In, Zoom Out pairings, head to Helena’s blog!

Zoom In, Zoom Out on the Cherry Trees

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Apples are the crop I most associate with western New York, but cherries are big here, too. I recently rediscovered my love of cherries, but years ago, a friend and I picked several baskets of them, pitted them, and canned them for pies. No picking or canning this year, but the cherry trees are lovely.

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Other offerings for Helena’s meme can be found right here.

Zoom In, Zoom Out at The Antique Boat Museum

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There were lots of opportunities for Zooming In and Zooming Out this weekend. First a nest of ospreys near the end of the dock at the Antique Boat Museum.

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The fireplace in the dining room on the Bolt/McNally house boat.

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And one of the displays of antique boats.

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You’ll find more examples of zooming in and out right here.

Zoom In, Zoom Out: Week 29

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I saved these photos from my earlier post about the Corn Hill Arts Festival for this week’s Zoom In, Zoom Out. Check out the others here on Helena’s blog.

Every year the display from Hurd’s Orchards is one of the most beautiful displays at the festival. This year was no exception.

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Zoom In, Zoom Out: Flower Garden

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Our lettuce and zucchini are being eaten by some critter in our vegetable garden. We’re having a hard time figuring out how that’s possible, since our plot in the Community Garden (fenced) is fenced again, but somehow it’s happening. Fortunately, my perennial bed is doing well, and we’re enjoying bouquets of flowers from the garden each week.

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I’m joining in once again with Helena’s wonderful meme Zoom In, Zoom Out.

Zoom In, Zoom Out: Week 27

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One of the many things that seemed to get off track during June was regular exercise. About a week ago, I got back to more regular walking, and I’m in the process of finding a new personal trainer to set up a weight-lifting routine for me. My previous trainer has left the gym we belong to, so that hasn’t helped much either.

When I walk I always have my iPhone and use an app called Runkeeper to track the time and distance. Thus I always have a camera as well. The other day we were walking through Highland Park—a regular route for us—and I looked over to see this tree.

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I immediately saw a lioness’ head. Tracy thinks it looks more like a rabbit. What do you see?

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Linking up with Helena’s Zoom In, Zoom Out meme here.

Zoom In, Zoom Out: Week 26

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It’s hard to believe the year is half over. I have no idea what’s happened to the month of June! Keeping up with Helena’s meme is one of the goals I’ve managed to keep up with and enjoyed all year. Last week a friend introduced me to white (also known as Rainier) cherries. Evidently they’re only available for a couple of weeks. I’ve never been a big fan of cherries, but Tracy and I both love these. I’m hoping there are still some available this weekend when I go back to the grocery store.

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Not only do I love summer for the fresh and local fruits and vegetables, but also for the opportunity to try new fruits and vegetables as well. You can check out other ZIZO pairings right here at Helena’s blog. 

Zoom In, Zoom Out: Scenes from Detroit

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I spent three exhausting days in Detroit over the weekend. Went to bed WAY too late all three nights, and was on the go most of every day. The moderator election did not turn out the way we hoped, but the experience of attending the Presbyterian General Assembly was definitely a good one—and a learning experience as well. I got to know some members of my congregation much better, and met some really wonderful people from all over the country.

The first of the Zoom In, Zoom Out photos is another pick for Rinda’s Summer Scavenger hunt:  an urban scene. This is the Ren Center in downtown Detroit. We were staying at the Marriot there.

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One way to get to the COLA Center from our hotel was to walk down Jefferson Ave. The first two shots above were taken on Jefferson Ave. The other way was along the river walk and the last photo above and the next two were taken along the river.

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You can join in at Helena’s Zoom In, Zoom Out meme anytime, and you can check out the other photos right here.

We’re going out to dinner with friends tonight and then to the Members Only party to see the new Lewis Hine exhibition at the George Eastman House. The opening parties are one of the perks of being a member. There are light refreshments, live music, and a chance to see the exhibits prior to the public opening. Although I have one set of photos for Rinda’s scavenger hunt for a public garden, I’m hoping to get some good ones tonight at the George Eastman House gardens. The light should be perfect!