First "Summer" Bike Ride!

Panorama of farmland near the end of your ride.

This past Saturday (5/21), we finally got "summer" weather!  It was sunny, 70-ish, and clear skies (which have been clouded with rain or the threat of rain for weeks now).  Jake took me on a short (8.5 mi) ride through the Watkins Glen hills, partially along the old race path.  I had my butt handed to me on a silver platter as at least 2/3 of the ride was uphill.  I'm not very strong yet on hills, so while it was a bit painful, the ride was awesome and felt wonderful to accomplish.  I am so incredibly thankful that my family helped me get my new bike for my birthday.  I have already seen the improvement in my ability to ride.  Being able to tackle the hills felt great, but another test was to ride one of my favorite Corning, NY rides and see how I compared to last-summer-Diana.

Farmhouse/barn in Watkins Glen

River Road is a beautiful, wooded road that meanders along the Chemung river on the opposite side from the highway.  It's not an overly challenging ride, but the 13 miles used to take me at least 30min longer on my old bike, and my average speed was a little better than half of what it was today.  What's more, Jake's great grandfather, John "BTO" Bloise, has a large garden plot where he plants TONS of strawberries and other delicious things.   It looks like his plot is off to a good start this year, so I can't wait until I can grab some good photos

of all the fruits and veggies he grows!

Wash it Down With a Glass of Burgundy

This weekend was an excellent start to summer.  While "the first day of summer" is a few weeks away (somewhere in mid June), the weather was gorgeous enough to qualify for "summer" days.  

It all started when I arrived home early on friday afternoon, having put in a bunch of extra time in earlier in the week.  Awaiting me was a small box that had been shoved into the mailbox along with the other mail.  It was proof that moms are amazing.  What was in it? Have a look:

My moms sent me funny looking "Onion goggles" which were quite amazing owing to the fact that they are lime green, and just a really neat idea in general.   She also included a literal "taste of home" in the form of M.A.S.H. by M.E.D.S. (Michael and Sharyn's Herbs by Michael, Elena, Diana, and Sharyn.  For as long as I can remember we've grown herbs.  I remember being young, maybe even before Elena was born, and getting thyme.  It was MY thyme and I was so proud of how large the plant got.  We've always grown and dried our own herbs and used them to make some of the best food ever.  I honestly think it's a miracle I'm not heavier than I am.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE food, especially when I've grown some of the things that have gone into what I'm making.  

To that end, I've been trying to grow a few herbs.  My sage died over the winter, so I've been trying to grow it from seed.  So far, I am still waiting on seeds to sprout in my very stylish styrofoam cups... I've also been trying to propagate basil like crazy from a very special mother plant; one Cordelia grew from seed and brought to me from MD!
I have 6 established basil plants and about 6 more in the clear cup near the end of the windowsill.  I bought the parsley after forgetting to take seeds from The Ranch, and its done extremely well.

I've also been trying a bit of an experiment... tomatoes from seed!  Except for the fact that I thought they'd be ok out in the sun all day, they're doing really well.  I lost about half, but a couple have bounced back really really well, and the rest are still working on it.  It's been a really fun thing to do, and I can't wait to be in the same place for a few years to really establish a great garden.  

Jake and I also took an incredible bike ride in the area around the Watkins Glen gorge.  It was only about 8 1/2 miles long, but a good 2/3 of the ride was uphill and thus, kicked my butt in a major way.  Unfortunately, the pictures are on my phone and will have to wait until tomorrow to be posted... 

Tomatoes, Hot Dogs, & Shooting Stars

The last two weeks have been incredible.  I've fallen into step with my new job both being glued to a computer and playing on the job-site for the project I've been working the most on.  Visiting the job-site means trekking up to Corning, inc.'s Sullivan Park complex up on a hill.  The complex (which is huge by the way), backs onto a HUGE amount of acreage covered in trees.  I was able to take a great hike on paths half decimated by the crazy amount of rain we've had, as well as tramping through the woods with no path to follow.  The birds and other animals were out in force and I could almost swear it sounded like there were Velociraptors among them!

I've been working on the makings of a summer garden, which mostly includes starting tomatoes from seed!  I've got several seedlings that will be separated into their own styrofoam cups tomorrow so they don't get too crowded.  I also need to start new sage since mine really didn't like winter...  I'm still debating (on the side of 'go for it!' ) about buying a blackcurrant bush.  I love blackcurrant tea which can be made from the leaves and I can only imagine they taste amazing though I've only had red currants.

This weekend was also the opening weekend for the campground at which Jake's mom has a camper.  She and the rest of her household (minus Indy) are spending the night.  We went over to join them for dinner which was campfire-cooked hotdogs and s'mores for dessert.  While we were gabbing around the fire after dinner, I caught a shooting star dash across the sky... Haven't seen one of those in years.