I love summer. But this extreme heat and humidity is getting to me. (mainly because I can't do the outdoor things I enjoy with high humidity levels....eastern NY has felt downright tropical this past week!)
But...there are still blessings and I'll take this over the deep cold and snow of winter anyday! I'm sharing five of my fave blessings from the past week with other bloggers. We link up at Susanne's.
- COURTNEY'S CELEBRATION: Courtney turned 30 on Tuesday but had plans with friends so she came over Saturday evening for dinner and a gift from us. I also had chocolate (her fave) oat milk ice cream here and we watched another episode of the Hulu series we're enjoying. She loved the vintage teacup I found for her, and said the Target gift card will be helpful. She was surprised I included an oat milk chocolate bar that she didn't know her fave company made! I'm thankful for this oldest girl of ours.....she's wicked smart, kind, generous, and creative. She also helps me with my iphone or Macbook issues. I can't believe I have a 30 year old and I'm so thankful she chose to spend her Saturday evening with us.
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| Courtney and the vintage (1960s) pastel pink teacup and saucer found in a central NY antique store I visit often |
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| Karma (for those of you who are Taylor Swift fans, you'll understand the name!) |
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| Claire says he follows her everywhere! |
- CLAIRE'S CAT: Our youngest daughter rescued a male cat from the local shelter. He was named Gordon but she changed it to Karma. (look up the song lyrics by Taylor Swift if you don't understand the reference). I'm not a cat person and we both are highly allergic to cats. He is a mixed Siamese and short haired. So far she is fine with him and I met him for the first time Monday evening and I was fine although I won't hold him. I did pet him....he's sweet. I'm thankful my youngest girl has an apartment companion. He does follow her everywhere!!
- CARD: I was so surprised to get a handmade card in the mail from my dear friend Anita how creates cards from stamping, etc. It was a congrats on my retirement card with a personal message inside. The fact that she knows me so well just made me smile. We have plans to get together for brunch sometime later this summer. I run into her and her husband n the church lobby sometimes but we hardly get together anymore. I'm thankful for our long time friendship and unity in Christ.
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| card from AG |
- CAROGA! On Tuesday, it was cooler, sunny and beautiful blue skies. The temp in the Capital Region was supposed to hit 88 degrees F but in the southern Adirondacks, the western part of the southern region was only going to be a high of 81. I decided to knock off 3 trails mid-morning for a challenge I'm doing I('ve done 3 of the 5 trails since Sept 1 2022 and have to finish these last 2 by Sept 1 of this year) and then head to the public beach/state park to eat lunch/read/relax and maybe swim. Well.....wow. The last 2 weeks which included very hot, humid weather along with many pop up thunderstorms and torrential rains have really done havoc in the woods/on the trails. Some of the trails in the higher elevations are closed along with some beaches. I got lucky but not so lucky. My goal was to re-hike Kane Mt and then drive up to Nine Corner Lake. Then drive to the beach, eat my lunch and relax. Then drive home. The photos will tell the story. The blessing? Even a muddy, watery trail is better than no trail. I'm thankful for a good weather day to spend in my beloved mountains. Caroga Lake area holds many good memories for me and my children/husband. I'm thankful I took the day to drive out there.
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| At 10:45 am it was a wonderfully dry, no humidity, 71 degrees and perfect for hiking a small mountain. I was the only person there. I climbed it before with my 2 girls and our neighbors in 2006. Elevation is only 2200 feet and although short and steep there's a firetower at top now restored so I was looking forward to climbing that once I got to the summit. It had been closed in 2006 I never got to the summit because........ |
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| thick mud, a stream down the middle of trail and no way to go around in the ADK it is best to stay on the trail: I just couldn't get around this so schlepped through this mud with my waterproof hiking shoes. The rocks were slippery so thank God i had my poles. |
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| hard to see but a stream right in middle of trail and all of this blowdown. This is about .24 miles up the trail I couldn't get past the large tree blocking the trail so I had to turn around and head back to car. Will try this mountain again in August. |
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| As you can see, the trail to Nine Corner Lake wasn't much better. The stream had overflowed and water was everywhere but the trail was still doable as is flat |
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| This is usually a trickle on the right side of the trail as you continue on the path to the lake..... this is about a half mile in....the destination is 1.3 miles |
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| Thanking God for 3 of these!! Otherwise water would have been up to my knees |
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| This was the worse part of the trail My hiking boots just got submerged and the mud was THICK |
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| another tough part of the trail....I just had to muck through |
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| finally....the path to the lake and trail's end was dry! |
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| Nine Corner Lake in the Ferris Lake Wild Forest of the southern Adirondack Mountains Caroga, NY |
Here is where I drank most of my water, wiped my face, had a quick snack and turned around to hike the 1.3 miles back......there were about 20 people there swimming...most were off to the right of the photo. I then drove to this state park to sit on the beach for an hour or so and read, relax, drink water, eat lunch. SO thankful for a day in the mountains even though I couldn't get up the mountain!!(the mountain I was supposed to climb is in the background of pic, right side).
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| Caroga Lake 11 July 2023 |
- READING AND RELAXING: One thing I'm thankful for this past week is the chance to sit on our backyard swing in the shade of the maple trees or sit in the library garden and read and relax. The days are hot, humid, and packed with storms so anytime the rain let up and things dried out a bit, I headed outside. I'm thankful for time to enjoy books.
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| Sunday afternoon 9 July |
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| Flower Garden at our towne library a wonderful spot to have my coffee and do some reading and return phone calls Thursday 13 July |
That wraps up this crazy hot and humid weather week. Hoping Eastern New York cools down a bit for next week! Actually I can deal with the hot temps if the threat of thunderstorms would just leave!
Here's praying for drier conditions and a wonderful weekend!
9 comments:
Beautiful blog
Hi Faith. I hope you can attempt that hike again when it isn't so muddy. You are sure getting a lot of rain back there. Looks like Courtney had a good birthday. So glad you could get together with her. I love your new little "grandkitty." Looks like a perfect pet for Claire. I hope your summer temperatures cool down a bit. We are expecting triple digits for the weekend. Have a good one. See you again soon!
I haven't had much luck finding vegan chocolate. I'm going to be on the lookout even more now that I know there is Oat milk chocolate. I don't absolutely crave chocolate like some people do but I like it enough to hunt it down once in a while.
Oh and happy birthday to your daughter!
Hi Faith, My blogging has been so hit or miss lately that I missed your retirement announcement! Congratulations!! I just went back and read your "Moving On" post. You have had an amazing, fulfilling career, and I'm sure many families were blessed by your experience. Best wishes to you! xo
That was one big hike experience. We had one similar to that a few weeks ago (with Younger Daughter). But wow! That is a lot of mud. Hope your boots recover.
The trail we did is beautiful, but shortish. And this side is paved. On the other side of the river, there is a shorter but unpaved trail which I hope to do again later this summer.
We have had all that humidity and heat too. Just waiting for a good rainstorm to clear it all out. Maybe today?
Happy Birthday to your girl!
Happy birthday to your daughter! your other daughter's cat Karma is adorable: how nice of her to adopt him. wow! that was a muddy hike!
Congratulations on your retirement! I'm sure you deserve it!!! (I worked 8 years with autistic children in elementary schools, years ago).
Belated happy birthday to Courtney! My youngest turns 30 later this year--definitely a shock to the system!
We haven't had a cat because my middle son is allergic. But my oldest son has one in RI. He got her right before the pandemic. I was so glad, since he lives alone and worked from home (still does). It's been nice to have her as a companion.
What a cute card, and it's definitely you!
I'm sorry the hike didn't work out as hoped, with all the mud. But I'm glad you got to venture out a bit.
We've had the threat of thunderstorms all week, but didn't have any. It's been really hot and humid, though. My husband was going to kayak on the lake this morning, but it was too muggy to enjoy being outside.
Happy belated birthday to Courtney! My oldest used to collect tea cups too, but now has too many and doesn't know where to put them all. LOL. Glad you some outdoor time hiking though dealing with mud isn't fun. It has been hot here too. This week is going to be a scorcher. But our heat is more dry. And we've got smoke again this morning. Karma is adorable.
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