I'm quite lucky to be living in Stowe, Vermont, sandwiched between ideal diverse ecosystems. I live in a field on a river next to a hardwood forest. Sitting in my living room, I have seen the following birds on my porch:
Brewers Blackbird
Blue Jay
Chipping Sparrow
I'm using WhatBird.com to make my idendifications and will continue to do so throughout the summer.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Every girl just wants a good pair of heels
Us outdoorsy girls don't often get an opportunity to dress up. Now and then we are lured into thinking that a nice boy is going to take us out to a fancy date, so we go to the nines - at least for us. A new layer of nail polish laqcured over the old, legs raw from a fresh shave, and a new tube of mascara cracked open and layered on.
Inevitably, dream boy shows up in Chaco's and a clean-ish pair of Carhartts, and you're going to Applebee's.
I'm lucky in that when I told the boy that we were going out tonight, and by going out I meant GOING OUT; his first instinct was to grab the khakis and a tie. Granted, the pants needed pressing and the tie was only so-so, but it's the effort that counts.
Of course, my own legs hadn't been shaved in a while - hey, it's winter!- so it was more like mowing a football field in august than shaving legs. An hour later I emerged from the shower, bloody and bruised having long abandoned any thought of attacking my armpits.
Digging out a dress with sleeves that wouldn't show the donut-a-day diet I've been on, I threw on a quick layer of polish that matched my gorgeous new heels. Yup, Ms. Rock-climber-don't-like-to-wash is raving about a pair of heels. I got them for $29.99 at Kohls, a fortune yet a deal all at the same time. The last time I spend over $25 on shoe's was on a pair of ice boots.
These leather, peep-toed beauties will be painful. They will give me a blister, and I will (probably) sprain my ankle tonight. But, for the five minutes of glory when I walk in the room, when people will turn their heads and say, "Is that who I think it is?", it will all be worth it.
Inevitably, dream boy shows up in Chaco's and a clean-ish pair of Carhartts, and you're going to Applebee's.
I'm lucky in that when I told the boy that we were going out tonight, and by going out I meant GOING OUT; his first instinct was to grab the khakis and a tie. Granted, the pants needed pressing and the tie was only so-so, but it's the effort that counts.
Of course, my own legs hadn't been shaved in a while - hey, it's winter!- so it was more like mowing a football field in august than shaving legs. An hour later I emerged from the shower, bloody and bruised having long abandoned any thought of attacking my armpits.
Digging out a dress with sleeves that wouldn't show the donut-a-day diet I've been on, I threw on a quick layer of polish that matched my gorgeous new heels. Yup, Ms. Rock-climber-don't-like-to-wash is raving about a pair of heels. I got them for $29.99 at Kohls, a fortune yet a deal all at the same time. The last time I spend over $25 on shoe's was on a pair of ice boots.
These leather, peep-toed beauties will be painful. They will give me a blister, and I will (probably) sprain my ankle tonight. But, for the five minutes of glory when I walk in the room, when people will turn their heads and say, "Is that who I think it is?", it will all be worth it.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Sunburned and Busy
you know how I said I'd get better at posting more? That lasted about as long as it took for two papers and a take home exam took to get piled up.
Since last, the ice has quickly melted and somehow I'm looking at 80* weather and dry rock. I've got a few days under my belt this season, and I'm definitely hurting from the lack of training due to injury. My head also isn't in the game, making my leads all that more hairy and my TR's easier to give up on. Which, I know, is lame.
However, I still feel inspired. I got both the Squamish and the new Adirondaks guide books, and I'm psyched to get out there, and just get back in the game hard. Squamish will be amazing, and even if I'm not exactly in climbing shape for it, this internship will have me whipped into decent overall shape.
Was at Rumney this past weekend...Lord that place makes you strong fast! Such sticky rock, truly hero makers! I was leading the trip, a group of newbies, and managing a group at Rumney is definitely not the easiest thing to do. As soon as people see that you're in a group larger than four, they hate you. Hard. Then, they're constantly asking if they can pull your rope and hope on the route you JUST CLIMBED, so that they can "lead it, real quick" which always turns into them, their wife, and their mom cycling through, taking an hour out of time I could have had my whole group through and moved on. This happened twice, and we were asked a couple more times, but by then I had finally grown balls to say NO. We had more than two ropes going, three if we were alone.
Money though...this could be a tight summer. Time to start looking for a paper route!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
New Shoes!
So, after much deliberation, I decided to cut short the boot hunt and go with a pair of sample Kaylands I found down at OGE. So far, I love them! They are way more comfortable and warmer than the Nepal Evo's I demoed at the ice fest.
First off, let me start by saying that I've spend the last couple of weeks trying o nall of the boots I could. Because the Red Rocks trip fell through, I had the money to invest in some boots. I go to OGE one night to see what they have to offer, and I find these puppies on the consignment shelf. Now, I'm not a huge fan of OGE, I know I'm biased but I find the staff there absolutley useless. After having been told that "They're, like, totally waterproof, I like, think." (etc).
I tried them on, I think they fit. I put them on hold, go home and think about it. Now, I liked the way the Evo's fit in store, but they were only OK at actually climbing (plus, even on proform they were $250). I was a bit in between sizes, I liked the stiffness but not the fit. I really wanted to try out the Vasque M-Possibles because of the boa system, but no one within a 4 hour drive had them to try on. So I sucked it up and dropped the $170.00 on these Kaland Gioves.
So far, I'm very pleased!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
New Page Photo
Changed the photo at the top of the page from one a friend took in Joshua Tree to one I took of an abandoned hunting camp on the side of Big Spencer Mountain near Moosehead Lake in Maine. I've always wanted to paint it, but never have...maybe that's what I'll do tonight.
We all have rough days...but don't forget the A1 sauce.
I really suck at this whole blog thing, I promise I'll try and be better at keeping up with this all.
New semester has barely started, and all of the pressure is looking towards the summer. Shall I be a responsible young adult and get an internship related to my field of study, or should I play for a summer, this being my last real summer vacation and I've worked my ass off for the last two? Suggestions, please!
The boy and I recently celebrated our 2 year anniversary. Not really sure what that means, but we're still plodding along. It will be interesting to see what happens if we do end up spending the summer apart.
Sad news from back home. My middle brother, Patrick, is 12 years old and has had pet chickens since the first grade. He went out to feed them the other morning, and found one of them, Penny (by all means a fat old wretch) dead- frozen to the wall of the coop. He's a very sensitive young man, and he called me in tears on sunday morning to tell me the sad, sad news. I offered what simple advice I could; she was in a happier place now where it never snows, where she never gets barked at by dogs, and where there's planty of grapes for her to pick at.
He hung up on me.
Later that day he called me to apologize, then handed the phone off to my father. He told me how later that afternoon, Patrick confided in him that he wanted to build a funeral pyre for teh dead hen. My father panicked, having already scraped the remains of the deceased off of the side of the coop, wrapping them in a trash bag and sinking them to the bottom of the dumpster.
"Well, you know, Patrick," he said solemnly, "That's a great idea and all...but eventually, it would start to smell like a barbeque."
New semester has barely started, and all of the pressure is looking towards the summer. Shall I be a responsible young adult and get an internship related to my field of study, or should I play for a summer, this being my last real summer vacation and I've worked my ass off for the last two? Suggestions, please!
The boy and I recently celebrated our 2 year anniversary. Not really sure what that means, but we're still plodding along. It will be interesting to see what happens if we do end up spending the summer apart.
Sad news from back home. My middle brother, Patrick, is 12 years old and has had pet chickens since the first grade. He went out to feed them the other morning, and found one of them, Penny (by all means a fat old wretch) dead- frozen to the wall of the coop. He's a very sensitive young man, and he called me in tears on sunday morning to tell me the sad, sad news. I offered what simple advice I could; she was in a happier place now where it never snows, where she never gets barked at by dogs, and where there's planty of grapes for her to pick at.
He hung up on me.
Later that day he called me to apologize, then handed the phone off to my father. He told me how later that afternoon, Patrick confided in him that he wanted to build a funeral pyre for teh dead hen. My father panicked, having already scraped the remains of the deceased off of the side of the coop, wrapping them in a trash bag and sinking them to the bottom of the dumpster.
"Well, you know, Patrick," he said solemnly, "That's a great idea and all...but eventually, it would start to smell like a barbeque."
PENNY, RIP
2004-2008
2004-2008
Friday, December 14, 2007
Wonderland
Since I last wrote, not much has changed significantly, but life has certainly moved forward. The last exam of the semester is today, which will be a great relief to be over and done with. There is much i wish I had done differently this semester, maybe had tried a little harder, but there's no sense regretting the things that you can't change, only make a note for next time.
Meanwhile, snow has fallen and the water has frozen, and the ice climbing season has begun. It's my first season climbing ice, and it's absolutely wonderful. There's something beautiful about this cold pain you get as you're climbing - it hurts, but you just can't stop, because the air is so silent and the ice is so clean. There is a certain sounds that your pick makes when you land a nice solid placement, and it's an aria to the ears. The sport is full of sounds, from the dull thud of crampons on ice to the sound of shattering glass as you send sheets of ice showering down below you.
Meanwhile, snow has fallen and the water has frozen, and the ice climbing season has begun. It's my first season climbing ice, and it's absolutely wonderful. There's something beautiful about this cold pain you get as you're climbing - it hurts, but you just can't stop, because the air is so silent and the ice is so clean. There is a certain sounds that your pick makes when you land a nice solid placement, and it's an aria to the ears. The sport is full of sounds, from the dull thud of crampons on ice to the sound of shattering glass as you send sheets of ice showering down below you.
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