Bike ride to Fineshade and Kings Cliffe

With Harry. Hot day. A few hills. loads of butterflies. Just under 18 miles.






Fab field of wild flowers just outside Gretton. Then downhill to Harringworth, up to Wakerley, down to the A43, across and down then up to Fineshade Woods. Quick stop for a drink, then we rode through the woods with a pause-papillons. No photos, mind, they hardly stopped fluttering.




Down to the edge of Kings Cliffe, past Blatherwick Lake, turn off to Laxton, cross A43 again. Through Laxton, downhill to Harringworth, then the long slow hill back into Gretton.



Had to go back later and take some more pics.

Anastasia State Park

I didn't quite make it down to the beach for the sunrise, but the sun was playing hide and seek through the clouds when I got there.

It was a chilly morning, but that is sand, not snow.

Surf and Sea Foam.

Sand and Sea Shells.

Wind-blown patterns in the sand.

The Mini's

Dustin has 3 Miniture Horses. 1st is Lucky, a black and white pinto, next is Lucky's brother Cloudy who is solid black and then there is his newest mini Tank.



















Dustin's newest mini, a little stallion named Mini Tank because he is so small and built more like a draft horse. I am with him in first photo of him and Dustin in the last one.

The Berlin Family :: Bible Records

Photocopied pages from a Berlin Family bible were received from Patricia (Berlin) Miller in January, 1995. She identified it as the bible of John D. Berlin. Patricia is a descendant of Solomon Berlin, son of John. She had no idea who had possession of the family bible. I can only wonder where it might be but am thankful to have copies of these pages.

[BIRTHS]Familien Register.
Geburten.John D. Berlin was born Dec. the. 8.,1792Susannah Berlin was born March the 9 D 1804Solomon Berlin was born May the 26 D. 1827Catharine Berlin was born May the 21 D 1830Lydia Berlin was born Feb the 22 D. 1832Josiah Berlin was born June the 24th 1834Jacob Berlin was born September the 30th 1836.Mary Ann Berlin was born October 17th 1838Sarah Berlin was born December 25th 1840
[Note: the following three are in a different handwriting.]Elisabeth Berlin was Born April the 28th 1843 -Lovina Berlin was Born the 8th of May 1845J. Milton Berlin was Born the December ..7.. 1848
[MARRIAGES]Familien Register.
Gterbefálle.John D. Berlin was married to Susannah Huffman Feb the 16th 1826
[DEATHS]Familien Register.Gterbefálle.Mr. John D. Berlin died Nov 11, 1879 aged 86 yrs, 11 mo and 3 daysMrs. Susan Berlin died Apr. 22, 1880, aged 76 yrs, 1 mo and 13 daysJoseph Milton Berlin youngest son of John and Susan Berlin, died May 22, 1856, aged 7 yrs, 9 mo, and 16 days.Jacob Berlin was killed in battle of Shiloh Apr 7, 1862, aged 25 yrs, 6 mo, and 7 days.Josiah Berlin died March 27. 1869 aged 35 years 2 months 20 daysSolomon Berlin died Sept 22, 1872. aged 45 yrs 3 months 26 days.Catharine Berlin Richmond died Nov 15th 1903 age 73 - 5 months 24 d
[Note: The next two names are in a different handwriting.]Lydia Berlin Woodruff died May 17th 1913 aged 81 yrs 2 months 26 dSarah Berlin Greene died April 22d 1916 aged 76 yr 3 months 3 days
[Note: And in yet a different handwriting.]Elizabeth Berlin Coppes died Feb. 19. Feb. 1931 at home in Nappanee and buried at So. Union Cemetery Locke.Mary Winder died July 20 – 1933
[Note: Lovina Berlin Yarian died May 3, 1932 but her death is not listed.]

Ursa Americanus at Ingraham Flats

On Saturday, we heard about a black bear near Cathedral Rocks... Today, the person who photographed that bear wrote.

More about the climbing bear from David Gutzman of UT.

"We were approaching Ingraham Flats when we heard some rock fall... we looked and saw what we thought was a large, odd shaped rock tumble down a hundred feet onto the glacier. To our surprise the rock got up , shook itself, took one look at us and took off..."

David shot a few images and shared them. Wildlife high on Rainier isn't entirely unheard of, but it's certainly a rare treat to encounter something like a bear at 11,100 feet.

David continued, "[The bear] ran full speed uphill (through deep snow) across the... Ingraham and looked like it was heading towards the Emmons Glacier, all the time glancing our way."

On the climbing front, the weather finally cleared some today... but more snow is forecasted for the week. Let's see if this snow will settle.

Color on Figueroa

Color on Figueroa, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Figueroa Mountain has got to be one of the most colorful mountains I've seen. The wildflower displays near the summit are incredible. I recommend you visit if you're ever in the area!

California :: Highway One Poppies

April 1st, somewhere along California Highway One, south of Big Sur.

Summer OR show SLC 8/3 through 8/7

I'm not posting live from the summer OR show as I have done at the winter shows in the past. But obviously a few things are leaking out. The Blue IceWarthog pack and the Petzl Lynx crampon are two early examples. There is more to come. Old and new technology being show cased. Pictured are some wild ones and some old stand bys from the past and a fewcurrent "game changers" thrown in. Just to get the process going :)

















I am sworn to secrecy for a few more days. But I have to say...some of this stuff I hadn't even dreamed of yet. And that is a long list of gear dreams when you start talking about ice gear and technical boots.



The Summer OR Show gives retailers a chance to see what will be available for Spring delivery and in some rare instances a few things that will be available for Fall 11. But most new Fall items are generally shown at the winter OR show the previousJan. Delivery for the Winter OR show is Fall of that year, a full 9 months later. So Winter OR will show clothing,ski and climbing gear available in the stores the Fall of . Summer OR shows the summer sporting goods and clothing that will be available in the spring of the following year. Hopefully that makes sense.



More to come by the end of the week.

Phend-Fisher Family Reunion Ledger (1927)

The Phend - Fisher family reunion was held at McNaughton Park Aug 26-1927.

The time before dinner was spent socially. At 12:30 all gathered around the table and prayer was offered by Rev. Oberholser after which every one got busy eating and talking.

After dinner the President called us to order for a short business session. The Sec'y report was read after which we were favored with two solo's by Mary Poole. Duet by Rev. and Mrs. Oberholser and a reading by Rev. Oberholser.

The officers elected for the ensuing year were.
President, Claud Poole
Vice Pres. Will Phend
Sec'y. Raymond Phend
Treas. John Ernest.

Programe Com.
Iva Wherley & Katherine Pletcher.
Memorial Com.
Surelda Thornton

[page 2]
Publicity & Family Tree
Fred Ernest.

Com. On Arrangement.
Grace Vassmere, Goldie Lynch.

There were 91 present.
Ed Phend
Sec'y.

P.S. It was voted to hold the next annual reunion at McNaughton Park, Elkhart, Ind. on the last Sunday in August.

In The Rain

This is how it looked when we parked to let the rain let up as it was raining extreamly hard. This is the Jemez Pueblo Visitors Center where we buy fry bread to eat. You can just barely see one of the remadas on the right edge of the photo where they put out their food items and cook the fry bread in big pans of hot greese over wood fires.

Children's Bicycle Revamped

Visiting Nao ofTomii Cycles this morning, I finally saw this little gem in person - the bicycle he put together for his son Fugo. It is really something to see a tiny children's bike this elegant!






The frame started out as a regular kid's mountain bike (Nao doesn't remember for sure what it was, but possibly a Schwinn). Stripped of the original paint, it was powdercoated a robin's egg blue and customised with some lovely components and accessories -





including the tiny stainless fenders with leather mudflap in front







and vintage-style reflector in the rear.






The drilled-out chainguard was powdercoated to match the frame.






The handlebars are the Belleville bars from Velo Orange, which are surprisingly proportional for the bicycle's size.





Caramel coloured basket-weave grips and tiny silver bell.






Prior to becoming a framebuilder, Nao had been making components under the 3RRR name, and often bikes in Boston can be found sporting his custom chainrings and headbadges. This propeller badge is one of his.






I really like how this bicycle came out. It's beautiful and intriguing, but not "too much" for a children's bike. Recycled frame with decorative and functional touches, coaster brake, single speed, kickstand, nothing fragile or complicated. I like how the caramel accessories complement the pastel blue frame. The padded saddle has a scrap piece of leather stretched over it and matches the mud flap. The wide knobby tires are great for riding in the dirt and grass of the back yard, as well as in the nearby park.When I went to pick up the bike, I was warned that it would be heavy, but I didn't really believe it. How heavy could a bike this tiny be? "It weighs more than my own bike!" Nao clarified, referring to his steel roadbike, and he was right!






Fugo's relationship with this bicycle has been interesting. When Nao presented his son with the bike more than a year ago, the boy was not really impressed. He did not know how to ride yet and was not interested in learning. Then recently he suddenly wanted to try riding the bike. Nao was going to attach training wheels, but Fugo did not want them. He then got on the bike and began to ride, just like that.






The trouble with nice children's bikes, is, of course, that children outgrow them fairly quickly. But looking at Fugo's bicycle and watching him ride it, I still can't help but think it is worth it. Great job, Nao, and happy riding to you both.

Clay Jug

This is probably my favorite of all the photos I took on mine and my friends trip to Old Town. It was sitting in a back corner of an outdoor coffee shop area.