Just a few things that I am Thankful for...

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I hope you all have a wonderful holiday with family and/or friends!

Lower Tahquamenon Falls

Tahquamenon Falls are a little over an hour west of Sault Ste. Marie and were among the “must see” things that my friend Carol said that I “had” to see while in the UP! According to Carol, the pronunciation of Tahquamenon is “something like” Taaaaa quaaaaaa men on. I'll take her word for it!



There are actually two areas here, the Lower Falls and the Upper Falls. The Lower Falls are a series of smaller waterfalls coming down on either side of an Island.





The two falls shown here are on the east side of the Island.



Rowboats were available for rental to take out to the Island where there is a boardwalk that goes around the Island and affords different views of the falls. As much as I would have liked to, I'm not very adept at rowing a boat so didn't attempt this little excursion. The falls in the background are the same ones in the first picture.





This is the last of a series of three smaller falls that are on the west side of the Island. A boardwalk leads you along the river to several viewing platforms.





An interesting sign along the way - Prayer of the Woods.



Another sign – showing the layout of the river and island and warning of the dangers of the falls.





From one of the viewing platforms, looking back at where the first few pictures were taken.





Fast flowing water. The brown color is caused from tannin brought in from the streams that flow into the river.





The uppermost of the Lower Falls. Visitors to the Island wade out into the river.



And finally, a closeup of the flowing waters.

Five-Spot

The interesting flowers of baby five-spot, Nemophilia maculata.

Hot Wire

This is called the Tumbleweed Crossing and it is tumbleweed time. The tumbleweeds are growing ----- well, their growing like weeds. Actually they are not a 'weed'. Weed means any plant that is unwanted in your patch of the woods or in my case the desert. Tumbleweeds or Russian Thistles were brought to the United States as cattle fodder. People can eat them if picked young and tinder. I would think you could cookthemin a pot of greens or stew or maybe have them added to a salad.(I've never tried them.)

Regardless the horses love them. And since they are growing well at this time of the year my mares are trying their best to get to each and every one. Tumbleweeds make a good treat for the horses if you dare to pull one. I can't understand why the horses want to eat something that has so many stickers on it after it is more than a week old.

My mare, Nita, thinks her neck will stretch out like a giraffe and she can reach the ones on the outside of her pen. She leans over the fence, pushing on the posts to reach them and gradually pushes the fence down. Star prefers to reach under the fence, and frequently has scratches on her face where she scrapes it on the wire fence.

We spent yesterday replacing a couple of broken fence posts, pulling the wire back up into place and checking out the hot wire we have run around the top of the fence that hasn't been used since last summer.

The electric wire works and now the horses are not trying to get at the tumbleweeds on the outside of their fences.



I was leery of using it with Star since she is blind, but the horses seem to be able toknow when the wire is hot and when it isn't. Don't know if they can feel it or hear it or what. Anyway I didn't see either of them touch it but now they don't get more than 3 inches from the wire.

Slush Cup

Well, it seems that "Slush Cup" went big time this year. While we climbers were trudging up the Emmons variation of the DC, the folks from TAY were skimming across a pond on skis and snowboards, courting NPR radio reporter Tom Banse. Was it perhaps the slick video that attracted the attention of the rangers and media? Somehow, they turned a damp gray day below Pinnacle Peak into radio propaganda for those who pursue "turns all year." That is, turns all year, year after year after year after year...

Which begs the questions, what constitutes "turns"? It seems that strapping on your boards for "sand dune" turns in eastern Washington could actually qualify you for the honor; however carving Mt. Hood's salty slush in August may not. There are rules and qualifiers for everything. Go figure! Photo provided by Ron Jarvis, who frequently haunts Rainier's slopes in pursuit of skiable snow (what a surprise.)

And regarding mountain climbing... there is little "new" news to share. Climbers are successfully ascending the primary routes, so things must be holding together. There are ranger patrols on the Kautz and Emmons glaciers. Look for those reports later this week.

Re-Trying the Moustache Handlebar

Iconic of the Bridgestone XO era and later championed by Rivendell, the Moustache handlebar is perhaps more popular today than ever. The dramatic forward sweep, the sideways-mounted road levers and the bar-end shifters make for avisually distinct and intriguing presence. The design is easiest to understand if you think of it as a flattened out drop bar, with the brake levers installed on what would have been the hooks. Grant Petersen designed the Moustache in the early 1990s specifically for the Bridgestone XO bicycles, as a kind of a hybrid between upright and drop bars. Today several manufacturers produce their own versions (including Soma and Origin8), though likely the Nitto/ Rivendell model remains closest to the original.






I first tried Moustache handlebars three years ago, and I remember being surprised by the leaned-forward position they put me in. Unlike the handlebars you see on city bikes, the Moustache is swept forward, rather than swept back - putting the rider's hands way out there, forward of the stem. Depending on stem length and handlebar height, this can be quite an aggressive lean. Recently I tried the bars again: I've been getting questions about them from readers and wanted to refresh my memory.




Riding with Moustache bars again was fun; my riding style has changed so much since the last time. These bars are unique and remind me of no other handlebars I've ever tried, so it's hard to find a point of reference. The forward sweep is vaguely North-Roadish, with two notable exception: All the hand positions are forward of the stem, and the brake levers are in the forwardmost points of the sweep, rather than in what we are accustomed to thinking of as the gripping areas.






The shape of the handlebars feels pretty good, and I have no trouble squeezing the levers from their location (here is anillustrated guideto the hand positions). However, I find the setup counterintuitive. Squeezing the brake levers puts me in a forward-leaning position, whereas using the bar-end shifters puts me in a leaned-back position: the exact opposite of what I am used to. After all, when I squeeze the brake levers I am trying to reduce speed - and the aggressive posture counteracts that - especially when coming to a complete stop. It was interesting to experience the discrepancy between what my body wanted to do when stopping and what the bars wanted me to do. On my own bikes, I prefer for the brake levers to be in a location that allows my posture to be more relaxed.






A friend who rides with Moustache bars explains them as a variant of riding with vintage, non-aero drop bars (where you brake mainly from the hooks). He believes those who are used to that will find braking with the Moustache intuitive, whereas the likes of me who mostly brake from the hoods of modern drop bars - or from the edgemost gripping areas of swept-back handlebars - may have trouble with the setup. He could be right. Either way, it's a handsome handlebar that I enjoy seeing on others' bikes.

The Surest Sign of Spring

Although Friday surprised us with a fresh foot of snow, it was nonetheless a glorious weekend. The plows made their rounds, the sun shone in a clear blue sky, the temperatures rose, and the scarves were distinctly loosened. Navigating through the still snow-covered streets, I could feel something new and fresh in the air - unmistakable signs of Spring.






There was the wet snow, softening under the sun's warm rays.





There were the delicate buds, with their promise of new leaves in the weeks to come.





There were the fences in need of mending, having unburdened themselves of heavy snow banks.






There was a fresher, younger quality of the afternoon sun's glow.





There were the pothole lakes cheerfully reflecting cerulean skies.






There were the colourful chairs on the lawns of local college campuses.





There were the freshly liberated bike lanes.






And perhaps the most noticeable change of all, were the dozens upon dozens of bikes. They emerged out of hibernationen masse, heralding the official start of Spring.






Some of the bikes I had seen in the neighbourhood before, but not since November.





Oh hello again, slate blue Mercier mixte. You look positively radiant!






Long time no see, copper Raleigh Lady Sports. Warming those old bones?





New handlebar tape this season, Bianchi Nuovo Racing?






Oh, but what's this here? You are new this year, aren't you, oh teal Dutch Gazelle with full chaincase?






And you, Babboe cargo trike? I haven't seen you around before. Have you moved to this neighbourhood over the winter? Welcome, welcome.






A local university recently installed bicycle racks along the entire length of their rather expansive Science Center. After sitting largely empty since their installation, on Saturday the racks were suddenly 3/4th full - snow storm of the previous day notwithstanding.






It was not a coordinated effort, but it surely felt like one. The neighbourhood bikes have had their say. And they've declared it the official start of Spring.

Autumn Sunset, Grand Portage Bay

A recent sunset over Lake Superior. The clouds lately for our sunsets have been spectacular. Nice variety in the clouds and some amazing colors. Definitely better than August's sunsets, which most of the time didn't have a single cloud in the sky!

Danny Friedman

Danny was always the guy on the other end of the phone.Danny I need200M ofrope. Danny I need 50 harnesses. Danny I need 100 carabiners.Danny works at K2, I manage a school camp. So it was a delight to meet him and find out he's a really sweet guy and a motivated climber.













Now when I say sweet guy, it turns out he's got a creepy side.





Like you,I browse the net for comforting stories about kittens and sunshine.

Danny's guilty pleasure is immersing himself online in the ugly world of gruesome crime.

I know, what a sicko! But it turns out he is a trained Forensic Scientist. OK, forgiven.



I feel sick, let's see some climbing.













Danny set off in , climbingthe modest grade of 21, to Turkey, Kaly and Ton Sai, picking up four grades along the way.













Then more Thailand, Castle Hill and Bluies. And before youcan say deoxyribonucleic acidhe is ticking "Spoonman" 28











Danny says his goal is to tick 8a by the end of his Euro Tour this year.

His friends say he is stronger than he thinks.

Senior climbing analysts here at jjobrienclimbing have reviewed the available data and can confidently predict he will better it by .





I don't want to make this sound like a dating profile but here's the twist:

He's a sweety, no doubt. He has a jones for Gummy Bears, butdon't expect him to sit through a Rom Com with you. He likes his films Noir, and his music on the dark side.

Danny is off to the Grampians tomorrow, presumably to leave his fingerprints all over Taipan Wall.

Theinvestigation continues.



jj

Dustin's Cats

My son, Dustin, is a cat and horse person. These are the four cats that he, his friend Rob, and Dustin's girlfriend, Desi, have found over the past few years. The odd marked white cat with gray marking is named simply Kat. She was found abandoned as a small kitten. The vet didn't think she would live but she did with the only lasting problem being she is almost blind. Rob says it doesn't matter as he is almost blind, too, due to his diabetes problem. The next cat is Teddy who showed up about 2 years ago as a small kitten. To me he looks like he is a lot Maine Coon Cat. Next is O.C. (is short for 'orange cat' or 'other cat') who decided I as his new best friend. Last is Fiera, a kitten Desi took in that is a Manx, as seen in the one photo showing she has no tail.