The Quest

Okay, name that movie quote. (I mean the movie from whence this title came.) I was really just going to call this post "Grab Bag" because it's about a random bunch of things. But since it's about things in nature, Darwin's Grab Bag sounded better. I digress before I even get started. Let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up. (Name that movie quote too! I'm on a roll. Spoiler alert: movie answers are at the end of this post.) It all started yesterday when I was eating lunch on the deck, soaking up some sun and making use of Kef's new patio dining set. As I was about to take a bite of my sandwich, something flew past my face and landed on my hand. If it was a bug, I would have flung it off immediately, even if I had to sacrifice my sandwich. But it was just a little piece of white fluff. No big deal. Then, the little piece of white fluff started to walk away. Literally. I thought I was imagining it at first, but I took a closer look and f...

Tomorrow morning I'm going to a plein air class (painting outside) at Ann Lee Pond. Ann Lee was a Shaker and brought her faith and followers here in 1774. Her story is really interesting (read on Wikipedia ). Originally this pond was the mill pond at the Shaker settlement, which is now a historic site. I haven't had the chance to go out there yet, so I'm really looking forward to both the painting and the visit to this site.  Shaker heritage is very rich in this area as this was the site of the first Shaker settlement in America. I've read that the communities weren't sustainable because they practiced celibacy. Makes sense, I guess. You can read more about the Shakers on the Shaker Heritage Society website . Sorry for the short post today, but it's bedtime... I just wanted to get something out there.

This morning, I closely followed the progress of a particularly dedicated ant, hauling another dead ant away. I can only assume that the live ant was taking the dead ant back to the nest. It made me wonder why. Is this a military ant... never leave a fallen comrade? Or a teacher ant... no ant left behind? At one point, the live ant dropped the dead ant and appeared to be having trouble regaining her hold (I've read that all ants are female... is that true?). So, I took a stick and flipped the dead ant so that she would be more easily carried. Luckily, Live Ant was then able to get a better grip on Dead Ant and they continued on. While this was going on, the dogs were having great fun wrestling all over the place. I asked them nicely to not wrestle over the ant, and certainly not to step on her as she's making such a valiant effort. She tripped over rocks and climbed grass and dodged dogs. Live Ant was a super-hero ant. When I searched Google for more information on the tr...

I took a day away from the computer yesterday. It was Independence Day, after all. I really hadn't intended to, but Kef asked if I wanted to go find a waterfall with her. Who can say no to that? By the time we got home, I was exhausted and just wanted to lounge on the couch. So I figured I'd hold this blog post until I was fresher and more alert. Our destination this beautiful July holiday was the Christman Sanctuary, a nature preserve near Duanesburg in Schenectady County, New York. The land was, as you might guess, donated by the Christman family. The earliest map I could find that included landowners' names, the 1866 Stone & Stuart , shows the land belonging to S. Christman. I found that to be Spencer Christman, father of William Weaver Christman, in whose memory the land was donated (by his youngest son, Lansing Christman). According to the obituary on Find-a-Grave , Spencer Christman purchased the land in 1848, where he farmed, raised his family, and died at the ...

This morning I was struck by the degree to which Kef and I have fallen into a routine. Every Friday evening, we eat at Margarita City , where she orders a jalapeño margarita, and I a lover's kiss margarita (made with cranberry juice, orange, cinnamon). We always get queso, which they insist on calling cheese dip. I invariably order the same thing each time: Burrito San Jose (chicken and chorizo inside a flour tortilla, queso on top). I always sing the song, "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" either out loud or in my head after ordering. Kef's orders vary, but usually involve beef. On Saturdays, we go to Sushi Tei . We both order hot green tea and miso soup. I, again, consistently order the same thing: salmon katsu box with rice and a crab tempura roll. Kef always gets a spicy scallop handroll on soy paper. The other parts of her meal vary on a rotation of certain sushis and sashimis that she loves, usually involving some sort of tongue-scorching spice. She always ne...