A quick note regarding ring tones

I've not much of anything today. I'm a bit worn out from my first day of work after a four day weekend plus a 2.6 mile run after work. But I thought I'd share this link for free ring tones from the Center for Biological Diversity. I'm quite liking my new Barred Owl ring tone.

Halls Creek Woods

I found a little nature preserve I'd not been to before by way of a Flickr photo group I was invited to join last week (Ohio Dedicated Nature Preserves). Halls Creek Woods is near Morrow and Oregonia in southeast Ohio. It's a little park, just under 300 acres and not much trafficked from what I could tell. There was only one other car in the parking lot when I arrived and I didn't encounter any other people while hiking around. I startled a flock of wild turkeys and a small herd of deer while I was walking, which was only fair since they startled me a great deal.

The trail, which was not blazed, would be a bit hard to pick out after a fresh leaf or snow fall. The website says the trail is two miles long, but my pedometer told me about 1.5. There's a steep climb to get up to the main loop of the trail and I would imagine it would be a bit treacherous descending after a wet spell; wear something with good traction! The trail doesn't follow along Halls Creek itself, which is a shame because it's a lovely creek with lots of small waterfalls and an abundance of fossil-bearing Ordovician stone. However, Halls Creek Road, just around the corner, follows along the creek and there are a couple of spots to pull off and snap photos.




After Halls Creek I drove over to Caesar's Creek and hiked the gorge trail loop. I did my best to find a decent specimen of bryozoan to photograph (or pocket) but it eluded me. I found scads of brachiopods though, and a bit of crinoid stem and a partial cephalapod shell, but no good bryozoans. I think I'll have to hit Keener Park in West Chester - I know there's loads in that creek.

My new waterproof Kamik boots did well! They are slightly too big for me, nothing a thicker pair of socks won't cure. They felt really stiff at first but I got used to them quickly. I've been needing a proper pair of winter boots.

New Year's Day

I'd love to say that I bounced out of bed at six AM to greet the dawn of a New Year with an invigorating hike in the woods. But, that would be a lie. I got off to a slow start, but I did get in a couple of hikes in my two nearby city parks for a total of 4.5 miles this afternoon. Somewhere along the way my scarf slipped from my shoulders; I'll try hiking the same trail tomorrow to see if I can find it. I liked that scarf.

It was the first time I'd hiked French Park since Hurricane Ike blew through back in September. The park was closed for weeks after and today I could see why - there is still plenty of evidence of the massive damage done by the winds.

I also made a big pot of black-eyed peas and sausage stew today - the peas and the pork are supposed to bring luck and prosperity in the new year. I could use a little of both.

I hope to get back to my regularly scheduled blog in the coming weeks. In the meantime, an inspirational quote:


"No matter how slow you run, it's faster than someone sitting on a couch"

Petrichor

I want to be able to use this word, petrichor, soon. It means "The pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a dry spell." We haven't had any significant rain in weeks. My rivers are running low... too low to get out and kayak much, except for the mighty Ohio, and the kayaking season for this year is fast running out.

Besides, I like rain. As much as I like to get outside and run or hike or kayak, there's also something wonderful about being inside with the rain beating down and curling up with a good book.

Rain please. Soon. Now.

My First 5K

So, at the tender age of 48, I've completed my first ever 5K race. I ran in the Reggae Run and despite the challenging course, I not only finished, but I still had a smile on my face near the end. It really was a lot of fun and I can see why people get hooked on running races.

I finished in 41 minutes. Obviously I'm not going to be breaking any records but I'm tickled that I did that well and that I never broke out of a run even on the hills. I just ran slower - much slower. Walkers could pass me by, but that's fine and dandy. Now I've set my sights on the 10K Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning - training begins tomorrow.

World Rivers Day

September 28th marks World Rivers Day, established in 2005 to promote a greater awareness of the role rivers play in our lives. Unfortunately I won't be out on a river tomorrow, since I've already made plans to attend the Ohio Renaissance Festival with friends, but I did paddle the mighty Muskingum River for sixteen miles last weekend with a good friend (pictured). The village of Dresden, Ohio held its first annual Melon Festival last Saturday along with the first annual Paddlefest.

The Muskingum River flows 111 miles through Ohio, joining the Ohio River at Marietta. The river begins at Coshocton, which is where we put in and paddled down to the historic suspension bridge at Dresden. In this section it is a broad, sleepy river, tree-lined and peaceful if one overlooks the power plant at Conesville. Bald eagles are known to nest along the river, though I didn't spot any on this trip, we were lucky enough to watch an osprey dive and catch a fish while we were having dinner later that night at Muddy Misers in Zanesville.

Blackout

It's been nearly two weeks since the remnants of Hurricane Ike crashed through Cincinnati, leaving 90% of the city without electricity. There are still piles of branches in front of houses waiting to be picked up and mulched by the city. I tried to go hiking in both of my nearby city parks today, but the trails in Caldwell Nature Preserve and French Park are still closed due to storm damage.

Tree down in Norwood, picture by Sonnet via Flickr.

I got off pretty light by anyone's standards. As soon as the power went off that Sunday, I realized it wasn't going to be coming back that day at any rate, so I jumped in my car and drove to Bigg's, where I purchased two 25 pound bags of ice. I brought them home and put one in my freezer and one in my fridge, so I didn't lose much food and was able to have cold drinks throughout the three days my house was without power. Also, my building has gas for cooking and for the water heater, so I was able to cook and have hot showers unlike many of my fellow Cincinnatians. We were quite fortunate in that the weather following the wind storm was quite mild with no rain and neither too hot nor too cold, plus there was a full moon so there was a bit of light at night.

Now that the power is back on I've been re-assessing my emergency supplies. I had plenty of candles, flashlights, food and such, but I lacked a good lantern to read by at night and my weather radio ate 9V batteries like they were cookies. I purchased an LED lantern that will run for 60 hours on 4 AA batteries; it can also be charged through a cigarette lighter adapter or a hand crank. I also bought a Grundig emergency radio that can be powered via AA batteries, the on-board rechargeable NiMh batteries or a hand crank. That leaves me trying to decide on a non-electric space heater - being without power in my building in the winter would mean being very cold indeed. I think I'm leaning towards a propane heater since the fuel is easy to store.

Edited to add a link to this story about the cost of Hurricane Ike in Ohio. When the lights came back on and I was able to catch up on the news, I was a bit surprised that the national news hadn't made note of the damage Ike had done to the Midwest. Of course, it was nothing compared to Texas and there was a lot going on in the news (such as a major banking crisis), but I as far as I could find we only got one tiny mention, an afterthought really, on CNN's website.

The Omnivore's Hundred

Here's a meme I blagged off of Serious Eats today. It's The Omnivore's Hundred by way of Very Good Taste. The items in bold font are foods I've actually tried.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht (and why not? I need to make some this winter)
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (Do fruit flies count? I've probably eaten dozens without knowing it)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine

60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe (on my list now that it's available in the States)
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill (Yup, iguana and manicou in Trinidad)
76. Baijiu or shaojiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie (never again)
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant

85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers (nasturtiums, lilies, violets, zucchini blossoms)
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Two boats!

Last night I paddled the Great Miami River for the first time. I went with the regular Thursday night group of the Cincy Paddlers and I had a blast! It was the biggest water I've ever tackled in my boat. There is a wave train near the end of the run that consists of a series of two foot waves - it was a little scary but awfully fun and I got thoroughly drenched in the process. I can't wait to go again! The people of the Cincy Paddlers group couldn't be better. I had lots of guidance and encouragement from the more experienced members.

I also purchased a second boat last night. It's just a cheap Pelican Burst sit-on-top, but it will be nice to have when I want to take another person with me out on the Little Miami or another easy run. I just have to buy another paddle and paste the Ohio registration numbers on the hull and I'm all set.

Advice

"There are some swirly bits at the end. Don't worry about them. Just keep paddling. Paddling gives you stability."

Yes, meant for the river, but good advice for any turmoil.

Mum and Dad's Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary/Dad's Eightieth Birthday Party

Breaking a long hiatus...

Now that we've reached mid-summer and I'm bringing home bounty from the local farmer's markets a couple of times a week, I'm having to deal with a few errant fruit flies. The little video that follows gives one method for making a simple fruit fly trap. It's a bit different from my standard recipe (1 cup water, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon vinegar and 1 drop of dish soap) but it should work just as well.

Garlic Scapes

Garlic Scapes
Originally uploaded by lilysecret42

One of the local farmers down at Findlay Market last Saturday was selling garlic scapes. I wasn't familiar with them but after the woman selling them broke off a bit and let me taste them I was sold. Very garlicky but not overpowering. She told me they could be cooked like a vegetable. Once I got them home I looked them up on-line and found a few recipes for scape pesto. I used about half of them to make a pesto out of the scapes using them and some fresh basil from a pot I have growing outside, Parmesan cheese, olive oil salt and pepper. It was too thick to puree in my mini food processor, so as I was planning on lathering a fish fillet with the stuff, I added some fresh lemon juice to smooth things out. Incredible taste.

I stir fried the other half of my bunch of scapes with local asparagus - olive oil, salt and pepper, finished with a splash of balsamic vinegar. Delicious.

Mother Earth News has this to say on garlic scapes:

If you grow your own garlic or have a good farmer’s market, then you can enjoy a new kind of vegetable — garlic scapes. The scapes are the flower stems that garlic plants produce before the bulbs mature. Growers often remove the scapes to push the plant’s energy toward bigger bulbs, and when harvested while they are young and tender, the scapes are delicious.

Packing Lunch

I've been a lunch-packer ever since I starting working jobs that were not actually in a restaurant. I have many reasons for doing so: I like to cook and I always have leftovers around, eating out is generally expensive if you go for the good stuff and unhealthy if you go for the cheap stuff. I also try to avoid using disposable stuff when possible so I've been collecting various lunch gear over the years and I thought I"d share a few finds.

To-Go Ware has some very nice bamboo cutlery in recycled plastic cases which are manufactured in different parts of the world. I bought a couple of sets of bamboo cutlery when I was in Athens, Georgia a few months back and I love them. They are in my lunch bag every day.

Reusable Bags has a lot of great products, from shopping bags to water bottles. I purchased a couple of their sandwich bag replacements and have been loving them.

No post about packing lunch would be complete without a link to Lunch in a Box. Biggie has a great site on packing bento lunches, primarily for children but most of her techniques and recommendations are appropriate for any age.

I try to bring along my own cloth napkins and dish towels when I pack lunch as well. I've been collecting cloth napkins and I've even recycled a few old cotton dresses into napkins for the very purpose of packing lunch. I also keep a couple of those freezable bricks to pack into my lunch box because unfortunately, where I work presently, there are persons who are not adverse to stealing other people's lunches out of the communal fridge, therefore I keep my food at my desk. The last time I stored something in the fridge, it was a container of lemon wedges for my iced tea. Someone stole all my lemons, but did leave the box. Who does things like that? I'd have given them a lemon wedge had they asked.

Pileated Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker
Originally uploaded by lilysecret42

No blogging today, just a little video I shot of a Pileated Woodpecker excavating a dead tree.


Edited to add:

As I was walking Caldwell Nature Preserve today, just before taking this video, I came across a man out hiking with three adorable little girls, who were probably five years old. They were sitting on a fallen log while the guy chatted into a cell phone. I was kitted out in my usual gear: day pack, binoculars, walking stick. I said hello to them and one of the girls looked at me in wide-eyed amazement, as if she'd just seen a mythical being, and said "You must be - a girl scout!"

Quick Cicada Round Up

As I noted in my previous entry, I did spot a couple of early emerging seventeen-year cicadas when I was kayaking on Sunday. I also received an email from the Cincinnati Nature Center saying their cicadas are emerging and they are hosting a lecture on the insects:

Cicada Lecture at Rowe Woods
Learn all about the 17-year periodical cicadas that will be emerging this summer in Clermont County. Dr. Gene Kritsky, professor at the College of Mt. St. Joseph will share his knowledge of these unique insects.
Other Info:
Age Group:Adults
Date:5/31/2008 Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Current/Maximum Registered: 8/50
Cost: $6; with CNC membership $4.

WCPO also posted a small entry on the east side cicadas. Can you spot what's wrong with this quote?

Kritsky says 17-year cicadas have a life span of only about two weeks.

I weep for the state of journalism in my home town.

More on Furoshiki

I found an interesting site on the many uses of Furoshiki, which are large squares of cloth used in Japan for wrapping and toting a variety of objects. I'm going to have to make myself a few of them. Not only are they environmentally friendly, but your cool factor will rise significantly if you tote a watermelon with a Furoshiki.

Color Me Intrigued...

Mangosteens:


How To Eat A Mangosteen


Now I just have to track them down. I imagine Jungle Jim's will carry them. I'm planning a trip there soon anyway - when I was getting my hair cut the other day, the owner of the salon was going on about how excited he was to have found dried squid in Cincinnati. He was disappointed he's not convinced anyone else to try it and I told him I loved squid and I wanted to try it myself. He went in back and brought out a pack of dried squid and I have to say it was delicious. It was slightly sweet, slightly salty with a nice seafood taste and the texture was more tender than that of beef jerky. He found it at Jungle Jim's in the Asian section, so I need to hunt some up myself. It would make a great snack to take along hiking or kayaking.

On Shrews

I was lucky enough to spot this shrew hunting in the leaf litter when I was at Cedar Bog a couple of weeks ago. Shrews have rather poor eyesight, so by moving slowly I was able to get down on my hands and knees on the boardwalk and follow its movements for nearly fifteen minutes. It took a good ten minutes just to get this shot, as it was in constant motion and usually obscured by leaves.

Although they superficially resemble rodents, shrews are insectivores and close relatives of moles. They are voracious predators, possessed of an incredibly high metabolism - some species can starve to death in as little as seven hours. They are constantly on the hunt and their primary prey consists of various invertebrates, including earthworms, centipedes, spiders and insects of all varieties. Some species produce a toxic venom, making them one of the very few venomous mammals in the world.

Judging by its size (two inches long, not including the inch long tail) and the range map in my mammal field guide, I believe the pictured animal is a least shrew, but positive identification is tricky. My guide says the least shrew has thirty teeth, which is of course useless as a field mark. I was quite content to have the pleasure of watching it for a while without taking it apart to identify it.