More Autumn Photos

Every year, the trees near us take on a crispy cheddar corn chip look. It is then that our golden delicious apple tree magically sprouts Doritos!

Giant roadside pumpkins near Renovo!

Sinnemahoning State Park.

Autumnal knob.

Trout Run.

Morning horses along Kettle Creek.

Twomile Run shows the effects of acid mine drainage.

144 to Coudersport.

Feet from a "child friendly" letterbox.

Ferns blanching as cold weather comes on. This one was a study in symmetry!

Autumn's Splendor

It was four years ago that we felt that we had to travel so far to find a geocache that we might as well start focusing what had originally intrigued us, letterboxing. Over a year a half prior to this, we had found some letterbox/geocache hybrids in NYC and planted some hybrids of our own. They were our first letterboxes, hand carved stamps and all. It was within a month of starting to gecoache we had our first signature stamps carved.

October 2004 JC & Brickman from DE planted a series of fall foliage letterboxes in North Central PA. As far as we can tell, most if not all of these letterboxes still exist. It was thanks to the pleasure of that trip that we decided to try more carving and make the trip, no matter how far, to find more letterboxes that had clues on LBNA.

This year, we made a similar trip to enjoy Monarch Lady's Kettle Creek letterbox series. Foliage as we made it near Renovo, Kettle Creek State Park and then north to Coudersport was nearing peak. The history this series shares goes hand in hand with the driving tour of some wonderful locations. Her hand carved stamps are a joy and the way they are presented on the logbook covers show the care she has taken with each letterbox.

We did find a few other letterboxes in Lock Haven and then Sinnemahoning. It was fitting to end our day with another JC & Brickman letterbox called Snows-A - Fallin' box1.

It all brought back the first time we letterboxed in this wonderful area. Autumn's leaves were splendid as they were years ago. The only thing that really changed was that I love RGBisMe more than ever.

Miles Returns

Our good good Miles has returned from the vet and is doing pretty well. Here he is lying on his back showing off the narcotics patch he has on his chest for the next day. He has a shaved area on every leg from IVs and monitors. Don't ask the vet bill.
Here he is helping RGBisMe make a map of the trails of Scotia.

September Highlights

Ravenboy and Asrai were able to stay with us through the beginning of September. It was the day that Hurricane Hannah blew through that we had to drive them back to the city. The rainy gray day suited my mood that two bright spots in my life would be going to their own homes.

Maga11 and I finally made it to Belleville to the Amish farmers market and I took some photos of the scenes there.

RGBisMe and I quickly made use of any space second to start organizing and firming up plans for our upcoming letterboxing gathering out in Scotia Barrens. We took our mountain bikes out to explore and map all of the trails that we will be planting letterboxes on. It takes a long time to orient yourself out there even when the sun is shining. Add an overcast day and you might not realize that after hiking and biking for miles that you are just across a pond where you were hours before. I am so grateful for our gps in this mapping project. Not even USGS topo maps have enough detail to know where you are out in Scotia. We are only mapping an area maybe 2.5 miles across and .5 wide but it is easy to lose your way on the many twisting trails. It is all worth it for the beauty and history of the area. We ended up spending the Autumnal Equinox on the trails out there.

Tracdc and Satan were married this past Saturday and the whole posse was together for maybe the most beautiful day this month. Their ceremony was held behind an old inn on a bridge crossing a lovely brook. The temperature was warm and sunny but had just enough chill to the air that the gentlemen felt comfortable in their dress jackets. Toolman Luke looked great in his tux shirt and Maga11's dress made her look lovely. The were picture perfect parents of the bride.

The end of the month has taken an unwanted twist with our dear Miles going into the hospital for a couple of days with FUS. I have word he is coming home this afternoon but will be on a prescription diet for a while and a specialized diet after that. I sat with him for a couple of hours yesterday in the hospital. It was so sad to see our friendliest fellow hooked up to an IV. He wants to come home and we are ready for him. I ask you all put in a good though for his recovery. It's been a rough couple of days for us.

Summer's End

A patchwork quilt of summers memories. Each one a different texture than the last.






This summer, some mere acquaintances solidified into fast friendships. Other relationships welcomed clarification and distance.








Old haunts we revisited with new faces. New places experienced with close family.













Laughs and tears were mixed with surprises and relaxation.



New fire. Old rain.



Gothic New York City and Renaissance PA.







May the wheel of the year turn and bless you all with jokes, learning experiences, love and life.

Grange Fair 2008

The coming of the Grange Fair means the end of summer and get read for the start of another school year. PSU students have started making their way back onto campus and the first football game will be crowding the streets in less than a week.

We took some time to enjoy the fair with jbzfarm yesterday and hope to make another trip later this week if Mososo Kruppe have the time to check it out. The steers, cows, chickens, ducks, pigs, rabbits, goats and sheep were all so well groomed.

It was a hot day but we stayed cool in the exhibit buildings and had fun winning little trinkets playing Skee-Ball. It wasn't the same as playing at an arcade or amusement park but the carnies open up different avenues of entertainment with trying to draw attention to their specific games.

Before a lot of the games opened for the day, we made our own fun with a few rounds of hacky sack. Eveyone pulled off a few good tricks and we entertained some of the campers in Punkintown for a short while.

Sunday at the Grange Fair starts a little later than some of the other days but there was plenty of fun to be had.

Sunny Days

Sunny days last week brought only rainbows anytime anything threatened a rainy moment. Asrai and Ravenboy blessed our home with colorful stories and energies. The week was so filled with family and friends that I had no time to take many photos.

Thank you to all who came to our potluck picnic last Friday. A blending of friends from all areas of our lives made a great evening in Spring Creek Park.

Anyone that still looking for that Wad o' Gum can rest assured I went back to pick it up the next morning. Sadly, Ray Gricar has gone into hiding again. Baked potato anyone?There are some people in our lives with whom we make instant and close connections. With others it is a slow building of a appreciation over the years. Our picnic on Friday had my heart full of so many people who mean so much to my life. There were others who, because of travel distance or other commitments, could not make it. I hope they know that they were in my heart as I looked around and reveled in the moment. It was thrilling to introduce to many special people to each other, some introductions we had been looking forward to for years.

Icing on the cake was news that Nick of Mososo Kruppe had secured one of the jobs he had applied for. The whole evening felt like the dream of a huge celebration of life. A few of us sat around after unpacking the car that evening sharing stories, philosophies and colorful jello treats as others ran through the yard with sparklers. It was surreal but I was elated as my sides hurt from laughing and I bit into one last potato of the evening.

The sad part was that it ended too quickly. Witty Tracdc and Satan had to head home. Dear Asrai stayed on to fly kites with us but had to go to work out of state this week. The days where we can all connect make me look forward to when we can reconnect in smaller groups.