New Blogs

I have recently posted some blogs that have been pending. I know its been some time, but I just have not been able to put it all together until recently.

Some of the recent posts still need to be finalized. I need to upload pictures, and link up with those, as well as post some pictures within the content of each post.

I appreciate your patience, and to a greater extent, I appreciate those of you who read this site.

-J

Build an Arc…

...And fill it Two by Two.

September 2004 was bad.
April 2005 was worse.
June 2006 is worse still.
Agnes in 1955 still tops them all.

Who’d have thought the residents along the Delaware River would have it so bad. I never would have thought that there could have been 3 record floods in 3 consecutive years. The River will crest at 2am Thursday, higher than what it did in April 2005.

People were just starting to settle back into their homes along the river. They were putting finishing touches on their twice-ravaged homes, thinking “this would never happen 3 times in my lifetime”. Think again. I’m interested to see what the NWS says about the climatology of the situation, when it is all over. If April 2005 was a 500-year storm event, is this a 1000-year event, or just another 500-year event? Say what you want about global warming and climate change, I’m a firm believer.

Lisa and I will be going to dinner on Thursday in Bethlehem, so we can try and check out the Lehigh and Delaware rivers then.

Pictures here.

Cabin No More

Joe & June's cabin in NH is no more. Around 13 June, Joe got a call from the local Fire Marshall in NH. The fire department responded to a call about a smoldering foundation. Nothing is left. Except memories. Very sad.
Although it is not our residence, Joe and June have been such great hosts to us that we like to think of it as a pseudo-vacation home. Lisa and I have been up there a handfull of times, including out Honeymoon. My most recent trip up there was in February 2006, when Vijay and I went on a ski trip ("Brokeback Weekend").

This fire, and recent ones as well, have been suspicious, to say the least. In the Littleton Courier this week, they wrote an article requesting information:

June 28, 2006
Officials asking for public's help with suspicious fires

TWIN MOUNTAIN—The New Hampshire State Police-Troop F and the New Hampshire Fire Marshall's Office request the assistance of the public as they investigate several suspicious fires that have occurred in western Grafton County during the past several months.

These fires have occurred in seasonal residences where no one was living at the time the fire occurred. The homes were generally located in somewhat remote areas of the county and were out of sight of a main road.

Because several recent fires appear to have questionable origins, all fires in the Grafton County area are being reviewed by the Fire Marshall's Office and the New Hampshire State Police in an effort to determine if there are any commonalities that may indicate any one person or person(s) may have been involved in one or more of these fires.

The public is being asked to be increasingly vigilant in noting any unusual behavior or activity occurring in their neighborhoods by any person or vehicle that seems to be out of place, or not belonging. A simple vehicle description with license plate number, number of occupants, description of occupants, and any other identifying features would be especially helpful to investigators as they look to develop possible leads as to who may possibly be responsible for setting one or more of these fires in the event it is determined that any of these fires are linked to one another.

Because these fires are in the investigative stage, specific case facts are not being released at this time.

Detectives are asking residents to call the New Hampshire State Police-Troop F if they see anything usual or hear of any information that they think might be of interest to investigators. Please contact Sgt. Robert Bruno at New Hampshire State Police

Troop F-Twin Mountain at 846-3333.

Nature Tally

I was eating my apple today, and looking out the window. There are berry-fruit trees outside, and all of a sudden, about 6 birds showed up. I noticed the Zorro mask on them, and remembered the berries. Guess what, it was a Cedar Waxwing. Thats the first one that I saw. They kind of look like cardinals, but are much thinner, more narrow beaks, but they have the same "tuft" of feathers on their head. They are tan, almost a pale orange. I first thought they were orioles.

They have since been back to my window at work a few more times.

More recently, I spotted an Eastern Kingbird in the same trees.

So far this year, my bird sightings have included:
Bald Eagle
Cedar Waxwing
American Goldfinch
Orchard Oriole
Eastern Kingbird
Belted Kingfisher

Bushkill Falls

Since Saturday was Matt & Lara’s wedding, we had today Sunday free. Lisa and I decided to head to Bushkill Falls in Monroe County PA. For those of you who don’t know, Bushkill Falls is kinda like a tourist trap, and its located in the Poconos. So, imagine what traffic can be like in the summer. And it lived up to the hype, in both respects. Nonetheless, it has trails that are a few miles long, and some really impressive waterfalls.

We had gotten to the area around noon, just as some churched were letting out, as well as people heading to Pocono Speedway for the Pocono 500. I forgot that the race was that weekend. Luckily, we were heading in the opposite direction, and were not backed up/stopped for 3+ miles. On the way home, we took backroads through the Shawnee Resort area, as we had done once before. Lisa did a great job with the map!

By the way, the new Forester handled great. Climate Control was awesome. By the time we got home, the car was 3 days old, and already had 500 miles on it. Ugh.

We decided to do the falls since it had rained pretty good on Friday, and the creeks would have been a little swollen. Other than the requisite number of Mullets & the like, its was a good trip. I think that we may have seen a nighthawk nesting on the rocks near one of the waterfalls (check the pictures).

It took us about an hour or so to walk the long path around the place. When I was younger, I seemed to have remembered it taking way longer. I was also way smaller then too. Cross another outing off the list.

Pictures here.

All Wheel Drive is All We’ll Drive

Say goodbye to another Subaru, and hello to yet another. Yes, I have gone through a lot of Subarus. Every time people see me, I am in a new car. Here is my list:

1993 Legacy wagon, green
1997 Impreza wagon, black
1999 Outback, white
1999 Outback Limited wagon, black
2006 Forester Premium, Steel Grey Metallic

The 99 Outback was getting up there in mileage, as well as facing a high bill for routine maintenance. We felt it was time. Besides, Lisa wanted me to have a new car, as opposed to the constant spiral of used cars, and to be happy and secure. The financing was great, as were my negotiating skills.

The 2006 Forester is great. It is 5-star safety rated, has side airbags, and handles very impressively. We also got the extended warranty, to cover other high-ticket maintenance repairs in the future. We initially thought that the mileage on the warranty would run pretty fast, but that may change…

Pictures here.

Matt's Wedding

Back on June 10 was my cousin Matt's wedding. He married Lara, the girl he has held a flame for since high school. It was sweet to finally see them together, like a happy ending and all. Once again, Fr. Jude presided over the ceremony. Once again, the weather was great. Its kinda sad to see my younger cousins growing up, and getting married and having girlfriends and all.

The reception was at The Park Savoy. Nice spread. Too much spread, not enough time. Typical for me though. I like to eat. Great to see family again, especially my cousin Tanner from OR/AK.

Pictures here.

Segway Tours

On Sunday, we all met up in Philly for some i-Glide Segway Tours. These are guided tours around the Philly Art Museum, Fairmount Park, and the Schuylkill Canal Bike Path, all the while getting around on Segways.

At first, they felt a little awkward, but you learn it really easily. Heck, Marg didn't even have any problems. We were definetly feeling far superior to those other bi-peds on the sidewalk.

It was worth the novelty to use the Segways, as well as an opportunity to check out Philly's backyard.

Tracie's Pictures

My Pictures here.

Post-Memorial Day Party

Our (2nd) annual Memorial Day BBQ was on 6/03. It was pushed back a week, because of some wedding. There was the threat of rain all day. In fact, it showered in the morning, and began to clear out in the afternoon.

Earlier in the day, I had the Richland Township Clock dedication, and Lisa tried to man our rain-thinned community garage sale.

Pictures here.

I Really Love Your... Shandles

Call them by their brand name "Keens", or their cheaper Skecher knock-offs. Whatever brand they are, you must now refer to them as "shandles" (a conjunction of shoes and sandals). Are they shoes? Are they sandles?

I thought I would be cool this weekend, and wear my new Skechers for our party. Lisa's friends were commenting about my footwear. Apparently, they are not so in tune with the chic fashion of the hiking weekend warrior. They were almost mocking my shandles. They might not understand the necessity of the shandles' function. My feet and footwear operate at a higher humidity than most normal people, so I appreciate the ventilation of the sandle. However, when I wear my Tevas, I fear that I might rip off my toenail (kinda like what the gremlins do in that toenail fungus commercial), so I appreciate the toe gauntlet of the shandles. So, mock me if you will, I love my shandles.

The height of fashion now is to wear your shandles with your cutoff jorts.
"We REALLY love your Jorts!!"

-J

HI

Hi Phil and Debbie!! Thanks for checking out our BLOG!!!
-Lisa

I would like to thank those (few) dedicated visitors to our Blog site. P&D Barnes and Vijay, we thank thee.

-J

Anje's Wedding

Anje & Phil's wedding was over Memorial Day Weekend. It was abnormally hot, but still incredibly nice. Anje looked spectacular, and everything went great. It was at The Fairwinds, and the food was incredible. It was so much fun to be able to see all that family again, and not have to worry about it being our wedding.

The tables were all labeled for toxic plants, except for one. The "Windexia" table was for all of Phil's Greek relatives.
Anje & Phil used Bernardsville Fire Department's antique fire truck as their limo from church to the reception. What a nice touch! We capped off the weekend with another BBQ at BFD, after the parade.

Pictures here (and rehersal).

W/E in MD

On Friday night (5.19.06), Lisa had a Mary Kay appointment, and we once again continued along to the DC area. This time, we were seeing Tracie in Frederick, MD. On Saturday, we joined Ryan (TC's BF) and watched The Da Vinci Code. Good movie. On Saturday evening, we ventured into Harpers Ferry, WV for some ghost tours. The ghost tours were sweet, as was the entire town. All of the old town is preserved by the National Parks Service, and there are newer, more residential parts of town. This is definetly worth another visit during the day. I suggested to Vijay that we terminate the MD AT hike here, to kill some time in town. It would be a great hikecap.

Sunday morning came around, and I met up with Vijay to do a 6.x mile hike through Catoctin Mountain Park, north of Frederick. This hike had vistas and waterfalls. It was a hike that I had been waiting to do for some time. I also found out that the Catoctin Trail (through Frederick County and the Catoctin Ridge) is only ~26 miles. I will add this to my list of must-hikes. Maybe I can do it in one day, but definetly two.

Pictures here.

-j

Natural Nature

"Hi there, Mr. Toad (Bufo americanus). Would you like to come inside and get out of the rain?" During our thunderstorms last night (we got 2.5+ inches), Lisa and I were in the basement cleaning out stuff for our garage sale. I briefly looked out the window, and there was this little face staring back in. He had somehow wandered into the window well to our basement.

After it stopped raining (briefly), we ventured outside to help him get out of the window well, so he can continue on his way. I wonder if this is the same guy that we hear almost nightly.

Just after the toad incident, as we were getting into the car to go do some errands, we heard a Northern Grey Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor). I guess they're back out again too.

-j

Wedding Pictures are up!

Hi readers! Photos that we took of Anje and Phil's wedding this past Sunday can be found under the Our Photos link on the right side of this page.. Enjoy.

It was beautiful!!!
- Lisa