Bike Along the Ausable

I know it's been awhile, but I have a gem of a story to tell you.

A few years back, okay a decade back, I was a lonely graduate student living along the banks of the Thames River. I needed my own set of wheels to get to and fro and stumbled upon the most amazing bike that I ever laid eyes on. The vintage Raleigh came equipped with a basket on the back for my groceries and a headlight that would shine up the streets as I pedaled home after an evening of drinking at the pub. I loved this bike and called it Rusty Raleigh. He cost me 35 pounds and was my constant companion. We would bike along the river, go for picnics together at Hampton Court Palace and of course, have photo shoots.

To say I was attached, is an understatement. When it was time to return to the United States, I feared Rusty's future. I found out how expensive it was to ship him and as a poor student, I didn't have that kind of money. I found him a good home with another graduate student that was selected through an interview process. I'm kidding. Well, kind of.

Once I returned home, I bought myself a mountain bike. It just wasn't the same. My family and friends knew how much I missed Rusty and were on the look out for a replacement, not that he could ever be replaced, but perhaps we would find a similar bike. Alas, my sister and I were at an antique fair and Rusty's doppelganger was spotted. She saw the look of joy in my eyes and she bought it for me right on the spot.

We loaded it into my car and it came home to the Adirondacks. This "new-old" bike was fun to ride, but needed some work. Rusty Junior waited patiently while I trained for marathons and grew tired of it. Finally, last fall I brought my bike to LeepOff Cycles in Keene Valley. The owner, Mark is a great mechanic and specializes in fixing up old bikes. He researched and ordered tires that would give me a smooth ride, replaced the cracked cables and gave it a tune-up. By the time I got the bike back, the temperatures weren't ideal for a cruise and it would wait for me through the winter.

With unseasonably high temps this weekend, my friend Ann planned on going for a bike ride. I thought the sunny day was as good as any to take Rusty Junior for a spin, complete with a photo shoot with his new friend.

Maybe it was the spring air or it was the friend by my side, but I found myself truly enjoying the ride. Something tells me I'm going to love riding this bike along the Ausable.

Falling Sidewalk Update

Last week I managed to make the sidewalk fall. The town was quick to respond and is giving pedestrians plenty of warning about the safety of the sidewalk.

Where the Sidewalk Falls

As a child, Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein was one of my favorites.

The poems and drawings inside were brilliant and always made my mind wonder if such things could actually happen. Nah, never. It was all for fun.

Think again.

The other day as I was walking near the Covered Bridge, the sidewalk gave out. Yes. Little old me managed to break through the sidewalk. I did not fall to the center of the earth as you might be imagining right now, but mid-stride a cobble stone fell out and down to who knows where.

My left foot was on the sidewalk while my right foot and shin had been grabbed by the sidewalk. I had no idea what had happened because there was no hole for me to step in. It was true, the force of my weight and the push of my stride broke the sidewalk. After pulling my foot out, I investigated and looked under the stones. I have come to the conclusion that since this part of the sidewalk was near a grate, water must have been rushing underneath during the recent flooding and washed away the ground below.

I realize that the Town of Jay Highway Department has a lot to do right now trying to put roads back together and such, but I did call (as any good citizen would) to inform them of the falling sidewalk near the Covered Bridge.

They are probably running out of cones and/or signs to warn other pedestrians from this happening, so consider yourself warned. Oh, and for the record, I did not break my ankle.

Great Blue Heron

I am happy to report that after the recent stoning of a heron down at the Covered Bridge, I was greeted by a new heron sitting by the rapids this morning.

After seeing the other heron on many morning runs, I was so sad to hear that one of my daily pleasures had been taken away from me. This morning's heron filled me with happiness, what a great way to start the day.

Gone Postal

The time has come when I can finally reveal the use of the thingamajig that we purchased at the Adirondack Attic last week. A mailbox post to rest the fabulous mailbox my crafty sister painted for us!

I'll provide you with a close up of her paint job.

Landscape with Covered Bridge, Jay, NY

I have to say, I'm pretty lucky to have her as my big sister. As kids we frequented a mailbox that played music and since she remembered how obsessed I was by it, she took a musical card that played, "Super Freak" and had an engineer at work attach it so when you opened the mailbox, it would burst into song. The postman first opened it this morning and had a surprise tune. I'm guessing the music startled him because he delivered a letter addressed to the wrong person.

After 3 1/2 years of driving to the post office for our mail, we can simply walk down the driveway to retrieve it. Now we'll just have to see how our mailbox does against the snow plow this winter.

Sign in the Middle of the River

Has anyone else been by the old bridge foundation on 9N between Upper Jay and Jay recently and wondered what the sign in the middle of the river said?

Have no fear, I went home and put on my water shoes. I dragged my husband along for the drive back to the bridge, we waded in and found out exactly what it said.

Are you running like a: Gorilla, Frog, Deer

I don't know about you, but I found it confusing to see this sign stapled to a log in the middle of the Ausable River. I guess if I had to pick which animal I most run like, I'd probably say a gorilla. What about you?

Making Porch History

Last month I wrote about the saga of the missing porch. We had some issues with losing our cat to its scary underworld and thought we needed to remedy the problem. In general, the porch was a little shabby to begin with and no, I don't mean shabby chic.

So, the porch was destroyed and my thoughts went to fabulous porches and reconstruction. Just across the covered bridge from us was a beautiful Victorian house that had a gorgeous wrap-around porch.

Running across the covered bridge through to the other side, the big old porch would greet me with its intricate architectural elements and I would daydream about sitting up there looking out at the river rapids. One morning, I took another running route and did not start my day passing the vacant 19th century home. Instead, a neighbor walked her dog and saw smoke coming from the home. I was already at work when I found out.

The house had been destroyed and was considered a complete loss. The charred porch, still showed signs of grandness.

This spring, demolition on that home began and we were able to purchase two of the salvaged columns. Drew rebuilt our porch and although it is small, we are very pleased that a piece of Jay's history is now a part of our home sweet home.

Thank you to Patti F for providing photos

Running For Reading

As I recently mentioned, this round of marathon training has been slower than usual. I am okay with that, but I'm starting to see habits forming. As I begin to know more and more of you within the community, I find myself breaking stride and stopping to chat.

I might be in the middle of a 15 mile run trying to crest a hill and catch up to you while you are walking your dog, so I stop and walk with you and chat. Then another 30 minutes goes by and find myself on a tour of a property that I often admire. Sometimes I stop running because I finally see a fellow knitting group friend outside weeding after having heard through the grapevine that she had been in the hospital. Maybe my pace slows because I have a question about a cool sign on the side of a barn or finally get to meet the owner and learn the names of the dogs that chase me up the hill from within their electric fence.

These last few months of running have made me really appreciate all the waves and big smiles I get from those of you in your vehicles passing by. I don't even know most of your names, but I thank all of you for getting me through those dark, cold mornings. I am so lucky to be able to run safely in such a wonderful community and for that I am racing for the Wells Memorial Library at the Vermont City Marathon on May 29th and hope that I can raise funds for what I believe is an important organization that brings people in our community together. It also helps that the library is sometimes on my running route and I can always stop in, fill up my water bottles and fuel up with some candy.

I have 26.2 miles to run, so whether it's 10 cents or 10 dollars a mile, please consider making a pledge to support the Wells Memorial Library. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below with your email address or you can send your donation to: Wells Memorial Library, PO Box 57, Upper Jay, NY 12987.

Thank You!

Phone Booth Found!

Do you remember when I was upset about the Jay phone booth being taken away and how I tried to track it down? To refresh your memory you can read about it here.

Well, the other night we were driving along Rt. 9N and I spotted it! There standing in all its glory was the phone booth hiding behind someone's garage. It all happened so quickly, I didn't know if it was a mirage. I just knew I needed to go back during daylight to see if it was really there.

My husband wanted to go up the driveway to see it, but I thought that was a little intrusive and I didn't want to get in trouble for trespassing. I had to settle for staying 100 yards back.

I know what you're thinking, "Where is it? How did she see it?" Well, I see everything. Please don't think I'm a stalker or anything, but when your beloved phone booth has gone missing and it is whispering your name in the night, you most certainly are going to see it shining under the light of the garage up on the hill.

Standing on 9N, the phone booth seemed a little sad. This is where you tell me objects don't have feelings and that I was being unrealistic to say in a recent article in Adirondack Life, "I felt like I had a relationship with it."

I guess my expectations for the phone booth's new life was too high. I can only hope that the phone booth is treated with respect and the new person in its life, treats it well.

Adirondack Birch Worx

Have you stopped into the place with all the bay windows in Jay yet? Do you even know what I'm talking about? Yes, yes it is the one on Rt. 86 on the left before you drive the final hill down into Jay. Since opening in September, I had been meaning to go in and check it out.

As it turns out, "Adirondack Birch Worx" does not sell bay windows. They sell a variety of Adirondack style furniture and accessories. Carl, an ex-welder turned furniture designer can take any old log and create a unique piece of furniture. His slogan is "We make it look like it grew there!"

Carl is passionate about what he does and is trying to get other artisans in to sell their work here. One older artisan, Don Whalley, only 84 years of age has for sale a variety of items showcasing his burl work.

His work at this stage in his life, seems very refined and delicate, something that I could imagine would take years to achieve. Nothing like the bulky lamp I discovered in the corner that had a whole lot going on with it.

I asked for the full effect and had them turn the lamp on for me. It was then, with the extra light, that I could see it wasn't just the fawn at the base and the pine marten on the elbow. There were two squirrels poking out of the lamp too! Apparently, they were all found within two miles from one another as road kill. Can you not see it? I'll provide you with a larger image.

I asked who made it and Carl said it was one of Don's earlier, less refined pieces. He had sold it two dozen years ago to a couple and when the wife's husband died, she called him up and told him to take it back! I can't say I blame her.

Covered Bridge Mystery

I notice things that most people never see and I guess I ponder things that others would never waste their time thinking about.

Like today for instance, I took great pleasure in being the first one to cross the Covered Bridge. When my footprints sank into last night's snowfall at the bridge's entrance, I wondered how long it had been since someone else had walked across it. Then, just a few strides in, I noticed something so peculiar. There on the ground of the Covered Bridge was a small pile of pencil shavings resting atop fresh snowflakes.

Weird, huh? I glanced around looking for other clues to provide me with some background information on the remains of this No. 2 pencil. There was nothing other than an old cigarette butt further down.

I don't know why, but I've always thought that at some point in my life I might be needed in a crime scene investigation and the FBI might ask me everything I know and can remember. I am observant and think that I'd make a good lady detective.

Not that I would ever, ever want this to happen, but if some child was abducted and they found her backpack with a pencil sharpener inside and evidence that it had been used just hours ago, my observations would be useful.

I'm just saying, sometimes it's good to question things.

Missing Phone Booth Adventure

I received an email this morning, "Where is the Jay phone booth? Gone!"

I thought for sure this was some kind of practical joke since I was just preaching about my love of the phone booth the night before. I immediately hopped in my car with my pajamas still on and drove to find the truth.

It was true. The phone booth was missing.

I drove home immediately, gobbled up some peanut butter toast as fast as I could because I feared if I didn't find out the phone booth's fate, it would be too late. I was worried it would end up crushed at some scrap metal factory.

The Town of Jay informed me that it was the property of Frontier and they were the ones that removed it. Next, I knocked on the work building's door for Frontier in Ausable Forks and a nice employee told me his coworker took it home with him. He was reluctant to give out his information to a crazy woman demanding to know where the phone booth went, probably because he thought I might consider stealing it. I gave him my contact information and went along my way in hopes of some day being able to say good bye to the charming structure and take a picture of it at its new home.

This is a bittersweet ending to my morning's missing phone booth adventure. I am sad that this historical artifact is now missing for the public to see at our Village Green, but am happy that it is still intact and will be taken care of by a fellow phone booth fan.

Rosa Gets a Little Help From Ward Lumber

Something magical happened today. Rosa drove into the garage for the first time! However, she struggled moving over the cement entrance because of its unevenness. Luckily, we live just down the road from Ward Lumber and thought if we could buy some gravel and spread it over the dips it would be a smooth ride in and out for her.

Since most people aren't doing the landscaping thing at this time of year, the only option was a bag of white marble gravel. After purchasing a 50 pound bag, they called on the radio for someone to meet us with a forklift at Building Two because it had been put "up in the air" for the winter.

While waiting, Drew spotted what we needed and maneuvered the bag down himself.

Just as he was bringing the marble down, the forklift showed up. The worker just shook his head and said the same thing we were thinking, "All this for just a bag of marble. A bit overkill, huh?"

Ward Lumber always provides the best service and continues to go above and beyond. They continue to impress me, even if it is just a $4 bag of marble to help Rosa.

Trail Running Adventures

I know it has been awhile since my last post and before any rumors start, I need to tell you that I have not been in rehab. I'd like to say that I have been on a glorious summer vacation far far away, but I've been along the Ausable this whole time.

Honestly, sometimes life here does feel like a vacation. My early morning trail runs have all the elements of a great getaway: beauty, laughter and wildlife.

I see the same landscape everyday and it never gets old. I could run up the Lake Road from Ausable Club to Indian Head a billion times and I think the view would take my breath away each and every time.

Ausable Lakes from Indian Head

Some mornings aren't as peaceful as a running break on top of Indian Head. On Tuesday morning, Drew and I headed over to the trails in Ausable Acres and in the first mile, I tripped on a rock. I flew through the air and fell flat on my stomach in the dirt. Within seconds of landing on the ground and realizing I hadn't broken anything, I began laughing hysterically.

Drew stood over my body on the ground and said, "Wow! That was impressive. You're laughing, so I guess you're okay. I really wish I had a camera right now!"

I stood up with tears streaming down my face from laughing so hard and discovered that the entire front side of me was covered in dirt. He now refers to me as Pete Rose.

The rocks and roots brought me down that day, but it wasn't enough to keep me away from the trails this morning with my friend Amy, who was visiting from Lake Tahoe.

As we were gabbing away on the Wilmington Flume Trails, we heard something in the woods off to our right. This was not the sound of a pine cone falling to the forest floor. We stopped dead in our tracks when we saw a black animal running away from us. At first I thought, "How rare, I've never seen a black fox before." But then we saw a better view of the animal and knew for sure it was a black bear cub.

No, this picture did not come from my camera. The picture I took was a blurry mess. I spent half the day obsessing over images of Black Bear Cubs because it was so darn cute.

As we slowly walked backwards, our eyes scanned the forest around us. We were nervous that we were on the trail between Mama and Baby Bear. A couple minutes passed and we felt safe enough to continue running forward while the cub scurried up the mountain. Amy and I picked up the pace for that section of the trail and made it back to the car without seeing the mother.

I wonder what might happen during tomorrow's run?

For Sale: Water Tube

After purchasing three tubes from the Mountaineer less than 24 hours ago, I have discovered that tubing down the river is not for me.

Our friend Heather from Colorado was visiting and we thought it would be fun to float down the river to our house. We started our journey from the parking area on 9N between Upper Jay and Jay. Everything started off smoothly and I was loving life.

A little more than half a mile later down stream, I could tell my body wasn't liking the adventure. I had visions of myself grabbing onto the bridge foundation and holding on for dear life like Anne of Green Gables did before Gilbert rescued her.

No, the current wasn't strong and I was not in danger of drowning. This lazy river tubing adventure was carrying us at a rate of less than one mile an hour. You see, my body is fragile and I am prone to motion sickness. I have gotten sick while flat water kayaking on Mirror Lake. I thought I would be fine just floating down the river not exerting myself. However, I am a freak of nature.

Drew and Heather were perfectly happy drifting further and further down the river away from me.

Something happened 1 1/2 miles down. I vomited. Yes, that's right, I puked. It was a technicolor yawn. I tossed my cookies. Upchucked. Barfed. Threw up. Hurled. This projectile ralph happened in my beloved river.

I was still only about half way to our house and had no choice but to float and walk along the river banks while my husband and friend laughed at me during other bouts of vomiting. This unfortunately is something Drew has gotten used to over the years with me.

Finally we rounded the final river bend and came to the parking area less than a mile walk to our house. I exited the river and waved down a woman that I've seen often while running in the morning to give me a ride to the Covered Bridge to meet them.

Drew and Heather completed the three mile river journey. Drew ended it with a grand finale of sliding down the rapids just before the bridge. He obviously had no problems with his stomach.

So, if anyone else would like to give it a try, I know of one River Rat tube that won't be used anytime soon.

Buttons Buttons

Facing the Jay Village Green is one of my favorite houses. If you've been to the Green, you know the house. It's the one with the awesome wrap-around porch, purple and green trim and the Cottage garden that comes up to the sidewalk. This is the home of Buttons Buttons.

Buttons Buttons is a vintage textile business. Barbara works with a huge collection of vintage fabric and antique buttons in her studio on John Fountain Road.

She takes old textiles and turns them into one of a kind pillows that almost look too pretty to lay your head on.

If you want something a little bit more rugged, you should check out her collection of Porch and Adirondack pillows.

I think Buttons Buttons hours might be a hit or miss type thing, but she also has a booth at Red Barn Antiques in Upper Jay which is open Wednesday - Sunday. It was here I first saw her work and fell in love with these two little lampshades she created.

If you are looking for a special gift for someone (hint, hint) or just need a little inspiration, check out Buttons Buttons in Ye Olde hamlet of Jay.

90 Degree What?!

What does one do when family comes to town during a heat wave?

1. Take turns hugging the icy North Pole.

2. Drive 1000 feet from the house in an air conditioned vehicle to the famous swimming hole and submerse your body into the refreshing Au Sable River.

3. Decide you are not leaving "Heaven on Earth" anytime soon and finally turn into a swimmer after 32 years.

4. Don't cook, go to A&W for dinner and drink Root Beer Floats.

5. Repeat step 3, walk down to the river for a quick dip before bed and wait for the sun to go down.

Clean Up Day

Once a year, the town of Jay has "Clean Up Day." As a resident you are able to bring most unwanted items that have been taking up space at your home and dump it for free.

We gathered up a few empty paint cans and I brought them to the Town Highway Garage on Valley Road. When I arrived at 8:30 am, there was already a good size dump pile.

After handing over the paint buckets, I couldn't help but notice some pretty nice items. I restrained myself from taking home the Adult Baby Blue Tricycle, but asked about an old Radio Flyer wagon sitting off to the side. One of the workers had dumped it off that morning and admitted to having reservations about doing so because two generations in his family rode in the wagon, but felt it was time to part ways. He and his son helped me load it into the back seat of my car and I could tell that he was happy that someone rescued it from the dump pile.

I'll just have to have my own little "Clean Up Day" and spruce up my new Radio Flyer.