Pets at Christmastime

The older I get the more frequently my lens turns toward our family pets. This was Blackbeard's first Christmas with us, and his impact was immediately felt as no ornaments were hung closer than four feet to the ground (and no glass ornaments at all were hung this year). This is Gracie's twelfth holiday with us. She was a gift to our kids when she was three months old in 2003. I love these animals.

Each year Gracie gets a new baby for Christmas; one that she invariably will "love to death."

Generally not a fan of catnipped toys, Blackbeard
took a liking to this little monkey.

Usually inseparable, this is as close as these two
came to one another on Christmas morn.

Harvest of Stink 2014

Many very mature gingko fruit pile up at the base of the tree. (11/3/13)

Few things would make me happier than to be able to write that this fall has been different. But, sadly, the song (or the stink) remains the same.

It has been four autumns (2008) since I last posted about the stink that occasionally emanates in fall from the narrow strip of lawn between our house and our neighbors. After having determined the source of the smell (and happily realizing it was neither our neighbor nor the dog poo I religiously pick up and deposit into the garbage can): a large ginkgo tree. The ginkgo borders both yards and is in the area under which we park our vehicles each day and when it "blooms" it grows fruit. And when the fruit falls to the ground it lays there until being either stepped or run over by our cars... and then they STINK. The fruit releases its odor when it is bruised or crushed (triggering the decay process).

Trust me when I tell you that despite
driving for days at high speeds
that rotten fruit will still be on
 the car hood! (11/8/14)

Upon first experiencing the phenomena of this "stink fruit," I was particularly surprised to learn that that trees can come in “genders,” being either male or female. Because it does bear fruit, it was not too much of a leap to surmise that our tree was female.

This conclusion was not confirmed by checking under its leaves. According to one website, “…female trees will bear yellowish plum-shaped fruit with a somewhat foul smelling meat (like rancid butter some say) whose outer skin is mildly toxic. Fallen fruits will usually burst open their fleshy coating, thus releasing the odor. In an outdoor setting, the smell is not too overpowering, but avoid planting near car ports or along roads as some people have reported paint damage from the fruits juices…” Stupendous!

The gingko in fall; note the fruits swept
 off the driveway to avoid bruising...
and smelling. (11/3/13)

Even after 10+ years living in our home, it does not surprise me is that the previous owners would plant such tree especially given its unique (albeit noxious) nature. When we first moved in, every room was a different shade of grey (including the exterior), and because they had been recreational bonsaists(?), shelves cobbled together with cinder blocks and boards were a central component of the garden. And guess what... the ginkgo tree is a favorite of Bonsai enthusiasts, but they usually know it as the Maidenhair Tree, as the small, bonsai trained leaves turn to a striking gold hue in the Fall.

FYI, even better squirrels and other (gulp)
rodents dig the nuts!

Because ginkgo's will take about 20 years of growth before they start to reproduce, we can deduce that the tree has been here for at least two decades, and being the first time in our four years here that the fruits have appeared, we had not previously noticed the scent. Where we go from here is unclear, and while the fruit can be harvested and the nuts removed from the pungent smelling meat of the fruit roasted for eating, given the height of the tree, and my cowardice in the face of scaling it, this is unlikely. In some ways it is neat to have such an usual tree (one landscaper we had come a few years ago to trim some other trees in our yard was very enthusiastic to find it in the city), as according to an online blog post I came across by a former "street tree program manager" (forester?), "Many cities no longer plant the female ginkgo."

So while we will not be collecting fruit, we will continue to harvest the stink and continue to make the best of it while attempting to come to terms with our smelly, unique ginkgo! On second thought, looking out the window this morning I realize that the majority of fruit HAVE NOT EVEN DROPPED YET (looks like a bottom to top up pattern of dropping)! Perhaps it's time to either put the ginkgo up for adoption or send it on to tree heaven.

Still MANY more left to fall! (11/8/14)

This really is kind of a bummer. (11/8/14)

"Fallen fruits usually burst open their fleshy coating releasing the odor"... uh-oh! (11/3/13)

Frosty Flowers, Moon & Dog

This past Saturday, my wife and I loaded the dog into the card and headed out to Bath, New York, to help her mother shut down the summer camp. While we had been aware, task to the scare-mongering of the local weather-folks, that there was a chance of a frost Sunday morning, we had no idea how cold it would be. Fortunately it was also somewhat picturesque, so we took the camera with us as we walked the dog at 6 a.m. The cold temperatures, clear skies, fall foliage and goofy dog made for some interesting pictures.

Giving Thanks for Ugly Dog

I'll admit it; I enjoy watching the Purina National Dog Show on Thanksgiving Day. It has become almost as much of a tradition as checking out the last few minutes of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to watch the most recent incarnation of Santa Claus start the holiday shopping season.

There is just something oddly regal about the dog show on network television. This morning J. Peterman... er... John O'Hurley will once again host the Philadelphia Kennel Club's dog show. In between the well-bread Spaniels and Toy Poodles, I suspect I will once again be reminded of, as I am annually, Thanksgiving 2005, when I first read of the passing of a legendary canine competitor named Sam.

Sam  passed away in November 2005.

So it is on this Thanksgiving morning in 2012, that I take a moment to go back and reread the article that first caught my eye as I signed onto Yahoo and came across the image to the left accompanied by the headline "World's Ugliest Dog Dies at 14". This was the story of Sam, an award winning pedigreed Chinese crested who had reached something of a celebrity status in the world of "ugly dog contests."

Lately I've been thinking about my own dog Gracie, who works with me in the back yard during fall clean-up, lays with me when I read, or whines (occasionally) when I leave, and how much she means to my family and I. She and I have been at this for almost nine years now, though most days the time has physically only passed for me.

Like Sam the Ugly Dog, Gracie can sometimes be what I affectionately call a "knucklehead." But I'll be darned if she isn't consistently forgiving of my family's (as well as my own) foibles and screw-ups. I freely acknowledge (with little need for confirmation, thank you) that I am a knucklehead sometimes many times, too. On his passing, Susie Lockheed, Sam's owner, noted that "I don't think there'll ever be another Sam. Some people would think that's a good thing." Not me, and how unfortunate for those who miss the part of what makes Sam a distinctly human symbol.

The memory, or idea, of Ugly Dog continues to stay with me even year later, as a bygone representation of my own knuckleheadedness, especially in, on occasion, judging things or people by their superficial traits. That knee-jerk reposes to new and strange "things" is inside you, too, I'd reckon. But, just like our incredibly, great nation that will once and a while take a misstep regardless of what your political affiliation is, we can always return to our balancing point by self-correcting and making whole that which we have diminished.

I never even realized that Sam the Ugly Dog was even "there" until he passed, but, as I embrace and struggle with my own inner Ugly Dog, I feel a slight bit less for his having passed. On Thanksgiving, I try to show gratutiude for all I have receievd by doing my best not dismiss those other Ugly Dogs out there whose beauty is only waiting to be seen, when I choose to allow it to be revealed to me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Veggie Baby Pictures!

My yardwork companion, Gracie (with eggplant), ever vigilant in sneaking into both the garden and the picture.

Took advantage of a rare cool day to inspect the garden and was very pleased to see actual "fruit on the vines!" It seems as though its been a long wait this year, but things seem to be developing quickly. I further tribute to my need to accrue silly hobbies, I took it upon myself to snap some "baby pictures," (though some of them--like Mr. Green Bell Pepper--are well on their way to soon being plucked. It occurs to me that these pictures represent a perfect storm of sorts--my poor gardening and photography skills merged into a single tribute to a Forrest Gump-like ability to wander into beautiful things--enjoy!

There is something beautiful about a vegetable that grows and doesn't look like the plastic ones they sell at stores.

If we're fortunate we'll grow enough of these to last until chili season in the fall.

Cucumbers--these bad boys have already found their way into a few salads.

Walk: 3.3 miles @ 6:50 a.m.

Gracie taking a "cool down lap" in the backyard immediately following our walk around the neighborhood.

Weather: Partly Cloudy, 65°F, 81% Humidity, Wind: From WSW @ 9 mph; feels like 65°F.
Steps: 6580
Time: :54.46
Pace: :16.35 min/mile
Effort: 3 of 5
How did I feel? Alright.

This morning I was achier than usual, a condition I'll attribute to having had a glass of wine last night before bed, and, thinking I could use a little company, decided to bring our dog, Gracie, with me. Sometimes when being out-and-about, Gracie is not as sociable as she could or should be, but this morning she was very well-behaved. It would be unfair to blame our slowish pace on her, as she was ready to go more quickly, though with reckless abandon.

Dog Walking and Road Racing!

Gracie and Anne following a walk last summer...
me thinks it may be time to update my catalog of "stock" dog pix!
Walk: 2 miles @ 1:30 p.m.
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 73°F, 51% Humidity, Wind: From NNE @ 5 mph; feels like 73°F.
Course: The Park Avenue neighborhood of Rochester, NY.

With no work today (the summer school program for which I teach does not run on Fridays), no one else at home, and all of the chores on my agenda crossed off for the day, I decide to take our English Springer Spaniel, Gracie, for a walk around the neighborhood.

I am sorry to confess that I don't take her walking as much as a better owner would, but when I do she greatly enjoys being out among the other dogs and people in our high-pedestrian-traffic neighborhood. She behaved wonderfully (natch!) and was equally thankful for the heaping bowl of ice water and big cookie upon our return home.

I also stopped by one of our local running stores and signed up for a 5k this coming Sunday. Though I had already signed up for the September 12 Rochester half-Marathon, I thought it might be prudent to get out and at least reacquaint myself with road racing, albeit at a much shorter distance. My sense is that the Peter Cannon Memorial 5k will be a smaller event (< 250 registrants?--there are quite a few of 5ks being run this weekend!) though I hope they generate a lot of money as it is to honor the memory of a recently deceased local high school athlete.

My personal goal for this 5k is, as always (though very different from more competitive years past), to simply finish feeling well and with a smile on my face...

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Haik-roo, Too

Not much running going on these past few days, but sitting at the kitchen table after work yesterday, greeting our dog Gracie "good evening," I was inspired to craft a haik-roo:

puppy licking beard:
a hint of genuine love
or lunch residue?

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

An Early Autumn Hike

The view onto Deep Pond in Mendon Ponds Park, New York.
Hike: 3 or so miles in approx. 45:00 min. @ 1:00 p.m.
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, 52°F, 76% Humidity, Wind: SW @ 6 mph; feels like 49°F.
Pace: Leisurely, with dog in tow
Location: Mendon Ponds Park.

Yesterday, Anne, Gracie and I took advantage of the cool fall day to get out of the house and go of a "hike" (more of a "country walk," really) over familiar ground at Mendon Ponds Park. While the fall foliage was far from peak, there were some pretty trees transitioning and plenty of mud for the dog to tramp through...

Gracie learns to walk along moss-covered trees... with only a fews slips!
Hundred Acre Pond in Mendon Ponds Park, New York
Gracie proudly displays her bib full of collected debris!
Anne and Gracie walking ahead along the plank bridge to the edge of Deep Pond.
A soft seed on the exposed section of a felled tree.
Happy trails and roads to you!

Final 50k Roadie Preparations

Sometime late tomorrow afternoon, Anne, Gracie (our dog) and I will all pile into the Prius and head out to her parents camper in Bath, N.Y., to spend the evening before my race in Hector, N.Y., the following morning. While this statement and trip seems simple enough, even simple decision are not without there complications.

Originally we had intended to camp overnight at the Potomac Campgrounds in the Finger Lakes National Forest, the location of both the start and finish of the Finger Lakes Fifties. This idea became less desirable the closer to the date of the run, especially given the insane amounts of precipitation we have been experiencing in upstate New York over the past week.

While Anne and I enjoy camping (her son and I actually set up the tent last week to be surer all the "parts" were still there and intact), we have done the whole "camping-in-monsoon-rains" trip before and were not looking forward to a replay. The weather and the understandable desire on Anne's part not to be trapped in a tent/camp alone with our dog for six hours was more than enough for us to asks her parent's if we could stay at their camp. Being the kind folks that they are (and as we both anticipated) this proved to be "no problem at all!"

The plan (as it stands) now is to head to Bath, drop our things off, then head directly out to the race site so that we can be sure we know where to go, pick up the race packet, and time how long it takes to ravel between both points so that I can determine just what time we need to wake up the next morning in order to be at the start a half-an-hour prior to the race beginning.

The initial trip (Friday afternoon) from our home to Bath will take approximately 90 minutes. According to Yahoo Maps, it will then take us about 55 minutes from the camper to the race site. The only real potential problems lie in the reality that it is both the Fourth of July weekends and there will be a Formula 1 car race in Watkins Glen this weekend, a town we need to pass through on our way to Finger Lakes National Forest.

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

Guarding Gardens with Gracie

Alliteration aside, our English Springer Spaniel, Gracie, does her best to pitch in when it comes to maintaining our vegetable and annuals gardens each Spring and Summer. Though she may occasionally find herself wandering to close into the crops herself, she does greatly seem to enjoy the task of milling about the plants looking for squirrels and birds to play with.


There is a small entrance to an underground lair to the left of the shed that Gracie pretends not to notice. While I'm certain something frequents that area, the perimeter is safe when Gracie is on patrol.


Gracie seems to understand that standing among the recent plantings is actually good for them, she remains keenly aware that the humans do NOT also understand this, so she waits for them to leave to find an opportune time to snuggle the tomato plants.

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!