We finally made it to Green Lakes State Park yesterday afternoon, after a day of almost solid rain on Friday (our day off). The water is incredibly clear and green for a lake in central New York. We had lunch at the little cafe at the park’s golf course…BLT for me, burger for Fred. The boys enjoyed the walk, too, though Boo kept eating pine needles. Weird dog.
Here’s some info on the lake:
The centerpieces of the park are the two glacial “green” lakes. Why are they green? The answer is complicated. For one, the lakes are deep. Round Lake is measured at 180 ft deep, while Green Lake reaches 195 ft. Deep lakes tend to appear bluish because the wavelengths of light that can penetrate (and be dispersed at) great depths are those closer to the blue end of the spectrum.
Because of their depth and the high salinity of the basin waters, the lakes are meromictic and do not turn over and intermix waters like many other lakes in this region do. The Green Lake’s cold and dense bottom waters tend to stay separate from the shallower, warmer waters. Because of this, sediment sinks and collects in the bottom and virtually doesn’t decay. Since the sediment is not kicked up by mixing, the lakes do not take on a muddy, turbid appearance like other lakes do. Meromictic lakes also have still, mirror-like waters. The Green Lakes are no exception here. Their tranquil, reflective waters make for great photography.
After whining most of the night (pain, fear, morphine?) Scout seems much better today. We walked our usual route this afternoon and he trotted right along like always. He’s barking his head off at the TV which is another good sign. Boo’s snoozing, pretty much oblivious to HIS close call. All is once again right in our doggy world. Phew.
Half of the afternoon was chewed up with an after-church meeting. I felt myself fading with hunger and fatigue (I slept in fits and starts, listening to Scout whimper). We had a quick late lunch of cheeseburgers, then took our walk. The day was sunny and 60-ish. Beautiful for this time of year.
After the walk, we took a spin on the Spyder, and stopped at Dunkin Donuts for iced coffee. I’m finally feeling recharged. Sun, wind, caffeine, and a crisis averted will do that.
I’m almost feeling ready to charge into Monday. ALMOST.
Filed under: Pets
We started out on our evening walk, along our usual route (nice quiet neighborhood). Not far into it, we saw a young girl walking a Golden Retriever on the other side of the road. Then things got blurry. The dog dragged the girl across the street and then lunged at Boo and Scout. All I can see in my head is teeth and fur. Fred dragged Boo out of the way, and I TRIED to pick Scout up but couldn’t get my hands on him quickly enough. Somehow I ended up on my knees, shielding Scout. When it was over, I scooped up Scout and saw blood rise from a tear on his right side. Fred flew into an uncharacteristic rage (yelled at the shaken girl), while I told him to calm down and call the vet. STAT.
I THOUGHT that Scout was generally okay, but knew that he needed to be seen. The vet initially said that we should just use antibiotic ointment on the wound, but Fred insisted that Scout be seen and he finally agreed to meet us. Minutes later, we raced Scout to the vet where the doctor decided that, yup, this was a nasty enough injury to require stitches. He injected him with morphine and lidocaine, then went to work. Scout was a trooper. Not a peep out of him.
We’re home now and he’s had his first dose of antibiotic. My skinned knees are slathered with bacitracin and covered with band-aids. Though we’re ALL still a bit jumpy (well, except for Boo who is snoozing away), I’m sure we’re on the mend.
Aren’t weekends supposed to be relaxing?
Filed under: Pets
Here are the birthday boys.
Oh, how I wish it was this nice today. Fierce snow, rain, and wind is whipping us. Ick.
Off, in a bit, for dinner with the parents. Wild times.
Filed under: Pets
Flickr’s acting up so I’m trying direct uploading and it looks like it works fine. Cool.
P.S. I want Boo’s life…except for the food.
It’s late. This’ll be short. Really short. (Not to mention lacking in humor and details.) Aunt Clara’s in a nursing home now, so we spent the bulk of the day clearing out her apartment. Though I felt like a vulture, I snagged a few treasures. (More on that another day.) Boo and Scout came along for the ride and though they were in a state of high-anxiety all day (car ride = trip to kennel in their doggie minds), they relaxed a bit on the flatbed cart, while the heavy lifting was left to us humans. So the question is…who’s the stupid animal??
Thanksgiving 2007Originally uploaded by Mary’s pics
Back home after a big, loud dinner and a cold, cold walk. No watch. No bra either. Fuzzy slippers. Hot orange zinger tea, two warm puppies, and three dozing cats.
We blew off church this morning as we’ve been needing a day to just hunker down and get some things done (and to maybe get ahead a little bit?). Fueled with French toast, Fred took care of the leaves and the laundry, while I made meatballs for later in the week and chopped veggies (onions, peppers, mushrooms) for tomorrow’s dinner recipe from Everyday Food (Cornbread & Beef Skillet Pie). We took a short ride to get lunch at A&W, then took the pups for a walk around the usual route. I also ironed three outfits to get a jump on the week…something I never do.
We hit PetsMart this evening and took Boo along. He rode in the “seat” part of the cart. People were laughing at him because he was making the saddest puppy dog eyes and kept shaking. Must be he thought that we were going to leave him there for another haircut. Cute.
Yesterday I made progress on my (80) Christmas cards by cutting out all of the stamped designs that I finished coloring last week. Now I have to cut 80 mats, mat the designs, and glue them to card stock. Why the hell didn’t I work on this while I was home this summer? Oh…I know…because it was summer. Santa has little appeal when you’re on the patio sweating.
Early last week we turned in my GTI (the “red rocket”) and bought a 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander. I loved driving the GTI but it sucks in snow…which we knew when we bought it but chose to ignore. I get VERY attached to cars and feel like I’m abandoning them when I turn them in, so I was very torn about the whole thing. But now that I have the Outlander, I love it. And I won’t be scared about driving to work in a snowstorm. I spent a chunk of time Friday evening getting the hands-free Bluetooth cell phone dealie synced up and working. I’m not big on talking on the phone (sort of hate it), but I love the feature. You know…just in case.
Should’ve worked on cards this evening, but I flipped through the Sunday paper and kept one eye on “The Amazing Race” instead.Monday looms. Ick.
Living with intention...or not 
