Columbus Day Hike: Owl's Head Mountain

I usually work on Columbus Day, but this year I had it off, so Sister and I took advantage of the good weather and our free time to squeeze in some leaf peeping before the trees are completely bare. Owl's Head, in Long Lake, NY, was our destination. We chose this based on location and its climbable tower for foliage picture taking. It looked like we had just missed "peak" foliage, but the colors were beautiful nonetheless.



The trail was covered in crisp orange, red, and brown leaves - even the smallest chipmunks sounded like beasts with their feet crunching on the blanket of fallen leaves. It was an easy hike for the most part, despite the fact that it was our longest fire tower hike so far. After about 2.8 miles of hiking, we came across what is left of the old observers cabin. At a quick glance, it looked like a small cemetery, and in a way, the remaining cement blocks were like headstones marking the remains of the cabin.

Remains of the observers cabin

The tail end of the hike was the hardest part - steep, bare rock slimed with run-off from the top of the mountain. I lost my footing on a bare, wet rock and grabbed a tree for support. The tree trunk took off two small chunks of skin from my thumb, resembling a vampire bite, appropriate for the month of October I suppose...



The tower was climbable, and the cab was open! I was proud of my ability to recognize Blue Mountain without a map or guidebook. According to my Views from on High book, by John P. Freeman, you can also see Owl's Head Pond, Raquette Lake and Forked Lake. Because of its proximity, Long Lake is mostly hidden from view.

Blue Mountain from Owl's Head Tower

It was a 360 degree view from the tower, but even from the bottom of the tower you could see Blue Mountain, some foliage, and other gorgeous views.


The 35-ft Aermoter steel tower was built in 1919, and abandoned in 1970. DEC forest ranger Jim Waters, with the help of other DEC personnel and the Friends of Owl's Head Fire Tower, restored the tower in 2004.

See my Flickr set for all the photos from the hike!

Apple Cake

Every fall my mom always would make me her delicious apple cake. For the last couple years, after apple picking, I've called her for the recipe so I could use up some of the apples. I figured if I put the recipe in my blog, not only can I share it with everyone, but I can stop misplacing it and bugging her for it year after year, after year. In anticipation of this year's cake I bought an apple peeler/corer at Christmas Tree Shop!

Ingredients:
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
3 cups of apples (peeled, cored, and chopped)
1 tub of cream cheese frosting

My new apple peeler/corer

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 325^oF and grease a Bundt cake pan
• Combine eggs, sugar, and oil in one medium mixing bowl
• Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large mixing bowl
• Add the egg/sugar/oil mixture to the dry ingredients and stir - the batter will be very thick and difficult to mix
• Add the apples to the batter and mix well
• Pour into the Bundt cake pan and cook for 45 - 60 minutes or until cooked all the way through
• Warm the frosting until it's pourable, drizzle over the cake
  

Leaves that are Green: A Fall Collection

This video was made using pictures from my fall collection and a Simon and Garfunkel song titled "Leaves That Are Green."

Happy Fall!!!

One Year Celebration

Celebrate my one year anniversary on Etsy with a free gift!

A pair of Pumpkin Earrings will be shipped with any purchase from my Etsy shop, excluding custom orders, from now until October 22nd at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. The earrings you receive could either be on gold plated or silver plated ear wire, so please specify in your message to seller if you have a preference.


If you are only interested in purchasing a pair of these earrings (as opposed to purchasing anything else and receiving them for free), they are available here for only $5.00.

Election Fever

The upcoming election has inspired the crafting, and buying, of many political items. For some Etsians, it has inspired treasuries of the political nature, showing off the works of other artists that sell on Etsy.

My friend the political junkie, Storybeader, created a political treasury, titled Political Season, featuring items related to the candidates and/or their running mates. If you want to check out any of the items, you can get to each item by clicking on the picture of the treasury below, but hurry, it expires Saturday at 2:51 am.



I also created a political treasury related to the third and final debate. It is dedicated to Joe the Plumber, who just might be the most talked about American since Michael Phelps. All items are related to plumbing or plumbers. You can get to all 12 items, until Saturday by 01: 09 am, by clicking on the picture of the treasury below.



Thank you Deb for providing the screen shots.

Mama's Magical Baby Friendly Beads

Jen of Mama's Magic Studio and Baby Friendly Beads is the featured EtsyBlogger of October. Congrats, Jen! Jen is a domestic goddess and proud stay at home mom who is aspiring to be a children's book author.

Jen owes the success of here Baby Friendly Beads shop to her son. She realized when he was nine months that he needed something to occupy him while breast feeding, aside from pinching her and tugging on her hair. With this idea, the Nursing Necklace was born. All of her necklaces are baby safe, with one long continuous cord and knots, as opposed to clasps and connectors which can become weak and break. The best part is that the pieces are pretty enough to wear out as actual jewelry. Below is an example of her custom birth stone design, however, she also sells pre-made necklaces in many colors.


She also sells Reminder Bracelets, which can be used to keep track of which breast was used to nurses last. It can either be used to mark which was used last, or which should be used next. The baby friendly nursing reminder bracelet below is named Dorthy, with the colors of light blue, white, and red.


Jen doesn't just sell jewelry for women with nursing babies, however. In her second shop, Mama's Magic Studio, she sells cute Fraternal Earrings. She describes Fraternal Earrings as being like fraternal twins - not identical, but a great pair!


So check out Jen's two shops, and be sure to read her beautiful blog.

Black Mountain - The Eleventh Tower...

...And something to think about

On September 27th, Sister and I decided that we'd go by ourselves up Black Mountain to the tower, the 11th fire tower we've completed in the Fire Tower challenge. The original plan was to do the Sun Set hike on the mountain with the ADK group but between evening plans and the weather, it wasn't looking like a sun set hike was possible.

It was one of those drizzly days, a fog making the visibility only about 2 feet away. The hike up from Pine Brook Rd seemed fairly easy, no steep spots of note, just some loose rocks making my ankle roll all around. The distance of this trail is 2.5 miles, but there is a loop that you can take back a different way. In the interest of time, as apple picking was on our itinerary, we did the same route both in and out.

Fall foliage time in the Adirondacks

Somewhere along the trail we were startled by a grouse, rigorously flapping its wings and making a lot of noise, typical of that bird. What we didn't know at the time is that it was not only bear hunting season, but also grouse hunting season in the Adirondacks. A little further down the trail came what spooked me more than the grouse was the face appearing to float in mid air. It was not really a bodiless face, but a hunter dressed in complete camouflage. I didn't even notice that he was cradling a gun at first. Clearly getting a kick out of startling two young women, he sinisterly informed us not to worry... "he saw us coming." We were too spooked to take a picture - that's bad! We continued on our way, making loud human-like noises to make our presence known amongst other potential hunters.

The 'view' from the summit.

At the summit, the supposedly beautiful views were blocked by the dense fog. The tower was nearly blocked by the foggy mist as well. It took a few minutes to realize that the tower we saw was really the old fire tower, which had been converted into a public service radio antenna! The steel tower was built in 1918, but is now obviously closed to the public. Looking at the tower, you can make out the old cab, and the stairs leading up to it. The tower is now surrounded by a locked fence and barbed wire.

The Frankentower

There was a windmill built around 1996 to provide power to one of the radio installations, making lots of noise and eventually rattled itself dead within a year. The windmill had been repaired, and according to many resources, it still stands. Fellow hikers that had hiked Black Mountain before had mentioned a noisy windmill at the summit, and all the books and websites that we had looked at prior to our trip discussed the noisy windmill as well. We were surprised that there was no windmill to be found at the summit on the day that we hiked Black Mountain. I have since done some research trying to figure out what happened to the structure. There is not much information out there about it, but according to one article, a group of hikers discovered the 60-ft structure, which was owned by the State Police, laying on the ground in the snow in early November of 2006. Apparently the collapse of the turbine has lead to some discussions on the controversy of creating wind energy in the Adirondacks.


There is a group called Adirondack Wind Partners seeking to build a wind farm on Pete Gay and Gore Mountains. The AWP is made up of the Barton Group mining operation and Reunion Power LLC. Their website has links to news updates that are from the spring of 2006, which is before the turbine even collapsed on Black Mountain. Their website does not appear to have been updated in a while, and lacks recent information. According the not-so-recent information that I can find, the group is seeking lawmakers' approval on the issue, but have met some opposition from certain Adirondack groups. An article from the Post-Star in February of 2008 states that the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks and the Adirondack Council say they oppose the wind farms for reasons ranging from aesthetic concerns to setting a poor precedent. Meanwhile, James McAndrew, the project manager for the Barton Group argues that the quality-of-life issues that these environmental groups bring up are human centered, as the deer and other wildlife do not care if they have to look at a windmill. The Barton Group would like to install ten wind turbines on the 1,700 acres that they own on the northern side of Gore, and is collecting weather data, as well as data on the birds and bats that populate the area. These ten windmills could provide enough energy to power 10,000-12,000 homes. The Adirondack Wind Partners website says it has the potential of producing 30MW of power, supplying over half of the 26,000 homes in Warren County, which is equivalent of removing 11,000 cars from the road, and bringing New York closer to its goal of having 25% renewable energy generation.

A patient, photogenic, little red eft

My thoughts? I couldn't find enough information to really present an educated argument, but I know our nation is in trouble. Gas prices are out of control, we have a large dependency on other countries for oil, and we are heading into an economic down spiral. Families have serious concerns this year as to whether or not they will be able to afford heating their homes during the winter. Global warming is a big issue, but it might be put on our nation's back burner with the economic, health care coverage, and social security concerns at hand - issues which are at the center of the 2008 Presidential Election. I love the beauty of the Adirondacks as much as anyone, but should aesthetics outweigh the benefits of renewable energy? Are chair lifts on Gore pleasing to the eye? Should we worry more about what the burning of fossil fuels is doing to the environment, and the effects of pollution and global warming on our wildlife, or the effects of the windmills on birds? What about things as simple as hiking, hunting, boating, and fishing, and their effects on the Adirondacks?

"Her body moved with the frankness that comes from solitary habits. But solitude is only a human presumption. Every quiet step is thunder to beetle life underfoot; every choice is a world made new for the chosen."

~ from Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

My Real World

Press play to hear "Glamorous" by Fergie

One of the topics for the next edition of the EtsyBloggers Team blog carnival is what we do for work - outside of Etsy. I'm excited for this topic because it gives me a chance to clarify my job's ambiguity, and clear up some popular misconceptions that the media has created. I will try not to bore you.

My job title is Medical Technologist. Sounds like I make computerized medical devices or something, right? In some places I would be called a Clinical Laboratory Technologist or Clinical Laboratory Scientist, which are titles that better describe the actual job. I work in a hospital laboratory, but some people that know me always have, and always will think that I'm a nurse. My job is completely different from that of a nurse, but I've given up on correcting them. I rarely come in contact with a patient. I can draw blood, but I try really hard not to.

I'm sure you have watched a movie or television program with the doctor in the O.R. who screams "I need two units of O negative - STAT!" It is a medical technologist who performs the blood types and cross matches on the patients and the blood units in the blood bank department of the lab. While on rare emergency occasions units of O negative blood are issued to a patient without being crossmatched, the doctor actually has to sign an emergency release form in which they acknowledge the risks in infusing the patient with uncrossmatched blood, and the lab will perform a crossmatch as soon as possible after the release.

I'm sure you've heard of rising cases of MRSA (Methacillin Resistant Staph Aureus) infections across the United States over recent months. A young student in Virginia died from a community acquired MRSA infection last year, and several schools across the nation had closed temporarily for cleaning after finding the bacteria on lockers, gym equipment, and so on. Medical Technologists in the microbiology department are the ones that test for bacteria. Oddly enough, this is my favorite department of the lab, growing bacteria out of pretty much anything that can come off or out of a human. I look for pathogens causing infection, identify them, and produce a report for the doctor listing antibiotics that should be effective in treatment, as well as those that won't work. Yes, it takes a special person with a high tolerance of things that are gross to do the job. It is a time consuming process, as the bacteria needs time to grow. In a best case scenario, a preliminary identification and antibiotic susceptibility can be produced in a day and a half, but usually it takes two or three days. It makes my head spin when ignorant television writers make the doctors say that they have the culture report back within only a couple hours of the patient being in the hospital!

Ever get your cholesterol tested or found out that you have diabetes? Maybe you take a therapeutic drug that has to be monitored, or perhaps you've had your thyroid functions tested. I do that kind of testing in the chemistry department. While we don't "diagnosis" the patient, we give the blood work results to the doctor who can interpret them for diagnosis, ruling out conditions, and/or monitoring the course of treatment for a particular disease process. We have analyzers that do the actual chemical analysis and produce numbers. It's not just "button pushing" because it is our responsibility to review the results, and make sure they make sense, as well as monitor the instruments for errors and trends. When the doctor on TV says the lab is taking too long for results, perhaps they are just having instrument problems. When the doctor says that he or she is going to go down to the lab and run the test personally... thats illegal. They would have to read the procedure manual, be trained, perform competencies, and in some states - New York included - apply and get approved for a license after taking a qualifying exam.

It looks scientific, but in this picture I'm just sorting blood specimens according to which analyzer the test is run on.

The last area of the lab that a Medical Technologist could work in is Hematology where they perform tests for anemia, look at blood smears, monitor blood clotting function, particularly with patients on heparin or Coumidin. Many hematology labs also perform urinalysis and male fertility studies. My favorite ignorant misinterpretation of the hematology lab was from an episode of a mystery diagnosis program on either Discovery Health or TLC - the lab tech, who was wearing an "I See Dead People" graphic T-shirt and listening to an iPod, put an entire tube of blood under a microscope, announced the hemoglobin level, and diagnosed the patient with anemia. The same show once showed doctors in the lab drinking sodas and hounding the lab tech for results, threatening to do the work themselves. Drinking in the lab is a big no-no.

So, this is my regulated, non creative, real world, dirty job. Glamorous, huh? If it's something you are interested in, look for colleges that offer four year degrees in Medical Technology or Clinical Laboratory Science. It doesn't pay a ton, but I certainly can't live off my jewelry sales! Maybe someday...

Work in a hospital, or anywhere where you are required to wear ID? I make lanyards for your ID badge!

Front Page

Making the front page on Etsy is a pretty big deal, and I'd say most people miss it when it happens. The front page changes maybe every hour or two and disappears forever when its gone. To my knowledge, I've only been on it twice - and missed it both times. But the front pages is what everyone sees when the go to Etsy.com; It's your hour of fame.

Usually the front page is taken from a Treasury or Treasury West that someone creates - usually centered around a theme such as colors, holiday, or material that the craft is made of. It's not necessarily the most viewed (hottest) treasuries, but ones that Etsy administration find personally appealing. There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason how they pick them. GrooveyCrafts created a Treasury West called "Feeling..." because she is blue in this cold autumn weather and featured my Cyan Choker!!! It made the front page at some point, according to the comments on the treasury,which expires Monday evening. If you click on it before then you can check it out.

There is a Flickr group that uploads screen shots of Etsy front pages, and someone was kind enough to capture and upload it, so here's the screen shot of the front page below. Congrats to GrooveyCrafts the curator and everyone else that was featured!

An Outdoorsy Carnival - October

Welcome to the October 1, 2008 edition of an outdoorsy carnival. Thanks to all who participated. If you have a post you'd like to share, be sure to submit it for next month's carnival. An Outdoorsy Carnival is hosted on the first of each month here on my blog.

Advice Column

Piedro Molinero presents More About Butterfly Gardening posted at DIY Gardening Tips.

GrrlScientist presents Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, "A book review of the new field guide to the birds of North America by Ted Floyd."

Aquatic Life

GrrlScientist presents SailFish Fans Will Love This posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, "Adorned for the hunt, with fin raised and changeable colors flashing, a sailfish in the Gulf of Mexico circles a ball of sardines, preparing to strike."

Green Thumb

Kristen McCarthy presents Community Gardens: Transform Urban Spaces posted at this-sustainable-life.com, saying, "Traditionally, community gardens emerge in the most unlikely spaces: from dispossessed parking lots and abandoned railway lines, to hubcap strewn parks and needle plagued back alleys, to the sagging rooftops that overlook laundry lines stretched out across the cityscape in multifarious patterns. In these areas rejected and wasted from human-made decay, urban gardens are birthed."

In the Woods

Stephen presents Take a Moment to Reflect posted at Balanced Existence, saying, "Yesterday I got up early, ate a big breakfast of eggs, bacon and an apple and then drove by myself up into the Blue Mountains. I regularly plan days such as yesterday. This is because I feel it is very important to occasionally take time to reflect on where I am, what I’ve been doing and where I appear to be going."

A Keeper's Jackpot presents Vanderwhacker Mountain posted at A Keeper's Jackpot.

Open Air

Stephanie presents Save the Bees posted at Adventures in the 100 Acre Wood.

GrrlScientist presents Today's Mystery Bird for you to Identify posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, "I have a daily bird identification quiz. This is one of them where the bird has been identified and there is a beautifully-written and detailed analysis for how to ID that particular species."

Stephanie presents Giant Puffball Mushrooms posted at Stop the Ride!.

AdmirableIndia.com presents Trip to Wayanad: Day 2: Part 1 posted at AdmirableIndia.com, saying, "Wildlife sanctuary"

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Yard Yarns (Limerick and Haiku Prompt) posted at Mad Kane's Humor Blog.

Glowing Face Man presents Pictures from Japan - Part 3 posted at Glowing Face Man: Awaken the Badass Within, saying, "A photoblog of my trip up Mt. Fuji"

P.L. Frederick presents Why I Hate Flies posted at Small and Big, saying, "A short, fun read!"

Health Blogger presents My Exercise Experience With Treadmill Running vs. Outdoor Running posted at Health and Fitness Blog.

A Keeper's Jackpot presents Balloons posted at A Keeper's Jackpot.

Meg presents Fall Harvest Family Day posted at The Stickley Museum At Craftsman Farms.

Kevin Fleming presents Chevy Volt Aims for 100 MPG Rating posted at The Green Motorist.

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