Lesson 798: Ovid

 Hello, Readers!

It's a Friday night in June,

which is my favorite time of the year!

I love these words

written by Roman poet, Ovid.

Eloise likes consistent persistence!

It was by luck that I chose a vacation rental home

in the town of Ovid, NY.

We spent some time in the Finger Lakes this past week,

with Ovid as our home base.

Here's a recap if you are interested

in visiting a very interesting area of the country,

just 3 hours from Erie!

We weren't long on I-86 heading east

when we ran into smoke

from the Canadian wildfires.

It cleared by the time we reached our first destination--

the Farm Animal Sanctuary in Watkins Glen.

CLICK HERE for more info

Only half of the six pictured below

were able to walk through....

Somebody had to stay with the dogs!

We took a guided tour through the farm to meet 

the cows,

goats,

and pigs!

There is an avian flu going around,

so we were not able to see the chickens.

The animals are friendly

and the cows walked along with us.

The goats posed for selfies.

You can even extend your farm sanctuary experience

to an overnight stay in a tiny home,

right in the middle of the farm!

We had more plans for the day,

so we skipped the stay,

but this will never be off of my bucket list.

We met my family there.

It wasn't too far from DC for my nephew

and his girlfriend to make the drive.

Erik's behavior has stabilized 

after a rough few months this winter.

Managing adult autism is very complicated.

He was especially glad to see his brother

and cousins.

My family rented a cabin in the woods

with a private beach access across the street.

Kenyan and Company

rented a lakefront cottage just a few spots away.

We ate

kayaked,

fished,

played games,

and drank wine.

The area is known for their wineries!

We made it a point to go find the Six Mile Creek Vineyard.

If you recall,

the Lamp Post is located across the street

from Six Mile Cellars in Harborcreek, PA.

The New York Six Mile

is also located in a big barn!

Instead of hard cider named after Old Snapper,

two of their wines 

were named after their rescue pets!

Isn't it absurd how much Abby and Avery

look like Hazel and Penny?

Speaking of Six Mile Cellars,

they have some Big News

you can check out on their social media sites.

Jaret is back!

The hiking was what initially drew us to the area.

Watkins Glen Gorge Trail

is truly like you walked into Middle Earth.

Taughannock Falls Gorge Trail and Overlook

were equally outstanding.

It was a really nice break for a few days.

Where were my folks?

Well, someone had to hold down the fort.

We sent them plenty of photos and updates.

Cheers to five days of togetherness

Here are Ellen and Sam out the calm lake.

They were out there forever.

I hollered out,

What are you doing out there?

Making a TikTok!

Here it is:

CLICK HERE

And to consistently and persistently tell you 

how important reading is---

the next Book Share is Monday, June 26th,

6:00-8:00 pm.

Find Eloise for details.

Check in next week to find out

how the Eras Tour was!

We're shining up the boots 

and heading to Pittsburgh in the morning!

Eloise

Lesson 797: Up, Up, and Away

 Hello, Readers!

I hope this blog finds you well.

The sun has set on another school year.

Teachers are used to endings.

We love that our students are moving on

and we have had a hand in their development.

Up, up, and away they go!

Our students completed their culminating project

they've been planning all year!

A weather balloon.

They worked most of the year

planning for this event.

They rise to 80,000 feet 

with a box of cameras and 

data retrieving equipment.

The balloon went 

up,

up,

and

away!

The catch was it forgot to take the payload with it!

They had to take some advice from Wilbur.

We are relaunching in June.

I'm headed into another summer,

photographing all the things I love--

birds

baseball,

and babies, 

to name a few.

I'll be back again next week with a really good blog post.

I'll meet you under the moon 

next Friday night.

Eloise

Lesson 796: Confetti

 Hello, Readers!

The Huskies threw around some confetti this afternoon.

It was the last school day for the class of 2023.

Congratulations!

I love the tradition of tossing confetti.

They moved the gathering outdoors during Covid,

and it's remained outside ever since.

Way easier on the clean up,

and it makes for some great photos.

Nature signals me 

when school is almost over.

The Clark School tree looks like this in June.

The purple flowers pop their own confetti

in the vineyards.

The confetti of colors of the summer!

They are so fun!

A red hat for Sam as he plays for the 

Wesleyville Post 571 Junior Legion.

The summer blooms burst forth in 

orange

yellow,

and green,

beneath the truest of blue skies.

Ahhh.

Summer.

Our Lamp Post Champion Jigsaw Puzzle maker

is at it again.

Her favorites are 200 and 300 piece--

Disney or the collage photos.

They are hard to find that size,

so if you do, 
call Eloise.

My family found some old confetti 

on a hike along the 227 near our cabin--

rock confetti, that is.

Truby took us to the place known 

as the Dynamite Shack.

On the top of the mountain 

they used to blow up the rocks

which were limestone and used them to make glass.

They stored the dynamite in a cave.

Here it is in 1935--

there are signatures etched into the doorway

from 1935 and 1945.

Here it is today.

Eloise braved the cave

a minute for a quick pic,

but soon skedaddled--

word has it snakes set up camp in there.

Some of us climbed to the top.

Others did not.

It's worth the visit if you are so inclined.

It's a good 2-2.5 hour hike.

And don't ask me where it is.

I'd never find it again.

As far as Woods Girls go,

I'm just a poser.

Eloise