First Snow

 

Christmas at Longwood - part 2

For the night time part of the exhibit we chose a warmish evening.  We got a pretty good parking spot in the main lot and were amazed at the many school buses full of people being brought in from the parking lot across Route 1.  That parking actually wouldn't be too bad since the buses drop you right at the entrance.

Christmas at Longwood - part 1

Since we have memberships that allow us to get into Longwood Gardens any time, we chose to see the inside part of the Christmas exhibit right when they open at 10 AM.  That worked perfectly since we got a close parking space.

 

Philadelphia Orchestra at the Kimmel Center

We have subscribed to concerts by the Philly Orchestra on some Friday afternoons.  We take a bus from Crosslands with other residents.  This is the view from our seats.

Praying Mantis

They were mowing today and that seems to have scared the praying mantis' out of hiding.  This one was on the walk toward the center and decided I was a safe haven.  By the time it got up to my knee I decided I'd better shoo it away.

Concert at Longwood Gardens

Last evening we heard the a cappella group VOCES8 which was outstanding.  They sang a variety of pieces and all were good, but I especially enjoyed the classical works.

The chrysanthemum festival is going on in the conservatory so we took the opportunity to walk through most of that as well.  We decided there is not enough lighting in the evening to really show off the flowers.  Daylight is much better.  But there were some neat ones.

Back in PA

We drove back home on Tuesday, October 3rd.  The leaves were just passing their peak so it was a good time to leave.  One of the reasons we came back so soon was to attend yesterday's Philadelphia Orchestra concert.  It was marvelous.  Daniil Trifonov played Gershwin's Piano Concerto and it was definitely the hit of the afternoon.  There was also a piece"This Moment" by young composer Anna Clyne and William Grant Still's Symphony No 4.  We went to the talk before the concert, given by assistant conductor Austin Chanu.  The only issue with the afternoon was the bus ride.  The bus going in was so uncomfortable on the bumpy road that I was concerned about my spine.  Fortunately we had a different bus coming home and it was better.  We saw friends there who did not take the bus.  Instead, they take the train to Suburban station and walk the 0.6 mile to Kimmel Center, stopping along the way for lunch.  That may be a better way to do it, especially since the train is free.  But we are committed to the bus for this season.

Paddling Second Pond to Lake Flower

Today we did our traditional paddle from Second Pond to Lake Flower.  It was another beautiful day with barely any wind, and abundant sunshine.  But something was not quite right.  I realized I wasn't tempted to take any pictures.  Then I noticed that while the fall colors close by were very pretty, they didn't show up at all on the hillsides which were shrouded in smoke.  The Canadian wildfire smoke is upon us again.  It didn't bother us, except perhaps a bit of burning of the eyes, but it sure spoiled the fall colors.  So I took a picture at the end of the paddle while we were all eating our lunch at the picnic tables in the park.

 

Paddling South Creek to Weller Pond

W did a paddle with friends today from South Creek through Middle Saranac to Weller Pond.  I was supposed to go but wasn't feeling good.  But I wanted to keep a record of it, so here it is.

Paddling Rollins to Square Ponds

We did our traditional Rollins Pond loop today.  The weather was perfect and the water so still.

At the northern end of Rollins we paddled along the shore by the culvert

then landed and climbed up to what will become the rail trail.  The surface right now would be a challenge to bike.

Then we continued on our way through the narrow stream to Floodwood, which beavers had tried to block, through Floodwood, then down Fish Creek and through Square Pond.  We landed at an empty campsite then W walked back to Rollins to get the car.  We paddled about 7.5 miles.  What a gorgeous day.