Sanibel Shells

Sanibel Island is known for its shells, which is abundantly clear from these photos. We had promised ourselves we wouldn't collect any, but ended up coming home with a bag full anyway.We also saw lots of live shells and other critters like crabs, sea urchins and sea stars.

Christmas in Florida

We had a wonderful vacation on Sanibel Island, Florida, leaving the 10th and arriving home yesterday. We stayed at the Sundial Beach Resort and would go there again. We really enjoyed the beach with all the shells and birds, which will be evident in the next few posts. But one thing I could not get used to was Christmas carols and decorations among the palms and tropical vegetation and in the warm temperatures. At least they have a sense of humor about a Florida Christmas.

Construction Project I

I finally got a photo of S's porch in its current state (click here for a "before" view). We put the railings up in July when we came back to NJ for the 4th. And she spent the rest of the summer and into the fall putting up metal lath and a concrete scratch coat along the sides in preparation for the stone facing which will get done next year. It still needs a new door and lights, but it is already very nice.

Food Allergies

My daughter just sent this link to a fascinating article on the Mayo Clinic website on food allergies and sensitivities. I had a really itchy mouth and even some numbness after eating hazelnuts last week. It turns out that is because I am allergic to birch tree pollen, which is all around us when we are in the Adirondacks in the spring.

Here is an excerpt from the article.

"Some fresh fruits and vegetables can trigger a mild allergic reaction that causes the mouth to tingle or itch. This is an example of cross-reactivity — proteins in fruits and vegetables cause the reaction because they're similar to those allergy-causing proteins found in certain pollens. For example, if you're allergic to ragweed, you may also react to melons; if you're allergic to birch pollen, you may also react to apples. Most cooked fruits and vegetables generally do not cause cross-reactive oral allergy symptoms.
Common cross-reactivity between pollens and fruits and vegetables:

If you are allergic to:	Birch pollen	Ragweed pollen	Grasses	Mugwort pollen
You may have a reaction to:	Apples Peaches Plums Nectarines Cherries Carrots Celery Hazelnuts Almonds Raw potatoes	Melons (watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew) Bananas Tomatoes	Melons Kiwis Tomatoes	Carrots Celery Spices

I've also reacted to apples and cherries and attributed it to residual pesticides. All that birch pollen at camp may be the culprit instead. By the way, what the heck is Mugwort?? Of course I looked it up and it is Artemisia vulgaris, a weed I'm not familiar with, at least not by that name.

First Snow

We had a snow shower overnight. I'm not posting a picture, because it looks exactly like the photo in this post from 12/2/2007. If this year is anything like the last, this is a large fraction of the snow for the season, which is fine with us. We like to get our snow fix in the Adirondacks.

Quilt 7

We just hung my new quilt in the stairway. I'm so pleased with it I'll have to fill up the rest of the spaces on the wall. It should even serve a practical purpose of cutting down noise. And given how poorly insulated our walls are, it might even help with heat retention. Sounds like a good excuse to keep quilting :)

Snowy River

We walked on the trails on and near the Wild Center property for about an hour this afternoon. It was gray and snow showery the whole time, with several inches of snow underfoot from the fairly constant snow showers since we've been here. This is a view of the Raquette River from one of the overlooks.

Ice Formations

While exploring around the Bog River, we found some beautiful ice formations where the water splashed up on twigs and rocks. And this fellow was smiling up at us from the frozen edge of the water.

Deer Hunting Season....

... is not a good time for hiking. We're having the same problem we had the last time we were here in late November - finding someplace to hike that is away from the hunters. Today we headed for the trail to the Bog River that takes off from Rte 421 not far from its intersection with Rte 30. But there was a pickup parked at the trailhead, a sure sign of a hunter down the trail. So we drove a little farther and explored the area around Bog River Falls instead. The water was very high.
We found the place one can put a boat in to go around this spot and head upstream. You can only go a couple miles until the next rapid, but it is supposed to be a beautiful trip. We'll try that next summer.

At Camp

We drove to camp today for a few days of R&R. There is a dusting of snow on the ground. High temperatures in the 20's, lows about 10.