The Joslin Sisters Photograph

The photo below is of four of the daughters of Lysander and Lydia Robison Joslin. It has been retouched to remove some writing that partially identified three of the four women. From that, and comparison of other photographs that have been identified, the ladies are:

• at left, Roxie Arminta Joslin Parkison (1853-1941)
• top, Anna Eliza Joslin Klingaman (1844-1885)
• right, my 2nd Great Grandmother, Malissa Mariah Joslin Brubaker Bower (1849-1937)
• bottom, Mandella "Della" Joslin Quillen (1866-1943)

The only daughter not pictured, that would have been living at the time, was Ida Blanch Joslin Dressler Lewis (1863-1937). There is a picture of Ida and her husband at the bottom of this post. A picture of Lysander and Lydia can be found in this post.

I received the scanned image from a fourth cousin, Jane (descendant of Roxie), in April .. about six months after we made contact via the internet. She received the image file from another descendant of Roxie.

We don't know where or when the picture was taken but Anna Eliza died in July 1885. Della was married at the age of 17 in July 1884, perhaps they got together then. Malissa was living in Whitley County, Indiana at that time while Anna Eliza lived in Jefferson County, Iowa. Roxie was probably still in Barton County, Kansas as was Della.

Mt. Si

Mt. Si is the big hill, with the rocky top, right behind North Bend. For the most part, it is a hike on a dirt trail in the shade of tall evergreens. There is an inviting feature at the top called the Haystack. It consists of a few hundred feet of easy rock scrambling. It is fun to weave your own route to the top. For some reason it seems steeper on the way down.

The clouds rolled in as we reached the top. Pictured are: Dennis, Sabrina, Dave, Cody, Doug, Bethany, Danielle and Jim.

We're Doing It Wrong

image by Peter Drew via Carlton Reid

This drawing has been passed around the bicycle blog circuit lately.Having started out as street art, it was then made into a stencil that's been used for t-shirts and posters. "Can street art get more people on bikes?" asks one blog, using this image as an example of an enthusiastic "yes."



So here is a question I've been wanting to ask for a long time: Why do some cyclists enjoy calling drivers fat and generally framing bicycling within a fat vs skinny value system? Are they the same people who called other kids "fatty" in the school yard as children, and is bicycle activism a platform they've found for the same behaviour to be acceptable as adults? Because that is how such images and messages can come across to non-cyclists - particularly those on the heavy side. And how do you suppose a heavy cyclist feels seeing this sort of thing - where do they fit in?



I think the only people who will find the above image appealing are those who are fit bicyclists and are proud of their bodies, which they attribute to riding a bike. But by the general population, cyclists are widely perceived as judgmental, self-righteous bullies who are also cheepskates, and this image pretty much feeds right into that. If we want to actually inspire others, as opposed to congratulate ourselves, then perhaps a different strategy is called for. There is enough body dysmorphia in our society without cyclists instilling more neuroticism and insecurity about people's weight.

Eagle

This is the sculpture of the bald eagle.

Kitten Wrestling Match

I love to watch the kittens play and took this series of photos of them playing on the couch the other day. They have all kinds of toys but prefer to play with each other more than the toys. The gray kitten is about half the size of the black one but she can still hold her own when it comes to the wrestling matchs.

Crevasse fall - Climber Injured on Kautz Glacier

Kautz Glacier, Mount Rainier

On the afternoon of Tuesday, July 1, a climber fell approximately 15 feet into a crevasse at around 11,400 feet on the Kautz Glacier of Mount Rainier while descending the Mountain. The injured climber, Mitchell Bell, was rescued from the crevasse by his four teammates. Bell had injured ribs and visible lacerations to his head and face, but he was conscious and in stable condition. A doctor in the team quickly determined that due to his known and potential injuries, Bell could not continue the descent without assistance. Two members of the party climbed down in search of help, leaving the doctor, another teammate, and the patient at the scene. Back at Camp Hazard about 1,000 feet below, they found Alpine Ascents International (AAI). Several AAI guides responded to the request for assistance and contacted the National Park Service. A plan was put in place for two AAI guides to travel to the accident scene that evening to assess the injured climber’s condition and bring with them materials for an overnight stay on the Mountain. Based on their assessment, the Incident Commander, David Gottlieb called for air-lift/hoist extraction the following morning.

Within an hour of take-off on Wednesday morning at approximately 6:45 a.m., a US Army Reserve Chinook helicopter from Fort Lewis successfully extracted the injured climber from the Kautz Glacier. The patient was transported to Madigan Hospital for further medical evaluation. He was released later that day.

You can find more in the ST and PI.

~ Monica Magari

Underutilized Native Plant- Inkberry

Last week I gave a lecture to the Charleston Horticultural Society about nonnative invasive plants and the impact they have on habitats in our area. The feedback was very good- most attendees were not aware that when invasive plants are allowed to "naturalize" and escape from our gardens that it harms the established ecosystem.

It's a complicated issue because you can't talk about invasive plants without then addressing the need for more native plants in our gardens.

One that should be used more is Inkberry, Ilex glabra. This native evergreen holly is an excellent alternative to Japanese Holly (Ilex crenata) and Japanese Boxwood (Buxus microphylla)in the landscape. Indigenous from Nova Scotia to Florida, this plant is found in coastal plains and pine forests and is well-adapted to wet soils.

In the animal world, Inkberry can be considered a "superfood." According to an article in American Nurseryman (March ..), the fruit are eaten by birds and mammals in the spring- including wild turkey and quail. Thirty-four species of moth and butterfly larvae are able to forage the leaves. In turn, these caterpillars become an important food source for many of our songbirds.

In addition to supporting birds, mammals and herbivorous insects, Inkberry is an important nectar and pollen source for honeybees. The nectar that is collected from Inkberry contains high levels of a particular enzyme that prevents the honey from crystallizing. A prominent botanist and beekeeper from the 1920's, John H. Lovell, referred to Inkberry as "the most valuable honey plant" (Root and Root, The ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture).
Incidentally, due to development, Ilex glabra is becoming more scarce, particularly in the Northeast. As we inhabit larger areas of the United States, our gardens become the natural habitat for birds, insects and other animals; We can no longer pretend that our personal landscapes are not part of the bigger picture. Incorporating great plants like Inkberry into our gardens can help sustain our native fauna.

For more information about this great native shrub, check out the article by Emma Van de Water and Dr. Tomasz Anisko ("An Adaptable Shrub for a Changing Environment) in this month's American Nurseryman.

Mountain Top and Valley

One wonderful thing about where Nathan's family lives is that you can see the mountains pretty much from anywhere you are at there. The scenery is breathtaking. It is so lush that we find ourselves saying, "it is so green here" each time we visit. It's a wonderful place to enjoy nature at its finest.





I never tire of this scenery. I don't think I ever will tire of it. I mean, can you imagine seeing this and saying, you know what...I'm done with all of this beauty? Nope, not gonna happen.











What I rarely did when we lived here, and really enjoy now though is the ride coming in. The ride that allows us a whole different view of this magical place. The drive over the mountains, where we look down on the valley below. That is what we enjoyed today.



It is still so green and still so beautiful.



Just an entirely different perspective.



Living the life in Virginia!

Quick, Healthy, Brazing-Inspired Dessert

The main thing you are taught when learning to braze a bicycle frame, is temperature control. For instance: When brazing a lugged joint, the tube, the lug, the flux (gooey stuff the joint is smeared with) and the silver you add all heat up at different rates - and what you try to do is get them to the point where they are in sync. I thought about this as I eyed the pile of fruit and berries I'd brought home from the grocery store. I wanted to make dessert for the husband, and his request was something healthy and light. I decided to keep it simple and approach it as I would brazing: First I'd heat up the thick, heavy ingredients, adding the delicate, leaky ones after the overall temperature was sufficiently hot. Here is the result:



Autumnal Fruit and Nut Medley



Ingredients:

apples

cranberries

blackberries

blueberries

walnuts

lemon

honey

bourbon



Preparation time:

7 minutes



Instructions:

In a bowl, mix a bunch of hard sliced apples with a fistful of crushed walnuts and a fistful of raw cranberries. Add a spoon of lemon juice, a spoon of honey and a shot of bourbon. Heat in microwave for 2.5 minutes or in oven (in appropriate container) until apples turn soft. Alternatively, if preparing in workshop, you could use a brazing torch (held upside down and pointed at the bottom of the bowl - as you would heat a bottom bracket). Let sit for 30 seconds. Add blackberries and blueberries. Heat for additional 1 minute or just long enough for berries to release colour onto the rest of the concoction. Remove, let cool for a bit, and serve with tea.



This dish is basically like a fruit tart, only without the dough. Tastes surprisingly good, looks festive and takes very little effort to prepare. Want to make it less healthy? Add whipped cream.



Enjoy your Sunday evening!

Castle Rock

Castle Rock in September Sun, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Castle Rock in Mt. Diablo State Park. This huge rock formation dominates the view along trails in the area.

Mt. Diablo is an incredible wilderness oasis in the heavily-populated San Francisco Bay Area. There are several endemic plant species found on the mountain, as well as rare animals. Mt. Diablo is a jewel of a park, and worth stopping by if you're in the area.

Strange Onions

I think these are called Egyptian Onions. They grow in strange ways.

The Surly Cross Check: a Colourful Build

Two months ago, the Co-Habitant got a Surly Cross Check frame that he wanted to build up as a fun on/off road bike around a touring wheelset with fat tires that we already had in our possession. He is getting a nice roadbike later this summer (waiting for the frame to be finished!), and the Surly was meant to be "the other bike" - a playful, go-anywhere bike built around an inexpensive frame, mostly using components we already had. He swiftly put the bike together and has now cycled about 500 miles on it. The Cross Check is technically a cyclocross frame, but it is versatile and can also be used for touring and commuting. Given its unusual build, we've had many questions about this bike and so I offer a review on the Co-Habitant's behalf.





The most noteworthy aspect of the build, is that we were able to fit the frame withSchwalbeFat Frank tires and metal fenders. This looks great, and the tires feel awesome, but to tell the truth the whole thing was a pain. The Cross Check is described as being able to fit tires up to 45mm with fenders, but the Fat Franks are 50mm. It was a tight fit that required some DIY. Initially we wanted to useBerthoudsteel fenders, which are available in 700Cx60mm, but the Co-Habitant was not impressed with their quality upon seeing them in person. He also dislikes plastic fenders and did not want to use SKS. In the end he decided to get the Velo Orange Zeppelin 700c x 52mm fenders (which are rated for 42mm tire), and "massage" them to fit.





Out of the box,the fenders were too tight: The edges touched the sides of the tires and there was not enough space under the brake bridge and behindthe seat tube to mount them high. So, the fenders had to beopened up. But when you open up a fender that's 52mm, it no longer follows the line of a 700C tire, instead making the opening much smaller. So while opening the fender, it had to also be stretched out - taking care not to crimpthe edges. To do this, he used a flat low table holding the fender upside down against its surface and pressing down gently, rolling it end to end - opening and pressing down. Pressing down would close the fender and opening it would alter the curvature, so the back and forth balanced out the opposing forces.





For the front fender there was sufficientclearance underneath the fork crown, but inthe rear there was less clearance - thebrake bridge is quite low and thechainstays are short. He had to dent the top of the rear fender (which isn'tvisible) in order to get it closer to the brake bridge, then fabricate a customcircular-L-bracket to hold the fender in place, screwed into the eyeletof the brake bridge. To dent the fender, he placed it on some clothing on the top edge of the back of achair, then hit it with a rubberized end of a pedal wrench, creating agrooved dimple. He also had to dentthe ends so that they wouldn't pinch near the bottom bracket.It was a bit of an ordeal, and if you are going to attempt this beware that it is easy to ruin the fender - it may not be a risk worth taking.





Happily, the "massaging" was a success and the Cross-Check looks great with the fat cream tires and the VO Zeppelin fenders. The ride is fast and cushy, and the Co-Habitant is discovering just how addictive wide tires are. On the downside, the clearances between the tires and fenders are so tight, that the set-up is not really practical for serious off-road cycling: stuff can get caught in there and cause problems. But for fire trails and gravel paths it is fine, and if he decides to do anything more serious (like the D2R2!), he will remove the fenders.





The rest of the build for this bicycle has mostly already been described here, but a few changes have been made since then. The original shortish stem has been replaced with a 9cm stem, flipped upside down. The original yellow cloth tape got filthy and tattered fairly quickly, so we replaced it with Fizik tape. Initially, the cloth tape was supposed to be shellacked to a warm caramel - but the bright yellow looked so "right" on this bike, that it began to seem like an inherent part of its personality and he decided to keep it that way. He also added a frame pump, lamenting the lack of pump peg and using a strap to hold it in place.





After two years in a lukewarm relationship with his BrooksFlyer saddle, he decided to sell it and replace it with a Berthoudtouring saddle - the male version of the one I now have on my Rivendell. So far he loves it.





He fitted the bike with theCarradicebag that used to be on his old bike.





It now has a patch on it, to cover the tear that happened as a result of the bag rubbing over the brake cable on his old bike.





He affixed a CatEyeheadlight to a braze-on on the front fork, and a SpanningaPixeo tail light to the rear fender.






He tried to liberate himself from clipless pedals and rode the bike with touring pedals for a few weeks, but ultimately could not take it anymore and put his old clipless pedals back on. Fair enough, but this does limit the versatility he originally had in mind for the bike.




After riding theSurlyCross Check for two months, his main feedback is that the bike is faster than he expected - even with the wide tires and a bunch of weight in the saddlebag. While initially he intended to use the Cross Check in conjunction with his oldMotobecaneuntil he got his new roadbike, theMotobecane was retired as soon as he started riding theSurly- no need for it, since the Cross Check did everything it could do and more. He does not find the bike sluggish, and it seems that the tubing is just right for someone of his stature (6ft/ 200lb+). Overall, he is pretty happy. Though he likes lugs, he also likes a nicely done TIG-welded frame and theSurlysuits him just fine.





My take on his Cross Check... I think it is a well-made, attractive frame for the price and I am glad that he finds it comfortable and fast. To be honest, I think that at least to some extent this build was not so much about practicality, as about doing a fun and challenging project using a bunch of components that we had acquired but had no use for. If the original purpose of the bike was off-road, then the tire+fender combo with such tight clearances does not really make sense. I have a feeling that he will end up using it mainly on the road, because I can't imagine him bothering to remove and reinstall the fenders every time he wants to take it on serious trails. And this means that when he gets his long-awaited road frame later this summer, the functionalities of the two bikes will overlap considerably. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But given how much he likes theSurlyI am almost worried that he might be disappointed with the special bike he's waiting for. Well, hopefully not.



On a more general note, while the Cross Check is clearly versatile enough for commuting and touring, I wonder whether many cyclists actually use it for cyclocross racing. I have a hard time imagining that, given how relatively heavy it is - even the floor models with narrower tires and sportier components. But maybe I'm just biased from having handled too many lightweight bikes recently.



The SurlyCross Check is a fun bike with a cult following, and it is particularly impressive how customisable the frame is. With its happy colours, fat cream tires, elegant fenders and classic touring accessories, the Co-habitant's Cross Check is distinctly his own.

The FUN begins for the / season!

Kurt Hicks' great photos of skiing near Bakerlast week. More sun again today! Hopefully others will be getting out and ripping a few as well.



More aboutKurt,climbing and skiing and this trip @ http://www.kurthicks.com/

Cat Reading

This is a photo of me and my black cat, Jade, reading a book

A Handful of Rust: Bicycles As Waste

One argument made in favour of the bicycle, is that it is a machine that is timeless. With proper maintenance and care, a bicycle can last for many generations. And those of us who own functional bicycles from as far back as the 1930s know that to be true - at least in theory. However, in practice garbage dumps throughout the country are full of discarded bikes. Countless abandoned bicycles rust away locked to urban fixtures until the city removes them. New bicycles are churned out by factories every day as old ones become junk. The bicycle's resistance to obsolescence is a heavily stressed selling point in today's green-hued marketing... and yet reality does not reflect that. When I am asked how I feel about thatcontradiction, it is not easy to respond without ruffling feathers.



Looking at bicycles that are rusting away abandoned, I notice a trend: It is not the oldest bicycles that are being treated as junk. In fact most of the bikes are relatively modern. The factors they have in common are awkward construction, crude workmanship, low-quality components, and a certain overall genericness that just seems to make them impersonal and unloveable. These are mostly bicycles from big box stores, or lower-end models from popular manufacturers sold at dedicated bike shops. The truth is that even when new these objects do not look "timeless" to me. They look cheap and destined for the dump within several years - seemingly by design. So when I am asked why I do not promote "more accessible" (mass-produced, lower-end, lower-priced) bicycles, that is why. I sincerely feel that the vast majority of those bikes are designed to be bought on a whim (why not? they are affordable!) and be discarded shortly thereafter.



Bicycles that are produced thoughtfully and with care cost more, because they are more costly to make, and there is just no way around this reality. But it is not such a bad thing if we perceive a bicycle as special and expensive. When an object is meaningful to us and takes time to save up for, we value it more. Even if the bicycle ultimately does not work out (or even if we lose interest in cycling altogether), we will be unlikely to discard or abandon it. Instead we will sell it or pass it on to somebody else- just as with any other valuable, well-made object that we no longer need or want.I think that I have a pretty good idea which of the bicycles marketed today will end up in the garbage dump 5 years from now, and which will be cherished and ridden, even if not by the original owner. The latter is the kind I want to promote and the former is the kind I do not.



For the same reason, I am conflicted about the bike share programs that have been popping up in major cities. My enthusiasm for the idea of bike sharing is dampened by firsthand knowledge of what happens to many of these bikes, and how quickly it happens. I have seen large municipal pickup trucks in Vienna come by the CityBike stations on a regular basis and cart away dozens of damaged bikes, replacing them with new ones. The wastefulness of the ParisianVelib system has been well documented as well. The sad truth is that people do not treat well objects that do not belong to them. And as much as I don't want to rain on the bike share parade, I find this problem difficult to side-step. There have been grassroots initiatives to use second-hand bicycles for bike share programs, but as far as I know they have been consistently rejected.



Do you feel that the current trend for all things bicycle will just generate more waste down the line, or is that a cynical view? How do you feel about bike share and the various methods of bicycle production in relation to this question?

Boulders of Ice

Here is another "oldie"... lately it seems I've been more interested in digging through old photos rather than shooting new ones. However, the weather recently has been bringing us cooler temperatures so hopefully there will be some NEW ice to photograph soon :-)





































In the meantime, I bring you this shot from March of 2007. We had a lot of ice that year, and some rather unique things happened. We had ice extending out from shore quite a ways and a big wind storm came up, crushing up the surface ice. As the ice rolled around in the waves it was shaped into these round-ish "boulders". Then, the waves flung the ice boulders up onto the shoreline. Most of the beaches in Grand Portage were covered with ice similar to what you see in this photo. It was pretty surreal... and FUN walking along the shoreline and taking in this winter wonderland! This post comes to you on Christmas Eve, so I'd like to wish you all a wonderful and very Merry Christmas!