Bridge Across the Ditch

This little bridge that was on the pathway to the river trail is over one of the main irrigation ditches that take water to irrigate the small farms along the Rio Grande River.

Joslin Family :: 1820 Ohio Census

As we learned in this July 1969 letter from Irwin Joslin to my Grandmother, he found only one 'Joslin' family enumerated in the 1820 census in Delaware County, Ohio and that was Jonas.

Just to be sure, I recently searched the 1820 Ohio census index at ancestry.com for "Josl*" and got nine results:

• Ezekiel Joslen is in Tate, Clermont County
• Mary Joslen in Franklin, Clermont County
• Phebe Joslen in Franklin, Clermont County
• Amasa Joslin in Kirtland, Geauga County
• J J Joslin is in Deerfield, Warren County
• Jonas Joslin in Liberty, Delaware County
• Reuben Joslin in Mesopotamia, Trumbull County
• Wm Joslin in Deerfield, Morgan County
• J Joslin in Washington, Warren County

And, searching for "Joc*" found a "Luther F B Joclin" in Cincinnati, Hamilton County.

Viewing each of the pages for Liberty and Orange townships in Delaware County confirmed that Jonas Joslin was the only 'Joslin' family enumerated in those townships. Actually, I have viewed the entire Delaware County census on microfilm, looking for other families, and there is indeed only one 'Joslin' family in the county.

The Jonas Joslin household was enumerated in Liberty Township. Jonas is the second name on page 95a. A family history published by Jean Oldham Heuman in 1998/9 states that "there were two sons and five daughters" in the Jonas Joslin family but names are known only for the two sons and two of the daughters: James, Jonas Jr., Elizabeth, and Fanny. I suspect that Mrs. Heuman may have based the number of children in the family on the 1820 census. There are potentially three additional females (one aged 10-15 and two 16-25 in 1820) in the family whose names are unknown.


Based upon what is currently known about the family, the 1820 census enumeration may have included the following:

• males under 10 = 0
• males 10 thru 15 = 1 [born 1804-1810...Jonas Jr., 17, born in 1807]
• males 16 thru 18 = 0
• males 18 thru 26 = 1 [born 1794-1804...James, 24, born about 1796]
• males 26 thru 44 = 0
• males 45 and over = 1 [born before 1775...Jonas Sr., 51, born in 1769]
• females under 10 = 0
• females 10 thru 15 = 2 [born 1805-1810...Fanny, about 10, born about 1810; and one other, name unknown]
• females 16 thru 25 = 3 [born 1794-1804...Elizabeth, 18, born in 1802; and 2 others, names unknown]
• females 26 thru 44 = 0
• females 45 and over = 1 [born before 1775...Ruth, wife of Jonas Sr., about 49, born about 1771]
• Foreigners not naturalized = 0
• Number of persons engaged in agriculture = 1

The Little Blue Shack

Every time I went to the restroom while staying at the Homer Spit Campground, I passed by this little blue shack that was covered with interesting items (for lack of a better term). It seems to be the thing to do in Alaska – odds and ends of fishing and boating and other paraphernalia can be seen hanging from all manner of buildings. But the color of this little building stood out amongst the others.

And each time I passed by I wanted to stop and take some pictures, but the weather just wasn't cooperative and the lighting wasn't right – until Saturday morning (August 14th).

More spring "skiing", The Mallory, Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix

"Bruno said it’s an adventure, it’s like a journey in another world. It’s a long decent and you have to stay focus the all time there is not a lot of margin for error."









Pictures and comments here:

http://www.lucapandolfi.com//05/aiguille-du-midi-north-face-mallory-16-05-/



scrub it 01 from julien regnier on Vimeo.





Thanks to the http://chamonixinsider.com/for the links and a heads up on these.

Traveling from Dublin to the Antrim Coast, with Luggage and a Brompton

I am staying in a remote area on the Antrim Coast in Northern Ireland, near the town of Ballycastle. Getting here from the suburbs of Dublin was quite something, though very much worth it in the end. I had with me three pieces of luggage: A suitcase on wheels, my fully folded Brompton bicycle sheathed in a cloth cover, and a Carradice City Folder bag that can also be carried as a shoulder bag. I am an average sized female with below-average upper body strength, and lugging these 3 things around on my own through the various segments of the trip was doable. I rolled the suitcase in my left hand, carried the Carradice across my chest messenger style, and carried the Brompton by the frame in my right hand. This last part was the most difficult for me. The Brompton weighs over 20lb and I can only carry it in one hand for so long, especially if I am also dragging other things at the same time. But again, doable.




As is probably obvious by the rolling suitcase, this is not the sort of trip where I planned to ride to the train station and to my destination upon arrival. I am not touring, but rather traveling with a bike, which I intend to use once I settle in. I will be here for a while, staying in the same place the entire time, and so I wanted to be comfortable, have plenty of clothes to change into, and have all the camera equipment I wanted with me. I thoroughly researched the transportation situation in advance and determined that for the last leg of my trip, a bus could drop me off within walking distance of the place I am staying despite its remoteness. There is also a local commuter train (DART) that stops just down the road of where I stayed in Dun Laoghaire and goes directly to the train station in Dublin. I was a little nervous of course that things don't always work out in reality as they should, but I had an emergency taxi fund just in case.






The main leg of the trip was taking the train from Dublin to Belfast. These leave from Connelly Station in Dublin and they run roughly every hour on weekdays. I knew that it was supposed to be hassle-free to travel to Northern Ireland. But I didn't expect that it would be quite this nonchalant. There was nothing about the ticket purchasing or boarding experience to indicate that we would be crossing a border. I simply bought a ticket to Belfast. No one asked me to show ID. No one asked why I was traveling there.




The train station itself was a remarkably calm place compared to other train stations I have been to in large cities. No pushing, no yelling, quiet, everyone incredibly courteous. A few people tried to help me with my luggage at various stages. I wasn't struggling with it, so I think the motivation might have been a sense of fairness - that they had none and I had three pieces, so they might as well carry some of mine to even it out.






On the platform I saw a man with a folding bike and a couple of large bags. He must have been watching me also, because when the train arrived he pointed to an entrance indicating that I should use that one. I did, and it contained a nice empty luggage compartment. I easily fit both my suitcase and my bike on the middle shelf. I then sat nearby with the Carradice bag on the floor next to me.




Once the passengers settled in and the controller checked everyone's tickets, a trolley cart was brought by selling food. I bought a hot tea, and the server asked whether it was okay to give me change in pounds sterling, since he was out of change in euros. This was the first indication that anything would be different at our destination.






The train from Dublin to Belfast proceeds mostly along the coast, and the views are beautiful. The sun even came out. I relaxed and felt pleased at how well everything was going.




An hour and a half later, the train broke down. We waited inside for 15 minutes as they tried to fix it, but were finally asked to disembark. It was then announced that we would be switching to a local service commuter train for the remainder of the journey, and that this train was waiting for us on a platform a short walk away, accessible by multiple staircases. An elderly lady beside me poked me with her elbow, winked, and said "Welcome to Northern Ireland."




I braced myself for the ordeal of multiple staircase climbs with a suitcase and a Brompton, but thankfully there were lifts, so it wasn't that bad. However, the commuter train was crowded with locals and did not have luggage compartments. I stacked my things in a corner near one of the exists, found a seat from which I could keep an eye on it, and hoped for the best.



At length we arrived in Belfast. I expected a busy station and a rush to get off the train, but there was neither. No one shoved me or even expressed annoyance at my things being piled in front of an exit. My suitcase was promptly placed on the platform for me by a huge hand whose owner I didn't even have a chance to glimpse, and I quickly grabbed the bike, worried that who-ever tried to help with it would try to pick it up by the (bottomless) bag.






The Belfast Central Rail Station is very small. There is a ticket stand, two tiny coffee shops, and two bank machines: one dispensing pounds sterling, the other dispensing euros. The one dispensing pounds was out of order. As luck would have it, I hadn't brought any cash in GBP, figuring I'd easily withdraw it here. So I bought a coffee, paid with a 20 euro note, and got the change back in pounds. A few others had the same idea and the coffee shop became the currency exchange booth.




Speaking as a visitor, it felt a little disorienting that there was nothing acknowledging a border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and yet there was suddenly a different currency system.A local radio station was playing, and in between songs the announcer said something like "the weather across the United Kingdom is beautiful today" and that too felt odd, since at no point had there been signs or announcements mentioning the United Kingdom.It's hard to explain, but the dichotomy feels confusing.







At the Belfast Central Rail Station, I bought a ticket for the local train to a place called Ballymena, which was the closest train station to my destination. These trains also ran very frequently, which impressed me given how sparsely populated County Antrim is. At the end of each train car, there was a section dedicated to bikes and baby strollers, with liftable seats. I easily stored my luggage there. The train route from Belfast to Ballymena is mostly inland, and there I saw saw some light industry and some farms. The landscape in this area looked a little stark compared to the Eastern coastline.




Up until this point it had been sunny, but as soon as the train stopped at Ballymena and I disembarked, it began pouring. Thankfully the Ulster Bus terminal was just across the road and it was covered. I carried my luggage there and found the Ballycastle bus stop. According to the schedule posted, the next bus was due to arrive in just 5 minutes. I was alone in the terminal except for a man in his 60s, who was pacing back and forth nearby. So far in Ireland, I have found it impossible to occupy the same space as someone else without ending up having a chat with them, and this was no exception. Within minutes I learned that the gentleman was a retired policeman who lived in the area and enjoyed a free bus pass on account of being a pensioner. Glancing at his watch, he gleefully announced that my bus was already late and that I was lucky if it showed up in the next half hour despite was the schedule said. "He's probably stopped for a sandwich, or having a chat with his mate," the man speculated cheerfully. However, the bus pulled up only a few minutes behind schedule.




Incredibly, it looked like I was to be the only passenger and the driver suggested that I simply toss my luggage onto the front row of seats. That is what I did, then sat down next to it.






We traveled 27 miles from the inland town of Ballymena to the coastal town of Ballycastle, as the weather alternated between glorious sunshine and dark skies with pelting rain. We passed mostly farmlands with lots and lots of baby lambs. Occasionally there was a village center, then back to lambs. They were beautiful and fluffy and I began to get sleepy counting them.




As we approached the coast, the driver asked me where I wanted him to stop. This sort of stunned me, but he assured me that he had nothing better to do and might as well take me to my door so that I didn't have to walk. As a dramatic view of the sea opened up in front of us, I told him the address and that is where he dropped me off.






And so finally there I was, with my suitcase, my Carradice bag and my Brompton, ringing the door bell of my new residence. At this point I was utterly exhausted. But all things considered I think the trip went well. I left Dublin at 7:40am and arrived at Ballycastle just past 12:30 in the afternoon. I managed fine with my luggage, and now here I am settled in and with my own bike on the Antrim Coast.




The transportation system in Northern Ireland is impressive as far as density of coverage and the frequency with which the local buses and trains run; I had not expected anything nearly this good. For anyone interested in traveling through County Antrim, you can definitely do so without the hassle of renting a car. Prices for buses and trains are reasonable, and the stops take you not only to local village centers but also to remote scenic locations along the coast such as the Giant's Causeway.Traveling with a folding bike should not be a problem, especially if it's one that folds up as small as the Brompton. For anybody considering visiting the Antrim Coast in this manner, I highly recommend it.

Velo Orange Croissant Bag: Small, Tidy, Classic

While I prefer a large saddlebag for long distance, on my fixed gear roadbikeI wanted something minimal: a bag just big enough to hold a few necessities, but small enough to hang neatly behind the saddle without sticking out to the sides. I considered a "bike burrito" style wrap, but ultimately I like structured bags with secure closures and multiple attachment points. There are several options out there, but I was already placing an order with Velo Orange and decided to get theirCroissant Bag while I was at it.





When I removed the bag from its packaging, it was larger than it had looked in the pictures and I was worried that it would not fit in the space under my saddle. But as you can see, everything fit nicely. So even if you have a bit less than the recommended "fistful" of seatpost showing, it should work.The bag retains its structure perfectly, and the straps stay in place. There is no bouncing, and nothing rubs the tire or fender.





Close-up view. The leather and canvas feel to be of good quality. The leather is a medium brown that somewhat (but not exactly) matches the colour of Brooks "honey", as well as the colour of amber-shellacked twine.





View from the front. The lower strap goes around the base of the seatpost; the upper strap threads through the rails under the saddle (not through the bag loops). Installing the bag is fairly straightforward.





The bag opens by unfastening the strap closure and untying the white cord that holds the inner flaps together.





Inner flaps with cord.





Inside, the Croissant bag is shaped like a Chinese food take-out container, and holds about the same volume. (I do not suggest that you stuff it with fried rice, though I found it tempting.) Notice the stiffener in that little pocket on the bottom - that explains how the bag keeps its shape so nicely.






There is not a great deal to say about a bag this small and this simple, and perhaps that is a good thing. It looks and functions exactly as I hoped it would. The Velo Orange Croissant Bag is an excellent choice if you need a small saddlebag that is neat, structured, well-made, and classic.

Making Jelly

I have been trying my hand at making jelly since we had such a large crop of apples and peaches this summer. Making jelly is a long, time consuming process.

First you pick the fruit. Then you wash the fruit, cut it open and in the case of apples you can get the juice in several ways. One way it to simply cut the apples in at least quarter pieces, the smaller the better and cook them. Or if you want you can core the apples and cut into small pieces and cook them. You can peel them but you are loosing a lot of juice doing that as it does when you core them. Once the apples have cooked for an hour or so they will be very soft and mushy. Let the fruit cool until it can be handled. The most efficient way I found was to put several pieces of cheesecloth layered together in the ricer, or sieve and use a large metal spoon to smash the fruit causing the juice to leak through the cloth and sieve and into a large container under the sieve. When the fruit was all smashed I would pull the cloth out of the sieve, remove the sieve from the container and holding the top of the cloth closed with one hand I would squash the apple pulp in the cloth to get the rest of the juice out. Refrigerate until ready to make the jelly.

For the peaches I would wash them, cut them open removing the pit and cook the fruit following the same procedureas for the apples.This works for almost all fruit.

Now to the jelly. Heat the juice until warm. At the same time heat a large (and I mean large) pan of water with a lid for sterilizing thejelly jars. You can buy largecanning pots with a lid andmetal basket in it that work well. Mine is about five gallon pot. The jars I use for jellyare half pint jars. I use pint jars for canning applesauce, and apple slices, and peach slices. Wash the jars, their screw onrings and the sealinglids that have a rubber seal around the edge that come with them.When you first buy jars they will have all three parts but jars andscrew on rings can be used over and over. Never use an already used sealing ring. It won't work properly.You just have to buy new sealing lids each time you seal a jar.

When the waterin the large pot is boilinggentlydropjust the jars in the water to sterilize them. While that is happening add a packet ifSureJell to the juice and bringto a full rolling boil that can't be stirred down. Add the sugar. (SureJell has information on how to do this in all packets of Sure Jell and each kind of fruitneeds a different amout of juice per sugar amount.) Again bring to a boil and stir one minute at full rolling boil that can't be stirred down.You can skim the small amount of foam off the top if you want.

You should now have very hot jelly.

I did the first batch of apple jelly and it came out perfectly.

Oh, but the second batch didn't. It wasn't boiling and it wasn't boiling and I turned my back on it for about 15 seconds and it came to a boil and went all over the stove top, down the side of the stove both outside the door and inside the oven door. And all over the floor and under the stove.

What a mess!

I was able to rescue 7 jars of jellyof the 9 I had figured for. And it jelled and was fine. By the time hubby came in I had cleaned up most of the jelly on the stove top and down the door. But he had to help me pull out the stove and clean the floor under it.

OK I thought. Something always has to go wrong with cooking. this should be all of it.

I froze 8 quarts of peaches in the freezer and canned 6 pints of applesauce as well as having about 3 pints I kept for eating right away.

Next was some peach jelly. Horrors! It didn't jell!

I tried the information for redoing the jelly on the SureJell packet when it doesn't jell and it still didn't jell. I called them. They told me they didn't have any information except what was on the packet. (So why are there people you can call for help?)

I opened all the sealed jars, dumped them in the pot for cooking the jelly, started over but didn't add any sugar. but did add another packet of SureJell. It worked. Peach jelly jelled.

Now I have done a batch of jelly of half peach and half apple juice mixed together. I is good jelly.











Hubby has been pealing apples for more applesauce so I guess I know what I'll be doing tomorrow.

Mt. Rainier, Disappointment Cleaver

Someone had this crazy idea to climb Mt. Rainier on the 4th of July to watch the fireworks from the top. It might have worked, except it ended up being cloudy on the west side of the state!



We started out that morning and headed up the well worn, normally crowded, DC route. By the time we got above Camp Muir, all the climbers for that day had already come down. We had the entire upper mountain to ourselves! The Ingraham Glacier, Ingraham Flats and Disappointment Cleaver.



David on the nose of DC. Cadaver Gap and Mt. Adams in the distance.



David holding the hand line on the big traverse over to Gibraltar Rock.



David in the crater on the top of Mt. Rainier.



Doug in the crater.







The shadow of Rainier hitting some low clouds at sunset. It was really strange and pleasant to climb that route and not see any climbers above high camp. We did see a few distant fireworks in the Yakima area on our way down. It didn't turn out the way we had hoped, but it was still a great day to try something new on our favorite mountain!

Wandering Along

Monday, April 4th - - Upon leaving Copper Breaks State Park, I continued northwest in the general direction of Amarillo. My intended destination was Palo Duro State Park, which some claim is the second largest canyon in the United States (the largest being the Grand Canyon).



However, I tired of battling the wind which was coming from the north with gusts of 35-50 mph and turned south after about an hour of driving. Several other factors added to the decision to forgo Palo Duro at this time – my left leg has been giving me some problems making hiking on uneven, rough trails a bit problematic – the wind was not due to let up until later in the day – the overnight temperature was going to drop into the low 30s - and tonight Butler was going up against UConn in the Big Game! So Palo Duro would have to wait for another time.



Just east of Silverton on Texas Highway 256 a rest area at the top of a ridge provided good views of the road just traveled.





This simple wooden cross at the top of the ridge honored “Gran” and “Pop”.





And this is the view that was off to the right... looking north.



Looking northeast.

Yes, I stopped at a motel for the night. And was disappointed by the outcome of the game. Neither team played all that good but Butler played a little worse, dashing the hopes of everyone cheering for the underdog.

Bicycle Snow Cover!

As we head towards the New Year, I give you this image of our neighbor's awesome bicycle cover!

It is snowing here in Boston again and the forecast promises that it will continue doing so for four days straight. So far, I have not exactly been a heroic winter cyclist, but in , I hope to get increasingly more comfortable. Other cycling goals include: touring long distance, conquering drop bars, developing stronger upper body musculature for wielding the Pashley, learning more about bicycle components, and dare I say, wheel building? Yes, that may be in my future over the winter months. Stay tuned and have a Happy New Year!

New Wheeling Suit and New Adventures

Looking at Velo-Vogue's spring selection of "bike wardrobe remixes," I realised just how drab and unspring-like I looked compared to the others.

My "spring wardrobe" when I rode Marianne on April 1st. Sure, gray on gray is my signature look, but spring is all about rejuvenation. So over the weekend I put together a new Wheeling Suit.

Floral shirt, slate-blue leggings, sky-blue cardigan, and navy shorts with white buttons. No black or gray in sight. Even the saddle shoes are cream and brown, with red soles and brown laces.

These shoes are actually a God-send and I recommend them if you are looking for a stiff-soled, comfortable cycling shoe with a vintage look. They are Bass, very reasonably priced, and come in several different colours - including the more classic black-and-white saddle shoe scheme.

The soles are textured, springy and stiff- a rare and wonderful combination. The leather is thick and structured, but didn't rub or pinch even the first time I wore the shoes. And the brown matches the darker shades of my Flyer.

Lest you be alarmed that my ensemble consists of shorts and such practical shoes, I will explain that the Wheeling Suit is specifically for sporty rides and light touring - something I hope to do a lot of this year.

A couple of days ago I raised the saddle on Marianne as far as it could possibly be raised so that I could still just barely touch the ground with one toe "en pointe" and the other foot on the pedal. Last year, this would have been impossible for me and I needed to at least touch the ground with a full toe in order to stop safely on the bike. But my balance is much better now, and I felt ready to go further. I still find it impossible to mount and dismount the bike "properly", but the "one toe en pointe" method is good enough, as even on the steep-tubed Motobecane my legs are almost 100% extended on the pedals now.

Amazingly, raising the saddle in this manner amounted to almost 2 extra inches of seatpost. And this little adjustment completely changed my relationship with the bicycle. The combination of my improved skills and this more aggressive riding position, has made me appreciate Marianne's steep geometry and extreme responsiveness. Rather than trying to reduce and "tame" these characteristics, for the past week I have been enjoying them - for the first time since owning this bicycle.

In addition, I have had a major "skill breakthrough": I have finally learned how to balance properly - including "steering with my hips" and riding hands-free (yes, even on this bike!). I'd read about how to do this countless times, but that didn't help me learn it viscerally. I think what finally helped me learn, was watching the velodrome cyclists doing laps hands-free when they were taking a rest. Something in the "imitation" areas of my brain must have clicked at that moment, and my body finally got it. And I didn't even realise that I had gotten this, until I noticed myself turning at an intersection by tilting my hips rather than using the handlebars - my body did it on its own, and the "Aha!" moment followed. I will stop myself from being too self-congratulatory about something most normal cyclists have been probably doing since age 10, but I am nonetheless excited. Clearly, there are many new things to learn ahead. Hope springs eternal!

Peacock Flowers

There flowers are called Acidanthera or peacock orchids, or peacock iris so I just call them peacock flowers because they are as beautiful as a white peacock in full feather. They do come from bulbs that bloom in mid summer. I grew mine on my sunroom and they have done great. They are an inexpensive bulb that can be found on sale in the early spring. They do have long, strappy type leaves that are almost like a thick leafed grass and needed to be staked so they wouldn't fall over. The center of the flower has a arrow shaped deep shade of purple or burgundy red shape on each petal. The flowersdon't seem to last very long and I don't think they would make good cut flowers but have made a bright splash of color in my indoor garden. I took some photos of the flowers at night with a flash against a dark window and I am very pleased with the outcome. Need to try some other flowers this way.