Dragonflies and Hummingbirds

 

Retirement has given me more free time. I have used this to do more riding. Relax a little more and do more hiking. NJ has an amazing amount of interesting places to hike. One of the first thing I did when I retired was make a list of places I wanted to hike. A couple of weeks ago I checked off Ramapo State Park and Double Trouble State Park but I have a lot more to visit. 

This past Monday Laura had suggested doing a hike at Abbots Marshlands. It wasn't  on my list of places to hike but it looked interesting so I decided to do it. Abbots Marshland is on the Delaware river in Bordentown. As its name suggest it is a marshland along the river. There are a number of trails in and around the marshland. 

As we walked around we stopped for pictures of the water and plants around the marsh. Besides the usual spiders Laura was looking to get pictures of dragonflies. I was skeptical that we could get a picture of a dragonfly.  Dragonflies are hard to photograph as they usually don't sit still long enough for you to get a picture of them. We got a few pictures of them on the ground that weren't that good. Luckily we found one perched on the top of weed that stayed there for a few minutes as we took pictures. 

According to Laura this is a Blue Dasher dragonfly. All I know is that close up a dragonfly is very alien looking. I'm really happy with the pictures that I got. They show a lot of detail especially in the face and wings. Click on the picture if you want a closer look. I took this picture with my regular 18mm-150mm zoom lens which is not really meant for close up pictures so I might rent a macro lens to see if I can do even better. 

Besides dragonflies we took a few scenic pictures of the rivers and lakes.

 

We ended up doing a 3.5 mile hike. Although this place wasn't on my hiking list I will probably come back again some other time as it was an interesting and scenic place for a easy hike.

 

I don't always have to go hiking to take pictures of wildlife sometimes they come to me. My wife has a lot of flowers on our back patio which does attract some hummingbirds. The problem is they fly around really fast and you never know when they are going to show up. I decided to spend a half hour quietly sitting on my patio toward the end of the day when hummingbirds sometimes show up and I got lucky.

 

The key to getting a good shot of a hummingbird is to make sure you have a high shutter speed so you can freeze the motion. You also need to shoot in rapid fire mode, taking as many pictures per second as you camera can handle so you can get lucky and capture them in a good pose. 

I probably took a least 100 shots to get these two pictures. There is a lot luck involved in getting a shot of a hummingbird and it does take some practice. These shot are okay but with a little more practice and luck I should be able to do better. I do enjoy these hikes and photography challenges and am happy I have more time to do these things now that I'm retired. 

Rerounting...

When I lead a bike ride I usually have a planned route that I follow. I may make an occasional detour but I prefer to know where I'm going and what I will encounter. Last Saturday I got a suggestion for a route which was just a list of roads. I wanted to do something easy and short after doing a lot hiking and biking during the week. Laura did have a ride to Clinton but I didn't think I wanted to do that hilly or long of a ride.

Once I put together the route from the list of roads it was a little hillier and longer than I wanted but still easier than the Clinton ride. The route started from the Yardley park and ride and went up the NJ side of the Delaware and headed over a few hills to get to Lambertville then it was back through Pennington. It was just over 2000 ft of climbing and 45 miles. 

I felt good as we started out and we slowly made our way up to the hills on the NJ side. My original route had us going up Pleasant Valley Rd but it was suggested that we make a detour to Woosamonsa and Harbourton Rd to not have to do as much climbing. We made the suggested detour but although the hills were probably a little easier the amount of climbing was actually more and we added at least a mile to the ride. We stopped in Lambertville for our break after going over Goat Hill. On our way out of Lamberville we set a picture to Laura just to annoy her. 

 We made a few more detours on our way back to Yardley. I'm not as familiar with these roads as other areas so I went along with the detours and discovered a few new roads. However this added a couple more miles and more climbing to the ride. In the end we had 2500 ft of climbing and 48 miles which wasn't much less then the Clinton ride. It was an interesting ride but I was tired at the end and it was not the ride I was expecting. Let's just say I will not be as willing to follow suggested routes and detours from this person anymore. 

That is why this Saturday I listed a flat ride out of Allentown on a well worn route. It was a 50 mile ride down to Emery's and relatively flat. It ended up being a popular ride because I had a full ride before Friday. The day ended up being a little more hot and humid than I expected but we made good progress down to Emery's and everybody was well behaved. We did go down a closed road and went over a bridge under construction. I had a few riders on this ride who haven't ridden with me before but knew about my history of going over bridges that were out and were happy that got to experience it. It's nice to know that I didn't disappoint. 

The way back to the start had a few hills along the way but nothing like last week. Still because of the heat I faded a little at the end. We did have one flat tire on the ride but it was right at the end a large metal staple went through his tire. The staple was so big and embedded in the tire that there was no easy way to get it out. Somebody had to go and get him and he will definitely need a new tire.

Although I like exploring and finding new roads sometimes it fun to just to do a well know ride. 

Hiking and Biking

After the smoke cleared last week we have a few clear low humidity days. These were top 10 days so you had to get outside and enjoy the weather. This past Monday I join a friend of mine in the community and drove up to Ramapo State Park. We did a 9 mile hike along the mountains around the park. It was a beautiful day with clear skies. The trail was rocky so it was slow going but the views of the mountains and Wanaque reservoir were amazing.

There were also the ruins of the  Van Slyke Castle to walk through.

We ate lunch by Ramapo lake.

Then we hike back up to the start. Ramapo State park had been on my list to hike for a while so I'm glad I finally made it there. 

Thursday was another perfect day so I sent out an email to do a Pete ride out of Pennington. Pete usually leads these type of rides but he was away for this month so I thought I would lead one of his type of rides. It turned out that Pete was actually in town for a few days so he joined us for the ride. It was a typical circuitous route around Pennington. There were some rolling hills but no real climbing. These type of routes have a lot of turns and go through a lot of neighbor streets. It was a pleasant no hassle ride and a good way to enjoy the nice weather.

I usually relax on Friday's so I'm in shape for Saturday's ride but with another perfect weather day I decided to check out Double Trouble state park. This is the site of former cranberry farm so there are streams, lakes and bogs to walk around.

It was a calm day so I got some cool reflections off the lakes.  

I used the reflection to get an impossible looking picture off one of the lakes. 

Why is the water above the trees?

Besides the trails around the lakes and streams. There is also the old village itself to explore.

 

It has some old equipment lying around.

I love the rusted patina on the equipment.   

 

I ended up with about 3 miles of hiking. There is a lot more to explore here so I will be back to keep exploring when the weather allows. 

It was a very active week but when you have weather this good you need to take advantage of it.  

 

 

Sheltering in Place

The Canadian wildfire smoke descended on us again this year. The hot and dry conditions of June caused some massive fires up in Ontario and toward the end of the week the air quality went from okay to unhealthy as the winds blew the smoke this way. Now that I don't have to work I've been trying to get out a couple times during the week and at least once on the weekend. This past Saturday we had a good ride to the Blawenburg Bistro and Tuesday I road back from the shore. I was planning on going out again this week but when I went to airnow.gov I saw the air quality was well into the unhealthy range. Of course I did really need to see the news reports or particle counts in the air to know it was not healthy to go out as it smelled like smoke outside. The look of the air was also weird as it wasn't the normal hazy that is caused by fog or clouds. 

The picture above is a couple hours before sunset. The only way you can a clear picture of the suns disk without it being sunrise or sunset is by using a solar filter which blocks out 99.999% of the suns light. The fact that I could get this picture without a filter shows you how much smoke and dust is in the air blocking the suns light. 

This meant there was no outdoor activity for me for the last few days of the week. Spending any extended time outdoors would not be good for your health as the particles in the air are so small and numerous that they can bypass a lot of the standard body defenses and get into your lungs and bloodstream. 

The predictions of air quality and smoke cover are even worst than normal weather forecasting so my hope for a ride on Saturday was crushed when I saw the air quality when I got up in the morning. I'm hoping to get out on Sunday and hope the wind direction changes for the rest of the week so I can spend more time outside.  

Tall Ships

I'm not a big fan of birthday parties either mine or someone elses. I don't see the big deal about marking surviving another year. This July 4th is the 250th birthday of America. It's a nice milestone but it's just a number. There will be of course a big celebration around the country with the normal parades and fireworks. As part of the celebration in New York there will be a parade of tall ships (i.e. large ships powered by sails) along the Hudson and East river. The ships were expected to anchor in Sandy Hook bay a day or two before the parade so I decided to take a drive to Sandy Hook on Thursday. Friday morning might have been a better day but I didn't want to deal with the expected crowds. 

I did a little research and found a few good places to try and see the ships. We stopped at a marina in the bay by the Earle ammunition depot. There was one tall ship there but is was on the other side of the dock so could only see it mast's.

Next stop was at the Mount Mitchill  Scenic overlook which gave us a good view Sandy Hook and then entire bay. From there we spotted a tall ship entering the bay.

 

It had taken it's sails down and was motoring in to the anchoring spot. It was close to 100 degrees at this point and it was hot and hazy so not the conditions for clear pictures. 

We then moved on and drove out to the end of Sandy Hook to see if we could spot any more. There was a line to get into Sandy Hook as it is summer and a lot of people hang out at the beach there. There is a fee to get in in the summer but I have a free senior pass so we got in for free. 

We drove up to officers row and parked there. Across the bay there were three tall ships at anchor.

 

There was the two masted schooner pictured up top and a couple of three masted schooners next to each other. I had hoped to get a few pictures of them in full sail but had to settle for them at anchor. It wasn't really a good day for pictures as the heat rising off the water caused a lot of distortion in the air. We didn't spend a lot of time outside looking at the ships as it dangerously hot out even down near the water. It was the kind of heat that can cause spontaneous combustion so after a few minutes taking pictures we headed home. 

This 100 degree heat is going to last through the fourth. Anytime it is over 90 by 10am in the morning I'm staying off the bike so for this holiday I will be enjoying the air condition comfort of my home until it cools off a little. 

 

Friday Night Fireworks

Click Here for more Pictures 

I do enjoy a good firework show on occasion. I also enjoy going to airshows so when there is way to do those two things at once I'm there. That was the case this Friday night when I went to the Greenwood Lake Airshow. This is a small but interesting airshow because they hold it during the early evening and night. The show has some of the usual airshow acts but this is not the main attraction. The main attraction is the firework extravaganza that goes on after dark. They combine lasers, fireworks and walls of fire along with a few airplanes dropping fireworks to put on one of the best night time shows you will ever see. You can clink on the link above for some pictures of the show but there is really no way to covey the actual experience adequately.

Like any airshow it has airplanes doing some graceful and amazing aerobatics 

 

There was also a jet truck powered by 3 jet engines firing up the place and going 0 to 200 mph in 5.8 seconds. It was cool just watching it puff flames during the day.

 

And even better once it got dark 

Once it got dark the real show began. First with some skydivers lit up with LED's and sparklers then they sent up a plane lit up with LED's and dropping fireworks.

Then the laser and firework show began. When the music starts and they are playing AC/DC you know the fire is coming. You not only see these balls of exploding fire rise up out of the ground but you feel the concussion and heat from it that makes you feel like you're part of the explosion.

 

The firework show was amazing for a number of different reasons. First the fireworks were coming from multiple places along the runway so the entire horizon was filled with lasers, fireworks and flames. Second the variety and sheet number of fireworks per second was overwhelming. 

 

It was a continuous barrage. And if that wasn't enough there are also airplanes fly through the fireworks dropping more fireworks.

 

It was a total sensory overload that left you speechless and in awe. 

I had been wanting to go  for a while and I'm glad I finally did. We were lucky and had perfect weather. It was in the mid 70s with partly cloudy skies. The only drawback was it was a 2+ hour drive each way so we didn't get back home until after midnight but it was worth it. I know that this is the 250th anniversary of the US and there will be a lot of firework shows around July 4th this year but none of them are going to be as good as I saw last night.  

Feather Overhaul

A little over a month ago my Feather started skipping occasionally during shifting. This usually indicates a problem with the chain and/or cassette so I took it into the shop. I bought this bike in 1999 so it is 26 years old. The original bike came with Dura Ace and it has been a very durable. Over the years I have replaces, chains, cassettes, cables and the front derailleur but the wheels and frame and rest of the bike  have at least fifty thousand miles on them and have a lot more miles left. I just love the way the bike feels and rides. 

Once I brought it to the shop they confirmed that it needed a new chain, cassette and new small chain ring in the front. The only problem is that since my group set is so old it is hard to get parts. The chain was no problem and although the original cassette is no longer available SRAM has a compatible one. The main problem was the front chain ring which took the bike shop some time to find and get. That meant that my bike was in the shop for a month while they waited for parts. 

Once they got the parts and started to put it back together they found a few more problems. First the left crank was cracked. 

 

I guess fifty thousand miles of me pounding the pedals stress the metal to the point of failure. The crack wasn't all the way through yet so I could have gotten a few more miles out of it but better to change it than have to ride with one crank. 

The other issues that the shop found was a crack in the wield on the collar used to secure the seat. 

 

This is not really a problem as it is just a crack in the wield. The collar itself is fine. Also I haven't moved the seat in many years so even if it fails I doubt the seat will move. The seat post is probably frozen to the frame at this point. Also if I need to fix this I want someone who is an experienced frame builder and wielder not a local bike shop. 

Other than those problems once the shop got the parts they put the bike back together. I now have a new cassette and chain.

And a new small front chain ring.

 

The new chain ring is black instead of silver but I really don't care. The shop also put new derailleur cables on and new brake pads so the bike has now has had a full overhaul. 

It's nice to have the Feather back as I have been riding my Synapse for the past month. My Synapse is a good bike and great for hill rides but it doesn't ride or shift as smooth as my Feather. 

I took the Feather out for a couple of rides this week and it feels as good as new. It just tracks and rides so much smoother than any other bike I have ridden and I can push this bike a lot harder than my other bikes. 

This will probably be the last time I will try to get new parts for this group set. When things wear out again I will probably completely replace the current group set for something newer with maybe a few more gears. That is probably a couple of years away. Until then I will just enjoy the ride of the Feather.