Welford - Sibbertoft - Welford

Barry led this walk, with me and Gordon. Almost 10 and a half miles, and the weather was fine, though blustery, and quite cold in the wind.














We parked near the school in Welford, on West St, and walked through Butchers Close to the High Street, past a couple of ex-pubs, and the Old Post Office, then turned left, past a development of new houses ( from barns) and across some fields, following a path, which joined the Jurassic Way, and funnelled us between hedges briefly. We followed the Jurassic Way through some fine scenery, across a tiny river - the infant Avon, of Stratford fame - and up past Sulby Lodge Farm, home of Shep the dog. Soon afterwards we met the Naseby Road, turned left and after Grange Lodge turned right along the path beside Welford Reservoir, then across the weir which divides it from Sulby Reservoir.

a kestrel

A robin watches as we wander by

The path left the water and went nor'nor'east, through a field showing plenty of evidence (humps and bumps and hollows) of the old mediaeval village of Old Sulby.

Part of Old Sulby, with the northern arm of Sulby reservoir in the background

The path crossed a track and then another field. Just after some buildings on the right the Jurassic Way turns east. We continued along as far as Sibbertoft, where we turned right and walked along the road which skirts the southern edge of the village, ignoring all turnings to the left, and turned right at a green where three roads converge. At a right-angle bend to the left, our path turned off to the right. There was a fair amount of walking through fields here, some of them muddy - the path was generally easy to follow, in a more or less south-westerly direction, cutting diagonally across the fields.

We were aiming for the small piece of woodland at the end of the reservoir's eastern arm. Through the wood, the path proved to be very muddy and wet, but at the other side we came out on to a decent track. It leads from Oak Tree Farm - which isn't on the map. The track leads up hill gently, and we had a snack break when we reached the gate by the Naseby road. A good choice - sheltered from the wind.





Across the road is the site of Sulby Abbey, founded in c.1155, occupying a considerable area, and frequently visited by Edward II. According to this site, the monks were not always perfectly behaved, and there are details of some of the punishments they were given.

In 1538, Thomas Cromwell was informed that'the papistical den of idle and utterly unlearned beasts at Soulbie' had beenbroken up.





Next downhill a bit, and over the mighty Avon again, then upwards and onwards to the A 5199. We seemed to be approaching the A14, closer and closer, noisier - but a few hundred yards short, we turn west and parallel to it, then meet the minor road which crosses it. We turn our backs on the big road, and after less than half a mile, past Welford Lodge Farm, we turn left again and head across country towards Hemplow Lodge Farm. This is a popular child-care nursery, if the traffic along the lane is anything to go by. There's a manicured lawn and mini-lake here, and the path could do with clearer signs.



We turned sharp right, and straight along the lane, past a house named the Hemplow Arms, straight on at the crossroads, and into Welford along West End.

Hora pars vitae - each hour is a part of life

Bosque del Apache

From the "Friends of the Bosque" website (http://www.friendsofthebosque.org/):

"The Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico is an important wintering home for Sandhill Cranes and hosts as many as 14,000 cranes during the winter months. The Bosque is located along the Rio Grande River south of Albuquerque and provides critical habitat for cranes and other migratory birds such as over 32,000 Snow Geese, dozens of Bald Eagles, Avocets and many other birds. The beautiful refuge is also home to small herds of Mule Deer and families of Coyotes. Seeing the sunset "fly-in" and the sunrise "fly-out" is an experience you will never forget!"



Above: "Blue morning at Bosque" - An overcast, snowy, predawn morning makes for a dramatic image of these Sandhill Cranes.

After leaving Yosemite the next stop on my trip was to be Bosque del Apache in New Mexico. The plan was to meet back up with my friend Roger (http:www.rogernordstromphoto.com) in Socorro then head to the refuge the next morning. For those of you that have been following along with my blog, Roger and I started off my trip together with a visit to the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota. After that portion of the trip Roger had to head back home, but I continued on my journey and here we are meeting back up again near the end of my trip! Roger was visiting his family in California for Christmas, so he stopped in New Mexico to meet up with me on his way back home.

I arrived in Socorro with enough time to head to the refuge for sunset (Roger wouldn't be arriving for several more hours). Not long after arriving at the refuge I was a little disappointed at the lack of birds. I had visited Bosque back in 2004 during this same week, and remembered seeing LOTS of cranes, and LOTS of snow geese. This time, there were only a few. Oh well, I figured... maybe it was just an "off" night, and more would be around tomorrow.



Above: "Red-Winged Rush" - While driving the roads of the refuge, we spotted this large group of Red-Winged Blackbirds that was flying around one of the fields... they would fly around a bit, then land for a moment, then fly around again. I've never seen so many Red-Winged Blackbirds at one time before. Luckily I had my camera and telephoto lens ready to capture this rush of birds!

The next morning we rose bright and early so we could take advantage of the nice breakfast that was offered at our motel. If you're ever looking for a place to stay in Socorro, I highly recommend the EconoLodge... VERY reasonable rate, the room was spacious and very comfortable, the staff was friendly and they had one of the best breakfasts of any motel I've ever stayed in. Coffee, juice, bagels, waffles, cereal, fresh fruit.... it was a great way to start the day!



Above: "Coyotes on the prowl" - A pair of coyotes working their way along the edge of one of the fields. There was a group of snow geese out in the middle of this field, several hundred yards away from these coyotes. The coyotes had their eyes on the birds... not sure if they got any or not, as they ducked into the brush and I never saw them again.



Above: "Safe Zone" - A group of Canada Geese along with a few Sandhill Cranes rests in a field. The fields provide food and a modicum of protection from coyotes, their main predator at the refuge. The birds are usually clustered in the middle of these fields, so they can see the coyotes coming in time to take off and avoid being caught by one.

After breakfast we hit the road for the refuge, which is about a 25 minute drive from Socorro. It started snowing not long after we got on the freeway. Hmmmm.... probably not going to be much of a sunrise, we thought. We were right about that... no sunrise, it was too cloudy. The snow kept coming down, and at times quite heavily. It ended up being a wonderful morning, with the fresh snow providing a perspective on the refuge that not many people are able to enjoy. Being that this is a desert, they don't get much rain or snow. It was a rare treat. Throughout the morning we saw many small groups of birds but as the day progressed we would see more and more. We spent several days at the refuge, and by the time we left we were quite happy with the birds we had seen.





Above and below: These cranes were out for a morning walk on one of the frozen ponds. After watching them for about a half hour, they began to take off one by one from the ice.



Bosque del Apache was my first exposure to Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese. Before my visit in late 2004, I had never seen either of these birds. Since then, I have been to Nebraska several times to witness the massive gathering that occurs there every spring. Sandhill Cranes are amazing birds, and I don't think I will ever tire of seeing them. Sandhill Cranes have one of the longest fossil histories of any existing bird. The oldest Sandhill Crane fossil is about 2.5 million years old, over one and a half times older than the earliest remains of most living species of birds!

If you'd like to see some more images of Sandhill Cranes, please visit my blog entries from Nebraska in March of :

http://travisnovitsky.blogspot.com//04/sandhill-cranes-on-platte-river.html

and from March of :

http://travisnovitsky.blogspot.com//03/gathering-on-platte-river.html





Above and below: Experimenting with some slower shutter speeds, trying to "blur" the wings of snow geese as they flew into the refuge at sunset.





Above: Two cranes out for an evening walk.



Above: "Flight Training" - This trio of snow geese flew over us several times as they looped around the farm deck field. Most of the time it seemed as though the two geese behind were chasing the one in the front. I joked with my friend Roger that the one in front was probably the "flight instructor", and was teaching the two behind him how to follow and stay in formation :-)



Above: A typical "blast-off" of Snow Geese at the refuge. When the geese fly out from the refuge, they usually do so in one large group. When an entire field full of these birds decides to take flight all at the same time, it is quite a sight to see. Its also really something to hear the birds when they all take flight. The whole experience is unforgettable. To see a short video of one of the morning "blast-off" events, click this link to my main website:

http://www.travisnovitsky.com/Video-Clips/Misc-Videos/4207197_KrddQ/1/756102917_Wdjg4/Medium

Below: Sunset over one of the irrigation canals at the refuge (the two lights are the headlights of a vehicle approaching on one of the refuge roads). The staff at the refuge use these canals to divert water from the Rio Grande into the fields at the refuge, creating prime habitat for the birds. If you're into wildlife, you should put a visit to Bosque del Apache at the top of your list!

Alenax: the Ultimate Vintage Freak Bike?

Looking for the perfect bike for that End of the World themed ride? I think I found it. Having seen so many crazy two-wheeled contraptions in the basements and garages of collectors over the years, I sometimes think that I've seen it all and that no bike can really surprise me anymore. And that's usually when I'll stumble upon something like this. Notice anything out of the ordinary?





How about now?






Meet theAlenax TRB 2400, the original Transbar Power bicycle. It was designed to be pedaled using up-and-down motions instead of circular motions. Presumably this was done to approximate the feel of walking, thereby making cycling feel more "natural." Here is a video of this in action.






In leu of a crankset, the Alenax sports two pivoted "transbars." I won't pretend to understand how exactly the system works, but seethis articleby Jobst Brandt andthe Alenax blogfor additional descriptions.






A stem-mounted shifter controls the gears






- on Alenax's own internally geared hub.





Abundance of cables and chains along the drivetrain.







But aside from the pedaling system, the Alenax looks disconcertingly normal. Lugs, skinny tubes, shimmery paint, tan wall tires. It's basically just a typical '80s roadbike, retrofitted to accommodate the Transbar Power system. It is also a good 5lb heavier that a standard roadbike from that era.






When Alenax came out with these bikes in 1983, they marketed aggressively, intending to revolutionise bicycle design. They attended all the bike shows, made promotional videos, courted distributors. But amazingly, the concept failed to catch on. By 1993 they threw in the towel, and all that's left today are the (apparently highly collectible) traces of their efforts. At some point more recently, it looks like there was an attempt to modernise and rebrand, but that too does not seem to have worked out.








I am doing some freelance work for Harris Cyclery, and one of the perks is getting to see things like this. Jon Harris dragged the Alenax out of the shop's basement one day, then proceeded to ride it jauntily up and down the block. "It feels a little strange until you get it up to speed," he explained, "but after that it's fine!" The bike is too big for me to ride, so I cannot confirm that. But they do have a partially assembled step-through version in the basement...

Beaver Tree

This tree had been cut down by a beaver near the creek. You can see the marks where it chewed on it with it's long front teeth.

Mystery Photo #8

This is the seventh post (and 8th photo) in a series of unidentified photographs from the Charles Wiseman Family Bible. See this post for background information. Click on the "Mystery Photo" label at the bottom of the post to see all of the photographs in this series. As always, you can click on the pictures to enlarge them.

Paper photograph on card stock. 2 3/8 x 4 1/16. Printed on back: Frank A. Place, Photographer, Warsaw, Ind. Also, perhaps, another of those "hidden mother" photos? Looks to me like the background has been retouched.

Okay, even though we all know what can happen when you assume something, an assumption is going to be made that this is a photograph of one of the grandchildren of Charles and Susanna Bray Wiseman. In the previous post I suggested that the baby in that picture was Nathaniel Howard Wiseman, born July 18, 1884. He was the 2nd grandchild of Charles and Susanna. The first was Ethol Walter Scott, born April 7, 1884 in Vevay, Switzerland County, Indiana and the son of Susanna Wiseman and James Scott. I don't think the previous picture was of Ethol because they lived in Vevay, in the southeastern part of Indiana. It's my opinion that the above photograph is of the 3rd grandchild who was Charles Wilson Wiseman, born September 20, 1886 and the son of Amanda Alexander and Samuel Bray Wiseman though it could be Smith Wiseman, born February 27, 1888 and also the son of Sam and Amanda.

The pictures below are from my father and were identified (from left to right) as Ethol Scott, Howard Wiseman, Smith and Charles Wiseman.

Good Morning

My morning glory flowers are now doing great. The tiny spots aren't camera problems but are pollen.

Mesa Verde :: Spruce Tree House

The third cliff dwelling that I visited while at Mesa Verde was Spruce Tree House, which does not require a ticket as it is a self-guided tour. Rangers are on-site at all times to answer questions and keep and eye on visitors.

It is the third largest of the cliff dwellings and contains about 130 rooms and 8 kivas (kee-vahs) built into a natural alcove 216 feet wide at its greatest width and 89 feet at its greatest depth. It is thought to have been home for about 60 to 80 people.



The black areas on the underside of the rock were caused by smoke from the fires they used to cook with and keep warm.