A Long RP Weekend

New Shelves
Originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge

My pal RP has come to visit for long, practical weekend. We got the new Ikea shelves in and up today. Very refreshing and practical. $230 well spent in the kitchen.

Others completed items:

• Many fires in the fire pit, made from wood cleaned up out of the yards. Chopped wood. Sawed vines.
  
• Got the motorcycle out, took it apart, put it back together and got it up and running (Fuel, spark, air; Fuel, spark, air.)
  
• Much target practice and gun sight calibration
  
• Much squirrel practice
• Replaced the rope on the flagpole
• Get a tree guy out here to solve that sagging pine tree limbs on the power lines issue
  
• Made every meal four days straight on the grill
• Lots of photography, including star photography, telephone book photography, wines of Tall Pines and so-called "trick photography"
  
• Many bottles of wine consumed. Two bottles of beer. One bottle of Famous Grouse. Half bottle of Smirnoff. Lots of juice and water.
• Cleaned all the gutters
• Took down, cleaned, sun dried and reinstalled two birdhouses
  
• One game of Risk
• Many games of Spades
• Repaired the furnace exhaust
• Diagnosed a sagging floor
• Stealth'd out a camera
• Repaired lawn furniture
• Scrubbed the picnic table
  
• Cleaned up the yard (fallen branches, leaves, etc.)

Oh, more photos? No problem.

Target Practice!

Target Practice!
Originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge

That's right, Daddy's got a nice target rifle, and this is a photo of the target he shoots. :)

And, I'm getting pretty good at it too. This was my favorite thing to do over the weekend, and I am happy to say that it was the very first thing on my to-do list for Sunday morning. What else? Well, church, naturally, and then new bathroom faucets (RP, need your help this weekend, ok?), new driveway signage, inspection of a problematic tree threatening my utility lines and "call Mom."

I can't wait for all the fun yard sports that are TK this summer -- petanque! Croquet! Archery! Hammocking!

30 Seconds of Night Sky

Night Sky Numero Dos
Originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge

Well, all that snow from the last post is gone now -- We're having a heat wave in New York! Temperatures in the mid-sixties all weekend. It gave me a great opportunity to meet some neighbors, walk the grounds (mostly shaking my head and mentally adding yard things to the to-do list) and tend to other items out in the yard. Grilled steaks, too.

Also, went out on the balcony and started doing some night photography with the d80 and the Bogen. This is a 30-second exposure. There's a half-full moon just on the other side of the roof of the house -- that's what's making the sky so bright. Pretty huh?

TP Driveway (McAdam Drive)

TP Driveway (McAdam Drive)
Originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge

So this is my driveway, as seen when I came home to it Monday night after the weekend's March 1st snowstorm. And you know what? This is 10 or 12 inches. And the Jeep just handles it. Love that little red Jeep.

The Hammock View

The Hammock View
Originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge

See these two trees in the foreground? Well, that's where the hammock is going. Imagine how that's going to look in the summer.

I also uploaded some new photos for everyone -- right here. The photos are partially a quarterly assessment (interiors!) and partly winter shots.

Parallele 45 Cotes du Rhone

Parallele 45 Cotes du Rhone
Originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge

A Tall Pines fave, mentioned as one of the "50 Reasons to Have Actual, Legitimate, Genuine Hope" in the February 2009 issue of GQ. Also mentioned: Five Guys, Amy Sedaris, Marisa Tomei, Vans and ... Demetri Martin?

Anyway, Parallele 45, endorsed by the editors of GQ, as previously seen in "The Wines of Tall Pines."

New Hamburg Station

New Hamburg Station
Originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge

This is the view from the New Hamburg Metro-North platform -- at night. I snapped this pic last Wednesday evening on the way into the city for an impromptu dinner with my GF, LP.

My 75-minute rail adventure starts here on this deserted country road and ends at the largest train station in the world -- Grand Central Terminal, 42nd Street, New York City. I take great pleasure in this extreme contrast, which often feels like sleight of hand. Sometimes, if I get a good sleep on the train (Pzizz, anyone?), it can feel like teleportation.

Deep Winter Commuter

DSCN3734 - Version 2
Originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge

You know, my feeling is: If you're going to do something, then DO IT. Commit, damn it. So? Winter in the country? Fine. Look the damn part. Wanna commute? OK, let's commute!

"Tall Pines" is more than just a house that's a bit farther out than Brooklyn. This is lifestyle change, people.

(still ... I can't wait to get out of all these whiskers, clothes and darkness and get my suntanned physique onto a sailboat in the Hudson!)

More snow.

More snow.
Originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge

So what's new at Tall Pines today? How's about a good seven inches of fresh powder? There you go! And this photo was taken at like 11 AM ... so now there's more out there -- and covered in a tenth of an inch of ice, too! Sigh, more rock salt please.

See that gas grill? Well, no more snow grilling for me (a favorite pass-time of mine) because I ran out of gas while doing some steaks Friday night. And it doesn't look like that picnic table's going to see action anytime soon.

Passive Solar Project, Pt. II

Passive Solar Project, Pt. II
Originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge

See, so as to get as much sun as possible into these stones, you need a dark surface. Know what's dark? Matte black stain. So here we go. Same stones, stained as dark as can be.

Of course, this is a night shot -- I am anxious to see how they look in the day (and also how much heat they absorb!) but that will have to wait for a sunny day. Not today. See my next post.

Passive Solar Stone Top

Passive Solar Stone Top
Originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge

So new year, new ideas. This is a hare-brained stab at doing something quasi-scientific and interesting. What's pictured is a Heywood Wakefield cabinet with three slabs of 18"x18"x2" slate plopped on top. Heavy as hell. The stones are sitting on pieces of quarter-inch cork to protect the cabinet.

This week, I'll stain the slate black as death -- which I think will look great. Then, these heavy little buggers will soak up the sunshine all day long ... and give the heat back when the sun is gone.

I don't really expect this to work well. At all. But, we'll see how it goes.

Into the Wintery Beyond

Enthusiasm has taken hold of me in the new year, and I have resolved myself to power through the cold weeks of January and February, and then stop, look around and reassess everything on March first. So from now 'till then, lotsa hard work (at work), commuting, keeping warm and working on my photo series "The Wines of Tall Pines" (previously known as "I Drink Alone ...").

New Year's Eve (and week) was a fine time up at Tall Pines. RP was supposed to come stay with his GF, MC. But at the last minute, Rich slipped on something (ice? snow? lemon wedge?) and knocked his back out. In bed for 5 days on Percocet in DC. Meanwhile up at TP, LP and I slept, cooked and red-wined our way through five totally relaxing days together. Thanks to LP's mom for the Slow Cooker -- and Rodale for Slow Cooker magazine. And it snowed on the very first morning!

Since the winter started, there's been no less than four bona fide winter storms, all leaving me with like 10, 6, 8, and 6 inches of snow, plus a whole lot of ice underneath that. Also, last night's low temp? Seven degrees. Surprisingly, I am only a little bit wondering why I didn't get a country house in California. Oh well, maybe for my second country house!

Yesterday, we had a beautiful light on the grounds, and I had the opportunity to walk the property with my trusty dSLR and take some nice photos. You know, snow on tree branches, glistening in the winter sun -- that kind of thing. I'll post some of them later.

Fast forward to March -- We move from the indoors to the outdoors. Spring promises to bring all sorts of projects, and I think through spring, summer and fall, its going to be a very active time at Tall Pines. Yay for spring!

New Year's Day!

New Year's Day!
Originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge

Well, goodbye and good riddance to 2008 -- bad year all around. Well, the first half was okay, but man, as the year wore on ...

Anyway, its all behind us now and 2009 is here. Whew. So from all of us up at Tall Pines, Happy New Year! I know we're all hoping this year is going to be better than the last ...

Pictured, the afternoon sun warms up the TP landscape this afternoon.

New Year's Eve!

DSC_1285 - Version 2
Originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge

Well, New Year's Eve, Tall Pines gets hit with a lovely 6-inch blanket of snow. Just great -- who doesn't like a white holiday?