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Boats and Bikes ~ Burlington, Vermont

panorama of the harbor on Lake Champlain, Burlington 

 

Thomas Armstrong, over at 70.8%, would applaud this series. His interests range widely across art and history, but his flights often start from and circle back to sailboats and bicycles. The two modes of travel are amusingly compatible bedfellows – one for water and one for land. Both experienced their heydays at the turn of the 19th Century. Both are engine free, efficient, and often elegant means of transportation – and remarkably functional anachronisms. After a recent trip I can confirm how well they compliment each other.

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Sotterley Plantation

View from the Veranda

 

After a short night of sleep, morning came a little early. The first thing I heard after daylight – besides whippoorwills, gulls, bobwhite quail, crows, turkeys, crickets and cicadas – was Ken’s outboard chugging up the creek. Kevin M and Ken were already putt-putting across the water in LIttle T and the O’Day with everyone else on board.

 

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Moonrise

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Out of sequence, but timely.

We have a bunch of friends who are young farmers and foodies: chicken, beef, pork, cheese, beer, cider, wine, kombucha, eggs. Plus some chefs who work in local restaurants putting it all together in amazing ways. They work really, really hard.

Today they threw themselves a pasture party, kicked back and chilled out, and brought the fruits of their combined labor. They party as hard as they work – it lasted all day and into the night. We had to bail out while they were still going strong.

But we waited for the moon to rise – a “Super Moon” – and the clouds cleared just in time.

And super it was.

 

 

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Seventeen Year Cicadas

 Seventeen Year Cicada, midway through transformation

 

direct Youtube link

A few days ago, the hatch of Magicicada Brood II began here in Virginia. These are the periodic cicadas on a 17 year cycle. It’s pretty amazing how many there are. They’re everywhere.

They’ve only started tuning up on their “singing” – in another week the noise will be deafening. Almost literally. At close range, a cicada can pump out 120 decibals. That’s enough to do permanent damage to your hearing.

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