Changing Wheels

On Sunday I placed an ad on Craig’s List to trade my 18 year old Trek 1100 road bike for either a mountain bike or a kayak. I haven’t ridden the 1100 much since I picked up a Trek 7.2FX Hybrid last year – it’s been hanging in the basement collecting dust, tires slowly losing air pressure. I purchased the 1100 brand new in the Spring of 1991 - I was 23 years old – It was the same year I met Susan. I’ll bet I put over 1000 miles on it in the time I owned it – did a lot of great, fast riding on that bike.

So anyway, I received a response from a gentleman in Delaware who had several mountain bikes he was willing to trade. I ended up trading for a 2007 Diamondback Response mountain bike – almost new condition – only about 20 miles on it. Still, it was a little sad handing the bike over to another person on Wednesday evening. But, my riding style has changed. No longer do I crave the speed of road riding, 40 MPH downhill runs – I’m more of a cruise and back woods trail adventurer now. So spin the wheels of change.

A Perfect Summer Day

One of those rare summer days when the weather is perfect – not too hot, not too cool. Slight breeze and just a few clouds in a brilliant blue sky. I woke up early and put the Kayak in the Perky – water was clear and smooth as I paddled up to the steel bridge. Fished for about two and a half hours and then drifted back to the landing. Caught only a few small bass and blue-gills, but it didn’t matter…the day was perfect.
Met up with Brian later and went on a nice 8 mile bike ride. Then took the family down to the Skippack for a brief creek walk. Tasha (our Labrador) also went along - a rare treat for her as she has arthritis in her hips and legs. I could tell she wanted to run like she did in the days of her youth. But we kept her on the leash and made he take it easy – she’ll be 13 years old in January. Finished the day with a BBQ and board games…Perfect.

Sunday Glass and Brass

I paid a visit to my favorite old dump site this morning. The brush and mosquitoes were thick so I covered myself with Deet and dug for about an hour. Persistence paid off as I pulled 2 nice insulators - one embossed with Ame Tel & Tel Co (American Telephone & Telegraph), a Levengood's Dairy cream bottle, and a small medicine embossed with W.T. & Co USA (Whitall Tatum Co). I later found the medicine bottle to be dated between 1875 to 1901. More likely dated to early 1900, as I have dug many artifacts from this location around that time period. Later in the day I found a brass name plate with the words "Jewett Buffalo" engraved on it. I've just started researching this piece, but I believe it is from an old stove or ice box - again, from around 1900.

Early July Rainbow Adventure

Jenna and I headed back to the Skippack Creek today to enjoy

some fishing and creek walking on Independence day. I caught many small pan fish and one rainbow trout held over from the stocking back in April. The water is starting to clear up nicely - soon fishing will be good in all the creeks and rivers.