After doing some morning landscape work, I drove to western Massachusetts to enjoy a perfect fall afternoon. I traveled as far as the Connecticut River, where I paused to photograph the French King Bridge. The foliage is only beginning to change and it would be nice to return to the area in about a week with Jeanine.

My sister Mayela and her husband Stephen ventured out to visit their mountain cabin located in western North Carolina, 75 miles northeast of Asheville, to see if it was still standing. They witnessed massive destruction along the route messaging photos to the family as they drove. We were all relieved and thrilled when they reported that their home had been spared, and had electricity and water.

Once they ascertained that their house was intact, they continued further inland to deliver supplies to those less fortunate.

The family gathered this evening to celebrate my 66th birthday. We got to hear all about Maya’s single-day Presidential Traverse, Nico’s ascent of Mount Cotopaxi, and Kyle’s exploits in Panama. Joining us were Owen, Maya’s boyfriend, who shot this photo, and Heloisa, one of Kyle’s housemates. I grilled steaks while Jeanine prepared a wonderful salad, Brussels sprouts, and baked potatoes, which we enjoyed on the patio warmed by a fire. We retired indoors for a delicious ice cream cake that Jeanine had prepared at my request.

My soccer team enjoyed a 2:0 win over Medfield earlier in the day. For the first time this season, I felt good about my game. I made zero mistakes and did something productive every time I handled the ball. My hip joints have been bothering me for the last week and I was pleased that they did not hurt at all during (or after) the match.

Although my birthday was front and center, today is Jeanine and my 34th wedding anniversary. How lucky can one guy get?

In a recent post, I shared the news that the Bionic Project, where Nico works as the Lead Educator, had been selected as a finalist in the national Land Rover Defender Service Awards!

The winner of $25K and a Bionic-branded Land Rover Defender will be determined by public voting, which has already begun.

I am pleading with all my followers to support the Bionic Project by voting every day for the next 12 days. It costs nothing and would mean so much for the organization.

Cast you vote HERE.

SUPER IMPORTANT: Sign up for a daily voting reminder HERE.

SUPER, SUPER IMPORTANT: Share this post with your entire network and ask them to help the Bionic Project team win.

The forecast called for sunny skies and peak color in the White Mountains, so I grabbed my cameras and headed north for the day. I left at 4:30 am to arrive in time for morning light and covered 400 miles in my search for autumnal beauty. The weather was ideal but I estimate that peak color is still a week away at most elevations. Nonetheless, I returned with several nice photographs. I traveled north to Franconia Notch, spending most of my time in New Hampshire. I detoured into Vermont to charge my car and found some nice subjects there as well. Fall is by far my favorite season and such excursions recharge my soul.

We received word today that Nico reached the summit of Ecuador’s Mount Cotopaxi and descended safely. Part of the Pacific Rim of Fire, it is a glacier-covered, active stratovolcano that has erupted 87 times, most recently last year. He is in Ecuador with the ROMP organization on a fundraising drive to provide prosthetics to those who cannot afford them. Celebrating the organization’s tenth anniversary, this year’s event has teams climbing Chimborazo (20,549 ft), Cotopaxi (19,347 ft), and Cayambe (18,996 ft) and has already raised $320,000. Pictured above is the entire group on one of their acclimatization hikes.

Nico’s team of 20 began their ascent at midnight to reach the summit by sunrise. Only 9 reached the top; of that group only 3 were amputees; of that group he was the only one on crutches. Recent eruptions altered the climbing routes making the final ascent considerably more difficult than in year’s past. Nico reported that it was the most physically demanding and terrifying climb he has ever made. While traversing a crevasse, he lost his balance and dropped one of his crutches. Had it not been tethered to his other crutch, it would have been lost to the volcano, leaving him stranded on the mountain. Had he not been on belay, we would have had one less Christmas present to shop for this year. The day before he left, Nico and I were reviewing his gear and discussing safety. I asked what he would do if he broke a crutch while climbing. He thought it far more likely that he would drop one and it would slide down the mountain. Ten minutes later, I had fashioned a bungee cord with slip locks to secure the crutches together and still provide the range of motion needed for climbing.

The team climbing Cayambe encountered snow and high winds, forcing them to forfeit the summit. The Chimborazo group will start their ascent later this week.

Nico returns on Sunday, and I hope to post photographs of the climb then.

An unexpected benefit of removing trees that threatened the house is that I can get a better photographic perspective of the house than was possible before. Regrettably, it is still not possible to position my drone for an unobstructed view of the river side of the house. I expended a great deal of effort to ensure that the windows on all three floors were of equal width and perfectly aligned, a detail that is essentially masked from view.

Maya shared this photo of the vest she knitted for herself. Completed just in time for the fall season, she started the project while we vacationed in England. My mother was an accomplished knitter and would have been so pleased to see Maya pursuing the art. Unlike knitting in a single color, the attention to detail necessary to make a multi-color, complex pattern is an order of magnitude higher.

The Kingfisher is an aptly named bird. With its huge dagger-like black bill, it is a lethal hunter. This morning, I spotted this one having just secured breakfast. Unfortunately, the angle of this photo does not reveal how large the fish is; so big in fact that the kingfisher was having trouble getting it down its gullet.

Maya and Owen hiked the Presidential Traverse yesterday. They started their 19-mile hike at 3:30 am with headlights, saw the sunrise from atop Mount Madison, and bagged seven 4,000-foot summits. Completing the traverse in a single day is arguably the most difficult climb in New England, with over 8,000 feet of elevation gain.

Nicolai arrived in Quito, Ecuador in time to connect with his climbing team for their attempt to summit 19,347 ft Cotopaxi later this week. If successful, this will be his highest ascent, a whopping 6 feet higher than Kilimanjaro.

Kyle sent us greetings from Panama, where he decided to travel at the last minute. Perhaps the smartest of our children, he seems focused on enjoying the food, sights, and nightlife rather than subjecting his body to intense physical strain.

I ventured into my shop this morning and then completed an 11-foot ascent back to the first floor. On a less sarcastic note, I followed that arduous climb with 60 minutes of playing time in a soccer match against the defending division one champs in our age group. We beat them 2:0, which made my birthday all the more joyous. As if the day couldn’t get any better, our dentist gifted me several huge slabs of spalted beech wood from which I will eventually build a desk for Jeanine’s office.

This evening, we attended the Conantum Harvest Supper, a gathering of our neighborhood with a long history. New this year was the venue. It was held at Verrill Farm, which made it possible to include children for the first time and to make it easier for seniors with mobility issues to attend. Jeanine was instrumental in driving the change. It resulted in record attendance and far greater inclusivity than in years past. I was on photo duty and enjoyed capturing both young and old. The full collection of photos can be found here.

This morning, Nicolai set out for Ecuador to join his ROMP climbing team for their ascent of Cotopaxi. Unfortunately, he only made it as far as the Logan Airport check-in desk, where he learned that his flight to Atlanta had been delayed due to Hurricane Helene and that his connection to Quito would be missed. He is rebooked for tomorrow and believes he can still meet up with his team before they depart for the mountains. Fortunately, I decided to visit nearby Constitution Beach after dropping him at the airport and was only 5 minutes away when he requested that I pick him up for a return to Concord.

The Bionic Project is hosting a big fundraiser gala tomorrow, and I visited their website to get the details. Instead, I found recent news coverage of their visit to California. It presents a nice overview of the program they offer.

Before purchasing our home on the Sudbury River, our family resided about a mile away on Mattison Drive. Today, I learned about an unbelievable real estate scam involving the sale of the last undeveloped lot in that neighborhood. The true owners of the land, purchased in 1991, live in South Carolina and have been paying property taxes ever since. They had hoped to return to Massachusetts one day or gift the property to one of their children. A scam artist posing as the owner contacted a local real estate agent by e-mail seeking a seller’s agent. The realtor failed to verify the fake seller’s identity and proceeded to list the property for sale. A New Hampshire-based real estate agent made an offer to purchase the land for $550,000, a little over half the going rate for comparable undeveloped land in Concord. His father-in-law is a developer and the pair saw an opportunity to build and sell a home in the highly desirable neighborhood for a nice profit. The deal was contingent on being able to secure the necessary Natural Resource Commission permits. The true owners of the property received registered mail from a contractor preparing work for presentation to the NRC, their first indication that something was amiss. They contacted the NRC and explained that they were not selling the property and that the request for a permit hearing should be denied. Apparently, the request was initially denied but weeks later was heard and approved. Closing moved forward, site work followed and a new house was framed. When the true owners inquired as to why they had not received their property tax bill, they were informed that the property had been sold.

I learned all of this by reading the lawsuit filed by the true owners. They are suing the buyer, the developer, the realtor, and both real estate lawyers for failing to notice any of the red flags suggesting this was a scam (forged signatures, fake forms of ID, improperly notarized documents, several misspelled names and locations, and request for half a million dollars in proceeds to be sent to a UPS store in Pennsylvania,)

I will be inquisitive to see how this plays out. All defendants named in the lawsuit had a profit motive for seeing the deal close, and it would appear that they saw only what they wanted to see.

UPDATE:

A few minutes of sleuthing turned up this posting by the selling agent thanking the “seller’s” real estate attorney for “all your hard work representing our clients, and ensuring we get to the closing table.”

It is always exciting to have a first-time visitor at the River House. This juvenile red-tailed hawk showed up today, undoubtedly interested in the abundant chipmunk and squirrel population here. He hung around for about 15 minutes but did not seem to be in the mood for hunting.

Had he lived, today would be my father’s 100th birthday. On this day, I remember a kind and loving man who adored his family and lived life to the fullest. I will never forget his infectious laughter and often think of him when I hear a story that would have gotten him started. I only wish he could have lived to see his grandchildren become adults. He would have been so proud of them.

From his obituary:

Dr. Frank M. Calabria, 86, of Wendell Avenue, Schenectady, NY, died peacefully in his home surrounded by his loving family on October 20, 2010. Frank was born in Brooklyn, NY, son of the late Ernesto and Rosina Calabria. He was predeceased by his brother, Ernest Calabria and sisters, Jacqueline Gomez and Antoinette Barkley. He met his beloved wife, Angela, of 54 years at the Byrnes & Swanson dance studio in Brooklyn while working as a ballroom dance instructor there. They have four children and nine grandchildren. His son, Carl and his wife, Jeanine reside in Concord, MA with their children, Kyle, Nicolai and Maya; son, Mark and his wife, Marie reside in Plymouth, MN with their children, Mario, Rory, Sophia and Rose; daughter, Alissa Quinn and her husband, John reside in Slingerlands, NY with their children, John and Rachel; and daughter, Mayela Harris and her husband, Stephen reside in Fuquay-Varina, NC. Frank graduated from City College with his bachelor’s in science degree and was accepted into the graduate program in clinical psychology. He received his Ph.D. at New York University. Frank began his career as a professor of psychology, teaching in the evening division at Russell Sage College for five years. He was a professor of psychology for 24 years at Union College and retired professor emeritus. He also maintained a private practice as a psychotherapist and was an author of two books, “Dance of the Sleepwalkers: The Dance Marathon Fad” and “Let it Be a Dance – My Life Story.” He served in WWII as an athletic instructor where he was decorated with a Victory Medal, Good Conduct Medal and American Theatre Service medal. He received an honorable discharge in 1946. Frank formed a body building club as a young teenager, after spending a year in a wheelchair. He was a teacher of ballroom dance at the local USO, Dance of America conventions and in various local studios. Frank played classical guitar and was an avid ballroom dancer for over 50 years.

When Nicolai was 13 years old, he climbed Tanzania’s 19,341 ft. Mount Kilimanjaro. He was the first person ever to do so on crutches. Next week, he sets off for Ecuador to climb 19,347 ft. Cotopaxi. He climbs this time to raise money for prosthetics rather than wheelchairs. Why? He believes mobility is a basic human right. Please support his climb if you are able: https://climb.rompglobal.org/event/climbingforromp2024/account/1739877?fbclid=IwY2xjawFdkGpleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHYH4VDLFq7e4dlAIkbullVqW12yDvtG4FuVz6yhLFKCDgEr0x4pav1B_4Q_aem_CC0IiLqzjFhdWNBumxos3A

Kyle has been in Ithaca, NY this week, hanging out with half a dozen friends from his running group. He shared this image of spectacular Taughannock Falls. The last time I was in the Finger Lakes district, I stopped here but the falls were not flowing at the time. This picture makes me really want to go back and I am thrilled that Kyle had an opportunity to visit this very special place.

My sister-in-law shared this photo from our recent visit to Minneapolis. There is a lot to digest in this image, and I will leave it to the reader to draw their own conclusions.

The Bionic Project, where Nico works as the Lead Educator, has been selected as a finalist in the national Land Rover Defender Service Awards!   This contest is a partnership between Land Rover and Chase Bank and rewards nonprofits in 5 categories.  The Bionic Project is a finalist in the “Outdoor Education and Accessibility” category.    Here is a link to the press release announcing the finalists.   

Winning would mean $25K and a Bionic-branded Land Rover Defender for the organization. Public voting will be open from Oct 2 – 17, and I will share a link to the Bionic Project video entry at that time.

Using plant stalks from the floral arrangement we received as a gift earlier this month, Jeanine created a new arrangement that will adorn our entryway. I love it. We spent a good portion of the day moving wood chips. It is great exercise and satisfying to see new yard areas start looking somewhat groomed.

Supermoons are full moons that appear larger because they happen in tandem with the lunar orbit’s closest approach to Earth, appearing 30% brighter and 14% larger than when the moon is at its faintest. Tonight’s supermoon is also called a harvest moon because it’s the full moon that appears closest to the fall equinox, rising near sunset and providing extended illumination for farmers to bring in their crops. Now add a partial eclipse and we have the subject of today’s blog. Pictured above is the moon at the moment of maximum occlusion and below before the eclipse began.

Having recently acquired a lathe, my brother Mark has since produced several beautiful turned vessels. The one pictured above he made specifically as a present for us to store cooking salt. The ones pictured below, I absconded with after loosely obtaining permission to take them. They will all be proudly displayed in our new home.

Joined by the Earles, Jeanine and I started our day with a leisurely stroll through the East Village of Des Moines, where we discovered some Midwest wildlife. Later, we joined the wedding party for an extended brunch where we got a chance to spend time with Zoe’s family. It was a very relaxing day culminating with an uneventful set of flights back to Boston where Nico retrieved us from the airport.

Jeanine and I attended Collin Earle and Zoe Mauck’s wedding this evening. Collin is the son of Jeanine’s best friend from childhood. The wedding took place at the prairie estate of Zoe’s parents and was officiated by her father. The couple met through their passion for cycling, a theme visited several times in the emotional and moving ceremony.

Earlier in the day, we had an opportunity to do some sightseeing in Des Moines. Pictured below is the state capitol building and, below that, the Des Moines Art Center.

Our morning visit to the Framers Market provided an opportunity for me to join in with a local yoga group, a sight so rare that Jeanine felt compelled to document it.

Des Moines, Iowa was our destination for the weekend. Mark, Marie, Jeanine, and I made the three-hour journey with a stop at the High Trestle Trail and Bridge. for a bit of exercise. The 2.5 mile walk was well worth the effort. The bridge is a work of art and over looks the Des Moines River where hundreds of pelicans were fishing for their evening meal. We are here for a wedding, while Mark and Marie will travel on to Iowa City where they will connect with their daughter, Sophia, for parent’s weekend at the University of Iowa.

I spent most of the day in my brother’s shop helping him with repairs to his assembly table, pictured above. The massive casters on this table are pneumatically deployed using the stored compressed air in the canister mounted to the underside. My brother fabricated the piston components and used a rubber diaphram to serve as the actuator. One of the rubber seals failed after two years of service so he decided to replace all four with a silicon diaphram. The project took several hours to complete and produced a very satisfying result. It is very cool to throw a switch and have a several hundred pound table convert from a stationary to a mobile platform. Mark and I enjoy working on projects together and lament the fact that we live so far apart.

Jeanine and I flew to Minnesota today to stay with my brother Mark and his wife Marie in Minnetonka. Jeanine took this photo while out for a walk with Marie. She liked elements of the garden and thought we could use some of these concepts back at the River House.

It has been 10 months since our driveway was paved with a binder coat. Yesterday, the top coat was added. The reason for the time delay was to allow the binder to settle and for all heavy equipment work to be completed. With the last (hopefully) of our tree work completed last week, we were ready to finish the driveway. I thought a fly-over video would be more compelling than a still photograph. You may feel otherwise after witnessing my questionable flying skills. Even so, I did not crash into anything which is more than can be said for some of my previous attempts at flying while shooting video.

The straps I originally ordered for my kayak cart project were too short and it took several days to acquire ones of the right size. With these installed, the project is now complete. Our kayaks will be stored on the carts so they are ready to deploy at any time with no additional work. It has been more than 13 years since their initial finish was applied and they are due for a new coat. I hope to tackle this work sometime later this fall.

It was a glorious fall morning, the perfect weather to start my team’s fall soccer season. Regrettably, our performance on the field did not live up to the beauty of the day. We squandered a 1-0 lead at the half giving up two goals before the final whistle. I played a good 60 minutes but did little to help (or hurt) our cause. On a positive note, I sustained no injuries.

When I returned home, Jeanine was hosting a meeting with neighbors who were pressing the table extension I recently completed into service as a conference table. It made me very happy to see this. I had assumed it would only be used for Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday meals.