Relocated Propane

While I was busy moving dirt and filling the holes left behind by the extracted tree stumps, our propane supplier arrived. I had called them to inspect our tank because some of the trees that the storm uprooted fell on the tank. The dome over the controls was badly dented, and the entire tank was nudged sideways and off its base. I had asked for the inspection because I wanted at the very least to make sure that there were no leaks and then to have the dome replaced and the tank straightened.

Things got more interesting, though, when the men told us that the tank was not compliant with code and was too close to the house. A surprise for us, since we are the first owners of the property, the tank has always been right next to the sunporch, and no one, including the propane delivery guy, has ever pointed this out before. Nevertheless, we welcomed having it moved, not only to straighten it up and to have it comply with code, but also because it has always been a bit inconvenient so close to the sunporch and somewhat unattractive there.

So, the men proceeded to relocate the tank and to trench in a new copper line to the house. Turns out they found a defect in the old line, so that got corrected as well. We like the new location. Seems to improve the overall look, and the mowing and access to the hot tub and porch areas will also be better. Now if we can just get those house repairs scheduled!

Two Down; None to Go; A Hole to Fill

OK. I thought the second stump would be easier than the first one, because so much more of it seemed to be pulled loose.

I finally did get it to budge quite a bit, but then I couldn't pull it completely free.

Staring at it helps. One has to study where the remaining resistance might be.

A bit more digging and some additional root cutting.

Then success at last. Both stumps are now residing at the edge of the woods in the back part of our lot. Relatively out of sight. Both needed some persuasion in that regard, but I got them to cooperate.

Now I have to figure out where to get enough soil to fill the holes left behind by these guys!

One Down; One to Go

So, you may recall that we lost the three red pines near our parking area at the cabin. One snapped off part way up. The remnant was eventually cut down, and so its stump is still firmly embedded in the ground. The other two, however, succumbed to the 80+ mile per hour winds and simply blew over and were uprooted. We are told there had been six inches of rain the morning of the storm and quite a bit of rain in the week or two preceding. Hence, the sandy soil was extra soft.

The first picture below shows the two uprooted stumps. The roots on the near side in this picture were fairly much intact, while the roots on the opposite side were broken and exposed. Of course, when the weight of the trees was cut away, each stump tried to right itself to some extent. The near side roots would have acted a bit like springs to make that happen. Lots of soil still clung to the exposed roots, and with the many rocks in the sandy soil up here, we saw that the root systems engulfed and grew around lots of the rocks.

Nevertheless, I assumed that with some work, we could dig one or both of these stumps out. For me, these kinds of tasks can be very rewarding. I'm sure others just shake their heads that I'd even consider trying. Anyway, we proceeded to dig away the soil, chop away or saw away roots as we cleared the soil from them, and more of the same over and over.

Eventually, I was able to hook my trusty Silverado with its super low four-wheel drive to the stump and work at pulling the stump free. First attempts were premature. More digging and cutting was needed, especially around the roots on the near side. All of this transpired over two or three days. Today, however, we achieved success! When it finally budged loose, the stump rolled right up out of the ground.

Maybe you can see the amount of dirt and embedded rocks that were still tangled in all of the large and small roots below the ground.

Here is the hole left behind. We are now filling this back in and will put the pieces of sod we saved back over the top. I'll probably have to find some additional soil, since there isn't quite enough left over to make up for the space that the stump and its roots occupied. After getting as much of the soil off the stump as possible and reducing the root mass somewhat, we dragged the rest of the stump over to a spot near the woods and pushed it back out of the way as far as we were able. (It is very heavy!)

As my title says, one down, and one to go!

Italy

Returning to my posts about our recent trip, I'll share some pictures and stories about our time in Italy. We flew from Lisbon, Portugal to Florence, Italy and rendezvoused with our good friends, David and Robert and met new friends, Karen and Dale. They had been in Rome and drove to meet us at the airport in Florence, where we rented a second car and then all drove to the first of two villas we enjoyed in Tuscany.

Our first evening, we gathered outdoors for the first of many, many bottles of wine we enjoyed during our stay.

One of the motivations for the trip was the fact that both David and I turned 70 this year. Kathie and I had found this lovely T-shirt at the Cedar Rapids airport before we left, so we gave it to David that first evening. Sure enough, the next day he wore it.

Each of the two villas was delightful. Both were old buildings, though very well kept. The rental of villas in Tuscany is a thriving business it seems. Each of the two had a pool, although the water was quite chilly, as they were not heated and temperatures, though great for our stay, were typically in the 70s during the day and down into the upper 40s or low 50s at night. My only complaint about this first villas was that insects, both flies and mosquitoes, were numerous, pesky and biting!

Each villa had several bedrooms and nice shared spaces as well. We cooked some of our own meals but also enjoyed local restaurants. During the day, we either relaxed at the villa, reading, conversing, and enjoying the amazing views, or we visited some nearby village or city.

One of our first outings was to the city of Montepulciano, which sits high on a hill. The drive there, along some winding secondary roads, took us past beautiful vineyards and olive groves on a gorgeous, sunny day. After some sight-seeing, we ate a nice lunch in the city.

After lunch, we went drove to the Avignonesi Vineyard for a tour and wine tasting. One of the most fun things of the entire trip for me was the chance I had to watch the grape harvesting. I had always imagined this was done by hand, when in fact, most of it is now done by machines like this one. A little smaller, though not much, than the combines I'm used to seeing at home, these machines straddle two rows of vines in each pass. I really wanted to go out and ride along, but I thought I'd not be welcome to do that. Later I read about the equipment online (New Holland makes a lot of it). They use rotating mechanisms that shake the vines and cause the grapes to drop on conveyer belts that deposit them in a hopper. Trucks are loaded when the hoppers fill and transport the grapes elsewhere. According to what I read, the machines are actually leave fewer grapes behind than hand picking does. I saw little waste on the ground and vines that were stripped clean. Really fun to watch!

Our tour guide took extra time to show us the process for the two sweet after-dinner wines that Avignonesi makes. Here we are in the drying rooms, where both red and white grapes are staged during the first step. Essentially, they let the grapes turn to raisins for a bit, before pressing a very sweet, thick juice from them. Of course, we saw other wine making facilities too, and we enjoyed an extended tasting session.

Our stay at the second villa was the longest (about 4 nights at the first and ten at the second). Sunsets looking out west over the Tuscan hills were often spectacular. This one was taken from the second villa.

This second villa also had a nice pool, lots of lounging spaces, and a hot tub. There were almost no insects here for reasons we couldn't explain. Both villas, by the way, were reached from roads far below via steep, winding lanes.

Another of our outings was to the Brolio Castle and related Barone Ricasoli Winery. The castle, which has 140 rooms, has been in the Ricasoli family since the 11th century, and the family still lives there part of each year. So most of the castle is closed, though we saw a few rooms with interesting collections of weapons, furniture, and other items belonging to the family. Walking through the courtyards and enjoying the views were rewarding, since the castle sits atop a high hill, and one can look all around at the surrounding vineyards and farms. The formula for Chianti Classico was invented by the Ricasoli family, so this was a featured wine when we stopped for a taste. However, I most liked the grappa they offered and purchased a bottle for us all to enjoy back at the villa.

Siena was another day trip, a much larger and more popular city for tourism. There is always a gelato shop or two or three or more in each city. David and I were always drawn to these.

Nearly every Italian city has a central plaza, and some have additional plazas as well. This large one at the center of Siena is the site of the twice-annual Palio di Siena (July and August), a bareback horse race around the perimeter of the plaza. I encourage you to read a little about it here, and to see the photographs of the race. They cover the perimeter with a thick layer of dirt, and the plaza is filled with spectators.

A duomo or cathedral is often a key part of the placement of any plaza, and the one at Siena is quite amazing. The duomo is built of two primary colors of marble, alternating black and white.

Part of the tour Kathie and I did allowed us to hike up a series of narrow, low-ceilinged, spiral, stone walks to reach the top of an arch where we could look out over Siena in every direction.

The inside of the duomo was fascinating too and full of beautiful artwork, including scenes on the floors crafted of various carved pieces of marble, alcoves, paintings, statues, and a music library with displays of hand-crafted books of musical scores and chants.

On the day that Robert, Karen and Dale traveled to Lucca and Pisa, David, Kathie and I went instead to San Gimignano. This walled city (many of the old Tuscan cities are or were once walled) is famous for its towers. The story is that each prominent, wealthy man tried to outdo his neighbor by building a tower yet higher than the preceding one. Not all remain, but those that do make the skyline of San Gimignano quite interesting when you approach it on its hill. This picture looks down from the only tower accessible to the public down at a smaller one.

David and I climbed the 219 steps to the top, and a friendly German tourist agreed to capture a photo of us there.

In the streets below were many food carts or trucks. At least two offered fresh roast pork sandwiches right off the hog. Literally, right off the hog.

Almost needless to say, the food in Italy is fun and quite difficult to resist. I had so many different and wonderful pasta dishes and wines, and the antipasti are often fun too. This one was a cheese and pear with crumbled walnuts appetizer that I tried and enjoyed.

Here's the whole gang of us on one of our last nights together, plus I got nice shots of our friends.

After leaving the villa, Kathie and I returned one of the cars in Florence. (David and Donna: The car return location was only a couple blocks directly behind your apartment there along the Arno!) From there it was a short walk to the train station, where we boarded this high speed train to Milan. Too bad we can't see fit to construct such service in the U.S.! The train was very comfortable and clipped along at 300 kilometers per hour (about 185 MPH) to have us arriving in Milan in just 1-1/2 hours.

Our one free day in Milan, before flying home, was spent wandering the central downtown area. This seemed a common, pleasant, Sunday thing to do there, since the streets were full of people, the shops were open, restaurants were busy, and street performers of all kinds were out and about. Witness the break dancer we saw, for example. His money bag is ready for donations, of course.

The duomo here, like so many we have seen in Italy, is spectacular.

And, as Milan is regarded as one of the world's top fashion industry cities, we had to walk through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, within which appear shops for all the top fashion labels. The architecture is quite impressive.

The next day we boarded a plane for the first of three flights to take us back to Cedar Rapids and home. Having been able to spend time with good friends, both old and new, in each of the two countries we visited made this a very special trip.

Storm Damage

You may recall my prior posting from September about a second storm that hit our Wisconsin property. This occurred just before we left for our vacation to Portugal and Italy, and so it is just now that we are back at the cabin to see the damage first hand. Although we intend to spend these three or so weeks enjoying ourselves up here, we will also be doing (and have already started) lots of cleanup and scheduling repairs.

We had been warned about the level of damage to the forest around us, but pictures and words really can't fully describe what we saw when we turned onto the road to drive back to our property. Our neighbors were hit hard. Previously surrounded by a nice woods, their house is now virtually clear all around. Many trees are gone on both sides of the road leading to our property, and at the lane entrance to our place, the woods are gone on all sides. The words "war zone" come to mind, but I'm sure that is an overstatement--I never want to see a real war zone, of course.

These two photographs were taken shortly after the storm passed. I posted them previously but thought you might want to see them again. If you have been here, you may recall the three very tall red pines just at the top edge of our parking area. Yesterday, I counted the rings in the stumps. They were approximately 125 years old. There was so much rain along with the wind, that two of them were completely uprooted and just blew over. The third, we are told, snapped off about 1/3 of the way up. The cabin porch was hit, probably mostly by branches, and the hot tub deck was directly hit. Two of the trees fell on either side of the propane tank, nudging it out of position and denting the lid over its controls, but it seems to have withstood the hit. Nevertheless, I'm arranging for it to be inspected.

While we were overseas, a logger took many of the trunk pieces away, including both near the cabin and back in the woods on either side of our lane. This is what things looked like when we drove in. Yesterday, we cleaned up much of this and are slowly burning it.

Looking back the other way, down the lane, you can see a couple of the red pine stumps, and you may be able to see how much the skyline has changed. Except for that one tall spruce in the center of the picture, there is little left in the low area to the right of the lane.

This is the same shot taken part way down the lane, from just in front of the two garages.

And, finally, here is what it looks like as you approach our lane (the turn to the right in this photo).

Our new welcome sign was clobbered by a falling tree, although I found it and may be able to repair it. Other damage includes: the cover of our hot tub (punctured and a broken latch), one of the flowering trees we planted last year, our mountain ash (leaning badly, though we may be able to pull it back into position), our fire number sign (has to be replaced), and one of the little bear heads I carved a few years ago (the one that everyone thought looked like a jack-a-lope; no great loss). All in all, we were very lucky. Nothing serious happened to the cabin itself or to either of the garages. Nothing at all happened on the lake side of the cabin, although the insurance adjustor found a little hail damage near the skylights on that side.

Things will grow back quickly, I expect, though nothing so majestic in our lifetime as the trees that were here when we bought the place. We may find some new species taking over. Our neighbor is already seeing evidence of more maples and oaks. That would be nice, and maybe we can introduce or nurture some more pines. Seedlings always seem to appear, and Will did plant 40 or more last May. Time will tell. It is still a beautiful place, and this will not interfere with our joy at being here when we can be. Natural forces sure are powerful and always find a way to put us in our place.

Sintra and Lisbon

Just a warning--I took 580 photographs during our vacation. (I'm happy not to be spending dollars on film and processing these days.) My goal is to give you a taste of what we saw without overwhelming you with pictures. However, this is a challenge, and so this posting may be a little long. Sorry about that!

We returned to Lisbon from Lagos via train and spent a couple of days there before heading to Italy for the second half of our vacation. On the first of these two days, we took a train about 45 minutes north from Lisbon to the charming city of Sintra, which is famous for its three castles, each of which we toured. These are the Pena Palace, built in 1836; a Moorish castle, dating to the 9th century; and Regaleira Palace, dating back to 1697.

Two of the castles, Pena Palace and the Moorish castle ruins, sit high on a mountain against which the city of Sintra is nestled. We took a bus to the top; a walk up would have been exhausting, since the road is exceedingly steep and full of switchbacks. Even with that, the walks between the two castles and on the respective castle grounds were tiring.

Pena Palace is at the very top of the hill. A chapel had once been at this site but had fallen into ruin. Prince Ferdinand acquired the entire area, including the land occupied by the Moorish castle, and built the palace as a summer residence for Portugal's royals. A public park now makes up the entire area. To give you a sense of the entire structure, I borrowed this photograph from another website.

These are some of my photographs.

The interior of the castle is, of course, amazing and extravagant. Here are examples--a dining room and a bedroom.

The kitchen was enormous and was filled with dozens of copper pots and pans.

We walked next (down) to the Moorish castle ruins. Along the way, we spotted a number of other impressive homes and buildings built on the hill but outside the park.

An interesting aspect of the Moorish castle was the way in which it was embedded or fit into the rocks and boulders on the hill.

There were not rooms to see, but there were plenty of interesting walls and spaces that had been stables, common kitchens, or similar facilities.

Here is an example of what I mean by embedding the castle into the surrounding rock features.

I took the next three photographs from a parapet along one Moorish castle wall. The first looks back up at the Pena Palace, the second looks laterally along the hillside at parts of the castle ruins, and the final picture looks down into Sintra at the Regaleira Palace.

Later, when we were about to tour the Regaleira Palace, I took this picture looking back up at the Moorish castle.

Regaleira Palace is, like so many of the old buildings in Europe, filled with art, impressive ceilings and floors, and striking furnishings.

I took this picture looking back at Regaleira Palace as we were about to board the train to return to Lisbon.

On our second day in Lisbon, we visited two museums: the National Tile Museum (Museu Nacional do Azulejo) and the Gulbenkian Museum (Museu Calouste Gulbenkian). The first of these is in an old convent.

On display are thousands of ceramic tiles from five centuries. Many were hand painted, and frequently, collections were designed to create more complex and intricate patterns once put into place.

Some of the rooms in the museum had little to do with the tiles. For example, here is one of the convent chapels. The ceiling was filled with paintings and other kinds of artwork.

Floors in parts of the chapel fascinated me, given the many kinds of wood used and the beautiful ways in which they were themselves "tiled."

At the end of the tour and to demonstrate the ways in which ceramics are broadly used for artistic expression, there was a room displaying pieces that were definitely not tiles. These are not rusty cans but ceramics.

There were several pieces involving sea life themes.

On the grounds of the second museum, the Gulbenkian, there are actually two art museums--the Gulbenkain and the Modern Art Centre. We toured the Modern Art Center first. Several of the modern art pieces were quite clever, involving mechanisms, optical illusions, video art, and the like. They were difficult to photograph. As we moved into the Gulbenkian, we encountered a special area called "The Meeting Point." Here was a display meant to show an initiative between the Gulbenkian and the Modern Art Centre to create a dialogue between the two collections. On display there were a Rembrandt and a piece by Paula Rego, each chosen because of the common theme of the representation of time.

The Gulbenkian has stages devoted to Egyptian, Greek, Middle Eastern, Roman, and other collections. Near the end, we came to a special display of French art, including works by Rene Lalique, some of which you see here.