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kadai isn't vegan Sunday, June 9 2024
location: 940 feet west of Woodworth Lake, Fulton County, NY
I'd thought maybe after the clouds parted and the sun came out yesterday afternoon, we'd have nice conditions today at the cabin. But we awoke to a rainy morning and conditions so cool that I actually started a fire in the woodstove. Eventually, though, the rain stopped, and we decided to walk down the new Lake Edward Trail, which now goes all the way to Lake Edward. (Gretchen had been keeping time and clocked the 4000-foot walk as having taken 25 minutes.) Even Neville came along, though he tagged along out of sight so far behind us that we didn't see him until he caught up with us a couple minutes after we reached our destination of Lake Edward's southeast shoreline. Overall, trail was easy for me to identify the whole way until we were within a couple hundred feet of the lake, whereupon it got a little spotty and I had to make further improvements. Unfortunately, the place on the lakeshore where the trail ends up is a little swampy and Gretchen feared there would be leaches if she waded in there. Ideally there would be some natural dock like a fallen tree she could use as a swimming platform out where the water is less problematic. Lake Edward is four times the size of Woodworth Lake in area, but it is much shallower, with all of it being less than the eleven feet of depth just off our Woodworth Lake dock.
As I continued improving the trail near Lake Edward, Gretchen spontaneous headed back east on the trail separately, apparently trying to see if my trail was clear enough for her to follow (which she'd initially said it wasn't). Not far down the trail, I heard Charlotte off in the woods to the south make a single woof, the kind she makes when she sees a porcupine. Gretchen and I from our separate places along the trail immediately called out for her, and Gretchen also reported grabbed Neville to make sure he didn't run off to join Charlotte. Meanwhile I was running southward through the woods off-trail to where the bark had happened. But there was no further barking and I didn't see Charlotte. So I headed back north, successfully found the trail, despite its subtlety, and continued eastward. As I climbed the final grade to the little mountain that the cabin sits near the top of, my flannel shirt was soon soaked in sweat. Temperatures were down in the 50s, but even that was too warm when you're climbing a small mountain in a flannel shirt. (A great thing about hiking in such conditions is the complete absence of annoying flies). Before I came out of the woods near the cabin, I caught up with Neville.
Back in the cabin, I was delighted to find that Gretchen had actually made it all the way back without getting lost. Evidently my trail is now good enough for her to follow.
It took me awhile to recover from that hike, and Gretchen actually got a little worried about me. But soon enough I was puttering around again, installing a small shelving unit on the east kitchen wall (after first customizing it so all its mounting hardware was aligned to a single stud in the wall).
Later the sun actually came out, though clouds kept finding their way in front of it. Still, the cheerfulness of the sun-lit landscape made me want to go down to Woodworth Lake, which I eventually did. Gretchen joined me down there a little while later and even went for a brief swim. But the water had chilled noticeably since Friday and she couldn't stay in for more than about a minute.
We arranged our departure from the cabin so that we would get to Albany after the Indian restaurant Maharaja opened at 4:30pm. We drove straight there and were the first diners to arrive for their "lupper" hours. Gretchen was really excited about the new "vegan" part of their menu, but it turned out that almost everything else on their menu was not vegan, including the mushroom kadai that I'd ordered there (and loved) a couple times before. I don't really like cooked peas, but the only mushroom-rich vegan dish was mushroom matar, so I opted to get that instead. Gretchen also ordered me a mulligatawny soup and a pair of samosas in a thick sauce. For herself, she ordered aloo gobi, which is always a good bet to take. I thought it was all very good.
There had been thick clouds and showers as we'd been approaching Albany, but at early in our meal the sun came out from behind the clouds and I realized I'd probably parked in the sun. When I went out to move the car, the only shady spot was back near the dumpsters, which stank of rotting meat. I poured the dogs some water in a canvas dog bowl and returned to the restaurant to continue my lupper.
After that, we went to the nearby Trader Joe's (the main reason we'd gone to Albany instead of through Middleburgh) for a big shop. They were out of some essentials Gretchen can't get anywhere else (like raw cashews and super tart cherry juice), but we still managed to buy $260 worth of groceries.
On the drive south down the Thruway, there were big rain clouds to the east, and as the lowering sun shown into them, it produced big fat rainbows that Gretchen kept pointing out.

The view from the west end of the Lake Edward Trail late this morning. Click to enlarge.

The Woodworth Lake boathouse this afternoon as seen from our dock. Click to enlarge.

On Friday, I did a little sanding on my rustic stool, and it ended up looking like this. Click to enlarge.

Another angle. Click to enlarge.

Perennial flax just west of our cabin, probably from wildflower seeds Gretchen scattered the year before last. Click to enlarge.
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