Deer at the door

It's a rainy day down here at my brother's new home. He lives with Maya and their twin daughters, Anna and Lucy, in the Catskills mountains near Woodstock. They're very close to the reservoir that provides New York City's drinking water. Rural and rugged. The side roads are lined by dry stone fences laboriously built long ago and there are rectangular pockets all over the slopes marking the hand dug foundations of abandoned settler homes. This morning three deer wandered across the lawn grazing. Now we're just finishing lunch after a visit to the malls of nearby Kingston.

The hills here are full of nooks and crannies, with abundant rock cuts along the road side exposing the slates and quartzites. It's very frustrating for an ex-geologist like myself. I want to stop and scan the cliffs to read their stories. While my mother did her shopping I wandered through Borders with my aunt Josie and my niece Anna. I found a triathlete magazine and decided that I'm going to return this summer if there is a race here that I can enter. Maybe I'll bring Chris down with me for some real hiking at the same time.

I also found a little leather stand in the mall that made belts on the spot. Finally I have a belt that I can put my favourite belt buckle on! Years ago (like, twenty) a girlfriend gave me a huge pewter buckle with an eagle and crossed rifles on it bearing the slogan "The right to bear arms is the right to be free". It gave us both a huge laugh. Finally I can wear it...

Listening to: And It Stoned Me by Van Morrison from Moondance.