Earlier this week I came home to find this brown fuzzy critter browsing the grass and the clover in our yard, as the sun set and the dusk began to creep across the lawn.
Woodchucks
Not one, not two, but three!
Author: dfkotz
David Kotz is an outdoor enthusiast, traveller, husband, and father of three.
He is also a Professor of Computer Science at Dartmouth College.
Strawberries!
One of my favorite things…
It’s that glorious time of year when the strawberry fields fill with luscious red berries. I enjoy picking a whole flat (eight quarts)… one or two to eat immediately, and the rest to freeze and enjoy the rest of the year. As it happens, this morning I finished off my supply frozen last summer – just in time to pick a new batch today.
Pam and I managed to pick two flats this year, all at their peak of ripeness. Yum!
Cyprus – wrap-up
A few final thoughts.
Well, today we wrap up a fine week in Cyprus. We’re beginning our long journey home – 12 hours of flying, 5 hours of ground transportation, two 2-hour layovers and one overnight layover. Before we go, a few more observations about Paphos, about food, and other random thoughts… and of course, a gallery with a few photos and videos.
Cyprus – trip to Limassol
An eight-hour tour across three-thousand years of history.
For our final day in Cyprus we signed up for a bus tour to the east, along the coastline, to the city of Limassol. Along the way we were able to visit the legendary birthplace of the goddess Aphrodite, the ancient Greek acropolis of Kourion, the medieval Kolossi Castle, and the medieval Limassol Castle. We enjoyed our lunch in a breezy café beside the old harbor of Limassol city. Read on, and check out the gallery of photos.
Cyprus – cats
Cats are *everywhere* in Cyprus.
One of the first things we noticed on arrival in Cyprus: cats. Cats everywhere. Under the tables of every restaurant and café, along the walls of city streets, beside the resort pool, in the rocks along the shoreline, in the shadows of ancient ruins… at every single location I’ve noticed one or more cats. They are clearly stray cats, yet friendly and apparently welcomed by the proprietor and customers alike. The cats make themselves at home wherever they go… as if they own the place! What’s up with the cats? read on.
Cyprus – Mycenaean colonization
Over 3,000 years ago.
From the patios in front of our hotel we look out across the bay – ahead is the Mediterranean Sea; to the right is Karst Point, which I explored on my first morning here; to the left is a steep-shored peninsula housing the grounds of the Mycenaean colonization of Cyprus, or so says the map. Today we strolled over there, paid a small entrance fee to the sleepy gate clerk – I suspect we may have been his only visitors this week – and explored the small museum.
It is truly remarkable to be walking among the foundations of homes built over 3,000 years ago, still evident – and marking the location of the first Mycenaean Greek colonists on the island of Cyprus, around 1,200 BC.
Continue reading “Cyprus – Mycenaean colonization”Cyprus – historic Paphos
The conference organizers kindly organized an afternoon tour of two local archaeological sites, now UNESCO World Heritage sites, on the outskirts of the ancient (and still thriving) city of Paphos. Read on and see the gallery!
Cyprus – Baths of Aphrodite
Highlights on the western tip of Cyprus.
We hired a driver and asked to head to the northwestern shore of Cyprus, to visit the legendary Baths of Aphrodite. According to Greek legend, Aphrodite would bath in the spring of this small grotto and, one day, met her lover Adonis when he stopped here while out hunting. Read on!
Cyprus – Coral Bay
An island at the crossroads of history.
We’re off again, this time to the island nation of Cyprus in the Mediterranean. I needed to attend a computer-science conference (DCOSS-IoT) for a few days, so we decided to extend the trip by two days and explore this island that has been at the crossroads of history for millennia. We are staying at an oceanside hotel in Coral Bay, outside Paphos; on our first morning, I took a walk along the shore to a point (“Karst point”) that provided a lovely view back across the bay to the hotel. My first gallery of photos shares views of the hotel, the bay, and some of the lovely flowers blooming this time of year.
Southern Presies
There’s still snow in them thar hills.
Today was a glorious day – one of those blue-sky days that makes you amazed to be part of this world, especially when you are strolling above treeline along one of the most incredible mountain ranges in the northeastern United States. Three friends and I took advantage of the Memorial Day holiday to head for the Presidential Range of the White Mountains here in New Hampshire. Centered on Mount Washington, the highest peak in the northeast, most of the peaks in this range are named for U.S. Presidents and nearly the entire range is above treeline.
Today, we left one car near the western base of Mount Washington, hiked up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail to Lakes of the Clouds, where there is an AMC Hut, then followed the ridgeline south over Mounts Monroe, Eisenhower, and Pierce, before descending the Crawford Path to our second car in Crawford Notch. We were ably led throughout by the indomitable Karhu, who had a knack for sniffing out the right the trail and pausing whenever he reached a trail junction. We often stopped to enjoy the sunshine and nibble a snack.
We had spectacular views and occasionally crossed some of the winter’s remaining patches of snow! Check out the full photo gallery to share the views.
Continue reading “Southern Presies”
David Kotz 