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   The second annual Beisel Maine Move began on Wednesday, when Ginny and I started moving things from Cumberland house to the new place.  This is Randy and Craig working on some of the larger pieces on Saturday.  What a great new neighborhood they found! 

    Claire found some lipstick and rosied her lips and face.  Noah had already found the neighbor boy, also 5, and they played baseball all afternoon at his house.                

   Ginny and Claire taking a break in the new living room.           

     The kids have a yard again!  The stone wall divides their property.  I drove up on Monday to help with the kids and the move, and Randy took the train to Boston on Friday after work.  I drove to Boston to pick him up on Friday evening, and we returned to help on Saturday.  The Beisels are making a nice home. 

I returned home from an errand this morning to find the bikes already on the van roof, ready to go.  The Heritage Trail runs from Goshen, New York to Monroe, New York, next to and on an old RR grade.  Most of the trail is in hardwood forest, and it’s nearly impossible to see, in the summertime, this boneyard next to the trail.  The landscape looks entirely different in each season, and this is the earliest we’ve been on the trail.  Randy didn’t go on it at all last year, so I was really happy to see those bikes on the roof rack this morning.  It was a twenty mile ride.  I took the photos with my phone. 

Since it is Passover, there were no Hasidim on the trail as we neared the Kyras Joel community today.

But there was one muddy snapping turtle.  He scurried away before I could grab my phone for a photo. 

   A sure sign of spring–getting the bike ready to ride.  We bought new tires for my Cannondale and I’m getting set to hopefully have a good riding year.  We cleaned the garage this morning (don’t be too shocked) and we can mark off that spring cleaning project.  Randy didn’t get on his bike at all last year, and I rode very little.  We’re going to take the bikes to Maine and hopefully get a trip in to ride on the Erie Canal trail.  In the meantime, we’re planning Saturday morning rides on local rail trails, mostly. 

The past few weeks have had great highs and a few lows.  Lows first:  Ginny and Craig’s car was burned by an arsonist in Portland (Maine) on Friday early morning.  Thankfully, their car was the only victim at their house.  The cops arrested a suspect within a few hours.  He had burned 10 cars, and burglarized 9 others, and 3 buildings burned as a result of the fires spreading. A few families were left homeless because of the arsonist, so Ginny and Craig consider themselves fortunate, in a way.  It’s quite upsetting to see their burned out car, though, which was a total loss. 

On the high side, it was great to have Beisels and Pat and Libby visit.  Spring has arrived.  We were awakened by a thunderstorm at 4am and it’s in the 70’s today.  The grass is green.  The peepers are peeping.  The days are lengthening.  Life is good. 

   It’s birthday week!  Happy birthday to Randy (today) and Audrey (on Thursday).  Hope you both have nice birthdays.

  The main building at Bear Mountain.  We didn’t walk to the zoo, or the other museums, and I hope Craig didn’t miss seeing Walt too much. 

    The carousel building from one angle.

   Though Bear Mountain was our second choice, we still had fun.  Noah and Claire like the carousel almost as much as their folks do.  This is the building that houses the beautiful merry-go-round.  The kids get their choice of not only horses, but geese, turkeys, raccoons, deer, and mountain lions to ride.  Hudson Valley scenes are painted all around it.  The building reminds me of a scene from an old Crosby movie. 

  Following the goose. 

  I wonder what he was thinking.

  It was good to have time with Patrick and Libby again.

    The latest in new spring fashion.