virtualDavis

ˈvər-chə-wəlˈdā-vəs Serial storyteller, poetry pusher, digital doodler, flâneur.

Biking across Lake Champlain


Photograph via twitpic.com

This arresting photograph of two bicyclists riding across the frozen surface of Lake Champlain captures the North Country spirit quite elegantly. And who says we put away our bikes when the snowflakes begin to fall. I have a friend who commutes an hour plus to work and then repeats the ride in the evening on a mountain bike with steel studded tires throughout the winter. In snowstorms. On icy roads. Up and down hills. Makes this photo seem like a leisurely meander…

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Lake Champlain Sunrise

Good morning. Another sleepless night. And another spectacular morning. Just recompense. I’ve grabbed a brief video of the sun rising up out of the clouds above Vermont’s Green Mountains, above Lake Champlain that I’m adding to my Essex, New York flickr set. Nice that I couldn’t even remember what the date was…

Sorry that the quality is “poor”. I shot this on my Blackberry Storm2 through antique wavy glass. The result is a little bit dreamy.

 

300-Year-Old French Fort Found near Lake Champlain

The remains of what may be a French fort dating back to the 1730s has been found on the Vermont shore of Lake Champlain.

When engineers determined the old Lake Champlain Bridge was unsafe and needed to be replaced, it seemed like the regrettable end of a historic landmark. The project, though, has led to a major archaeological discovery.

Scientists have found what appears to be a nearly 300-year-old French fort. The fort’s discovery would be significant in its own right, but it would also represent the first physical evidence of a substantial French settlement known to have existed on the Vermont shore of Lake Champlain starting in the 1730s.

“It’s a hugely exciting find — one of the great and exciting finds of a lifetime really,” said Elsa Gilbertson, administrator for the Chimney Point State Historic Site, where the apparent fort was discovered.

“You would be hard pressed to find a more significant archaeological site in Vermont,” said John Crock, director of the University of Vermont’s Consulting Archaeology Program, which conducted the dig in cooperating with the Vermont Agency of Transportation and Division for Historic Preservation.

via ablogabouthistory.com

Exciting discovery just down the lake from us. One more reason to visit the Champlain Valley! Hat tip to @SaundraMitchell for tweeting the post.

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Rosslyn Dock House on Lake Champlain

Another unseasonably balmy day today, so I snapped a couple of photos from our waterfront. You’re looking at our dock house on Lake Champlain located in Essex, New York. In the distance you can see Vermont’s Green Mountains.

Ice Skating on Lake Champlain

Malletts Bay ice skating from Mark Gould on Vimeo.

Video of skating on Mallets Bay via Reason #1972 why I love living on Lake Champlain: ice skating! This video wasa taken by @markgould while skating on skating on Malletts Bay.

Hiatus Interruptus

At last, I’m returning to this long overdue update to virtualDavis! I’m resuming the process of migrating old content over to the new server, CMS, theme, etc. I know, I know, I first promised this update in April 2007! But between then and now my life was kidnapped by the folly of follies: renovating our new home on Lake Champlain.

Ross House Drawing

W.D. Ross House, Essex, NY (c. 1822)

Recounting this epic adventure is my next challenge… But more on that later. Please don’t expect an overnight website transformation, but I will stumble through some of the most overdue updates ASAP. Patience and time will reveal the new and improved virtualDavis. I promise…

Winnowing of Goods: EBay Eureka!

So the first step toward lightening the load has begun. A small step, to be sure, but a step nonetheless. My first eBay auction is now underway. An old-ish camera and a lens set that maximizes its utility will soon pass from my ownership to another. Feeling my way. Always difficult to separate oneself from one’s possessions, but my return from Europe and the inevitable winnowing of goods as I turn a Paris home and a Rome home into one small Adirondack home will mean sucking it up and spreading my possessions around. Not certain yet how I’ll proceed, but at first I just want to get a feel for this exciting eBay marketplace. Once I’m a bit more seasoned, I may try to list several items at once. For now, slow and steady. A single bid on the camera so far. Will be curious how many more before it is sold. No reserve, so will probably sell low, despite the value.

On other fronts, had a glorious sunny weekend. Lake Champlain icy blue and rough. The air crisp. Went for a lunch hike up Coon Mtn. with brother, MHD, MHD’s sister, MHD’s nephews. And cocktails and dinner with friends on Saturday evening. A great four mile jog that was more effortless than expected. Writing well again, rewriting early chapters of a novel that one-day-some-day may be completed and forgotten so that I can move on to another. Funny world. A happy, exciting time. Received a wonderful link from a friend who used to live in Rome when I did. You must take a look. If you are at acquainted with Italy, with living in Italy, you will appreciate the humor. I’ve watched and then re-watched, showing my brother as an excuse. Life is good when we remember to laugh. Over and out.