Last week on our way to church, we saw a road sign that had a picture of a tree trunk with a tap in it and a bucket hanging from the tap.  "Aha!" I cried (I really did).  "There must be a maple tree farm up that road!"  So on Saturday, we took an afternoon drive.  We found the sign, turned onto the road and drove for about three miles and found, well, it wasn't a farm.  It was a maple syrup shed and boiling display that had been set up by the Verona/Vernon/Sherrill FFA.  There was no one around, so we didn't go into the sheds, but the boiling display was an open shed (roof, supports, but no walls) with a very large cast iron kettle hanging from the center beam.  There was a fire pit under the kettle with lots of ashes, but no fire.  Two of the 4"X4" support beams had taps in them with buckets on them, so we got a close up of what the taps looked like, but obviously, we didn't see any sap dripping from the tap.  Very interesting, but fully investigated in about 5 minutes.

Since we were close and had the rest of the afternoon, we decided to drive to Oneida Lake, which was only 10 more miles.  It was a lovely drive and the lake was very big.  There were a couple of villages that stretched out along most of the east side of the lake, both of them very tourist oriented and very crowded--this was Memorial Day weekend, after all--and parking cost an arm and a leg.  So we drove through Verona Beach State Park and up through Sylvan Beach before we finally found a place to park the car on the side of the road (no parking fees), which was only a few feet from the water.  I dipped my fingers in the water (almost cool) and we enjoyed the breeze for a few minutes and headed for home.

The GPS didn't want to take us back the way we came and since we weren't in a hurry, we decided to follow the GPS.  We were awfully glad we did.  As we drove along, we passed a sign that said, "Lock 22."  "Lock 22," I cried (yup, I did it again).  "Do you want to turn around and go see it?"  We still had plenty of time, so we did.  We had driven a couple of miles and the GPS wanted us to turn onto Lock Road, but a sign said the bridge was out, so we continued driving onto a road that was marked "Dead End."  Our GPS got really excited and kept telling us to get back to the designated route.  We finally turned it off and continued until we got to Lock 22.

Lock 22 is part of the Erie Canal.  The canal is only open during the summer, and it was full of water.  There was a lovely yacht coming down the canal when we got there, so we got to watch the lock work.  When the yacht was in place, the operator closed the upper gate behind it, then walked to the next gate (the gates were about 100 yards apart) and began lowering the water between the gates.  There is a tunnel full of water on each side of the canal and the door holding the water back was opened so the water flowed out of the lock and into the canal below the gate.  In 5-8 minutes (we didn't time it) the water in the lock was down to the lower level, the operator opened the lower gate and the yacht continued down the canal into Oneida Lake.  The gate is opened and closed with huge gears that we could see under a grate that we stood on--it was so fun to watch.  The operator then began filling the lock for the next boat coming down the canal.  We had a nice visit with him and he explained all the workings of the locks and where the water comes from that fills the canal.  He also told us that when the canal is closed in October, they rebuild all the engines located on one side of the canal that drive the gears that open and close the gates.  The next winter, they rebuild the engines on the opposite side of the canal, so his job is full-time, even though the canal is only operated during the summer.  He also told us that there was very little commercial shipping on the canal, that the traffic was mostly pleasure craft.  As we drove back toward home, the next yacht which was considerably bigger than the previous one, arrived and the process started all over again.

We wished we had taken our camera, but decided we will go to Lock 20 which is not very far from where we live and get some pictures there.

Well, it's two weeks later and here we are at Lock 20.  Other than the locks themselves, it doesn't look a lot like Lock 22 and we didn't get to see it work.  We thought since it was a Saturday, there would be more pleasure crafts heading down the canal for Oneida lake, but no such luck.

You can see the gate in the picture above--it looks like a bent bridge.  In the foreground you can see the gears that actually open the gate.  The shed in the left of the picture contains the huge electric motor (probably 200 hp) that turns the gears that pull or push the rack that opens or closes the gate.

This is the rack that is attached to the gate and works with the gears to open and close it.  It looks really cool when it is working.

This is Bill looking at the mechanisms that actually make the gate open and close.

And here it is, the real works that make things move back and forth.

 

This shows how really beautiful the canal is looking south from the lock.  There is a walking path that goes for miles!  The tiny dot right in the center of the picture is actually 3 people and two dogs!

Here is a better view of the top of the lock and the motor housing on the other side of the gate.  We were glad we got to see it again (we visited it last fall, but it took the trip to Lock 22 to really appreciate what we were seeing).

Spring!

I have avoided writing about our amazing spring mostly because it was so hit and miss and I never knew when it would really happen.  March was beautiful.  Out on a country road, we saw a beautiful field full of tiny crocuses.  As you can see above, they are like a mass of blue.  The first picture is a close up, so you can see how many were in that lovely field.

We had some white daffodils by our front door that took several weeks to finally bloom.  I thought at first they were crocuses, but they kept growing bigger and bigger.  Then when they finally bloomed I thought they might be narcissus or jonquils because I thought daffodils were only yellow.

So I did some research and discovered that daffodils could be many different colors and shades, that the main difference was that daffodils have only one bloom per stem, as opposed to the other two which have multiple blooms.  This bank of daffodils was along the street in front of our apartment complex and they lasted for weeks because the weather was so cool.  Aren't they gorgeous?

April brought more winter, snow, rain, wind and cold, but somehow the daffodils survived and trees began to bloom.  This is a lovely dogwood tree by the front door of the Utica chapel.  Small but sweet.  Below is a close up of the blossoms.  It continued blooming for nearly a month.

There are several matching trees in front of the church, all of them covered with tiny white blossoms.  They began blooming about the middle of April in spite of the cold, nasty weather.  These trees are very popular here--they seem to be everywhere.  As you can see, there are still lots of "winter dead" trees in the background.  There are so many varieties of trees here and they don't all get leaves at the same time.  It's been fun watching the various trees take on color, discovering which ones will flower and which will be covered with lacy green  leaves, and others which seem to grow large green leaves very quickly.  In early March there were a lot of magnolia trees blooming, but a cold spell killed all the blooms after about 10 days.  That was sad, especially since I didn't get any pictures of them.

                                         There are grape hyacinths growing in front of the church, too.  They bloomed for over a month, too.

April also brought leaves to more large and small trees throughout town.  They started out a deep red color, then continued darkening to this deep reddish brown.  In the past week or two, they have been starting to turn a really deep green.  You can see a hint of the green in the close up of the leaf below.  You can also see that these are maple trees.  The strange thing is, I thought maples were supposed to turn a gorgeous red in the fall, but last fall, they didn't take on any color at all!  The green leaves just seemed to dry on the tree then fall off.  Strange.

As you can see, most of the trees have gotten their leaves, but there are still a few slow ones.

                                         They have a lot of beautiful flowering crab trees, too.

We have violets growing in our grass.  We have to look really close to see them.  This picture was taken in early April.  You can see that our grass is very green.  It actually never turned brown!  It didn't grow through the winter, but it was still green.  Fun, huh?

We have a tiny forest growing just down the hill south of our apartment.  It has lots of trees, bushes and ground cover and is like a tiny spot of natural wilderness tucked in the middle of the suburban sprawl--lots of fun that is actually quite common here.  These violets are growing on the edge of our forest.  One of the loveliest things about this area is the many areas of natural growth set in almost every little valley or any place where the terrain is too steep to build on.

Goodbye, Elder McCleve

After Elder Miller left, Elder McCleve became the new assistant.  He is a nice Arizona young man and we really enjoyed having him in our home.  He was only in the office for one transfer, then his two years were up and he left us.  I had occasion to talk to him recently and he said it was getting quite warm in Chandler and he had the beginnings of a good sunburn!

As you can see, Elder Christensen is still in the office and continues there with Elder Williams who will show up in the next picture.  The picture was taken in late January, but as you can see, our poinsettia is still going strong.

Stake Conference

This weekend was the Utica Stake Conference.  What a treat!  Easter Sunday and a great conference, too!  The Saturday adult session was really great.  President Gilchrist, one of the counselors, talked about mothers and their role in the salvation of their children and the great love they have for them.  He is a veterinarian and told us that when he gets a call for help from an Amish farmer, his heart falls because he knows it is really going to be serious because the Amish try everything feasible before they will call a vet.  He got a call one night asking for help with a cow trying to birth a calf.  When he got there, he could see that the calf was just huge and he would have to do a Cesarean section.  So with the farmer helping, he prepared the cow then made a two foot incision in order to remove the calf.  After he got the calf breathing, he returned to the mother and began repairing all that he had done.  It took him over two hours to stitch her back up and when he left both mother and baby were still laying in the cow shed, both exhausted.  He said he had a very sad, gray feeling in his heart because he was sure that neither animal would be alive by morning.  The next day he went back to the farm at at time that he knew the farmer would not be in the yard because he didn't want to face him if the patients had not survived.  When he walked into the cow shed, he found the cow standing, eating hay and her calf by her side, nursing with gusto.  He walked away with a smile on his face and a lump in his throat, praising God for the great love this mother had for her offspring that had helped both of them survive.  He said he gained a greater appreciation for the love of all mothers for their offspring, regardless of the species.

President Larcher also spoke on mothers and their role in Heavenly Father's plan.  He talked about Patriarch Brokaw, who has been our Stake Patriarch for decades and will continue for many years.  He said that when Brother Brokaw was called to this position, he was told that he was never to be called to serve in a bishopric or stake presidency, elders quorum presidency, etc.  Then he said that mothers would never serve in these positions and asked us to consider why this is so.  Then he told us that mothers, like stake patriarchs, have the responsibility to be the spiritual nurturer--mothers to their children, patriarchs to their stake.  The he asked his wife to sing a song he had asked her to prepare.  The song was "In the Meantime," and I believe it was written by Michael McLean.  She had a lovely, sweet voice and the song was beautiful.  It was about a teenage girl and her dreams and potential and goals.  I really liked it.

This morning President and Sister Bulloch spoke.  This is the last Utica Stake Conference they will attend before their mission ends in July.  President talked about the resurrection and told us that he and his wife had visited the Garden tomb in Jerusalem and bore witness that the tomb was indeed empty and that the Holy Spirit had born witness to them that Christ truly had been resurrected.  Then he talked about the atonement and the fact that Christ made the atonement for every one of us and that there is no addiction, sin, transgression, mistake, omission that wasn't covered by the atonement if only we will repent.  Sister Bulloch talked about their mission and the many experiences they had, the many missionaries they had loved, the many types of missionaries they had served with, the many maladies she had nursed the missionaries through, the many places they had been in the New York Utica Mission.  It was full of many sweet memories.

The three members of the Stake Presidency also spoke.  President Larcher's sermon was so moving.  He spoke about the Atonement and how, even though we can't go back and undo the mistakes we have made, the sins we have committed, the omissions we have permitted, we can repent, learn from our mistakes and rely on the Atonement to heal us.  He told us the story of his brother and himself hauling hay when they were boys, how they had loaded the truck very full and very high so they would only have to make one trip instead of two.  To keep the hay from falling off the truck, his brother rode on top of the stack, hopefully stabilizing it while he drove the truck.  They needed to transport the hay over a distance of about a quarter of a mile over a road that was well used, so President Larcher drove as fast as he dared.  The road was full of pot holes, but because it was winter, the holes were filled with ice so it was quite smooth.  When they got close to the turn off, he realized that he was going too fast.  He also realized that because the snow plows had pushed the snow to the side of the road and across the turnout, there was going to be a bump.  He applied the brakes gently so as not to cause the hay to come shooting over the top of the cab.  He prayed that the bump wouldn't be too big, but his prayer was in vain and when the truck jolted over the bump, the hay and his brother did, indeed, shoot over the truck and into the turnout.  It took another 20 feet to get the truck stopped and he couldn't see his brother.  When he did get stopped, he still couldn't see his brother and, afraid that he may have run over him and perhaps stopped with a tire on top of him, he immediately put the truck into reverse in case his brother was under a tire.  Fortunately, he hadn't run over him, and his brother realized that he was going to back up and and rolled out of the way.  Although he hadn't been run over, he had been badly bruised and beaten and took several weeks to heal.  Then President Larcher talked about how heart sick he had been and the number of times he had wished he had been able to live that trip over again, doing things differently, driving slower, not piling the hay so high, saving his brother from the injuries he had sustained.  Then he, too, bore his witness that the Atonement is for all of us, that we can be forgiven and we can heal, both from heartache as well as sin.  I was really impressed with his sweet spirit.

Many of the missionaries from this end of the Stake were there and we got to greet them and visit with them for a few minutes and we really enjoyed that.

Blessings of Great Ancesters

A few weeks ago, I hurt my knee and it hurt really bad.  For a few weeks, I stayed home part of the day, elevated my knee and put ice packs on it.  During this time I watched a lot of TV, including several hours of BYUTV.  One of the programs I watched was stories about men who decided they knew better than Brigham Young and the Quorum of the 12 how the Church should be administered and led.  Some of these were Sydney Rigdon, James Strang, a Brother Cutler, and some others whose names I have forgotten.

I was amazed at how many there were.  I had known that Sydney Rigdon had started a church, but I had never heard of the others.  They all called their churches by names like "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Strangites)," etc.  James Strang was a convert to the Church several months before the Prophet Joseph was martyred and was a very good friend of the Prophet.  He had been sent to Wisconsin by Joseph to see if he could find a place for the Saints to gather.  He was a very charismatic man and decided that he knew the will of Joseph, so after the martyrdom  he began preaching to the Saints that he had been sent to lead them to Wisconsin.  He was very convincing, apparently, because thousands of the members of the Church followed him.  At one time his church had almost as many followers as Brigham.

This caused me to begin thinking about my family who were in Nauvoo at that time.  I realized that I had eight sets of great-grandparents living in Nauvoo who were all members of the Church and not one of them left the church to follow any of those men!  What a testimony builder that was for me.  They were all really converted to the true gospel of Jesus Christ.  They had all received strong witnesses that this Church was the one and only true Church on the earth, that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Lord had designated Brigham Young as his successor.  They believed that so strongly that they followed the brethren across the plains to Salt Lake.  They believed that so strongly that they went on missions, some proselyting, some colonizing, and lived the gospel to the best of their abilities.  How blessed I am to have been born into this strong family.  How blessed I am that this great family helped establish what Elder Oaks calls the culture of the Church.  How blessed I am that all of my progenitors lived this culture and passed it down to me so that I could live it until my testimony was strong enough to sustain me through trials and tribulations.  I thank Heavenly Father for this great blessing.

Goodbye, Elder Miller

February 2, we said goodbye to Elder Jordan Miller.  That's him to the right of Elder Karlinsey.  Elder Miller was a new Assistant to the President when we arrived in August.  He was companion to Elder Kunzler, then Elder Farrens, and Elder Christensen seen above.  We have really enjoyed working with Elder Miller.  He never left the office without first asking if there was anything he could do to help us.  If we needed help, he and his companion were always willing and always took the time to do whatever needed to be done.

He was a great missionary, too.  Not long before he left, we were in President Bulloch's office and the President asked if he knew where to find a particular quote in Preach My Gospel.  Elder Miller jumped up, flipped a few pages in the book (the book was upside down) and pointed to the quote.  We were impressed, and so was President Bulloch, who complimented him on his knowledge and familiarity of the book.

We invited Elder Miller and Elder Christensen to have lunch with us a week before he left.  I left the office early and it was a good thing I did--I had started the rice and the dishwasher before I left for work and I guess the load was too much for the system, because it tripped the breaker on the GFI plug-in that the rice cooker was plugged into.  The dishwasher finished, but the rice was still raw!  So I plugged the rice cooker into the dining room plug-in and got busy defrosting some left-over turkey in the micro and warming up the electric fry pan for the Egg Fu Yung.  Next think I know, the micro, fry pan and rice cooker all quit.  So I moved the rice cooker to the living room, flipped every breaker in the box (none of them looked like they were off) and got back to work.  The rice finally got done after we finished our egg rolls and were ready to start on the Fu Yung.  We had a great time and got back to work only a few minutes late.  Does this sound like a story I might have written in Sendai?  It felt like it!


We will miss Elder Miller, but will continue to enjoy Elder Christensen and his new companion, Elder McCleve.

Oriskany

Oriskany is a small town about 5 miles north of Whitesboro.  They have an interesting museum that we decided to visit a few weeks ago.  Oriskany was the site of a Revolutionary War battle in 1777 between the Indians who supported the British and the revolutionaries.  The revolutionaries won, but their General Herkimer died when the wound he received in his leg became gangrenous.  They amputated his leg, but he died anyway.  There were many items in the museum related to the Revolutionary War--soldiers uniforms, guns, a couple of manikins dressed in Indian costumes of the time.

There was an aircraft carrier named the USS Oriskany which was built after World War II and was used during the Korean and Viet Nam conflicts.  She was de-commissioned in 1976 and then sunk in 2004 to make an artificial reef off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico.  She is the largest vessel ever sunk to make an artificial reef.  Her anchor was donated to the town of Oriskany and is on display on the grounds of the museum.  There is also a fighter plane, an FA Phantom, beside the anchor, which was stationed on the USS Oriskany during her fighting days.  There are lots of memorabilia in the museum from the carrier--uniforms, personal letters, pictures of the sailors and airmen, pictures of all the captains who commanded the ship.

There are several mills located in Oriskany, only one of which is still a working mill.  The mills were located on the Erie Canal which provided the water needed for powering the mills.  The mills produced fabrics; the one still operating produces printers felt (neither of us knows what that is).  There were lots of things used in the mills in the museum from spindles to wheels.

All in all, we had a great time there.  Unfortunately, we discovered that our camera battery was dead when we got there, so we didn't get any pictures.  We drove out to the battle site, but it was closed for the winter.  We'll go back and get pictures when the battle ground is open to visitors.