Last week I tried making bagels for the first time.  Although I am an experienced baker, I had never tried bagels before.  And, although the ones I made were delicious, I may never make them again! Making bagels is pretty much like making bread except you have to use bread flour and there are a …

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Didn’t get enough warping yesterday?  Today I continue to go on (and on) about warping the Macomber Loom. Once I had the reed sleyed and the strings through the heddles I could tie on to the warping beam.  Then Tom helped me wind the warp onto the beam.  Tom had never wound the warp before …

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I finally got around to warping my big Macomber loom.  It had been sitting in the loom room looking intimidating since we brought it home in November.  Christmas gifts needed to be finished, so I managed to ignore it until the beginning of January.  But, with woven and knitted presents finished, it was time to …

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Now that I have a house again, I must confess that I’ve been acquiring some new kitchen gadgets.  There wasn’t room in the RV for many gadgets or things that I would only use occasionally.  Now that I have more room, kitchen gadgets are my greatest temptation. John and Jackie got me an electric griddle …

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On New Year’s Day our water heater bled out and died.  During the day Tom had noticed a leaking noise coming from the heating ducts.  It sounded as if water was dripping on it.  But it was raining like crazy outside, so we didn’t pursue it much.  That night, after the rain had stopped, the …

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The northernmost Hoover Reservoir Nature Preserve is Hoover Meadows.  Hoover Meadows is just south of Galena.  This nature preserve is the one most in need of a trail map saying “You are here.” Tom and I pulled into the small parking lot which had one other car.  We did see one other couple as we …

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Mud Hen Marsh and Oxbow boat access are two more of the nature preserves surrounding Hoover Reservoir in the Westerville area.  Both of them are very close to where we live.  We can stop by and hike their loops as we drive back and forth to Westerville or Columbus. Mud Hen Marsh is a marsh …

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It’s starting to look like we won’t be traveling anywhere for a while.  Tom and I are not working at a National Park site until we get vaccinated for Covid-19, so we will be hanging around Ohio.  We’ve been here for six months now, which is the longest we’ve spent in Ohio since we retired.  …

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Gertrude S Lawrence is one of the nature preserves around Hoover Reservoir.  There are 15 nature preserves protecting the waterways and wetlands of the Big Walnut Creek watershed north of Columbus.  This watershed provides 60% of the water for the City of Columbus.  The 4,700 acres of land protected in these preserves offers a refuge …

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Tom and I have the privilege of living between two reservoirs:  Hoover Reservoir and Alum Creek.  Recently we have been exploring the nature preserves around Hoover Reservoir.  I decided to give you a little history of the reservoir before I describe the nature preserves. Hoover Reservoir was started in 1952 and finished in 1955.  The …

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