/dev/mull

It feels like the peak fall foliage has been a bit late for us this year. So late that I was starting to wonder whether maybe there just wouldn't be that much of a show at all? But this week the trees have made it clear that no, it was just too early, and yes, NOW they'll show their colors!

I am partial to the maples that turn flame orange and red. Here's one on campus that's just getting underway:


There are a number of other trees along my bike commute that I enjoy watching every year, too. Hard to take good photos while in motion on my bike, however. So I'm just appreciating the slow-motion fireworks show.

Speaking of my bike commute: this week had been feeling like a week that got up on the wrong side of the bed. But then apparently the universe decided to change its tune this morning. During my commute I first found two free quarters just lying there on the road, waiting for me to pick them up. Then later on, a single fall leaf fluttered down and landed on my bike's front rack.

My family has a longstanding tradition where if a leaf falls and lands on your bike (preferably in your bike basket if you have one), that means you get to make a wish. This stemmed from riding our bikes to church through Interlaken Park in Seattle, along a road surrounded by towering trees, some of which would drop big, droopy leaves in the fall. Thanks to that tradition I can tell you it's surprisingly rare to actually have this happen, let alone in a moment when one isn't eagerly anticipating it.



Anyway, thank you for the signs, universe, both big and small.

Saturday was the Head of the Housatonic Regatta in Indian Wells State Park, in Shelton, Connecticut. We were very fortunate to have fantastic weather and some good, clean, competitive racing. It was late by the time we made it all the way home, but the drive back was all through lovely fall foliage.

Sunday morning I played online Scrabble with friends, then S and I headed out for some bike errands and for the first Coffeeneuring ride of the 2026 Coffeeneuring Challenge. One of my research students had told me about Professor Java's Coffee Sanctuary. But first, we went to the Home Despot and S purchased a storage bin where I wasn't sure he'd be able to put that in his bike trailer, but he figured out a way.

Professor Java's Coffee Sanctuary was in a strip mall, it felt very much like home/an earlier-generation coffeeshop. The walls were covered in art and other paintings by local artists, available for sale. We had a quesadilla and panini for lunch, plus a brownie/chocolate cake, plus a fancy raspberry rooibos tea / latte drink. We bought enough cat litter at the pet store that S had a couple of close calls trying to brake and stop on some of the descents on the ride home. Also, it was rainy.

I was supposed to go to rowing practice this morning, except the regatta continued on Sunday for our youth athletes, and apparently with all the rain our boat trailer and truck got stuck in the mud. A $500 towing fee later, and the truck was freed. We learned that another rowing club pitched in to help get our trailer and others unstuck this morning; our head coach will go back down to get it tomorrow morning. So, no rowing practice this morning after all. I tried to keep sleeping and had weird dreams instead.

I'm backlogged on photos again. Busy times.

One of the tough things about being overscheduled is that when small chunks of time DO become available, my brain is more inclined to just flail around rather than try to think of extra useful things I could be doing.

I believe the general rowing goal this week was to work as hard as possible (more or less). Extra training stimulus to eke out as much extra speed as we can. In the short term, unsurprisingly, I'm tired.

This year my rowing club got an entry for a Women's Senior Master 4+ at the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston. The Head of the Charles bills itself as the world's largest 3-day rowing event, but no matter how you bill it, it's a big and prestigious regatta. The organizers try to balance between strong competition but openness to the rowing community through a qualification and lottery system.

Boats that finish in the top half of the event the previous year get an automatic invite to come back and compete again the following year, and each event is seeded according to the previous finish order. Boats and crews that finish in the slower half, or that didn't compete the prior year, may get entries through the lottery. That's how this entry came about.

A lot of thought has gone into this entry. In the time I've been part of the club, we've had a number of youth entries, and I also raced in the 1x representing our team. I've had other teammates race the 1x or put in a 2x entry, but none of the above has ever felt like a team endeavor. That all made me conclude that the only way the Charles would ever feel like a team undertaking would be if we put in for a 4+ or an 8+ (oh, you can also buy your way in with a "Director's 4x" entry, but we don't have that kind of money, and even that event is filling up really fast). My personal thinking is that it's really hard to get a full 8+ worth of adults together to train consistently, so when our coaches expressed a desire to get crews to the Charles, I encouraged the 4+.

Getting the entry then kicked off a selection process. We had a team meeting at the start of the fall season to talk about team goals, and a general plan was developed to prepare. The plan included completion of an erg fitness test piece (20 minutes, rate-capped at 22 strokes per minute), plus coach evaluation of athlete skill, commitment, and promise of improvement.

Last week, Coach M asked me if I was still serious about wanting to be considered for the Charles 4+. I told him that I like to make boats go fast, so if it's determined that the goal for this entry is to make the boat go fast, and I'm a good candidate for doing that, put me in. And so now I will find myself once again at that starting line in the Charles River Basin a week from Saturday.

The other thing that happened this year is that the German rowers that my teammate L and I raced with back in 2022 got in touch with me in March or April or something: they also wanted to come back to race in the Charles again. As things shook out for them, it turned out they have a complete lineup, they just needed some help with procuring a boat, oars, and a coxswain. Thankfully, with my team's entries this year, we're in a position to help out this German crew with those elements. I see that as part of our general duties as rowers - to extend hospitality and goodwill to rowers traveling from afar. So it will be good to be there at the Charles to help support them. They're an older crew and this is likely to be the last time they travel out, so there will be some closure as well.

In any case, with crew selection getting finalized just at the end of last week, we only have a limited number of days to practice together in our racing lineup. A challenge is that some of us in the boat generally attend our club's morning practice times, whereas others generally attend our club's evening practice times. For this week, coaches recommended the following practice sessions: Monday evening, Tuesday morning, Wednesday evening, Thursday morning, Friday morning.

And so, last night we pushed off the dock for practice as the sun went down and the light faded from dusk to dark. Biking home, I was reminded of the days when I took evening pottery classes in Troy, then biked home rather later than I like. This morning I found myself somewhat uncomfortably awake 10 minutes before the alarm was set to go off, so I got up and got ready and had a couple minutes to snuggle with George before it was time to head out.

Temperatures dropped overnight, but the skies were clear, so in the morning darkness we could see the moon's crescent and the brighter stars. As we pushed off the dock, the moon coughed up a star; by practice's end, the sun was up and it was time for another day of work.

Now, mallorys_camera has far more opportunities to take wonderful Art Photos of the Walkway Over the Hudson. However! Her photos never feature...MY family members!

Here's my mom and two of my aunts, setting out to stroll most of the way across the Walkway. It was a beautiful fall Saturday morning, so the Walkway was bustling.



A stranger offered to take our photo. She was in an incredibly good mood, and so were we, all things considered! The sun was shining, the air was fresh, and from 212 feet above the Hudson River, you can admire so much of the surroundings and feel like royalty for a moment.



I found this bit of infrastructure interesting:


We didn't get to see this in action, but apparently there's some sort of cable car that can bring passengers up to the Walkway?

After a picnic lunch, we headed back to the AirBnB to get ready for my cousin L's wedding, hosted at a lovely farmyard-turned-venue right along Rondout Creek.

During the ceremony itself, we were requested to silence and stow our smartphones, so I mostly just have photos of the general scene.

Which was utterly lovely. L and N got so lucky, because the prior two weekends were both quite stormy. Saturday afternoon was sunny, but neither too hot nor too cold. PERFECT weather for a fall wedding!

As soon as we got there, one of my aunts pointed out two garter snakes that were very curious about all of the arriving people:



Another aunt and I arranged for some Nose to the Grindstone photos, because we like puns, the more the merrier, they don't have to be fancy ones, basic ones will do.



The ceremony occurred underneath an old (American) sycamore tree, with Rondout Creek in the background:



I've never been to a wedding with quite the same sort of tension and suspense as this one.

The tension and suspense was related to the seating arrangement.



These pews are on something of a slope. One of my uncles sitting behind me declared my row to be the one most likely to tip forward and tumble. It was like doing a wall-sit during the entire ceremony. At one point, apparently we collectively discovered we were all leaning forward slightly too much, and we corrected back by several inches. Disaster averted!

But! The bride looked elegantly beautiful, the vows were sweet, and soon enough it was time for cocktail hour and family photos!

This photo below is of a family friend (L), my cousin A, and her mom C, neither of which like having their photos taken or posted on social media. But YOU can enjoy seeing them, because they are hilariously well-coordinated and without having planned any of it in advance!



I spotted some interesting ducks in the creek, but heck if I know what they are, and you can't really tell because they're too far away in this photo.



The wedding dinner happened inside this beautiful old barn. WOW did people do a fantastic job of cleaning up the barn for fancy occasions!





Just look at that excellent joinery, and also the small cluster of mud-dauber nests on that joist overhead!



An artistic friend drew the menu. I don't know who supplied the flowers, but they were also entirely in keeping with the family aesthetic.



After the sun went down, it got a bit chilly, which made it even more fun to join in with all the dancing.

Then Sunday morning, a leisurely breakfast with my aunts and uncles, then back on the road to all those everyday responsibilities in Albany.