Quill's Bridge

December 21, 2015 was a very sad day for Natalie and I.  Our big, fat buddy, Quill, had to be put down.  

Quill's origins are a bit mysterious.  Our best guess it that he was a Siberian Forest Cat.  Tipping the scales at 16 pounds (he was once 18 pounds!),  he lived to the ripe old age of 15 years.  In fact, he may have been 16 years old.  We are not sure as Natalie acquired him from her piano teacher when he was five....or six....years old. We can't be sure.

We can be sure he was simply an extraordinary cat.  I know, I know, I know...everybody wants to say that their pet was the best one, but they're all lying. Quill was the best.  Anybody who met him was immediately captivated by his girth and his personality - both quite large.  Calm, affectionate, and simply awesome, he really was the best cat anybody could ask for.  That's a fact.  Snuggles were constant, his quirks were numerous, affection was a given, and his purrs were like gold.

Interestingly, he was not in perfect health.  About eight years ago, he was diagnosed as  a diabetic.  Now, I know some folks would have put him down right then and there thinking that diabetes in cats is somehow a horrible thing.

Nonsense.

Like diabetes in people, it is a very treatable condition.  A good diet and a simple regimen of insulin is all it takes.  

Well, not too long ago, he started to develop some kidney troubles. That can be addressed with diet, as well.  So we did it. Easy.  

All in all, I would argue that we took care of Quill better than most people take care of themselves.  

Sadly, despite our best efforts as cat parents, something diabolical was brewing in his noggin. This past Monday, two separate veterinarians diagnosed him with some sort of brain issue.  Tumor?  Lesion?  We'll never know.  The neurological impact was pronounced and frustratingly quick. His decline was over just a few days.  Further, something had changed in his body preventing his system from maintaining safe blood sugar levels. Despite the constant influxes of sugar, the levels stayed dangerously low.   

By Monday afternoon, arrangements had been made.  Quill was euthanized here in our home on Monday afternoon.  Natalie was holding him and I was holding her.  Needless to say, the whole situation was awful, but at the same time, it was comforting as we know Quill was no longer suffering from his brain condition.  

In fact, I would argue his last moments with us were, in an odd sort of way, grand.  

As a diabetic, high blood sugars would be a problem.  Sugary treats for him were out of the question.  Before I passed him to Natalie for the last time, he was literally swaddled like an infant and I held him like one.  The way he licked honey from my fingers is a memory this sappy cat-dad will have forever. The way he used his paw to pull my fingers closer  when I had shredded cheese bits made everybody present chuckle. His one last round of obnoxiously loud purring was wonderful because we knew he was comfortable.  

Popular culture now has a story regarding a rainbow bridge.  I honestly had never heard of it until friends expressed their condolences to us.   The general angle of the story is this: when pets die, they cross a rainbow bridge where they frolic and enjoy themselves in grassy fields on sunny days.  Upon the death of their owner, they meet again and continue on as companions forever...as it should be....

I'm sorry, but I have a problem with that story.

Rainbows are simply white light separated by a prism into its individual colors.  

You can't walk on a rainbow.  

But what if the bridge was made of cheese. Not just any cheese - sharp cheddar.  Natalie and I never had to sweep the cheese off the floor after a cooking session as Quill was always on the prowl.  

And what if, for a decorative flair inspired by the work of masons, his little treats were placed on the cheese bridge in a pattern called a Flemish bond.  Oh, and they're not just stuck there. They are mortared in place with his wet food.  Oh, and the wet food is something super-yummy and not his kidney-healthy wet food. After all, in Quill's new place, his kidneys and pancreas are perfectly healthy.  

Of course, if you have a bridge, there is often a body of water below it. A river or a stream.  For Quill, it's a river of milk.  But, not just  any milk.  It's the milk that's left over in the cereal bowl. You know, the super sweet stuff.

I have trouble, too, buying into the grassy fields thing.  During his supervised short forays outside (he was an indoor cat) he always tried to eat the stuff but never seemed to figure out that it made him puke.  Natalie and I had to watch that he never chowed on it.  

Hmmmm...what would be more to his liking?

Concrete.  No, seriously.  Concrete.  One of his favorite things to do on a nice sunny day was to lay on the warm concrete of the front walk.  Without a care in the world and his eyes squinted in the bright sunshine, he seemed like he could lay there for hours.  

And what might we find in the middle of Quills' concrete?  A couch. You saw that coming, right?  Specifically, a brown woven love seat, just like the one Natalie and I have in our family room.  It was certainly one of his favorite spots for his naps.  Not normally the frolicker, I suspect he would just chill for hours on his couch.

If he is really cool about it (and he would be because he was that kind of cat), he would lie in the middle of the love seat. That way, Natalie could sit to his right and I to his left...like it always was when we watched re-runs of the Big Bang Theory after dinner. 

I say "we", by the way, because it was the three of us together. Natalie, myself and Quill. Three peas in a pod. 

Thanks Quill.  You were the best cat.  If you find any grass growing in the cracks between the concrete, please don't eat it.  

(Special thanks go to Nat's mom for being a great part of Quill's time on Grosse Ile.  Thanks,  too, go to everybody who helped with Quill's cat sitting needs and his needs overall during the years - Nat's dad, my parents, and all the veterinarians and techs (Jess especially).  Thanks all....)

Happy Holidays!

Detroit In Black and White

With Natalie working in Detroit, I enjoyed the opportunity to take her to work a few days ago.  My semester was largely done and I needed the day to enjoy myself.  With camera in hand, I opted to walk the town. I can't tell you how far I walked, but I enjoyed every minute of it. 

I'm not going to tell you where I was.  Maybe some you Michiganders/Detroiters can figure it out....

Building A Mystery

A short distance north from Traverse City, Michigan sits the small hamlet of Greilickville (GRY-lick-ville).  To the tourists who flock the region during the summer months, it does not seem like anything more than a small extension of downtown Traverse.  During its heyday in the late 19th Century, businesses included a huge sawmill, tannery, brewery and brickyard.

Now, I suspect you think this post is going to be more blither about beer.  

Well, its not.  This mystery begins with the bricks... 

During my Historic Preservation and Tourism class this past spring, Natalie, Ken and I made the trip to Traverse City.  Lunch, however, was in Cadillac.  The Clam Lake Brewing Company comes highly recommended.   Both beer and pizza were quite good. But it was not the chow that grabbed my attention.

The photo above was taken inside the brewery.  A few things may catch your eye.  Notice the yellow bricks.  Yes, it is the same yellow from the State Hospital in Traverse City.   My last post highlighted some photos from the tunnel under the Hospital. In fact, bricks from all over the northwest corner of the Lower Peninsula were made in Greilickville.  

Inconsistencies of the brick making process would probably explain the reddish brick in the center of the picture.  If you look closely, there are varying shades of yellow, too.

The real mystery in the photo would have to be the serrated edges on only some of the bricks.  As Ken and I walked the building, we noticed a scattering of them everywhere.  

A few weeks ago, I was in Traverse again for another class. The class, Adaptive Use of Historic Structures, had us investigating old structures that had been given a new lease on life. 

While enjoying lunch with classmates at Trattoria Stella, in the basement of the old hospital, what do I see in the wall?

You might be thinking "Oh...the same bricks!" That makes perfect sense, right? 

But they're not.

Note how the serrations are not as deep.  In fact, as I examined the wall, a complete evolution was noted.  Some bricks, like the above photo, had just nicks while other bricks were even more serrated than the ones we noted in Cadillac. 

Now, lets look at this a bit deeper.  

Are the bricks defective?  No. If so, the makers or the masons would have discarded them.  Note, too, that the mortar is in the cuts showing clearly that the bricks were serrated before they were placed in the wall (as opposed to some sort of chipping after they were placed).

Conversely, are the bricks somehow better?  No.  If they were, why don't all brick have these edges?  Sometimes, folks just blunder into better and it catches on. That does not appear to be the case here. Superior?  No.

Are the bricks decorative?  19th century masons certainly did things that make modern masons drool.  The effort was tremendous and final product was jaw dropping.  Clearly, jaw-dropping was not the intention here as the bricks were scattered about the walls at both Clam Lake and Stella's rather haphazardly. They are not structural (beyond their basic function) or decorative.  

The only thing that makes sense at this point is that the edges are a function of the manufacturing.  Frustratingly, if you count the nicks, they are not uniform on individual bricks or among different bricks.  It seems to me if there was a flaw in manufacturing, the problems would be consistent, right? The effect is the same, but the numbers are not. Odd.

I pursued a few folks regarding these bricks.  A few folks in the Historic Preservation department were stumped.  Bob, a former co-worker, collects bricks.  Yeah, I'll say that again - he collects bricks. After all, there are people who collect just about everything, right?  Apparently his basement has a collection with hundreds of samples from dozens of brick makers across the country.   He was not sure of what to make of this situation either.

That said, he put the word out with his collecting network. He even did a small piece for their newsletter.  Perhaps they can turn something up.

In the meantime, I'll continue to poke around and see what I come up with...

There may be be mortar to this story.....

 

 

Miscellaneous

Things here in the Cypher household has changed quite a bit in the last few weeks. Nat unloaded her only grad class and I unloaded one of mine. Further, my second class is already done as it met only twice in Traverse City.  So with only my third class still meeting, my school schedule is much lighter.

That said, don't think that I did not have the chance to sneak out and do some shooting.  The opportunity to do some sunrise shooting was quite nice.  Sure, it was my intention to photograph Great Egrets from the secrecy of my impromptu photo blind. Sure, said blind was  a complete disaster, but I won't tell you that part.  Hiking to a different part of the park, I met up with Natalie sitting on bench watching the sunrise. 

The Traverse City class investigated the concept of adaptive use.  In short, it's the idea of using old buildings again.  A leading regional example would have to be the The Village at Grand Traverse Commons.  Once upon a time, it was the State Hospital.  Designed under the Kirkbride plan, it housed the mentally ill. Now, shops, restaurants and offices are the norm.  It really is quite a place.  

A class highlight is always a visit to the tunnel that runs under the main passage.  While the building is over a quarter mile long, this tunnel is only (only!) 200 feet long.  Made with the beautiful Grielickville yellow bricks, it really is something to see.  Notice that the tunnel is basically two arches.  Very durable. After all, its been there since 1885.

That said, there is just something about black and white images and the "urban scene."  I honestly don't know which one I like better.

Keeping with the adaptive use theme, there remains the question of what to do with the old Leelanau County Jail.  Tucked away in what is now considered prime real estate, the question remains of what to do with it. Keep it? Move it? Demo it?  One  is for sure, you can photograph it....

 

So, with what I hope is a bit more free time in the coming days, perhaps I can get back to some photo stuff.

Happy All Hallows Eve!

Happy All Hallows Eve!

Everything started fine around here.  Last night, Julia Child Natalie made pumpkin cupcakes with a cream cheese/maple syrup frosting. They are every bit as good as they sound. In fact, more!

We'll be at the Fort Street Brewery tonight around 9:00pm.  Join us for a pint if you're interested!

Mysteries

It is hardly a secret that Natalie and I drink beer.  We travel for it.  We cook with it. We brew it home. I have a spreadsheet listing my beer conquests.  A week does not go by when we are not thinking about beer and all the possibilities that it brings.  

Imagine my surprise when I got home from work one night.  A bottle cap was on the counter.  I didn't leave it there from the night before.  The bottle opener was not hanging on the cupboard where we always put it.  Something was certainly amiss.

A short walk in to the family room and what do I see......

Apparently, Quill likes beer, too.  But mysteries remain....

...how did he open the bottle without opposable thumbs?

...how did he carry the bottle without spilling any?

...how long has this been going on? 

I'll try and keep you posted.

 

365

It's hard to believe this picture was taken 365 days ago today.  Where did the year go?

 

I guess it doesn't matter, does it? It's more about who you are with....

Thank you to all who made the day memorable!


Awwwwww, you can all cry now in three....two....one.....



:)


 

August 31: Fallingwater and Drivinghome

1925 saw the opening of the Hotel Morgan in Morgantown, West Virginia. The wainscoting in the lobby would floor you. The old mailbox in the lobby with the chute that feeds in from all the above floors is the stuff of dreams. I’ve always loved that stuff.

During most of its tenure, the hotel did indeed house visitors.  At one point, apparently West Virginia University used it for student housing. I would bet vandalism and vomit suggested that was a poor idea.  It is now owned by Clarion. If you’re in the area and you dig old stuff, stay here.

Our final destination for our trip was basically placed on my “go to” list by my college advisor, Dr. Ted Ligibel.  Natalie wanted to canoe, hike, camp, watch whales, drink beer and sleep while I did all the driving. I was good for all of that, too, but this location was my “Hey, look, here is a great chance to do this. Dr. Ted said so.”

Fallingwater. (Note the lack of the space.  That’s being artsy, folks.  My spellcheck is screaming.)

Built in the late 1930’s by the intergalactically famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright for the Kaufman family (of Pittsburgh), this place will blow your mind.  Every organization or magazine claims this is a place that everyone should visit. I could not agree more. 

The amazing combination of horizontal lines with vertical lines and the fact that the home is functionally built from the bluff and is cantilevered over a waterfall is awe inspiring. Locally quarried stone and the combination of the rocks on site (some of which were not moved and are both inside and outside the home as the wall rests on the stone) provides a great melting of nature and construction. Overall, the attention detail is simply incredible.

 

Sadly, the home was not without its troubles. The elder Kaufman called the home, at times, Risingmildew, clearly noting the persistent dampness.  I can only imagine how the books fared. The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, the owners of the home, brought in a team of engineers and preservationists a few years back to repair the structure.  The terraces were sagging 7 inches over a 15 foot span.  Yikes!

That said, I could never live there.  The Kaufmans were clearly not tall. At 6’0”, I was uncomfortable in some rooms as my head was barely clearing the doorframes.  Another fellow, who I would put at 6’2”, had to duck multiple times.  Wilt Chamberlin would have been screwed.  The hallways were very tight. This was Wright’s attempt to force you out onto the terraces or perhaps the large central room.  Further, the humidity was high that day.  If you are one who needs central air, you’re out of luck. That said, I’m sure the winter was pleasant with the multiple fireplaces.

In any case, get there. Take the tour. Spend a million dollars in the café (it’s not hard). Spend a billion dollars in the gift shop (it’s not hard). Support one of the most amazing places you’re ever going to visit.  Do it. 

For the non-photographers out there, the combination of the dark vegetation and the light terraces makes for awkward lighting.  If you meter off the building, the building will look fine  but the vegetation will be black. If you meter off the plants, the building will burn out and become white while they plants stay green.  Fortunately, when it came time for my photo, the clouds rolled in.  With all our frustrations involving clouds, fog and rain, this was one episode where I was happy to see the sun blocked.  The light was more even. My neutral density filters did their magic.  Silky water falls.  Ooooooooh.

If you want to buy this picture off of me, you can.  Actually, no, I’m kidding. I can’t sell it without the explicit written permission of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.  If they find out I sold it, they will hunt me down and throw me off the waterfall.  Or perhaps they would embed me in concrete during the next round of rehabilitation. Worse yet, they may make me live there.

Sadly, and I mean sadly, we knew we needed to press on. Fortunately, we were able to stop at our other favorite brewery, the Great LakesBrewing Company in Cleveland. Check your maps. It makes good sense.  Pittsburg to Detroit is only 4 hours. The fastest route is via Cleveland. 

We were home by 9:30pm.

Statistics:

Miles driven: 3,490

Miles per gallon: 40.2

Average speed: 43.5

Gallons used: 86.5

States visited: 8

National Park Sites visited: 7

Beer sampled: 46

Breweries sampled: 17

Beer (life total): 1,634

Birds: weeeeeell, that’s a toughy.  As the trip moved on, our birds notes became less and less. I need to still update that info but I don’t have time do it here and now.  Maybe I’ll post an addendum in the future.  No new birds for me – that’s for sure.  The Great Shearwater was new for Natalie. We missed some boreal species that would have been new for her, including Boreal Chickadee.