Lewis at Home

Tree Fell On Our Bedroom

mark — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 01:41:50 +0000

Talk about a bad start to a day! At 7 am on August 17th an intense storm swept through our town, and part of an oak tree came loose and fell on our roof. Over a year ago we had a tree surgeon remove three trees that we felt might be a future hazard. When we asked him about the oak tree, he said we did not need to take it down because oaks were very strong, the tree was very healthy, and it should be fine for another 100 years. Yeah, right!!!!

Fortunately, Aaron McGraw of Select Tree Care of Alfred, NY canceled his scheduled work for the day and came right out. He was a real artist in his approach to removing the tree without causing further damage. He studied the tree from several angles, chained the base of the fallen stem to the trunk so it would not fall, and rigged a pulley and winch to take weight off the end of the stem. It was simply amazing to watch him at work. I cannot recommend him highly enough.

This is the bedroom end of our home with the tree on it.

Stem swung off the roof using chain and pulley with hoist

Lewis Family Crest Is Ready

mark — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 20:58:16 +0000

Mat Woodworth (boldlinedesign@gmail.com), a most talented commercial artist, drew our Lewis family crest, and Monica and Ray Sommerville of Sommerville Pottery in Pulteney, NY are making test mugs with the image. We will soon be able to have our family crest on handmade mugs, trivets, cheese boards and other ceramic items. If folks want, I can take orders and deliver items to the Lewis reunion this August in Stonefort, IL. Here is our first piece – a mug with the crest. Click on “Lewis Family Crest Pottery” above for more photos and pricing information.

We are one of many Lewis families from Wales. Our crest was borne by Rhys Goch ca 1070. Rhys was a local tribal chieftain from the area near present-day Abergavenny, Wales. The crest is a Welsh dragon with a bloody severed left hand in it’s mouth. No one knows the exact story of the dragon with the bloody hand. There is a woodcarving of the crest in black oak over the fireplace of the dining room at Gregygnog, a manor that is now a residential educational center of the University of Wales Institute of Rural Health. It is #10 at this web page Blayney Room Lewis Crest

Highland Tree Farm

mark — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 01:58:15 +0000

In December the State Forester spent a day in our 30 acres of woods by our home, and is developing a Forest Management plan to carry out over the next five years. The management objectives are to improve the forest for watershed, wildlife and recreation. Because of the diversity of the forest, and the management objectives, the forester enrolled our woods as a Certified Tree Farm with the American Tree Farm System. We named our farm “Highland Tree Farm” (we had to name it to get it enrolled). Here is the sign we have posted to show we are a certified tree farm.

Soon the forester will visit out other woods near Alfred, NY, and will certify it. We are naming that farm “Deer Run Tree Farm” in honor of all the deer that live there.

Back in the Classroom

mark — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 01:51:00 +0000

After nearly 20 years not being on university faculty, I am back in the classroom. This time I’m at Alfred University in Alfred, NY teaching “Management and Organizational Behavior” in the College of Business. I have 36 bright students, and am thoroughly enjoying the chance to be in the classroom.

We’ve Moved to Western NY

mark — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:52:45 +0000

After 12 years living in New Jersey, and working in New York City, I am so thankful to be back in Western NY. I learned a lot in those years, and saw a lot – including 9.11 and the aftermath – and am grateful for all those years meant. Now it is time for new adventures, new explorations, and new horizons.

Here is our new home:

Book In Progress

mark — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 01:15:25 +0000

I am working on a book about my Lewis family history, and have posted the draft chapters on this web site’s Genealogy section under Lewis.

One new item is sharing family member photos. It is purely voluntary, and gives us the chance to stay a bit more in touch. If you would like to have a photo posted, or get in touch with someone who has posted a photo, drop me a line and I’ll do my best to assist.

Enjoy the reading, and let me know if you have any input.

18 Deer In The Yard

mark — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 12:17:39 +0000

Yesterday around 3 pm three deer came out of the woods into our back yard to eat. With the arrival of Spring and snow melt, the deer are really enjoying the grass salad. After the first group of three came out, another two joined. Small family group after group came out to eat, until we finally had 18 deer in the yard. What a sight to see! Eventually they all turned tails up and ran quickly back into the woods, and then a man appeared in the lane walking his german shepherd. Nothing scares deer like the sight of a wolf (or near wolf in this case).

Later we had eight deer in the front year eating. They came and went peacefully, as there was no threat to them this time.

I really enjoy watching these graceful creatures go about their daily lives. With the longer days and fresh food, the unborn fawns are growing rapidly now. In another six weeks the pregnant does will push away their young from last year, and stake out an area for the new fawns to be born. By late June we should be seeing the fawns in the lawn following mother around.

What Can I Say?

mark — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 02:01:16 +0000

What can I say - my 15 year old Web 1.0 site has been completely redone in wordpress, with a special theme thanks to our generous and special friends Mark and Becky Rabideau. I get to learn a whole new technology, blog, share photos, dreams and realities. This certainly is a Brave New World.

Hello Mark & Ann!

admin — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 03:28:57 +0000

Becky and I hope you enjoy this website “gift”.

Hopefully this ‘new’ site will make it easy for you to keep in touch with your family and friends across the globe.

When you are ready to learn how to use the site… add photos, write BLOGs, build new web pages, just give a call and I will ‘show you the ropes’.

All the best,

…mark & Becky

We are Green!

admin — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 21:50:47 +0000

We are pleased to announce that as of today, our website is “Green”. We have just moved to a new host that certifies a net zero carbon footprint. We know this is not a huge contribution, but every little bit helps.

To learn more about this please visit the We Are Green page.