Yesterday ended up being a busy day. I woke up early to drive my mom down for her covid test. After been through it once before it was even easier than last time, plus I don’t think people are getting as many tests nowadays. In and out in no time. Then I went over to the nearby Best Buy and bought the cell phone that I wanted unlocked. They had them in stock and I was in and out of there in like 3 minutes. From there I went to my carrier and had them switch the account over from my old to my new, I must say I’m very happy with this new device. What a difference. I still need to install some apps and figure out how to work some things but in general I’m up and running again. By then it was around lunchtime so we got some meatball subs down in Winter Hill and ate them in the car. I hung around for a few hours more before heading back. Heading back Kinda sucked because it’s apparent that traffic is pretty much back to it’s normally shitty self. Especially in that Needham stretch – that’s the worst, just before Canton isn’t too swift either. In the early evening we actually went into a Trader Joe’s – first time in over a year! We ended off the evening by making a shrimp and kale salad with some roasted sweet potatoes and some television.
My Cape Happiness All the Way to Infinity
Cape Cod, Everyday Life, Memories, Scenic Photography
To understand recursion, one must first understand recursion.
-Stephen Hawking
The story behind the photo: All 22 beachfront cottages are 420 square feet, all similar, with two bedrooms, a small kitchen, and a living space with windows facing the water. The cottages are numbers 1 – 12 and 14 – 23 along the beach – no unlucky 13 among them. I want to stay in one someday! (although it might be a little cramped!) Each cottage also a name, an individual identity, named after 23 different flowers, one for each cottage. I’m not in the area that often but the last time I was I decided to go around the back and that’s where this shot was taken from. I like how the houses seem to go to infinity in this short, almost like a fractal, or a recursive routine!
Here’s a shot from the backyard of what I call the Bunny Family. Could that possibly be Shiloh on the left, and either Mom or Dad on the right? Also, this was before I cleaned up and mowed the back lawn although it seems these rabbits seem to like it in this condition.
Decided the grill up some steaks tonight. Here’s me trying to be the Grillmaster.
Building a Butterfly House, Gardening Chores and Happy Spring Activities
Everyday Life, Gardening, Memories, Scenic Photography, Wildlife
I went off this morning to the gas station to get some gas for the lawn mower. It was on my to-do list for the last few days. After filling up the can and bringing it home I loaded some into the mower and began mowing the back yard, which really started to need it. I made sure not to touch any of the plantings along the fence lines that ‘D’ helped us put in last fall, and also avoiding a couple of spots that the baby bunnies like to frequent that we’ve seen. I also did my yearly dodging of the random buttercup that seems to grow in the middle of the lawn. After it’s done blooming I’ll mow that down. Yeah, most consider it a weed but for some reason I kind of like the flower so I’ll let it bloom out before running it down. LD also noticed some poison ivy growing on the side of the shed and the side of the sunroom so I went ahead and sprayed some ivy killer on it. It’s already wilting but the direction say to keep up the spray for a few days so I’ll stay on top of that until it’s gone. After that I went down to the local deli and got us a sub for lunch, something we’ve been doing quite a bit more these last few weeks.
I finally got my hammer together and started to build my butterfly house. I was able to finish it within a half hour – it’s basically a closed box with some slits in the front for the butterfly to needle themselves through, and the top rotates so you can get inside the box to put in a banana peel which is supposed to attract them but I’m not sure about doing that because that just screams other unsavory bugs coming around to me. I’ll let LD paint it some bright colors and then we can hang it somewhere!
As you can see from the photo, spring in Boston has begun! It’s actually a wonderful time of year here in the city. I’m totally enjoying the warmer days.
Dawn of a New Day
Everyday Life, Memories, Scenic Photography
Spent the day in Somerville, helping out my mom and deciding on which cell phone to finally pop on. I’ve decided to get the FE 20 unlocked at a store and then bring it over to my carrier to activate it. Plan on getting that all done on Friday after her second COVID test in preparation for her second operation on her other hand on Monday morning. She’s doing really well I’m very glad and relieved to say. I ended up trimming the front hedges while I was there as well. Good arm workout let me tell you, especially since I used the hand tool and not the power cutters. Just call me Popeye!
Back at LD’s saw a bunch of mother and baby/teen bunnies in the backyard. Could more bunnies be in our future?
A Walk in the Woods
Everyday Life, Memories, Scenic Photography
We went for a quick walk in the woods over in Wellesley after picking up some stuff from LD’s office. That’s where this picture I took is from.
A Plum Visit
Everyday Life, Memories, Scenic Photography, Wildlife
Spent yesterday just taking it easy. After my second shot I didn’t get sick or anything. My arm was a little sore for a few hours, and I felt pretty tired most of the day, but I still grilled and got some stuff done. I’m back to my normal self already.
Here’s some more pix from the Plum Island Reservation outing before me getting the shot.
View from a tower 
Another view 
An egret looks around 
The boardwalks 
The waves
Going through my camera bag I actually found my old Kindle (third generation). It said the battery was dead so I went to try to charge it up but nothing. I think it might be dead dead. I mean, it is pretty old. The thing won’t even reset. I suppose the battery inside it has completely died but there doesn’t look to be any way to open it easily to get at it. I see there is a way to actually replace the battery (saving this for myself for future reference) but I’d need to buy one and install it and I don’t think it’s probably worth it at this point due to the machine’s age. Perhaps I should just buy a newer version but I actually like the feel of real books.
Fully Vaxxed, Baby
Everyday Life, MemoriesI woke up at 6 am having not being able to sleep anymore. We went down to the DPW drop-off to get rid of the hazardous waste. Not really hazardous, just an old microwave and air conditioner. The line of cars to get in looked pretty long but LD figured it would move pretty quick, which it did, so we waited and eventually got it all unloaded and disposed of. While waiting in line I got a notification on my phone that my swan photo was being featured on Boston Fox25 social media news outlet. Very exciting! They’ve shared some of my stuff in the past and NECN has a bunch of times and I’m truly appreciative. My holy grail is to get on Boston.com’s but try as I might I’ve never been able to break through on that one. Seems pretty clique-y to me but I’ll keep trying.
In the afternoon it was off to my second Covid shot appointment. The first one had been in Amesbury but for some reason this one had to be moved to Newburyport. Might as well make an afternoon of it since we were in the area! Ended up walking around Plum Island Reservation and Salisbury reservation. I think I got a lot of good photos but I’m going to relax for a while. It’s nice to finally have gotten both shots. I’ll post some of what we got in day or two. Here’s a picture of me after getting the shot along the shore in Salisbury.
The Electrician in the Garden
Everyday Life, GameTime, Memories, Wildlife
The electrician came by today and fixed the outside outlet that I noticed had been wonky over the winter. I should now be able to string up the outdoor lights without problem. He’s also the town’s animal control officer and told us a bunch of stories – he meets a lot of crazy characters. While he was there though, we saw two bunnies jumping over each other in the yard and he told us that that is their courtship routine, and that within 30 days they will have babies. No sooner than he said that is when we also saw a littler bunny, possibly Shiloh or one of his siblings. It was like the whole family was out there. Maybe they’ll decide to use the pot again for another bunch of bunnies! I’ll need to mark this one the calendar and make a note. I also saw my first hummingbird come by this afternoon. It flited around the tulips and hanging plants before darting off. Very cool to see, I’ve been trying to attract them for some time.
Earlier in the day I mowed the front lawn and got some stuff out of the basement and into the car to drop off at the DPW for Hazardous Waste Collection Day. Finally trying to get rid of some old minor appliances that have been taking up space in the basement since last winter. I was also going to do the back but the gas was running low. I’ll need to go get some and then complete the back. The electrician/animal control officer also gave us some lowdown about the former sinkhole in the yard which we converted to a nice phlox rock garden. Apparently there must have been a tree there at one time that was taken down before we ever came here. Over time the insects in the ground ate whatever was left under the soil and it just starts to cave in. I learned some new things today. I also was able to finish the book on the theft of the Gardner paintings I started a couple of days ago. All in all, it was a very good read, if slightly outdated. It did make me what to go back there and see the artwork again. The crazy thing about that is that there just seems to not be any real leads. You would think sooner or later some talk about where they are would happen or a crook or someone would want to cash out somehow. Problem being that the works are just too famous. I will admit that out of all the ones that were taken, Rembrandt’s The Storm on the Sea of Galilee is easily my personal favorite. It was the artist’s only known seascape scene. I hope it’s not too damaged – it really is a work of art. Oh I almost forgot, we even went to the beach for an hour this morning and saw some guy power paragliding (sort of like these models) right over the dunes!
Finally, for tonight I cooked up a walnut-crusted salmon with a roasted veggie jumble and lemon crème fraiche. It came out pretty good but I think I should have let the zucchini go a little longer in the oven. In the interim I was trying to solve some of the puzzles in Screw Gravity. Just when I think the game was over, there were more puzzles.
How About a Romantic Ride in a Swan Boat?
Everyday Life, Memories, Scenic Photography
On Saturday the Swan Boats come back to the Public Garden so I thought it apropos to include a shot I took of them a couple of years back.
We saw those two hawks in the tree again. They better leave the bunnies alone! Speaking of bunnies, I think we saw Shiloh today, or at least, one of his siblings. It was right in the back yard by the shed. This bunny wasn’t a baby bunny, but also not a full grown bunny like we usually see. I like to think it was one of the bunnies that was born here. I mean, it must be, right? It sniffed around one of the sourwood trees, which I’m pleased to say have started to bud and leaf out a bit, before darting underneath the shed.
The Weeping Willow Represents Balance, Harmony and Growth
Everyday Life, General Website, Memories, Scenic Photography
The story behind the photo: Kinda bummed about the recycling bin in this shot but as the kids used to say, ‘whatevs.’ I grew up down the street from this house and was always enthralled by the large weeping willow that has been there for as long as I can remember. The house seems somewhat out of place as it’s surroundings don’t really match the décor of any of the surrounding triple deckers. Also the fence out front seems to have some kind of pagoda motif to me. I always wondered if some artist of some sort lives here or not. Seems like the place would lend itself to that. Strangely out of all the million times I’ve passed by this place, I’ve never seen who actually lives there. I just looked at Zillow and although the place isn’t for sale, it’s listed at close to a million and was built in 1900. The house I grew up in and is still in the family was built in 1856, and let me tell, sometimes it feels like it as nothing is to any proper or standard dimensions.
Yesterday Mom made it through her surgery A-OK! She’s due for another one on the other hand in a couple of weeks but now having gone through the process once, we know what to expect. I’d like to give a shoutout to Cambridge City Hospital for their good work. I guess it’s just called Cambridge Hospital now, just outside of Inman Square. Trivia bit: it’s the hospital were I was born! I’ve been spending the last two days over there helping out a bit so that’s why I haven’t updated much. I got a strange email from my webhost saying they needed to delete some giant file that was on the server under my account. I think it might have been some old backup of my previous site although I’ve no recall of ever backing that up. Anyways, I don’t think it matters or that I’d ever need whatever it was.
I found an old picture of me today frequenting the Egyptian artworks over at the MFA. Makes me want to go back there and visit the museum and the Gardner one too. I have a deeper appreciation of the artwork nowadays than I did back then and would like to see them again in my enlightened thoughts.
Calzones and May Day Deliveries
Everyday Life, Memories, Scenic Photography
Spent the afternoon at friends’ house on their outside deck and had takeout from some place that I must say made these amazing calzones! I had the buffalo chicken one and it was really good. After that LD had to deliver some end-of-the-semester goodies to her trainees as they’ll be wrapping up and moving on in their careers so we took a quick jaunt all throughout Boston, mostly parts of Dorchester, Hyde Park and JP. Moving on, there was even one who lived in the North End so I had to get out and navigate all the outdoor dining going on there, and let me tell you, the streets were packed. There were a ton of people dining yesterday – it was very crowded. Guess things are starting to get back to normal afterall – or people are just ready for it to be so and that’s that. Once all the packages were delivered LD thought we might be able to catch a sunset over at Jamaica Pond. We got there just as the sun was disappearing.
You Never Know How Short Life Can Be
Everyday Life, Memories, Scenic Photography
I was saddened to learn this afternoon that a colleague of mine that I’d worked with for over a decade had passed away suddenly within the last day or so. I heard he was found in his car in his driveway by his youngest son as he was going out for coffee. Heartbreaking! After hearing this news it got me to thinking back about all the projects and even the fun times we all had. I can remember when he started at ADL where I had already been for a few years at the time and then as we transitioned over to the other company that eventually ended buying our group out. Working together on the pot project for the state when they were first exploring how to do it is the one that stands out in my mind, but there were also other smaller projects that we all worked on together over the years, like some old base in PA that had a bunch of contamination and a mapping project for an Army base that would never seem to end. I remember he, I and another guy would play Quake 2 deathmatches long into the evening after work. He even made and designed some of the levels that we played on – and they were good! I always hoped we’d get together sometime and maybe play another match or two but I guess that’s not to be. We would watch his guitar playing and singing videos on Facebook and YouTube and laugh because he surely couldn’t sing, but he tried and his guitar playing wasn’t actually all that bad. I have so many stories and they bring a smile to my face. I just remember that this guy would work himself to the bone, getting by on a few hours sleep for weeks, always working. He really put a lot into his work. And for what? I remember one time at work he just collapsed in the office and 911 and the EMTs all came down and gave him tests and all that. He refused to go to the hospital of course even though the EMTs thought it would be a good idea. I think he was embarrassed but we were just glad he was ok. Just goes to show that you really never know how short life can be. I’ll miss DNO (his moniker on the videogames). He really was a good person. Hearing the news today really brought me down and I feel for his family.
This morning I took my mom for her first ever Covid test. Drive up right to Assembly Square where CHA has a nice little tent set up there. You drive in, the nurse takes some notes, and then the swabs go up and in the baggie. All in all, the process maybe took about 9 seconds once it was her turn. Pretty painless. Now to await the results, which I’m sure will be negative. Just a formality they put you through. Her surgery’s been pushed off to 12:30 in the afternoon on Monday which I find a lot more convenient that the earlier 6 am time they had said. I hope it all goes well. I know it’s a pretty common procedure these days but I still worry.
The Beauty and the Pain
Everyday Life, Lighthouses, Memories, Scenic Photography
The story behind the photo: Here’s a shot of Minot Ledge Light, also known as the 1-4-3 (I love you) lighthouse because of it’s light flashing patterns. This is a great lighthouse off the coast of Cohasset but for all it’s beauty, it’s also in a very dangerous place and lightkeepers have died there trying to keep the light lit back in the day. I think that’s why I like this one so much, it’s in such a beautiful place surrounded by the ocean but also an extremely dangerous place. Like two sides of a coin. Can you imagine being one of the guys who had to even build the thing where it is? Superior engineering for sure. It was foggy on the day I took this and these cormorants where trying to dry their wings as it had rained earlier. I remember having to climb up on some slippery rocks and use the maximum zoom my camera had at the time to try to get a shot of this. If you’re new to reading my blog this is essentially the place where I talk about what I’m up to day to day and to showcase some of my pictures from my various adventures throughout mostly New England. Prints of some of my photos are available for purchase at my shop , if you’re interested, so peruse it if you like any of my stuff. Anything could help my future endeavors into photography, plus it’s really heartwarming to make a sale. But enough about plugging.
The gas company folks came by again to take more readings. Uhmmm, why are they sending out more people when it’s already been checked out. Maybe they’ll get around to fixing the problem sooner rather than later.
In the afternoon I got a frantic call from my sister that she and my mom locked themselves out of the house at Earth-1 so I had to make the trek over there to let them back in. I’m also going back over there tomorrow to take my mom to her covid test appointment so she can have her hand surgery on Monday. She’s fully vaxed but they want the test anyway. I’ll be taking her to the hospital on Monday early as her surgery is scheduled at 6 am. Fingers crossed that it all goes well!
I’ll Always Love Coming Back to You
Everyday Life, Lighthouses, Memories, Scenic Photography
The story behind the photo: This particular shot was actually taken by me from land zoomed in. I saw this sailboat in the water and in the distance Whaleback Light so I tried to juxtapose the two and this is what I came up with. I also lightened it up considerably from the original snap. I find I prefer ship or boat scenes surrounded by white – just a preference of mine. I wished that the boat would have its blue sails unfurled as that would have looked great, but it was just not to be. Another thing I like about the photo is the lighthouse is serving it’s purpose, guiding the boats around (even though this particular one was just sitting there at the time) but that’s the sentiment I got and was going for.
Yesterday I noticed this car in the parking lot and thought it was interesting. Looks like it caught the ‘Rona. Looking a bit more into it it’s some kind of service that deals with people getting flu and covid shots. This was parked over at Assembly Square near the TJ Max and Trader Joe’s. Not sure if it’s still there but if you’re in the area it may be worth a look if you’re interested.
Gametime: Pâquerette down the bunburrow. A fun short game where you have to catch the bunnies. You know how we love bunnies around here!
The Loss of Rango
Everyday Life, Goat Love, Memories, Reading
We left late morning into the town of Wellesley because LD had to pick up some things. While there we perused the local bookstore and I got a new book to read, The Gardner Heist. It’s been back in the news lately because there’s a new documentary on it out but I’ve been looking for something to read and this sounds up my alley. I was surprised to discover that I actually haven’t read a book since December. My Goodreads reading statistics for this year are woefully behind.
After that we decided to go the sanctuary to drop off some food for the animals. It’s something we like to do every now and again and LD loves to pet the goats. The place has been closed for most of the winter and spring but the owner seems to like us and lets us have somewhat of a VIP status for which we are eternally grateful. We were saddened to learn however that Rango, a Nubian goat with very soulful eyes had passed away from a heart attack just last week and so sudden. What makes it even sadder is that Rango was one of LD’s favorites, if not her favorite, goat there of all time.. We did learn that some of the other goats did get to say their goodbyes though. We saw pictures of Rango wrapped in a shroud and some of the goats would pass by or sit with it for a while, to pay their respects, just like in a human wake. They just know things we think they don’t, but they do. We could probably learn a lot from them if we only took the time to listen. We did get to brush the goats that still remain there. It’s been a tough several months for the sanctuary.
It sucks not to be able to have said goodbye to Rango, and LD and I and everyone at the sanctuary is pretty devastated by the news. But as Queen Elizabeth said, “Grief is the price we pay for love.” And we cannot and will not stop loving. Fully, deeply, and courageously. Rest in peace Rango. You will be missed.
When we came home I decided to mow the lawn out front. The rains the other day was really making the blades get long so I chopped them down.
Free Tile, Free Style
Everyday Life, Gardening, Lighthouses, Memories, Scenic Photography
Prints of some of my photos are available for purchase at my shop! And now on to today’s minutia!
Started off today by LD getting a tip from a FB group about some new bathroom flooring tiles that somebody wanted to get rid of for free. So we arranged the pickup and drove over there and got the tile. Not bad looking tile at all, plus tile is pretty expensive so this was a good pop. Good chance they may be incorporated into a future home project. After that it was back for another trip to the Home Depot. First to return some paint that we never used for the table project, and then to get some pulls for the table (it has faux drawers on the sides) and some gardening plants and things. I finally got around to planting the tree sapling. I had a thought to use the old pot that our pine tree came in when we first got it last fall. I figure it can grow in this pot until it gets too big for it and then we’ll transplant it to wherever we decide it should go. I also ended up buying some wood glue for the butterfly house we’re going to build and a hanging plant. We also got some grass seed and seeded some of the barer areas of the lawn along with a couple of other supplies for the house.
While all that was going on, LD’s computer took hours to update Windows 10 but thankfully it eventually did work. Also about a week ago my email client on my phone stopped receiving emails. I could still use the webmail but I got so used to using the Samsung email client for one of my primary email accounts. I finally decided to just delete the entire account and try to re-add it, set it all back up from scratch. That worked. Seems like the email provider changed the address of the smtp email server but I never got a notice about it. Anyways it all works now and I have more space on this still-ass phone because I could never erase the over 5000 emails I had sitting in the trash. Deleting the account removed them all at once. Learn something new everyday. I really do need to get a new phone though. Also, the gas guy technician showed up again. Looked like he was taking some more readings in the street, Maybe they’ll get to this job sooner than I thought. He left after about an hour futzing around out there.
I was a bit surprised that it didn’t seem to rain as much as I thought the forecasters were anticipating. It was somewhat advantageous as it allowed me to get some of the stuff done outside that I wanted to get to. However, with the rain we did have I think I may need to mow the lawn again tomorrow. I also finally cleaned out the Keurig, running the white vinegar through it, etc. I hadn’t cleaned it in probably a couple of years but I’m the only one who ever uses it anyway. To be honest it was a lot cleaner than I thought it was going to be. You just have to make sure to get all the vinegar out of the system by flushing it through over and over or else your drink will taste like ass.
I also got an email today saying my second Covid shot location is being moved from Amesbury to Newburyport. Like, really? Well NBP is a lot more scenic than Amesbury anyway.
Spring is the Time of Plans and Projects
Everyday Life, Food, Memories, Scenic Photography
Does anybody really care what I write here? You can leave a comment if you really do, I’d appreciate it.
Above is a picture from a few days ago that I took looking up from the ground, with the trees and the daffodils in bloom. On a separate note, I don’t know if anybody watches the news channel NECN but lately they’ve been showcasing some of my photos on television, the latest being the rocks and sea scene from Salisbury where I got my first Covid shot. It’s always nice to see that folks think some of pics are worthy of that honor.
Friday was a day of basically just running some errands and cleaning up the house a bit, doing some runs to CVS and the ATM and getting ready for today’s (Saturday) festivities. Today looked to be a somewhat packed day.
It all started with making a strawberry salad with our own homemade strawberry dressing, which came out very tasty. I sautéed up some spinach, zucchini, mushrooms, and pecans as well for various side dishes. This was all in preparation for an outdoor gathering we were having with a friend and her new boyfriend, first time meeting. Then it was off to Wegman’s for a grocery pickup for some more items for the outing. Put together our own turkey burgers from scratch imbued with some spinach and feta to also cook on the grill. It was a good little get together and I think we all enjoyed ourselves. We finished off the afternoon with some s’mores using the fire pit and the spits that we got as a gift a little while back.
In the interim we had the gas company come out because there’d been a gas smell up and down the street for a couple of weeks now. Eventually it lead to some underground pipe that the smell was coming through a catch basin across the street. They deemed it a Level 2 decision – meaning they may have a crew come out in the summer to deal with it. Not a high priority but put on a list to be looked at at some point, no danger.
After our guests left (they wanted to see the tulips in the Boston Garden and maybe catch a sunset there) LD put the finishing painting touches on her table project. It’s almost done! My Butterfly House parts also came delivered today, we might try to put that together tomorrow, along with planting that free tree sapling I got a few days ago.
Now we’re pretty wiped so I think we’ll relax with some leftovers and some television and reading.
Things I Did on This Years Earth Day
Everyday Life, Lighthouses, Memories, Scenic Photography
Things I planned on getting done today, cleaning the Keurig because it’s been way too long, getting together the parts for the butterfly house I plan on building, and getting to watching that documentary and heading down to Lowe’s later to get my free tree sapling.
Decided to clean the coffee maker on Saturday morning, so that’s on hold for now. I ordered the parts for the butterfly housing I plan on building. Lowe’s: went done after 5 pm and picked up my tree sapling. Looks to be some kind of pine tree. I’ll have LD decide where to plant it somewhere tomorrow sometime. We already have a nice pine tree growing but this new one is just a baby.
I finished watching the Last Lightkeepers documentary. It’s pretty good. A lot of the lighthouses are beautifully shot at sunrise and sunset, really majestic sights. I recommended it if you have any interest in New England Lighthouses. I knew some of the stories already having visited many of them and read about them. In fact, now I want to reread my books on lighthouses!
Happiness is a Way of Travel, not a Destination
Everyday Life, General Website, Memories
Ok, the website has been updated to PHP 7.4.15 and all appears to be running fine! PHP is the web language that the site is based upon, if this site was a car then you could think of PHP as the engine, so it’s pretty important for the functioning of the site. So that’s a relief. It should provide better security and maybe even be a bit faster. Here’s a pic from yesterday while I was cruising around in Malden running some errands, taken in a parking lot before heading off to my next adventure. (I always wear my seatbelt). I’m rocking a shirt from PA that LD was kind enough to get me when she visited the area a few years back that honors my grandfather as he worked in a Bethlehem Steel mill for decades until he retired. Ironically I believe the plant was formally at the location that the office that I worked in currently resides. The city removed all the old industrial buildings and railways and replaced them with office buildings at some point, probably in the 1980s I’m thinking, and nowadays more and more luxury apartment complexes. Also under my cap, I got a pretty short haircut yesterday, I feel a whole hell of a lot lighter!
In other news, LD started repainting the coffee table the other day with the legs a darkish grey and the top an eggshell grey chalk color that can actually be written on with chalk. It may need another coat or two but it’s basically looking good and is a good use of repurposing an old piece of furniture that we found on the side of a road for free for the sunroom a few years ago. (sort of like this but in grey colors). While that was going on we also planted some more things, moved around some planting hangers so they’re more visible and could get more sun during the day than where it was and trying to get this place looking good for spring and summer. We are discovering more and more that you have to do things that make you happy, especially these days that we’re living in and the circumstances that befall us. The rain coming over the next day or two should do them all a world of good. Toward sundown I grilled some chicken and salmon last night on the grill for dinner as well, which we ate while continuing to get through a bunch of 21 Jump Street reruns. We’re almost done with the whole series at this point, and so was Johnny Depp considering that he shows up less and less in the episodes. I also want to watch that documentary on lighthouses over the next day or so.
I’ll be adding more to this post later…Never mind, I feel asleep, which sucks because it means I missed the Lowe’s final registration for next weeks butterfly house kit, and I’m really mad at myself for allowing that. I’m making amends to myself by taking on a project to make my own, I’ll just buy all the parts. Tomorrow I’ll be picking up my tree sapling for Earth Day. I’m interested to see what that is going to be.
Blossom by Blossom the Spring Begins
Everyday Life, Gardening, Memories, Scenic Photography
Woke up with a sore arm from the injection yesterday, but as they day wore on it bothered me less and less and I imagine by later tonight all the soreness will be gone. Took a jaunt over to the Home Depot this morning to get some paint and to see some various plants that they had that we planted later. After that we went over to Wellesley because LD had to pick up some stuff and while there we went for a walk and I thought there might be some good photo ops of some of trees blooming in the area, one of which is at the top of this post. Then we went to Michaels and got some chalk paint because we have a project where we are going to convert an old coffee table by giving it new life, by painting it and having the top be like a chalkboard. In the late afternoon LD planted a bunch of what we bought and we also spread some hummingbird/wildflower mix into some of the deader areas near the patio which will hopefully take and provide some nice flower cover going forward.
I just finished cooking some zucchini, shrimp and pasta dish and ate it. Now I’m going to zone out and relax for the rest of the night.
Vaccinated and Powerful Waves (part 1)
Everyday Life, Memories, Scenic Photography
Just before getting my first Covid shot this afternoon we headed to the beach where the waves were crashing on the shore. I guess the storm from yesterday was still churning up the waves out at sea and made some big waves over at the reservation. Plus the clouds kind of looked cool. Took a bunch of pictures but here’s one for now. The process of getting the shot itself was amazingly simple and the place was extremely well organized. I was in and out of there in no time at all. In three weeks I’ll be going back there for the 2nd dose. So far, so good!
Doses and Mimosas
Everyday Life, Memories, Scenic Photography
CVS cancelled my vax appointment so it’s on for Amesbury tomorrow afternoon to get the first dose of Pfizer in my arm. Despite the pleasant spring scene above it’s actually raining and snowing today – what a difference a day makes in New England!
Wednesday Vibes On
Everyday Life, General Website, Memories, Reading, Scenic Photography
Tried Wendy’s $5 Biggie Bag for lunch yesterday. It wasn’t bad. I would get it again. LD also set me up for a vac appointment for this coming Saturday but it was for the J&J and soon after booking they announced a halt on those. I would prefer to get an mRNA vaccine anyway, preferably Pfizer but Moderna as a second choice. Even though the chance of a problem with the J&J would be most likely rare for me, I’m not going to get that one. If they don’t switch it out I’ll just cancel and try to find another opportunity. LD did find me another appointment for Pfizer but its up in Amesbury, I’ll probably just do that.
Fun little article on Little Libraries in the latest edition of the Somerville Times. I’ve been to a few of these in the past. I need to go revisit them, since I haven’t really read anything since the end of last year. Jonesin’ a little bit for something good to get into.
Today was the first day of the year that I mowed the front lawn! Might have a guest or two over the weekend outside so it would be good to make it look nice and neat. Took a little longer than usual because I had to charge up the edger, but it’s done so we should be good to go!
The site is being upgraded to PHP 7.4 on 4/21 so hopefully everything will still work. It should, but we all know how computers can be, Keep your fingers crossed!
Monday, Monday, So Good to Me
Everyday Life, Gardening, Memories, Scenic Photography
I went ahead and finally got around the repotting the tubers from last year this morning, we’ll see if anything sprouts out of them. If not, I’ll just pull them out and plant something else later. I planted some zinnia seeds I got free from Lowes as part of their free garden kits in one of the raised boxes just to see what happens. I wanted to get these things in before the rains, if it even happens, although it looks like it might, at least for a little while. I need to sign up for next week’s free haul, I was too late for this week so I lost out on that as they’re already “sold out” of the free kits for this week. Other than that, today was all about cleaning up a bit, catching up on some things, and waiting for the weather to get nicer again.
Good Luck Shiloh!
Everyday Life, Gardening, Memories, Scenic Photography, Wildlife
This fourth baby bunny stayed under a flowerpot for a couple days after all its siblings left days ago. We decided to name it “Shiloh” because we felt it may be a bit on the shy side. We were hoping it’s mom would appear to help and somehow give it the bravery to go on. We left some lettuce and water out for him the other night. Come the next morning the lettuce had a nibble or two taken out of one if the leaves, but Shiloh was gone. Good luck and be safe little friend.