Month: April 2026

Paddle Power: Boston’s Favorite Way to Spin Your Wheels

Posted on by Markman

2026 marks the 149th season for the Swan Boats. The oldest and smallest boat in the fleet just celebrated its 116th season, while the newest was launched in 1993. The swan on today’s boats is made from either copper or fiberglass, depending on the age of the boat, and encloses a paddle mechanism that is used to foot propel the boat through the water.

Fully loaded, each Swan Boat weighs three tons and is powered by the driver using a foot-propelled paddle wheel. The Swan Boats are built on oak framed pontoons sheathed in copper just as they were initially constructed in 1877. After being stored in a safe place for the winter, the boats are returned to the Public Garden Lagoon each spring.

Five Steps at a Time: A Day Spent with Lenny

Posted on by Markman

We found out we can visit and interact with Capybaras again so naturally we immediately signed up. I was very excited! Heading down there the middle of next month for that!

In the early afternoon I went to Home Depot because I want to do some spring cleanup and maintenance around the house. New plastic gutter diverters, lawn bags for some leaves, zip ties to help tie the winter deer legs together (the parents appendages didn’t fare too well this winter – only the baby, as the parentified child, withstood the chaos!). I also want to do some pruning and removing of some unwanted plants.

In the late afternoon I decided to go with LD for her acupuncture appointment, Usually when I go I hang around the park and grab a slice of pizza or something and I wanted to spend some time outside because it was nice out. When we got there we learned that Lenny was visiting! Lenny is an 8 year old bulldog who has a bunch of age related problems but is such a sweetheart. He can’t see or hear well and his shoulder is probably arthritic but he is a joy to be around. Anyways they asked if I’d walk him and I gladly accepted. Lenny is basically just food motivated so to walk him he goes 5 steps then stops, needs a treat, then another five steps, another treat, ad infinitum. I was able to lead him with treats to get him to move. What would take a dog 2 minutes to walk a block takes ten with Len. But that’s ok, he’s my buddy. He is the first dog I really ever got to interact with and made me be more acceptable of dogs having been sort of scared of them most of my young life.

A Love I Once Only Imagined

Posted on by Markman

Thank you for giving me the love I never thought I deserved, but that I now can’t imagine living without. You’ve shown me what real love looks like—steady, kind, patient, and full of understanding (thanks for putting up with me!) With you, I’ve learned that home isn’t a place, it’s a feeling, and that feeling lives in *every* moment we share together. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I’m so grateful for every day we’ve spent building our lives together. (And with Carson! 🐾)

Every love story is special, unique, and beautiful—but ours is my favorite because it’s ours. It’s full of laughter, challenges we’ve overcome, and countless memories that remind me how lucky I am to love you and be loved by you. You gave me a life! On our anniversary, I just want you to know that I still choose you, now and always. Happy Anniversary to us, Ladydoc!

Ended up finally watching Will and Harper. What an interesting story!. And mad props to Will for doing it.

Nirvana and Goats Perfect Combo

Posted on by Markman

Started off the morning with a trip to Nirvana Tea House for some Belgium Waffles and delicious drinks. It’s owned by the folks who run the Unity Sanctuary now. Also as an aside, the carrot cake cupcakes are amazing. Not sure if that was only for Easter but hopefully not because they were so good,

Then it was a quick break before we were off to our next destination, baby goat snuggles!

And then finally off to an early dinner at the Noon Hill Grill, a restaurant that was on our way back. Haven’t been there in a while but it always was good and this time was no exception. Then we came home and vegged and watched our television shows. The day was a wonderful way to celebrate our anniversary.

Upgrading the site to a newer version PHP tonight. Wish me luck!

Baby Bunny Born in a Flowerpot

Posted on by Markman

It’s baby bunny season!

This little guy was born in a flowerpot on our back deck. This one was the last one to leave after its siblings took off – there’s always one that stays behind just a bit longer than the rest. Hoping to get maybe some more babies in the coming weeks, you never know! Also we picked up our finished glass creations from last week. They actually came out better than I expected!

Sometimes We All Need a Little Hideaway

Posted on by Markman

This photo above is from a spot down in Orleans on the Cape that when I get the chance I like to escape from for a while. There’s a bunch of staircases like this one along Little Pleasant Bay.

Last night while watching the premiere of Real Housewives of Rhode Island (the jury is still out on to whether we’ll keep watching it) we noticed Carson going nutty in the sun room. At first we thought he fell but when I went out there I could see what he was watching on the deck. At first I thought it was another cat because when he sees on of these he gets a little ornery but when my eyes adjusted better to the darkness and I saw it’s face it was unmistakable. It was a big ass racoon!

Make Ripples

Posted on by Markman

We don’t live to see all the ripples we make, but we must make them all the same.

I put on the plastic cover for the mirror this morning as it arrived last night. Seems to be ok now, little tricky getting it to snap in. Last night we watched an older movie called Bernie starring Jack Black. I had learned of it by watching a rerun of 48 Hours of all things. Basically it details the 1996 murder of 81-year-old widow Marjorie Nugent by Bernie Tiede, a popular assistant funeral director in Carthage, Texas, who shot her four times in the back and kept her in a freezer. The movie was a little weird but I was curious to watch it. It also stars Matthew McConaughey and Shirley McClain, If you have an hour and a half to kill it’s something to see.

As for Scarpetta, I thought it was pretty good. I thought the ending sucked though, maybe that’s why it gets middling grades. I also could have done without the space and Thor labs crap.