Yesterday we finally got the flowers in the beds and pots. I pulled out the grill and swapped out the tanks between the heater and the grill. Saturday was Porchfest over at Earth-1 and I didn’t go because I knew it would be crazy. In fact, the band Guster really made an impact. I don’t know who they are but I guess they’re pretty well known. This was literally on my street. Drives my mom crazy. Actually a lot of the residential homeowners hate the event because a lot of people aren’t respectful of their property.
The mama robin next door has been busy feeding her babies. It’s really amazing to watch.
I went ahead and removed the glass panes from the storm doors and installed the screens. A yearly tradition but Carson likes to be able to smell the smells outside when he sits on his perch by the front door.
Yesterday was a busy day for me. In started off with me doing my weekly rounds around the town and having to deal with people. You need a somewhat tough skin for the job but also to keep being nice as the public face. I think I’ve found a pretty good balance of that.
Since it was so nice yesterday but supposed to rain the rest of the week I decided to tackle mowing the back yard, first time this year. The grass was starting to get a bit long back there. I ran out of gas for the mower halfway through so I had to take a quick jaunt to the station to refill up the can but after that I finished it up nicely.. As in years prior I did not mow this patch of wild buttercups that grow in the middle of the lawn as part of helping out the back yard ecology. I do mow that down after they’re finished blooming.
As evening neared, I prepared dinner: beef bolognaise with zucchini slices. I felt it turned out fairly well. We ended the evening by finishing all of the NYPD Blue episodes available on streaming, which totaled over 200. Admittedly, I did fall asleep during some of them throughout the course of the weeks we were viewing.
Carson has been “camping” in the sun room, refusing to go to bed. The last time he did this, baby bunnies were born in the flowerpot on the terrace. The fact that he’s starting to do this again has me wondering if Mommy Bunny is returning for another round. I went out there this morning to check the pot and see if anything had changed. I did observe that the hole was covered in thatch, and when I pushed it up, I noticed what appeared to be new fur lining, but it was otherwise empty, so I believe another round will be arriving soon.
Speaking of babies, a robin has been resting in the nest above the neighbor’s garage next door, where the morning doves had all of their offspring last year. I suppose she chose to use what they had previously constructed for her eggs. Smart little lady!
My mom is having her second cataract operation this morning, this time in her other eye. The first op was quite the success so after this one her eyesight should be pretty good. I’m going over there later this afternoon.
The last one to leave the nest. Uncertain about the future but must go on nonetheless and make its own path..
Spent yesterday up in Georgetown visiting some friends and making hats of all things in honor of the Kentucky Derby festivities. Today was all about yard work, at least a little. I finally got around the trimming back one of the rosebushes but mostly so I could get at some errant weed that became somewhat of a tree over the years. I finally hacked that down. I also tilled the raised beds and did a bunch of cleaning up of the various pots around that we’ll need to fill up with some new flowers and other plant life. I still need to plant the various tubers that I’ve stored and a bunch of other things but I think I’m just going to do a little fire pit tonight and get some relaxation in, I was so tired from the visit yesterday that I ended up sleeping for quite a long time, longer than I usually do. My body needs a chance to recuperate and get ready for the week.
View of Piscataqua RiverHanging in the Gravity ChairVisiting the Nubble AgainYou know it!Ladydoc is the Best!Hanging in a treehouseAnother view of the treehouseThe treehouse as night approachesHanging in a treeI’ll just be staying here for a while
Too many things to say about my birthday getaway right now. But the highlights were hanging in an Airbnb in Dover NH that had an actual treehouse overlooking the scenic Piscataqua River, watching baby robins being fed by their mother in another tree in the back yard, getting clean in the shower that had two showerheads almost opposite each other which was really cool, grabbing burgers at the BRGR Bar in downtown Portsmouth, getting some shots over at the Nubble, hanging out and swimming at Long Sands beach, eating clams at Bob’s, and getting a gravity chair that I wanted and a book about Rumi that I also wanted to read! It was really hot outside but it is Leo Season as they say! Naturally I must thank LD for making my birthday amazing and every day, as always!
I’ll need to expand upon this at a later date, but all in all, totally amazing!
We used the day to get a bunch of work done, while also having a little down time to relax. I awoke this morning and using an awl made another hole in my belt. Am I losing any weight? It doesn’t seem so, yet the belt was getting too loose. Now I’m cinching better. We looked out the window this morning and was able to catch a mama robin feeding her baby. The baby actually didn’t look all that young to me but it was cute how it followed her around hopping. When she would find something they would run towards eachother and she would stick the morsel right down it’s gullet, it squawking at her all the while. Eventually she flew off and left it to squawk by itself for a while. Then I lost sight of them until late afternoon when I saw the baby still scrounging around in the back yard. Actually I saw a lot of different baby bird species in the yard this morning, learning their life routine. Never really ever happened like that before. Strange.
After that it was time for a quick run to Home Depot. LD wanted to get a few more herbs to put into a herb box, things that give off a scent to naturally repel bugs from the back deck where we like to sit at times. They’ll end up going near our mosquito plants on the deck. Ended up getting two basils, a rosemary, and two squash plants which I transplanted into one of the raised boxes. The herbs I transplanted into a new tiny box with extra potting soil after I had drilled some drainage holes in it’s bottom. We also got some plumber’s tape because I’m trying to address the back hose which seems to be leaking at the spout. I’m planning on watering the garden a little later tonight and adding some Miracle-Gro to the water. We also noticed the dog rose bushes have finally bloomed. We might actually end up getting rid of that, we never planted it there (thanks Ms. Creesy … NOT!) and it’s so large now but dealing with it is tough because it’s very thorny. I also finally got around to patching up the screen door to the front of the house which I had punctured a bit last summer moving some furniture inside the house.
A couple of quick showers by each of us and then it was on to the next task at hand. Cleaning out one of the upstairs closets, which had been on the to-do list for a while. Now everything in there is neat and nicely organized, and we were able to discard or give away a bunch of stuff that had been sitting there for a while doing nothing taking up space.
While I was doing a load of laundry we had left over juicy burgers on pretzel buns that I grilled the other day for lunch, and ate them on the back deck, enjoying the sunshine. Tonight I’m going to make a turkey meatball soup and prepare two ears of corn using the Instant Pot. Both I’ve made before and are very easy to cook up. And also, Go Celtics!
So a pretty full day, and there was some rest areas in between. Finally I’d like to just take a moment to recognize all the brave men and women who gave and continue to give their all so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we have and I’ll end with a quote by Lee Greenwood; “And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free. And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.” Thank you Veterans.
Happy Friday Everyone. Today was a pretty good day. After my morning shift, we decided to head into downtown Boston because LD had one final loose end to attend to in town. It was a fairly quick visit. Since we were down there afterwards we decided to have lunch over at Revere Beach. It was actually a little bit chilly there, so much so that I had to borrow one of LD’s sweatshirts to keep me from actually shivering. We both got some roast beef sandwiches from Kelly’s on the beach and ate it in the pavilion across the street, always being watchfully eyes by the various seagulls patrolling the area. After that, it was back to the ranch because I had to get ready for my next shift. Naturally after we left the sun came out and it got warm but that’s the way it goes sometimes. It was still a fun outing.
Little chilly this morning!Chowing down (such a flattering picture)Two kids having a good time
Today’s main photo is from a robin’s nest that I was privileged to get close enough to watch the birds being born. I hope you enjoy looking at it as much as I do.
I decided to transplant and pot some of the stray spearmint that was poking its head out in the late afternoon. My mother had asked for some, so I’ll give her one of the transplants tomorrow morning. I also attempted to weed whack some of the thick grasses that had sprung along the fence in the ‘prairie area.’ Sounds like a nice idea for the environment, but the problem is that LD believes it attracts bugs, and they prefer to bite her because she is so sweet.
I’m going to grill some turkey cheddar burgers with a zesty homemade horseradish dressing on the side for dinner. I figured I’d best cook it now because tomorrow is supposed to be a no-cook day due to the extreme heat and humidity. Excellent for tomorrow’s 14-mile cycling trip! On another note, they are not all success stories in the kitchen. The other night, I burnt a nonstick cephalon pan. The dinner turned ok, but the Japanese BBQ sauce I used stuck to the pan I got a while ago and I can’t get it off no matter what I try, so I’ll have to go get another one. Total bummer but I suppose that is how one learns the adventures of home cooking.
Thanks to any and all who have been helping support me so far! I really do appreciate it! It helps allow me to continue to create. I’ve still got to find my way a little bit. Hopefully, in time, everything will all work out.
2019 wasn’t the worst year ever, but certainly wasn’t the best for me either. I think 2020 is probably going to be a bit of a test as well, especially at the beginning, but hopefully over time things will improve.
Anyways let’s look at the bright spots. Here are some of the highlights that I can remember from 2019, in no particular order:
Losing Oreo but gaining Carson.
Visiting Blue in Newburyport in a snowstorm.
Nice beach views!
Seeing Damone perform live again. Kris Kristofferson too with/for my mom.
Baby Robins! It was a thrill every day to see how they would progress, from eggs, too little alien looking things, to growing feather, and finally saying goodbye. Their mother was amazing in her care of them.
Exciting to watch baby robins form, grow, and leave.
Scoring free tickets to see Jack Nicholson in the Shining at the Somerville Theatre.
Mother’s Day Cruise aboard the Beauport Liner in Gloucester.
Scenes along the Gloucester harbor.
Remodeling the bedroom, scoring a free bike on one of the Buy Nothing Facebook groups.
Large Condo apartments being built on either side of Earth-1 property, squeezing a rose between two thorns. Ridiculous!
Michelle coming to visit and doing Alpaca Yoga with her.
Gardening game going strong, and growing “Sean”, our first pumpkin.
Going away to the Cape for a week, getting some good photos, but having to be in a different unit than usual next to the “murderers.” Not really – they were just really quiet and not sure where the rest of their party disappeared to.
Cape sunsets are the best.
Having a short stay on the Jersey shore, in an historic BnB but narrowly avoiding what could have been a massive storm!
The storm moving in!
Trying another bout of baby goat yoga at a place in Georgetown. Will definitely visit again but also will probably hit our go to place in NH as it seems their babies are really small and cute.
Waquesset Inn overnight stay.
the patio.
New website design after the old system could no longer be supported.
Boston views as always:
“Boston you’re my home!”
Finally some books I read thus far in 2019:
Books I read in 2019. Bad Blood, Maybe you should talk to Someone, and Still Alice being favorites.
As you can see from the last picture, it looks like the old babies are bigger than the mother now! Thought it might be fun to upload their journey from birth to being on their own, as we were privileged enough to see it from just outside our window.
Hello Everyone! As you can see I’m in the process of doing a complete redesign. It’ll take me a little bit to get everything the way I want it, but bear with me. You may see things come and go as I experiment around. Overall, I think this is going to be a much better site that it was going forward, as well as being designed to display responsively on different devices, although curiously this particular post looks very different depending on device and browser. I prefer Chrome so that’s what it’ll look best in.
