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!
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!
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.
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.
Today was a beautiful day and so today was more or less dedicated to gardening activities. LD even had a great idea to use a part of the middle of the lawn that’s always been a problem and had some kind of a sinkhole like situation and so we converted it into a planting bed with a bunch phlox we purchased and some new dirt and placed some stones around. It looks pretty amazing and really produces a nice accent point. She also split a bunch more hostas which we then used to replant at different areas around the fence line that seem a bit bare, hoping they’ll take (which I believe they will) and fill in those areas nicely. I moved all the remaining pots out of the shed for planting things as well. Let me tell you, I am dog tired now. Also hooked up the hoses and some worked on some other round-the-house activities.
It would appear that little Shiloh has moved on. We left some lettuce and water out for him and come the next day it looked like there was a nibble or two, but he was gone. Good luck and be safe little friend!
I got up at 5:30 am to get this picture.
That fourth bunny is still hiding underneath the flowerpot. When I looked for it this morning I couldn’t find it and figured it had left as did all the others. We have decided to name this bunny “Shiloh” because we feel it may be a bit on the shy side. I’m hoping maybe it’s mom will come by to help nudge it along.
It would appear 3 of the four bunnies have left as of today. The fourth bunny is still hiding underneath the flowerpot all by itself. I hope its momma comes by to give it a little encouragement. An orange cat showed up and wanted to clamber up to the deck where the bunny was but luckily Carson happened to be keeping watch and started doing this weird scream he does when another cat from the neighborhood comes to close. After hearing that I dashed outside and chased the cat away.
This afternoon I took a quick jaunt down to the supermarket and picked up some flowers for the vase. Something pretty for us to look at, since the flowers I bought a while back finally bit the dust.
I drove down to Lowe’s late this afternoon to pick up my first kit and I was pleasantly surprised about all the stuff I got, including a free plant!
I think I want to watch The Last Lightkeepers documentary on Amazon Prime. This kind of stuff is right up my alley and it looks beautifully shot.
The highlight for today was definitely the scene that greeted me this morning as I literally went out onto the deck in just my underwear to get this shot, as I had just woken up a few minutes before. Can’t believe it but it is true. It’s happened again, second year in a row! This little baby bunny was born in the same flowerpot that maybe it’s mother was born in. It popped out of the nest on its own this morning. Be safe Baby Bunny, have a good life, and don’t forget to come back if you decide to someday have children of your own.
I’ve discovered late this afternoon that there are actually FOUR baby bunnies! One is still hiding in a pot, but the other two or hiding underneath another pot! I also noticed what I think is Mother Bunny hopping around the backyard over by the picnic table.
First a bit of website housekeeping of note: I’ve added a new category to the posts called “lighthouses” which will group all my lighthouse photo posts moving forward.
All in all it was a pretty amazing trip and I had a great time. It was a little getaway to celebrate our anniversary this year, LD and I. The place we stayed at was really neat too and had some amazing views of the Nubble, as you can see from this photo. Not sure if this place is new because I’d never heard of it – most likely it was the site of a former private property that is now this inn. (Leave me a comment or email if you are interested in the name of the place). The Nubble lighthouse seems a lot bigger and nearer when you’re there than what this photo shows. You can also see Boon Island Light way in the distance from this location. Before all that though we wandered around parts of the Cliff Walk (a bunch of it was actually closed) but the beach there was really nice and we did a bunch of walking there along the shore. After hanging there for a while we shot over to the Wiggly Bridge and walked across it. We grabbed some takeout from a place that was part of some other hotel in the downtown area. The evening was spent by taken hundreds of photos and hanging out as the sun went down while we settled down at a viewing area down at the base of the property. Nice part was nobody else was there but us so we had that viewing area all to ourselves. I would definitely sat at this place again. Due to COVID protocols you don’t even have to see anybody – it’s all through text and everything is ready for you ahead of time. It’s pretty awesome for people who might have social anxiety, like I do at times. We had a nice evening by the fireplace and ended up watching a show on television about a female lion although to me, it seemed pretty rough and I could see kids being a bit traumatized by it, although it is reality. It’s tough to try to live in the jungle. Lots of enemies just waiting for an opportunity. Once that was over we watched the news for bit (Dustin Bonk can’t get the weather report right at all, and yes, his name really is Dustin Bonk – I chuckled at that). Finally we undressed, retired to the bedroom and eventually we fell asleep.
The next day I woke up at 5:30 am to try to get some sunrise shots as I believe the sun rises almost directly behind the Nubble, but is was not to be as it was overcast. I still got some great shots though and the thing about overcast days as the rain starts moving in is that the waves get big, loud, and majestically dangerous as they crash over the rocks. I was also fascinated by this other private estate next door that must have amazing views and is easily a multi-million dollar property, It appeared empty but I couldn’t help wondering about it, who could own it, etc.
After we checked out, we met one of LD’s former colleagues who resides in the area off and on. We walked along the shoreline of another beach from one end to the other, even though by this point it had started to rain, but a little wind and water would not deter us. It was a fun visit nevertheless.
After that we ended up getting breakfast takeout from this fun little café that had a Parisian décor and vibe and was really good. They have this hot chocolate made out of chaga mushrooms an tastes a-maze-ing. We’re going to look into this more and see if any places around here have it. We’d never heard or seen it before. Finally before leaving, LD hit a couple of shops to get some stuff for Carson and herself. Then I drove back and we arrived back home in the late afternoon. For some reason parts of 95 coming back were atrocious. Thanks traffic.
Our relationship might not be perfect, and certainly has its ups and downs, but our love for each other is still strong and is wonderful all the same, and that’s all anyone could ever ask or hope for. We were truly blessed to have found one another.
Now, how am I going to decide which of the other 314+ photos I am going to post?
I’ll do a proper update later, but right now I’m a little tired from my trip to Maine for our anniversary with all the hiking on the beaches and wiggly bridge, and getting up at 5:30 am today to get some sunrise shots over the Nubble (even though it ended up being overcast) but I think I got some great shots anyway and we really enjoyed our time at this really cool property with pretty amazing views, And then today’s activities with another walk on the beach while it was raining while catching up with a collegue who resides there frequently, etc. etc. Had a great time away though!
Today was all about the BBQ. Pleased to say it all came out well! Steaks, Chicken, Steak tips, some dogs, and chocolate bunnies homemade for dessert! Also, the bunnies are still in the pot! I saw the top of the nest moving so they’re still under there although I think they’ll be wanting to get out of there and start exploring life real soon!
A while back I received a message that someone wanted to do a painting of Nauset Light based off of a picture that I took. Well, he finally sent it to me and here it is! Sort of cool that my artwork/photography inspired someone else to create it in another way.
What will today’s adventures be? What is the story behind this photo? Are Roses of Sharon are a Portuguese family thing, and why would I think that? What is the latest update on the baby bunnies being born in the flowerpot, and what about that hawk keeps coming around?
Well, it was a pretty quiet day actually. This photo was taken down in Fairhaven and a friend’s beach house where they have a lot of Rose of Sharon growing. Growing up my family always had Roses of Sharon. Maybe it’s a Portuguese thing because every Portuguese family I’ve ever visited, including my own, had some.
Haven’t seen the baby bunnies and I’m leery to remove the top covering to see if they’re in there. I think they still are. I did have to chase a hawk away that was hanging on a branch in the yard. Don’t want him getting any ideas.
Did get caught up on some shows last night, the SVU crossover, 20/20 dealing with the Menendez Bros on TikTok of all things, and some other shows.
I just realized, I do take an awful lot of lighthouse pictures. What can I say? I dig them!
Well, it happened again. While I was burning some old paperwork in the firepit this morning, a rabbit bravely moved by me and up onto to back deck, Come to find out there appear to be 2 or 3 small bunnies in the pot again, probably birthed a day or two ago. I wonder if the mother of these bunnies is the bunny that was born in the same pot last year? Do they go back to the same places like that? More to come on this development!
Also, has this been the longest month ever? How is it STILL March? Just seems like it’s been going on forever.
I am on fire today getting things done on my list. After cleaning out the firepit and raking up some more leaves(!) what the f is up with oak leaves, they never stop coming! — I went and got the propane tank filled, put together this base for the table umbrella outside that I never realized had more parts for that would make it work but I didn;t know we had so it sat around undone for a couple years. Since the parts were found I was able to put it together and make it work. Looks better than the old one I had been using for the last year (similar to this model, though not exactly). All in preparation for a little outside gettogether later this weekend, being careful as per usual. I filled up the birdfeeder as well as recharging the electric leaf blower. Then I did a plant survey. Still need to plant the dahlia tubers I pulled out last fall.
So far: Things that we have growing and are coming up or already up: foxglove, hyacinth, glory of the snow, snowdrops, crocus, dianthus, tulips, lilacs budding, roses budding, columbine, and some ground covers but I forgot what they’re called (Update: figured it out, Vinca), ivy, azaleas, rhododendron, daffodils. Not up yet are the hydrangeas, clematis, and rose campion, or the lawn buttercups, which could be considered a weed but I kinda like them so I let them bloom and then mow them down once they’re done flowering. At least that’s what I did last year.
Saturday: Front yard work, digging up some of the rocks and repositioning them to better delineate lawn from planting beds. replanting some glory-of-the-snow and snowdrops out in the patio area which we might have obtained a little surreptitiously from our walks on the trails, sitting in the sun, tripping to Wellesley to pick up some stuff, lately getting medium hot regular coffees from me and ice teas for LD from DDs.
Sunday: Cleaning up the sunroom and office upstairs, spring cleaning, got rid of a bunch of old junk. It’s a start. Was a good thing to do on a day that was so rainy outside.
A rabbit has been hanging out in the back deck at night in the dianthus pot again (like last year?) The other night and two nights before that, LD noticed the porch motion sensor light keep going off and she noticed the rabbit in the pot. I just checked it out and there does appear to be the startings of a nest there, twigs on top, fur lining the bottom. I didn’t want to disturb it too much so I didn’t look underneath but there might be future babies there.
Carson did really well today. That gabapentin really works! I think it was more stressful for us, just administering the dose, picking him up, putting him in the carrier, driving down to the vet, etc. etc. It really did calm him down, almost immediately it seemed and so I was able to get him in the carrier pretty easily. It all worked out in the end and I’m happy to say that he got a clean bill of health (although he might need to lose a little bit of weight, what else is new?)
The story behind the photo: This afternoon I went on a walk down the trail by the house and for the first time I noticed some new flowers popping – these crocuses and some Glory-of-the-Snow flowers, which last year I did dig up a couple and planted out back but haven’t seen any sign of them. Perhaps those sadly did not take.
We’ve booked a stay on Cape Neddick that overlooks the Nubble Light! Haven’t been to Maine in a while, so it plans to be a nice getaway and maybe I can get some more shots of this beautiful lighthouse. It is my first love, afterall.
I picked up the gabapentin yesterday to administer to Carson to “calm him down” before his appointment which is coming up. Fingers crossed that this is going to work! He spazzed out a little yesterday because that orange cat came up to the door again (just like the last time) so he was wired all day after that.
While walking along a local trail yesterday, we came across some Galanthus, or snowdrops. Another sign of spring! I had never noticed this little plant before that grows from a bulb. Might have to add it to my spring gardening collection someday.
More later…
They finished installing the fence over at Earth-1 and believe it or not, it’s actually quite beautiful. I thought they would try to cheapen out and put up something ass but they chose this black metal-aluminum fence that looks really good and looks like it’ll last a lifetime, the entire length from the street to the back of the garden area.
The story behind the photo: While I was over there, I noticed my mom’s cat Hardy sitting like this on the couch. Made me think he was being a listening therapist in this pose. He’s polydactyl, meaning he has extra toes, as can be seen in the photo by what I call his thumbs showing. They actually use these thumbs to constantly open cupboards and such. It’s pretty annoying actually.
I re-tilled the raised beds out back and removed a bunch of more of the oak leaves detritus, cleaning it up. I want to get most of that stuff done and out in anticipation of the town collecting the yard waste starting next week.
We watched a show last night on PBS entitled Coded Bias, basically about how AI has been programmed, with biases, unintentional though they may be, and how it can affect folks, now and down the line. Pretty interesting stuff.
On my cell, I’ve noticed lately I’ve been getting a lot of “Scam Likely” calls. Of course I never answer, either ignore or add to block callers but they keep coming. Very annoying, probably get about 2 or three a day.
A couple of weeks ago I found an audio tape around the house that was labelled “Birthday Party – 7 years old.” So I found an old cassette player and decided to put it in and see what was on it. It was LD singing a song on her 7th birthday party. She was singing about taking movies and photos of her dreams so she could look at them later and play them back to enjoy them again and also about a beautiful brook that she used to visit as a kid. It was so endearing, and I found it really touching. Her aunt who recorded it had amazing foresight to be able to save a memory like this that was all but forgotten. I wish my family had done something like that (we sorta did with the 8mm I suppose). I love the fact that LD was singing about her dreams and wanting to save them for later viewing and sharing in their beauty even at that age. I love this woman.
In the morning as I was deciding whether or not to pull out the grill from the storage shed, I kept hearing these mockingbirds squawking and squawking, which I found interesting. As I was looking around to see where they were I spied a rather large red-tailed hawk hanging in the tree branches above the yard. I watched him as he flew off eventually to a tree a little further away (the next street over actually) where I saw there was another hawk hanging out. I wonder if these two plan to build a nest or something in this area. These must be the hawks that we’ve seen rather frequently as of late. I’ll keep watching to see. I did find a decapitated squirrel in the yard a few days ago which I quietly discarded. I wonder if one of these two might have had something to do with that. Oh, and I did eventually decide to pull out the grill this morning and tested it out by firing up some chicken hotdogs. Back in business on that front. Also pulled out the table umbrella for shade.
Also decided to get in some gardening duties. Busy afternoon! My plan was to rake the ivy area so it’s clear and to lop the rosebushes out front, and to repot the tubers that I stored in the cellar last fall, placing them into their pots. First I lopped off enough of the front of the rosebushes, being extra careful not to touch any of it’s thorns because they are really nasty, and to neaten the front up a bit. Then a headed out back to gather up all the oak leaves from the ivy covered area, using a mixture of leaf blower and my leaf scoops. It’s impossible to get everything but I did get a lot – two bags worth. I noticed a lot of new ivy growth under the leaves which is great. My plan now is, as they head toward to fence, to begin to climb up it and eventually cover it totally. That might take another year or two but my plan so far has been working up to this point. There’s one spot there that seems to always be somewhat bare, I would like to put some sort of garden statue there as a focal point for the eyes. I looked into it a bit last year but I could never decide what would look there, plus it ain’t cheap. Could this fit the bill? Answer: no, I’m just kidding, but I would like to place something there. The only thing I didn’t get around to was replanting the tubers but maybe I’ll tackle that later in the week.
You know, it isn’t easy for me to delve up great photo content. I’m doing the best I can to have nice photos that I’ve taken adorn this blog. Anyways, today ended up being a lovely day. Slept in a little bit for change but by lunchtime we got a turkey sub and some snacks and headed back down to the beach again to enjoy our lunch with a view. I even got the beach chairs out and we sat on them as we snacked on our lunch, watching the waves and enjoying the sea breezes. Even went for a little walk after along the beach. After that we hung out with one of our couple friends outside on their deck (socially distant of course). It’s so nice to get some socializing time in – it’s been a while, especially for me. By the time we made it back home it was about 6:30, too late for me to do some of the things I had on my to-do list but I figure I’ll try to get to them tomorrow. Instead I cooked up some chicken, with some mixed greens, roasted pecans, sliced apple, and roasted sweet potato and finished the night watching programs recorded on the DVR.
Saturday to do list:
Took a hike over at the North River Wildlife Sanctuary in Marshfield, and after that hit the beach for a few – it was so beautiful out! There’s this nice trail there that goes down to the River and has nice wooden observatory area. Took some pix too but have yet to go through them. Anyways, on one of the other trails at the start is this tepee so naturally I had to pose in front of it. Some of the beach shots were even taken by the Ladydoc, so I’m pretty excited to see what she captured, especially after getting down low in the sand!
Another ‘quick’ shot from the Nauset Light taken a few weeks ago from our little getaway. This was taken as I was coming out of some paths along the shore directly across from this vantage point. This lighthouse is actually very accessible which is nice. I think the brown vegetation also gives this shot kind of a daunting-like vibe. I would be interested in hearing your own thoughts on this, if any of you would care to share. I also posted this photo to a lighthouse lovers facebook group that I frequent and some guy there said he wanted to digitally paint this and send me a copy so I said sure, that would be great. So we’ll see – kinda awesome that I inspired someone to create something off of my own work – that’s pretty cool.
The knuckles on the back of my right hand are all red and dry, almost raw, probably from all the hand washing. One thing I’ve also noticed is that the tips of my fingers seem super sensitive to heat, so like picking up hot things while cooking, like more so then usual. Should I be concerned?
I set aside some time this morning to assemble a new pet carrier for Carson. He has a vet appointment at the end of next week and the carriers we currently have seem to small and just old. Time for an upgrade. I’m apprehensive about how we will get him in there next week as he screams bloody murder if you try to pick him up and he gets panicky scared (we learned this last year), I suspect he has some trauma from wherever he was before to being placed in the shelter where we found him. Poor little guy. Last time he was so scared he literally pooped himself in the old carrier. But it’ll have to be done as he’s due for his yearly checkup.
The condo building next door drama over at Earth-1 continues. The main focal point is the removal of a fence that separates the two properties from each other. As it is now there’s no fence plus they destroyed some of the grass on our property. When last speaking to the fence people over there they said it was only going to go halfway. That would still allow people or animals to go from the community path, behind this new condo, and onto our property unhindered. That was a no go for us. After calls to the city, it seems we may have gotten them to see the light as now we’re told a fence will go all the way across the properties (as it should) and the grass would be replaced. This is due to take place this Saturday afternoon. Hopefully it’ll be acceptable. This condo to begin with is ridiculous. First of all I think it’s too tall (so goodbye sunlight) and from what I can tell the units are very small. Not sure who would pop on this for the money they’re asking for, but I suppose someone will.
Gametime: Been puzzling over Boolean Bloom. I’m currently stuck on Level 8. I mentioned this before, but I love these kind of puzzles to solve.
What a strange weather day. Sun, then snow, then sun and snow at the same time. But that’s not what the photo above is all about. No, that’s from our beach excursion down the Cape almost two weeks ago (has it been that long already???) Like I mentioned before, it was very blustery cold but look at what we saw! Totally worth it. I must say the Cape is one of my favorite places to shoot – there’s just so much beauty there.
Been going through some plant catalogs – trying the decide what to try our hands at this season. Earlier in the day we dropped off some vegetables and fruits for the sanctuary animals. We’ve done it a few times now. A nice contribution.
Ended up getting take out for dinner tonight. Hadn’t done that in a while.
Gametime: Irrlicht Apprentice. Fun little game that took me a couple hours off and on to complete.