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.
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.
Search for new cellphone (still ongoing – still trying to find the S20 FE that I want)
screens in doors – Finished and only took 10 minutes!
gather leaves/clean up garden areas – Done – still need to do “ivy covered” area, was nice to see new plants starting to grow up through the dirt.
lop rose bushes out front – still to do, maybe Sunday
cellar cleanup/new shelving/spring cleaning – probably next weekend – shelving is all assembled, just need to go through the stuff and clean it out.
book getaway for June – done, looks like a lot of a certain lighthouse shots may be in my future! *wink, wink*
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.
Skaket Sunset March 4, 2021 Blustery Cold but Beautiful.
This post has been updated since first posting.
Took my mom to her appointment to talk with the surgeon regarding her hand troubles and the results from that test she had done in Malden a week ago. Decided to get the Carpel Tunnel Bilateral surgery – both hands – one on May 3rd, the second on the 17th, so I’ll be nervous on those days. Have to get up really early too because it’s scheduled for 6 am both times down in Cambridge. She also needs to get a Covid test a few days before each even though she’s been fully vaccinated – procedure and all. While she was in there getting all her details I took a walk around Assembly down by the river and over past the old boat club on the Mystic just trying to waste time. – but I found it a little boring. Tried taking some cell shots but nothing really caught my eye – you know me! It’s got to be just right!
After that was all done pretty much just hung around for the afternoon enjoying the unseasonably warm day today. Hit Porter Square briefly to run an errand and took a trip through my old haunt, Davis, just to see what it looked it, Seems some places were already building outdoor dining spaces in anticipation of the spring season. Needless to say it doesn’t make driving through there any more enjoyable than it ever was. Came back to Earth-2 just before the setting sun – traffic kind of sucked on the way back, took double the time it usually takes – reminding me of a time when we all commuted and realized how much time we actually lost waiting in that crap. I suppose we’ll eventually get back to that somewhat anyways but I’m not looking forward to it.
I bought some flowers the other day for the vase on the counter (and LD). We like to look at them and I felt the room needed a pop of color. Until we can start growing our own I might do this a few more times as the old ones fade.
I think NECN might use this picture in this entry that was taken by me last week down on the Cape. Usually when they feature me on their Insta I sometimes see it on the television. I’m grateful that folks think my pictures of worth of being featured! This was taken on LD’s birthday when we went down to Skaket to catch the sunset. The picture doesn’t really do that day justice – it had one of the most spectacular sunsets I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of sunsets! I also saw this dog playing in the water so I thought that might make a good focal point. It truly was a beautiful sunset but it was so blustery cold that day, but we stuck it out and were rewarded. Of course afterwards LD pretty much had to lie in front of the fireplace for a couple of hours to warm up. Must still be working on getting her New England hardiness up. 🙂 It was cool to see snow on the beach with the sand too.
Lastly, a late addition, I found some information on that grave I saw in Malden a few weeks ago about that man that lived to 92 years of age during the 1600s, which I thought was pretty amazing. I read about who he was and his life here. Addtionally, when Ralph Shepard was born on 3 June 1603, in Limehouse St Anne, Middlesex, England, his father, Isaac M Shepard, was 32 and his mother, Jonie Hardman, was 19. He married Thankslord Perkins on 21 May 1632, in London, England. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 3 daughters. He lived in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America in 1644 and Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America in 1666. He died on 20 August 1693, in Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, at the age of 90, and was buried in Bell Rock Cemetery, Malden, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America.
Thankslord is a woman’s name you just don’t see anymore.
It was a pleasant surprise to receive some telescoping Marshmallow Roasting Sticks from our friends that we visited last weekend, since we mentioned how great theirs were and we wanted to get some. That was SO nice and now makes me want to fire up the pit and start getting some S’mores action going (even though I’m not a huge fan of marshmallows in general but it’s the experience). Also, if the weather trends warmer next week I may pull the grill out early. I also finally got around the hanging up the glass print of Carson that I got done for free a few weeks back. Now I just need to try out the new vacuum and hook up the Smart TV still. By the end of this weekend for sure!
I looked into those Timber Stoves that the Chocolate Sparrow had. As I suspected they are on the pricey side, but they’re so cool. If anyone would like to gift one to me, I wouldn’t complain!
Just updated the website to the latest version of the blog software – most of the changes should be imperceptible to you all – mostly administrative “under the hood” stuff… hopefully, although I may play around with some of the newer features in my posts moving forward.
Nauset Light – One of my favorite shots from March 2021. Now Available!
The story behind the photo: I’ve always likes this particular location, mostly because it’s an angle of the Nauset Light that I don’t think is photographed to often if at all. This particular spot is a bit out of the main public’s way so I think that might be why but I really like having the gate in front showing like this. I’ve shot this location before last summer but I thought maybe I’d revisit it now just to see how it looks at this time of year. This shot actually features a neighbor’s gate belonging to a rental property next door, which might be a really cool place to stay for a bit – been looking into it, although I wonder if having the lighthouse beacon spin around all night would be annoying? Guess it depends where the beds are set up – either way it would still be a cool place to stay and it’s real close to the water, plus it looks cute and surprisingly not expensive. I posted this shot to my Instagram account and the actual owners of the property commented that they liked and appreciated the shot and started following me!
Had a fun outing this afternoon! Good times – was nice to get a little social interaction for a change and seeing folks I hadn’t seen in a long time.
Woke up at the crack of dawn to get ready to drive over to the Ville to take my mom to get her 2nd COVID shot. Arrived a bit earlier than her appointment time but nobody was really there so they took her right away and now it’s done. Hopefully she’ll only have none to mild symptoms. She didn’t have any after the first shot but I hear the second one is a little tougher. In the early afternoon she heard of some food giveaway that a guy running for mayor is involved in just outside of Union Square so we took a drive down there and she got a box behind the Holiday Inn, loaded right into the back of the car ala contactless pickup. I was actually impressed by what was inside. Gallon of milk, bag of apples, bag of onions, some large carrots, two tubs of cream cheese, a large tub of yogurt, a package of hot dogs, some chicken in a marinade, some other things I can’t remember now and some masks. It was a better haul then I was expecting – it reminded me a little bit of those Imperfect Foods boxes we sometimes get, but for free. She said she’d probably only do it this one time and leave it for people that might be more needy, but it is a weekly thing if one so wishes to keep going proving that there is help out there if you know where to look. God, I hadn’t been in that part of the city in forever. It’s amazing how different some of it looks with these big developments taking over. There’s this huge one right next to the old Buddy’s Diner, which to me looked a bit comical with these big pricey looking living spaces right next to this tiny little diner car building. (I’ve never actually ate or been inside Buddy’s but I hear it’s an iconic site).
Can’t wait for the weather to get just a little bit warmer as I want to fire up the firepit and enjoy the nice smell of burning embers. Speaking of that, the Choc Sparrow had these cool wood pellet burning towers to keep folks warm waiting outside and had the loveliest aroma. Makes one want to look into getting one, although I suspect they are pretty pricey and probably pretty hard to find in stock.
Back from a one night overstay on the Cape at a place LD researched incessantly and felt safe at in Brewster, which it was – need to put this on our places of locations that we like and will go back to. Had lunch take out from the Dan’l Webster in Sandwich first before arriving (not the first choice but it worked out). Saw an amazing sunset at Skaket although the wind chill was killer, but so worth it. Have a lot of shots to go through still. Relaxing night after by the fireplace. Hot Chocs from the Sparrow. Next day breakfast take out from the Hole in One which I brought back to the suite. Nauset Beach in the afternoon scoping more photo spots and shots and hiking the Eddy Trail again to the cliffs. Photos to come.
Just going through some of my older photos and rediscovered this shot from Rockport that I had sitting around on the hard drive. Strangely the site was acting weird this morning and wouldn’t let me upload the photo but it seemed to have resolved itself an hour or so after.
I noticed a bunch of starlings hanging out in the back yard as well as grackles starting to hang around the feeder so these migrants are back. Not really a fan of the grackles – they’re rude and eat all the seed leaving none for the smaller and “cuter” birds.
Unboxed and tried out the new vacuum that finally arrived yesterday. Also out together a bunch of new shelving for when we do some spring cleaning in the basement and get rid of some very old shelving and whatever crap is on there that isn’t needed. Think we’re going to finish the night off by ordering pizza and calzones from a somewhat new establishment that opened up down the road a little while back and get ’em delivered while zoning out to old 21 Jump Streets.
Enjoy this picture of a baby blue jay that I noticed and had to capture. I like how this one came out – check out the detail on the little feathers!
Puffins at sea, Eastern Egg Rock, Maine, 2016 (click to enlarge)
Had to take my mom to her dr’s appointment today to see what’s up with her hands at a CHA place in Malden. Basically it sounds like she has carpel tunnel and might most probably need surgery. Anyways, while she was in there I decided to walk around the area outside and came across a really old cemetery. I noticed a stone out front stated that 35 folks buried there fought in the American Revolution. The cemetery must have been there since long before though because I’d seen grave markers of folks who passed look before then. I found one stone marker that stated that the gentleman buried there was 90 years old and dies in 1692. That’s amazing that someone could live that long back then! It also means this guy was born in 1602! Also I noticed one some of the graves that Malden was spelled Mauldon which I also found interesting. Sadly, I could not read many of the stones as the elements had washed away whatever was carved on them. The place also seemed pretty lonely as these people lived so long ago that no body probably ever visits them. Is that what it feels to be mauldin? Well, I did – you know me, history buff and all. Curious about these early settlers of Malden. The rest of the day was just basically running a few errands all around town before finally heading back.
Also watched a documentary about misdemeanors and how it’s a rigged system against black and brown people.
The story behind the photo: Nothing to actually do with this entry! Puffins are my favorite bird. These little guys are so tough and yet so tiny and even though the odds and artic elements are against them, they survive. This is a shot from a few years ago off Eastern Egg Rock.
At least just about all the snow is gone. Yesterday was a good day to get some household duties done. I did a bunch of vacuuming but over time it has been appearing to not work as good as it should so I ordered a new vac on Amazon that should arrive on Monday. Got caught up on a bunch of DVR’ed shows like Dateline, 20/20 and SVU. Are we all excited for Stabler’s return? I think everyone nearly lost it when Finn says to Benson about showing up to some event and she wasn’t going to go and he tries to convince her she should because she deserves the honor and ending with the quote “plus you never know who might show up.” As an aside, we’ve been watching 21 Jumpstreet reruns as of late as well. I’d never seen the show before so it’s new to me but LD is reliving the magic. Also watched a movie called “Lars and the Real Girl” about a guy who has a relationship with a fake woman mannequin – yeah, it was weird.
The other day happened to be by a little library in Wellesley and took a book that caught my eye. Dreams by CG Jung. Yes, that Jung. Might be outdated by today’s standards and thoughts but does looked an interesting read, and we all want to know what are dreams are all about, right? Anyways, it appears to be a collection of a bunch of papers he wrote on what dreams might mean. Actually I can’t really get into it after reading a few pages. Just not doing it for me. Seems really big on associations which I guess isn’t so much a thing nowadays. Plus, alchemy?
Gametime: Mahjong Single. The thing I like about this one is the selection of different board layouts. Still plowing away at Tanmatsuban. I got through about 28 levels so far but now it’s getting a bit too difficult foe me.
Cool old sign at Powderhouse Rotary showing the directions of various towns.
The story behind the photo: I photographed this, what I think, rather cool looking old directional sign after the snowstorm a few days ago. I tried looking for some more information on it but the details are pretty sparse, which I found rather surprising. It is named for a James A. Reynolds. A plaque on the base of it probably describes all this better – I’ll need to read it sometime to enlighten myself. The directional post points in the directions around the circle of dozens of different communities (like Arlington, Medford, and Winchester). I hear the city plans on redeveloping this circle as it’s a traffic nightmare with traffic lights all around it and accidents happen here every now and then. My sister was even rear ended here once years ago and had some minor injuries.
Finally got a chance to refill the birdfeeder this morning as the snow out back finally melted enough for me to get out there and not get wet. I noticed some rather hungry looking dark eyed juncos and I felt bad so I made an effort this morning to get them some seed.
I noticed something strange on my Fitbit this week. Seems like some days I get a bunch of Active Zone Minutes and then on other days nothing, even though I feel I’m doing similar activities. I looked on the forums (I’ve been rocking a Versa 2 for over a year now) and some people say since the latest update they really messed up the Active Zone Minutes thing. Some people don’t even like this new way of tracking activity that Fitbit came up with. Not really sure what’s up with it, not that I really care all that much about that statistic anyway. I’m more about the HR, sleep tracking and step count. On another side note since I’m talking about devices acting weird, the microwave (which is pretty new) seems to be making some crazy noises which is a little unsettling. I also tried looking into that, but not having much luck.
It was over 50° F here today so a lot of the snow has melted. It was really nice to get outside today and get a little sun, taking a walk and enjoying it. I went down to the corner store and played a Powerball ticket just for the heck of it.
Beacon Hill in spring -slightly grittier version now available
Started the day off with some cleanup snow shoveling from everything that fell last night. I think this might be the end of it as the weather is predicted to start getting warmer in the days ahead.
Rest of the day pretty low key, taking a walk, doing some laundry, watching a special on the life of Cleopatra and catching up on some Dateline crime story episodes.
The story behind the photo: I happened to be in Somerville this morning and I decided to grab a couple more shots around the Powderhouse since it’s right where I grew up and I figured the recently fallen snow would add some good contrast. I can remember climbing the rock wall behind this edifice. Interestingly enough, this building is where you used to go to get your parking sticker but now that’s done over at City Hall and as far as I know this building’s been closed for a long time. This proves that even though Somerville is a pretty dense, urban and sometime grimy city, there are spots that have beauty.
Thanks to whoever ordered a metal print from my store of the Arundel Captain house. I do feel that is one of my better shots personally. Always nice to think someone liked my work enough to hang it in their home or office. While going through some of my older pix I found this one of a house in Gloucester near the water’s edge. I bet the views from this place can be amazing. It seems to be out on a spit all by itself.
I ended up completing my taxes yesterday and submitted, I think it’s the earliest I ever got them done.
ASIDE FROM BEING A TOWERING relic, the Old Powder House had a prominent role as a gun powder storage facility in the lead-up to the American Revolution, contributing to its inclusion in 1972 on the City of Somerville’s city seal. The tower was built of stone and originally featured three interior levels, complete with a fireplace and chimney.
The Powder House was built in either 1703 or 1704 by the French Protestant shipbuilder Jean Mallet on land (then known as Two Penny Brook Quarry) purchased from Jonathan Foskett. During this time, the structure functioned not as a gunpowder storage facility, but rather as a windmill for the Mallet farm. In 1747, the Mallet family sold their land to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, where the windmill structure was utilized as a powder magazine (from which it derives its modern day namesake).
In 1774, the Powder House found itself at the center of one of the pivotal events leading up to the American Revolution. On September 1, 1774, General Thomas Gage landed with British troops at the 10 Hills Farm on Mystic River, whereupon they marched up Broadway and seized the 250 barrels of gunpowder that were being stored at the former Mallet farm. This event marked the first act of aggression by the British toward the colonies and consequently trigged the “Powder Alarm,” where many individuals from the surrounding villages prepared to march to Boston for battle, though their actions proved to be premature.
The structure did, however, serve as a critical munitions depot for the Continental Army during the 1775-76 siege of Boston, a fact which is honored by a nearby bronze sculpture of a hat worn by said soldiers.
In 1818, the Massachusetts Bay Colony sold the land to Peter Tufts, later inherited by Nathan Tufts (for whom the surrounding park is named), during which time the Powder House was incorporated into the Powder House Farm. Moreover, the building was also used as a storage facility for “Old Powder House Brand” pickles.
The structure and surrounding land were finally sold to Somerville in 1892 for the price of $1. The land was then converted into a park, designed by Horace Eaton, where the Old Power House was renovated and repaired.1
I grew up just down the street from this tower. I can remember coming home from school (actually I think it was CCD) and climbing the rocks in the surrounding park. For some reason I never realized that it’s actually the oldest stone building in the state. I’ll be passing by it tomorrow during my weekly visit to old S-Town. That’s the history lesson for today.
I ended up watching Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse this afternoon. I’ve never seen it and heard good things about it. The animation and music are top notch. The story takes elements from the Marvel comics of the time where different Spiderman from different universes all came together. I then ended up watching yet another special on Aaron Hernandez, this time from the perspective of the sheriff of the jail he mostly resided in, which did give a little more insight into the man but other than that, pretty much a rehash. I did these things while LD was busy getting her second dose of the vaccine. I expect to be getting mine by the end of next month most likely, depending on how the rollouts go.
1 All this text I lifted from Atlas Obsura, a wonderful website to find all kinds of interesting places.
Getting my tax stuff together for filing for the year. Hope to have it all completed by late next week.
Decided to email the parking department regarding the status of my sticker. Come to find out it was just sitting there approved awaiting me to purchase since two weeks ago, although I never got an email to that effect, as was should have happened. Well, that’s done, should be in the mailbox in a few.
