Catching Up

Last weekend was the full moon. This was a special one as it was supposed to be whiter, brighter and closer to the earth. The last time this happened was March of 1993. This moon was known as a Supermoon.

Last week was spring break for Derek and Em. 7 a.m. Sunday morning we drove Em to her boyfriend’s house on the south shore to catch a ride back to school. We have to drive through the city to get there. It was a clear morning; early on a Sunday is the time to go through Boston. I find cities interesting to visit, but wouldn’t want to live there.

The weekend was somewhat mild. I started riding my bike outside again. It will be a bit touch and go until the weather really cooperates. I rode Monday morning and by Monday afternoon it was snowing.

Cardinals look good no matter what the weather. Mark started back to work on Friday. Yesterday he came home for lunch and looked out back as a flock of wild turkeys were poking around. We counted 10 altogether.

There are five in this photo, can you find them?

They slowly made their way across the back yard scratching and pecking. Mark was having flashbacks to Thanksgiving…

We’re supposed to get 2-4 inches of snow over night. Winter isn’t ready to let go just yet.

Spring is in the Air

There are signs of spring everywhere I look.

The tree branch that fell during a storm has finally surface and been cut for burning.

Mark got the chain saw out and started cleaning up the winter damage.

The rack we got him for Christmas got installed along with the protective plastic covers for the edges of the bed.

I found little buds peeking out under the leaves.

The hawks have returned.

But the biggest sign of spring at our house is…

the bringing out the 4 wheelers. Mark lovingly cleans his up and gets it ready for a new season. Yes, spring is definitely in the air.

Bathroom Update

We’re slowly making progress in the kids/guest bathroom. We have completed the toilet upgrade and now have finished the new counter/sink/faucet upgrade. I think I must have been a crow in my past life because I love shiny, sparkly objects. I’ve always been a big fan of granite, it holds up very well over time and its beautiful with all it’s intricate grains. We’re still waiting to hear from our plumber so we can move forward with the shower portion of the remodel. Derek and Em start spring break on Friday, March 11th so we aren’t going to pursue anything until they resume classes.

Speaking of break, all this work has exhausted me and Joseph.

The Harsh Reality of Nature

We had a little visitor this past week, a mole. We’ve had plenty of mice over the years but never a mole in the house. Joseph, our rabbit’s, area was the main attraction. In the above photo is a seed bar that the little guy, Mark named him Marvin, loved. You can see a little of Marvin to the left of the seed bar. He wasn’t very cooperative when it came to posing for a photo. He first came to our attention because he would drag the chunk of seed behind Joseph’s potty and as he ripped at it it would bang against the register and was pretty loud.

Mark, Greg and I tried to catch him over the course of the week. He’s not quite as fast as mice. He has no eyes but seemed to navigate without any difficulty. He’d travel along the edge of the walls and eventually run down the stairs to the basement and into Mark’s room. After a few days of this we set a humane trap. Wednesday morning I heard him at the seed bar and then he ran down the stairs and I heard the trap. Greg had put some of the seed bar in the trap. Greg took him with him when he left for work and went to the nearby high school. He set him free and watched him scurry about. To his horror a crow swooped down but he was able to flip around and escape. But… in a matter of minutes three crows were upon him and Marvin was no more. We tried… but in the end it was nature that claimed poor Marvin.

The Kindness of Strangers

Derek’s stick bag arrived yesterday. The exterior was pretty beat, dirty and looking like it had been run over. Some of the sticks were broken but many were intact. The practice pad was broken around the edges and the metronome is beyond use. Included in the box was a check for $40 and this note:

Hi Diane,

I am sorry I could not get this to you sooner. Thank you for your generous gift, (I had included a check for $50 for his efforts), but I cannot accept it. I used a portion for the purchase of a box and shipping tape, the remaining amount is in this check. I hope your son has a great future in music!

Thanks, Chris

I am so blown away by the actions of this young man. We hear so many horrible things on the news everyday. It’s easy to feel that the world is falling apart. But every once in awhile something comes along to remind us that there is still good in this world. Chris did much more then return a stick bag to a young musician.

What, No Snow Pictures

Just a quick day after Valentine’s Day note. Anyone who’s had Winfrey’s chocolates knows what a slice of heaven is like. Greg gave me the fantasy box of caramels, half for him and the heart-healthy half for me

The granite top was installed in the kids/guest bathroom yesterday. I’ll update with pictures when Greg gets the faucets, etc. installed.

Still on stick bag alert.

First Week of February, No Spring in Sight

Last week saw another run of storms. Not a good way to welcome in a new month. The poor John Deere keeps on trucking but it’s taken a beating this winter. If this keeps up we’re going to need a bigger blower.

In all the time we’ve lived here we’ve never seen the banks so high. Our little barn is sporting a new look on top.

Before the last storm we were able to fill the feeder in front. At this rate the squirrels will be able to set right on it. Unfortunately for them we have stopped filling this one because we can’t get to it anymore.

The end of our driveway, like most in the area have become difficult to get out of. It’s an inch as you go venture. Our mailbox is nestled snuggly in place. Luckily the mailman has continued to deliver our mail.

Greg is posing for scale.

On the home front Derek has joined another orchestra. This one is the Boston Civic Orchestra and meets Monday evenings. Unfortunately this past Monday he didn’t make it because the address was inadvertently programed in the GPS with the wrong town. It was supposed to be Brookline instead of Boston. We received a panicked call from Derek that he was in the bowels of Boston. He was able to select the go back to school setting and made it safely. I got another panicked call that he lost his wallet during the adventure. He had put it in his lap in case he hit a toll and had gotten out of the car at one point. I ordered him a duplicate license and when I called to let him know he was still searching the car and found it. Unfortunately I could not cancel the license. Perhaps it’s not a bad idea having a backup for him.

I can’t remember if I told this Derek story (there are so many of them). A few weeks ago when he went to the Sunday Boston rehearsal the next day I got the call… he had to bring some of his own equipment to the rehearsal and when it was over and he was loading the car he set his stick bag (new for Christmas) full of years of accumulated sticks and mallets by the side of the car and drove off. The bag was worth close to $1000. Of course the next day another storm hit, so that next week was spend ordering and replacing key pieces of equipment. But the story doesn’t end with this. A few days ago we got a call from someone who had the bag. His buddy is a crane operator and saw it laying in the road in Boston. He picked it up and gave it to his friend because he used to play the drums. Chris, the friend, looked through it and found Derek’s name and got our number. He told me he thought it looked pretty valuable. On Monday I send him a prepaid label to mail it back and included a reward for doing what he did. We haven’t gotten the bag back yet so I’ll keep you posted. He said it looked like it had gotten run over but all the sticks were intact. His practice drum pad and metronome looked broken. Hopefully there will be a happy ending to this Derek story. I think I’ll write a book. I’m sure it would become a Lifetime Movie.