Musings

Perhaps my last lupin shot of the year…I thought this ombre specimen unusual, with the almost purple low blooms graduating to light pink at the top.

Proof of exodus: The Bridge. Note heavy overcast, which I call smoke-AZ. AZ not as in Arizona, but a riff on, you guessed it, hazy. BTW, these were the first of several groups of motorcyclists we saw—Saturday outings, I’m guessing.

Here’s redecoration underway, a redo of the picnic tables and grills, it looks like, at a rest area.

We spotted this rigged pickup at another rest area. I do not think it’s set up for making street view photos for Google or similar. I think it’s for (video) camera work…but wildlife spotting, looking into a vehicle it’s leading or following, or, hmmm, generic influencer imagery, perhaps.

Enough. We’re trying to escape from Ohio.

Posted at 7:18 PM | Comments Off on Making tracks (none shown)

Last night was quiet, and with all the moisture after the rain, the situation was perfect for the sun to make ground fog. Lovely.

Before the sun got up very high, I took various tools and buckets and drove the car to the other end of the swamp to do some hogweed extraction from the ditch. I’m convinced this is where the ones in our field came from. I did a similar removal session several years back, but I hadn’t realized how big the survivors have gotten. I removed all that looked like they’d make seeds this year. Several were too embedded in roots to extract their roots, so the “crop” will continue. I’ll try to get after them again before summer’s end.

Our big excitement was this evening, when we attended a murder mystery dinner theater play. It’s the first time I ate next to a dead guy—Mr. Cooper his name was. We had a great good time, and I even guessed the killer, although not the whole back story and motivation.

Posted at 10:06 PM | Comments Off on MaNachur & human anchor

The rain overnight stopped by morning, leaving the lake three inches higher, the rain barrel full…

…and the orchard and field vegetation tipped over from the weight of the moisture. [BTW, this is the lupin cluster that a deer nipped the other day.]

We attended a hearing that began at 9am in a county courtroom, presided over by a judge who was over in Sault Ste. Marie (because, we heard, all the county’s judges owned land on our lake, or had loved ones who did, so had to recuse]. The topic was the county getting in compliance with state law about managing our lake levels. Most attendees were more concerned about the actual lake levels than the legal issues; many wanted the levels to be higher later in the fall to facilitate fishing by sportspeople using very large (IMHO, aka relatively deep draft) watercraft.

The upshot was: the county needs to get in compliance, which means the legal lake levels are the issue—and so the judge ruled (if I properly understood what happened).

By the end of the day, it was sunny and pleasant, but the air quality seemed reduced—distant views are somewhat obscured by moisture and/or smoke particles, or perhaps even the arrival of Saharan dust.

Posted at 10:03 PM | Comments Off on A different day

Our neighborhood was a mecca today; it hosted Porchfest (music), with plenty of amps in use. This meant cars cruising for at least a three-mile radius looking for parking places in already choked streets–with the center of festing about two blocks from us.

We had to do an errand, so we got to “enjoy” all this congestion (cough cough). The 2.3 miles each way took almost an hour on a hot, muggy afternoon. Glad we had AC!

Posted at 10:04 PM | Comments Off on Saturday excitement

We saw this sign when we were up north a few days back, and I just had to include it here. Danger lurks above in northern winters, ya’know.

Posted at 8:53 PM | Comments Off on Look up (v.78)

We saw the Looming Peach in SC, and definitely felt we were closing in on GA and home while miles were still ahead of us.

Coming into metro, we weathered a traffic jam, ho hum. We found our (OUR!) gardenias beginning to bloom, so: yay!

We missed an earthquake yesterday…hopefully, there aren’t more tremors coming. It’s 63°F and precipitating, so welcome home on the weather front, too.

Posted at 8:41 PM | Comments Off on Cool and rainy

We went to an art show opening on the main floor of this building, a former overall factory. This is upstairs where the studios, teaching spaces, etc. are. This is one of the latter. The floors are all wood, and creak with such vigor they seem to be expressing something.

Posted at 8:47 PM | Comments Off on New England through windows

How do you make your state capitol building, here a state house, look more impressive when it has only two stories: put it part way up a hill with a cascade of steps below the main entrance.

Complex tiling patterns in the entry of the public library, Randolph.

Dam and falls in Bethel; mill buildings are to the right.

Exposed interior structure, Howe Covered Bridge.

Orange County Court House, Chelsea.

Oddly, Chelsea has two commons separated by a rushing creek. I spotted this chicken on the bridge connecting the two commons, which of course provoked the question: why did the chicken cross the road? Data based on this chicken is null as it did not cross while I was watching.

We visited several covered bridges along this section of the White River, and this one, Moxley, had an actively used ford just below the bridge, while none of the others did. I figure it’s used by farmers and so on with large equipment.

Cilley Covered Bridge: although the bridge dates to 1883, these boards are from perhaps the last few months.

I’ll spare you any more covered bridge photos; how ’bout some ornamental, um, apples? Guessing…that’s way too dense a flowering pattern not to be an ornamental variety, and I think it’s apple, but I’m no botanist.

Posted at 10:05 PM | Comments Off on VT architecture miscellany and other miscellany

We braved Boston traffic to visit the Big Dig. Here’s the tunnel entrance. The tunnel is named for Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, Jr.

Here’s the bridge after the tunnel, named for Leonard P. Zakim and crossing the Charles River. Both the bridge and tunnel opened in 2003, northbound in late March and southbound in late December.

We stopped at the Canterbury Rest Area in NH. This clearly must be functional.

This, however, is art. I don’t know what the wood/tree is, and neither did the attendant.

Several miles later, we went through Franconia notch. The clouds sat on the highway, and we had no cell service. I have no idea how I’d make a phone-booth call these day. The oddest thing about the notch highway: it was interstate but only one lane each way, not from construction—that’s how it’s made. Neither of us could remember being on one- not two-lane interstate anywhere.

After lunch up the street, we walked around part of St Johnsbury. Here’s the depot, now a welcome center.

They’ve kept the Boston & Maine seats.

We made a quick stop at John’s college radio station, now an independent entity as the college is…well, defunct. John says he’s slept in this room. On the left out of this frame, was a photograph of a friend of John’s who is recently deceased, with some kind words honoring him. John was quite excited because he took the photo and also printed it.

Our B&B is an old farmhouse, renovated, on top of a hill. We were welcomed by goats and the proprietress. This goat has a horn and a stub.

See our fabulous room-with-a-view. very comfy and I can hear the peepers even though the windows are closed. It’s all of 57°F out.

Posted at 10:15 PM | Comments Off on New England-ish

Flowering plum (?) on dunes.

1917 approach, Provincetown memorial.

New plaque, installed around 2010.

The historic main street in Provincetown, dating back to such olden times, is narrow, and now one-way. This section is residential, but most is partly commercial, and no doubt a horror for deliveries.

Tidal flats, very overcast and tide neither in nor out. Saw small crab remains, about 3cm in diameter.

Also, we’ve seen turkeys, one per day the last three days.

Apologies for the late post. I picked the photos, then fell asleep early, trying to fight off the cold (sniff, blow) that came over me Sunday night.

Posted at 10:22 PM | Comments Off on On Cape Cod