Further evidence of Spring's arrival.

 Happy Easter - Polly

Spring. Or, even the sticks are alive again.

Pick

"Not the least hard thing to bear when they go from us, these quiet friends, is that they carry away with them so many years of our own lives."  -John Galsworthy

16 years in the case of our good dog Pick.  A fine friend, we are missing him already.  -Polly

Whaling Museum

Over the school vacation we visited the New Bedford Whaling Museum.  The boys have longer attention spans now than the last time we visited.  We could have spent another two hours looking at paintings and models of ships.   -Polly

Technology or, This is one of Those Times Anna

So the modem arrived, several weeks after the wrong modem arrived which was several weeks after the old outdated antiquated modem stopped working.  For me, the internet always makes the world seem much bigger, also smaller, and perhaps more new fangled than necessary.

  A Little while back I was talking to my friend Anna, the automated helper on the Ikea website.  I am not very familiar with Ikea, but I saw a type of desk on the website that interested me, so I was asking Anna to help me out with that.  I was having trouble learning about the inside size of the desk.  Anna suggested that I look at the product description.  I had tried that, so I asked Anna some more specific questions, and then some less specific questions.  Anna really just thought I should look at the product description. I was starting to feel frustrated when I asked "HOW CAN I SEE OTHER DIMENTIONS?!" Finally Anna told me "It is not always possible for me to understand what you are asking.  This is one of those times."  -Polly

Finally! Now that it is February 23 - A review of 2011

Instead of the Storm

The storm was thankfully a dud.  So where have we been?  Instead of wind and rain knocking out our power and communications, it was the plaster, painting, and tiling operation.

They are mysterious, the magical wires that lie hidden in the walls and bring the wider world to us.  Sometimes when construction is happening, the magic mysteriously goes out of the wires and cannot be made to come back easily.  This is one of those times.

Perhaps in time, perhaps soon, the wires will again bring us the magic of internet. 
Until then, Take Care and Carry On.  -Polly  

The Late August Garden Before The Storm

       As we wait for Irene, I'm trying to decide what to pick and what to leave. Irene may not turn out to be much of an adventure, but the not knowing makes me glad that I am growing these things as a hobby, and not as a livelihood or main source of food.  Our local grocery store was running out of bottled water today, but I trust that it will be stocked up again before long.  Really it was not that long ago that there was no weather radio to give folks a chance to decide what to pick and what to leave.  I am a little anxious about this eggplant, and I do have the grocery as a back up.  -Polly 

And...Another Little Trip

As the summer is winding down, we are trying to get to a few more of the activities and adventures on our summer list.  Now, the visit to the zoo is complete.  Also the horse back riding experiment.  Both went well. -Polly 

Another Little Trip

Today we visited Coggeshall farm with two good friends.

 

These two turkeys seemed to be inseparable friends, probably siblings.  They moved, turned and walked together like a dancing couple, but they reminded me even more of the way a street sweeper moves. -Polly 

Where We Went

We have been again to Maine.  It has been two full years since the boys and I have visited.  Considering that last trip, this one was much better.  There was a lot of driving and then a lot of sun and green.  We saw racoons up close,  found porcupine quills, heard owls, and I found more rusty treasure in an old cellar hole. Some blue socks were finished, then there was some more driving.  The actual driving was done by the Mister.  I sat under the dog and handed out snacks. -Polly

And Now, Summer

The last day of school is finished.  Now my helpers will be around all of the time.  Lately they have been helping by chasing small rabbits about.  Can you spot the bun in the picture above?  The picture gets much bigger if you click on it twice.  -Polly