On Sunday (must have been Sept. 23) we went for a walk sponsored by the Newton Conservators near the Charles with an expert on ferns. He showed us, and explained how to identify, twelve species of ferns which are reasonably common in the area. There are almost another dozen species found in Newton, but this …
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Lots of Apples
We spent a quiet day at home Sunday finishing the jigsaw puzzle we had started the evening before — — it’s one of those old Springbok puzzles with pieces so thick and precisely cut that you can pick the whole thing up when it’s finished — — picking apples, because the ones that are ripe …
Cutler Pond recap
Arlene was over to walk around Cutler Pond one day last week, I think Wednesday. We saw two ospreys soaring over the pond. The next day when I walked I saw one osprey in a dead tree near the far end of the pond. I was looking for a kingfisher that I had heard in …
Hike up Pleasant Mountain
On Saturday we went for a hike on the other side of Bridgton. There’s a lot of construction going on in Bridgton this year. Everyone we spoke with was excited about the new Hannaford’s supermarket that opened a year and a half ago, and the big Hancock Lumber yard that opened was welcome, but both …
Cumberland Fair Truck Exhibit
Here are some trucks that were on display at the fair. First, this lumber delivery truck from Chebeague Island. Chebeague Island is in Casco Bay (no relative of the town of Casco) off Portland. It was in the news a few years ago because its residents convinced Nabisco to continue making Pilot Crackers, something like …
Cumberland County Fair
I took a vacation day Friday and we spent a three day weekend in Maine. There was a little unfinished business with the roof, or at least with the skylights; the finish carpentry, the trim around the bottom of the skylights, wasn’t done. Porky was going to come in the morning to do that, and …
Find your age by eating out
Don’t know about you, but I’ve seen several emails over the last couple of weeks with a number trick that goes something like this: ***************************************** Write down how many times a week you would like to dine in a restaurant, at least 1 but less than 10 times. Double that. Add five. Multiply by fifty. …
L Hug
I had an extra good bike ride to work on Wednesday (Sept 12 — I’m a week behind posting this). Traffic was a little backed up at the end of Parker, so I went right on Dedham, down Rachel, out Winchester, and through Nahanton Park to avoid a probable backup at the Wells Ave/JCC light. …
Stalker vindicated
I’ve been bringing my camera along to work, and along on my lunchtime walks, in the hope of seeing that northern water snake and getting a picture. Today, on the opposite side of the pond from where I’ve seen them before, there was a snake right in the path. I stopped short a few yards …
A couple of tools
First, here’s something the roofers used to clean up. They had left a lot of stuff in our garage to pick up after the finish carpentry is all done. They encouraged us to use this gizmo, which is a magnetic sweeper. The idea is that it will pick up nails, staples, and other ferrous-metal scrap …