Today

Whew... I finally made it to today. I need to keep up with these. It's tough trying to catch up like this.

Today, the kids and I took Chauc for a pre-rainy week walk. We actually just pulled into the driveway when the pregnant, black clouds released their load on us. (that was romantic wasn't it?)

It was a nice walk, with plenty of bees, and bugs to keep Nora, Henry and myself very happy. They had mowed the fields which was great because we got to walk with Chaucer without imminent threat of ticks. The Deer ticks seem to be pretty much gone now btw. Just those big ugly wood ticks. I took some great pictures of the kids today. Along with some neat closeups. Check out the one on the piece of grass to see who was trying to stare me down!

Please remember that you can click on any of the pictures to have them blow up to full size. Say for example that humming moth.... amazing little guy. Henry just started reading this over my shoulder and would like me to mention that he believes he saw a "narrow mouthed frog" while we were in the fields... it looked more like a pickerel frog to me... maybe a bit of research is in order...

Car adventures

When I was younger, I would love to go out in my car and get as lost as I could get in the middle of massachusetts. Take a left down some road that looks like that it goes nowhere. Take the dirt road that states boldly, "dead end." Take a right off of the main highway and ignore the fact that the road gets so narrow that turning around would be completely impossible. Say hi to some cows that haven't been talked to for a very long time. Go to Ware.

I decided to take the kids down some very uncharted roads in RSP. We found a place where the river widens out and the trees grow like a hug canopy above the place. Beautiful. The kids and I have found a secret place deep in the woods of Rutland. Just wait till I get a jeep!!

The Battlefield

I came downstairs this morning to find this, the obvious remains of an epic battle.

Moore State Park

In Paxton there is Moore State Park. It used to be some sort of mill, and I can only think that the owner of said mill, had a side that appreciated beauty. I don't know the history of the place, but, at some point somebody must have realized that it would be a horrible thing to leave the place to rot. The state took over the mill and turned it into a park. It really is beautiful there. It is, in my experience, usually run over by mosquitos, but the day we went, all of the bugs must have taken a holiday. Beautiful. And, the laurel was in bloom, which is the best reason aside from the mill to visit the park.

Of Bees, Bunnies, and Water Beads

I am going to be back posting here... Its the end of the school year and my life gets pretty busy around now. I haven't been able to settle enough to really sit down and write. Most of my down time is either spent correcting or avoiding correcting. So, this post is actually from last Wednesday. It was rainy the night before, and actually just as I came home as well.

I have been waiting to see rabbits at RSP. It is amazing rabbit territory: huge fields, cut through by hedges and trees. Perfect. It is a little watership downs in itself. As for the bees part of the title, I hadn't seen any up until later this week. I was starting to get worried that Plato might be right as well as the aztecs and all of the doomsayers.

Country Mischief

I grew up about a mile from the center of Templeton. My first girlfriend lived right in the center. I spent the first years of my schooling in the small brick building that sits right next to the ice cream barn, where I learned that oil and mayo together make the best Italian sub to be eaten. I have climbed the stairs to the bell tower of the First Congregational Church. I have listened to flute and violin being played behind the historical society during tea time. I have followed paths behind the historical building deep into the woods and found hidden roads and campsites. I used to ride my bike the mile down Hubbardston road to the center, past old dumps, where my neighbor and I dug out deep blue bottles from half a century ago, and past cursed foundations and blackberry patches and old men with far too many animals: geese, goats, even an occasional mountain lion.

I love Templeton Center. It is a beautiful, quaint center, set up in the tradition of a town common (originally named for the common space used to graze cattle communally). I still think that I may retire and buy a house there.

My father was tutored in the center by one Mrs. Stone. She owned a magnificent brick house cornered in the far end of the center. The house was built from the ballast bricks that the original occupant used to keep the ship he came over on balanced in the water. Eventually Country Mischief bought the building. I was slightly horrified, to be honest, when they did. They are a "primitive decoration" store. I have since changed my tune. They have done wonderful things with the building and, really, the center as well. My favorite memory is of the time that they decided they were going to pump Christmas Carols into the center of town. The town eventually put a halt to it... boo town.

Country Mischief eventually opened a breakfast and lunch restaurant in part of the building. I must tell you, a better breakfast would be hard to find. The specials speak for themselves. I highly recommend the herbed bread toast. We went this morning. The kids love the place for all of the quirky art inside. Henry found what he was sure was a voodoo doll. Nora was taken with an old, rotary phone. I am in love with the architecture. Jenny loves the decor. I am going to post a few pictures from this morning. Check out the one with the "specials," and the one in the eerie red hallway!
This restaurant and building are definitely not one to be missed.

a few days

Trying to catch up with the past few days. Here are the three pictures that I took. The iris was wild and growing on the side of the dirt roads that wind through the park. The bird is a Bobwhite. It was doing this mating call. It would fly up about fifteen feet into the air and sound this beautiful, kind of wild call and circle a few times in a small, maybe ten foot, circle. Then it would land on a tuft of grass and wait.

Its amazing how similar men and birds can be.