Let The Games Begin 2015

My nemesis has returned.  Let the games begin!

Find The Critter

Find the critter...

Can you find the critter in the above photo?

She blends in very well.  Perfectly colored.

Anything?

Keep looking!

She's there all right!

Cmon focus

Give up?

Alright, here's a close up.  Do you see her now?

And of course her partner in crime.  Making her way to the flower garden.  They sure do love the tops of our Hosta and Sedum, alas.

I was out there at 5:30AM chasing these two off.  Boy oh boy, they didn't want to go either.  I easily got within ~20 feet before they slowly turned and sauntered off.  Pretty sure one of them stuck her tongue out at me too.

Chicken Wings and Sandwich!

We took a 200 mile round trip ride to Westmoreland, NH yesterday, 5/24, to grab lunch - a BBQ pulled pork sandwich with fries for me, YUMMY!

Took Rt.140 up and Rt.119 back.

A very nice ride!

Official Start to Summer!

Happy Memorial Day weekend all!

Kicking off the start of Summer by opening our pool.

Perhaps, due to the cooler Spring temps, the water wasn't too bad when we pulled back the cover. Eight bottles of liquid shock and by morning the water is clear.

The pump and filter fired up, no issues, and running now.  Needs to be vacuumed and of course much warmer but will be ready soon enough!

Master of Science in Accounting!

Congratulations to my daughter Stephanie for graduating from Sacred Heart University's John F. Welch College of Business with her Master of Science in Accounting! 

It was great ceremony, followed by a delicious lunch.

Quite the accomplishment!

Vroom Vroom Vroom!

First big ride of the season is under the old belt!

A 137 mile round trip ride down into Connecticut and back through Rhode Island on Sunday.

It was a sunny, warm and beautiful day!

A fantastic and relaxing ride!

And We're Off!

I spent some time in the garden the other afternoon, finally!

Twenty tomato plants planted - five rows of four.  Twelve Big Boys and eight Jet Star.

Two mounts created for the Zucchini and Summer squash seedlings.

Five clumps of cucumbers.  They were too delicate to try and separate.

The garlic is doing terrific! Most survived the long bitterly cold winter and really taking off.

Can't wait!

Be Still My Beating Heart...

Well, vegetable gardening season has finally arrived.

Emilie and I wasted no time and headed to my favorite local nursery/grower, Pumpkin Seeds to pick up a few items to get us started.

Zucchini Squash -

Yellow Squash - 

Jet Star Tomato -

Big Boy Tomato -

Cucumber -

Guess I have a bit of planting work ahead but OH SO looking forward to it!

Looking Forward To Season Two!

Changed the oil and filter.

Replaced the front brake pads.

Removed the windshield.

Washed, waxed and polished.

Ready to ride!

Weekend of Auto Accidents

A couple hundred yards down the road from the ole homestead is a very dangerous 4-way intersection that's forever hosting car accident after car accident.

This past weekend was no different either.

The first one was an elder man that slammed into a big White Ash tree.  I heard the thud and made my way to the intersection.  I'm not sure what direction he was traveling or what direction he was going or what caused the crash but the front of his car was crushed.  Fortunately, he appeared okay and was out walking around.  However, he may have been taken by ambulance.  His car was towed.

The second accident was several hours later, pictured above.  The unique sound of two vehicles slamming into each other and crushing metal rattled the afternoon.  This one, I simply walked into the house, picked up the phone and called Franklin police.  This was a rear-ender.  A young girl was stopped to take a left, when a very heavy older man slammed right into the back of her car. When all was said and done, the man was able to drive his car away.  The girls car required a tow.

I witnessed a third accident Sunday afternoon while riding my motorcycle.  Fortunately, the car was headed in the opposite direction.  I don't know what was going on but the car was flying; seemed to be accelerating.  Looked like the person attempted to pass the vehicle in front of it on the right side but this was a small two lane road, so there was little to no room for such a stunt.  You can imagine the outcome. Irresistible forces and immovable objects cannot both be true at once.  Car meet telephone pole!

Find The Critter

Can you find the critter in the below picture?

More importantly can you piece together the tragedy?

Hint, start with the yellow arrow, then move to the red arrow.

Emilie won this dude at the annual Franklin fair about this time last year.  He was doing terrific.  He got real big for a fair goldfish, almost too  big for his bowl.  Not sure if he was trying to make it to the toilet to escape or not but we put the lid, so the dude was SOL.  Not a very pleasant site to come down stairs to in the morning, more so for Emilie.

On the bright side, no more fish bowl cleaning needed...

Game Ball Heroics!

Congratulations "EM", way to go!

Emilie was awarded the "Game Ball" by the team following their big win on May 1st!

A Splash of Spring Color

Here are several examples of the Tulips we have currently in full bloom!

The deer did a number on many of these, chewing the tops off as they began poking through the soil. However, many were untouched and doing fine and some that were eaten are giving it a go.

Sadly, like so many flowers, the blooms don't last too long.

Thy Springtime Weed Enemy

This tiny, flowering weed, known as Shotweed, is an annual that makes it's appearance in early Spring and is scatter in and around most of our flower beds.

Its common name reflects an ability to shoot seed from elongate, slender pods explosively when ripened. Tiny white flowers appear on stalks from the center of the rosette of leaves.

This weed goes by a variety of common names: Shotweed, spitweed, Pop-in-the-eye Weed, Wild cress, Western Bittercress, and Little Bittercress are just a few of the names you’ll hear.

Once the seed pods are ripe the slightest breeze or touch, will send tiny seeds flying all over, especially in you eyes, so you best be careful when weeding.

It's not snap/crackle/pop but rather shot/spit/pop...

Guest Poster - Emilie Frye

My daughter Emilie is an amazing photographer. She took these amazing photos plus many more!

Night Fall -

Rain Soaked Robin -

Robin Hunting Worms -

Trixie-dog Doing "Business" -

Chipping Sparrow Snacking - 

Tufted Titmouse Singing - 

Praying Mantis Egg Sack - 

Spring Flowers

The Bleeding Hearts are popping around here!

Swung It's Last Swing...

Alas...

After some back and forth and with Emilie's okay, we decided it was time to sell the Creative Plaything swing set of ours.

Although, it took several attempts via Craig's List, beginning in the Fall of 2014, we finally found someone who was truly interested and someone who wasn't expecting it for free (the gall of some people).  He showed up with a buddy around 1:00 this past Sunday, dismantled the set, loaded it up and drove away by 4:30ish.

Truth be told it took much longer that I would have guessed.  I suspect the buyer was thinking the same thing too.

We purchased in 2004, which included installation.  It was a terrific swing set that got a lot of use by Emilie and many others over the years.  We have pictures of the set with Uncle Tommy, Barbara, my mom, my dad and many others.

It's going to another home where it will provide additional memories for another family.  We'll have our fond memories. On the other hand, I can tell you with the utmost certainty that the person who mows the lawn is VERY happy to no longer mow around that structure...

Welcome, Finally!

Fingers AND toes crossed!

After all these year at the ole homestead we just might have our very first nesting pair of Bluebirds!!

There's been a pair milling around for a while now. I snapped the below picture of one poking it's head out of a bird nest of ours.

Although, I have pictures of them in and on various bird houses of ours over the years, typically that was much earlier in the spring and when they were arriving in larger groups.  Today there's only a pair today, with one always nearby and on lookout.

I hope I'm right!

High and Tight?!

 The darn deer are quickly wearing out their Spring welcome here at the ole homestead!

As you can see from the pictures below, they've eaten the tops right off the hosta plants that were beginning to peak through the soil.  They're essentially all been given a military type haircut.

These are just a couple examples of the damage they've already done, UGH!

You can clearly see their hoof marks as they trudge through the flower beds nibbling away.

We enjoy their visits but only when they're in the neighbors yard and eating their plants, haha.

92 Mile Initial Ride

I reset the motorcycle odometer before yesterdays maiden ride to kick off the 2015 riding season and off we went.

We road about 40 miles West on Rt. 140 to Sterling, Mass where we stopped for a snack then headed back home.

It was nice to be back on the bike again but it was a very chilly ride.

A Scam; Those Scum!

So, I received the above text message the other day while at work.  Of course my initial reaction was OMG!  However, I wasn't buying it.  Something just didn't seem right about the message.  After a couple minutes, I thought I'd best respond just to make certain.  My reply went unanswered, as I suspected, but after a couple minutes my phone rang!

I was greeted by a broken English speaking piece of $hit who proceeded to regurgitate a similar story to the text but said it was my brother who was in the accident.

I asked, "where did this occur".  His response, "here in the city, Boston.". To which I replied, "nope wrong city and state".  He immediately hung up.

Scumbag!

My fingers are crossed that Karma catches up to him soon, real soon! I'm hoping for, what else, a car crash.

Moe vs Trixie-Dog

Emilie brought Moe into the kitchen this past Sunday.

She's a fantastic rabbit with a great personality.  I suspect this from being bottled raised by JoAnne when her mother abandoned her and her two litter mates, Larry and Curly.  She's also proven to be a terrific mother too.

Trixie dog didn't know what to do with her.  She was a little leery, not Moe.  Perhaps, it's due to the fact the they're about the same size.  UGH, I actually own a "kick-me" dog...