Merry Christmas Dad!

Although, time has passed, I still struggle that you're gone.

A lot of "firsts", all difficult.

Miss you

Christmas in Heaven

Our Old-timer Jack

Jack 2.0 enjoying his stay in the garage.

Much warmer than outside AND he gets spoiled with all kinds of treats.  His favorite treat is fortune cookies (with the fortune removed) - I kid you not.

Keep The Change You Filthy Animal!

Which style of rodent trap do you use and prefer - Victory or Catchmaster (Snapper)?

I've always used Victory traps and have had great success with them.  I thought I'd add something new to my arsenal, so last year I bought some Catchmaster traps.  Initially I was reluctant they'd work as good as the Victory but they've proven me wrong.  They work just as good and the Catchmaster is super easy to bait and set.  The disposal of rodents is effortless with you never needing to touch or get near the deceased.

I've always set traps in our pool house every fall, once the pool's been closed and lawn items packed and stored away for the winter, and I'm always catching rodents.  The little buggers do too much damage if let alone, with their droppings all over the place.

To date this fall, in about three months, I've caught and disposed of, (16) mice!  They keep coming. 

*** SQUEAMISH WARNING BELOW ***

Two examples of success

A win for Victory -

A win for Catchmaster -

Winning!

Repair and Renew - Revitalization

Took advantage of the warm weather yesterday and finally painted a couple lawn items - (2) Shepherd's hooks and a dragonfly gazing ball stand. All showing their age.

Sanded each down to remove any pitting and rust, then sprayed them with a Rust-oleum high performance enamel.

With this project complete I was finally able to cut up, for recycling, the TV box I was holding onto for just this purpose.  Another item gone and another project crossed of my to-do list.

The items above will be on display this coming spring...

Bag O Balls

Here's another item pulled from Charlie's Place - a set (?) of candlepin bowling balls.  

Tucked away and hidden in the back corner on a shelf, this dusty bag has sat for years.  

There was a 3-page document inside titled "1983-1984 - Rules and Regulations from the Millis-Medway Merchants Bowling League".

Factoid - Candlepin bowling was developed in 1880 in Worcester, Massachusetts.

They're Coming Too Fast These Days...

I finally made it down to Marshfield earlier this week and spent the day with my buddy.

Here's a picture of the two of us!

Wishing one of my longest and dearest friends a heartfelt happy birthday!

Happy Birthday to my "Farmer Friend"!

Thought Of The Day

Grumpy Christmas

It's that time of the year...

They tried to run and hide but to no avail.

What Was I Saying?!

"Take Me Away"

The original downspouts were installed in such a manner that water would drain onto the driveway, especially the front one.  This caused all kinds of puddling that became more of an issue as the driveway itself started to deteriorate.  When winter arrived this became more of an issue as the water would freeze and we'd have layers of ice.

At some point shortly after we moved in I diverted the front downspout to the rear of the house. However, in doing do, which was successful, I created an eye sore of sorts with the downspouts running along the side of the house even though we painted them to march their background.

When I had the new driveway put in this past Fall, I had PVC piping installed under ground to divert the water away from the house and to the other side of the driveway.

Yesterday, I dismantled by previous handy work and installed the downspouts into their new underground piping.  Looks better too.

Before -

After -

Bring on the rains...

Vintage 70's Calgon Take Me Away commercial for your enjoyment

Classic Solitaire Can Kiss My A$$

WTF!

Why does Microsoft's solitaire deal you a hand that has NO MOVES?!

Seems to happen quite frequently, why? Why bother?

Pfft! 

A Long Overdue Visit For Sure

 Spent Friday in Marshfield visiting my farmer friend.

The weather cooperated, sunny and nippy in the mid to high 40's, but perfect for walking the property and visiting with all the pigs - 

It's funny to watch them all come running when called - SOOEY SOOEY!  Remarkable how they respond and come from all corners of the pen.  The youngsters bouncing and playful, just like little dogs -

They're all so VERY inquisitive, wanting to smell you with their dirt covered snots -

This sow has white eye lashes, something you don't see everyday or ever -

Save A Life

Did it again!

Another Power Red donation under my belt.

Working towards my 6-Gallon milestone.

They Were Calling Me

psst...

Seemed appropriate and gluten free.

Franklin Fail!

This is the view people are greeted with when coming off of rt.495 north and stopped at the lights of rt.140 in Franklin - appalling right!

Dirty, unsightly trash scattered ALL over the area.  All tangled in the now dead tall grass and weeds.

A sad welcoming when driving into Franklin.

Actually, and in my opinion, typical of the DPW and how the town is run and managed.

And Off We Go...

Took advantage of a day off work to head over to my folks place for an afternoon of yard cleanup.  My awesome neighbor, and BFF, offered to help so I jumped at the chance.

We loaded both of our mowers onto his perfect fit trailer and off we went -

Charlie's Place before -

Charlie's Place after - 

Took us about 4-hour to mow the entire lawn, both cutting the grass and at the same time sucking up the leaves. Although, drab coloring with winter upon us, our worked made a difference; the lawn looks so much better.  Hoping this improves it's curb appeal.

We loaded the mowers back onto the trailer, tidied up using the leaf blower then headed into neighboring Dedham for lunch.  A new place named Roadworthy, founded in 2016, and inspired by wacky food trucks and eccentric mobile street vendors.  Roadworthy is the outlandish destination for fun and delicious foods.  The steak & cheese egg rolls were terrific!

Two thumbs up for lunch and yard work!

Ralou Greek Plates

It's only been months but I finally hung my aunt Ralou's Greek collectible plates.

They're much more enjoyable and can seen this way versus stacked in the corner.

Buteo lineatus

There's SO much that takes place first thing in the morning.  Unfortunately, most sleep through it, or even too busy rushing, to notice.

I was fortunate to be looking out the window first thing, like I do every morning, and was treated to an arriving Red-shouldered hawk.

This hawk generally hunts from a perch, waiting for its prey to reveal itself and then swooping down to snatch it from the ground or water surface and this dude did just that!  He sat up in the Boxelder tree for over 15 minutes, patiently survey the area.  Then all of a sudden he dropped out of the tree and swooped to the ground.  He missed his initial capture but stood there stomping the ground trying to scare out whatever vermin that was hiding, to no avail.

He then flew atop a metal fence post, and once again, contently waited.  Not sure how long he would have sat there but something spooked him and off he went.

A handsome bird for sure, and a very vocal one too!!

Peek-a-Boo I See You!

The deer have been around a lot lately.  I'm seeing their tracks all over the yard; front, back and sides.  With all the rain we've had the ground is softer and more telling.  Same with the recent snow, a dead giveaway that they've been around.  They're more visible too now that all the leaves have fallen and stick out more.

Here is a doe atop the pile of grass clippings and leaves foraging for a morsel or two -  

Night time shots are dead giveaways with their glowing eyes -

Their tracks giveaway there movements -

Something You Don't See Everyday...

This isn't the best picture but this is a multi colored squirrel.  It's grey like a typical nuisance squirrel is, however, it also has large white patches.  It's hard to tell if the white spots are area of missing hair or in fact white hair.

I've seen grey (common), black and even white squirrels but this is my first grey and white. 

Unique for sure...

A Snapshot In Time

Cleaning out "Charlie's Place" we came across several family relics - our grandfather's Union Carbide hard hat and his lunch pail.  Unfortunately, the lunch pail was it terrible condition and unable to be salvaged, however, the Thermos was in very good condition.

The items have been cleaned and look good.  I'll find a spot here at the ole homestead where they can be displayed and bring me back to a time long ago; one that I miss dearly.

A Whodunit Mystery...

The mystery neckless...

Could our house be haunted?

or

Can the mystery be explained?

How's It Hanging?!

Like the age old question, what came first the chicken or the egg, so is the question or rather debate about the proper way to install a roll of toilet paper.

The 1891 patent for the toilet paper roll literally states that "the end of the roll should be hanging off the exterior."

This is how I install the roll; the correct way -  

And this is how my brother installs the roll: the incorrect way - 

From the US Patent and Trademark Office.  Any questions?!

Emilie Anne "Barbara" Frye

Emilie received her Confirmation from St. Mary Parish!

Her older sister, Stephanie, was her sponsor who flew in from Chicago.

A lovely service, followed by a fantastic diner at Luciano's in Wrentham.

Except for the torrential rains we got caught in leaving the church and arriving at the restaurant, it was a great night.  I had all three of my girls to myself.

My congratulations to Emilie Anne "Barbara" Frye.  I'm proud of you! 

DEFIANT

I replaced our driveway spot light with the above DEFIANT motion security light.  The motion sensor wasn't working properly - sometimes it would work but most time it would never come on.  Not reliable any longer, so it needed to be replaced.

This new unit comes with different technology - LED vs old school spot light bulbs.  The motion sensor has a wider range, and will come on now when walking through the pool gate in the back and when walking down the new front stairs in the front.  A much wider range and much brighter too.

First Snowfall...

First snowfall of coming Winter.

About 9" before the rain compacted it down.  Most gone, for now, with the above freezing temps we've had since. 

Hoping we don't get hit too bad this year...

Rise and Shine!!

I was greeted by an awesome sunset the other morning while walking to catch the 6AM train into Boston.  What a way to start a morning!  Sure made the morning commute more pallet-able