Another kind of spring planting

     With the arrival of May in our area of Florida, people by the beach are required to limit their outside light bulbs to red ones, and volunteers hit the sand at dawn. The turtles are coming.

          In May the sea turtles arrive to begin laying their eggs. The red light bulbs are necessary because they have a different wave length than ordinary bright white ones, which can distract the moms-to-be and later disorient their babies who should be working their way back to the ocean, not surging toward someone’s car port or swimming pool.

          The “egg volunteers” hit the beaches early in the morning, before the sun worshippers can unknowingly slam their beach chair

on top of a nest created the night before. Volunteers walk a mile-long section, often in pairs, scouting for new nests. Once they find one, they stake yellow tape around the area, and in some cases even place screens or cages over it to protect the eggs from armadillos, raccoons, or coyotes.

          We may now be back in Massachusetts, but yesterday as My Guy and I were hanging curtains, I wasn’t so sure of that. 

         

 Outside the window, I saw an unfamiliar object in our back yard.

          A friend said she’d had turtles come and lay eggs in the mulch next to her house, and after they hatched had gone outside with a bucket, to gather up the hatched babies in a bucket in order to transport them to a nearby swamp.

          Maybe I’d better check the garage for a bucket of my own. 

Call of the Road

And we're leaving why. . . . ?!

      

    The dog’s looking nervous, our meals are becoming stranger and stranger, and our clothing’s not much better.

Sea Change

Warning: Dangerously cold wind chills expected. Will cause frostbite in as little as 10 minutes to exposed skin. Expect wind chills to range from 10 below zero to 25 below zero.

Crap

As if putting every blessed thing we own into a box, and then cleaning every blessed space where those things sat isn’t enough fun, we’ve had visitors to the back yard today. 

What global warming?

     Yesterday I climbed out of bed, pulled on socks, sweatpants, sweatshirt, sneakers, and parka, hitched up the tiny dog to her leash and took her out for her morning pee. 
     This morning at exactly the same time of day, I climbed out of bed, pulled on shorts and t-shirt, and stepped into my flip-flops and took the tiny dog out. 
     Today it's in the 90s, 
     Tomorrow night it will be 46 degrees.
     New England is a whimsical place.
      On the plus side, Mamie got a bath today minus the scary hair dryer, but the rest of the day will feature lots of sitting for everyone.

Channeling Sisyphus

       All we needed for true realization that our Florida days have ended was a glance out of the window. If we ever had grass in our yard, you'd never know it, thanks to the six-inch layer of leaves out there. 

Today we played beat the clock – or, more accurately, the rain.With a forecast of showers by noon and a yard untouched by a rake since fall began, we were on a mission. 

 

          One year, when My Guy was laid up with a broken leg, I attempted to make a dent on my own but we ended up hiring a landscape crew. It was magical. They descended on our yard with blowers galore and struck with surgical precision. Not one leaf remained entwined in a bush, and all acorns disappeared as though they had never fallen. It was all achieved in one afternoon.

          Today we worked on the “Well, it’s better than it was” premise. 

       

           Mamie was useful as a depth gauge for a while

        

 

  But soon decided she’d rather serve as a supervisor. 

With several yardfuls still in the trees there wasn’t much point in perfection; it’s only a matter of days before we start all over again. 

Hoarder or Scientist?

     

What? You don't have a rhinoceros skull?

     The other day I was casting about for a venue for a day out with a friend.

Water, Water Everywhere

 

     Water, water, every where,

     And all the boards did shrink;

     Water, water, every where,

     Nor any drop to drink.

Day Trip

          My partner-in-crime and I headed off the other morning for a jaunt to an unfamiliar part of our state. She has a knack for discovering interesting places I would never think to visit, and that day was no exception. 

Here There Be Dragons

      For quite a few years I belonged to an organization for women teachers. It had no purpose I could ever discern other than to meet every month in order to plan the next meeting.

Art and Highway Whimsy

On Columbus Day we sailed over back roads to the Northampton Tri-County Fairgrounds and the fall show of Paradise City, a juried collection of beautiful things.

Chowder Challenge

We’re on our annual pilgrimage to the land of  Massachusetts’ middle-aged (although in my case I’d have to live to 120 to qualify for that category), otherwise known as Cape Cod.

Best Day Evah!

     Baseball season has ended, and in our neck of the woods it was a very BIG DEAL.
       Very big.  
Just in case you are immersed in some upstart sport like say, soccer (okay, football to some of you) or extreme Frisbee, you may not know that the Boston Red Sox just won the World Series. Still unclear? Think World Cup. And your home team just won it.  Big doings. 

Autumn in Massachusetts

Yesterday found me in the woods, hiking through

a town nature preserve that had once been a
flourishing orchard, but may one day be 
overtaken by the forest that surrounds it.