We've reached that part of winter when I am officially sick & tired of it, but spring is far too long in the future so the light at the end of the tunnel seems like a pinprick. Add to that the forecast for at least a foot of snow this weekend, and I'm pretty much done. I'm really hoping they're wrong, and we get much less. I'm getting too old to shovel all that by myself.

I haven't been out taking many pictures, either. It's been too cold, and I just haven't felt like it. Which makes me feel guilty, because I should be making art. It makes me feel better.



I got to kitty-sit my favorite felines when my friends went on a trip to Peru last month. I got a few good shots of them, like this one of Izzie enjoying the sunshine. He's such a photogenic cat.



This one of our local greasy spoon caught my eye when I went to the library last week. I would like to have gotten a wider shot, but that would've involved standing in the middle of the rotary at rush hour, so I had to settle for this. I love that neon.



I did make it over to Danforth Falls on New Year's Day, which was a pretty mild one. All the rain we've had in the past few weeks made for lovely rushing water cascading over the falls. Love those negative ions! It felt good to just stand there and listen to the water. I dragged a friend along with me, and she was glad I got her out of the house. It was a nice way to start off the year.



So I'm hanging in there, trying not to give in to all the negativity around me. Some days are hard, but on the whole I'm doing OK.

How are you holding up?

I went with my friends J&R to a crafts show yesterday, to a Historic New England home in Lincoln, the Codman Estate. There were lots of pretties to look at, and we got to tour the first floor of the house and the gardens.



I love these old New England estates, with big old houses full of beautiful paintings and furnishings, and lovely grounds.

Since we were going to be in Lincoln anyway, it occurred to me that a side trip to see something I had seen on Atlas Obscura would be fun. It's called Ponyhenge, and it's just the sort of weird that I love.

It's a collection (nobody knows who started it, or who contributes to it) of rocking horses, hobby horses, and other assorted horse toys arranged in a field like a henge.



( Read more... )

It's right by the road, not far off the main route through Lincoln. The whole thing just makes me so happy; it's fun, whimsical, and weird. Kind of like me. :)

When I first moved to Massachusetts, I lived in the town of Milton, which is a well-to-do town south of Boston. One of my favorite places to go was (and still is) Great Blue Hill, where there is an Audubon museum, a small zoo with rescue animals, and lots of trails in the woods. On the way to GBH, I passed this wonderful stone gatehouse, through which you could see the big stone house up on a hill. I fell in love with that gatehouse, and to this day I would love to live in it.





The property is called the Eustis Estate, and is now part of Historic New England. Yesterday, admission was free, so I went with a couple of friends to explore it.



It's a gorgeous house, stone on the outside and wonderful woodwork on the inside. Beautiful furniture, paintings, and stained glass everywhere. There's even a stuffed peacock on one of the fireplace mantels.



The garden out back was just lovely, with lots of flowers, including the most beautiful poppies I think I've ever seen.



I'd love to go back sometime and explore the grounds some more. There's an orchard, lots of big old trees, and paths to follow.



We stopped at the Trailside Museum on the way back, where we got to see a bald eagle taking a bath.



(ETA: click on the pic to see the video)

I also got to see, in person for the first time in my life, a pair of snowy owls. That was a thrill. The pictures didn't come out very well, because they were in a cage and the light was iffy.

It was a very fun excursion, to a place I've wanted to explore for more than thirty years. I didn't sense the ghost rumored to haunt the place, but they did have the top floor blocked off, so who knows?

Last weekend, I went with a friend to Tower Hill Botanical Garden for a fun event they held called "Stempunk." It was a steampunk-themed flower show, complete with a costume contest. It was a lovely day for February in New England, so we wandered around the grounds a bit after taking in the flowers and costumes.

( Flowers! Greek gods! )

Things are still going well for me at work, but several people have left in the past few weeks (three just this week!), so it's a little more tense than it was. We'll have to see how things shake out. But it looks good for me being hired on permanently, and things are happening in our field that should give us some good selling points, so the future still looks sunny.

Two days of 70 degree weather didn't hurt, either. Of course we're back to snow today, but not a lot, and it won't last. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

It's been too long since I've posted; sorry about that! Life has been a trial, but things have settled (mostly) and I'm getting into a new routine.



Autumn turned out to be pretty drab for these parts. It was quite disappointing. There were spots of brilliance here and there, but for the most part we had a fairly dull season.



I started a new job this week, and so far I like it there a lot. It's a medical software company, which will look good on my résumé, but I hope I'm there for the long run. It pays well, and the atmosphere is pretty laid back, especially for the size of the company. It's a lot bigger than my last couple of employers, but it doesn't feel like a big company.

The loop around the office park is a mile in length, and makes for a nice, brisk walk at lunchtime. There's a café in the other building, and because the owners are originally from India (as are many of the employees), they feature a lot of Indian food. I haven't checked it out yet, but I look forward to having that available. I just missed Diwali, for which I hear they had quite the celebration.



As I settle into my new routine, I'm hoping that life will become less stressful and more enjoyable. It's been a difficult few months of desperately searching for a job and worrying about money. I'm ready to be done with that.



Maybe I'll even have it in me to do some writing this winter. That would be nice. Anxiety and stress have sapped me of most ambition for a while now. I'm starting to get inspiration again from random things, and story brain is beginning to engage. It feels good.

Today is the longest day, the Summer Solstice. I went down to the river early this morning, before it started getting hot, to celebrate the return of summer.


( into the woods )

Blessed Midsummer!

As usual, we've gone straight from cold to hot. Last week I was wearing hoodies, this week I'm digging for summer clothing and installing my a/c unit. It's supposed to hit 90° today. I got an air quality alert on my phone, even. Oy. At least it's supposed to cool down again by next week.

I went to the Arnold Arboretum the other day to enjoy the lilacs at their peak. A lot of other people had the same idea! They actually cancelled Lilac Sunday this year because the weather was rainy & windy; it didn't end up as stormy as forecast, but it still wouldn't have been a fun day for festivities.



The lilacs were, as always, spectacular. I also took in the shrub & vine garden, and the bonsai collection. ( Bonsai! )

Even the birds love the lilacs.



I'm glad I made it there before it got too hot out.

Yesterday was the first really springlike day we've had in a while. After a cold, wet, snowy/sleety/rainy weekend, it was most welcome. After supper, I went for a walk along the river, where the water was as high as I'd ever seen it. The moon peeked through the bare branches, where buds are starting to swell.



The woods were full of starlings and red-winged blackbirds, all singing as the sun sank into the west. It was a glorious symphony.

I saw what I thought at first was a beaver swimming in the river, but when it climbed out of the water, I saw its long narrow tail and recognized it as a muskrat.



I know there are beavers around too, because I see the evidence of their teeth on the trees.

While I was busy trying to capture the muskrat, I totally missed the great blue heron until it took off and flew away. What a gorgeous creature! One of my favorites. I'm glad to see he's back this year.

Today we're back to rain, so no forays in search of the peepers my friends have been telling me they've been hearing. Perhaps tomorrow. I crossed over the river on my way home, and it's even higher than yesterday. I'm very glad I don't live closer to it!

So I see that more people are abandoning LJ because of the new TOS. I have no immediate plans to go anywhere, and I'm sad to be losing even more folks here. I do have a mirrored Dreamwidth journal, but this is still my primary residence, for now. I'm loathe to give it up, after all the wonderful folks I've met here. I hope you don't all leave, but if you do, please let me know where I can find you elsewhere on the interwebs (if we haven't already connected).

A few months ago, I entered a contest at my favorite radio station to win tickets to see Green Day, and I actually won! After feeling like it was forever away for ages, the date finally arrived on Friday. What better day to see them than on Saint Patrick's Day? I was wearing green for more than one reason.

There was never any doubt who I would take with me: my awesome niece, who is a huge GD fan.



The show was in Worcester, which is much closer to me (and easier to get to) than Boston. Willow met me at my office, and we drove to downtown Worcester and parked in the garage located conveniently next door to the venue. I had a gift card for a restaurant that's across the street from there, where we had the cheese & charcuterie board. It was quite delicious!



I had only been to the DCU Center once before (when it was still called the Centrum), many years ago when I saw Paul Simon (with Willow's parents). It's a pretty large place; we were on the second level to the right of the stage. Close enough to see what was going on, but not close enough to see the performers' faces. But hey, free, so I'm not complaining!



The opening band, whose name I cannot remember, was actually pretty good. Punk, young, and energetic. You could definitely hear the influence of GD, along with the Ramones and a bit of the Alarm. The drummer was relentless, going directly from one song to another. He reminded me a bit of Dave Grohl. At one point they did stop, and the singer said that the first show he ever went to was Green Day, and it changed his life. Indeed.

And then the main event began. I have always liked Green Day, but now I love them. What an amazing show! Great light show, sparks and bangs, flames (flames!), and the music was so, so good. Billie Joe was so great. He talked a lot, urging us all to unite and stay together, fight the good fight, encouraging everyone to sing along. He totally had the crowd in his hands. Three times (three!) he brought someone up on stage with him; all three were kids in their 'tweens, and they all killed it. The first and second kids he brought up to sing, and they were both great, especially the second one, who ran around the stage and leapt off the steps that went up to the drummer. The third one was the youngest, maybe 11, and he played the guitar. Billie Joe showed him what to do, and he totally nailed it; he then proceeded to run around, playing back-to-back with the bassist and generally acting like a rock star. Best night of his life, I bet. And then Billie Joe told him he could keep the guitar! Everyone cheered.



I stood for nearly the whole show, dancing to the music. I did have to sit for a bit because my back was unhappy about standing on concrete for so long (it's still a bit sore today), but the show was so full of energy, I didn't feel tired till nearly the end. Definitely the most energetic show I've ever been to. I was afraid I'd be the oldest person there, but there were a few old fogeys like me in the crowd, and we all smiled when we caught each others' eyes. Rock & roll is ageless. Even punk. If you're at all a fan, I heartily recommend seeing Green Day live. One of the best shows I've ever been to.

January 1st, for me, is simply the day I put up a new calendar. It's rather arbitrary, with other days making more sense to me (solstice, for one). But I decided it was a good day to pay a visit to Walden again, as it was relatively warm and sunny.

As was the case last time I went, a lot of others had the same idea. Parking was free today, and the visitor center was open (yay, bathrooms). I wandered down to the pond after saying hello to Henry and the replica of his cabin.



Most people were walking on the beach, and there was a bunch of college-age kids who started stripping off their clothes and heading toward the water.

( Yep, they went into the water... )

I'll have to pick a non-holiday, non-weekend day to go back sometime.