Monday, May 7, 2012

A good read

I am a great Dad! Always putting myself second, letting my boy have that bite I was saving (I may be a bit OCD when it comes to food, well everything!). I play soccer, army guys, Mousetrap, chase, ride bikes, baseball, Angry Birds, and push him on a swing he perfectly capable of pumping himself!
I know he can do it himself because I spent countless hours coaching him, legs out, legs in!
There are times that I want to just be alone! This book was much more relevant when the kids were much younger, but, it can really strike a chord with parents no matter how old the kids are.
It sounds awful at first but as you read it that turns into aha moments and laughter!

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Returning Robin

Every year for the past maybe 5 years there is a Robin that builds a nest in a stick wreath that hangs on the front of our house.
This year she built on top of the wreath, penthouse nest I guess! It is so interesting to watch her work so hard to collect all the materials to put that well built little nest together. Back and forth she goes, piece of ornamental grass, some clippings from the lawn, other pieces of gone by plant material. All of these things expertly put together into a little bowl shaped next that this year is home to 3 eggs.
I've never done any research on it but my guess is she has several "litters" every year.
After the eggs hatch it is amazing the to watch Momma Robin collect food to bring back to the babies. She does
Not stop! I leave for work at 5:30 every morning and she is already up gathering worms.
On the days when I am home I can see her fly by the front window over and over again bringing home a nice fresh worm for the newly hatched little birds.
It's so
Amazing to watch this process, from
Nest building, to eggs in the nest, to
little birds incapable of living on their own to one day an empty nest. I see them as they grow, their little beaks stick upward, open, cheeping away for food. Eventually their heads are up above the top of the nest, as I approach they slowly lower themselves down into the nest and become quiet. Then one day, silence. They have left the nest. I always hope they enjoyed where they grew up and will return to build their own nest in my yard.
Red breasted robin
With the eggs of blue
Hatched in a nest
How quickly you grew
Fly away fly away
Enjoy your quest
Come back next year
And build your own nest

My yard

I love landscaping. I wish everything came as naturally to me as it does.
This love was passed down to me by my Dad. As long as I can remember he was working in the yard.
I remember being awakened at ungodly hours of the morning ( 8 AM is ungodly to a 12 year old! ) to go out and help him weed beds, transplant plants, edge beds or mow the lawn.
How I hated it! And at the same time loved it! Those are times I will carry with me forever, I start to tear up just typing this.
Many of the plants in my yard came from transplanting "splits" from his house. I love that. I love that people love my yard, although I am terrible at showing that!
My yard is a place I can go to be alone, play with Will, sit by a fire with Lys, enjoy the company of friends and sometimes all of those things at the same time.

He's so fuzzy!

My backyard is a nature preserve worth of activity! The photo isn't perfect but out a window it is pretty good.
This squirrel was running back and forth from a decomposing pumpkin, collecting seeds and burrying them.I watched him scurry back and forth to different parts of the yard.
Then he changed his path and ran past the little statue of the kids and it just seemed too cute to pass up.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Random

No dissertation, just some photos I'm proud of.

Early America

I really can't think of anything that totally embodies the United States of America any more than a stone wall. I won't try to hide the fact that I am a rock guy, I love them.
When I see a stone wall built by early settlers and early Americans it takes me back to a time that I truly cannot imagine how hard it must have been.
Here is what I see in a stone wall from old New England:
Incredible hard work and perseverance
A willingness to claim what was theirs and stand up for it
Rocks and stones that came from all over the world and were deposited by the glaciers
A creation they had to figure out, no directions, no pictures, no help button, no FAQ section
No machines - just manpower, animals and ingenuity
Pride
These walls have stood for hundreds of years. They are a testament to the families that built them. They were not put up to last for a few years. They knew it was the start of something great. They had great pride in everything they did.
A Stone wall is so much more to me than a bunch of rocks stacked and lined up. It is a thing of beauty, a creation rooted in pride, just like America.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

My first hike for photos

Today I loaded up my back pack with my tripod, that my Dad gave me a couple weeks ago. The same tripod he used to use! Also in the backpack was my new mono-pod, canon T3i, tele-photo lens, iPad and photo transfer tool.
I headed into Worcester to an area I new had some streams running to the reservoir. I found a couple different streams and snapped away.
I passed a sign for Cascade Falls on my way in, interest peeked, I headed back that way.
I was shocked to find a 100 foot falls in the middle of the city! I started hiking up, wow this was a steep climb! Once at the top I realized why the climb was so hard!
It was worth it though!

Tonka trucks

Sunday evening I came home from work to find a massive construction site at the end of my driveway. Dump truck, front end loader, excavator, road grader,front drum roller and a bull dozer.
Some of these are the very same that I played with. So many hours I spent alone building, digging, smoothing, playing.
I love seeing Will enjoying the same things I did. In a world where he can operate an iPad I'm so glad he can also learn the joy of operating a Tonka toy.

I'm adopted??

I went out to photograph some small brown birds nest in my Norwegian weeping spruce. You can see what the nest looks like without moving any branches and you can see the eggs in the nest with the branches out of the way.
I moved to another spot and I see this Robin egg on the ground. I have no idea how long it has been there. But I figure I had 2 choices, sit on the egg for a while or move it to a nest.
I chose move it to the little brown birds nest.
I wonder how this will turn out?