With a number of Zoom meetings coming up later this week and next, I decided it was time to update the virtual background that I have been using. While very nice as photographs go, my favorite landscape images with my talking head superimposed over them present an incongruous scene. I decided it was time to start using an indoor scene, ideally an office setting. I searched my photo archive and found this image I took of my home office when we lived in Indianapolis. Indeed, it presents a much more logical background and I think I will test it out for the next few weeks. Below are some of my other favorite backgrounds from my photo archive.

I made a short visit to the Olin campus today to bring Maya some screws for her roommate. Yes, you read that correctly. Apparently, they are needed to assemble a bookshelf. Why they were left at our house, I do not know. The real point here is that it does not take much to motivate me to visit Maya. After learning as much as she could share about her senior project (it is subject to a non-disclosure agreement with the outside company sponsor) and getting an update on the various companies trying to recruit her, I decided to return home by way of a shortcut through Babson College. Olin and Babson share a campus. On the way out, I came upon the recently restored Babson World Globe which has been relocated to a new setting in Kerry Murphy Healey Park. College founder Roger Babson dreamed up the idea of building the Globe in 1947 as a way to promote interest in world affairs. At 25 tons and 28 feet wide it was completed in 1955 and was the world’s largest rotating earth-ball of its day. It was covered with porcelain-baked steel tiles that recreated the continents and oceans. They fell off in 1984 and for the next nine years, the World looked like a big, rusted ball. A restored version was dedicated in 1993 and it lasted for a quarter of a century before it was once again in need of rejuvenation. This latest version once again rotates and I think the new setting is quite fitting.

I was back in the lineup for my soccer team this morning and we managed a strong 6-0 victory over a new team to the league from Danvers. The score was 1-0 at the break but we wore them down in the second half even though they had more subs. Later in the day, I ventured out to enjoy the spectacular weather and found some early fall color in the field behind our last home.

After many days of rainy weather, Jeanine and I took advantage of a perfect September day to visit Carson Beach, just south of Boston. We enjoyed a leisurely stroll and eventually made our way north to Pleasure Bay where we walked out to Head Island. Kiteboarding and windsurfing are popular here due to the consistent wind and protected bay. It has been a good 40 years since I learned to windsurf while getting my master’s degree in California. If not for the cold water temperature, I might be tempted to see if I am still up to the challenge. More my speed these days is beach volleyball but even that seemed like a risky proposition given I am back on the roster for a soccer game tomorrow morning.

As fall approaches, I find myself increasingly drawn to the outdoors. Autumn has always been my favorite season and I am looking forward to it even more than usual this year. First because of the impact the pandemic has had and second because my semi-retired schedule gives me more flexibility to enjoy it. Flowers like the black-eyed Susan come into their own at this time of year and I really liked this grouping with a little purple in the background.

Rain has been relentless for the last few days and the Sudbury River is well outside its banks as seen in the photo. I have kept close track of how high it is relative to the basement of our house. We still have a 5-foot margin but we also know that the house has flooded twice in seven decades and are trying to factor that into our design.

Today, I constructed a physical model of our new house design from foam core and cardboard. I placed it on top of an extended tripod so I could look at it from a ground-level perspective without bending over and easily rotate it to any angle. Having taken things this far, I decided to create a GIF. There are still some minor details that do not match the current plan and many of what appear to be windows are actually solid panels. Still, the model provides a good overall understanding of the structure provided you can visualize the grading.

Jeanine finished writing and editing her memoir cookbook some time ago but the process of layout and formatting has been fraught with delays. By my count, she is working with her third designer, each prior one having failed to complete the project for one reason or another. I am the in-house food photographer and was happy to create what I expect will be the last image for the book. With most of my photography studio in storage, I did the best I could with available light and an on-camera flash. Not my best work, but the client seemed happy. Fittingly, Jeanine prepared the pictured rainbow salad for her writer’s group farewell luncheon. She joined the “chapter” (my name for a group of writers) shortly after we moved to Concord and they have been a source of shared passion, support, candid feedback, and professional guidance.

Jeanine took the kayak that Maya built out for a quick paddle down to Fairhaven Bay this morning. Our neighbors have a nicely sloped area from which to launch and have kindly given us permission to use it. Our river frontage is on a fairly steep incline which does not really lend itself to a graceful put-in point. The Conantum community in which we live has a shared dock and kayak storage area that is a very short walk from the house. Once we have settled in, I suspect we will take advantage of this option because it offers a totally dry entry and exit.

Now that plans for the overall house are essentially done, I have turned my attention to a more detailed model of the kitchen. Jeanine and I both like natural bamboo for the cabinetry and have settled on basic appliance sizes; 42″ refrigerator freezer, 30″ double oven (steam over convection), 36″ induction cooktop with downdraft vent. Countertop color, lighting fixtures, and hardware are still open, as is the style of the sink. Not shown is the walk-in pantry to the left of the refrigerator. In addition to the CAD model, I have created a spreadsheet detailing the contents of each drawer, cabinet, and shelf to ensure we do not overlook anything in the design. The kitchen area is ~230 sqft. and the pantry is 55 sqft. Smaller in comparison to our previous kitchens, it feels perfectly scaled for our retirement years.

For the past week, this cormorant has been sharing a branch with Herman, the blue heron who fishes from it almost every morning. It is nice to see two different species coexisting peacefully. This is in sharp contrast to the hummingbirds which visit our feeder. They invariably compete to the bitter end until one is driven off even though the feeder can accommodate several diners. Regular visitors to our home get names. The cormorant will be called Cory.

Just for fun, see if you can correctly guess the outcome of this leaf top encounter. The answer will be at the bottom of this entry and will require some decoding.

• Spider and ant peacefully share the leaf
• Spider attacks and eats ant
• Ant is the first soldier of a trailing army that engulfs the spider

.tcerroc si rewsna tsrif ehT

It has been over a month since we received approval from the Concord Natural Resource Commission to proceed with our new home building project. Per requirements, I mailed the Order of Conditions we received to the Middlesex Registry of Deeds for recording. In addition to the filing fee, I included a self-addressed, postage pre-paid envelope for them to return a certified copy. Having yet to receive it, I spent several hours tracking down the problem and driving into Cambridge to obtain a copy. Nothing I enjoy more than dealing with Massachusetts state bureaucracy. While I was at it, I contacted Concord Municipal Light Plant to see if they would come and retrieve a utility pole that has been lying next to our driveway since we moved in. Prior dealings with the CMLP have always been great so I am optimistic that this will get resolved quickly.

Design for our new home is approaching completion. We incorporated a few minor changes based on the homes we visited last weekend. Windows, 63 of them, feature prominently allowing us to enjoy views of the lovely Sudbury River. The above grade finished space will be 3,000 sqft and the basement will add another 1,900 sqft. We will have an open floor plan living area, dining area, and kitchen with walk-in pantry and media enclave, two offices, three dedicated bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, an aviary, exercise room, laundry, woodshop, and photo studio. Next on the schedule, our architect will complete construction drawings while we line up a builder. We are still probably a year away from completion, but it is exciting to have reached this milestone.