With all of our work and evening social engagements this week, Jeanine and I have had little time to spend with my mother who is visiting us to celebrate my upcoming birthday. Today, however, we got to spend time together including a hiking excursion to the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge. There, among other things, we discovered a frog-laden pond and this potential prince. Later, my mother joined me for a shopping run to REI where I obtained a few final items for my rapidly approaching Nepal trek. My mother turned 85 over the summer and I used this opportunity to provide her the belated gift of warmth (a down jacket, fleece mittens, cozy socks, and a pair of ear muffs). She is pictured below modeling a beautiful jacket that Jeanine gave to her for her birthday.