I think it is safe to say that spring has arrived in Massachusetts. This scene is across from the entrance to Heath’s Bridge Road where our house is located. The magnolia tree is in full bloom as are the daffodils that line the fence.
Jeanine’s sister and brother-in-law joined the family for an outdoor celebration of Jeanine’s birthday this evening. Lauren and Bob were in New Jersey for a wedding and are returning to Indiana by way of Massachusetts and Vermont to visit with family. We had a delightful time spent mostly outdoors by the fire. Lauren and Bob are both fully vacinated and our family has all had their first shots. Earlier in the day, I was on the soccer pitch for my second match of the season, scoring my first goal of the year to help with an easy victory over our opponents from Arlington.
Jeanine and I went to Great Meadows for a nice late afternoon walk. The great weather made up for the lack of good photo opportunities. On the way home, Jeanine spotted a bunch of deer in a field near our old house. I stopped to pull out my camera and then Jeanine spotted a couple of distant turkeys. I set off on what turned out to be a half-mile hike to track down this tom. I am glad I did.
When Jeanine called my attention to this spider in our bedroom, she became very unhappy with me when my initial response was photographically motivated. She promptly took matters into her own hands and executed a catch and release before I could set up some decent lighting.
Each day for the last week, an army of ants have been working their way down our walkway towards the driveway. For some reason, they stay grouped very closely, never occupying more than a square foot at a time.
Killdeer get their name from the shrill, wailing kill-deer call they give so often. Eighteenth-century naturalists also noticed how noisy Killdeer are, giving them names such as the Chattering Plover and the Noisy Plover. This one was quite quiet as he waded in the Concord River in search of dinner.
Jeanine and I were invited on an eagle amble this evening by neighbors who share our interest in nature and photography. They guided us to a local nest which is less than a mile from our house. I made many attempts to get a clear line of sight but was unable to find a less obscured view than the one above.
It has been almost half a year (173 days, but who is counting) since we were scheduled to close on the purchase of our new home. Today, at long last, the excruciating wait has come to an end. Jeanine and I signed documents in the office of our real estate attorney this morning to finalize the transfer. Most of the delay was related to settling the seller’s estate in probate court and having a 45-year-old lien on the title removed. We are now at liberty to file for the necessary permitting to begin our reconstruction project.
We celebrated Easter outdoors with the kids today. Jeanine prepared a lovely strawberry-pecan salad, French lasagna, and strata with mushrooms and chard. For dessert, we enjoyed a collection of fine chocolates. Later, we planted four Spartan blueberry bushes on the river bank. We hope that in the years to come we will enjoy the fruit of these plantings with the next generation of Calabria’s. Earlier in the day, I travelled to Peabody for my soccer season-opening match. Our pre-season preparation served us well and we secured a 4-0 win. I am still struggling to gain back the level of fitness I had last season but managed to survive the match with no injuries and no mistakes.
Easter is one of Jeanine’s favorite holidays. When the kids were young they looked forward to the Easter baskets that she would create for each of them. As they have grown older, she has modified her Easter gifts appropriately. Pictured here are a number of air plants “potted” in small animal-themed sculptures which she will surprise them with tomorrow.
In the coming days, we are expecting a bumper crop of rhododendron blooms. There are dozens of mature trees on our property and we are waiting with great anticipation to see what the color pallete will include.
You know that spring is just around the corner when the first crocuses bloom. It was extremely windy today so I decided to pick this flower from our yard and photograph it inside. I choose a textured background to play off the patterns in the petals. I rather like the finished image which almost looks like it might have been painted.
When I returned from work last night, I noticed that the state of charge on my electric Audi was extremely low. When I plugged it in on my home charger, nothing seemed to happen. I eventually traced the problem to a damaged connector used in the service disconnect panel. You can see where the plastic housing has started to melt which led to misalignment of the connector and eventually to an open circuit. I was able to bypass the device and expect my car will be fully charged when I leave for work this morning.
My sister-in-law, Marie, shared this picture of my mother taken over the weekend. The two-hour in-person visit to her Minneapolis assisted living center was the first since the beginning of the pandemic. During that time they discussed health, wealth, politics, and dancing. Apparently, my mother also demonstrated her exercise routine which included doing push-ups against a wall while on her tippy toes in preparation for a return to the dance floor and her beloved tango.
The purchase of my new Apple computer and monitor included a 1-year subscription to Apple TV+. Based on the recommendations of several friends we checked out a series called Ted Lasso. We watched the entire first season in one sitting last night and can’t wait until the second season is released, reportedly this summer. Needless to say, we can heartily recommend it to others.
Last week my iMac computer died. I took it into Apple and was told it would need a new motherboard. Given the age of the system, I decided to replace it with a new Apple-silicon-based Mac Mini computer and their 6K XDR display. All of the hardware arrived today and it only took a few hours to set up and restore my working environment. Pictured above is the back of the passively cooled monitor which looks like high-tech swiss cheese.
Scavengers made quick work of this unfortunate deer which did not fare as well as the car which took its life. With no wolves, mountain lions, and only a small number of coyotes in the town of Concord, the automobile may actually constitute an apex predator in the food chain. I am sad for this deer, but take comfort in knowing that its body has nourished so many other members of our local wildlife.
Occasionally, I come across YouTube content that is so amazing, I feel compelled to share it. Enjoy.
While listening to NPR, I learned of a flamboyance of pink flamingos that appeared overnight in the Seaport district. While returning from Dorchester yesterday, Jeanine and I made a short detour to investigate the unusual migration which included some 2000 birds.
I drove Jeanine to Dorchester this afternoon for her first shot of the Pfizer vaccine. She became eligible by virtue of her role in a food relief organization. I also now qualify given my age and have scheduled my first shot for this Saturday. We both felt a powerful sense of relief after she received the painless injection. While waiting her turn, I stepped outside to photograph the former Congregation Adath Jeshurun synagogue.
Nicolai recently competed in his first road race, the Bionic 5K. He is planning to do so again on April 25th and has invited the entire family to join his team, New England Amputee Soccer, for the virtual race. All proceeds from the race will benefit the Bionic Project Inc, a Cambridge-based 501c3 non-profit whose mission is to promote active lifestyles, athletics, and inclusive environments for those who have to overcome physical challenges. Click on the image below to read an athlete profile on Nico and please consider joining his team as well.
My spring soccer season starts on Easter Sunday. Today we had our first preseason tune-up match. We played a Division 1 over-48 team which put their average age about ten years below ours (and a good 14 below mine). We held our own for 80 minutes with the score tied at 0-0. By the end of the game, however, their younger legs made the difference and they produced a pair of goals before the final whistle. Our side actually played very well leaving us satisfied with the outcome. Next week we play another over-48 squad and then it is on to the official season where we will compete with teams our own age.
After the match, the kids all came over for our regular Sunday get-together. Normally, it is a time to relax and catch up on the latest happenings. Today, our gathering took the form of a work party during which we gathered down limbs from all over the yard and burned them in a very large bonfire. In a matter of a few hours, we cleared the property of years worth of deadwood.
This morning, I heard some rustling outside the front door. A peek out the window revealed a trio of dear munching away on something in the yard. By the time I retrieved my camera, they had moved off to the neighbor’s lot and I had to settle for this somewhat obscured photo. The remainder of my day was spent cutting down tree limbs that threaten our overhead power lines. It was a substantial workout and was happy to put my feet up at the end of the day.
The sun was just starting to rise when Jeanine noticed a female wood duck on a branch above the river. Her partner was wading around in the water below. Low light and shooting through glass did nothing to help this photo.
The first flowers of the year emerged in the yard today. These tiny snowdrops are about half an inch in length. They start the day with their petals tightly closed but open up as the temperature rises throughout the day. I will try to get a photograph of them when they are fully opened.
If not for the fact that Iceland is closed to anyone outside the country who has not been vaccinated or previously infected, I would be on a plane this instant to photograph the erupting Fagradalsfjall volcano. On a previous visit, I was less than three miles from the exact location pictured in the amazing drone footage shown here. One of the items on my bucket list is to photograph an erupting volcano and as luck would have it, I cannot travel to this very nearby one of incredible beauty due to Covid.
Nicolai is actively working to develop an amputee soccer team for the Northeast region. He has been visiting local prosthetic clinics to get the word out and identify potential candidates. Little did he know that “A Step Ahead” is located less than two minutes from my office.
Today I had the distinct pleasure of meeting a neighbor, introduced by a mutual friend, who shares a passion for photography, nature, fine homebuilding, and travel. I joined him for a tour of Great Meadows viewed through the eyes of a naturalist and volunteer who helps to maintain the sanctuary. It was a most enjoyable 2-hour amble that netted the female downy woodpecker above and juvenile bald eagle below. Jeanine had a prior engagement and was not able to join us but is looking forward, as am I, to doing so on a future outing.
I joined Jeanine and her friend Maria on a lovely hike to nearby Fairhaven Bay. The trail passes by our house on the other side of the river and ends at the former summer home of the Robinson family. The 240 acres through which the trail passes were donated by Helen Robinson Wright to the Concord Land Conservation Trust. She was the granddaughter of Miles Pratt, founder of the Walker and Pratt Company, manufacturer of stoves, furnaces, and heaters who prospered during the Civil War, supplying the Union Army with ammunition and gun carriage castings. All that remains of the summer home is a terrace overlooking the bay and the stone boathouse far below at the water’s edge.
The Concord Journal featured a nice article about a recent grant received by Open Table. The pandemic has not only increased the need for food assistance but has also changed the logistics for gaining access to it. Open Table has had to discontinue the community dining aspect of their program in favor of food delivery. Not many organizations of its size could pivot so quickly to an entirely different operating model without skipping a beat.
I have to admit that geese are some of my least favorite birds. Even so, I am thankful for them every time I don a coat containing their down feathers. One of only a few birds that can be found in every US state at some time during the year, their numbers are on the rise worldwide.