While I was working full-time at Formlabs the nearby building pictured above was under construction. Two plus years later, it appears to be nearing completion. At the time, I bemoaned the fact that its three-story parking basement would contribute that many more cars to an already untenable commuter log jam. Now, an even larger building with what appears to be a four-story underground parking garage is under construction. It is only a matter of time before the owner of the junkyard (right side, middle of photo) sells out and yet another mega building goes up. I guess the desire for a larger tax base trumps any commitment to thoughtful urban planning.

Nicolai shared this photo taken of him playing an international friendly against Haiti in Miami, Florida last weekend. Unfortunately, the US was missing their two starting defenders and could do little to thwart the speed of the Haitian forwards resulting in a one-sided result. At this stage, however, any opportunity to get playing time as a team is extremely valuable. It is sad to say, but the Haitians have raised more money to support their team in the US than the US team has in the US. Please consider donating to the US National Amputee Soccer Team. Your donations will be matched dollar for dollar by a generous donor.

Inspired by my recent visits to the wetlands of eastern Florida, I decided to visit one of our local rookeries today. I was fortunate to find an osprey at home but not much else in the way of birdlife. The variety of dragonflies, however, was amazing and I will have to return in the future with a macro lens.

The Fruitlands Museum is located on Prospect Hill Road in Harvard, MA. The location has a commanding view of Mount Wachusett and the valley below it. It is one of my favorite locations to practice flying my drone and doing range tests. Most of my day was spent with Kyle working on his basement renovation project. He is scheduled to have an HVAC contractor install updated ductwork adding runs for the new living spaces and insulating all supply ducts since the new system will cool as well as heat.

Jeanine received a lovely note of congratulation from the Massachusetts House of Representatives for being named a Commonwealth Heroine. We are all very proud of her.

Concord is served by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Commuter Rail which will take you all the way into Boston’s North Station. Since moving to MA, my downtown jobs have been in Cambridge and Sommerville. Getting to either from a commuter rail stop requires a time-consuming subway transfer and never made sense. Today, I started consulting for a new client with headquarters in Boston proper and a short 23-minute walk from North Station. I took the 6:11 am train from West Concord and was surprised by how empty it was. The ride was slow but relaxing compared to driving and the walk through downtown Boston was delightful.

The Asplundh Tree Expert Co. was founded in 1928 in Pennsylvania by brothers Griffith, Lester and Carl Asplundh, members of a Swedish-American family who combined their educations and experience in arboriculture, electrical engineering and finance. The later is Beth’s father-in-law and we joined her this morning at his winter home before leaving for our flight back to Concord. The company was the first to specialize in trimming trees around power and telephone lines instead of residential services and has been enormously successful. When we arrived at the residence, Kris was totally surprised when greeted by her son Colin who had secretly traveled to Florida from Salt Lake City to visit with his parents. Beth and Colin enjoyed paddle boarding on the river, while Kris and Jeanine relaxed in the pool.

We treated our hosts to a special dinner in Palm Beach this evening at Buccan, We very much enjoyed the small plate dining experience and insanely good desserts. Afterward, we posed for a group portrait on famous Worth Avenue. Our day started with a stroll through the Green Cay Wetlands and breakfast at the Original House of Pancakes where Rob and I had the Belgian waffles we had been craving. Later, we were joined by Kris’ daughter Bethany for lunch on the Intercostal at Prime Catch. A more glutinous day of food consumption, I cannot remember.

Less than five miles from Kris and Rob’s condo are the Wakodahatchee Wetlands. We arrived shortly after sunrise and were treated to all manner of birds, reptiles, and insects. Situated on 50 acres of previous wastewater utility property, Wakodahatchee is a constructed wetlands featuring a three-quarter mile boardwalk that crosses between open water pond areas and islands. Later in the day, we went to see the new Top gun movie, our first time in a theater since the start of the pandemic. Of any movie I can imagine, this is one to see on the big screen.

This morning we flew to West Plam Beach, FL to visit Jeanine’s lifelong friend, Kris, and her husband Rob. Jeanine and Kris grew up together in Lebanon, IN and have remained close for nearly half a century. We enjoyed lunch at the Restoration Hardware rooftop restaurant and then did a car tour of Palm Beach. The Gulfstream Park in Briny Breezes was our destination for a barbecue dinner, where we discovered a very holiday-appropriate message constructed of seaweed on the beach.

All that remains of the old River House is the small pile of rubble pictured above. The rest of the site is now a blank slate for our new house. We will be building on the exact same footprint necessitating a return visit of our surveyor to stake out the house corners. These stakes will guide excavation for the footings and walls of the new basement. Once the footings are poured we will have the surveyor return again to precisely locate the foundation wall corners on the footings. Jeanine and I travel to southern Florida tomorrow and will enjoy a nice respite from work and house.

Demolition of the River House has been completed. Tomorrow the two remaining dumpsters will be pulled and a small load of concrete will be hauled away. The old garage will remain in place providing storage until the end of the project at which time it will also be demolished. After a family dinner this evening, everyone met at the site to check out the progress and to spend some time enjoying the serenity of the river. Next week, excavation for the footings will commence and we will finally be in build mode.

I spotted this little fellow as I was pulling into the garage of the Road House. The abdominal sac is about the size of a kernel of popping corn for a sense of scale. He was rather skittish and I consider myself fortunate to have gotten a couple of in-focus pictures.

On a completely unrelated note, we were granted our building permit for the River House today, the final bureaucratic authorization required to begin construction, and all for the bargain price of $21,000. Demolition of the foundation continues at a pace hampered by the availability of drivers for the dumpsters needed to haul away the debris. Expectations are that we will be ready to start excavation for the footings next week.

While on the way to meet with a client today, I happened to be passing by Brandeis University and was running about 20 minutes ahead of schedule. I decided to stop in for some aerial photography. The last time I visited was in 2012 when Nicolai was here for a campus tour. At the time, I photographed the Usen Castle which consisted of a series of six sections, connected to form an enclosed courtyard. I was entirely surprised and saddened to discover only two of the sections remaining today. Apparently, in 2017, after much of the building was condemned by the city of Waltham, the University demolished Castle Towers C, D and E, and Schwartz Castle to make way for a new residence hall.

Pictured below is an open-air atrium within the Carl Shapiro Science Center which I found to be quite interesting when viewed from directly above.

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