inside joke

this week i also spent time in my old home town, a place filled with ancient haunts as well as a plethora of new business enterprises. this vane sits atop one such place, a fast food restaurant, on the outskirts of a sprawling new shopping center containing supermarkets, a video store, a discount department store, a major chain drug store, and many more new storefronts. all businesses that did not exist during my formative years of corner drug stores and teenage hangouts. and many of the businesses in this new place sport this same pig weathervane, even though there is nary a reference to pigs in the name of the plaza. but us old townies, we get the joke. this shopping center is built on land that, back in the day, was the biggest pig farm in town. and every time i pass the place, i suppress a snort of laughter and just smile at the irony. 

spring cleaning?

yikes. imagine washing windows like this. what is it that's holding them there, halfway up the side of this glass building. is it rope? cable? whatever it is, i hope it's made of heavy metal. 

and this reminds me. there are windows to wash at home.....

the green of spring

one of my favorite things about spring is all the different shades of green that appear all at once. like these beautiful chartreuse flowers of this maple tree, glorious against a clear blue sky. 

the big city

have been spending time this week going in and out of boston. such a busy place with so much to see and to notice. my eyes keep catching photo ops and i'm sorry i do not have my good camera. now, see all the chinese lettering? even for dunkin donuts on the corner. 

clown shoes

a week ago, i joined the ranks of those who wear these silly shoes. i chose a neutral color, so as not to look too clownish, and i bought them specifically to wear while gardening. but since i first slipped my feet into them, just to get used to the feeling, mind you, i admit i have had a hard time not wearing them. the things are virtually weightless. walking in them is like walking on marshmallow fluff. and they have big wide toes so nothing is squished. i confess i have worn them twice in public, and further admit that one of those times was to school, where a student admired them, she said, becuase they're the same color as my hair. perhaps i should go back for the lime green pair.

grass

although it's spring on the cape and i took many many pictures of plants and trees in bloom, it's this dead grass head from last season that i consider my best shot of the weekend. i like the muted background and way the plant in the foreground gracefully curves back into itself.  

the only bad thing about spending time on the cape: dialing up to get online. not very conducive to blogging big photographs. with this entry, i am posting the previous two days. 

sams

this is the weathervane atop seafood sams, home of the world's best lobster bisque. the stuff is decadent - smooth and creamy and thick with chunks of lobster suspended within. no need to augment the taste with salt or pepper or even the tiny package of oyster crackers served alongside. this lobster bisque is perfection. and a bowl of it makes the perfect first-night-on-the-cape meal. 

cape cod

this is the cape cod canal which separates cape cod from the mainland of new england. held out the camera and snapped this from the moving car as i headed over the bridge this afternoon for a much anticipated weekend of rest, relaxation, and good company. my host says when i'm on cape cod, i can do anything i want. so i plan to do very little. 

spring forth

oh there it is! the tealight from the new years eve ice candle lighting the darkness at the end of the walkway. buried under snow and ice all these months. its interesting the things found hidden in melting snow. a ring, coins, the lost button from your winter coat, the missing house key. and the christmas ornament from the tree you were sure you stripped before it left the house four months ago. 

driveway moment

not sure what this is or how it got there. but it's alive and well and budded up for spring. and sprouting through the snow in the gravel driveway just in front of the stone wall. 

afterward

grief comes in two parts. first the initial shock of the death, and all the emotions that accompany the church services and internment. and next comes the slow numbing realization that life will continue on without the departed. no more visits, no more phone calls, no more conversation, no more contact. except in your heart. 

i think this second stage must be much more difficult than the first. 

memoriam

here is my friend pat, doing what she always did best: finding wonder and awe in the most ordinary of objects and situations. she was an inspiration in that way for me and especially for this blog. even the title is a derivation of serendipity, the name pat gave to her home. when she could, pat visited this space and, since she wasn't sure how to comment, she always phoned to marvel at the poor efforts posted here. she was a good friend like that. godspeed, pat. thanks for the memories. thanks for enriching my life. and i miss you already.

earthshine

at dusk, tonight's waxing crescent moon, just 6% illuminated. at this point, earthshine, or sunlight reflected off the earth, can be seen lighting the dark part of the orb. the more poetic term for this phenomenon: the old moon in the new moon's arms.

first robin of spring

although i've seen them by the side of the road in places south of here, this sunday morning robin is the first i've seen in the yard. when i put some cranberries out on the snow, he flew off. i hope he's able to find holly berries or last season's crabapples.

on campus

the best thing about teaching spring semester is that spring always arrives on campus before it shows up anywhere else. seen yesterday at the university: flip-flops, shorts, a convertible, open dorm windows, evening gatherings on porches, and these snowdrops scattered about under a tall tree.

address unknown

how on earth can i feed my lawn when i can't even find my lawn??? surely this mailing must have been intended for someone in... say, north carolina.

catkins

observed by the side of the road glistening white in the evening sunlight. the first sign of regrowth after a much-too-lengthy period of dormancy.

more pea soup

the foggy kind that comes when the air is warm and the snow is still cold. a murky ride home this evening but the drivers side window was cracked, the air smelled like mud and birds were singing in the trees!