Moving Day, Medford, Massachusetts, USA

Moving from one's current home to another home is often a challenging event - it is one of those times in life to exercise active and conscious control to purposefully effect a major change - invigorating, exciting, scary, full of promise about a new life ahead.......but already wistful for the one left behind.

 We had planned the move for months but, you never know what the day will actually bring until it arrives. We were very lucky - it was a glorious day to move - sunny, cool, a light Fall breeze, a happy, willing, and positive crew of strong, professional movers who arrived on time and worked hard.

Not a very big truck was required since Amy had done such a good job in thinning out "the stuff." There are many great charities in the area looking for used stuff - repair, reuse, recycle. (By the way, if you've never heard the late comic George Carlin's stand-up routine about "stuff,"  you might enjoy it).

Fifteen years is the longest time either of us has lived in the same location.  The clock starts again tomorrow......

Many hours were counted sitting on that chair (not to mention the many uplanned naps) - the chair stays with the house for the new owners - they have two young children - hopefully they'll get to hear and see a lot of books sitting on their Daddy's lap reading.......

Many disparage the dust bunny but, he has always been welcome in our home with us.  As illustrated above, this particular dust bunny is hereby acknowledged for standing guard and protecting a long-lost earring that had been hiding under a dresser for 15 years.  Such vigilance and attention to duty is commendable.

The truck packed, we headed 50-miles south to a new life in White Horse Beach, a village in the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Who Let the Cat Out of the Bag?, Medford, Massachusetts, USA

Where did that old saying come from, "the cat's out of the bag?"  Apparently, during medieval times, an unscrupulous merchant might have substituted a cat for the piglet the buyer thought he was purchasing.  If the cat got out of the bag, the scam/secret was revealed. In any case, this blog is more accurately about a cat in the bag.

In our house, the cat gets out of the bag when he damn well pleases. You only need to try to reach in there once to coax him out to understand why I would say that. I think he must become intoxicated by the brown paper smell (he also demonstrates similar behavior when jumping into any cardboard box left open). Each and every time a bag or box is left open, he will jump or climb in - almost no exceptions.  And since we are in the middle of packing and moving, danger lurks when we try to pick up what we thought was an empty bag or box.

Because if you get too close to the opening after he is inside, you will regret it - guaranteed - every time. His lightening fast paw with rapier sharp claws will swipe at you faster than you can pull back. Although science has specific definitions of an "animal,"  colloquially we seem to refer to any unpredictable or wild behavior as "animal behavior."  Rational behavior is to be nice to the hand that feeds you -  animal behavior is not always so nice - I guess this is one of the reasons they're called animals.  Cute but vicious - reminds me of an old girlfriend in my youth .......but that's another story .........

Anatomy of a Move, Medford, Massachusetts, USA

How do you leave your home of 15 years - the first home you chose together after marriage - the only home your only son has ever known - the home where his growth was marked in pencil on a door frame - where his grandfather planted a tiny Japanese maple tree seedling that grew to a graceful arch beside the driveway - where the flowering pear tree sapling planted by the curb now stands as tall as the house - the home that glowed warmly on a dark and cold winter evening coming home from work - the home where the curtains billowed inward with a spring or summer breeze - the home where the window screens vibrated deeply during a nor'easter - the home where you knew who and where someone was by the sound of a creaking board or stair step on the 100-year old floor -  the home where we lived and loved and laughed?

We are downsizing - at least half of our stuff must go - how do you decide what to put in the box, what do you give away or recycle? How do you pick which memory to package and which to discard?

But the calendar races by, the movers only 4 days away.

Growth chart soon to be painted over or scrubbed away.

Grandpa's maple tree thriving, perhaps to keep growing or, perhaps to be cut down by future homeowners.

And so you must pick, and pack, and seal it up, and repeat until it's done.

And when it's done, there's your lifetime of stuff reduced to an essential core.

 

A few decorations, a camping stove, career awards, boxes of photographs - and the first and only tricycle of the little boy who is now a grown man at University.  I can close my eyes and see his little legs pumping furiously on the pedals..........

A basement workbench, tools already packed - no more broken things that need fixing.

Closets empty except for hangars with nothing to hang.

It was a home where little boys and dinosaurs once fought raging battles as toy people in nearby Lego worlds stood watch.  It was a home where he grew into manhood.

It is not easy to leave so much behind.



Football and Mascots, Medford, Massachusetts, USA

Why do we have mascots? Are we superstitious and believe an inanimate object can bring good luck? Is it to create a common identity? Is it something to aid in marketing or merchandising? Is it all those things? Here's the mascot of the Tufts University football team, Jumbo the elephant, standing near the goal line at a home game on a beautiful, unseasonably warm October day.

It was such a nice day that the sports photographer just leaned back and soaked up the sun instead.....

Jumbo was everywhere.

 Tufts, in Medford, Massachusetts, is one of the top private universities in the United States.  Why Jumbo for a mascot? It seems that the great showman PT Barnum was one of the earliest benefactors of Tufts.  Hmmmm. 

With a single-shot point-and-shoot camera, what were the odds of me photographing the ball at the precise moment it passed between the goal posts?  I suspect less likely than the odds of the ball actually going between them.  It is not an easy task to control the path of a pointy prolate spheroid by kicking it.

Hurricane Irene, Medford, Massachusetts, USA

Just when you thought you would not have to hear any more about Hurricane Irene, along comes my blog about it.  Mercifully, this blog is brief. I was impressed with the non-stop, comprehensive coverage provided by the Weather Channel and other national and local broadcasters as this record storm made its way up the East Coast of the United States.  What an extraordinary example of how today's technology benefits our lives.  Imagine a storm of this intensity a hundred years ago - fatalities would probably have been many many thousands of people.  For us today though, having reporters on site providing observations, having real-time access to satellite and ground radar images - these are benefits that have remarkably improved our lives and safety.

The beauty of this sunrise belies the cause - this is the approaching edge of the outermost cloud bands associated with Hurricane Irene.

A few hours worth of rainfall in our yard - we ended up with 3 1/2 inches total - not that much compared to many past rainstorms or other locations in the path of this storm.  

Imagine the value of this information a hundred years ago to a sailor or shipper or farmer or builder trying to make plans - we take this technology for granted and EXPECT it to be available to us all the time. 

Damage-wise from the storm, we were fortunate in that only some high branches from tall maple trees snapped off and fell on our power lines and back deck railings.



Where is Everyone? - Medford, Massachusetts, USA

On this PERFECT summer day in New England, low humidity, temperature 75 F, light breeze, mostly clear blue skies, very, very few kids could be seen outside enjoying the world. Beautiful natural spaces and outdoor sports facilities stand underused.  I'll bet the Ipod, or Wii, or Xbox, or whatever other popular electronic item folks have is being used indoors instead. 

Beginning five miles north of downtown Boston stands the Middlesex Fells Reservation. This 3000-acre property affords all folks the opportunity for outdoor enjoyment in a nature preserve. (By the way, "Fells" is an English word for rocky, windblown hills.)  From this promontory on Pine Hill at the southern edge of the Fells, part of the city of Medford stretches out in the foreground with the city of Boston on the horizon.

Although I doubt my son remembers, when he was five or so, while hiking one of these trails in spring, we came upon a roiling, boiling, swirling mass of garter snakes, lying in the warming sun adjacent to the trail. (It actually may have been a "mating ball" of  many male snakes and one female but I didn't know that at the time.) In any case, what an infrequent and wonderful sight for a young mind to enjoy.

Here's a good technique to build a picnic table that is extremely difficult to vandalize -  rock and mortar.

This Medford city park has a basketball court, a tennis court, a soccer field, and a playground - all seeing very little use on this beautiful day. (Although I did use the tennis court to practice my serve.)

Is a reflection the same as a shadow?  If a reflection is light bouncing back is a shadow light NOT bouncing back?  If a tree reflects light in a forest and no one is there to see it, does it really reflect light?  Such deep thoughts for a retired guy...........

Men's Senior Baseball League, Medford, Massachusetts, USA

One of the most iconic sounds of youth is the solid, perfect impact of a baseball on a wood bat that sends the ball airborne a great distance.  There is nothing like that sound.  Very few kids will make it into adulthood as full-time baseball players but, there are many who can and do continue to play just because of  the sheer pleasure of the game.  In more than 3000 communities across the nation the Men's Senior Baseball League provides that outlet for good players of all ages to continue to play. 

These men of the Medford Mets and Qunicy Braves were serious about the game but still having fun. It was all about the game - not the winning or the money or the fame.

It's a great way for a spectator to spend a few hours for free on a summer day watching good baseball up close.

There was no roar of the crowd but, the few spectators who came were rewarded with a good game (there wasn't any shade closer to the field for this man).

Medford, Massachusetts, USA

Back in 1630, a London merchant and investor in the Massachusetts Bay Company staked out the land along the Mystic River that is today the town of Medford.  It's early history included shipbuilding, rum making, and brick making. In the early 1800's many shipyards were located here and a Medford built ship was famous for its quality.  By mid-century, a quarter of all Massachusetts shipbuilders were employed in Medford.  The building above was built in 1886 and is in the center of town. Medford today is a vibrant community 5 miles north of Boston.

 This underused band shell along the bank of the Mystic River is dedicated to Medford native Lydia Child who in 1844 published the classic American Thanksgiving poem, "Over the River and Through the Woods." She might not be as famous as former Medford resident aviator Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.  And don't forget James Pierpont who in 1857 wrote "Jingle Bells" in Medford.

A flowering pear tree fronts the turn of the early 20th century former Medford Armory.

A street scene of Spring busting out everywhere.

 

More signs of Spring frame this hundred year old grand colonial home in a residential area of Medford.



Medford, Massachusetts, USA

The Mystic River winds its last few miles through Medford, Massachusetts before emptying into Boston Harbor.  Today's blog is from Macdonald Park, part of the Mystic River Reservation and located only 4 miles from downtown Boston.  It affords visitors a nice change of scene amidst the metropolitan urban setting. On this late winter day, the last day before daylight savings time starts, the first hints of Spring are seen - long shadows later in the day, damp and soft hillsides from the recent snow melt, gloveless hands and hatless heads.........

.........dogs taking their humans for a walk.

The park has a sturdy observation platform.

And this is the view from the platform - Boston's Back Bay skyline is on the horizon - the Hancock building (on the left) and the Prudential building (on the right) are Boston's tallest structures at 790 and 740 feet respectively.

Hope springs eternal - its not too early to set up the volleyball net even though the area might still get more snow before this year's season ends - these two optimists hope otherwise.



Medford, Massachusetts, USA

After all that wonderful Ecuadoran warmth less than a week ago, here we are back home after a fresh new half foot of snow - temperature at 9am: a not quite tropical 12 degrees F.  Normally, the Boston area receives about 43 inches of snow during the winter season.  We already have received more than that and the season is not even half way over yet.  Looks like a long winter still ahead but at least the days are already getting longer - the sun doesn't set at 415pm now - Spring is on the way!