MEET THE FAMILY

November Woods

A still life of our November woods. Nice to live in a photogenic environment.

SUNSET ON THE SHORE

OLD NUMBER 2

Old Number 2 was once upon a time, the pride and primary workhorse of the Uxbridge Fire Department. For decades, whenever the call went out, Number 2 led the response. But the years passed and the time came to replace Number 2 with a newer engine.

There was no room to keep the old engine in the firehouse, but there are a few advantages to living in the country and one of the big one is lots of empty land.

Old Number 2 was moved to his retirement home, a lovely, sunny lot across from the post office. Wildflowers grow all around and there are a couple of folding chairs and a little table nearby where the fire crew eats their lunch when the weather is warm.

Retired he may be, but Old Number 2 lives on in fond memory. You can visit too. He's just across from the new post office on Route 122,  just past the courthouse.

HOME

Living in the woods brings some problems with it. When the leaves fall, they infiltrate the house. They come in through the door, attached to the dogs' coats. You find them everywhere, in places you can't imagine them getting.

Trees produce pollen. Lots of it. Even if you aren't normally allergic, the air is so full of pollen it can look like it's snowing ... and that much particulate stuff in the air is going to cause irritations to the breathing apparatus of anything that breathes.

Pollen is one kind of particulate, but there are plenty more. It adds up to a level of dust and dirt that's hard to imagine. You can't clean fast enough to keep up with it, even if you clean all the time. Eventually you give in and adopt the attitude that dust is a protective layer provided my nature.

Between the dog hair, the pollen and the dust ... your standards have to come down to earth. Reality bites, but comes the Autumn, for a month and some, it's so beautiful for once, you lose your breath to the beauty, not the stuff floating in the air.

SUNSET ON BARNSTABLE BEACH

BOARDING

PERFECT WEATHER AT HOTEL HELL? OR PERFECT HOTEL WITH WEATHER FROM HELL?

I've been to beautiful places and done nothing but watch the rain pour down for a full week. Talk about depressing.

This time, it was a pretty bad hotel ... but the weather was ideal and we we able to get up and out and really enjoy at least that.

I suppose, in the end, brilliant weather trumps luxury. Mother nature rules. Especially if you are a fanatical photography enthusiast! Even more so if you are a couple and both of you are enthusiasts.

GOING HOME

Not sorry to leave this place, but sorry to be leaving Cape Cod. Nice, though, that it's close enough to come anytime on a day trip. Sometimes we forget it's just a little more than an hour away ... with no traffic. And it's good to be "not at home" no matter where else it is. A change of scenery is good for the soul.

I'm always afraid what I'll find when I get home. A thousand pounds of junk mail, hysterical dogs, half a foot of matted dog hair, urgent messages on the answering machine, scary messages on the answering machine. What will be will be. I just hope that nothing awful is waiting for me. Please, let there not be something awful.

PUMPKIN PATCH IN YARMOUTH

We went exploring, not knowing where we would wind up. Never has this failed me. There always something and today was no exception.

Driving along Route 28 through South Yarmouth was the biggest, most luscious pumpkin patch I've ever seen. I've seen a few. This was the best yet.

The pumpkin patch belongs to the church. They grow pumpkins then sell them in October to raise money for the church. An interesting variation on the classic bake sale. They have one of those, too. Next week.

Charlie Brown would definitely approve.

GARRY ARMSTRONG'S CAPE COD

I take pretty pictures. Garry makes art. 

A lifetime of John Ford movies have had their effect. 

His eye seeks out pictures that are more than pictures, that are evocative and elegant. 

Many are perfect right off the SD chip. 

Please, look, enjoy, and make your own evaluation. 

THE OWL AND THE PUSSY CAT - Edward Lear

I

The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea     In a beautiful pea green boat, They took some honey, and plenty of money,     Wrapped up in a five pound note. The Owl looked up to the stars above,     And sang to a small guitar, 'O lovely Pussy! O Pussy my love,       What a beautiful Pussy you are,           You are,           You are! What a beautiful Pussy you are!'

II

Pussy said to the Owl, 'You elegant fowl!     How charmingly sweet you sing! O let us be married! too long we have tarried:     But what shall we do for a ring?' They sailed away, for a year and a day,     To the land where the Bong-tree grows And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood     With a ring at the end of his nose,           His nose,           His nose, With a ring at the end of his nose. III 'Dear pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling     Your ring?' Said the Piggy, 'I will.' So they took it away, and were married next day     By the Turkey who lives on the hill. They dined on mince, and slices of quince,     Which they ate with a runcible spoon; And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,     They danced by the light of the moon,           The moon,           The moon, They danced by the light of the moon.

A PERFECT VIEW ON OLD CAPE COD

Part of the specialness of a vacation are the views. The scenery.

Look through your window and see the wonders of whatever place you are at, whether it's a magnificent view of the beach, or a glowing cityscape.

Welcome to our world. The quaint, beautiful world of beaches and villages, fishing boats and ponds.

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER FIFTY DOLLARS

We have a timeshare. How we got boonswaggled into buying a timeshare I don't want to delve into. It will just give me heartburn and make me feel like an idiot. Suffice to say that however good it sounds, with rare exceptions, they are lying. They are making promises they won't and can't keep and you are going to wind up with a mortgage on nothing. Air. And you will pay a fortune for that empty promise.

Years later, we are still paying for that mistake. One of the things we usually do to try and not feel quite so ripped off, is go on an annual vacation. That way, at least we've gotten something -- not much, but something -- for our money.

This year, at Hotel Hell, it's hard to feel the money has been well spent. And yesterday, we got a call from the resort in Maine where we are technically owners to say they aren't getting the money we send every month to cover the annual maintenance fees.

But ... that money comes out of our account automatically every month. I know, I can see it on our bank statements, online, on paper. Anyway you look at it, the money gets taken out of the account by someone (everyone says "someone else" is doing it -- don't you love that?). So where, exactly, is it going? In all honesty, I'm less concerned with the mechanics than the bottom line.

We don't have spare money, so if that monthly payment is not getting to the Mountainview in Maine, then who is getting it?

Another mystery amongst the many mysteries which make my life so rich with meaning.

To brighten your day, today's pictures of Hyannis harbor are brought to you by Garry Armstrong, photographer deluxe. Whose pictures of the harbor turned out to be far more interesting that mine. Drat!

HYANNIS - THE VILLAGE

Hyannis, by the JFK memorial. Love the curvy design in the walkway. 

Garry Armstrong -- aka The Husband. Bet you didn't know he was a photographer :-)

A doggy bakery and costume shop. Cute!

Totally tourist.

Vaguely Parisian on a bright October day.

I don't understand the connection between the very handsome Native American bronze sculpture and JFK. Nice sculpture, lovely park -- but what's the connection? 

And that was the day that was. Today, in Hyannis, on Cape Cod.