Crazy Legs Connect the Dots

I was not going to stay home and watch March Madness with the Fordham boys - Steve and John, they just have to do that without me. So I decided to head out to the LANES annual conference, "Sharing the Fire". It's an interesting combination of educators and artists, working on networks and professional development - but what really distinguishes us is our attire. The artists are in purple and tie dye and the educators are in business casual. And no, I did not break out the tie dye. Work paid for this, so I figured I was going in my business casual. (Except for crazy legs. And you should be grateful, for if it weren't for tights, I wouldn't have anything fun to post on this blog. You probably get tired of looking at picutures of trees and trails and food you won't be here to eat.) So today, my crazy legs connected the dots between Rebecca the church lady and Rebecca the attention whore.

Ummm. . .Did We Skip Something?

Spring equinox is just days away and we've raced past late March and the whole month of April and landed ourselves right into the middle of May. It's going to crowd seventy this afternoon and tomorrow too. And then the rain is supposed to come back but we won't talk about that now, right?

And on another related note. Who has KELLEY in her name? ME. That's right. And why does Sarah in Hanoi have a more Irish Saint Patrick's day than the parent with the surname KELLEY in GREATER BOSTON which may be more Irish than Dublin???????? Did we skip something here?

A Day at the Shore

These were taken on route 28 the day after the rain stopped and the river spilled out of it's bed and into the street and basements and parking lots. I stood at the waters edge and the waves lapped my toes. Miss home, yet? It was sunny, warm and beautiful - all we needed were sand dunes and a frisbee. ..

Basement Wishing Well

I wish the rain would stop. I wish the water would stop rising. I wish I had a dry basement. Sigh.

(In case you missed the locale, this is taken from the basement steps as I toss coins in to ripple the water. Pretty huh?)

Wet Wild Windy (The Three W's)

I don't think I'll go to work this way.















Or this way















Or This. . .















Oh, the hell with it.

Crazy Legs of Death

The rain is settling in for a good long pour. I am still taking pictures of my tights. The clocks moved forward and the night got shorter and today was a long one at work. I like my job and I like working, but today I would have gladly given it over for a good long sleep in.




March in New England. Say no more.

Plumbers Helpline

I have been redoing the main floor common bath S-L-O-W-L-Y. Originally I took the sink out, removed and replaced tile where it was broken, chipped or drilled into. Then (because I'm trying to be an eco-warrior and assuage my guilty commuter carbon chewing conscience) I got a vanity on craigslist. It didn't fit. Baseboard heater - oops. I then got another vanity -this one a console and a fancy (craigslist again) faucet. The pipes didn't fit. Of course. I cut the pipes. Got new p trap and tail pipe fittings. They don't fit. Of course. Before making one more trip to the hardware store, I figured I would do what I could and see if there was anything else I needed to replace. So I put the faucet and drain in. The drain stop - wrong size. Great. And, oh by the way, guests for the Saint Patricks Day corned beef and cabbage feast. I love my days off. Really. I'm calling a plumber this week. Really.

Tell Me a Story

One of the odd ironies of my job is that although a lot of it is taken up with thinking about and talking about and advocating for children in community, I spend very little actual time with them. Which is why I enjoy Fridays at Callahan so much. I get to spend time with children. They aren't always angels and while some of them treat me like a rock star, others treat me like - uh not. I like it anyhow, humility lessons notwithstanding. I like watching kids have an ah ha moment. I like hearing about a world that I no longer inhabit - not even vicariously through my own kids and I really like to visit the third graders and tell them a story. A week ago at the request of that teacher, I went in to storytell. I usually ask the teacher what the kids are working on and what might be useful for the class to hear. I've done myth, tall tales, lots of folks tales and a handful of contemporary stories. Today I asked if they knew what a fairy tale was. No. That's not a surprise, but when I asked if they'd ever heard the old classics - Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, The Three Little Pigs I got a bunch of blank looks. Video games up the wazoo, but no fairy tales. So I told one. And these technology jaded kiddos lapped it up. They were rapt, attentive (even the ADD kings and queens) and hungry for more. They were willing to give up lunch for a story. Now, we're talking school lunch of course, but along with lunch comes recess and they were willing to give THAT up too. I can't wait to go back. Kids. Stories. Such a perfect combination.

Raining Cats and Crazy Legs

Of course to go along with my crazy cat lady hair I have crazy cat lady tights. Cunning aren't they?
Today the rain returns. We started off auspiciously enough this morning with sun and clouds, but by the time I left work for our late afternoon walk rendezvous the cold rain had begun in earnest. No walk through the woods, just a utility poop loop with the dog between drops. Our on again off again flirtation with spring appears to be off again. I am feeling rather embarrassed that while when I wander the Adventures in Nam blog, there are vistas of temple precincts and volcanoes at dawn, over here on New England Musings, there are pictures of my tights. When tights are the high points of the day, it time to put more meaning in my life.

Nursery Thaw

Walking over Indian Ridge yesterday, we saw vernal pools. Lots of them. I don't know if you remember, but many years ago we did a vernal pool project with the Audubon Society through South School and I learned a lot about them. What magical places. This one in the picture above is a classically located pool at the bottom of a steep slope, in a hardwood forest with run off and snow melt to thank for its existence. The ice is thawing during these warm days and over the next few months the rare and wonderful species that complete their life cycles in these pools will emerge from THE PRIMAL OOZE. Ooops, sorry, just having a nature documentary moment there. Salamanders, frogs, those little fairy shrimp (which are kind of weird). The forest nurseries are not just nests and dens, but these Brigadoons - which appear every spring and evaporate -literally -as summer advances. As I read back over what I've written, I realize the sun is getting to me. Spring, only thoughts of spring these days.

March in the Meadow

October boardwalk between Indian Ridge and West Parish Meadow















March on the same spot

Baker's meadow. It was such a glorious day and we were both back home by a little after 4:00, so we grabbed leash, dog, and camera and headed off to Indian Ridge for our loop hike up the esker, across the road, and around the pond. The swans are back! We only saw the cob initially and I busied myself making up a very sad story about the widower swan returning to the desolate swamp alone. It wasn't quite so desolate as all that, but compared to the glories of last fall, pretty dull in the daylight, and I imagine when the sun goes and twilight drops its grey draperies over the scene, bleak indeed. When we rounded the pound and were able to look across, at last, two swans. She may have been hovering near their nest in the reeds and he was keeping an eye on us. We'll have to watch for the babies. According to birding folks the nest building happens in March and April, the eggs are laid and hatch after 36 days - but since they're returning and probably using most of last years' nest I'm going to bet the eggs get laid somewhere in late March/early April, by mid-May we should see babies. Perhaps before. We'll be starting our weekly treks through Baker's Meadow as another year turns itself toward the birthing, growing, greening season.
This year, as in years past, I am happy to be here as witness the the miracle of life's return.

Going Going Gone

When I took the dog out early this am before my trek to work, I decided to capture the vanishing bits of snow before the forecasted 60 degree high comes this afternoon and when we stepped out on the deck this evening to catch the mauve and peach of sunset, I took a compare and contrast photo at days end. Winter. It's on its way out. Not yet Saint Patricks Day, so we could still get one of those freak spring storms or even more than one, but this time of year even if it looks like snow - it's water. And as you can see - what a difference a day makes. Spring, so close, so close!

Crazy Legs and Chinese Insults?

You decide. The crazy legs parade continues. Todays fashion statement took a certain amount of courage (more than overcoming the voices saying YOU'RE WEARING THAT? kind of courage) because I have no idea what the Chinese characters on my legs said. Someone at work who has a slight knowledge of written Chinese said there was a five and a house glyph in there, but couldn't put together the rest of it. So I'm wondering what my legs actually had to say to the rest of the world. Did they say, for example "a curse of five houses upon your flabby thighs?" or "five people in a house is one too many if one of them is you"? or "full house beats a five card run?" or vice versa. Another puzzle and mystery I'm just going to have to live with. As long as I don't wear them into Chinatown I'm probably okay.

Weir Hill - Check

Hike Ku for Weir Hill Redux

Proletariats
And entitled dog owners
Worlds collide hiking

And that probably says it all. Its a pretty spot, close by and enlivened by very nice water views of Lake Cochichewick as we trace the lakeshore for a bit and traverse the drumlins, but COME ON people!!! Leash laws. And if you don't like leash laws, how about good manners? We knew better than to even try to take Rascal based on past experience, but is it too much to ask that the many people out with pets, pick up their poops and keep them on lead? Steve and I probably won't return in the nice weather, just because it's so stressful to have dogs launching themselves as you with no idea about their propensity to bite or jump. There's a lot of really entitled pet owners out there and we, sadly too proletarian for our environs. This was also the first time I have been out since I came home sick on Tuesday and after less than three miles found that I needed a nap. And after a few short hours awake, went to bed early. Wow. Sleep, sleep, and more sleep. I hope in the service of getting better.

Health Care reform

Phone call equals appointment equals visit to doctor with shockingly low co-pay equals exam equals treatment equals prescription equals (I hope) restored well being.

I'm among the lucky ones. I am fortunate enough to be married to a man who carries a premium health insurance with great benefits. I am fortunate enough to have a job that can be largely done from home if I am unwell and a workplace where self care is expected. Sick? Stay home.

How different would life be if I were an hourly wage earner with little choice about on site hours. How different if I were only able to avail myself of outpatient clinics because I didn't have the insurance coverage or the cash to indulge in the doctor's office visit with people who have my medical history and (medically speaking) my back.

I am grateful for the benefits I have but that doesn't let me off the hook of advocacy for those who do not have this kind of access. What about them Congress? As all of our elected politicians point fingers and haul out the stinky old red herring of "liberal" and "conservative" they are failing in their most sacred and essential task. To govern and to govern well so that the people of the empire are healthy, prosperous and literate. How are we the people doing? Skyrocketing obesity rates, children with medical disorders that used to only be found in adults, rising unemployment, long term unemployment, decaying industrial communities, environmental degradation, drop out rates approaching 50 percent in have not communities, dumbing down in have some communities, meritocracy in have all communities. Looks like poor marks on the congress report card. No one ever asks "can we afford a war?" but when it comes to sane ideas like universal health care, cost is almost the only thing we can talk about. Health Care reform? Lets have all the banks and financial institutions who got bail out money (because they were too big to let fall) underwrite it. That would be fair.

I Surrender

I give up or give in or give a rats ass or something. I crawled home from work this afternoon (after taking full advantage of my opportunities to breathe on every child who crossed my path) and hit the couch with tylenol and ibuprofen and am hoping that this is not flu, merely a viral thing that will run it's course in a day or so. I am such a cat about being ill - when I'm sick I want only to hole up with a blankie and very little else. I suppose there is a good evoluntionary reason for it, if you're inclined to isolation when you're sick, it's harder to infect your fellow tribesmen. Now, I may be making this up in my fever addled brain but it sure sounds plausible. I'll bet if I were sick more often, I could write a whole evolutionary history based only in speculation. Although I think a lot of people have beat me to it. Mmmm blankie. Tea. Tylenol. Mmmmmm.