Essex Salt Marsh
Peter and I both had doctors appointments in the Boston area today, so we decided to head up along the North Shore for some clams. We have been to the Clam Box in Ipswich and wanted to try something new. Dr. O suggested Essex and we checked out Farnham’s first and decided to give them a go. This is the view from the picnic tables just off the parking lot. Very cool and windy today; lovely light and the clams were perfect. So far, our favorite location.
Pink Lady’s Slippers (Cypripedium acaule)
A few months ago I mentioned Pink Lady’s Slippers in a post and I have been waiting for them to show up in the woods next to the house. We have had so much rain lately and very little sun, so I wasn’t sure if we would have a good showing. Each year they seem to spread a bit wider and this year is no exception. There are at least fifty within a hundred feet of our deck. / The US Forest Service has a good description here.
They will be around for another week or so and then disappear back into the forest floor.
Connecticut River / Hadley, MA
The sun has not made an appearance here since last Saturday. In the winter time, it would most likely bum me out to have everything so gray, but this spring has been amazing. So many shades of green and the sky so subtle. It won’t last long, but it is just beautiful. / This shot is made up of 4 different images that I stitched together. They were taken on the levee in Hadley that overlooks the Connecticut.
Pearl
The Pearl and I went for a walk in the mist this afternoon. She as usual found some water to meander through and we had a nice time looking at ducks on the little pond and all the redwing blackbirds hanging out on the cat-tails. She is 10 now and the gray is starting to show up on her face and under her chin. She’s still the sweetest dog in the world, though.
Jardin Botanique de Montreal
Before it started raining heavily yesterday, Cris and I got the chance to go to the Botanical Gardens out near the Olympic site. Since it was so early in the season, there was no charge to enter. The daffodils and some of the tulips were out, and the Alpine garden was especially nice. / Back to the States in an hour or so. It’s been fun.
Lake Champlain flood
I am in Montreal for a few days and decided to take the more scenic route through Grand Isle, Vermont instead of the 89. The level of the lake was quite high; the road was covered in a few places. I couldn’t tell if it was unusual, but a lot of houses seemed to be having issues with water. I’ll be curious to see what it is like when I drive back home on Wednesday. There is rain in the forecast.
Woods
It actually snowed yesterday morning. It melted away by late afternoon, but it was foggy and wet all day. It is much warmer this morning, and still a bit foggy. The sun is out now and all the fog is gone. / This is the view looking south off our deck. The mountain laurels should bloom in the next three or four weeks, and by mid May, there are literally hundreds of pink lady’s slippers (Cypripedium acule) that return year after year.
Snow walk
It was a lovely day yesterday. We had a heavy wet snow overnight, then the sun came out. At about 3.00, Cris and I took the Pearl up into the woods for a walk. Really perfect conditions for the snow shoes. Cris has the more modern metal ones, and I have these older LL Bean jobs that my brother gave me for Christmas many years ago. I forgot to grab a camera on the way out the door (gaiters-check, poles-check, snow shoes-check, camera-duh). So I took this with my phone. Pearl thought I was getting a biscuit for her, which is why she was looking up.
Trees
Our house is surrounded by enormous white pines. Every once in a while, during a storm one of them falls down. Before I became a homeowner I used to love violent weather. Wind, lightening, heavy rains…the more the better. Waking up in the middle of the night with the wind is blowing like crazy isn’t so much fun when you are waiting to hear a loud crack and hoping that an eighty year old tree doesn’t land on your head. When our neighbor Ken decided to have a few of the larger pines around his house taken down, it seemed like a good idea to join in. We began talking to Leon and Shay this summer, and they encouraged us to wait until the winter to have the work done. They showed up Wednesday morning with a giant crane, a chipper, a tractor and lots of chain saws.
These are huge trees. I got no work done over the last two days, watching these guys work to take them down. Shay would clip his climbing harness into the ball of the crane, be raised three quarters of the way up the tree and attach one of these yellow chains to the trunk. He would then rappel down to about 50 feet off the ground and make a cut. The crane would support the weight of the tree and move it over the house to the driveway where it would be dragged to the street.
It is always interesting to watch people who are very good at what they do, and who seem to have lots of fun in the process. Shay was a rock climber when he was younger, and seems to be most comfortable flying around in the air. The crane guy told me that of all the tree climbers he worked with, Shay was at the top of the list.
What a great bunch of guys.
Delaware Memorial Bridge
Peter and I left Tilghman this morning at 5.00. We drove in tandem until I got on 295 to go over the bridge and he went up toward Ithaca on 476. It’s always nice to see the sun rise.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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