by Judy Handley | Nov 14, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 318: Yard Work with Ollie
Date: Saturday, November 14, 2020
Weather: Rainy and Cooler; High 51, Low 32 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
The rain ended, but it was a cool morning. Ollie, my youngest grandson, wanted to come over to help me with yard work today. I pay him by the hour and I get my money’s worth with him. He is only eight-tears-old, but he is strong and a very careful and hard worker. By 11 am, it was dry enough to get started. Most of the oak leaves fell from the trees during the past few days, adding to an already thick layer of a variety of other leaves. With this many leaves on the ground, it feels a bit like walking in water to wade through them. Ollie mowed and I emptied the mower leaf bag. Or sometimes, he raked and used the leaf blower while I mowed. Both of us worked as fast and hard as we could for over an hour and then the battery on the lawn mower needed recharged. So, we took a break for 30 minutes and then worked for another hour and half. I wanted to get Heather and Jed’s lawn mower back to them so they could use it this afternoon, so when we were ‘close enough’ to being finished, we ate a late lunch while the batteries charged again. Then took Ollie and the lawn mower home, along with my leaf blower. When we arrived, Heather was literally knee deep in oak leaves. She was raking and I don’t think I have ever seen so many oak leaves in one small area. I can dump mine down in the woods beside the cottage, but they have no place to dump theirs. They are making a huge pile and hope they can find someone to come pick them up.
I returned home and went for a walk with Shadow. I had been working outside all day with just a long-sleeve shirt on, but it was now past mid-afternoon and the temperature was dropping fast. My phone said it was 47 degrees F, but I was freezing. I put on my light winter coat, a hat, and gloves, and then went for a walk. It is supposed to get down to 32 tonight, but it should be back in the fifties tomorrow.
I spent my evening dealing with an issue with my recent photos. For my two big outings with the kids this week, the afternoon at The Knob and the trip to Plimoth Patuxent with Ollie, I took loads of photos using my phone rather than my camera. And then I spent a great deal of time editing and naming the photos. My Google phone is supposed to have a really high quality camera, but when I made the photo book for Ollie on Thursday, every time I added a photo I got a warning that the photo quality was not acceptable. In the end, the photos worked out okay for the book, but I mentioned this to Heather and Jed. They suggested that maybe I had used the wrong method of importing the photos. The photos were all still on my phone, which means they were also still in Google Photos online. When I checked, sure enough, the photos were extremely high quality on my phone and in Google Photos, but much reduced on my computer. So, I had to go back and download all of them again, which also meant renaming and re-editing the newly imported photos. I think I understand what I did wrong and hope not to repeat that again!
by Judy Handley | Nov 13, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 317: Shopping Away a Rainy Friday the 13th
Date: Friday, November 13, 2020
Weather: Rainy and Cooler; High 52, Low 39 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
My plans for laying low on Friday the 13th changed when I woke up worried that we are going to be in another lockdown period soon because of the rise in coronavirus cases. Falmouth is in Barnstable County and there have been 137 new cases over the past seven days, according to the State Department of Public Health. The Barnstable Town Health Agent Thomas McKean is quoted as saying, “We are definitely going back up to the height of that (pandemic peak) curve in the spring.” That got me to thinking that my planned computer work today could be delayed so that I could make a trip to Costco. There are enough items that I buy only there because they are eons cheaper than anywhere else, that it warranted the trip off-Cape to do a little stocking up. , Luckily, just before the spring lockdown, I had made a trip to Costco to stock up for the next six months. I could get everything else delivered by Rory’s or by trips to Stop and Shop every couple of weeks. Then in mid-summer, things were better and shopping was almost back to normal. But that could end abruptly. So, Shadow and I headed north for the hour and ten-minute drive to Costco. I shopped for almost an hour and then we returned home just in time to pick Ollie up after school. It is a long trip, but I will rest better tonight knowing I have the pantry stocked for another lockdown “just in case”.
00 Deepavali or Festival of Lights in Little India
03 Evening in Bustling Little India
16 Little India–What a Magical Place
Everyone in our Dining-in Group got an email this evening from Olivia White wishing us ‘Happy Diwali’. That immediately brought back wonderful memories from October of 2009. Windbird sailed into Singapore on Thursday the 23rd of that year, and after getting settled in a marina on Sentosa Island, on that very first evening in Singapore, we headed to Little India for the Indian celebration of the Festival of Lights. We were told, “Little India is dressed to the nines with lights, lights, and more lights. You don’t want to miss it.” Along with three other cruising couples, Mark and I took a free shuttle bus to get off Sentosa Island and then hopped on the Mass Rapid Transit subway to Little India. Little India is the section of Singapore that is home to thousands of Indian men who leave their families to come work in Singapore and send the money home. It was just getting dark when we arrived and we found ourselves walking shoulder to shoulder down a street filled with thousands of people and Deepavali lights overhead that were just beautiful. We loved it so much that we returned the next night to attend a cultural performance. Diwali, as it is spelled in Northern India, is one of the most popular Hindu festivals. It is a five-day long festival that originated in India and is mentioned in early Sanskrit texts. “Diwali symbolizes the spiritual victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.” It is a Hindu holiday, but it can easily be celebrated by all. Diwali falls in either October or November each year, depending on the cycle of the moon. This year, it begins tomorrow. It is generally referred to as the “Feast of Lights”. In South India it is called Deepavali which comes from the Sanskrit vocabulary meaning a ‘line of lamps’, but the Sanskrit word has been modified by the people of North India who refer to the festival as Diwali. Whatever you want to call it, I personally think we should all celebrate ‘light over darkness, goodness over evil, and knowledge over ignorance’ every day of the year.
by Judy Handley | Nov 12, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 316: Rainy Day Activities
Date: Thursday, November 12, 2020
Weather: Rainy; High 64, Low 47 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
Yesterday’s mist turned to real rain last night and still continues. It is not a hard rain, just a constant drip drop. According to Weather Underground, today was one degree warmer than yesterday, but it sure felt chillier. The rain is forecast to continue through tomorrow and the temp is supposed to drop by ten degrees and get even cooler through the next week. Next Wednesday is supposed to have a high of 40 and a low of 26 degrees F. Time to break out the fall sweaters!
There was a Newcomers monthly meeting this morning on Zoom. I tuned in for the 30-minute business meeting and then an hour presentation by a Massachusetts cranberry grower. Dawn Gates Allen led us through a year in the life of a cranberry. The United States is the world’s leading cranberry producer. There are five states that grow cranberries and Massachusetts used to lead the pack. But it has now been surpassed by Wisconsin. Wisconsin produces half of the cranberries in this country, followed by Massachusetts producing another third. Washington, Oregon, and New Jersey produce most of the rest. Cranberries are native only to North America, although China is trying to get into the cranberry market. Cranberries are one of three commercially grown crops—cranberries, blueberries, and Concord grapes–that are native to the United States, and all three are native to Massachusetts. I gained a greater appreciation for the organically grown cranberries that I buy. There are a couple of insects that make the use of pesticides almost a necessity. I would love to learn how the organic growers get around the use of pesticides.
It was after 11:30 when the program wrapped up and Shadow was waiting patiently for his morning walk. It was raining, but not hard enough to keep us from doing our daily mile. Then I launched into a photo book project for Ollie. I promised to get a book made for him about yesterday’s tour of the Mayflower II and Plimoth Patuxet. Normally, all Falmouth third graders would be going on this field trip. But because of Covid, there are no school field trips this year. So, Ollie wanted to share his trip with his whole class. I had barely hit the send button to CVS to get a same day book printed when it was time to go pick Ollie up after school. I took him home and headed back to my house to spend the last few minutes of daylight with Shadow. And I had a phone call from my good friend Leslie Kole in New Hampshire. I haven’t talked to her since August, so we had lots of catching up to do. She has a brand new puppy, a female cockapoo named Quinn. She is very excited but struggling with those first few weeks of training with a new puppy. By the time I got off the phone with Leslie, it was time to go back to the CVS in town to pick up the photo book for Ollie. I delivered the book and asked him to proofread it to make sure Oma had not made any mistakes. He was very excited and took the proofreading job very seriously. He found only one error. I wrote that he was ‘sitting’ on a rock when he was actually ‘leaning’ on the rock. I told him that I hoped he might be the only person who notices that mistake. What a careful eight-year-old proofreader!
by Judy Handley | Nov 12, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 315: Visiting the Mayflower II and Plimoth Patuxet
Date: Wednesday, November 11, 2020
Weather: Overcast, Misty Rain Late; High 63, Low 47 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
On a normal Veteran’s Day, I would have spent my morning downtown at the Veteran’s Day observance. But, as we all know, nothing is normal these days. Instead, I spent my time mowing the tons of oak leaves in my yard. Then Upper Cape Septic came to put the new lid on my septic tank, so I had to stop mowing. It was just as well, as it was almost time to go pick up Ollie. I had told him that I would pick him up at 12:30 to take him to Plymouth to see the Mayflower II. Sam and Jonah had an afternoon Scout project, so it was just me and Ollie.
We arrived in Plymouth and started our ‘tour’. We walked by a statue of William Bradford that stated that he was the Governor of Plymouth Colony. Ollie agreed, but said he was not the first. He told me that would have been John Carver. Why was there not a statue of John Carver? I was getting a history lesson from my eight-year old grandson. Next, we stopped to view the Plymouth Rock which is not nearly as big as one would expect. Then it was on to tour the Mayflower II. It left Plymouth in November of 2016 for a total restoration and just returned in September. Ollie had only seen a glimpse of it as it left the Cape Cod Canal and headed out to sea. So, he was anxious to get a closer look. We had agreed to just look at it from afar if there were too many people, but there was no line and only four families aboard, so we went for it. When I was buying the tickets to tour it, the gentleman asked me if I wanted to buy the combined ticket to also tour Plimoth Patuxet, formally known as the Plimoth Plantation. Ollie said he would really like to do that, so I say okay. We didn’t spend long on the Mayflower, but long enough for Ollie to explore all of the decks and get a first-hand look at the rigging. We stood on the main deck and looked back into the forecastle or fo’c’sle that housed the crewmen. Then we headed down to the tween deck where the 102 passengers lived with their farm animals during their 66-day trip across the Atlantic. Ollie just couldn’t imagine how that many people existed in that small space for two months. But then he turned his attention back to the ship’s details. The main mast, the capstan, the ship’s helm, and again the rigging. He was fascinated by the rigging and kept asking me to take more photos of it. But once we had seen it all, he didn’t want to hang around. He was very aware of being in an area with other people during Covid and didn’t want to be there for long. So, we traveled on to Plimoth Patuxet. This is the new name for what has been called Plimoth Plantation in the past. The Plimoth part is the 17th century English village built by the Pilgrims. The Patuxet part is the Wampanoag Native American Homesite, close to the Pilgrim village. And if you are like me, you are wondering why I keep switching from Plimoth to Plymouth. Plimoth is the Old English spelling that eventually became Plymouth. Some things are labeled ‘Plimoth’ and others are labeled ‘Plymouth’.
On this day 400 years ago, November 11, 1620, the Mayflower set anchor off Provincetown. It wasn’t until December that they finally anchored the Mayflower in Plimoth Harbor. There were 102 people aboard the Mayflower, but only half of them made it through that first winter. But more people came and they persisted in establishing a lasting village in Plimoth. The Pilgrims had an interesting relationship with the local Native Americans, not always respecting the fact that they were settling on land that did not belong to them. But without the help of the Wampanoags, it is doubtful that they would have survived. When Ollie and I arrived at Plimoth Patuxet, he wanted to head to the Wampanoag Homesite first. He got to see wetus (homes) covered and uncovered, and a number of different mishoons or dug out canoes. Ollie also noted the way they grew their corn in hills of dirt.
From the Wampanoag Homesite, we walked to the 17th century English village built by the Pilgrims. Crude clapboard homes with thatched roofs, packed clay floors, clay and wood fireplaces, and furniture they brought from England. You walk through the fort and then down into the village on a wide path. There was a movie being shot today and that involved Pilgrims firing muskets. Interesting to watch. I told Ollie that I knew he was distantly related to a couple of the Plimoth Pilgrims on his Grandma Marti’s side of the family, but unfortunately, I didn’t know which ones. But he enjoyed meeting the guides dressed in period costume and wondering which ones might be relatives. We met Governor William Bradford and later we found out that he is one of the relatives through one of his daughters. Ollie enjoyed watching a woodworker making legs for stools, and he really enjoyed the sheep and the one cow. Ollie wants to return sometime with his mom and dad, but he was so excited that he got to see what he has been studying and writing about for the past month. And since I had never been aboard the Mayflower and had never visited the Wampanoag homesite nor the Pilgrim village, I was delighted with the afternoon. As we walked out of the village, Ollie was ahead of me and I really wanted to know what he was thinking as he walked up the path. But I didn’t dare interrupt his quiet time. He likes to process things and then talk about them later, so by the time he got home, he was talking non-stop to Heather about everything he saw. I learned a lot today and I’m certain he did as well. Great day.
by Judy Handley | Nov 10, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 314: Afternoon at Quissett
Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Weather: Sunny; High 66, Low 57 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
Amazing. We had another summer-like day in November and I enjoyed every minute of it. Shadow is now walking a mile in the mornings with me, after a break in our walking for the first few days after his surgery. We enjoyed our walk this morning as he seems to be recovering quickly. Then I had my monthly Newcomers book club meeting. Five of us met in person in the backyard of our fearless leader, Sally Holbrook, and two other members joined us on Zoom. We had a new member join us today and we spent time introducing ourselves to her and learning about her move to Falmouth. She is quite a bit younger than the rest of us, but it is great to have new energy. Then it was time to pick Ollie up from school as this was an Early Release day. We had planned to drive to Plymouth to see the Mayflower, but the weather was so spectacular that he didn’t want to spend it riding in a car.
I agreed, so I took him home where Heather had convinced Sam, Jonah, and Sam’s friend Robert that it would be fun to visit Quissett Harbor and walk out to The Knob. It is a beautiful spot this world. The Goldpebbles LOVE Quissiett Harbor, so off we went for an afternoon of fun in the sun.
On the car ride to The Knob, I warned the boys that I read on Facebook that there have been some changes to the winding, narrow seaside path out to the rocky hill overlooking Buzzards Bay known as The Knob. I read that it is no longer narrow and winding as it has been widened considerably. When we got there, they started down the path in front of me and then I heard the sighs of exasperation. “How can the signs tell us to respect nature when they have destroyed it?” I found them high atop a pile of brush that has been cleared to make the path wider. I tried to explain that the brush will grow back soon enough. They were having none of it, but they soon got over it and continued on out the path. There is a rocky beach on the right side of the path and they climbed down the stairs to sit on the rocks. Then we walked on out to The Knob, enjoyed the view of Buzzards Bay, and headed back by way of the rocky beach along Quissett Harbor. They spent a lot of time adding to the rock cairns along the way. Each boy built cairns that they were very proud of and grabbed my phone from time to time to take photos of them. As we walked back, there were boulders and lots of rocks to negotiate, so I was always bringing up the rear. As I picked my way carefully through the rocks, mostly looking down, at one point, I looked ahead a bit and saw these skinny pink legs topped by a black back standing on a boulder. My first thought was that it looked like a rather gigantic black-winged stilt bird, but then I realized it was just Sam. I had been amazed by his restraint of not jumping into the water today. But now he had started wading to find rocks for another cairn.
The Goldpebbles + Robert ended their adventure by making sand balls and throwing them at boulders out in the water. I am always amazed at how much time boys can spend truly enjoying such an activity. But I just sat on a rock and waited, soaking up the last rays of today’s sun and the sound of boys enjoying a battle with a boulder. Ah, the joys of the simple things in life.
by Judy Handley | Nov 9, 2020 | 2020 Life Logs |
2020 Life Logs, Day 313: Another November Summer Day
Date: Monday, November 9, 2020
Weather: Sunny; High 70, Low 51 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
It was another summer-like day in November. The sun was shining and the temperature was 70 degrees. I put on a long-sleeved shirt and jeans and walked with Shadow. But I was actually too hot and had to come in and put on a tank top. It was that warm mid-morning. Then I started preparing the garden for the winter, did some yard work, and just generally enjoyed the day. I was disappointed in my garden this year, but the fact that I am still picking tomatoes on November 9th made me take a deep breath and reassess.
Lettuce, arugula, kale, and Swiss chard just didn’t do well. But beans and tomatoes, crops that like warmer weather, flourished. The strawberries I transplanted a month ago from the hanging pots on Heather’s deck are flowering and producing little strawberries . . . in November. So that worked. Clearing a few trees to expand my garden and planting tomatoes worked. So, I will think about all of this over the winter and make plans to try again next year.
I am so thankful that I am able to do yard work this fall. The two herniated discs in my back are healing. But I do still have to be careful. Raking just doesn’t work, but the new leaf blower works great. I always hated noisy leaf blowers, but this one is battery-operated and is not nearly as noisy as the gas-powered ones. It allows me to blow the leaves out of nooks and crannies and then I am using Heather and Jed’s battery-powered lawn mower to mow the leaves. They get chopped up and go into the lawn mower bag. I then drive the mower with the full bag to the edge of the woods where I am dumping the leaves. I can easily handle the weight of the full lawn mower bag. Last year I raked and put leaves into big paper leaf bags. Then I had to haul those to my car and take them to be composted. The bags were big and heavy. I just couldn’t do the yard work that way without throwing my back out. This year’s solution is working so much better for me. I can once again enjoy doing yard work.
Tomorrow I have a book club meeting in the morning and then I pick Ollie up at 12:20 as it is an Early Release day. I have offered to take all three boys plus Sam’s friend Robert to go to the beach, go hiking, or bring them here to go kayaking. If the older boys decide they just want to hang out at home, Ollie and I are going to drive to Plymouth so he can see the Mayflower II. He has been studying about the voyage of the Mayflower and would like to take a closer look. We got a glimpse of it as it exited the Cape Cod Canal on its way back to Plymouth, but now that he has read about the number of people onboard and some details about life as they sailed across the Atlantic, he will see it through different eyes.
