by Judy Handley | Mar 1, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 132, Year 9: Eyes on Owls
Date: Saturday, March 1, 2014
Weather: Blue Skies and Sunshine, High in the 30’s F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
Mark and I got a nice, slow start this morning and then went to the high school to see the district-wide science fair projects. It was mandatory for Sam to do a project to display at his school, but it was up to him to decide whether to take his project to ‘big’ science fair. He decided to do it and was very proud of his participant ribbon. We then took Sam and Jonah to Windbird for lunch and on to a mid-afternoon program where live owls were displayed. We saw everything from tiny local screech owls to a huge Eurasian eagle owl (the largest owl in the world). But our favorite was the Snowy Owl and it gave us incentive to go out once again in search of seeing one in the wild. This program was in a town about an hour from here, further out on the Cape, and afterwards we delivered Sam and Jonah to the Massachusetts Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary in Wellfleet on the Outer Cape. Heather and family plus another family they know well were spending the night there but had to check in by 4:30 pm. Since we were just leaving the Eyes on Owls program at that time, we volunteered to deliver them. It was a fun day and we got lots of good photos that I will post tomorrow.
by Judy Handley | Feb 28, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 131, Year 9: First Grade Science Fair
Date: Friday, February 28, 2014
Weather: Blue Skies and Sunshine, High in the 20’s F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
Today was the First Grade Science Fair at Sam’s elementary school. Ollie and I went to story time at the library, headed home to eat lunch, and then drove to the outskirts of Boston to pick Mark up at a T-station. Things did not go quite as smoothly as hoped as I followed the highway signs to the T-station while Mark went to the next T-station at the end of the line. This is where we thought the highway signs would direct me, but not so. But even with the mix-up, we still made it back to East Falmouth just in time to see Sam’s science fair project in the short 2:30 to 3:00 pm window. We got there at about 2:55—barely in time, but we did get to see his project as well as the projects of some of his friends. Sam’s project was ‘developed’ while we were in Culebra. On Flamenco Beach, the sand was so fine and Sam decided that it must come from shell and coral. He noted that back home on Cape Cod, the sand is ‘lumpier’ (his term) and must come from rock. He brought some Flamenco Beach sand home and compared it to sand from a local beach under a high powered microscope. He then put some sand from each environment in a jar of water and added vinegar. He knew from previous experiments that vinegar can dissolve shell but not rock. He was right. The jar of sand from Culebra fizzed and got cloudy when he added vinegar, but the jar of sand from Cape Cod had no reaction to the vinegar. When I arrived in the early morning before Sam and Jonah left for school, I helped Jonah set up an experiment as well. We put an unpeeled Clementine in a pitcher of water to see if it would sink or float. Jonah thought it would sink, but it did not. I then asked him what he thought would happen if we peeled a Clementine and put it in the water. He thought it would float. It did at first, but at the end of the day the unpeeled Clementine was still floating and the peeled one had sunk. We have to do some follow-up to help him understand why this happened, but the important thing today was to give him a science fair ‘project’ so he didn’t feel left out. Ollie got into the act by adding individual pieces of Clementine to Jonah’s water pitcher. Now everyone was engaged in scientific activity.
Heather invited us to stay for an Indian dinner feast. Jed picked up the Indian food on his way home from work and we all did our part to devour it. Tomorrow Sam takes his Science Fair project to the high school where first graders from across the city are bringing theirs for display. Heather, Jed, and boys are then headed to the Outer Cape for tomorrow night and Sunday. Heather has to moderate a panel discussion after a film that WCAI is sponsoring on Sunday afternoon and the housing is offered as part of the deal. Mark and I hope to take Sam and Jonah to a live owl presentation tomorrow afternoon that is on the way to their overnight destination and then meet up with Heather and Jed. Unfortunately the program is not for children under 5 so we can’t take Ollie. But hopefully he will spend that time having a good afternoon nap.
by Judy Handley | Feb 27, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 130, Year 9: The Amazing Oliver Preston Goldstone
Date: Thursday, February 27, 2014
Weather: Skiff of Snow Mid-Day—Again; Still Clear, Cold, and Windy Tonight
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
I realize that I am easily impressed by my grandchildren, but anyone has got to love a 21 month-old who reads while eating lunch—still in his pajamas, no less. I gave Ollie a ‘first course’ for lunch and went back to the refrigerator to get some other things. When I got back to the table, Ollie had pulled Sam’s Scholastic News close to him, opened it, and was fully engaged in ‘reading’ an article about George Washington. And this wasn’t his first antic of the day. He really didn’t want to get dressed this morning, so I let him stay in the pajamas. We were sitting on the couch reading and I got up to go in the kitchen to check on something. When I got back, Ollie had managed to find a tube of deep red lip gloss in Heather’s purse and he had painted his face, as well as his hair. It took a good bit of washing to clean him up, but still at the end of the day his hair was tinted pink. After that clean-up job, Ollie decided to play with the GeoTrax trains in the playroom. Jonah and I got out the GeoTrax on Wednesday and he, along with Jed and Sam, built a roomful of railroad tracks that all three boys are enjoying this week. But this morning, Oliver had the whole set to himself and he played for almost an hour trying out the various controllers and train engines. He wanted me in the room but he didn’t want me to help him. I was just supposed to watch, and so I silently watched as he experimented. He has obviously been watching his older brothers as he knew exactly what he was doing.
Ollie and I had to walk to school to get Sam in a raging snow squall. I had Ollie in the stroller and both of us just had to put our heads down and go. I had a car but no car seat, so walking was our only choice. By the time we got to the school, the snow storm was over and the sun was shining brightly once again. When we got home, Sam had to finish up his science fair project. The projects are due tomorrow and at 2:30 there is a ‘public viewing’ of the projects. Ollie and I will go to the library tomorrow morning for story time, head home to have lunch, and then drive to a T-station on the outskirts of town to pick up Granddad. If things work as planned, Ollie will nap to and from Boston and we should get back just in time to go see Sam’s science project. He collected sand from Flamenco Beach on Culebra and from a beach close to home on Cape Cod. His hypothesis was that sand from Culebra would have more coral and sand from Cape Cod would have more rocks. And as he states, “My hypothesis was right!”
by Judy Handley | Feb 26, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 129, Year 9: Mark at Home for the Night
Date: Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Weather: Skiff of Snow Mid-Day, Otherwise Sunny and Cold
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
Mark took the bus from Boston to Falmouth this afternoon and got to Heather’s with just enough time to read to Ollie for a bit before I had to take him to West Marine. Tonight is their yearly inventory and Mark is working from 5 to 9 pm. By the time I pick him up, it will be time for bed, but at least it won’t be as lonely on Windbird tonight.
Heather doesn’t normally work on Wednesdays, but today she had to travel to Providence, RI, to teach a late afternoon class at Brown University about journalism and science. As a scientist, turned journalist, she is often sought out to speak to college science majors to help them learn how to get their message out to the public. She didn’t have to leave until 11, so I only had Jonah and Ollie alone from 11 to 3:30 pm. Much of that time, Ollie was napping and Jonah and I just had fun playing together. I don’t often get to be with him alone, so it was a special afternoon of fun. Tomorrow and Friday it will just be Ollie and me and then Mark will be home for the weekend.
We found out today that Mark’s sister and her husband are flying up from Florida to spend a week with Mark in mid-March. They will spend the weekday nights in Mass General housing and then travel to the Cape for the weekend. The last time they visited Boston was in 2005 just before we left for our little sailing trip around the world. They are obviously not coming for the weather, but no matter how nasty the weather, I know we will have a wonderful time.
by Judy Handley | Feb 25, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 128, Year 9: Lonely Without Granddad
Date: Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Still Windy and Colder Than Normal
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, North Falmouth, Massachusetts
Ollie and I had a great day, but it was lonely with Granddad. When I arrived at Heather and Jed’s this morning, Ollie just said, “Granddad?” No Granddad. And after nap, he always wants Granddad to hold him and rock him for a bit. When he was not there to do this today, Ollie was sad. But Windbird is especially sad and lonely without Mark. Mark is taking the bus home tomorrow afternoon so he can do inventory at West Marine tomorrow night. So we will have him at home for a few hours before he drives back to Boston with Heather on Thursday morning, Then Ollie and I will drive part way to Boston to pick him up on Friday. He will take the T as far as he can and we will pick him up there—saving me from driving into the worst of the traffic headed into Boston. With all of the back and forth travel, the time will pass quickly even if it is a bit lonely. And on day two, I’m happy to say that Mark is still feeling great. I just wish the weather would be a bit more cooperative. The weather forecast looks the same for the next ten days—colder than normal with nighttime temps often in the teens and daytime temps never getting much above freezing. The forecast calls for periodic snow showers over the ten days and strong winds the entire time. I guess March plans to come in like a lion this year.
by Judy Handley | Feb 24, 2014 | Cape Cod USA, Sailing Logs Year 9 |
Day 127, Year 9: Off to Boston
Date: Monday, February 24, 2014
Weather: Partly Sunny and Windy, High in the 30’s F
Location: At the Home of Sue and John Reed, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Mark and I were off to Boston early this morning. This was the first day of his new chemo/radiation regimen at Mass General. Along with the daily (5 days a week) radiation treatments, he is taking 3 chemo pills twice a day. The chemo pills are capecitabine, brand name Xeloda. So far, so good. He’s feeling great and we’ll hope it will stay that way. We went to a yoga class at the hospital today and Mark plans to go to at least one of the two classes offered each week. The instructor is a woman name Luba. She has been offering classes to cancer patients at Mass General for 17 years and she somehow convinced a very reluctant Mark to return.
I drove Mark to Boston today and will do that every Monday. I intended to drive home after I delivered him and all of his things to Sue and John Reed’s. But since it was rush hour by the time I was ready to head home, Sue and John suggested that I spend the night and return early in the morning. So that is what I am doing. I’ll leave here at 7:30 am and could be home by 9 am. Today it took only an hour and fifteen minutes to get to Mass General. I’m hoping that since it is a reverse commute that the trip home in the morning will be a fast one as well. At whatever rate, I’ll be home in time to take care of Ollie. I’ve promised to get up very quietly in the morning and slip out without waking anyone else.
