Rainy Tuesday...Gotta love New England

The morning started off cloudy and dim. Not the kind of day on which one anticipates a relaxing time outdoors, but the roads were still dry and the scooter was running, so it was time to take a ride.


The first stop was Stanley Park again, to get some pictures of the flora. The light rain had left droplets on the flowers.


The roses were especially beautiful this morning.


This particular weeping spruce draws the eye as one travels toward one of the many paths leading down to the ponds. From this angle, it looks much like a slightly misshapen mastodon.


A stroll down to the duck pond and up the other side takes one past an old school house, behind which can be found the herb gardens.


This joyful little fellow seems completely unbothered by both the lack of water in his pitcher and the near miss from the tree branch that most likely came to rest there during the recent hurricane.


It was time to leave the park and continue down the road, but not before a picture was taken of the scooter in front of one of the park's many fountains.

More pictures from the weekend can be found here:

"My cathedral"

Yesterday I woke up a little later than I intended, so I did church by myself. I slung my guitar case over my shoulder and scootered to Stanley Park. While sitting in the rose garden strumming chords, I was reminded of the Chris Rice song: "My Cathedral".


The song talks of worshiping the Creator in the creation. During the hour or so that I spent in those gardens, I felt very connected to my Creator and felt cleansed by the experience.
A wedding was in the process of starting, so I found my way out of the gardens and down to the ponds. There I met this little fella sitting amongst the pond weeds in the frog pond.


My mother had a family get together planned for the afternoon, but I even found some beauty in her backyard.


Today my mother and I took a jaunt up to Deerfield, Mass. to visit Yankee Candle. We stopped at a couple of farm markets and mostly just enjoyed the conversation and time together.


There were flowers everywhere, and lush vegetation. Unfortunately, there were several places where flood damage was plainly seen. I did not get any photos of the flood damage since I was in a moving vehicle, but I may take the time tomorrow to revisit some of the places I did not get to photograph today.

Trailered and trottin'

Ok, so the title's lame, but hey.

Three weeks ago, I was given a pickup truck, so, since I was able to do so, I put the scooter on the back, strapped it down, and went north to Massachusetts. I have been long overdue for a visit home and needed some time to myself, but due to the holiday weekend, I was unwilling to travel the 300+ miles home on two wheels.


As soon as I arrived at my mother's house, the scooter came off the truck, and I took it all through about seven towns. It's running on fresh rubber since it wouldn't pass inspection without tires, and it had an oil change earlier today so performance is at peak levels. I ran it up some back roads through Russel Mass into Huntingdon, then up into Chester to a fresh water spring in Becket, then up into Blandford to walk around the fairgrounds and take in the horse draw.


I sketched a little while watching the horses, then continued on my way back down the mountains into Westfield, stopped in for supper at my mom's house, then headed to Holyoke to visit my sister and her family.


While the ride was fun and the mountain air refreshing, There was something that struck me; everything is run down, the people, the roads, the buildings. Everything.


Mills stand empty, where thirty years ago they bustling with activity.


Weeds and trees have started to reclaim these old buildings. Unfortunately, they seem to be reclaiming the people too in a way. The faces of the people I saw reflect a hopelessness I have never seen in this country. I spoke to three folks I met while riding, and each of them indicated they were out of work and unable to find any employment. These were just average folks, each of them very different in appearance and skills, and each of them struggling to cope with the difficulty finding a job in this state.

On an upward note, I visited with some old family friends who were quite taken with my scooter. They are older folks in their 70's and she's had hip surgery and can't ride his Harley. She loved the step through frame and the big wheels. So, I believe I have won another convert.

I'll have more pictures and comments in a day or two.

Riding around with the wind in my face

Sunday morning dawned, and my wife awoke with a stomach bug. I had intended to go to the Ephrata Ride-in, but had to get my son to Sunday School. We rode the Sabre to Church and had a decent time of it. My son went to his class and I to mine, and it was pretty good, until I started to feel something stirring within my innards, and not in a good way (which would be pretty weird in church anyway). So, after Sunday school, we headed home so I could join my wife in sickbay...so to speak.

On the way home, the kid wanted to run by the ride-in to see the bikes. So, despite my discomfort, we popped through.


I handed the boy my camera and he was able to take a couple clear shots. It was 10:30 by the time we got there, and overcast, and there weren't very many bikes present. I'm not sure whether it was the time, or the weather, or a combination of the two. We passed a fair amount of riders leaving when we were going in, and about the same amount going in as we were leaving.


On the way home, I got lost a bit on the backroads between Ephrata and Manheim. I was a bit worried, but was able to hold myself together. It's one of those times I'm very thankful my Sabre is a smooth ride and that I don't own a Harley Vibro-Glide.

Our Bunny is growing bigger by the day. We found a bit of fencing at Pet-Smart so we let her hop around outside (with supervision). I'll eventually build her a hutch so she can be outside without supervision, but I'm not going to leave her alone in an enclosure she could hop out of or from which a predator could get her.


So life continues unabated. The scooter and the Sabre continue to be reliable transportation, and with gas prices continuing to bop up and down, I'm happy for their judicious fuel economy. Next week is camp week at Church, so I'll be putting back and forth to Woodcrest retreat on the scoot, and gritting my teeth on those bad roads at the campground.

Family addition

Two weeks ago, we added a new furry friend to our ever growing fuzzball population. She is a lionhead rabbit and has a sweet and curious disposition. I've wanted a rabbit for years and our finances allowed for it, so we decided it was time.


My son adores her and Mia (the name he chose for her), seems to take to him pretty well too.

We purchased a green and pink halter for her so we can eventually take her for walks, but she's still so small she slips right out of it. So...we tried it out on the cats.


Jojo was not impressed. He sat on the ground and did a dead man's crawl trying to get out of it. Lizzie's reaction was even funnier.


She held on to the doorjamb and wouldn't let us pick her up until we took it off of her. My hands now bear the wounds of that ordeal. The laughs were worth it.

I don't know how it would work, but I'd love to be able to modify my crate so I can take the bunny for rides on my scooter, but being a gentle animal, I doubt she'd deal very well with the stress of that activity.