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Praetorium Honoris

Sunday, February 26, 2017

Spring?


The trees are still bare but the air is warm, the cardinals are calling, and more bird species are making their presence known with their songs.

To think it looked like this a couple of weeks ago -


That picture was taken on the 12th of February. When The WSO and her babies arrived, a week ago, a lot of that snow was still on the ground. Enough so that on two separate days Little Bit and I were able to exchange snowball "fire" in the back yard. L'il Sweetie had the chance to play in the snow and while at first the coldness was something she didn't care for, after a while she was picking up the snow and attempting to fling it at grandpa, just like her big sister.

Being outnumbered didn't bother me until Little Bit decided that a close assault was in order. I took snow to the ear and staggered off to lick my wounds. So to speak.

Each day saw less and less snow until Friday it was all gone except for a few spots in parking lots where the local snow removal types had piled it, and piled it high. (True story, Worcester, up in the Bay State, tends to get a crap-ton of snow in the winter. After a while it gets piled very high. One May when we went to pick up The Naviguessor at the end of the school year, the snow pile in the parking lot near his frat house was still a good six feet high. Though by that point you'd be somewhat wrong to call it snow. More like a pile of ice and dirt. Not attractive at all!)

Other signs of spring are the cowbirds combing the grass for the insects who are starting to hatch. I tried to catch this flock on the ground, but they got airborne pretty quickly as the cell phone camera was brought to bear -


Friday was a grand day spent over at Colt State Park. Fast by the Bay.


L'il Sweetie enjoyed making piles of wood chips.
Whereas her big sister, Little Bit, was being all photogenic and stuff. (The girl loves the camera, it seems to return the affection.)
While we went to the beach, it wasn't quite warm enough to go in. Tide was out, exposing our rather rocky beach.
Fishermen were hard at work. Lobstermen? Quahoggers. (Thanks Tuffy and Patsy!)
A lot of folks were out. More than I expected. Well, it was a gorgeous day.
All too soon the week was over, up early on Saturday to get the tribe to the airport. Flight out of Providence left on time, big weather system kept The WSO and her babies on the ground in Philly for nearly two hours. But Little Bit had her iPad and a very nice lady moved to another seat so that the girls had the whole row to themselves.


No doubt the flight from LAX to Fresno will be missed due to the storm keeping them grounded in Philly. So hotel in L.A. and on to Fresno on Sunday. So much for having a day to recuperate from the long trip. (And yes, they spent that two hours on the plane, not in the airport. Which was apparently a good thing. The airport was sweltering and the air on the plane was much cooler.)

Still and all, a good visit. The kids had fun. I had fun. Hopefully we'll do it all again real soon. Either here in Little Rhody or out in California. Makes no never mind to me, as long as you're with family, you're home.

No Grandpa, I didn't pick this off the floor. Grandma gave it to me.
Stop eyeballing my cookie Grandpa!
Breakfast of champions. Doughnuts, apple slices, and juice. Also chocolate chip cookies. Apparently.
That smile would make Helen of Troy jealous!
While the robins don't leave the area during the winter, they tend to stay in the woods. Unless spring is close. Yup, robin in the front yard. Probably twenty of 'em Friday, but I neglected to snap a photo.

I circled him as he was hard to spot. Blends right in unless you can see his chest.
Monday is coming. Back to work.

But I won't complain, we're going to go see The Nuke next weekend. After that, it's back to "normal." (Whatever that means...)



20 comments:

  1. Is a lobsterman anything like a lobstahmun?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The same. Former is English, latter is New English.

      Delete
  2. High 80's all last week, clear skies, light winds. Absolutely beautiful. Just enough to start you thinking that Spring might have been early this year.

    But....

    The mesquite's never lie. They haven't bloomed yet and we're expecting rain and chilly (comparatively speaking) temps in the low 60's. Quelle horreur! We shall just have to soldier on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I spoke too soon. Driving rain last night low 40s today.

      But we have turned the corner. I think.

      Delete
  3. Looks like you all had a great time. Thanks for sharing!

    Cold and snowy here but the sun is getting higher in the sky and sticking around longer, so things are headed in the spring direction.

    We have brown-headed cowbirds here. They hang out with the cows, gobbling up cowbugs from the cows and groundbugs from the ground. They also parasitize the nests of other birds by laying a single egg in the other bird's clutch. All the eco-whackos hate them for being evil, IKYN.

    I like Little Bit's boots!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Those were brown-headed cowbirds. The problem with eco-whackos is that they know next to nothing of Nature.

      Little Bit is particular about her footwear!

      Delete
  4. I was looking at the photo of the birds over your house and wondering when you moved to Bodega Bay.

    My Dad often said, "If you've time to spare, go by air."

    On the other hand, ships almost always sail on time. (of course getting from your place to the West coast would be quite the boat ride.)

    The USO in Philly airport is very nice.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The weather played havoc with the flight schedules on the East Coast on Saturday. Delayed most of the flights by a couple of hours.

      The airport in Philly has never been a favorite. The USO is usually good, no matter where you are.

      Delete
  5. Heh, haven't seen a TV tray in years. Memories...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Look again, it's actually a Korean-style table, low to the floor.

      We have a couple of those. We also have a TV tray, just one. It too is pretty handy.

      Delete
    2. The problem with that type table for me (lately) is getting up from them....Knees and back aren't 36 anymore, or 46 or 56 or.......

      Delete
    3. Which is why The Missus Herself got me a TV tray, same reason.

      Delete
  6. Your granddaughters are lovely, but what else should we expect with your beautiful wife. Enjoy the little ones while you can, they grow so quickly. Wish I were at home in NOVA to join the clan, but I'm down in Florida for another month.

    By the way, John, nice Hitchcock reference. I see what you did there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bummer that you can't make it.

      D'oh! I missed the Hitchcock reference. Hey John, what Dave said.

      Delete
  7. RON in LA................We have been having very finicky weather out here. As I type this it is sunny and cold here in the Southeast Kern County Desert.
    I am glad that you and The Missus had a great visit with the WSO and the granddaughters my friend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was most excellent Glenn. Most excellent.

      (I will be hoisting one in your stead next Saturday!)

      Delete
  8. Thanks again for sharing your wonderful family with us.

    Paul L. Quandt

    ReplyDelete

Just be polite... that's all I ask. (For Buck)
Can't be nice, go somewhere else...

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