Antigonish

I couldn't see him there at all! 

Vi's daffodils are lined up along this sheltering, south facing wall.

Last night, somewhere in episode one of season four of "Death In Paradise," one of the actors asks, "Don't you know Antigonish?" The line flew by in a flash, but it got me thinking—I do know Antigonish, somehow, someway. Either I know the poem or I have been in the Nova Scotia town.

Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man who wasn't there.
He wasn't there again today,
I wish, I wish he'd go away...

When I came home last night at three,
The man was waiting there for me
But when I looked around the hall,
I couldn't see him there at all!
Go away, go away, don't you come back any more!
Go away, go away, and please don't slam the door...

Last night I saw upon the stair,
A little man who wasn't there,
He wasn't there again today
Oh, how I wish he'd go away...

It's an odd little poem written in 1899 by a professor who was an early proponent of early childhood creativity (and  also a proponent of John Dewey, who has been my pedagogical mentor). Strangely, this poem has percolated through our popular culture, becoming a hit song (at one time played by Glenn Miller) and infiltrating itself into things like our recent episode of "Death In Paradise."  BTW, the plot of the episode was pretty much based on the poem.

Cloudy and cold, in the 30s. Spring has stiffened up—very little bounce left in it. On my bike ride today my hands froze to the handlebars.

Riding The Wind

Trillions of kilowatts ripping by every few minutes.  

Rhubarb, making its spring appearance

What wild weather! Yesterday a slicing cold wind with heavy snow squalls. This morning a hard freeze. This afternoon temps in the 60s on tempestuous air. Tomorrow, so I'm told, a winter storm named Ursula???

Bike ride this afternoon. Applying the sailing advice I give novices, I started out upwind. Occasionally I'd get going pretty well only to plow into a gust that felt like slamming into a fish net stretched across the road. But... The ride home was a different story, and I got back almost before I left.

The NYT had an article today referencing a scientific study of the benefits of walking in nature. In summary, the activity seems to have positive results. There were several hundred comments, all of which I felt obligated to read. In summary, Duh!

So here a few semi-related items:

The World Is Too Much With Us

BY WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not. Great God! I’d rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.

I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.  —John Muir 

Peace is every step. 
The shining red sun is my heart.
Each flower smiles with me. 
How green, how fresh all that grows. 
How cool the wind blows. 
Peace is every step. 
It turns the endless path to joy.   —Thitch Nat Han

Solvitur ambulando.

Snow Squalls

And lots of wind.  

Down to Batavia for Dan Russo's retirement dinner, and reminiscing with old friends. Some funny stories, like the one in which the senior class stole a pile of stationery from the office and then sent official-looking letters home to all freshmen parents telling them that on a certain day their child, like all freshmen, was required to bring in a stool sample and give it to the nurse.

(Full disclosure: this prank actually happened at a different school, though we had a few come close to that level of hilarity at Batavia.)

We Flew Home

Or so we wished. Twelve plus hours, what with stops and backups caused by accidents—two semis on their sides and one SUV USD.

But we made it. The hot water is almost hot and the furnace is chasing away a little interior chill. Pax has limped around the back yard. And, as usual, Chinese take-out awaits.

All The Way To Littlerock

Eighty-four degrees on arrival after eleven hours on the road. Heavy storms here yesterday. Pleasant, rustic "cottage" in old town LRock.  

We are on the balcony upper right

Wisteria wandering wantonly.  

Pax still lifting his right rear, but we all remain hopeful.  

Tomorrow there has to be a change of season. Summer here, reports of snow and ice at the cabin on Pickerel Lake. Somewhere in between the twain must twist.  

Last Dinner in Texas

Winding down in Rockport. A couple of crab cakes and lemonade at Moondogs. Dinner at Paradise Key...flounder, snapper, shrimp. 

Kids are not allowed to climb the trees in Moondogs

The flats ( Intercoastal Waterway)

Pax has not had the best vacation. The minute he stepped out of the car on arrival he took off after a cat and came back limping. He's been on a short leash ever since. It looks like he is improving, but progress is slow.  

Riding In The Rain

Steady light rain requiring occasional stops to clear the windscreens.  

At the outset  

White Chinese orchid tree

Pink Chinese orchid tree

A liveaboard  

Traditional dinner at Comales

What could possibly pollinate a Chinese orchid tree? I'd say bird or bat.  

Living aboard a small boat has romantic appeal, but I suspect is more enjoyable in the breach than the observance. 

Excursion

To Port Aransas and Mustang Island for a walk on the beach and lunch (oysters and shrimp, of course). Somewhat later Sue dropped my bike and me off at Memorial Park, and I enjoyed an eleven mile ride back home. Rockport is a great place to ride, even though the city does almost nothing to encourage it. 

ON the ferry

Offshore oil rig in for repairs  

Port A breakwater in the distance

Oysters coming ashore in Fulton.

Bike ride

South Easter

Intense sun and a hot north wind. Easter dinner with J & ME's friends Eileen and Vester. 

There's More To Life Than Food...

...but after breakfast at Rosita's and dinner at Captain Benny's it's hard to know what.  

Oysters...

...barbeque, and basketball. 

And I'm just getting started.  

Snny and perfectly pleasant. 

Got Here Somehow

Long drive. Multiple accidents witnessed. Two and a half hours getting through Houston. (Note to self: never again.) But to Rockport at last, and awaiting us for dinner freshly-caught drum sprinkled with neighborhood-grown lemon.

Pax is enjoying his old stamping grounds.

Six lanes down to two, then an accident reducing two to one. Over an hour getting around that. 

Exploring

Hike to the top of the mountain. Lunch at the Magazine Mountain Lodge overlooking Petit Jean valley and river far below. Dinner in Paris--bbq and catfish. 

The very rustic cottage.  

View from the heights.  

Steep and Curvy

From Whitewater to Magazine, Arkansas.  

Last two hours twisting through the Ozarks. Stiff headwinds all day--at the moment roaring through some surrounding pines. 

Now sitting on the deck of a very rustic cabin 2.5 miles down a gravel road. A fine view of the highest point between the Alleganies and the Rockies. 

Packing

Pleasant day. Mostly sunny, chilly, but with a moderate SW breeze. 

Pax got a good brushing, a bath, a long walk, another brushing, nail clipping, a bike ride, and some preventative medicinal treatments.  Now he's nervous, because of all that, and from seeing suitcases hauled to the car. I think he smells Texas.

The tall dead grasses in the prairie rustle loudly even in a slight wind. All burned off last year. Again this year? Surely things are greening up down below.

Brisk Bike Ride

Pretty chilly going downhill and up wind, but still highly enjoyable.

This morning, in honor of Sue's actual birthday, we followed our usual routine and went out for breakfast at the very unassuming, but still very good, Parkview Restaurant in Milton, where, in deference to the large number of people in a small space, we shared a table with two omelet aficionados. On the way there we listed, or rather tried to list, all the places to eat in Rockport that we hope to revisit. Even forgetting some, it looks like at least two meals a day will have to be eaten out.

Lots of robins in the neighborhood, working hard to keep the earthworm population in check. In one small patch of parkland I counted 18 of them, clearly focused on the job. 

Another UnBirthday

With the kids in Fox Point while the parents attended a school. Foundations fundraiser. 

The weather continues cool. 

Back to Chilly

Cloudy and cool. The initial spring explosion has been tamped down, and now things are progressing at a more natural pace. 

After all, it's still March, and March means crocus, squill, and basketball. 

Oconomowoc Fun

A bright, cool day with a slowly diminishing wind. 

Creek over its banks and moving fast. 

Afternoon in Oconomowoc with the girls, followed by dinner and a little un-birthday party for Mimi. 

Wild West ,.,.,.,.,Wind

Heavy thunderstorms last night. Rain this morning. Wind this afternoon. Lots of wind. Gusts so strong they've blown the fir right off the fir trees and the wood right out of the dogwoods. 

And talk about gusts! I don't really understand them. You can hear a roar off to the right and see the trees bent in half. Then a roar off to the left and the trees bent double. And then, a few moments later. you're blown away. How does the wind get so chunky? What gives the gusts their chutzpah?

I think Lakes Michigan and Huron collected a lot of water over the past 24.