"Panda" aka "Special K"

Panda came to the vet's office where I was working. He was a homeless six week old kitty. I called this cat Special Kitty. He had a great personality even at that age. In the 70s, it was a general rule not to spay and neuter until the dog or cat was at least five months old. This led to unwanted litters. My boss thought that kittens and pups could be spayed or neutered as early as six weeks. So he took in unwanted kittens (usually females) to spay and place out in homes where we could keep track of the results of this early surgery. Panda was one of the few males he castrated. The boss's daughter saw this little cat and adopted him, giving him his new name. He had a great life with her, and became a great hunter of mice and, sorry to say, birds. He did not show negative effects of his early neutering, except that he was a rather small fellow with an almost "kittenish" look.

This snapshot showed him in his stalking pose.

Winter's First Snow

Not quite winter by the calendar, but this is what we see from the back step. It's not an unusual snowfall, but, it seems, the weathermen (and women) work themselves into a frenzy. They're out with measuring sticks for hourly reports on the depth. They stand by highways commenting on the traffic or lack thereof and reporting on fender-benders as if they were catastrophes of enormous proportions. People rush to the store for bread and milk when, in all probability, the roads will be open in a matter of an hour or so. Why not just stop and see the beauty of it all?
This isn't a photo that will bring back a memory, but I couldn't resist taking it, even though I have a dozen like it from past years.

The Stone Wall

When I moved in to the house on Jordan Cove, half the back yard was overrun with bittersweet. It took a backhoe to rip it out. Under all those vines was an old stone wall. I think this is what they called a "rubble" wall, but I'm not sure of that. I love yellow flowers and there were a lot of Black-eyed Susans along the side of the lane leading to the house. I kept gathering seeds and scattering them along the wall. Eventually, they took hold and apparently liked being there. In a year, they blossomed and I got this snapshot. I don't know if they are still there, or if the bittersweet came back. That's bittersweet you can see just the other side of the stones. It took some effort to get grass growing here because it was a constant battle to keep it from sprouting up in my newly claimed lawn.

There is a wonderful web site by a very talented photographer. It is StoneWallJack.com. He has beautiful photographs of New England stone walls. A cousin told me about this fellow's work and I take a look every so often.

Praise The Lord Service

This photo is from a few years ago, on the way to Cape Cod. There was a smaller sign telling the time that He would be pumping gas for you.
I don't think this business was there very long, because I wanted to take a better picture on a later trip, and it had closed.

Waterfront, Cape Cod

This is an old photo taken with my old 35 film camera. It was a cloudy day in late September. This might have been in the late 60s. I always loved the Cape in the fall back then. In the 60s and 70s,most vacationers had gone and the town was all but deserted. Shops were closing for the season and you could stock up on sweatshirts for $5 each, among other things. Restaurants were still open and you could have a lovely and quiet dinner. Nowadays, the season extends well into the fall. A main attraction is the National Seashore which is one of my favorite places in the world. I do miss it.

Birthplace

I was born here in this house in an upstairs bedroom. The farm was owned by my mother's parents, both emigrated from England with their families to work at factory jobs until they were able to buy this property. This photo is from the early 1900s, taken by my mother.

My paternal grandmother attended my birth as mid-wife. As a child I was told that I was born on my Aunt Mary's pillow. The property is still in the family, belonging now to a cousin. This photo was taken by my mother who, as a teen-ager, was given a Kodak Brownie box camera as a birthday present. I think that in those days that camera cost less than five dollars. She recorded life on the farm. Original photos were kept and we have returned them to the farm in the care of our cousin. He will pass them on to one of his sons, we hope. The home has been improved, of course, over the years, now having the name of "Brookside Farm", I think.

The town, like so many, is no longer a farming community, although farms still exist there. It has become a rather up-scale place to live.

Back Yard, First Snow

No matter how old I get, I will always love the first snow of winter. Before the sun melts the snow or a breeze shakes the snow off the trees and bushes, everything is transformed from bleak browns and greys. By midwinter, we are counting the weeks til spring. Before too long on this day, three years ago, I had cleared a path around the yard for the dog. She loved the snow, but didn't like to get her feet wet.

Rosie

Rosie was a dog of uncertain age. Found wandering the streets of our town, she was picked up by the dog warden and taken to the pound. The Humane Society had ceased taking strays, but she was given a reprieve by an H.S. worker and brought to their shelter. We were looking for a bit older dog, so when she sat and "smiled" at me, she seemed right for us.We were told she was four years old, but when we got to know her, it was obvious that she was older, maybe eight. She was so well mannered that it seemed unlikely that she was a run-away or just discarded. She was a homebody but loved to go for a ride. She loved snow and cool weather, liked to go for walks, but preferred sidewalks to woods and hated to get her feet wet. She was brushed daily and was often complimented on how beautiful she was. She died of a stroke a year ago. We think she was a teen-ager. We often speculated on her previous owners and wonder how they didn't make an effort to find her.

Mockingbird

On the bank of the cove where I lived, were bittersweet vines. They were very invasive because birds scattered seeds and they would take root where ever they landed. Of course, the birds loved the berries, especially this mockingbird that enjoyed the feast every year. He rewarded us with his song.

Sunset at Harkness Park

This shot was taken in the spring of 1988. Sunsets were always beautiful here. The clouds were just right that evening and I was not the only one trying to capture the scene. This was taken with my old 35 film camera.

Maine's Rocky Coast

We took a trip to Maine in September 1997. The weather was beautiful with bright warm sun and cool breezes. All went well til we decided to go on a whale watch. Rough seas kept most of the boats from going out except one, a catamaran. We were told it was a very steady boat and would be quite comfortable. I don't usually get seasick, but this "steady" boat did me in that day. We did see whales, anyway. I do enjoy Maine and have been there a few times, once even seeing a wild moose. One winter, a lifetime ago, two friends and I took a trip to Maine in a "new" used car. We broke down on the road at night and were rescued by a pleasant fellow in a semi. He got us to an inn in Old Town, where we learned he had a reputation for dangerous driving and was known as "Suicide Bill". It was Dec 30th and no way to get the car repaired til after New Years Day. We spent New Years Eve at the inn where the main attraction was a stripper. I was asked to be coat check person and made forty dollars in tips! The next day the stripper came with us on a shopping trip so she could shop for her kids.