Spring 2023

Every year a swan couple nest in a pond just off the bike path. We met the 6 cygnets on a Saturday, by Tuesday there were 2, and by Friday they were all gone. We think snapping turtles were the culprits.. 

Katy and I went to our North Salem NY class of 1992 high school reunion, held for the first time. Our graduating class had 59 students, most of whom we had known since kindergarten. That's my first grade class and 6 of these classmates showed up.

Heather had her 25th Yale reunion. The older girls stayed overnight for the gala dinner but Tessie and I had other plans

like Wier Farm NHP, Connecticut's only park site that commemorates the relatively obscure American artist J Alden Weir

In Somers the fish were biting

and there were a number of big dead or dying bluegill. Unclear what the cause was, but the lake otherwise seemed perfectly healthy with plenty of bass and turtles

Spraying herbicide to control invasive phragmites

Katy's crew stopped by on their way back from their Peace Corps reunion

Caroline's high school Envirothon team competed in the state meet. Fielding 3 returning veterans from the national championship team, they were feeling the pressure but came away with the state title. The national competition this year is international, held in New Brunswick in late July.

I explored Purgatory Chasm State Park, a mini Mohonk-like zone of granite boulders. 

I would like to point out the sexism in this name and suggest that such crevices are better named Fat Person's Misery or perhaps Broad People's Discomfort

We maximized fun by splitting up for a few weekends. While Heather and Tessie were in the Carolinas, I took Erin and Caroline and a couple of Caroline's friends up to the White Mountains. We did the Cannon-Kinsman loop to conquer three 4,000-footers. I was OK for the first 3,000 feet of elevation gain but the next 2,000 kicked my butt. But we completed the 12-mile loop.

Rain and fog obscured all views. We hope for better when we return to the other side of Franconia Notch in August for a 3-day AMC hut hike.

In NC with Nana and Tia and Uncle Chris

Riley got so tired that he had to be carried for the final section of the hike

Tessie finished another year of travel soccer

and she competed in Waltham Track's spring program. In addition to the traditional track and field events they offered a race walk, which Tessie completed with a ring pop

Erin ran the 800 and the mile for the Clarke Middle School spring track team. Although her times didn't improve over last year, her heel remained pain-free, which we hope bodes well for high school XC in the fall

At the state meet Clarke Middle School took second place to Diamond, the other Lexington middle school. This is the usual pattern for sports, but in academic competitions Clarke usually bests Diamond.

Caroline dressed up for her Sophomore Spring Fling

Tessie dressed up for her piano recital in a dress from Heather

I attended a scientific meeting in Bologna, Italy. Bologna was heavily bombed during WWII and not much historic remains, hence the lack of photos. The conference had the most espresso servers per capita of any that I have attended and helped me fend off jet lag for the entire trip.

On another weekend where Heather and the older girls were off gallivanting to rock concerts, Tessie and I hosted a sleepover with her friends

Tessie's last 4th grade school event, her Comic-Con poster featuring her story, "Leave Me Alone", about a horse rider who spurns a suitor but eventually comes around. Hmm...