Ahhh.these  beautiful early summer days.. though I guess it’s technically still spring.   Last night we went to our friends Beth and Scott’s weeding party in Mills river park.. .they had done up the pavilion in the park very elegantly.. it was a great  night. they looked really happy !

On the way home we decided to surprise Hannah and Dave with a visit since we were near their house.  Adah and Senyah were still awake which was cool. Adah borrowed my glasses. Then she dug up her old stuffed bunny that she used to call ‘whiskers’., which is what she now calls me.. !

The girls fell asleep while Dave, Hannah. Diane and I got to catch up.

I always love the artwork in their house.. I especially love this piece which has an expression I remember my grandfather Dave using often.

Today started   earlier than I intended.. Gabe’s alarm accidentally woke us at 4:47 AM.. Ugh.. We managed to get back to sleep anyway. The early morning was rainy but got up into the 60’s and sunny for the afternoon. Perfect !. We spent the day working in the gardens which is wonderful and mindless. II occasionally found my mind wandering back into work.. but closed it off when I noticed it. I tried to keep my mind empty or on the dirt..

During one of our work breaks I happened to notice a small pile of sawdust under the table that we’re table-sitting for Deb and family  ..  I checked out the sawdust and found a small hole in the table.. and.. a big fat white wood worm !  The same thing happened to deb about 10 years ago.. .. I think the table wood is supposed to be 300 years old.. so who knows how long this guy has been blindly chewing around in there.. ?!

Speaking of industrious animals.. Diane called my attention to this busy ant trying to transport a dandelion seed from one place to another. Look at the stamina here !

This evening we went out to eat (single Pebble) with our friends Jen and Tim.. It was a nice night in Burlington.. everyone was out in the streets.. We had a great meal then took our friends on what we always called the ‘Burlington art tour’.. That means looking at the 30 year old marble sculptures along battery street by the lake..

This is such a beautiful town..  !

We just got off a 1.5 hour Skype call with Deb and kids from Buenas Aires.. they’re all doing great. It’s late now so I’ll say goodnight.. talk to you all tomorrow.. G’nite Sam !
-me

Sleepy Saturday afternoon.. I just woke up from a couple of hour nap. This morning Diane and I drove up to Waterville, VT.. about an hour north of here to visit our freinds Marci. Matt and Lili and help them get their garden in. Marci is our wonderful Reiki and massage juju sorceress. It was a beautiful drive up. Waterville is a cute little town up near Johnson. Blevedere (the nations biggest asbestos mine .. eeeek !) and Morrisville.   Marci and Matt bought the place about 2 years ago.. and this is my first time seeing it. It’s a cute 1890’s town builidng that’s been a pig farm , a five and dime..and now a family home. Its been really nicely redone to make it bright and cozy..

Matt and Marci’s house is in the center of town. Waterville is pretty

tinly. Two chiurches.. .. one on either side of their house , a green

and and a country store.

Diane got right to work helping Marci get in onions, tomatoes, flowers, cukes, squash, etc..

My job was to help Matt straighten out the fencing.. which was fun and easy. It was fun workign with Matt.   I’d never met him face to face before.. so it was a good way to get to know him.. If ‘good fences make good neighers.’ as Frost says.. then sagging fences make new freinds..

My second job was to take over the tilling from Marci.. They’re putting in a new pumpkin patch.. so I spent a pleasant hour yankign around their tiller. I love that kind of work.. dirty, noisey and mindless.. It felt great..

We got home around 2:30 and I fell immediately asleep.. Driving always does that to me.. Diane woke me at 4;30 to get ready for Beth and Scott’s wedding tonight. If she hadn’t I’d probably have slept on through the night !

OK.. we’re off to the wedding.. It’s outside at Mills River park.. should be nice more about that tomorrow.   TTYL folks.. Nite Sam
-me

Hot day today.. It was 93 degrees when I got home htis afternoon.. that’s abotu 65 degrees warmer than it was on monday night.. Not many places you can live with that sort of temperature range !

I had a busy day with phone meetings.. still trying to find the best ways to add value at work. I did take my lunch time to go see a talk by Van Jones, Obama’s ‘Green Jobs Czar’.   Jones is the founder of Green for All, an orginization that helps put people back to work helping the country go green.

Jones was in town to speak at the VT Expo… a trade show set up by the

Vermont Chamber of Commerce. I met up with some of my fellow board

members from the Echo Center.  Jones gave a really great talk aboout this administrations intention to  rebuild america by investing in green technology. He talked about a program that puts jobless folks to work weatherproofing homes. He described how doing that takes folks off of public assistance, lowers homeowners heating expenses, increases home value and reducces the amond of electricity generation required… It’s good all around.  His story was really compellign and entertaining.. He talked abotu the need to get more kids interested in engineering and sceince.. a topic very near to my heart. It made me proud to be a geek !  He finshed by sayign that 100 years from now..(if we’re still here.. he added)  that Barack Obama will not be remembered as the first black president.. Jones said he’d be remembered a the frist green president.. cute !

After the talk I got the chance to meet Jones and tlak to him for s short bit. I asked about specific ideas he had for getting kids more interested in engineering and science.. He didn’t have specific ideas.. but he was fun to talk to.

The rest of the day was phoen calls and email… but the inspiration from Jones’s tlak kept me jazzed for the rest of the day..

OK.. gotta run now.. more tomorrow.    Gnite all.. gnite Sam
-me

Our dog friend Strider died last night. He’d been a constant friend to us as we ran by his house several times a week for the past 13 years; Diane and I went running this morning down by the rivershore. As we turned into the trail the dogs across Cochran road .. Coco and the two Doberman’s at  Deb’s house.. started barking like crazy. Not just their normal barking.. but an insescent wail.. almost a question. Chai and Satori couldn’t make out the sound either They stayed with me while Diane went to check what was up with all the dogs. She came back a few minutes later to tell me that that Strider had died yesterday night..   I knew it was coming.. but still it brought me to tears.   I knew he had not been doing well.. he was in clearly in pain. so I said my private good bye to him yesterday morning.   He would always be standing outside of his house watching me and the dogs run by.. The dogs and I would always walk over to him to say hi. I’d scratch under his chin and he’d smile.. He really did smile.. he had this funny way of curling his lips like he was going to growl   which meant he was happy.   I’m really going to miss him.. Good bye my friend . .. I wish you peace..

As I’m writing this I just found a note from Strider’s owner in tonight’s Richmond Front Page Forum .. Here’s the note

SO LONG AND THANKS FOR ALL THE BONES
By Molly D
Wed, 20 May 2009

I am passing along some final thoughts from Strider – Francis

Hi Neighbors – I’m not going to be making my morning rounds around Dugway, Cochran  Road and Wheeler Lane to visit you any longer.  I wanted to thank you  all for taking such good care of me.  You fed me bones and treats, you petted me and called me a good dog.  You gave me rides home when you thought I was lost or had wandered too far.   I loved riding in cars and I especially loved getting treats on my rounds.  You can still give your treats to Cocoa – she a really good dog and has been a best friend to me lately.   A big shout out to Max & Elcie across the road – keep howling – AWOOOO!  Chai & Sartori – thanks for the bones!  To the mailman, I hope you enjoy delivering the mail in peace and quiet.  I’ve got a resting place where I can watch Cochran Road and Wheeler Lane – so drive slow.  Thanks to Virginia Clarke for making an extra trip out to see me in the end.  I’m off to a place where my hips don’t hurt, I can run up and down hills, chew sticks into little toothpicks !
 and swim all day long!
Take Care,
Strider

I thought of Strider all through my day..   This evening I had a show down in Monkton. I was feeling a bit sad.. but the prospect of doing the mad science thing cheered me up. I always enjoy visiting the kids in Monkton. Tonight it was cub scouts from monkton, New Haven and Hinesburgh.   The show was noisy and fun.. a great group of kids..   After the show, the scout masters of both packs each handed me  very generous checks Sam’s fund.. I didn’ t even know they knew.. Once again  today I was moved to tears.. 

 

I love people….   and dogs..

Gnite Sam
-me