Category Archives: humor

Meet Merle The Alaska Moose

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Merle the Alaska Moose

Merle the Alaska Moose

Merle The Alaska Moose

I’d like you to meet Merle the Alaska Moose.  Merle moved with me to the lower 48 from Alaska back in 2013 when our paths crossed at a remote souvenir stand. Merle isn’t much for travel and adventure. He’s more of a homebody. I’m not sure he has fully recovered from his  move south from Alaska. From Wilderness to Suburbia-talk about a culture shock! That was Merle’s great adventure and he’s happy with that. Merle now spends his days with a menagerie of friends from other trips.

Merle and Friends

Merle and Friends

 

Merle’s Cousin from the North

Marvelous Marvin

Marvelous Marvin

Thanks to Merle I’m expecting a travel companion to join me on future trips starting in February (maybe sooner). As much as a homebody as Merle is, his cousin, The Marvelous Marvin, sufferers from a bad case of Wanderlust. Merle let me know yesterday that his cousin is looking for someone to travel with on his adventures. Since my sister doesn’t travel as often now I jumped at the chance to connect with Marvin.

I’m pretty good at solo travel but having a friend along is nice too. It was late last night (those pesky time zones you know) when we finally managed to connect. Marvin didn’t need much persuasion and promised to be on his way real soon thanks to the miracle of USPS and FedEx. His ETA isn’t until the end of next week so he’ll miss the Atlanta trip but will be here in plenty of time for Maui.

Marvelous Marvin the Alaska Moose

I’m very excited about this development and can’t wait to meet The Marvelous  Marvin in person. From the picture he shared with me he looks a lot like Merle. Marvin thought having his own Adventure Blog called Wanderlust might be a good thing but I told him I thought Wanderlust was already taken. And besides, who knows if his adventures will be interesting enough to fill a blog post. We all know how spotty posts for aroundustyroads have been the last couple of years.

 

 

 

 

A Sure Sign Of Fall

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New England Colors 2018

Its a Sure Sign Of Fall

Turkeys behind the office- Canton MA 2019

A sure sign that its fall in New England isn’t just the colorful foliage. Its the return of the turkeys. Some communities have reported the turkeys all year ’round but I usually see them in the fall.  How brave these birds are …or maybe stupid…to show up right before the big day. You know the one, pie, stuffing green bean casserole and oh yeah, that big bird in the middle of the table ready for carving. Do you suppose these wild birds know that we use turkeys that we grew just for the purpose of eating? 

Wild Turkeys Canton MA Oct 2019

Wild Turkeys are Mean

The wild turkeys we have around here are bold and aggressive. They have been known to trap motorists in their cars. They are either stupid or very brave as they show no fear of humans. Me, I’m kind of on the fence. I’ve been threatened by more Canada Geese than I have Turkeys. I like to photograph them. Now that I know they are back I plan to bring the good camera with me instead of relying my cell phone camera. I love when the males start strutting around, fanning their tails and displaying for all the lady turkeys.

Strange Turkey Behaviors

There was a turkey video that made it on to an Animal Planet show and I recently saw it again on “Strange Evidence”. Filmed in Randolph MA it seems to show a satanic turkey ritual. Why not? Randolph Is  only  a hop skip and jump from Salem MA. Why not a Coven of Turkeys?

Watch Out Turkeys

So all you Turkeys out there whether wild or witches BEWARE.  Turkey hunting season is upon us. Yes here in MA we can start defending ourselves on October 22. There are still some folks who prefer a wild turkey rather than domestic turkey for the center piece of their Thanksgiving table. 

 

10 Reasons You Might Need A Vacation

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Springtime in the New England Real Estate Market

Spring is a crazy, busy time of year for us in the New England Real Estate world. New England has one of the most seasonal markets in the US.  I’ve been clocking long hours, OT almost every night and breaking my own rule of No Work on Weekends! My boss questions me about burn out once or twice every week.

Burn Out Is Real

In my younger years I didn’t believe in burn out. I scoffed at those who complained they were suffering. An excuse to slack off I said! Wimps! But of course I was wrong. Science has proved it and I have suffered from it myself.

Do You Suffer From Burn Out?

Do you need to take a vacation? AAA thinks you do if you meet only a couple of the 17 signs they list on their web page. AAA.com/needavacation. I looked over their list and here are my top 10 reasons to take a break.

  1. The weekend arrives but you are too tired to venture out for local adventures.
  2. You daydream about all the places you want to go and things (fun things, not lawn mowing) you want to do.
  3. Wonder how those people on the Travel Channel manage to take all those fabulous vacations.
  4. You can’t seem to focus on any one task for long.
  5. Getting home at the end of the day is a single minded obsession.
  6. Forgetfulness abounds. You can’t even remember what the string on your finger was supposed to be for!
  7. Are you on edge? That’s one of my first indicators. My team starts finding me scary!
  8. Watch out for over eating (or binge drinking). What happened to that jumbo bag of tootsie rolls? More potato chips anyone?
  9. No one is posting on your social media accounts, not even you! There’s nothing exciting going on.
  10. Your Life revolves around going to work, paying bills and sleeping. Get up and do it all again.

What’s the Verdict?

So how did you score? Did you even read it or did you park yourself in front of the TV and cry over vacation commercials? Those palm trees and sandy beaches are calling you. It’s almost a physical ache.

Do yourself, your family and your work a favor. Take that break. You’ll come back refreshed, more productive and maybe even with an attitude adjustment. Just be sure to let me know where you go! I want another place to daydream about.

Alien Abduction Day

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I was thinking about the alien abduction phenomenon. You know the one. It all started back in 1961 with the abduction of Benny and Barbara Hill in my back yard of Lincoln, New Hampshire.

I saw the spot when I was on vacation there a few years ago. I never realized it was New Hampshire just a couple hours away from me until I saw the plaque marking the spot.

Anyway, now everyone who is abducted seems to be in bed and asleep, not out driving around like they were.  Abductees describe feeling a heavy weight on their chest and when they open their eyes they are staring into large oval shaped ones. Then they are whisked away to be probed and prodded.

Well I’ve solved the mystery or so I think.

I would ask if these abductees own a cat.

The other night I was in a deep sleep when suddenly I found it hard to breathe. As I struggle to wakefulness I found myself staring into a pair of huge glowing, oval eyes. For a moment I was stunned and almost in a panic. Then slowly my eyes focused and I was staring at Rocky, my cat.

He was curled up on my chest nose to nose with me. Thus the difficulty breathing and the weight on my chest. In the dark he looked just like those aliens everyone describes.

Yup, abducted by kitty cat. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

Every Day’s a Holiday

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Did you know that just about every day in the year has some holiday or observance attached to it?

Yesterday was the “Ides of March” as in  “Beware the Ides of March”, the warning the soothsayer called out to Julius Caesar. It was also the date of Caesar’s assassination so I guess he really should have taken the warning to heart.

Today’s weird and wonderful holiday is “Everything you do is Right Day”.  (Go away Dudley Do Right!)

I could use a day like that!  Sometimes it feels like everything I do is wrong no matter how hard I try. I’m sure you’ve all felt like that a time or two. Then we get a day where everything you do is Right and my world is back on track! (Would that it were so easy) In any case it’s a nice thought and kind of balances out the bad.

Going back to March 15. Did you know that it’s also Buzzards’ Day?

Buzzard Day is an Ohio holiday where once a year eager residents scan the skies for the return of the bald headed bird. To them this graceful creature signals rebirth not death.

Oh and I missed National Potato Chip Day on March 14 but I’m sure we’ll make up for it on Friday, March 17 when we snack on chips while downing our pints of Green beer. ‘Tis an Irish celebration, St Patrick’s Day, is.

Just a couple of other quick hits…March 20 is National Alien Abductions Day, I kid you not.

Not enough weird holidays for you. March 28 is “Make Up Your Own Holiday Day.” With holidays like National Goof off Day and Chip and Dip day I can’t think of anything I’d want to make up. Someone has beat me to all the good stuff. What about you?