Happy St Patrick’s Day

Posted on March 17, 2017March 17, 2017 by Dusty Roads

‘Tis great to be Irish (even if your not)because this is the one day of the year when everyone is a little bit Irish.

Saint Patrick’s Day is an official Christian feast day observed since the 17th century. The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. He is also credited with chasing the snakes out of Ireland. A bit of a stretch because there is no evidence that there were ever any snakes in Ireland in the first place. Still, as any good Irishman will say, “It makes for a fine tale” especially after a Guinness or two.

Celebrations include public parades and festivals, green attire and ceilidhs. I didn’t know what that last word was so I had to look it up. According to Wikipedia a ceilidh (there should be an accent mark over the e) is a traditional Scottish or Irish gathering. It can mean, in its simplest form, a social visit but in today’s usage it usually involves playing Gaelic folk music and dancing.

If you live in Boston Saint Patrick’s Day is a BIG DEAL. People of Irish ancestry are the largest single ethnic group in Boston. The Irish boom came in the 19th century following the Great Irish Famine. At first there was a real separation of the Puritan Bostonians and the newly immigrated Irish but with the increasing Irish population, political organization and strong group loyalty the Irish took political control of the city.

The Irish left their mark on the region in a number of ways: in still heavily Irish neighborhoods such as Charlestown and South Boston; in the name of the local basketball team, the Boston Celtics; in the iconic Irish-American political family, the Kennedys.

The annual dispute these days is whether OUTVETS, a gay veteran’s group can march in the annual St Patrick Day Parade. I’m happy so say that the organizers of the parade finally gave in and said yes and have promised to change their by-laws so this annual dispute will not raise it’s ugly, prejudicial head again.

So raise a pint! Here’s another toast to the feisty Irish with their rich heritage. They bring color and life to a stodgy old city at least one day a year!

May the leprechauns be near you,
To spread luck along your way.
And may all the Irish angels,
Smile upon you St. Patrick’s Day.

Anatomy of a Nor’easter

Posted on March 15, 2017March 15, 2017 by Dusty Roads | 4 Comments

Ask any weather forecaster, there is a major storm on the way. 18-24 inches of snow, high winds with gusts up to 70 miles per hour and torrential rains once the storm switches gears.

Wide spread power outages are predicted.

6:30 am my alarm goes off. Is it snowing yet? Should I work from home or risk going into the office. I peek out the window. Nothing right now but there is a slight dusting. Must have snowed and stopped. I turn on the TV. Dire warnings. School closings. Stay off the roads!

8:30 am. The snow started up again. I’ve decided to work from home, not because it so bad now but because I’m afraid I won’t be able to get back home at the end of the day. It’s non-stop coverage of the storm… each prediction more dire than the last. Its like there is no other news in the world today. Even my bank has closed all of the branches!

9:30 am The very fine snow has really increased. No fat, fluffy flakes here. The wind has picked up significantly. The forecasters are saying that the rain/snow line has changed so southeastern New England may get more rain than snow. Its raining on Cape Cod now. The blizzard warning from Boston south has been dropped.

10:30 am. Not much change. Still snowing. First plows just went by to clear the roads

11:30 am The snow is really starting to accumulate and the wind is howling now.

1:45 pm Looks like the change over to rain/sleet has begun.

3:30 I think the worst is over. The wind has let up and it’s just rain now. Coming down hard but still just rain.

No where near the 18-24 inches predicted. Just another day in New England.

What Happened to Spring?

Posted on March 11, 2017March 11, 2017 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

Massachusetts is in the Northern Hemisphere and that means that meteorological spring started on March 1. Anyone who lives north of the Mason-Dixon Line knows that you still get snow storms in March in Massachusetts, Heck, you get them in May! But we just had a week of record breaking heat. I’m not ready to go back to winter.

I really don’t like winter. I don’t know how I ever found playing in the snow fun, even as a kid. Does getting frozen and wet really sound like fun? Growing up in the Adirondack mountains we used to get some major snow storms. Often there’d be a thaw and then another freeze and we’d get an ice crust thick enough to walk on…until you broke through. I came home many times not only cold but bleeding from being cut and scraped on the ice crust. No I really don’t like winter.

So the warm weather has fled and the snow came in during the wee hours of the morning. I thought it would stop after an inch or two but it snowed all day.

It wasn’t until around 5 pm that the snow came to a stop and the sun came out. Just in time to set but it made the snow covered trees look golden in the afternoon light.

By the time I got home after work I was feeling a bit kinder toward the snow. It was really pretty.

I guess I have to get used to it. We are headed into a record cold weekend and another storm by Tuesday. I guess winter isn’t ready to give up quite yet.

Rockin’ Robin

Posted on March 3, 2017March 3, 2017 by Dusty Roads

I saw my first robin of spring today as I was driving into work. It was a fat little guy. Wherever he wintered must have been very good to him.

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I wouldn’t get my hopes up too much either. We’ve had some record warm days lately but the weatherman says we’ve got a return to winter on the way. An arctic blast is moving in from Canada.

But back to my little robin. Do they actually migrate? A couple of years ago when I was frantically running around trying to complete a 365 day challenge (A photo a day) I ran across a tree full of robins in the middle of a snow storm. Had they just come north too soon or do they stay in the area all winter?

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In an effort to get some answers I looked it up on the internet. (I know you can’t believe everything you find on the internet) but I found this information in several different places. Apparently robin’s migrate for food reasons, not temperature. They are big berry eaters until spring thaws the ground when they switch over to bugs and worms.

Some robins will go as far south as Texas or Florida while others will only migrate as far as necessary to find their beloved berries.

As an interesting side note, the articles I saw mention that robins sing when they arrive on their breeding territories. Some may sing in winter flocks but most wait until the breeding season approaches and they have reached their “territory”.

So maybe the old adage about the first robin being the harbinger spring should really be the first SINGING robin.

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Bridgewater Triangle

Posted on February 28, 2017February 28, 2017 by Dusty Roads

The Bridgewater Triangle was an area in Southeastern Mass that that covers about 200 miles. It includes the towns of Abington, Rehoboth and Freetown ans the points of the triangle. Brockton, Whitman, West Bridgewater, East Bridgewater, Bridgewater, Middleboro, Dighton, Berkley, Raynham. Norton, Easton, Lakeville, Seekonk and Taunton make up the interior of the triangle.

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It includes the Hockomock Swamp which is about 5000 acres. Now before I ever heard of the paranormal claims I’d heard of the Hockomock Swamp. I’ve just never figured out how to get there. I’ve always wanted to take a canoe or kayak in there to try to get animal/ wildlife photos. Now I hear all kinds of stories, from Big Foot to serial killers.

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The first time The Bridgewater Triangle popped up (to the best of my knowledge) was in the 1970’s in book by cryptozoologist Leon Colman. Since then I’ve read another ready poorly written book about it and seen several ridiculous documentaries. I mean these documentaries are cringe worthy and not because they are dealing with the supernatural.

The paranormal claims include Bigfoot sightings, Thunderbird ( giant pterodactyl-like birds) sightings, animal mutilations and Indian Curses.

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