Too nice to work! Playing Hooky! Think of all the things I’ll have to tell you about when I get back.
Gone Fishing!
Thanks to the person who shared this picture on the internet. Love it!
Sights, Scenes and Travel of an everyday person
It’s a beautiful spring day. Even the breeze carries a hint of warmth. Buds are starting to appear on most of the trees. Some plants are even flowering. Robins made their appearance a couple of weeks ago but even more birds are arriving daily. The previously frozen landscape is awakening.
A visit to the Grist Mill Pond in Plymouth, Ma reflects the rhythms of spring as well.
Mr. Majestic patrolled the pond with his typical aggressive enthusiasm. His usual targets, the Canada Geese, were on the pond in force keeping him busy posturing and chasing. They approached Mr. Majestic’s end of the pond like a noisy armada.
He’s truly beautiful when he fluffs out his feathers . He’s King of the Pond! The geese didn’t stand a chance and retreated back to the far end of the pond. Far from Mr. Majestic’s domain.
All this warfare is tiring and soon Mr. Majestic took a nap floating right on the water.
He kept one eye open for sneak attacks but the geese had other things on their minds.
The Pond Crier, a gull, was busy guarding some stale bread. He would sound the the alarm for sure if the geese made any adverse moves.
Nearby a male and female duck rested on the new grass.
But back to Mr. Majestic, what had inspired him to be so territorial so early in the season? A search of the far bank soon revealed the reason. There was Mrs. Majestic snoozing on a nest.
Mr. Majestic shook off his nap and checked his reflection in the water. (Mirror, Mirror?)
Satisfied with what he saw in the water he was soon escorting the Mrs. to dinner. What a lovely couple.
I wonder if there will be little majestics later this spring.
About a week ago I had the awesome honor of photographing my friend’s daughter.
You saw one of her pictures on the Mother’s Day Card posted on my card page. Dawn was a great little model for one so young doing everything I asked of her and hanging in until I was done. Such patience in a young one deserves a reward so Nancy, Dawn’s mother suggested we take Dawn to see the Barn Babies at the Westgate Mall.
Now my little friend Dawn is as much of an animal lover as I am so that was easy to agree to and off we went.
Set up was inside the mall with hay bales to sit on and plenty of plastic to cover the floor. The lamb wore a diaper and the puppies and tiny little pig were in mini enclosures. There were plenty of Barn Baby staff to assist and parents or adult friends were also allowed into the enclosure. I’d be lying if I said it was quiet. It was not ! It was crowded and all of the kids were excited but the staff had it down to a science.
Each child had a sticker with the time they came in. Every half hour or so a bell was rung and the children who had been there the longest had to leave to make room for a new group. A child could get back in line to go in again but had to wait their turn.
The children could hold bunnies and kittens and chicks. Each baby animal was swaddled in a blanket by a staff member before being placed gently in the child’s hands. The children were then told to sit down quietly. To my surprise none of the babies seemed to be nervous or upset.
I asked the staff about that as I held a bunny that was dozing in my arms. They said the swaddling gives the babies a sense of security and keeps them calm. If they get stressed they burrow into the swaddling cloths and that keeps them from scratching the child by trying to get away. They also watch for signs that a baby is getting stressed and if so rotate them out for a time so they can calm down.
After we left I got to thinking about all the baby animals I saw especially the kittens and chicks and bunnies. I know how many cats are abandoned and need homes and how around Easter the Humane Society and other rescue groups beg the public not to get bunnies and chicks as pets because they are so often abandoned or surrendered shortly after they are brought home for the holiday.
So I wrote to Barn Babies and asked them what happened to these animals after they were too big for the traveling zoo. I was gratified to get a quick response. Having witnessed their gentle care in the chaos of the mall and with the quick response I feel comfortable giving them a hearty Thumbs Up.
So here in their own words is was I was told:
Barn Babies works closely with local farmers and breeders. Many of the babies you saw on Tuesday already have “furrever” homes, which are families that we approve to adopt them after they retire from Barn Babies. We socialize them so often that many families are attracted to our pets.
We are a USDA licensed business as an “animal exhibitor” which means many things, but relating to your question our USDA license means that we must track where every baby comes from and goes to, the state keeps track of all our babies & where they end up (as well as how they are taken care of when they are with us).
I stole the title from the phrase Office Barbrady (a South Park Character) always says. “Move along…Nothing too see here”.
It’s been really busy. I never thought I’d be unemployed and complaining that I was too busy to prepare a proper post but there it is. I’m in the middle of 2 online courses. One is about travel writing through a continuing ed web site and the other is the Mass. Real Estate salesman license prep. (40 hours). I also had 2 interviews in 2 weeks, both phone interviews and attended an all day seminar on resume writing.
I think I’ve spent close to 40 hours sitting in the Unemployment Office trying to get that straightened out. Seems my former company didn’t properly report the terms of my layoff. I finally heard from the investigator yesterday.
In between I’ve been setting up Cobra so I’ll have insurance, transferring my homeowners and auto insurance to direct bill from payroll deduction and trying to get my severance from my former employer. After all, I can’t activate Cobra without sending in my premium and with no unemployment or severance coming in I’m not sure where the company expects I get it from. Long days on the phone when I’m not at the Unemployment Office but that finally paid off yesterday too.
And finally I’m trying to move furniture, paint walls and sort through all the stuff that came home with me from the office. I feel like it’s a never ending chore but I really want it done in case I land a work- from- home job. I need a neat, organized work space.
So that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. I need a day off! And what better day to take than a Wednesday…a mid week break. So this is all there is today. Be back soon.
Battleship Cove is located in Fall River , Ma.
It’s a nonprofit maritime museum. In addition to the brick and mortar museum, the grounds are decorated with propellers, props and preserved pieces of hulls.
In the water of beautiful Mt. Hope Bay the rescued naval vessels are still afloat and maintained. A nominal admission allows you to explore the majestic ships.
This is the largest collection of preserved US Navy Ships in the World. The fleet includes five National Historic Landmarks: Battleship USS Massachusetts, Destroyer USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., Submarine USS Lionfish, and PT Boats 617 and 796.
While exploring the grounds I met a veteran who is now making his living as a pilot/photographer. He had a stand set up with his amazing photographs. You can check out his work at http://newenglandwings.com/.
Battleship Cove and it’s museums sit surrounded by Fall River Heritage State Park. The park hugs the shore of the Taunton River (Mt. Hope Bay) and offers a boardwalk, benches, groves of trees, an antique carousel, public sailing programs, and a three-acre meadow where I watched families flying kites.
The carousel is housed in a separate building and was closed to the public for a private party when I was there. I definitely want to return to see that. I could see traditional carousel lights through the windows of the upper level but couldn’t see much else.
I watched a common merganser float with the tide and a 2 drakes got into a tussle over a female duck.
I even saw a turtle making a dive for the bottom. All around was activity, joggers, dog walkers, families with strollers. It was clear that this is a popular park in beautiful shape and I had a beautiful spring day to enjoy my introduction.
If you go you’ll find the parking is free in the lot located under the Braga Bridge near the Battleship Cove Visitor Center.
Park all day and enjoy all the area has to offer. I only scratched the surface on this first visit.
It’s clear I’ll have to go back to dig a little deeper.