December 31, 2010  

The previous blog went from February 3 to June 8, 2010, and this blog completes the year.
    First of all Harry, the Jack Russell terrier we were caring for, had his stay curtailed to about two weeks.  We knew he had problems about his territory—snapping at us if we came near him when he was on his bed. (He bit my finger to the bone once, but that was OK—I was still learning.)  But then he decided that Lynn belonged to him, and he snapped at me if I got too near to her, i.e. in the same room!  So that was it; out he went.
    We tried to find a weekend early in June for our annual picnic when there wasn't any rain. We failed and ended up having it on two rainy days—June 12 and 13.  With only 25 guests each day we were able to accommodate them in the house.  After the guests went home we were sitting in the living room with Sarah's family, and Alex pointed over the fireplace near the ceiling and said "There's a snake."  There was a gray patch there that didn't look like a snake to us, until it moved!  Evidently milk snakes climb up in our stone chimney looking for chipmunks that make their home there.  The snake had gotten to a point that his side pushed out a crack in the logs.  I prodded at him till he went away, then I filled the crack with expanding foam.
    Addy's 5th birthday was on June 18th.  Matt's family and we went up to Thetford on the 19th to celebrate.  There were also about ten of Addy's friends and their families there.  It was a real water festival around their pond with a sprinkler and swimming in the pond.  Pictures.
    The Souhegan Valley Chorus had a booth, as usual, at the Amherst Fourth of July celebration.  The Valleyaires sang "God Bless America" and "Battle Hymn of the Republic" at the closing ceremonies.  Pictures.
    The new vegetable garden bloomed and brought forth tomatoes, squash, beans, lettuce and more.  Pictures.
    While Peter is away at Martha's Vineyard for the summer, the Stammtish is down to two—just Bill and me.  But to feel complete we've made a cardboard cut-out of Peter to prop up at the table (see pictures 1 and 2).
    I constructed some shelves in the barn (pictures 1 and 2) to house the Souhegan Valley Chorus music library.  There are 53 bins of music worth over $35,000.
    In July we visited Matt's family in Pelham, MA.  Pictures.
    The home-schoolers I lectured in January made a contribution to the Willard Pond sanctuary in our name.  As a result, we were invited to a picnic to thank the donors.  It's a beautiful, pristine pond.  Pictures.
    On August 12 Lynn and I helped Matt do some renovations to the apartment that he rents out (part of his home).  We cut out some holes for new doorways in the kitchen (pictures 1 and 2) and in a  closet, and painted the entrance on the front of the house.
    The last week in August we went to family camp on Long Lake in Maine (third year now).  During the week, as a fund raiser, the camp holds an auction featuring anything that the campers have brought as donations.  Last year and this, Lynn has designed and made a small quilt for the auction.  Last year her quilt made $300 for the camp; this year's quilt made $500!  Pictures.
    Sarah's family visited us on September 12.  Much of the activity was rowing out back on Rand Brook (pictures 1, 2, and 3).  Alex is quite a rower for a seven-year-old.  
    We outfitted the guest house with a water heater/cooler, some furniture, and a propane heater. (See last three pictures here).  Sarah's family has stayed overnight there three times, Matt and River have used it once, and the grandkids sleep there with us whenever we take care of them.  The grandkids see it as "their house" and hang out there when they visit.  The same thing happened with the kids that came to our potluck for friends in June.
    Alex and Addy came for a visit before Halloween, and we carved some Jack-o'-lanterns.  Pictures.
    We went to Pelham, MA for River's 4th birthday on November 13.  Sarah's family was there too.  Pictures.
    Addy lost her first tooth November 19th.
    For Thanksgiving we went with Sarah's family up to her in-law's home in Maine.  Pictures.  On the way home, we hit a deer at night.  Surprisingly, he rolled over and bounded away.  Insurance paid for most of the damage to the car.
    Every couple months a flock of some 20 turkeys come down the road, turn into our driveway and stay a day.  Here's a male strutting his stuff.
    The Souhegan Valley Chorus Christmas show was light on scenery this year, but Lynn made a 15-foot-wide American flag (I put the stars on). It hung behind the chorus for "Stars and Stripes Forever" (picture by Phil Johnson).  The Valleyaires sang "Caroling, Caroling" by Alfred Burt and "Do You Here What I Hear."  The A La Carte quartet sang "Christmas Time Is Here" from A Charlie Brown Christmas.
    For Christmas, both Sarah's family and Matt's family came here for December 24th.  It gave us motivation to put up Christmas decorations, which we hadn't done in years.  Pictures.  
    A few projects:  I painted the shed.  I constructed two signs for the end of our road.  I laid some granite dust on our two sidewalks (pictures 1 and 2).  (It was uncomfortable to walk on 3/4" stone, and the snow blower picked them up in the winter.)  Every Christmas time we hang a wreath on the barn.  I composed three songs: "Why Stand Aghast At Naught," "Wonder Willy," and "Home Flies the Swallow."  The first is a church solo, and the last two are a cappella pieces for high-school voices.
    A few miscellaneous things:  I pulled up a champion crabgrass—40" in diameter.  The river birch looks great when it's backlit.  The west field is full of goldenrod in September.  Here's an evening sky over the west field.  Beaver chopped down our beautiful willow bush so now I have wire fencing around everything they seem to like.  We'll see.  You know how when a helium balloon gets loose outside, you wonder where it ends up?  Well, one came down in our back yard!  We get some really miniature frogs in our pond.  I think it's their adult size, because we never find any frogs between their size and normal frogs.  Here are Venus and the Moon early one morning.

Features: Grocer's quotes are the quotation marks in non-professional signs when the quotation marks make no sense.

Quotes: "Anyone who isn't confused really doesn't understand the situation." — Edward R. Murrow

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