Wake with the Sun: April 2019

Well it's spring in full force now. We made one more trip to Bear Island to ski and enjoy. Our first day there was warm and sunny and lovely. The second day we were there, March 10, there was a wild snowstorm with 20 + mph gusts and 5 1/2 inches of snow. We decided to go somewhere we hadn't been with the boat - to Long Island and tour around it. That was a wild day of skiing into the wind and snow and then back with the wind. We thoroughly enjoy that visit, but now we are most likely waiting out until ice out.

I did some more cross-country skiing, both at Craftsbury, and I went one day (March 27) to Prospect Mountain near Wilmington, VT. Lovely conditions for both trips.

We have been doing a bunch of cycling and my indoor garden has started its blooming cycle.

I also have some photos from Session Americana and other events I attended. Plus some nice photos of waterfowl around lake Waban in Wellesley, MA.

I hope you enjoy these photographs.

Oh, and here is a link to a recent video of why I bought a folding bicycle (Brompton):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxXZgKyc7lk
This photo (below) is of the dawn in front of our house on March 10, 2019 just before heading out in a wild storm. Red sky in the morning....

Here are More Pix from Mar 9-10 Bear Island

Here are some Ski Pix from Craftsbury Vt Mar 1-3

I lead a group for XC skiing at Craftsbury through the Appalachian Mountain Club every year. Here are some photos.

Local Skiing and Digging Out in Framingham This Year

We had 18 inches of snow overnight from Mar 3-4. Here are some photos of my skiing and also my buried car and my shoveling.

Prospect Mountain March 27 Lots of Snow

Spring Flowers, Indoors

Downtown Boston, March 7

I attended an event downtown one evening so I parked at the park and pedal lot near Nonantum, and rode in along the Charles.

Biking the Charles and the Harbor

In celebration of the spring equinox, we set out one day, March 23, to bike along the Charles, starting around Nonantum, and heading out to the harbor, and around the entire harbor walk, all the way to Dorchester to the JFK Library. We took the T-back from UMass Boston to Kendall, and then returned to the river on our bikes to return to the car. Big ride. Lots of wind. When we were out on the Castle Island causeway, we were reminded of being out in our tiny solar-powered houseboat, out in the middle of the water on a windy day.

Biking the Charles River Greenway in Waltham

I had a dentist appointment in Newton Corner and took the lovely part of the central rail trail (now paved) from Wayland to Weston, did a bit of road-riding, and then took the Charles River Greenway from Waltham to Watertown, where I saw a baby eagle, camouflaged in a tree. I didn't want to get too close when I took photos and there were lots of branches in the way, so the focus is unfortunately off.

A Walk Through Wellesley

In early March, before the snow left, I met a friend for a walk around Lake Waban in Wellesley. The ice as melting but was not yet melted. We saw ring-necked ducks, a bunch of them, whom my friend identified, and swans, and geese, and other ducks.

Top of the Hub, March 8

We were in town and took a chance to go up to the top of the Hub on a Monday to see if our friend Marty Ballou was playing and indeed he was with Sonny Barbato.

Session Americana

I was almost done with this blog for the "month" and I had a chance to attend a Session concert at the Lizard Lounge last week. What a fantastic group of singers, multi instrumentalists, musicians. It has been a while since I have been to one of their shows. They are so popular now that some folks reserve the tables in the front for double the ticket price. Here are some photos from the show. Singer Ali McGuirk joined Dinty, Ry, Jim, Billy, Jon, and Jefferson for the second set.

Home.Stead Cafe in Dorchester

We sometimes go to the open mike at the home.stead cafe in dorchester. This is a really homey place with people we enjoy and nice food. They have an open mike there once a month, the first Friday of the month. This month's features were poet Pablo Medina and musician Ryan Lee Crosby. One of the best performances of the night was given by a couple of musicians (1 piano and 1 vox) who called themselves the Flaming Crows. I don't know who they are, but especially the singer is a powerhouse and was fantastic. You can see here pictured in this set. In another photo, you see the host, Rafi Sofer, introducing the guest featured musician, Ryan Lee Crosby.