the 53 project : week 10

Saturday -- sunny and cold -- was clean-the-garage-and basement day.  This was no 3-trips-to-the-dump kind of job.  This was 7+ years of STUFF -- so I got serious and rented a dumpster.  And now I feel liberated!  Out from under the clutter and mess!  Hallelujah!

 Maybe now there'll be room in the garage for an actual car.

 This little keyboard hasn't worked for 4 years, 

but we kept hoping that somehow it would magically start working again

and someone would learn to play it.

 A clean sweep

 

 Me -- tired, dirty, and clutter-free!

 Summer's right around the corner, right?

Well, maybe we'll have to brave a few more snowstorms.  

(This photo is for my mother, to show her that

Willow and I are just as cold-hardy as she is
and can step outside in our bare feet, too.)  xoxo

the 53 project : week 9

This week was one of extremes -- the weather turned balmy for one day, hitting the low 50s, and then shot back down to the 20s with wind so cold it felt like the arctic.  I was crazy busy with work, and then got to relax and enjoy time with my sister Dorothy, who is visiting from California.  Here are a few moments.

A great sunset on the way to airport.

Transparent Lucy and Nick at the Providence airport.

Dorothy and Willow, sharing a little morning love.

And you thought you weren't going to see any more seagull shots.... 

Dorothy on Scargo Tower, with a view of Cape Cod Bay beyond.

The graffiti says "Muffin & Cuppycake 4 Life" 

The neighbors stay in the holiday spirit year-round.

Hockey on Little Sandy Pond.

Dorothy and Mom -- and yes, it's 20 degrees with 3 feet of snow and Mom is barefoot.

Gratuitous rabbit ears shot.

LOVED spending time with my sister.  Get home safe, Dorothy!

the 53 project : week 8

I ventured "over the bridge" yesterday, off of Cape Cod and into the world of southeastern Massachusetts.  Before we moved to the Cape we lived in this area, and I was a Library Director in the little town of Rochester.  Southeastern Massachusetts is an interesting mix of small towns, old farmland giving way to urban sprawl, old manufacturing cities like New Bedford and Fall River, and a sort of urban/rural decay that exists in stark contract to lovely back roads and coastal beauty.  If you're never read the wonderful book Swimming at Suppertime: Seasons of Delight on the Wrong Side of Buzzards Bay, by Carol Wasserman, you should rush out to your local library or book shop and pick up a copy.  It is a poignant and compelling read.

I drove through the very villages that Wasserman writes about so intimately.  These roads were once the gateway to Cape Cod, where tourists traveled to get to the promised land.  Now they are run down and neglected, but beautiful to my photographer's eye.

The red Xs on the buildings are sad reminders that some of these buildings may soon be torn down.  I have a call in to the local Town Hall to see if I might be able to take some more photos of some of these buildings before they're gone forever.

Happy Valentine's Day, friends and family!  I hope your day was filled with love.

the 53 project : week 7

I had a hard time deciding what to share with you this week.

 Should it be lines and shadows?

 Cute bird antics?

 Amazing wave action?

But the seagulls at the beach caught my attention again, 

fishing for supper and skimming along the waves.

 This seagull has particularly nice armpits, wouldn't you say?

 They lined up to watch the sunset along with the rest of us crazy beachgoers.

It was 10 degrees with a stiff winter wind.

Even the clouds looked like they were flying.  Beautiful.