Memorial Day in My Hometown

 We've lived in this small rural town now for one and a half years.  This was the first Memorial Day program we could attend because Covid canceled the last two years.

It's always celebrated on the 30th so if school was in session the school kids would be bussed over to participate. It was a Monday holiday as you know but still attendance was high.

It takes place just across the street from our house.  How could we not attend?

Gathering.  Granddaughters in attendance with sun hats on.

Benches brought out from the Meeting House.

Boy Scouts were the color guard.

One of the selectmen was master of ceremonies.

We marched to the nearest stream to put in a wreath for Navy veterans remembered,

A wreath for others laid at foot of Civil War monument.

Hot dogs, chips and ice cream provided afterward.

Remembering

 Scene outside my church this morning.

It won't be a holiday to celebrate for these families.

Book List Update

 Just updated my Books Read 2022 list.  I hadn't done this since book #11 and I've read 14 others since then.  My reading time has increased this spring with Dan out two evenings a week to different chorus rehearsals.  Rather than sitting in front of the TV I use that time to read.

Here are a few I recommend from the list:

 

You can see the entire list below under Books Read 2022

Enough!

Another school shooting with countless deaths and tragedy facing families.

Enough already!

My mother was a strong proponent for gun control and to honor her I took the only action I could.

I emailed both of my senators: Senator Maggie Hassan and Senator Jeanne Shaheen  and my Congressional Representative, Annie Kuster. I want to know where they stand on gun control and banning assault weapons. I want them to know where I stand!

I challenge those of you reading this who live in the US to do the same. It's the least you can do.

New Faces

 I have some new faces blooming in the garden and some others preparing to show their faces.

On the front porch and in the front porch garden

a yellow begonia, one of two in pots,

pink tulips

red geranium

yellow daisies

A volunteer on the side of the house I hated to pullout

spider wort (I think)

On the deck pots are filled.

including this hanging pot sharing the hook with the hummingbird feeder.

In the deck garden the first bloom of the bleeding heart I just planted this spring.

In the maple tree garden I moved the yellow pansies that had been on the front porch to this pot.

In that garden are some blooms to reveal soon.  Not sure what this one is but there are several.

Columbine is full of buds.

Here's a full view of that garden bed with splashes of color from marigolds newly planted.

In the hosta garden this lambs ear is filling out nicely.

This mammoth hosta had a head start by being planted last fall.  There are an assortment of others that were given to me that I quickly planted.  As they get bigger their final resting places may change.

These pansies from last year wintered over and are blooming in the hosta bed.

In the sculpture bed the mammoth hostas I planted are doing well.

The Inukshuk has been recreated using landscape adhesive (Thanks Tom).  Doesn't quite look the same but is sturdier. 

This new little stone bench is awaiting a pot TBD.

The yard and gardens in almost their entirety.  Never had a lawn so big before.

And the view to the west with that solitary white tree

blooming on the hill.  Another new face!

Update: a couple of posts ago I complained how Blogger mixes up my photo inserts. Faith who commented mentioned that once she uploads the photos she deselects them and then selects them in the order she wants them to appear.  I tried that with this post and it worked.  Thank you, Faith!

This Week's Walk

 Wednesday was a blue sky day though only barely 60º. We headed to the terminus of the Mascoma River Greenway to park and walk towards Lebanon.  

The Greenway is a rail trail and starting from the terminus we can still see the rails. One day the terminus may end at the Connecticut River where the Mascoma River ends.  I think it's in the works.

This sculpture represents all the wheels in the history of this area: a water wheel from a saw mill that once was upstream, train wheels, bike wheels.  Hmm ... what was the fourth? 

We took a side trail and saw this rubble foundation across the river.  Maybe the sawmill?

Just about everything is coming back to life and showing their version of green.

Though it's cool again Thursday as I write this, heat is coming our way this weekend. I have to plan a walk for us next week.  Maybe along the Mascoma Lake which is where we had originally planned to go on Wednesday but figured the temperature would be too cool.  There's a restaurant on the Lake I want to try but seating is outside.  A warm day needed for that excursion.