Rainy Morning & Ship Views

This was the morning view from our apt window overlooking the Nashua River and a view towards Main St in downtown Nashua, NH. The rainy weather brought out a group of river ducks (those small specks in the center of the photo).

This is the "up river" view from the same apt window location. The large building on the left side is Cotton Mill, another mill apartment. The building on the right is a commercial business.

Thanks for all your comments on the previous post about our walk in Mine Falls Park. We are so fortunate to have this great natural resource so close by. 

We had a warm and sunny weekend, perfect for a Sunday cruise on Lake Winnipesaukee (NH's largest lake) on board the Mount Washington (a 230-ft motor ship). This image shows some of the scenery and the ship and was taken with the "pano" setting on the iPhone, which I usually forget to use, but it's fun!

While the foliage was less colorful than expected,  it was a wonderful excursion, a first for us and the final one of the season. (Photos and details in a future post.)

Rainy Monday

Rainy Days and Mondays is the title of the 1971 song by The Carpenters. But, unlike in the song lyrics, today was not a day for being down or frowning. Instead, it was perfect for getting out between rain storms and taking photos in the Frog & PenguINN yard.

Water drops on plants in the front yard were good to practice macro shots.

Adding special effects to patio flowers in Picasa was fun afterwards.

There are still a few colorful blooms throughout the yard which made for colorful subjects. The overcast skies provided a soft backdrop as well. 

That's not all, rainy days are good GREAT for napping and reading, both of which Grenville and myself did today. This week's weather forecast is for a few more similar days here. 

Rainy & Chili Days

Rainy days and Tuesdays wasn't exactly the song title, but it was the all-day weather at The Frog & PenguINN yesterday.

There was some color on an otherwise gray day, a male cardinal and a crockpot of chili.

The Crock Pot Chili recipe was on a bag on onions purchased this weekend:

• 1 lb. ground beef or stew meat (chopped into 1" chunks)
• 3 medium onions, chopped
• 1/2 C chopped green pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3 TBSP chili powder
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 can (14 oz) chopped tomatoes, undrained
• 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans
• 1 can black beans
• 1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp marjoram
• 1 tsp thyme
• 2 tsp hot pepper sauce (optional) I did not include

1. Cook first 4 ingredients in large pan until meat is browned. Drain meat, then return to pan. 
2. Add chili powder, bay leaf, tomatoes, beans, and spices, stir well and bring to a boil.
3. Transfer to a crock pot; cook on low 6-7 hours.
4. Serve topped with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Perfect (and easy) meal for a rainy Tuesday. Hope your day was good.

Resolution & Rainy Sunday

First, thanks to everyone who commented on my last post about Comments being lost in "blogdom." As always, all your comments were appreciated and now, thankfully, the problem seems to be resolved. Now we are receiving comments from blogger friends, like Christer, and others again. Apparently, changing the Comments settings to "embedded" was the culprit. The "fix" was go to Design, (top of the Blogger page) select Settings and Posts and Comments, under Comments - Comment Location select "Popup window." Thanks to those fellow bloggers who commented that this is their preferred setting too.

Some bloggers use embedded comments to reply to posted comments and it seems to work for them. But, for us it caused problems. So IF anyone has a question and asks it within a Comment, we will either reply directly to your email address, if available, or within another post.

Rain is what we've had all week here on the VA eastern shore as have parts of Maryland and North Carolina and possibly other states. It's not unwelcome here, but after a mostly hot, humid and very dry summer, it's a lot at once, and late for the growing season. Here are some views from the front porch early this morning where the Frogs and lone penguin were keeping dry.

Grenville estimated that we were getting nearly 2 inches per hour as it poured off the rooftops.

Birds were fairly scarce during the downpours, but a pair of mourning doves, a lone mockingbird and a couple of sparrows were out. The starlings on a neighbor's roof seemed to be waiting out the storm, as was a lone robin. Meanwhile a couple of squirrels were dashing around in the front yard buying winter treats.

Unlike other areas which are experiencing wonderful autumn colors, most of the trees in the Frog & PenguINN yard are retaining their green foliage. Here, significant color changes may not start until mid to late November, although the recent rains may hasten the process. There were some color changes seen today, especially in the fall flags and lingering summer blooms.

Today, we're sharing a pulled pork crockpot meal with good friends, Mary and Dennis. While it's not exactly on the South Beach plan, it's a rainy Sunday and that's a good enough reason for us to stray. And, there's homemade cole slaw, Grenville's special potato salad plus a surprise dessert from Mary. 

DInner is around 6 p.m. and there's plenty to share IF you can make it here — the Welcome mat is always out.

Taxes, Rainy Day & Movies

Yesterday was a taxing day here. Our county property and personal property taxes are due semi-annually in June and Dec (town taxes annually in Dec). There’s NO benefit to paying early as in NO discount. But, there is a surcharge for those who pay with a credit card. There IS the choice to pay the entire year’s taxes at once – again NO discount. 

So NO benefits (or discounts) for early payment, means we procrastinated on purpose and paid at the tax office a day ahead of the due date. There are penalties for being late, so we avoided those.

Shortly after leaving the tax office and heading to the county library, the rain started and soon turned into downpours that consumed most of the day. This was the first rain we've had in a couple of weeks, so it was not unwelcome. Sadly, many areas of the U.S. have TOO much rain and we hope they do not get more. 

Our county library is near the tax office. A rainy day was a great time to select some films. The library only had a VHS collection until recently but s-l-o-w-l-y acquired some DVD movies. There's now has a drop box where folks can donate them. I found some favorites to re-watch. We didn't get to ALL of these in 1 day, but will the next couple of evenings.

Maybe you've seen some of these films too?

Bridget Jones, The Edge of Reason is a 2004 comedy sequel to the 2001, Bridget Jones's Diary with Renee Zellweger again in the title role  and with romantic interest provided by co-stars Colin Firth and Hugh Grant. The plot isn't the best, but it's lightweight fun.

Calendar Girls is a 2003 comedy based (true) story of how a group of Yorkshire women become nude calendar pin-ups in 1999 to raise money for Leukemia Research. Veteran actress Helen Mirren heads the ensemble cast, so what’s not to like.

The Thomas Crown Affair is a 1999 heist film and (thankfully) not  the Steve McQueen version, but a steamy remake with Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo that is nothing like the 1968 version. This sexy crime caper/seduction film just happens to include pricey artwork theft. Favorite scene is the seduction on the steps ... (you'll have to see it to know WHY).

Chariots of Fire this 1981 British historical drama tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics. Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian, runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, a Jew, runs to overcome prejudice. Nominated for seven Academy Awards, it won for Best Picture and Best Original Score by Greek composer Vangelis. (If you have not seen the 2006 film,The Holiday where Jack Black hums the theme to Kate Winslet in a video store, do yourself a favor and watch this one too, if you enjoy romantic comedies, as we do.)

Tax paying and rainy days don’t usually go together. Rainy days are OK, but the tax ones can stay away, at least for another 6 months.

More of the Same

Right about the time things start drying out from the previous week’s downpours, comes another full day of rain . . .

Thanks to Mona for letting me know that my ID of this bathing bird was incorrect — it’s a Carolina Wren (not a nuthatch).

Check out her Montanagirl blog for some beautiful images of birds and more.

Hope the weather is improving in your part of the world.

Drying Out

Yesterday, parts of the US, including northern VA, got hit with another winter storm dumping inches of wet snow. But, the Frog & PenguINN’s snow shovel sat idle as the VA eastern shore was pounded with winds up to 35 mph and downpours — 2.04 inches of rain within a 24-hour period.

Here’s some shots from the morning after when I took a walk around the neighborhood.

This is not waterfront property, well maybe now it is, and looks like it’s a good thing there’s a boat nearby.

Nope, these are not peaceful streams — looks can deceive.

These are where vegetable gardens will be planted if Spring AND dryer weather come here (soon), preferably together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We hope that blogger friends and all others in the path of the latest winter storms were safe.

So when did that groundhog say Spring was coming?

Rain and Mud Season

Today, family and friends in the US Northeast and Canada are being pummeled by a winter blizzard — Nemo. Funny name for a storm that was the half the title of a Disney film. But, not so funny for folks in the path of this storm.

That’s NOT what’s going on here on the VA eastern shore. Instead, we were drenched with rain — LOTS of rain.

Grenville had the snow shovel at the ready on the back porch — in case it was needed, but it’s hard to shovel water.

The backyard and part of the street were flooded, which is nothing new. A few hours after the rain stops, the waters will recede leaving a very soggy mess — this is “mud season” cause winter is just NOT a season on the eastern shore.It was a day not even fit even for birds, few came to the feeders. This pair kept returning without competition.Of course, if things really got bad, Grenville has a kayak ready outside his workshop. Only problem is the mini-lake in front We are keeping tabs on those we love and hope that everyone is keeping safe and warm and indoors.

Have a good weekend.

It’s Raining . . .

POURING is a better word — 0.6 of an inch in 30 minutes according to Grenville’s weather station. Friday is our grass cutting afternoon, luckily we got out early and finished just as the first drops started pelting down.

Porching it can’t be beat during a summer rainstorm; we sat in our favorite rockers watching the downpour — until the winds started gusting to 30mph with accompanying claps of thunder and lightning.Photos were taken from the back door and thru the kitchen window. Shooting from inside gave some unique effects. These photos were taken shooting through the window and screen – no after-effects.

Tractor shed – taken from dining room windowBack patio – taken from kitchen windowSecond patio shot from kitchen window

It’s still raining and more storms are headed this way throughout the night. The rains are a welcome relief to water the gardens and bring a cool down from the 90+ temps of the past several days. We hope your weather isn’t too stormy or HOT.

UPDATE: average gas prices here as of this a.m . . . double YEAH !

What to do with wood and shingles????

Why build an extension on your barn of course!!!!!

Here we are this morning. Poles are set and we are ready to go.

I sort of forgot to take pictures during the operation as Beatrice and I put up rafters and had fun sliding the roof sheathing up and then passing the shingles. But at the end of the day we had the roof section finished which was all i was aiming for today. Walls and door will come in the fall before “the snow flies.”  Stop laughing Possum!!!! I’ll leave you ‘snow bound’ next time!!!!

The total size is just 8’ x 8’ but it will be enough to finally get the chipper under cover and maybe our bikes and things later.

Other good news, we had 1.03 inches of rain over night and a great light show around 3 AM. The veggies and flowers were all smiling this morning.

Grenville