Author: lis

I have a giant nose in my office. (what, you don’t?) It makes an appearance once a year, for our annual Sense of Smell Day celebration (what, you didn’t know about Sense of Smell Day?  you gotta get out more).

well, for a little over 10 years now I’ve been taking the 7:40 express out of Framingham. But no more. Goodbye, 7:40 express. You were mostly on-time and I usually got a seat by someone not too offensive. Ah, the memories…

(by the late and very very great George Carlin)
I’m aware some stare at my hair.

In fact, to be fair,

Some really despair of my hair.

But I don’t care,

Cause they’re not aware,

Nor are they devonaire.

In fact, they’re just square.

They see hair down to there,

Say, “Beware” and go off on a tear!

I say, “No fair!”

A head that’s bare is really nowhere.

So be like a bear, be fair with your hair!

Show it you care.

Wear it to there.

Or to there.

Or to there, if you dare!

My wife bought some hair at a fair, to use as a spare.

Did I care?

Au contraire!

Spare hair is fair!

In fact, hair can be rare.

Fred Astair got no hair,

Nor does a chair,

Nor nor a chocolate eclair,

And where is the hair on a pear?

Nowhere, mon frere!

So now that I’ve shared this affair of the hair,

I’m going to repair to my lair and use Nair, do you care?

these monkeys are solar powered–they move their arms around when the sun shines on them.

I like them a lot. they look like MoJo JoJo from PowerPuff Girls.

I love birthdays. It’s like a holiday just for you. Even if you have to go to work on a rainy day.

the variety in size and shape of mushrooms is astonishing. I suppose some would consider it more astonishing that I won’t willingly eat any of them.

the poor shitake mushroom is not helped by the fact that every time I see the word, I read it as “shit cake.”

There is a small farm up the street that we often walk to so we can “visit the llamas.” Yesterday, we walked up there to take a break from packing and the farmer was out in the driveway drying the wool that they had just shorn from the sheep that morning. 

It was live animal day at work again today, and the featured organization was Wingmasters, who do wonderful programs with birds of prey. Today, he brought a Peregrine Falcon, a Red-Tailed Hawk, a Barred Owl, and this little guy:

This is a full-grown Eastern Screech Owl. I don’t know why they are called that, as they do not screech. You can listen to their call here.  I think it sounds like a ghost horse. Screeches may be small (this guy weighs in at 5 ounces), but they can still tear you up. They are very common here in New England, but are rarely seen since they are almost impossible to spot against a tree.  Cool birds.

another round of pulmonary function tests for the doc. only this time, there was a bonus blood draw! how could any one person be so lucky…

Between the boxes and packing paper, it’s a party all the time for Parker and Winnie. Every night we hear the rustle-rustle of them investigating the piles of paper. Right now, as I type this, Winnie is in a little box that only holds her butt. And Parker is…well….Parker is here: