Not too chilly

Its a little cooler out tonight, but still too nice to stay inside. We lit a fire, pulled the corks on some wine and enjoyed the company of friends.

It's Friday that means Fish & Chips

I am a creature of habit. Fridays means fish and chips at the fire station. We usually eat inside the fire station with the rest of the locals ans catch up on all the town news and gossip. Today I broke tradition. It was so nice outside I decided to eat by the lake. and watch the sunset.

Sunrise more pruning to do

Heaven has a new Angel

Izzy's Story

Looking at Izzy, you would have thought she was like any other 3-year old running around the playground and chasing her older brother and sister around the house. However, Izzy was diagnosed on October 20, 2009 with stage IV rhabdomyosarcoma at the age of 12 months. Izzy’s family and friends tackled this disease with fervor however on March 12, 2012 Izzy’s fight ended peacefully. Izzy did not let the non-stop chemotherapy, radiation, or multiple surgeries slow her down. We will remember Izzy everyday….she loved anything purple, was an expert with the iPad, and was never seen without polish on her nails! Izzy was and still is truly an inspiration to all those who knew and loved her

FRIDAY FISH & CHIPS

 The sign says it all. Fish & Chips every Friday during Lent. Members of the local volunteer fire department have these fish & chip dinners to raises money to fund themselves. Local town folks can call in orders for fish & chips,clam chowder ( or as we Rhode Islanders pronounce it CHOWDA"), They also serve  "Lobsta" bisque, and stuff Quahogs too.  We prefer to eat in the station. The fire crews pull the fire engines out and set up tables so folks can sit and enjoy their dinners while catching up on the local gossip or just spending time with neighbors.



The fire crew is still ready for action! 

After dinner we took a long walk around part of the reservoir.



Bud Burst - Pinot Noir

 

Spring sees the vines awake from their dormant period over winter. As sunshine increases, the buds begin to burst. The majority of our vines at now at the stage of "full swell". Some are at "bud burst" and a few are showing "first leaf".

This is a risky time in the vineyard as a severe frost can burn the buds. At worse this can result in the entire season's crop being lost. Whilst global warming is generally assisting viticulture, too much sunshine to early in spring means that the vines will be vulnerable to frost for longer.

Various attempts are often made to protect against frost including lighting oil heaters in the rows, spraying the vines with a chemical solution to form a seal around the buds, orLarge vineyards even using helicopters to get air circulation. We can't use the chemicals or the helicopter as were organic so I guess I might be up tonight lighting oil lamps!

Let's hope that Jack Frost won't catch us out!

A Beautiful Day

We began our day attending a benefit lunching for St. Sophia

A  traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner, delicious breads and a vegetarian Irish stew were on the menu. Live Irish music brought out the Irish in all of us. Proceeds will benefit the Scholarship Fund at Sophia Academy. This Scholarship  allows girls facing economic inequities to attend this independent middle school.

The food was delicious, the music was amazing and the afternoon was a success for the school. St Patrick's day is next week and it is always the time I feel that it is safe to start working around the farm. There is still a chance of snow but it won't last because the weather is warming everyday. So after today's luncheon I decided to walk the vineyard to begin my assessment of the work that needs to be done.  

Early March  is time to prune and  tie the vines to the guide wires. I try to walk through the vineyard everyday, but this is when you get up close and personal with the vines. Handle them, train them and sometimes they treat you to a peek at a special type of art work. These winter tendrils appear like a tiny sculptures, gracefully curling and  intertwining among themselves. When I see these graceful curling tendril I can almost hear the Irish music playing in my mind, its as if the vine can dance. It just seems everything is right in the world on days like this.

I'm glad you're Home

Molly enjoying the sun and waiting for me to come out and play. Its the highlight of my day. when I pull the car down the drive and the three dogs are waiting for me to come home. I am welcomed with yelps and big sloppy kisses. Now, who wouldn't say that  wasn't the best part of their day.
well enjoy your after noon me and molly are going to play with the "stick"

ABBY is Sempre Paratus!

Coast Guard Station Merrimack River’s dog, Abby, “stands the watch” with a station crew member, Jan. 26, 2012. Coast Guard mascots have served just as their human counterparts have, with courage, honor and are "Always Ready" to go to those in need of assistance. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Connie Terrell.

The young men and women of the US coast guard are always ready to help in a moments notice no matter what the situation. These selfless individuals put the needs of others before their own safety. Their motto Sempre Paratus "always ready" should be reassuring to us all that they will be there when we need them. They are human just like everyone else. They have families, love pets, get lonely when away from their families,and feel the pain of the loss of one of their colleagues, yet they put all that aside to serve and protect.  Just "So Others May Live!" God speed Coasties.
when you are in my port we always have room at our inn for you.
~ OLD DOG~





Thank you for being there when we need you! Abby is always ready.

So Other May Live

They were from different places -- Oregon and California, North Carolina and Alabama -- with varied career paths to the U.S. Coast Guard. Some were relatively new, while one had been a "Coastie" for 20 years. Their passions ranged from flying to being in the water. What they shared was a commitment to rescuing others, and saving lives."

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the crewmembers during this difficult time,"

IS it Spring Yet?

I walked the vineyard today. I'm usually out at this time of year tying and pruning the wines with the thoughts that spring is just around the corner. We had better weather back in January. Lucky enough we didn't suffer any damage to the vines.

Torrential rain in the forecast for tomorrow, hopefully it will wash away all of the snow and we can get on with fun and festivities of spring and summer

Until next time.
Cheers,
~Old dog~

Things I thought I could always count on

Today's students struggle with math and science. What has happened to cause this downfall? They rely on calculators for simple math problems and they can not count your change back without a cash register doing the calculation.
Gone are the days of route memorization of the times tables and doing math problems without using calculators. Long division, order of operations... you may as well be speaking Greek.
The World Championship Slide Rule Competition is held in March, Last year it was Held in Irving, TX and was won by Bennie Tschoerner, who was also 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 champion.
The competition consisted of a set of problems that needed to be solved within a given time limit. The winner who gets the highest number correct wins.
First place was won by Bennie Tschoerner using a K+E 4181-3 and in  2nd Place was Brad Bradfield. There were only 2 entrants in the competition.

Movie buffs will tell you that the scene is all wrong, but one of my favorite scenes is in the movie  Apollo 13 when Jim Lovell is calculating the gimbal angles with a pencil and notebook and asked mission control to check his calculations. All the engineers back at NASA instantly whipped out their slide rulers and started checking his math. Think about it, we sent men to the moon in vehicles that were designed by engineers using slide rulers to calculate all the precise tollerance in their equipment.
Today I'm glad when the the kid at the cash register can give me the correct change back.
Nice Job Bennie and Brad  for keeping your skills sharp.
Bennie can grow a great beard too!
~Olddog~