All Together...

I'm looking forward to seeing my Granddaughters this weekend!

HURRAH!!

The Astilbe that got nipped by frost last month is sending up new shoots!

Some days involve a long hard climb

These are actually the stairs from the boats in the Bay up to the road,
across which is the Sailing School building.

Last of the batch...

Anybody need a moment of cute?

The Beach Boys - California Girls ( with Bob Hope and Jack Benny )

Planting Democracy..and not just seeds

I'm planning to have some buttons made that say Doug RACINE for Governor,
so I won't have to waste paper using those button-sized stickers.
His campaign director kindly sent me the template! :-)

Happy Sunday! Anybody having a day of rest?

It's Saturday. How's your garden?

35 years ago today I became a Mom

This is actually a photo of me with my newest Grandbaby last Summer, but suffice to say the photos from my first motherhood moments are not on computer! LOL!

The mountains nearly disappear from the haze...

Mount Mansfield, the day before the haze arrived...

O Canada!

Wow, if there's this much smoke haze in Vermont, how bad must it be in Canada?
My heart goes out to our Canadian neighbours! ♥

Whom are you Remembering? And how?

This photo borrowed from Wikipedia

I'm remembering my uncles. I want to read some of their old letters.

Happy Sunday!

Saturday of Memorial Day weekend...how about a beach day?

Greed destroys ecosystems

We haven't begun to really discuss what happens to life on this planet once the Gulf Stream is polluted by oil.

Thinking of the Gulf...

Cousteau dives into "nightmare" US oil slick
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jQS-mAu59-77XG7VX_EECDCJBCZw

=WHEW!=

The little crabapple we planted last Autumn made it through all the frosts

What's opening?

Doug Racine for Governor of Vermont!

Here's Doug Racine speaking at a House Party in my town on Sunday evening.
(Photo by Amy Shollenberger.)
That's me sitting in the chair by the door, and Hubby standing behind me.
We have been volunteering for Doug's campaign from the beginning.
Doug was Lt. Governor when Howard Dean was Governor, has been our county's
state Senator, and Chair of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee.

May your day be sunny...

Relax, it's Saturday...

ODDS 'N' ENDS

The Endless Summer lives on...

One thing I am doing this week to keep the Endless Summer living on
is to attend a meeting in support of Doug Racine for Governor of Vermont.
Doug was a Senator when Howard Dean was our Governor, and is the right person
to be a successor of the Dean legacy here. He has been Chair of the Senate Health Committee.
He is quiet and strong and the best candidate to debate the Republican challenger.

It's Fuzzy Kitty Day!

I don't know why anyone bothered calling the middle weekday "Wednesday" when
"Fuzzy Kitty Day" is lots more fun. Ha!

What are you doing for defenseless creatures these days? (Alan is, of course, exempted from this question, having so recently explained about letting the cherry possums go and ensuring that the coon got a good placement.) :-)

What's beautiful about your Tuesday?

Last day of Vacation

Naturally, I'm a little blue today. ;~)

Have a Beautiful Sunday!

What's your favourite colour Pansy?

Can the Mighty Mini carry all of this?

The Mighty Mini carried all of this plus two large bags of Moo Plus!

Boats on the Water

Another sign of Spring!

This is an historic day: It is my first day of PAID Vacation since I worked at UNH
over 30 years ago.

Great Aunt Evelyn's Lilac Hedge

Note it's size in comparison to the mailbox! All our lilacs here at home are from this hedge.
Aunt Evelyn lived to be 99 1/2. No one knows how old the hedge is.

HUH?

Let the sun in!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

American Cardinal

Today is the memorial service for my friend Nan, an author who died of cancer a few months ago. The Cardinal is the symbol she asked us to remember her by.

Take a closer look...

Marble-sized Hail, Tuesday in Vermont

Because we've had every other sort of weather this week, and were getting bored. Heh.

Sunrise....Sunset....

Resilience

The daffodils flattened beneath 15" of heavy wet snow are the daffodils in the foreground in the second photo...
which was taken several days after the first. Amazing!

Enjoy the beauty in life. Some of it is pretty cute!

Ahhh, Sunday in Vermont...

How're you doin' today?

This is the same birdbox I posted a photo of earlier this week...!

Workers Memorial Day

I received the following this afternoon from the United Steel Workers.

PLEASE NOTE: according to our records, this is the first Presidential Proclamation marking Workers Memorial Day

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release April 28, 2010

WORKERS MEMORIAL DAY, 2010

- - - - - - -

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

This year marks the 40th anniversary of both the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act, which promise American workers the right to a safe workplace and require employers to provide safe conditions. Yet, today, we remain too far from fulfilling that promise. On Workers Memorial Day, we remember all those who have died, been injured, or become sick on the job, and we renew our commitment to ensure the safety of American workers.

The families of the 29 coal miners who lost their lives on April 5 in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia are in our thoughts and prayers. We also mourn the loss of 7 workers who died in a refinery explosion in Washington State just days earlier, the 4 workers who died at a power plant in Connecticut earlier this year, and the 11 workers lost in the oil platform explosion off the coast of Louisiana just last week.

Although these large-scale tragedies are appalling, most workplace deaths result from tragedies that claim one life at a time through preventable incidents or disabling disease. Every day, 14 workers are killed in on-the-job incidents, while thousands die each year of work-related disease, and millions are injured or contract an illness. Most die far from the spotlight, unrecognized and unnoticed by all but their families, friends, and co-workers -- but they are not forgotten.

The legal right to a safe workplace was won only after countless lives had been lost over decades in workplaces across America, and after a long and bitter fight waged by workers, unions, and public health advocates. Much remains to be done, and my Administration is dedicated to renewing our Nation's commitment to achieve safe working conditions for all American workers.

Providing safer work environments will take the concerted action of government, businesses, employer associations, unions, community organizations, the scientific and public health communities, and individuals. Today, as we mourn those lost mere weeks ago in the Upper Big Branch Mine and other recent disasters, so do we honor all the men and women who have died on the job. In their memory, we rededicate ourselves to preventing such tragedies, and to securing a safer workplace for every American.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 28, 2010, as Workers Memorial Day. I call upon all Americans to participate in ceremonies and activities in memory of those who have been killed due to unsafe working conditions.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

What some of us woke up to on Wednesday...

VERMONT

Two hours after I took this photo, the part of the bush bearing the blossoms got so heavy that the branches all hung to the ground. We're expecting an additional 4-8 inches of snow tonight. Pray for the trees, bushes and creatures out in the elements. Thanks!

Yet another new bird box (gift from Son*in*ME)

Determination

A pleasant Sunday to you