Monthly Archives: September 2023

New Dock on the Pond

Photograph taken on Monday, September 04, 2023 by Henry
The New Dock

The New Dock

Cathy and I went up to see Dorothy today, stopping for a while at Wonder Book in Frederick, where I bought quite a large stack of ‘new’ (used) books. You never want your to-read pile to get too low. When we got to the farm, Dorothy was finishing up a painting she was doing on commission for a friend. The repairs to dam are finished and the new overflow drain had been installed. The new dock, with it’s seats on the side, as you can see, is also finished. Now all we need is rain (and snow in the winter) to fill the pond back up. At this point it doesn’t look like the dock goes out nearly enough, but when full, the water level should be just about where the upper support posts are. We’re looking forward to the pond being full again after quite a few years when it never really filled up.

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Dog Puzzle

Photograph taken on Wednesday, September 06, 2023 by Henry
Dog Puzzle

Dog Puzzle

We finished another puzzle this week. It was sent to us by our good friends, Brian and Lisa. We really enjoyed hiking with their dogs when we were in Alaska in June. Sadly, one of them is gone now, but Ayla and Lucky made the move with them to Oregon. This was a slightly easier puzzle than some we’ve done lately, being only 500 pieces, but we enjoyed it, nonetheless. We’re hoping to have Brian, Lisa, Ayla, and Lucky visit us this fall. This photo isn’t as good as some of the puzzle pictures I’ve been able to take, but it gives you a pretty good idea of what it looked like. Of course, we never know, in any detail, what a puzzle will look like while we’re putting it together. Looking at the box would be cheating.

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Heron Sculpture, Parklawn Cemetery

Photograph taken on Saturday, September 09, 2023 by Henry
Heron Sculpture, Parklawn Cemetery

Heron Sculpture, Parklawn Cemetery

We went to Parklawn Cemetery today to put flowers on the graves of Cathy’s dad and of the good family friend, Karo (Karabet). It’s been a few years since we’ve been there and the ‘neighborhood’ has changed a bit. Jim’s grave has had another right next to it but now there’s a relatively new grave on the other side. In the past we could look for two markers together but having a third threw us off a bit.

After putting those flowers out, we took some pictures to fulfill requests on Find-A-Grave. We found two of the requested markers and I got photos as well as GPS coordinates. It turns out someone had beat me to it, but it was a good exercise, anyway. While we were doing that I took a few pictures of this Heron sculpture. There were requests for other pictures but it’s such a huge cemetery, without some idea where the graves are, they’re going to be impossible to find. We’d need to go to the cemetery office to get locations and it was too hot to do that today. We may go back, however.

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Nannopterum auritum (Double-crested Cormorant)

Photograph taken on Saturday, September 16, 2023 by Henry
Nannopterum auritum (Double-crested Cormorant)

Nannopterum auritum (Double-crested Cormorant)

Cathy and I drove to Meadowside Nature Center today and walked from there to Lake Frank. Crossing the meadow alongside North Branch Rock Creek, the weeds were quite tall and the path less obvious than usual. We also saw poison ivy a few times and since Cathy was wearing shorts, I carried her twice on my back. We had a hard time finding the trail that leads from there up over the ridge but eventually made our way to it. Down on the other side was saw this juvenile double-crested cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) on a log in the lake. I was able to get fairly close it order to get a good photo, although the lighting was a little rough.

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Margaret’s 97th Birthday

Photograph taken on Friday, September 22, 2023 by Henry
Margaret’s 97th Birthday

Margaret’s 97th Birthday

Jim came for his and Cathy’s mom’s 97th birthday. We decided the best thing to do would be to bring a feast to her room. So, I made qaubili pilau, an Afghan rice dish (where the French got the word pilaf). It’s traditionally served with lamb but Margaret has never been crazy anout lamb. She usually made it with chicken but, again, she gets a lot of chicken where she is. So, I made flank steak. Not traditional but really good. I also made my fist ever flan, which if I say so myself, was pretty darned good.

Jim’s Daughter, Abba, had planned to come but she couldn’t at the last minute. She and her sister, Hannah are planning to come in November, though.

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Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial

Photograph taken on Saturday, September 23, 2023 by Henry
Theodore Roosevelt Statue, by Paul Manship

Theodore Roosevelt Statue, by Paul Manship

Early this afternoon we took Jim to the airport. We had enjoyed his visit and I know his mom enjoyed seeing him. It was a wet day but we decided to stop at Teddy Roosevelt Island (or, more properly, Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial). This island was bought by the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Association in 1931 and owned by the federal government since 1932.

When I was young, we used to put the jon boat into the river near here and my earliest memories of the island include seeing the large, wooden crate with Roosevelt’s hand emerging from the top. The statue, by American sculptor Paul Manship (December 24, 1885 – January 28, 1966), was officially dedicated (out of the crate, in 1967.

We really enjoyed our walk, although the rain turned quit heavy about half way through it and we were pretty well soaked by the time we got back to the car. I especially like the marsh at the southern end of the island, with its baldcypress trees.

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Rat Gallery DC #1

Photograph taken on Saturday, September 30, 2023 by Henry
Rat Gallery

Rat Gallery

Dorothy and her friend Rachel had a little art show the evening in the first Rat Gallery exhibit. Getting down to the gallery on O Street NW was not enjoyable, but we got there eventually and found a parking space without any trouble. The even was in full swing by the time we got there and it got even busier while we were there. I’d say for a first opening it was a success. I chatted briefly with Rachel’s parents, who had come down from New Jersey for the show. I also enjoyed talking with Katharine, our host and Dorothy’s friend from yoga teacher training. All in all, it was a very enjoyable evening.

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