Four? Four in a row?

Chris at the Fire Pit
Elkridge, MD
March 13, 2019

Chris and I continued our pre-Spring streak of nights around a fire pit although the sky was not nearly as blue, actually it was cloud covered. The temperature was a bit warmer than the night before which contributed to the ambiance of the evening.

Yes, it is now four nights in a row! A truly amazing statistic given the weather of the past months. To have found four evenings in a row when we could enjoy the fire pit seems amazing? And, truth be told, we are expecting to make it five in a row tonight.

The lawn certainly has that Springtime look to it--mottled green with leaves and debris. It is only now drying enough to think of getting the tractor out on it to begin the post-Winter recovery process. We have been focusing our efforts thus far on reducing the piles of limbs from the trees we had felled during the latter part of last year. The clean-up process is providing a lot of very burnable fuel for the fire pit.

I didn't say it was warm outside, just that the hot fire in the pit made the evening enjoyable. And, as an added benefit, we made it an early evening so I still got to watch the later edition of Jeopardy!

Maybe, just maybe Spring is getting closer! Let's keep the streak going!

BTW, 

Happy Pi Day!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Three in a Row

It has been a great week thus far.

For three nights in a row, Chris and I have enjoyed happy hour around a fire pit. We have had a "three-peat."

Notice that I did not write, "the" fire pit. Last evening we sat around the propane-fired pit on the pool deck dreaming of summer, pool, fun, and of course warmer temperatures. 

It was cooler than the previous two nights, but the sky remained crystal blue and the Sun is beginning to grace the Earth with its warming rays more regularly. Hopefully, today will bring more of the same, but even a bit warmer.

Yesterday also marked the official beginning of Spring Training for the GORC Wildcat team that Mike and I are coaching. Even though the temperatures were in the 40's, we conducted our inaugural practice and got to put eyes on the boys on our team on the baseball field.

The field was nicely graded and it was a perfect evening under the lights getting back into the swing of my favorite summertime sport. We have to get used to 70 foot bases, however. It is a longer throw for the boys.

Fire pits, baseball, Happy Hour, blue skies. What could be better? Oh yea, palm trees on . . . 

This champagne shore watchin' over me
It's a sweet sweet life livin' by the salty sea
                            -- Lyrics from Knee Deep by Zach Brown Band

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Last Light of a Really Good Day

Tops of the Trees in the Setting Sunlight
Elkridge, MD
March 11, 2019

Last evening Chris and I sat outside, again for the second night in a row. around the fire pit and watched the evening fall. It was warmer, in the 50's and for a change the skies cleared and blue was the color of the evening. 

It was a nice evening. I was able to get my chainsaw out and begin transforming the wood pile from downed trees into pieces of wood suitable for burning. We had about 5 dead ash trees felled before winter because we were concerned that they might fall on their own and do some damage. Now I get to cut them into logs suitable for burning in a fireplace or our outdoor fire pit. After cutting for a while with Chris stacking the logs, we stopped and started a nice fire around which to enjoy a bottle of wine. Then we ordered Chinese actually enjoyed our first meal of the year outside. Yes, it was cool--in the 50's, but very enjoyable. It actually wasn't out first meal outside as we had eaten lunches and dinners outside when we were in Florida during January--but it was the first of the year for Baltimore. It was quite an evening, we went outside to begin cutting wood about 4PM and by the time we finished dinner and talking and let the fire die, it was dark and after 8PM. 


Yesterday was also my first post prostate cancer treatment follow-up with the radiation oncologist. It was time to get the results from the tests that I had done last week. And the results are: everything looks good. It was good to see the treatment team again, we have formed a unique bond, and they were very encouraged by my results which seem to indicate a successful treatment. I get to visit with them every six months for the next five years before they will be able to certify me as cancer free. I have been participating in a study for prostate cancer patients and follow-up and I was told yesterday that I will be getting paid! Who knew! I had thought I was just a volunteer for the study. The pay is not enough to live on or anything like that, but it will buy lunch!

It was a great way to start the middle week of March!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - March 11, 2019

Maryland Home and Garden Show
Springtime Arrives
March 10, 2019

1. My, how quickly the month is passing. We are already into the middle part of the month. It is exciting and frustrating.

Our Feet
Around the Fire Pit
March 10, 2019

2. Daylight Saving Time began yesterday and it was truly an event. Chris and I were able to sit outside by the fire pit during the evening and enjoy the warmer March temperatures. It did not get dark until after 7PM. Yay.

3. Chris and I went to the Maryland Home and Garden Show yesterday and had a fantastic time. It should be renamed the Home and Wine Tasting Show. There were at least five wineries and one distillery represented. We had a great time and were able to get there early and enjoy the vendors before they got too tired.

4. I am looking forward to a week without too much rain. For a change. I am excited about getting into the yard to begin the Spring clean-up.

5. As the weather warms, so does the excitement of Springtime. Baseball season is underway and that means practice, practice, and repeat!

6. Maybe the last of the snow has visited the Baltimore region for this winter! I hope so.

7. Is there golf in my future? Time will tell!

8. Today in History. On this day during 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Lend-Lease program, which provides money and materials for allies in the war, goes into effect. The Lend-Lease program was devised by Roosevelt as a means of aiding Great Britain in its war effort against the Germans, by giving the chief executive the power to “sell, transfer title to, exchange, lease, lend, or otherwise dispose of” any military resources the president deemed ultimately in the interest of the defense of the United States. The reasoning was that if a neighbor was successful in defending his home, the security of your home would be enhanced. It also served to bolster British morale by giving them the sense that they were no longer alone in their struggle against Hitler.

Headlines

How ISIS Is Rising in the Philippines as It Dwindles in the Middle East - The New York Times

New Images of North Korea Buildup Confront Trump’s Hopes for Disarmament - The New York Times

Ethiopian Airlines flight bound for Nairobi crashes, all 157 on board killed - The Washington Post

U.S.-backed Syrian force attacks Islamic State enclave - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

"Our concern must be for a special interest group that has been too long neglected. It knows no sectional boundaries or ethnic and racial divisions, and it crosses political party lines. It is made up of men and women who raise our food, patrol our streets, man our mines and factories, teach our children, keep our homes, and heal us when we're sick—professionals, industrialists, shopkeepers, clerks, cabbies, and truck drivers. They are, in short, "We the people," this breed called Americans."

Source: Reagan's First Inaugural Address.


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Now Arriving - DST

Look how late it is already today, and yet the day is just beginning--ah, the joys of Daylight Saving Time (DST). I only just got up with the sun, OK, there is no sun only gray overcast, yet the morning is already slipping away. 

I am encouraged to hear that DST may become the permanent law of the land. An article in The Mercury News, a San Francisco Bay area newspaper, suggests that California may adopt DST permanently and that the entire nation may also decide not to "Fall back." The chief complaint that I have heard about permanent DST is that morning will not dawn until after 9:30 AM for some cities in the U.S. A case in point, however, is Anchorage, Alaska, where sunrise in mid-December is 10:15 AM, and they do not enjoy DST anyway. It seems that Anchorage can deal with it without too many problems.

The day promises to be one of outdoors activity! There are leaves to blow and downed trees to cut, and lawns to fertilize. It is springtime, well almost. And of course there is the home and garden show to attend and dream about what could be!

I continue to find it a bit funny that I fertilize the lawn to grow grass that I then must mow. And that I continue to fertilize the lawn to grow the grass that continues to need mowing. It is a vicious cycle. Who thought of that anyway? But then, who doesn't love the smell of a freshly mowed lawn?

Well, I guess anyone who is not allergic!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

A Dog and Her Boys

Lily and Jax
March 8, 2019

Lily, the newest canine member of our larger family, apparently has a knack for making sick children feel better.

Lily and Ethan
March 8, 2019

Yesterday was a sick day for two of my grandsons--Jax and Ethan. Chris spent her day nursing them back to health. But, she had help from Lily, their faithful dog,  who comforted each of the sick boys as they napped on the sofa.

It was a touching scene--a a dog and her boy, sleeping together on the sofa together as the boys tried to get better. 

What a great dog Lily has become. She is attentive and loving. She takes great care of her boys! After all, what more can we expect from a dog?

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

The Dark Season Ends

Stonehenge

I feel almost as how I imagine the druids felt when the vernal equinox occurred. The dark season is over and cue the sunlight.

Daylight Saving Time (DST), which begins Sunday morning, is the beginning of the return of the light,

Today the Baltimore region will experience 11 hours, 36 minutes and 58 seconds of daylight. The amount of daylight is increasing by more than 2 minutes and 30 seconds per day. We actually cross over the 12 hours per day of daylight on March 17th--it should be an enjoyable St Patrick's Day celebration.

The redistribution of available daylight from morning to evening changes everything! I know that personally, I will feel more invigorated during the evening and will begin to look for life outdoors to begin again. I am already thinking of getting the yard into shape for summer activities.

March is full of celebrations and events:

March 6  -  Ash Wednesday
March 10 - DST begins
March 11 - Johnny Appleseed Day
March 14 - Pi Day
March 17 - St Patrick's Day
March 20 - Vernal Equinox (Spring begins)
March 28 - MLB Opening Day

All of these events and commemorations point to the rebirth associated with Springtime--even Pi Day! Enjoy a pie for me!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Losing Daylight

Sunrise
From Route 100
March and 6, 2019

Daylight Saving Time (DST) begins during the wee hours on Sunday morning while I am sleeping. That event changes the day and the night.

I snapped this image of the sunrise yesterday morning on my way to work. The sun was beginning to rise and flood the world with spectacular colors and light. Day was dawning. 

It loved looking at the clouds and the colors of the sunrise. It was great to be driving to work in sunlight, rather than under the cover of darkness and gloom. 

And then I remembered Daylight Saving Time begins on Sunday. Beginning on Monday morning, my daily trek will again occur during the hours of darkness.

But for a couple days, at least, I have been enjoying the light of the morning. It will return again in a month or so, I just need to wait for it.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Jax Celebrates

Jax with his Birthday Cookie
March 5, 2019

Jax celebrated his birthday yesterday. Coincidentally, he also had the day off from school due to parent-teacher conferences.

Jax and Ethan
March 5 ,2019

The day turned into a great celebration for him, lasted the entire day. Chris was able to enjoy the festivities while I was at work. It is rare to get such an opportunity and I am glad that they all were able to celebrate together. 

The party last evening was the frosting on the cake, err cookie! It was a warm family commemoration amid the cold and definitely not spring-like weather. This morning it is a balmy 18 degrees. And it is not expected to become much warmer for a few days.

Happy Birthday Jax! Baseball season is ready to get underway.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Pelicans Posing

Pelicans on the ‎⁨Loxahatchee River⁩
Jupiter, Florida
January 21, 2019

One evening during January, while Chris and I were in Florida, we walked to the end of a dock near a pub that we frequent and enjoyed the pelicans posing for some pictures.

Pelican on the ‎⁨Loxahatchee River⁩
Jupiter, Florida
January 21, 2019

It was funny, really. The pelicans supposed that we had fish or something to feed them and all we had were our cameras to capture the moment. 

There were about six of them that settled beneath the pier and looked at us longingly. The spot where we were standing is used by fishermen to clean their catch as they return from a day on the ocean. The pelicans do enjoy the handouts. 

Chris and I enjoy the pelicans as they fly in formation along the shore, we have labeled them as "Pelicans on Patrol." Every so often, one of them breaks formation and dives into the ocean to catch a meal. 

While the weather was very cool when we were visiting Florida during January, it did not dampen our spirits too much. And the pelicans certainly were entertaining. They certainly were more interesting than trying to watch a movie on TV.  I do wish I was there right now and not suffering with the 20 degree temperature that I woke to this morning. At least there is no snow on the ground!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD