Monday Musings - April 8, 2019

1. The second Monday of April has arrived. The month is off to a strong start!

Carroll Park Hole 5
May Second Shot Came up
 a bit short
April 7, 2019

2. Busy days pass too fast.

3. Despite my thoughts to the contrary, I did make time to play a 9 hole round of golf yesterday at Carroll Park. I actually did pretty well finishing 8 strokes over par, which for me is a fantastic round since I'm more of a double-bogey player. 

4. The crisis of having multiple homes is that when there is a problem in one and I'm not there, it becomes a crisis out of proportion.

5. Why do things break when we are not looking? Why do plugs come unplugged when no-one touches them?

6. The weather is in a seesaw pattern right now--Cold/Hot . I'm pulling for the cold.

7. Today is a travel day, beginning another week of travel for me. At least I will have some additions to my occasional Out the Hotel Window series.

8. Question of the moment. When did my pets learn to tell time? They awaken me every morning just before my alarm clock goes off. 

9. Today in History. On this day in 1974, Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves hits his 715th career home run, breaking Babe Ruth’s legendary record of 714 homers. A crowd of 53,775 people, the largest in the history of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, was with Aaron that night to cheer when he hit a 4th inning pitch off the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Al Downing. However, as Aaron was an African American who had received death threats and racist hate mail during his pursuit of one of baseball’s most distinguished records, the achievement was bittersweet.

Headlines

Cheap Antibiotics Help Fuel Deadly Drug-Resistant Infections in the Developing World - The New York Times

Kirstjen Nielsen Resigns as Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary - The New York Times

A path back from the ruins of ISIS - The Washington Post

U.S. urges immediate halt to military operations in Libya - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

“If we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on Earth. And this idea that government is beholden to the people, that it has no other source of power except to sovereign people, is still the newest and most unique idea in all the long history of man’s relation to man. This is the issue of this election. Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.” 

 Excerpt from Ronald Reagan's 1964 speech to the Republican National Convention

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Watching the Dawn

Sunlight in the Trees
Elkridge, MD
April 7, 2019

Another day is dawns and I am fortunate to be sitting in my chair looking out the window as the sunlight makes it way down the still too bare trees. 

The tops are illuminated in bright light, but the ground is still in relative darkness as the sun has not fully risen. 

I see the jets out in the distance making their way to BWI as passengers who began their travels hours ago are nearing the end or a mid-point of their journey on this relatively weather-quiet Sunday morning and landing on Runway 10. 

I am not on a golf course and that bothers me a bit, but that is how it plays out sometimes.

I chatted with Chris and found it weird that we are both at home but we are separated by over 800 miles. I am still trying to get used to the idea of geographically separated homes. Chris returns to Maryland on Tuesday after enjoying an additional week in Florida without me. 

So I am sitting here watching the dawn and before the sun could grace the earth with its warm rays, the clouds covered it for a bit. But the day seems as if it is off to a great start.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Diving from the Sky

Pelican Diving into the Atlantic
Carlin Park, Jupiter, Florida
April 1, 2019

I began April in Florida. I had been there for a couple of days, but on April 1st, I was finally able to spend a couple of too short hours on the Carlin Park Beach in Jupiter, Florida. 

Pelicans on Patrol
Carlin Park, Jupiter, Florida
April 1, 2019

It was a beautiful day, I thoroughly enjoyed being on the beach with Chris after settling on our Florida home. 

But on the beach, that day, the real stars of the show were the birds--mostly pelicans. The must have been schools of fish just offshore because the pelicans were flying above us in formation and then diving into the warm waters.

Sitting under an umbrella on the beach watching the birds,  provided a perfect ending to my short trip to Florida. I will be back, however, because I now own a small piece of paradise have a place to stay whenever I need to visit. 

And the pelicans will be there, too. Patrolling the waters just off the coast looking for dinner.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Flowers and Trees

Local Tree in Bloom
Elkridge, MD
April 3, 2019

Springtime is finally taking hold in the region. The trees are flowering and I enjoy seeing their blossoms along my route to work. 

It is refreshing after the grays of Winter to have Spring infuse color into the world and my daily drive to and from work. 

I am always amazed and encouraged at the rebirth of the Spring.

Bring it on!

--  Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Making it Ours

The Dark Room Before Transformation
Sample Colors on the Wall

The joy of buying a new house is decorating it to meet our needs and tastes.

I am back in Maryland, but Chris remains in Florida making the house our own and putting her special touches on our new vacation and future retirement home. It has become our new and biggest project. 

Same Corner First Coat Mostly Painted
Thanks to Fran and Mary for the Help

We were fortunate to be able to buy the home mostly furnished. That means we only need to find furniture for one bedroom, the dining room and a small sitting room. So we have been focused decorating and not furnishing.

The house was dark! The walls were painted in a very nice dark gray/blue paint. The problem was there are not many windows and so the house seemed dark. Solution for darkness? Lighten the color on the walls and change the lights. All of the lights have been changed from old-style incandescent soft white to LED daylight--it is like the sun us shining from every corner of the house now.

And we have transformed the biggest and darkest walls with a new bright white color. 

The place is really coming together.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Who Are These Guys?

It is amazing how the MLB season has begun. 

The Orioles are 4-1 and a half game out of first place in what may be the toughest division in the major leagues. 

My prediction that the Orioles would arrive in town for their Thursday home opener with a record of no better 2-4 was clearly wrong, thankfully. The can arrive with a record of 5-1 or 4-2!

Who are these guys?

I watched my first Orioles game last evening and I was impressed at how the team fabricated two runs with timely hitting. That was something they were unable to accomplish last year. And they are winning one-run games. Another welcome change from last year. 

As i watched the game last evening, the announcers noted that the Orioles had not had a four-game road win streak since 2014. They now have tied that event. 

On the down side? Chris Davis remains hitless in 12 at bats posting 3 walks and 7 strike-outs with only 1 RBI. 

Yes, I am still watching! 

Let's Go O's!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Heading Home

Pelicans
Carlin Park, Jupiter, Florida
April 1, 2019

I am sitting on a stool at a terminal in the Palm Beach International Airport this morning at the conclusion of my week away.

It was hard to leave Chris and my new home behind to begin the trip to return back into my Maryland life. 

The new house is really coming together and leaving Chris behind is tough, but she gets to enjoy the pleasant weather for another week, lucky her. I have a coat in my hand and am looking forward to temperatures in the 30's when I arrive back in Baltimore. 

Sandpipers
Carlin Park, Jupiter, Florida
April 1, 2019

Yesterday, despite all of the work we have been doing to get the new house set up, we took a much needed beach break. I enjoyed the sun and the surf and the birds. We were accompanied to the beach by our friends and enjoyed a great lunch. Sadly, it ended when Chris and I had to depart to meet the air conditioning repair person. Yup, you guessed it, we had a problem with the air-conditioning unit. Seem the air filter had not been changed in over two years and it was causing the unit to freeze over. I changed the filter yesterday morning after a 6AM run to Home Depot. But, the repair person finished the job by defrosting the A-coil, and not it system is purring and he checked it out so it is fine!

I didn't really need that yesterday. Four days in the house and already a service call!

Seems the old owners did not believe in changing filters, the refrigerator water filter also needed changing.

The birds were a welcome respite.

-- Bob Doan, writing from Palm Beach International Airport, Florida

Monday Musings - April 1, 2019

Jupiter Island Beach
March 31, 2019

1. Happy April! The month of springtime showers and flowers. It is April Fool's Day--be cautious.

2. I am enjoying the Florida house, but sadly, I have to return to Maryland and my regular life tomorrow. There is so much here that I continue to need to do.

Birds on the Beach
Jupiter Island, FL
March 31, 2019

3. The weather has been fantastic. Temperatures are in the 80's during the middle part of the day.

4. There is something very relaxing about being on the beach to start the day. Chris and I walked the beach yesterday to start the day.

5. Birds are fun to watch on the beach. Yesterday they congregated together to search for foos and security. Finnegan wanted to play with them and they were not amused by that idea.

6. I looked back and discovered that I have been preparing Monday Musings weekly for over 10 years, they began on March 9, 2009. There have been some omissions and a couple Monday musings on Tuesdays. But for the most part, I have been consistent.

7. Today in History. On this day in 1700, English pranksters begin popularizing the annual tradition of April Fools’ Day by playing practical jokes on each other. Although the day, also called All Fools’ Day, has been celebrated for several centuries by different cultures, its exact origins remain a mystery.

Headlines

Russia’s Military Mission Creep Advances to a New Front: Africa - The New York Times

‘Breaches Everywhere’: Flooding Bursts Midwest Levees, and Tough Questions Follow - The New York Times

White House doubles down on threat to close U.S.-Mexico border - The Washington Post

China's Xi says West has long-term economic, military superiority - Reuters 

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

Since our first days in office, encouraging the kind of volunteer work you do has been one of our highest priorities. Now, this doesn't stem from any pride of authorship. Believe me, nobody in this administration thinks that we invented voluntarism. From the foundation of our Republic to the taming of the frontier, rightup to modern times and your wonderful work, voluntarism, the idea of neighbor helping neighbor, has been one of the distinguishing marks of the American experience and one of the primary causes of our nation's greatness.

 -- Remarks at a Ceremony Honoring Youth Volunteers, April 25, 1985


-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Dog vs. Sofa

Rex Under the Sofa 1
March 26, 2019

The other evening, before we departed Maryland as as we were dropping Makayla off at Patrick's, we were treated to a welcome diversion of Rex looking for a ball. 

Rex Under the Sofa 2
March 26, 2019

As we were sitting together chatting about the cares of the day and the impending trip, Rex lost his ball under a sofa and we were able to watch his problem-solving skills. 

It was creative watching Rex, the Bull Terrier, try to retrieve the ball from under a sofa.

He twisted and turned every which-way bring to get small enough to get under the sofa. At one point I though he was going to raise the sofa up off its feet to get enough room to get the ball. 

Rex Under the Sofa 3
March 26, 2019

It was fun to watch the antics continue for quite a while as we were chatting and preparing to leave to begin our journey south. 

Rex is a very cute dog. 

He is much like a wrecking crew sometimes. In this instance, however, the sofa won and finally a human had to intervene to retrieve the lost ball.

I am sure that Makayla, my Keeshond, is enjoying her mini-vacation with Rex and Patrick's other dog, Chewie. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Home Near the Beach

Bob on the Beach
Intracoastal Waterway, Jupiter, Florida
March 30, 2019

OK, so it is true, and a dream come to reality.

Bob and Chris finally, after more than 20 years of visiting the Jupiter/Tequesta area have purchased their dream vacation and potential future retirement home in Tequesta, Florida.

Housewarming Gift

Where is Tequesta, you may ask? It is sandwiched between Jupiter, Florida, where many famous golf pros live, and the northern boundary of Palm Beach Country. If you click on the link, you will see that Tequesta is a small village with fairly irregular boundaries and a population just over 6,000 people. 

But, enough of the location and the town. Chris and I, along with Finnegan who is also here with us, are having a great time playing house and moving nearly every piece of furniture that we now own. We were fortunate to buy a place mostly furnished. That is good because we only need to buy a few things to complete our new home. Finnegan still hasn't figured out all of the good places for him to do his thing outside, but he is continuing to explore.

What is the most important thing about the new home?

Well, I have a palm tree in my front yard! I was going to take a picture, but it is raining. I'm kidding, of course. The most important thing is location, location, location in a place that I love to visit and long to live.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

As the Trip Finally Ends

Finnegan Thinking: "Are We There Yet?"
Somewhere on I-95 in Florida
March 28, 2019

Day 2 of the trip to Florida dawned with us heading our from Hilton Head Island headed for Tequesta, Florida. Call it an early Spring get away.

Georgia Line
I-95
March 28, 2019

For some reason, day 2 of the trip seemed longer than day 1. even though it was three hours shorter. We had the constant thought on our minds of, "Are we there, yet?" But we were not there. I was a full six hour travel day and we started a bit later.

The day started by quickly crossing into Georgia from South Carolina and following I-95 south. After about an hour and a half in Georgia, it was onto Florida. Fortunately, the road work in Georgia was not too significant. I wonder who decided to put the road work sign right in front of the "Welcome to Georgia" sign? The hardest part of the trip is Florida. While cruising through the other states takes just a couple hours, Florida goes on forever--almost four hours. "Are we there, yet" becomes a real statement.


We finally pulled into Tequesta about 2:30 PM and put an exclamation point on the trip. I am very happy that I will be flying home as we are leaving the car at our new home--which we settle on today. 

The walk through yesterday went well with only some minor things that are nothing more than annoyances as the sellers did not fully uphold to the agreement on which items which were to be left behind. Minor stuff, but annoyances. The place, however, is clean and we actually wound up with a brand spanking new, never used, dishwasher because the one that was there broke as they were clearing out. There is a silver lining in almost every rain cloud. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Hilton Head Island

Hilton Head Island Beach
March 26, 2019

The trip south continues this morning after a fantastic visit with friends on Hilton Head Island. It was our first visit to the island and we now understand why it is so popular.

I was impressed with the beach, even though I only briefly viewed the broad expanse of sand running to the ocean from a distance. It was a beautiful vista that stretched out in front of me. I do so enjoy beaches and sand and of course palm trees.

The area is beautiful and, well, full of golf courses. I kept wishing that I had brought my clubs with me, but then there would not have been enough time to play a round. But the courses were beautiful. As was the area.

We enjoyed a great wine dinner at Michael Anthony's where we experienced some very creative wine pairings. The most interesting was a Chardonnay paired with an eggplant and tomato-based sauce dish. I marveled that the Chardonnay held up against the tomato sauce.

We also ran across a Pinot Noir from a Willamette Valley winery that we visited a couple years ago, Elizabeth Chambers on their opening weekend. They were hanging the sign on the door as we walked into the tasting room. We ordered a glass to share, and it was every bit as good as we remembered.

And now, we are back on the road for Tequesta. We will arrive this early afternoon. I will be ready for some beach time and sunshine.

— Bob Doan, from I-95 somewhere in Georgia

North Carolina by 7:20am

Travel by car. Sometimes you just have to do it. We are headed to Florida with a car full of supplies and household items and of course Finnegan.

We left early to miss traffic in the bigger cities along the way and are making a stop in Hilton Head for the evening.

It was fun to see the sunrise from the highway this morning. We. Made it almost three hours before our first coffee/fuel/ bio stop. Yay!

— Bob Doan, writing from somewhere on I-95 in North Carolina

The Seven P's

5 of the 7 P's

Preparing to travel is an event that relies upon proper application of the 7 P's to ensure success..

Lists become critical. There are lists of things to take, lists of actions to accomplish, lists of appliances to turn off before leaving the house. What are we doing with the dog and the cats?

And then there is loading the car! Or, packing the suitcases. Did I remember the pillows?

All 7 of the P's

I wish I could just have a "ready bag" sitting in a closet somewhere that could just grab and go. It would reduce the packing part of the preparation.

Buy as the phrase correctly says, proper prior planing prevents piss poor performance! Some have apparently tried to gentrify the 7P's of life, but it loses something in the translation. 

When preparing for a trip, all seven of the planning "P's" come into play.

The worst part is the poor performance if proper prior planning is not accomplished. 

I hate getting lost along the way or arriving at my destination to discover that something critical has been forgotten. 

And so, in addition to dreaming of palm trees in the sand, I am running checklists through my head to ensure success and most of all, happiness at the conclusion of the adventure!

Wait, don't forget the chargers for the electronics!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - March 25, 2019

Willow Springs Golf Course Hole #3
From the Tee Box
March 24, 2019

1. It is, believe it or not, the last Monday of March 2019. Where has the month gone? The first quarter of calendar year 2019 is about to come to a close.

2. Chris and I managed to break away yesterday for a 9 hole round of golf. It was nice to get out in the warm afternoon weather and enjoy some time not the golf course. Some of the holes were very soggy from the rains, almost swamp-like.

Blue Sky up the Drive
Elkridge, MD
March 23, 2019

3. Chris and I are packing and preparing for our trip. We depart Wednesday for Florida with a stop along the way to see friends. We are actually driving this time! The last time we drove was during 2017.

4. Blue skies! I want to live somewhere that I grow tired of seeing a blue sky every day. They happen so infrequently that i take pictures looking up my driveway of the blue sky to remind me what it looks like on a typical gray and rainy day. We were lucky in that there were blue skies for both Saturday and Sunday this weekend. Sadly, though, Sunday ended with the typical gray overcast.

Lowering the Pool Water Level
Elkridge, MD
March 23, 2019

5. We have received so much rain that I had to remove water from the pool for the second time this year.I lowered the water level a good seven inches in preparation of April's showers.

6. The temperatures finally warmed into the 60's yesterday and Chris and I were able to celebrate the weekend and the ending of the day around the fire pit with our trusty dogs in attendance.

7. I am finding that I enjoy watching the news less and less lately. The same themes keep coming up: murder in Baltimore, ineffectiveness in Washington, fires and flooding, and the Mueller investigation. Well, maybe the Mueller Investigation will fall out of the top three finally. 

8. Traffic in this region on Sunday's is more noxious that traffic on a normal weekday. At least on a normal weekday everyone seems to know where they are headed and how to get there. On Sundays everyone seems lost on the highway. 

9. Today in History. In one of the darkest moments of America’s industrial history, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory in New York City burns down, killing 146 workers, on this day in 1911. The tragedy led to the development of a series of laws and regulations that better protected the safety of factory workers.

The Triangle factory, owned by Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, was located in the top three floors of the 10-story Asch Building in downtown Manhattan. It was a sweatshop in every sense of the word: a cramped space lined with work stations and packed with poor immigrant workers, mostly teenaged women who did not speak English. At the time of the fire, there were four elevators with access to the factory floors, but only one was fully operational and it could hold only 12 people at a time. There were two stairways down to the street, but one was locked from the outside to prevent theft by the workers and the other opened inward only. The fire escape, as all would come to see, was shoddily constructed, and could not support the weight of more than a few women at a time.

Headlines

Mueller Finds No Trump-Russia Conspiracy, but Stops Short of Exonerating President on Obstruction - The New York Times
‘A State of Emergency’: Native Americans Stranded for Days by Flooding - The New York Times

Six spots where you can enjoy the cherry blossoms around D.C. — without big crowds - The Washington Post

'Flashing amber': Global stocks tumble, bonds rally on U.S. recession risk - Reuters

Ronald Reagan Quote for the Week

Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.

• (Reagan during his gubernatorial campaign in 1965)

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD 

Leaving it Blank

Driving home from baseball practice yesterday, I passed a sign in front of a in church in Odenton that caught my eye and made me think.

Usually the sign has some interesting statement or Bible verse on it which I believe relates to the weekly activities or the message for the Sunday services. 

I wish I had stopped to take a picture of yesterday's sign. 

I typically look at the sign,  note what it is trying to tell me and drive on thinking no more about the message.

Yesterday, however, it was very different. 

The sign said: "This space intentionally left blank."

That got me thinking. I have seen that phrase, or a similar one, "This page intentionally left blank" in a lot of places.

Here's the rub--if it says that it was intentionally left blank, and the words are written there, is it really blank?

I think not!


If it were really blank, then the page or sign would have not words on it. It would be, well, blank.

What a concept.

So the sign if the sign in front of the church was trying to be blank, but wasn't really blank, then what was the sign really saying? 

Perhaps it was trying to tell me that nothing is really ever blank as there is always something there, we need only to discover the substance. 

Deep. Very deep.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Blue Skies and Cold Giving Way to Political Heat

The weekend dawned clear, bright, cold and windy!

It sounds like a recipe for fun. But, I will shortly sojourn outside to begin work around the house. I actually need to drain the pool again. The water level has become critical due to the continuing excessive rain. Yes, excessive. We received another roughly two inches this week alone. 

The excitement in the country has risen with the completion of the Mueller Report. It is nice to have that behind us and ready to move forward, finally. We will see, finally what are the true contents of this much expected report. I anticipate the volume of political rhetoric will increase to drown out the sound of jet engines before the weekend is through.

I wish we could get past the election behind us and get on with running the country. There are too many hanging "chad" issues out there. We are, as a nation, rapidly becoming irrelevant in the ever changing world because of our political logjam. 

So the blue skies and cold to start the weekend may give way to excessive political heat!

Ride the wave and let the fun begin!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Spring Training Update

I freely admit that my excitement level for the upcoming Orioles season is far below usual for this time of year. I am one of those people who enjoy the start of the MLB season because anything can happen and there is always a World Series in the possibility as the umpires call "play ball" for the first time.

The Orioles have done well this Spring Training season. They are currently in the middle of the pack with wins and losses at  12-13. I've long since lost track of the ties, I know there were at least two. But their record is very respectable for a Spring Training campaign. The team has shown moments of excitement--but there are still some glaring problems, also known as elephants in the room. 

Chris Davis has picked up where he left off the regular season last year by posting a .148 Spring Training batting average and Mark Trombo is not far behind with a .200 average. Davis is the most egregious with 27 at bats while posting 4 hits, 6 walks, and 15 strike outs! Ouch!!

On the pitching side, Dylan Bundy has posted a 7.98 ERA in 17 innings pitched.

The highest paid players are definitely the bottom feeders of the club right now. It must be nice to have guaranteed contracts so high that the club can neither trade nor cut the lowest performers. 

The one encouraging statistic is stealing. The Orioles have 35 attempts for better than one attempt per game. They had 103 stolen base attempts during all of the 2018 campaign for less than one attempt per game.

Well, opening day is next Thursday in New York City. As I predicted, the Orioles will either arrive on Baltimore for the home opener on April 4th at 0-6 or the best could be 2-4.

Let the season begin!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Bright Spots in a Dreary World

Tete-a-tete Daffodils
Ellicott City, MD
March 20, 2019

Happy first full day of Spring! The world is about to undergo a transformation.

The dreary colors of the Winter are about to give way to rebirth and the colors of life. 

Chris and I were out last evening celebrating the arrival of Spring and we came across this small group of Tete-a-tete Daffodils in a garden. We had just ushered in Spring's official arrival at a local wine bar when we came across these small, bright flowers. They were celebrating in their own manner the arrival of the season of rebirth.

There are many things happening right now that celebrate the season's arrival--baseball has begun, daylight saving time has arrived, temperatures are warmer--although still cooler than we desire. There are still many milestones to come such as MLB Opening Day which is next week and pool opening day which is now only 47 short days away. 

It is time to enjoy the transformation of the world as the sun's return warms the earth and the colors of springtime arrive.

Enjoy the day despite the rain!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Jeep Mudding

Jeep on the Street
Elkridge, MD
March 18, 2019

While out walking the other day, I spied an older Jeep that looked as if it had been involved in a lot of fun over the weekend.

Yes, it is covered in mud! I remember a few years ago Jeremy and Patrick took their Jeeps, which were new at the time to a Jeep weekend near Ocean City. We had a blast and their Jeeps looked very similar to the one on the street the other day after the weekend of riding through mud pits and traversing an obstacle course. 

Unlike my neighbor, however, we took those Jeeps to a car wash to remove the layers of mud. My neighbor washed his Jeep in his driveway yesterday. I am convinced the mud that came off the Jeep will be slowly going making its way down the street and into the storm sewer system that runs near my backyard for a very long time. 

There is something freeing about getting out and doing some mudding!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Signs of Spring

Signs of Spring - Leaf Buds
Elkridge, MD
March 18, 2019

After working yesterday, Chris greeted me with the offer to go for a walk with the dogs.

It was a much cooler day, but the sun was shining and the sky was blue. We were treated to a police helicopter circling the neighborhood for most of the walk. We have no idea what was happening, but the helicopter orbited above us for some 20 minutes before flying off. We never heard sirens or any corresponding commotion so we continued our walk with the dogs.

The nice thing about the day was that the signs of Spring were everywhere. The trees are budding, the daffodils are about to bloom and there may even be a hint of color on the forsythia. 

Spring begins at 5:58 PM EDT tomorrow!!!!! 

Today is the last full day of Winter. We will finally be able to throw off the shackles of the dark season and enjoy life outside--of which we have already had a taste.

We actually crossed over 12 hours per day of sunshine on St Patrick's Day. Bring on the season!

Cue the sunshine and flowers. 


-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD