Putting the FUN in funicular.
A normal person who moved into a house where wild turkeys wandered the backyard might be inclined to ignore them until they went away. A normal person, once these turkeys disappeared, might describe the parting as fortunate. But since moving into our house, replete with flock of wild turkeys, my family and I have done our darnedest to bond with these big birds.
I’ve been having a conversation the past several weeks with the president of our local neighborhood association. My issue? Many homeowners along the main arterial through our neighborhood are neglecting to clear their sidewalks of snow, not just following a storm, but ever. Being that we live in MAINE, where we tend to get a lot of snow, this is a serious safety concern.
Here in Maine, a state with vast quantities of firewood, people are struggling to heat their homes. I read a heart-wrenching article in the New York Times about it this past weekend, and have been hearing similar stories in the local media the past few months.
Maine’s older housing stock is fitted mainly with oil-burning furnaces. Many of those residing in these homes are older, others are simply poor, and very few have the financial wherewithal to change systems. Meanwhile, oil prices continue to rise, and cuts at the state & federal levels in heating-assistance subsidies mean the very neediest Mainers are having to make terrible choices. Like whether to buy food or fuel.
From our family to yours, warm wishes for a beautiful day.
Merry Christmas & all the best in 2012!
See you in January!
The chickens have been w/ us 7 weeks, and although confident in my ability to care for them, I’m still feeling like a teacher with a new class. I can identify two of the chickens (the larger and smaller black ones) but the other 4 red ones, forget it. I speak to them sweetly and try to be impartial. Ooooh aren’t you cute, mumblemumblemumble.. and YOU, soandso….
You’ve seen their house. Inside its confines they have an endless supply of food and we’ve taken to dishing out additional treats. Our chickens like table scraps.
Aren’t friends great? I mean aside from good company, they’re always there to remind you of stuff. Like, last weekend, friends stopped by and in the course of chatting mentioned how much they like our back deck. I was flattered, of course, but it also prompted me to remember. I never posted about the finished project!
When I last left off, our deck had flooring and not much else.
