Under the Keystone Bridge

Flat Ledge Quarry

Tuesday 'R' and I took a late afternoon walk to explore Flat Ledge Quarry.  The quarry is part of the water supply and is posted No Trespassing.  And there is a rather large gate...with a well-trodden path around the side of it.  Didn't seem to matter to the other folks wandering around in there!

Looking back under the keystone bridge

Flat Ledge has always been a spot that I wanted to explore and 'R' and I did quite a tour on the beaten paths...and off, which was not a particularly smart thing to do as I managed to pick up a hitchhiking tick.  Yuck.

Some pretty quarry color

Anyway, we took lots of photos and decided that a revisit in morning sunshine might be good.  Well, that is until I found that tick...I'm not sure I'll be venturing back in there very soon!  Still, I'm really glad we did the walk.  The bridge and the old quarry are impressive.  The smaller 'motions' (little quarried areas done as kind of moonlight jobs by some quarrymen) were fascinating with cool green pools and trickling water down glistening rock cliffs.

A 'motion' pool with water cascading down the cliff

Another local adventure!

The B-Day

The sun shone...that I find amazing in and of itself!  Yeah, weather forecasters had warned of showers for today.  But it didn't...not much...a brief sprinkle or two is all.  It was a beautiful day for some photo taking and this post shows a few from our afternoon adventure.

Bionic toad

But let's start the day off near it's beginning. First thing the b-day girl wanted to do?  Hit the grocery store for some needed items!  After that we went for a walk to feed the ducks...except there was only one.  And he wasn't interested in the bread we had to offer.  Oh well, home to relax in the sunshine for a bit.  "A' did too much of that and got some sunburn on face and arms.  She's not too comfortable with it tonight.

The Guinea Fowl

After the entire family checked out 'A's birthday e-card (thanks dickie and b!), we got our Easter dining under way at Mom's end of the house.  Tradition makes our meal simple.  Ham sandwiches and fixings...chips, macaroni salad (this year)...easy stuff.

A bridge-load of dragonflies

After lunch the group decided to drive first to Essex to browse a junk shop and then to Ipswich to Corliss Bros. nursery so Mom could buy some plants with her birthday gift certificates.

The horse frames the rhinoceros (click on it to enlarge)

Neither were open.  Easter after all.

Just add water!

We were so close to a favorite spot that we decided it would be a good day to show it off to 'R'.  We headed to NE Biolabs.  Mom and 'A' sat in the car and watched as 'R' and I wandered around taking photos.  'R' has been much better than I have about photo taking and blogging and I am taking the time tonight to get my Biolab photos posted first.  I've a few different versions than before and they have been interspersed in this post.  'A' thinks the octopus is kind of cool and Mom likes the plant-like sculpture.

Mom's plant

Personally, I think the entire place is just marvelous!

Easter

...is late this year and I can hardly remember what has happened to the month of April!  All of us have been extremely busy.  'A' has had more hours at work, I've been swamped with work, Mom has started her springtime gardening and 'R' is getting settled in to residency in Massachusetts.  'R' has also been an enormous help with my piano work and is fun to travel around with or just hang out with when we are not slaving away over piano keys.
This is also birthday week.  Mom's last Sunday and 'A's tomorrow, Easter Sunday.  With all the stuff going on and work to finish it would be easy to keep on working throughout it all.  However...I have made a conscious decision that I WILL NOT WORK TOMORROW.   (mostly)

And while life has been rather hectic, we have taken time to have some fun touring around...up to Newburyport, Skip's for birthdays lunch, and several walks about town.  The photograph at the top of this post was taken in Union Cemetery and I thought it fine for my Easter post.

Not Forgotten

you guess

Yes, this spot hasn't had much happening in it lately.  Life has been a bit hectic.  Lots of work, lots of changes, lots of well...stuff.  It's also 'birthday week' for Mom and 'A' so I've been busy trying to coordinate those two events into one celebration because yes, it's been hectic.

I will be back to post something more interesting.  Hopefully within a few days.  Definitely before I drown in it all.

In Fairness to ALL Pianists

and vocalists...