Winter Shots around the Homestead

Most of us in New England will agree that it has been a very mild winter this season. Of course as I say this it is 16 degrees here with a light snow falling. To put it in perspective though we have only had the driveway plowed three times this winter and tomorrow is February 1st. Here are some winter shots I took around the yard.

The Stonewall

Redosier Dogwood?

 I think this may be a Redosier Dogwood but I'm not sure.  According to Native Plants for your Maine Garden by Maureen Heffernan this native shrub is grown for its red stems which add a nice contrast to the winter landscape. It is supposed to have small white flowers in the spring followed by rounded clusters of white fruit.  We'll see if I have identified this correctly as spring rolls along. 

Birch and Pine

Backside of the Bethel Inn

I'm on one of twelve local dart teams in Bethel and last night we played our match in the Millbrook Tavern at the Bethel Inn.  From the dart board I could look down the hill and see the front light shining from my house. I like that. 

Two Year Check Up

It was two years ago yesterday when we arrived in Bethel to make it our new home address.  Since then all of the things that mean “life” have been happening.  We’re making friends, finding our niches in the community and enjoying what we have.  Desire is something that brought us here, with intention, to this little speck of land, on this little planet we all call home.  Appreciation is the other thing that needs to happen every day and often. To appreciate health, love, family, and a cat who wakes you up at 5 AM. To appreciate snow, cold, and crystal clear skies that shimmering back to acknowledge your view. To appreciate the opposing polar forces inherent on earth and perhaps realize that this is what holds us together. If I close one eye I can see a dozen things that need to be done.  If I close the other eye I can appreciate what is. Maybe the formula is Desire + Appreciation = Balance.

Thanks for stopping by. 

Tax Dollars at Work

Road side signs can be useful although it seems like there are just too many of them.  It was around April or May of last year (2011) that the Maine Department of Transportation installed a new yellow diamond shape warning sign at the end of our driveway.  They dug the hole, put in the steel sign post and fastened a brand new sign that read “HIDDEN DRIVE” with the symbol below that indicates a hidden drive.  I can’t say I was thrilled about this new sign being erected at the end of our driveway but we are located on a State road where the speed limit is posted at 45 miles per hour (which of course means people drive 55 mph and faster) and not too far beyond our home the road begins to curve and there are homes located on this curve.  So it is true these driveways are hidden until you come right up on them and if it at all helps to protect our neighbors from getting hit by a fast moving vehicle then I’m in favor of the sign. 

Today we saw a DOT truck and crew working on this sign.  The sign had not been damaged in any way and we noticed that they were taking down the “HIDDEN DRIVE” sign and installing another sign that read “HIDDEN DRIVE” with the symbol below it.  That’s right…they were replacing the sign with a new copy of the same sign that wasn’t even one year old yet?  I asked the guys jokingly if the old sign was spelled wrong.  The response was ….well it’s a long story.  I asked if it was a slightly different color although it looked the same.  One of the guys said it might have a different reflective design for higher visibility.  Then one of them said if the signs aren’t dated correctly they have to replace them to “meet the mandate.”  It seemed that they were trying to find something sensible to say to me about a very non-sensible event. 

I’m not sure how much one of these signs cost and I’m not sure how much each of these three gentleman earn but if you add it all up you’ll have to agree that it doesn’t add up.  There has to be better use of time and energy for our tax dollars.