Day 17.171: Alumnus

Today was our transitional day - we left the house we’d been staying in (one village over from Exile #2’s mum’s house) and tomorrow we will be gathering with my family. In the interim, four of us went to the Alumni Garden Party at my old secondary school where we had a tour from a maths teacher (in my day) who was later deputy-head and is now the school archivist. The tour included taking in the views from the top of the tower (out of bounds to students). At lunch I had a chat with my first year class teacher who was there for his own 50th year get-together as an old boy himself. 

Here are some photos:

After that, we reunited with Exile #3 at my sister’s house nearby and watched the football (soccer). 

Day 17.170: Family; photo

We had a lovely day with Exile #2’s family today. Her brother, his wife and two boys traveled up to see us and kept us very busy and left us quite exhausted. 

We even got a decent group photo (although it took a couple of tries). 

Day 17.169: Friends (no photos)

After another day with some more chores checked off the list, we met up with our longest-serving friends (usually referred to here as A/B, C & D). We had a drink in a pub garden, dinner in the restaurant, then a long chat while three played Uno back at our holiday rental. It was lovely and this was the only photo I took - just after everyone had vacated. 

Day 17.168: Initial birding

No birding outings yet - but here are some initial photos of the common birds we've seen near the house or at the feeders.

Common swift

Red kite

Red kite (couldn't choose one to post)

(Eurasian) jackdaw (not sure why my best photo is with my phone)

The male pigeons were showing off today

And a (Eurasian) collared dove was getting in on the action (or hopes of action) too

He kept trying - without apparent success

A European robin came to see what we were doing

A quick snap at an interesting fly-by proved to be a common kestrel with something (perhaps) tasty to eat

A young common starling...

...brought the drama

Dunnock

Also seen but not photographed: carrion crows, magpies, common blackbirds (probably nesting in near the feeders) and western (a.k.a. common) house martins. Thanks to my only-recent keeping of such a list, many of these (except those that have made it to the US, or ones I saw in South Korea) are new to my life-list.

Day 17.167: Translated (en masse)

We took this group picture on Tuesday morning as we were getting ready to drive to the airport. All six of us are still in close proximity to each other, but a few thousand miles away in sunny Oxfordshire in England..

It's probably safe to say that an equivalent group photo would have been hard to achieve today, as any such attempt would probably have found someone either asleep or close to falling asleep. Hopefully a decent night's sleep will start the process of feeling more normal.

Day 17.166: First fireflies (nearly two weeks ago)

I completely forgot about this video of the fireflies we spotted in our grass back on Day 17.154 (June 13th).

Day 17.165: Braided

The basket work we saw at the PMA was all remarkable, but if I had to choose one thing that caught my eye, it was the tiny braids of sweetgrass used - at times - in place of the paper-thin strips of ash. So intricate. 

Day 17.164: Exile #2’s Sunday Column #484

Exile #2 writes…

Our primary reason for visiting the Portland Museum of Art yesterday was to see the current exhibition by indigenous Wabanaki artist Jeremy Frey. He works primarily in basketry and his pieces are incredibly striking and beautiful.

Exile #4 admiring some quillwork on the lids - intricate pictures of animals made from porcupine quills

Some baskets based on the shape of a sea urchin

However, perhaps the most thought provoking piece was a video installation showing the entire creative process from the selection and cutting down of an ash tree, through the preparation of the materials, to the weaving itself, using a form turned by hand from the trunk of the same tree. It is slow, painstaking work requiring considerable skill.

The final visual of the short film is that of the basket catching fire and burning to ash as a reflection of the environmental challenges, such as that posed by the invasive Emerald Ash Borer, that are making it increasingly hard to continue traditions that have been passed down over many generations. A difficult but important message.

Day 17.163: PMA

Four of us visited the Portland Museum of Art this morning. The special exhibit was excellent but I’ll save that for another day. Here are some of the things we saw in the regular galleries:

Someone saw a resemblance

A painting like a badly-lit photograph 

Exile #2 and her mum discussing the art 

This Robert Henri painting (1911) caught our eye - so evocative of the movement of the waves on the rocks

Day 17.162: Thursday birding moments

Before we celebrated Exile #3's birthday yesterday, we had our last Thursday bird walk for a couple of weeks. This is some of what we saw:

A bluebird caught the light on its perch

This robin had to collect all the pine needles for its nest

I caught this very distant bird perfectly - only to discover it was one of the most common birds at the cemetery - a chipping sparrow.

It's a while since I'd seen a great blue heron though - also rather distant

Day 17.161: Happy Birthday Exile #3!

We celebrated a successful 22nd orbit of the sun for this one:

Day 17.160: Chonk

We call it "Chonk" because it's a chonky squirrel (and because we fear its plant-eating capabilities).

Day 17.159: Lawn maintenance

Yesterday, I managed to fit in cutting the grass before the heatwave hit today. We also fitted our A/C units. The yard is looking not bad at all considering the little care and attention it gets.

As we discovered during no-mow May, it is far from a grass monoculture. I am also getting some assistance with keeping the broad-leaved plants in it under control.

 As long as that is all it eats, it's welcome to stay.