To all the dad’s out there, and especially to my husband
Here are a few photos of him with our son, starting with our very first photo after he was born in 1979.
This is a story I mentioned before but I thought it would be fun to tell it again in pictures. This happened to me 70 years ago.
A picnic with my Aunty Dorothy and cousins, a very hungry child, a white goose chasing me. I remember screaming and running as fast as the wind with my Aunty’s voice ringing in my ears, “Drop the sandwich, drop the sandwich!”
There she goes, silly girl, feeling the pain as the goose nipped the back of her leg, but eventually she threw her sandwich into the lake, upon which the goose gave up the chase and dived in after it. My Aunty gave me a wise piece of advice when I regained my composure, how little girls should immediately drop their sandwich when a goose takes an interest in it.
Canada Geese mate the second year and are monogamous throughout their lives, but if a mate is lost, the remaining goose will find another mate. They breed earlier in the season than most birds. The goslings usually hatch when the plants are at their highest nutritional value. Those residing in temperate climates begin nesting as soon as the conditions are favorable. Those nesting further north start in late April or early May.
Most nest sites are located near water. The sites chosen offer protection from the wind while still giving the female a clear line of sight. The nest is usually built in a depression on the ground and lined with soft grass and feathers.
A clutch usually consists of 4 to 8 eggs. Both parents assume responsibility for protecting the nest and incubating the eggs, but the female spends more time incubating the eggs. She will leave the nest long enough to feed and bathe before returning to her brood. During the incubation phase (25 to 28 days), the adults molt, losing their flight feathers and cannot fly.
Newly hatched Canada Geese are covered with a yellow down.
The gosling's down gives way to feathers and usually fledge (fly) between 6 and 9 weeks of age. The family unit remains together until the spring migration.
Females always return to their place of origin, nesting close to where they hatched.
The family unit stays together with the female leading, goslings following along in a row with the gander bringing up the rear. This arrangement is often called a crèche. Both parents protect their young, becoming violent when necessary.
Last week our son treated us to a favorite restaurant of his and our daughter-in-law. They had visited the previous week. Gregg was over the bad cold and cough he had, and was eager to get out, as was I. We found The Happy Tart a very unassuming and very pleasant place, with excellent food. They ordered at the counter and they were brought to the table not so long afterwards.
I had my eye on this framed photo on the wall, overlooking a canal in Amsterdam. Totally black and white except for the bicycle which was red. You can’t tell from this photo but that red of the bicycle really popped. Come to think of it, so did the color of the wall.
The menu photo also shows part of the ceiling, which interested me. I was having difficulty taking a photo later but son obliged…
It is the first time I have been in a 100% gluten-free bakery. I didn’t know beforehand and I don’t know what I was expecting, but I was surprised at how delicious the pastry was on the quiche, and the same for Gregg’s chicken pot pie (top left). The crispy potatoes were delicious too. Also, the desserts later. On the right is my Quiche Lorraine and below is our son's Quiche Florentine, all individual sizes. Not shown is a small takeaway canister with a veggie salad.
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Our desserts were a slice of opera cake for me, so delicious and chocolate-y. Son’s heart-shaped one was a New York cheesecake concoction and Gregg’s was a chocolate eclair, not shown. He and I took ours home which we enjoyed that evening.
one of our family whom we haven’t seen in over a year. They were in town and called to see if we would like to meet up for lunch. We happily said yes and had a delightful time catching up. We met at this place, all looking for something informal where we could sit around talking for a few hours, without anyone kicking us out for wanting our table. We called on our expert (our son) who recommended Senor Ramon’s Taqueria in Reston (Virginia). It was the perfect place.
Sunday, March 29th, 2026: a quiet day Nothing of note. The usual things around the house and finished a jigsaw puzzle in the evening. This is for the cat lovers. All the colors attracted me to choosing it, and the cat with the red and white fur fit in perfectly with its surroundings. He reminded me of my own dear cat when I was a little girl.
Monday, March 30th, 2026: we went up to BWI again to pick our son up. As we were leaving we saw a beautiful big cottontail run across my neighbor's yard. It has been so long since I saw one. Seemed an appropriate sighting this Easter week. We arrived half-an-hour-early and had settled in the hourly parking lot.
I love the fact that we are able to track flights thanks to the airline's app. Son's plane landed ten minutes early. He texted us and was making his way to where we could pick him up outside of arrivals and told us the number of the door where he would be waiting. We didn't even have to wait as there he was. Another fun trip that got us out of our routine. We asked him when his next trip was. We enjoy volunteering for these drop-offs and pick-ups.
In this photo son is driving home, Dad in the passenger seat, me in the back with my pillows and throws. We didn't have to leave as early this morning and were out the door at 3.00 a.m., again no traffic. I fell asleep going down and coming back, for 20 minutes or so each time. On the way back I woke up sensing the car had slowed down and was turning off the freeway. I knew we were still many miles away from home. Making our way into the drive-thru at another McDonalds, again for breakfast. They were both hungry. That was about 6.00 a.m.
These were taken out of the back window when we were nearer his place. Never in too much of a daze to take photos and these came out not so bad.
Gregg and I didn't want to go straight home so we had a late lunch/earlyish dinner at the Bakery and Museum Company. It was on the way home and we pass right by it normally but this time when we checked, there were several parking spaces available. We were very surprised as it was getting close to dinnertime. For a few weeks now and every time we drove by, the parking lot was full with people waiting for a spot to open up. There are other stores there and they have claim to parking spaces in the front of their shops. Obviously, I agree with that as they need their customers too. Anyhow it was lovely to get in for a change. I have a thing about light fixtures and am automatically drawn to them, especially those hung from high ceilings.
Generally we are the oldest ones in there. We do notice these things and smile.
I normally have an all-day breakfast sandwich when I go there; scrambled egg, sausage patty with fresh spinach and sliced tomatoes. Potato chips on the side which I'm not too keen on but Gregg likes and I pass my plate over. He had his usual all-day breakfast; scrambled egg and cheese and that was it for him.
We also brought home a cake for later, which is what we usually do at this place. So, not cutting out sugar entirely. It's a slow process and doing a lot better. Not huge pieces so that's a plus, and it was nice to have them for a tea that night. I sound like I am justifying and yes of course I am, it's a long road but already doing better.
I was taking a picture of my dear other half but saw later on looking at the photo on my laptop, that I had captured the jigsaw players I noticed when we left. They have a table set up for this pastime and there was a young couple making use of it, concentrating quite intently on the task. They looked like girlfriend/boyfriend in their teens, very sweet. Gregg also noticed that not only were we part of the elderly tribe, which for some reason we see the funny side of, but there were more women in there than men, by 90 percent. Some mothers with young children, students with their laptops out, and some just getting together for a chat.
The temperature got up to 84°F today, 29°C (?) It is the first day I have worn a summer dress. Felt lovely but with not the humidity that you get in the height of summer. Windows are all open at home and there is a slight breeze blowing the curtains.
Wednesday, April 1st, 2026: Happy First Day of the Month!
We got up very early today as last night after looking at the weather, and finding out it was going to be a warm and sunny that morning, we drove to Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah Mountains. We are thankful that we aren't that far away and it is always an easy drive.
