Hi Family, It looks like the rain has stopped for a while. The wind blew very hard, at times sounding like a very large freight train coming through the yard. I guess we got 5" of rain and it is combining with the snow melt to make the rivers overflow, ponds to get very hight and Goosefare Brook became a very large lake. Trees were down all over. A few trees were on one house along seaside and there were quite a few trees that just tipped over because the water was deep around the base and the top weight was heavier that what the roots could hold. Waves were coming in at about 12 - possiby 20 feet. They were really huge out beyond the islands. A lot of power outages and we have been without phone service. We do have power though. I have to down load the pictures and I will send some out.
Poor Oreo was scared of the noise. He sat next to the bed and panted like crazy. We felt really sorry for him. He just can't stand strange noises. Well, guess I will sign off for now.
Love you all,
Mom & Dad, grandma & grandpa, and great-grandma & great-grandpa

Late winter snow..

Wow the weather doesn't seem to know what it wants to do. Mel and I have been watching the news of the snow falling all over - the south (Atlanta, Houston) in the southern part of New Hampshire - but we seemed to be missing the storms. We still had plenty of snow on the ground to go snowshoeing, but we hadn't seen any new snow since the first part of January.

Well, that has all changed.. last night we received 6 inches of heavy snow. We are supposed to get another foot tonight, and an additional fall over the weekend..

I'm secretly dancing the happy dance - as we have taken to snowshoeing this year and this new snow will give us added opportunity to explore in the woods.

Just wanted to also pass on this message - congratulations to Beth and Robb. Briella is absolutely beautiful... the family is growing with such shining little stars... the kids will all be a center of our get together this year.

Sit back in your easy chair this morning, and enjoy my snow pictures..

The Greatest Time of the Day......

......is.....sock time. When our dogs see me putting on my socks it means apparently in the mind of the dog, big things, wonderful things, incredible things are about to happen. It could be a walk to the mailbox, a visit to the chickens, or maybe a romp around the pond. So getting my socks and shoes on creates a level of excitement that Norwegian curling fans must feel when their team takes to the ice. Titus is jumping on me, Zoe and Oz are biting each others ears, tails wagging, and tongues hanging. It's a great time to be a dog.

When I get out of bed in the morning, I get a similar greeting, although not as robust. After a prodigious amount of canine yoga, including the down dog and child's pose, the dogs will see me stir and come to the bed to sniff me or lick my arm to let me know they are up and ready to take on a new day. I have learned to get dressed in a hurry because I can't pull up a pair of underwear with a dog's head wedged between my knees.

Although I say it annoys me and I wind up getting dressed in the closet with the door shut, I secretly enjoy the attention.

When my kids were little, around two, four and six; we liked to keep them two years apart because it made the math so much easier, they would greet me at the door of my humble mobile home in the woods of New Hampshire after a hard day of work at the computer company.

They stood at the door pounding on the storm door and shouting in cadence. " Daddy, Daddy, Daddy". I felt like a rock star. No matter how bad the day was, it always put a smile on my face.

Now, I am a new grandpa and in my mind's eye, I see my son in law coming home from a hard day at work and his daughter and the two dogs waiting for him at the door and I know everything is going to be alright. He too will understand the Greatest Time of the Day.


When Briella gets a little older, I'll have to explain the "Dad Tax" to Robb.

DC - the second snow storm in a week

This is from my hotel room (to the right is the Potomac, if you can see it under the ice and snow). This is the second snow storm for DC area in the last couple of days (the other one over the weekend).