Something to show for it

Kit Charlemagne, March 9, 2:00 p.m.

First creeping speedwell of the year, March 8, 12:30 p.m. 

Nope, not really close

From time to time I look for interesting rabbit holes at Duke University's Library, the Resource of Outdoor Advertising Descriptions (ROAD).  Last night, I saw a photograph of the illuminated billboards at Broadway and 37th Street in New York City.  

Inexplicably, its date is given as 1898, considering that one of the billboards promotes a production that claims it has been seen by President Taft, Vice-President Sherman, and Speaker Cannon.  It took a few seconds to confirm William Howard Taft was President from 1909-1913 and that the play, "Tillie's Nightmare", ran from May 5, 1910 - July 09, 1910 for 77 performances, and again for 8 more in December 1911.   

It should come as no surprise that a popular Broadway show was turned into a moving picture, although under an altered title.  The female lead remained Marie Dressler, while the male lead role went to a rising star who had already appeared in dozens of short films for producer/director Mack Sennett.  

The days just fly by

Enjoying every day with my wife, my best friend of 41 years.  After her long hard 2025, we appreciate her good days even more.

Walked a mile, rebounded for 15 minutes, ate only one full meal and part of another.  Vice:  12 oz Mexicoke.

It's just been that kind of month

 

Afternoon napping

From left:  Nelson and Kit Charlemagne

Back yard, late afternoon, the day after a foot of snow

Early morning snow

Taken at 6:00 a.m., or about 90 minutes before sunrise.  Details on the file say that it was 1/4 second at f/1.8 and ISO-2500, with no flash.  The neighbors have several ground lights in their front yard.  

 

Kit Charlemagne in the late afternoon sun

Waiting with faint hope

To begin with, I was pretty, pretty, pretty close to 40°33'56.9"N 75°35'07.2"W in the map screen shot immediately below.  

The next image gives you an idea of what I saw looking west from nearby Grange Road, April 21, 2024.  One white flower was visible in the middle of an open field, and I walked over for a closer look.   

Soon the flowers were gone and the field was planted in soybeans.  But next spring, April 29, 2025 to be exact, the same kind of white flowers reappeared, shown in the third image.  They're called ornithogalum nutans, or drooping star-of-Bethlehem, and evidently their bulbs are pretty hardy, if not always welcome.

Finally, a view of the same field looking south, January 6, 2026.  The area shown in the prior pictures hasn't yet been dug up or graded, but in my experience, there's not much reason to be optimistic.

Until the early part of the decade, the roadside was seldom tended, and wildflowers grew all along it, including chicory, hawkweed, red clover, and Queen Anne's lace.  A short distance away, purple asters thrived near the bypass.  All that has changed, and I'm glad I took pictures while I had the chance.

March 13:  Township appears to have scraped off all remaining topsoil and piled it up for transfer somewhere else.  And that's that.

Shrug

And then things started happening, and writing in here went to the bottom of the priority list.  Let's see how I feel in a few days before going any further.