Expiration Dates I’ve gotten in the habit of checking the expiration dates on food items in the pantry and in the refrigerator at home and especially at my parent’s house on the Cape. Expiration dates are a guideline and plenty of items last longer than the printed expiration date. But plenty of items – I’m…
Boston Light Guiding ships into Boston Harbor since 1783, when it replaced the original 1716 lighthouse blown up during the Revolutionary War, Boston Light sits atop Little Brewster Island marking the way for 234 years. Much of the lighthouse is exactly as it was then; a time machine to the first years of America. I was…
On 51 It’s been an interesting year. As I look back on it in the last couple of hours of my 51st year, I’m generally pleased with where I’ve been, what I’ve seen and who I’ve spent my time with. My 51st trip around the sun brought me to new places near and far, allowed…
John Paul Jones Portsmouth, New Hampshire is an old town by North American standards. Settled in 1630, it played a notable role in the American Revolution. Paul Revere rode here from Boston to warn the town that the British were coming – by sea – to bombard them. With a great harbor and a ready…
On Pileated Woodpeckers As birds go, there’s no better song than that of the pileated woodpecker calling out to its mate. For the northeast, this is as exotic a bird call as we’re going to get. These birds are huge, approaching 20 inches in height. They feed on ants and beetle larvae in deciduous trees….
Jupiter Rising April 22nd and change is in the air. Spring is finally here. With it come the return of the peepers, buds on the trees and pollen. The puffiness in my eyes betray the rise in pollen counts. But I’ll accept the discomfort to push aside a stubborn winter. The night sky is changing…
Fish & Chips In my travels I have a few standbys that I order; salads, fish tacos and fish & chips. Sure, deep fried food isn’t the best option for my waistline, but sometimes you just need to spoil yourself. Salads get boring, fish tacos get messy, and I just don’t want to eat that…
Growing up on Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer, I have an affinity for Mark Twain. As a kid I always thought of him as a Mississippi River guy. No wonder given his most memorable characters and the settings for his greatest work. But Mark Twain moved from Missouri to Hartford, Connecticut and spent summers at…
The last twenty years has seen an explosion in micro brewing. There was a time when I talked about starting a brewery myself, and sometimes I wonder what might have been. Some of the breweries from the late 1990’s have come and gone, others sold out to the mass market brewers, and a few have…
During the Revolutionary War, when it seemed like momentum had turned from the Continental Army to favor the British, a few things turned the tide. First, of course, was the support of the French in the war. Without the French its inconceivable that the Continental Army would have been victorious. But another huge factor was…