Fox hunt and a garden nymph

Today the Old North Bridge Hounds met in Stow to run through the woods after sent laid by the intrepid foxes while being followed by staff and field. One such fox gloving up for the ordeal is shown below. It was a beautiful but cool day under blue skies. After the hunt, a truly delicious "tea" was enjoyed by the crew.

Upon returning home, I finished wiring the garden nymph fountain that now adorns our back yard. It worked on the first try and hopefully will provide many hours of enjoyment to us and the birds.

flowers of Spring

Modern dentistry and the replacement of an old filling with a new one

This morning started with a trip to the dentist for a filling. Dr. Eddy’s new office is filled with about every dental gadget that one can imagine. X-rays are done without film and displayed almost instantaneously on a flat panel video screen for all including the patient to see. The pictures can be manipulated to highlight cavities and other abnormalities that need attention. You can zoom in to enlarge the picture, increase the contrast to bring out small details and print out pictures. There is another screen in front of the patient that can display such pictures, show “how to floss” videos and display cable TV for viewing such informative shows as Imus in the Morning. In addition to all this he has a video wand that when appropriately positioned in one’s mouth will show and take pictures of the defective tooth. This can help convince one that dental intervention is really justified.

After a couple of novacane injections sufficient numbness set in to allow the grinding and drilling required for filling replacement. An old mercury amalgam filling was replaced with a new polymer one with before, during and after pictures being taken as displayed below. I do not recommend looking at these pictures while eating.

It is time to stop these notes as the novacane is starting to wear off.

Fox Hunting and Gnosticism

Today the intrepid foxes of the Old North Bridge Hounds took to the woods, hills and valleys spreading anise for the hounds to follow. While rain was predicted none appeared and the hunt went off without a hitch. My injuries were not a problem although there is a general ache that was exacerbated by time on an elliptical machine at my health club yesterday. That motion seems to be more of a problem to my back than walking or cycling both of which I did today. While cycling I finished listening to Elaine Pagles audio book on Gnosticism which describes forms of Christianity that publicly existed in the first few hundred years after the events of the New Testament. Their views were suppressed by the organized church because many rejected the Church hierarchy. There teachings are closer to what we would consider an “Eastern” religion focusing on the knowledge of self. Gnosticism is a hot topic today because of its inclusion in the Di Vinci code book.

Fox hunting in Massachusetts.

Today was the first fox hunt of the year. As usual, a small group of determined souls tramped through the underbrush spreading anise for the hounds to follow later in the morning. The temperature was cool but the sky bright blue and the ground rather dry making the hike through the woods easier than usual. Later in the year, the underbrush will have expanded making the trek more of a challenge. A usual there was a great party or “tea” after the hounds and hunters had returned. Back home I repaired the terminals on my wife’s corvette. They had corroded limiting the amperage available from the battery resulting in a slow crank rate. Good contact is critical for low voltage systems such as the 12 volts seen in cars. It may be that the auto industry will go to 24 volts in the near future as is currently used in airplanes. This would expand the number and types of accessories that can be supported.

Return to Groton from Southern Pines NC

We have made it home. The trip was uneventful and warmer than our excursion south. We left in 80 degree weather and came back to the 50’s with reduced numbers of leaves and flowers. It is great to be home but now the clean up begins.

Return to the north

The temperature today is to reach 90°. Tomorrow we will hook up the horse trailer and start our trek back to Massachusetts. It has been a good month and a half with the exception of a couple of adventures that were somewhat painful. Going over a jump with the horse is much advantageous to doing it by oneself. However, after a night in the hospital I am about back to normal. Yesterday I enjoyed an extensive bike ride up and down the hills of southern pines and Pinehurst. My only regret was not taking water to avoid dehydration. I made it back to the condo OK but was rather 30.

April it is a beautiful month and Southern Pines. The area is filled with dogwood trees planted and growing wild in the forest. Their white blossoms add a beautiful highlight to the rural scene. April here is something like May in Massachusetts. It is very pleasant to walk through the golf course grounds enjoying the warm breezes while admiring the flowers and trees.

Travel to the shore and a Rotary breakfast

Yesterday was a pleasant day for each trip to the shore. After helping to feed the horses I wended my way to through the Piedmont to look and boats, enjoy the water and talk and to other boaters. In the past this little trip has been interesting, especially the ability to chat with fellow boat people. However, being a weekday there was nothing there but boats which by themselves are not good conversationalists. I did meet one couple who they turned out to be horse people from western Virginia and had just moved to the shore They knew next to nothing about boats and perhaps too much about courses.

This morning I got up at 6:00 AM and dressed in the dark so that I would be attired properly for the sand hills Rotary meeting at the elegant Carolina hotel. There is nothing like eating breakfast under crystal chandeliers accompanied buy a pianist on a grand piano. At the start of the meeting an employee of the hotel came into the room to ask if anyone had a silver Buick as it had just been hit by another car in the parking lot. One of the members jumped up and exited with the employe only to combat a few minutes later chgrined. It turns out the whole thing was a prank by one of his fellow Rotarians. During the happy dollar time a member got up to say that he is building a house on a lake nearby and while the houses is in progress his dock is completed. The previous day he had caught his first fishoff his new dock. This was probably not the best time to relate to this story as the speaker for the day was from the fish and wildlife bureau who inquired as to the status of this Rotarian’s fishing license. I don’t know what happened after that meeting but the fish and wildlife officer was carrying a gun. He talked about the Lumber river which has been designated a wild river and the fact that they have problems with people poaching alligators. I didn’t realize that there were alligators this far north. On returning from the rotary breakfast it was time to feed the horses again and the cycle continues.

Repairing fences and course No. 2 at Pinehurst

This morning after feeding the forces I endeavored to repair some faulty latches on a couple of pasture gates. These latches are rather good in that they are easy to open even from horseback. However, the way they were installed would allow these latch to turn if the course pressed on with all its weight. In addition, our horse Mitzi had endeavored to open the gates by kicking and had cracked one of the supporting boards. So the process was to lower the latch on the metal gate to overlap a horizontal rail and then lower the fitting on the post so that they both join at the right place. These jobs never go smoothly. After the first latch was disassembled it became apparent that we needed longer lag bolts to secure the latch firmly. This meant a trip to Lowes for lag bolts, small screws and a drill of the proper size. With this accomplished we return to the pasture and completed the relocation of the first latch. This is a learning experience. After a few adjustments we were able to proceed to the second latch and this went more smoothly as we were now experts in the process.

On my way back from the fence maintenance I stopped to return the socket wrench set that I had borrowed from Hans. He was in the process of retract been the awning on his trailer. Things were not going well. It seems that these devices do not come with instructions and that the proper way to secure the awning for storage was not immediately apparent. After a certain amount of manipulation and pinched fingers we were able to get it to retract by turning a very recalcitrant lever so that the internal spring would roll up the awning. It did so with a big swoosh. After this success we then worked at disassembling the canopy setup in the pasture to protect the horse from rain. Horses rarely use these things. Again we were confronted with a structure without directions but it’s disassembly even with stuck joints is certainly easier and its erection.

After completing these tasks I drove over to Pinehurst so that I could purchase a new hat that said Pinehurst. I drove up to the Pinehurst club along and elegant boulevard filled with flowers and lined with trees in bloom. After parking the truck I strolled into the main facility and went directly to the pro shop. There I purchased a nice build cap that said Pinehurst and proceed to stroll around the rest of the facility looking as if I belonged. I did not. It turns out that to be there you there have to be a member of the Pinehurst club or stay at at one of a couple hotels such as the Carolina. The most famous course at Pinehurst is No. 2 of the eight in this club. There are many more called courses in the area. To play No. 2 you would have either to be a member of the club or stay at the Carolina. A night for two at the Carolina hotel costs $650.00. A round on No. 2, if they’re willing to let you play as this is often reserved for championships, is another $375.00 assuming that you don’t need a caddy though most of the people on the course seem to have one. I continued my stroll around the area including their three croquet courses. Perhaps I will have to get a little more practice under my belt to participate in this sport at this facility.

Shrubs at the condo

How we develop and activities in Southern Pines

This document is being produced with speech recognition In Microsoft Word (i.e. I talk but don't type, much)

I have brought a number of magazines down to Southern Pines. Finally there was time enough to look through the February 10, 2006 issue of Science magazine. On page 796 there is a review of gene regulatory networks and the evolution of animal body plans. If you ever wondered how this works the review is an excellent article to read. It is specially focuses on the highly conserved regulatory genes that are responsible for major body organization. The author states that these types of genes are conserved because any alteration would have a drastic negative effect on the organism. These large gene regulatory networks word (GRNs) exist in a very similar form in ourselves, the fruit fly and many other organisms. Such genes regulate intermediate regulatory genes which then regulate the genes that actually makes lectures look the way they do.

We decided to stay another week in Southern Pines as snow was reported in Massachusetts. Last night our neighbors in the condo invited us over for a party with other horse loving people. It was a potluck but the hostess provided an excellent chicken dish with curry sauce. The women spent most of the evening talking forces. The men talked about everything from flying a small plane over to Europe to the experiences of different people visiting communist countries. One couple in their eighties have flown their private single engine plane extensively in the U.S. and more than once over to Europe. Other excursions included a trip down to the tip of the Aleutian islands in Alaska. The pilot noted that as he approached the Russian coast near Nome Alaska that his radar detector lit up profusely. He was being watched. Today Hans and I attended the southern Pines Rotary meeting at the beautiful Long Leaf country club. The program included reports from several participants in a take teenagers to work day. It was a good experience for the teenagers but not a very exciting program. This week I have attended three different Rotary meetings. Tomorrow a steeplechase is scheduled with tailgate parties but it appears as if the weather may be stormy. Considering the $20.00 admission fee we may pass.

Rotary in Pinehurst NC

The meeting was early at 7:00 am but even at that early hour the members were very cordial to a Yankee in their midst. The Carolinian hotel in the middle of golf country provides rooms for $650 a night for two. Breakfast was a lavish buffet accompanied by melodies from a pianist using a grand piano. The meeting included a talk given by an individual who works for a state organization that provides books for young children living in poverty. Often these books are the only ones in the home. I spent 8 dollars to win the meeting lottery but returned my $5 winnings to the club.

http://www.hotelcarolinian.com/?gclid=CL_l4MyIloQCFSiPFQodtWYoug

Building a house in Southern Pines

Our friends Pat and Hans are building a house on a lot off Young,s road with the help of horse whisperer and all around handy guy Bob. Today a crew came in to lay the blocks of the foundation.

The old back is still acting up and the size of the black and blue area explains why exercise is not a viable option.

Dining alfresco with the horse and boat maintenance

The pictures are views of our condo environs.

Pat and Hans had us over for a dinner last evening under the stars next to their trailer and foundation of their new house. The air was warm and the sky clear with stars shining like diamonds on an inky background. Light pollution in the Boston area hides such brilliant shows. It was very pleasant with Pat’s horse in the pasture a few feet away, good wine and conversation. W fed the horses and went riding with Gail, Pat and Marsha E in the late morning while I read on the condo porch with Gidget. Marsha has a 17 hand three inch horse that can move right out. In the afternoon I took a bike ride which went well considering the back problems of late. On the trek a fellow was seen working on his tralierable sailboat in the yard not too far from our condo. About an hour was spent trading boat maintenance ideas and giving personal histories. He was from the Akron area living one mile from Magador, the original home of my mother. This lake sailor had purchased the boat in Wayland MA and trailered it down to Southern Pines during a break in the weather in February.

Dinner with Friends in Southern Pines

Last night W cooked a fantastic dinner in our condominium for Jack and Phyllis who reside for the winter in their condo next door. They are from Canada with he a golfer and she a horsewomen. This area fits their hobbies well as they can do their thing all winter long. Some pictures of Hyland Hills area are included. Back problems restrict my movement by expand my reading. The next book is on sailing in Canada, Sniffing the Coast, an Acadian voyage on loan from Jack and Phyllis.