After an afternoon spent shopping in Chagrin Falls (a very "upscale" community, east of Cleveland) we attended the "Change of Watch" ceremony for the Berea Power Squadron (this is what nautical-type organizations call their installation of new officers). This year, it was held at a country club in nearby Medina, a very attractive place to hold a large dinner. Then it was time to get the cars serviced before leaving for Easter in Vermont. Before leaving, Bob also squeezed in an interview with one of the Presenters for the Institute for Learning in Retirement, an Elderhostel-like program run by Baldwin-Wallace College here in Berea. (It will surprise no one that Bob's on the staff of the newsletter, "Senior Moments.")

Vermont is always beautiful in one way or another, but that beauty comes at a price. A great number of limbs and boughs formerly attached to some of the large pine trees on the property came down in one of the ice/snow storms over the winter. This meant a great deal of work with the chain saw and chipper-shredder, but we also had time for some fun, including even a visit to the beaches of New Hampshire. (Mother had been in an automobile accident in January—no one was hurt—and we had to recover some property from the insurance company's impound lot, which is in the wilds of central N.H. So we figured, as long as we're most of the way to the coast, why not go all the way?" Why not, indeed! Penney got to wiggle her toes in the Atlantic, and we saw what "horse ecstasy" looks like and had a wonderful seafood lunch by one of the coves along the coast.

Within a couple days of getting back, Bob started in as a Presenter at the Institute for Learning in Retirement himself. He'd done three classes previously (two on the history of Iraq; one on World Religions) and this class was, as usual, well-attended. The topic: "Bible Appreciation 101," a program he originated some years back while doing interim work at Harcourt Parish in Gambier and refined and expanded at Christ Church, Warren. Like all ILR classes, it's a six-week gig, and he really enjoys teaching.

Finally, of course, spring is the time for the family's annual "Woodcutting Bee" at Bob's cousin's "shack" in the North Woods of Michigan. (Family members and friends who hunt on the property go up in April or early May to cut, split and stack wood, which is allowed to season for a few years before being burned during "deer season.") In addition to the woodcutting, we often do maintenance on the cabin, play poker, nap a little, eat healthy, nutritious meals, imbibe a variety of beverages and in general do all those male-bonding things that most of our wives, sisters, etc. are just as glad not to be a part of.

This is some of what we had to contend with.

This is one way we contended!

Results from Penney.

On the beach at Hampton Beach State Park (NH) we saw some horses "bathing" in the warm sand after exercising on the beach. Turns out they love this! Who knew?

Penney also loves beaches and sand. She got her feet wet, but didn't stay in too long!

On a brilliant day, we stopped at Rye Harbor for lunch at Saunders (highly-touted, but not really to be recommended; the view, however, was magnificent!)

Results from Bob. You can't burn pine in your fireplace (or at least, you shouldn't — creosote buildup in the chimney can lead to fires), but people who have a sugarbush love it for cooking down their maple sap into syrup . . . it burns very hot! So we leave piles for the locals to pick up and use as they wish.

Mom is always happy to see us arrive and, as in this picture, happy to see us go, too!

We also left a bunch of "burn piles" for later disposal in the time-honored way. Here are three in the vegetable garden.

My cousin, Dr. Charles Winter, is the Designated Cleaver; he is shown here in mid-cleave!

Here's an exterior view of "the cabin", showing the outside woodpile and the platform where the gasoline generators go!

The portion to the left is an extension dormitory, built in 1975. The kitchen/dining salon is to the right of the woodpile (there are lots of additional outside woodpiles, btw!). You can see the "buck pole" just above the roofline of the "dormitory."

My nephew, "Jack."

The kitchen is an interesting mix of utilitarian and decorative! (The impressive-looking sink is not, however, connected to incoming water, although it does drain outside.)

My cousin John ("Pete"), making coffee.

The wall above the mantle functions as a kind of bulletin-board, trophy case, and freeform art gallery. The newspaper clipping to the left celebrates the culinary prowess of Julie Winter (the "Designated Cleaver's wife), who took first place in a national bake-off contest. Just visible at the upper right is the lower left corner of a plaque celebrating the demise of one of Bambi's cousins some years back.