Three dog night for sure!

I was busy doing projects around the house this afternoon when I realized I needed to grab the camera and go for a ride, the work could wait. I spent an hour out looking at sights around town and had a good time seeing lots of things. Just down from my house I found subjects number one and two.......dressed for the occasion. The temperature, after a basically so-far, snowless and somewhat warmer winter, has really dropped the last two days and it is supposed to stay down for another twenty-four I believe. As I write this now, between Grammy performances, the wind is howling pretty loudly outside and I am thankful for my warm home. I hope the "guys" below are tucked away in their stalls, with the doors closed tightly!

Horse blankets have come a long way!

How NOT to park...101

I have too much time on my hands, that is fairly obvious. Yesterday, I particularly loved this parking job. Partly in the no parking zone and partly in a marked out space. No other cars were near when they pulled in. No handicapped sticker/sign what-have-you....Went into some business and left the car there for almost two hours. Nice. Real nice.

what in tar-nation........?

Not sure if you've been to Lakeville of late, but the newest of Hotchkiss's projects is really shaping up. What you see below is about one-half of the roof of the soon-to-be heating plant for the school. Construction of a new Biomass Facility, is slated to come on line for the 2012-13 heating season. The new facility will replace an outdated power plant. The facility will burn wood chips rather than petroleum to heat hot water for all the buildings on campus for heat and for hot water consumption.


Located just of Route 41, the roof of this new facility (which you see below) will be covered in sod and the building will supposedly hardly be noticeable. I am curious as to where the wood chips that the plant will operate on come from and, how much it will take to operate for an average day/week/month. May take a lot of tractor-trailor loads to operate, but am sure that it will be far better for the environment regardless than to be burning all that oil. Thank you Hotchkiss School for your efforts to do better. I also read where the school is buying almost 30% of their electricity from windmill farms. Again, thank you Hotchkiss. We ALL need to learn and follow your example. Maybe soon we'll see the MAC (Mar's Athletic Center) roof covered with solar collectors, and harnessing energy from the sun? Perhaps?

"You better watch out, you better drive right....

     Sharon has become bear country of late. Quite often of late we have been having police sightings in Sharon, and not just at xtramart™ for free coffee. Many times of late they are located in the driveway at Union Savings. I only comment because there are weeks, sometimes months, where we never see a police presence in Sharon.


      I hope that having them here proves to be a good thing regarding speeding vehicles through the retail area, meaning by the shopping center. It is my old gripe. Someday, some innocent person is going to get creamed pulling out of the plaza, or xtramart or the bank by some speeder, more than often coming from the north, heading south. Today, this officer was on the grass right by the school. I presume he was looking for speeders headed north, catching them as they crest over the hill. I wonder if they have gotten complaints and are reacting, or just acting on their own? Whatever, I see it as a good thing.