We were thinking about going to Newburyport today, but that plan got scuttled because of me.  I’ve been so anxious about this campaign – the last time I ran for anything was in secretarial school and of course, I was defeated – that I woke up at 2:30 this morning fussing over my sign.

Ron let me sleep in. I finished the sign (two-sided) and we posted it at Edgewater. Spent about $6 on this big campaign. Have gotten more than my share of hate emails, an ugly FB post and an angry phone call. Will be glad when it’s over.  On a more positive note, distributed the milkweed seeds behind the summer sweet.

Ron spotted this beauty a week or so ago, and we saw it again today at Roche Bros.  I’m pretty sure it cost about the same as my first house.

Ron and I attended the ribbon cutting today along with a slew of local pols and a few town workers.

Mashpee Selectman Wayne Taylor, Senator Dan Wolf

Representative Bill Keating and Lee Davis, Chair, Cape Cod Conservation District

Mashpee Conservation Agent/Herring Warden Drew McManus

Mashpee DPW Director Catherine Laurent

State Representative David Vieira

Lee Davis

Ramona Peters, Historic Preservation Officer, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

James raked, seeded and watered the lawns at Edgewater.  We helped out a little with the raking.

I put mothballs on the bulb beds.

Ron leaf-swept, overseeded and watered the front and side lawn.

I (finally) dug up the tulips between the rose bushes along the deck and replanted them in the oval and the “U”.  Doubt that I got them all, but did retrieve quite a few, including a bunch of tiny bulbs.  Hope some at least will bloom.

I took out our bedroom a/c and cleaned the window and sill.  Ron gave the a/c a good cleaning and put it away.

We moved super bed back to its winter spot and re-hung the door.

I put peat moss on the new daffodil/narcissus bed and seeded and watered the front.

Having broken four eggs by mistake yesterday, I baked butterscotch oatmeal cookies and cornbread today.

Moongate

Rose garden

Weeping European Birch

Giant sequoia

Butterfly house

Rock garden

Water garden

North garden overlooking Narragansett Bay

Moongate

I’ve been wanting to visit Blithewold for years and put myself on their mailing list a while back.

So, when I got an email saying that the gardens were being put to bed starting tomorrow, I asked Ron if he’d like to visit today, and he agreed.

We did the transfer station run and had lunch here, which got us to Bristol a little later than planned, but still plenty of time to roam around and even tour the mansion.

Blithewold is a beautiful estate, no doubt, but its owners’ riches were obtained from coal mining in northeastern Pennsylvania. The original mistress, Bessie Pardee Van Wickle, was the daughter of coal baron Ario Pardee who with his son Calvin Pardee, was responsible for the Lattimer Massacre in which 18 unarmed miners were murdered by sheriff’s deputies.

We stopped in New Bedford to fill up the van and pick up swordfish and steamers. Had the clams tonight with a green salad.

Great day.  Ron loved it.  He imagined how much fun a five year old boy would have at that vast estate, with its gigantic lawn, rocks, gardens and bosquet.

Celebrated Mary’s birthday today at the Quarterdeck.  

Afterwards, visited with the Kabats to schmooze about SPE.  

Posted two correct photos of the common area at 95 Edgewater.  Got the 411 from a realtor about the new owners of a house on Briar Patch.

We were going to take the day off today but Ron ended up watering and fertilizing the front and side lawn here and I put in a new 9 foot wide oval flower garden with 100 daffodil/Narcissus bulbs.

We used about half of Ron’s compost, which is out of this world fabulous.

Ron completed the aeration at both properties today.  Hat’s off to him for being a great sport about it when I called him from Botello’s to tell him I’d rented the machine.

I did my usual weeding, pruning and watering.  By the time we needed to put the aerator back on the truck, my arms were dead, and I was screaming in sheer frustration.

Fortunately, one of our neighbors stopped to help Ron.  Thank goodness for nice people!