Hey, Bunny.

Hey, Bunny.
Originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge

Between the Jeep and the back door, guess who I ran into tonight? Yes, Mr. Bunny. Lord knows where he spent the winter hanging out. Probably shivering under some pile of leaves. But spring is here and I guess he's out and about, up to this-and-that in the south gardens. Oh crap, I suppose this spells hell for my would-be lettuce and radish garden, huh?

Front Gate

Front Gate
Originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge

Well -- this isn't my front gate (its actually someone else's gate just west of the intersection of Dutchess County Route 28 and State Highway 9D), but man would I like to have something like this down at the bottom of my drive. I'll have to keep a close eye on Craig's List for someone selling off something like this used. Ditto, the cowboy fence.

Monday Car Show

Monday Car Show
Originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge

So uh -- just on my way home Monday night, and low and behold, an impromptu car show down at the Smoke Haus. LP knows this place, and so does Mom & Jason -- all have had fantastic Smoke Haus BBQ sandwiches. So I guess they do ice cream and car shows too!

Reminders

Reminders
Originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge

I had to remind the neighbors of a little something this weekend -- namely, their shrub prunings, lawn clippings and tree trimmings are not to be tossed across the street into my woods. In short, "No Dumping!"

Laundry in the Wind

Laundry in the Wind
Originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge

How this for being a stunning urbanite like myself? Hanging my comforter cover to line dry in the North yard. Gotta admit, you can't do this in the city. Well, I mean, people do, yeah, but I certainly wouldn't. I'm much too snobby to have my bedding hanging out in the breeze all over the Lower East Side (Hi! Wash & Fold!).

Nevertheless, up here at Tall Pines, we're taking advantage of God's Own Dryer, the sun & the wind. On Earth Day. We're very green. Earth Day Everyday, folks.

A Layover (or This Evening Reeks of Wine)

A Layover (or This Evening Reeks of Wine)
Originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge

So let's do the math, because this is fun math. Once MM and KS got here, we went shopping for the night. One night, mind you. Liquor store, ECG $134 and MM $155 (17 bottles wine, plus one bottle each scotch and vodka). Stewart's for cigarettes and a 16 oz. coffee + three Mega Millions tickets, $12. A&P for snacks, dinner and breakfast, $120. Total, $421. Divide by three people and still I put it to you to have as much fun as we did anywhere else for cheaper.

Marius and Kristie

Marius and Kristie
Originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge

Phone rings at 3:00 Saturday. Guess who's on the Gin-and-Taconic Parkway zipping past Beacon? You got it -- Marius and Kristie driving back from Saratoga. They were doing some thing up there for the GDAP. Hospitality being our hallmark, Tall Pines put them up for the night.

Minimal firearms and photography.

The Terminal

The Terminal
Originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge

Grand Central Terminal. This is the view (swear to God) from a bar stool I like at a restaurant called Metrazur. Sometimes, when really early for a train, I'll drop in here and have a bit of the good stuff before dashing to the tracks.

I arrive here in the morning, and depart from here at night. Look at this place. What a way to start and end the day.

Excerpt

Excerpt
Originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge

"It was winter, and the house needed a lot of work before we moved in. As I proceeded to rip the skin from my fingertips trying to pry old linoleum from the floors, I began to feel less confident about our decision. The place seemed smaller than I remembered. At night, the woods were dark and deep and not at all lovely, and stray dogs howled for hours on end. The cabin, a post-and-beam construction lacking nails, ticked in the cold and sounded as if it were slowly falling apart. While I was trying to replace the busted fixtures on the bathroom sink, I thought longingly about how, when we were renting, this was all someone else’s problem."

Excerpt from: "Winter in Tennessee," by Kevin Wilson, NY Times Magazine, Feb. 22, 2009. Sent to me as hard-copy, through my parents, ripped from the magazine, from Dr. Jim Brown, former head of the WVU Theater Department.

Office Chair

Office Chair
Originally uploaded by Tall Pines Lodge

LP and TWF turned me on to a pretty sweet Emeco office chair. Extremely nice, high quality and well crafted, this is a chair for the long haul. Classic form.

LP and I zipped into the city today to pick it up -- 70 minutes each way by car. Well, Jeep.

I just have to say -- Thanks, LP. Once again, you make things just that much better.