There’s quite a rainbow today!
Mother orders that Photographs Be Taken.
They duly are.
The Duck from our front lawn. I can’t remember who is aboard.
Yes, I did actually lug my hammock all the way from Boulder, through Boston, to Chester, and back. We all enjoyed it immensely! And I even slept a night in it when Nat, with whom I’d been staying, moved to Delaware.
Mother and Dog.
In its infinite wisdom, the government of Nova Scotia tore up an enormous number of railroad tracks. They’re now multi-use paths (pedestrians, mountain bikes, ATVs, skiers, snowmobilers, equestrians…).

I’m obsessed with them: they are long, straight, graded for trains, they pass through strategically important places with long stretches of gorgeous scenery betwixt, and there are very few road crossings. Because they are straight, long, and flat, they are suboptimal (pretty but boring) for most forms of recreation. However, exactly those characteristics make them uniquely suited to one thing besides trains…

Were they to be paved, they’d make absolutely brilliant bike paths for recreation and truly effective human-powered transportation. I’m pretty sure I could keep up a minimum speed of 30km/h on them on my bike, and probably average 40! The superb grading means that a velomobile could maintain much higher speeds. It could be the beginning of one of the world’s best bike path systems. But good luck convincing the government to pave them and ban motor vehicles.
Hayseed IV has seen a little re-rigging lately, and finally she’s a brilliant daysailer. Part of the credit must go to the Dutchman sail-flaking system—much like lazyjacks, but possibly better. Yes, she still has running backstays, but the fixed backstay will keep the mast up.