June 1 Flowers in the Garden

The flowers have once again made their annual appearance.
Our old fashioned yellow rose from Lina is coming in to bloom

The Iris are in full bloom

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Daisies are everywhere.  Spiraea is just gone past.

Obstacles for Bicycles in my commute to work

JULY, 2015

I didn't see this one coming, Flat Tire

Oil and gravel on the road by work.  Slower travel on the side of the road for bicycles.

From June, 2014

Some items on the side of the road

Not a large obstacle

After a storm, down branches migrate to the side of the road

This drainage grate was hidden under a puddle on a rainy day when I hit it.  Fortunately I didn't get thrown from my bike, as there was traffic

On the Road Again

Tuesday, March 11, 2014 first bike ride to work this year.  Temperature was in the 40's.  Perhaps my last ride for at least a week, as the temperatures are lunging tomorrow.  Last year, 2013, I started on February 15.

Broken Glass

Flat tires on my bike.  What a pain.  This past October I had two flat tires.  Here is the culprit in my flat tires, broken glass.  Once it gets a hold on my tire, it works it's way up through the tire.  When it gets thru the inside of the tire, it punctures the inner tube and the tire goes flat.  This glass seems to be everywhere along the sides of the roads that I ride to work on.

House Renovation Savings - geothermal heatpump payback

In the year 2010 we installed a geothermal heat pump, along with some other energy upgrades.  The upgrades we more attic insulation, blowing insulation into the walls, new cellar windows, cfl lights throughout.  I have been trying to quantify our savings using the new system.
I recently found an online calculator to help me.
Just using the geothermal upgrade, we have a 23% cost savings.
Including upgrades for insulation, cfl lights, and tightening the windows, we are estimated to have a 43% savings.
It has been hard for me to judge, with the varying weather and varying prices of electric and gas.  I know that we are paying less, but have not yet come up with a concrete number for how much less.

Bridge of Flowers

This Memorial Day weekend we visited the Bridge of Flowere, at Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts.  The bridge was built as a trolley bridge in 1908, by 1928 the trolley was gone, and the bridge had become an eyesore.  The Sherburne Falls Women's Club sponsored a renaissance for the bridge, bringing in soil, and plants and fertilizer to plant the bridge.

Bicycle paths in Heidelberg Germany

My wife Ginny and I vacationed in Heidelberg, Germany this April.  I took some pictures of bicycle lanes.  Some lanes are next to traffic on the street, some are on the sidewalk.