Paul

Summer vacation in New England had three objectives this year. First, we visited with my Mom and family at my sister’s beach house in Niantic, CN and had a wonderful time there. My three children were there also. After that we attended a treatment-free bee conference in Leominster, MA for four days while tenting nearby. “Treatment-free” has a specific meaning – these are bee keepers who do not use chemicals or antibiotics in their hives, do not feed bees junk to make lots of junk honey, and make a point of using “natural” (not muscled-up modern oversized) bees.

A pound of red wigglers (Eisenia fetida) arrived at our front door today, courtesy of USPS, and they are now settling into their new home – a plastic compost bin Fran assembled at a vermicomposting workshop she recently attended at Scott Arboretum.

We spent most of the first week of August (six days, five nights, to be exact) on a backpacking trip through the Green Mountains of Vermont. We officially began our hike at the Lye Brook Wilderness Area and later joined up with Vermont’s famous Long Trail and the Appalachian Trail.

For Christmas last year, William gave us a night at St Raphaela Retreat House that he had purchased at a charity auction at St. Joseph’s University. Fran and I decided to make this our own silent retreat as a couple – something that we had previously discussed but never done. Early May was an ideal time to use William’s gift.

When we learned that one of Lower Merion Conservancy's Winter Treks was a "Divine Saunter," a tour of the Woodmont Estate, led by Mother Divine, we signed right up.

The Villanova Psychology Department hosted a luncheon in my honor at Pond Restaurant in Radnor, PA on January 9th. There was excellent food, company, and conversation. I particularly appreciate the many tributes offered by my fellow faculty. Some were serious, some humorous, many were both. My comments similarly combined these two elements.