Heading home from Trader Joe's, purpleglitter spotted a snapping turtle in the opposite lane, cars zooming around it. She attempted to pull over immediately, however an ambulance behind us boomed its horn when she attempted to slow down and there really wasn't a curb at that point to pull onto. The ambulance had neither its sirens nor its flashing lights on and appeared content to travel along with the normal flow of traffic.

About 150 feet away, there was a good bit of curb and purpleglitter pulled onto it. I ran over to see if the turtle was still okay. I was glad to see that someone had stopped in front of it, blocking traffic in that direction. She had attempted to move the turtle, but it had lunged at her and she backed off. The turtle was quite large and quite angry, it definitely didn't want to be messed with. I stood behind it while the other person stood in front to keep it distracted. I grabbed the turtle by its sides and picked it up. That really pissed it off. It flailed its short legs and lunged its head at me, attempted to reach my hands with its formidable beak.

There was a small lake across the road, which I assume is where it came from as it had clearly recently been in water. I crossed over the guard rail and walked down the incline to the lake. I didn't want to simply set the turtle down, because I was worried it would use the opportunity to exact revenge on me. So, I squatted down by the edge of the lake and gently threw the turtle in. Even though the drop was a short one, I waited to see it swim off before I climbed back to the road.

I had left my purse with person who had blocked traffic, and upon retrieving it I headed back toward purpleglitter's car. purpleglitter was walking towards me already and we met halfway, smiled, and went home.

purpleglitter, zarthon, and I spent the last night in Hadley. This morning, I woke up first and walked down Route 9 in Hadley for the first time since I lived here. I touched its pavement and it felt like touching an old friend. I realized then that I was never really homeless when I lived here, not in the truest sense of the word.

A home does not need walls or doors or any of those things which make up a house or an apartment. Home is the place where the soul finds its center and my home was larger and more beautiful than any mansion. My home was Route 9, that glorious stretch of asphalt between the center of Northampton and University Drive in Amherst.

I'm back in Boston. I had a great deal of fun with My sister, niece, brother-in-law, and mom. Maddie is a little ball of energy. Well, not little, she's quite big for a 7 year old. Smart and creative, but I just can't keep up with her.

The day I arrived, Thursday, we pretty much stayed around the house and relaxed. My mom had already been there for several days and was already settled in.

Friday, Christian stayed home while Maddie, Bridgette, my mom, and I went down to Georgetown. We hit Lush and Godiva and went to Dean & Deluca for lunch. While I've seen central meter machines in parking lots, I'd never seen a central machine for street parking before. I guess it is more efficient than having a separate parking meter for each spot, I'm just not used to it. The biggest disadvantage I see with the central machine system is that if it breaks down it disrupts the use of a number of parking spots at once.

Saturday we drove into Virginia through wine country and went to Linden Vineyards (nothing to do with Second Live). That was my favorite part of the trip down. Relaxing doesn't even begin to describe the place. Surrounded by rows of grapes and vine watching the clouds shadow-dance on the Blue Ridge Mountains. The cigar Christian gave me to smoke at the vineyard not only went perfectly with the cheese and wine, but also with the surrounding tranquility.

Sunday, I got up later than I had planned, but not so late that it caused any hassle in catching my flight. Upon leaving, Christian gave me some cigars, along with a 15-pack of Rocky Patel vintage 1992s, one of my favorites. My mom gave me a wonderful dragon cane when I arrived at the house and I was a bit worried about getting on the flight with 2 canes, but I didn't have any hassle and the return trip from Reagan National to Logan went smoothly.

I had hoped to get some good bird pictures, but unfortunately my birding camera is not working. I noticed it my first day there. It seems to be a connection problem with the battery prongs, which should be repairable. But, I was glad to see that Maddie loved birds and birdwatching despite her father's hatred of them.

A lot of people seem to think the response to the Mooninite devices was overblown and paranoid. While I certainly agree that a lot of the post-9/11 security in the United States has been based on paranoia, I find it completely reasonable to treat strange unknown electronic devices attached to supports for overhanging highways with a high degree of suspicion.

I've always been under the impression that it is not legal to put up unauthorized electronic billboards on public structures along the highway...

I went out on a coffee house crawl with Heather this evening. Saint Charles has changed a lot. It's got a much more vibrant artistic community than it had when I lived in the area. I was impressed by the variety and quality of the local artists.

One of the coffee houses was in the New Town at Saint Charles development. It is a planned sustainable community with mixed income levels and a focus on pedestrianism and environment. Narrow streets laid out on a grid and shops and residences within easy walking distance from each other, it's a great alternative to suburban sprawl. Even though it is still very much being built, it already has a warmth and a personality. If I were planning to move back to this area, New Town would be at the top of my list.

I just spent several hours trying to get these pictures to upload. Very frustrated with LiveJournal and Semagic. Will, of