This Is Framingham

Ethan already did a great post about Farm Pond but I thought I’d do another one since we went there over the weekend.
On the top my list of favorite animals are turtles, and I love getting a glimpse of them in the wild.  I had some as pets that I set up in a “luxury” tank (waterfall filter system, vitamin D lights, proper PH, live fish to eat) 10 years ago but had to give them up when I moved to the west coast.  I still think about them and hope they got good homes and I love seeing turtles outside enjoying themselves.
What I also noticed at Farm Pond was the number of turtles enjoying themselves on tires people have thrown into the pond and the surrounding area. ??????? ufc  



I’m not completely sure what the effects of tires in the pond are, but my gut feeling tells me it’s probably not a good thing, in addition to it looking terrible.  I know tires on the ground that have pools of water in them harbor mosquito breeding. ???? ????  
It’s surprising that people took the time to drive these down to a section of the pond that is on the same street as the recycle drop off building, or they could have just called the Department of Public Works for curbside pick-up.  Yes, it’s $2 a tire but how many tires could someone have that they can’t afford properly disposing of these things? 
I started wondering what kind of person doesn’t think anything of rolling tires into a pond and the image of Cletus Spuckler came to mind.
I know the turtles were enjoying themselves but I called the Board of Health (as directed on the DPW website) about getting these removed. 
Anyway, it was nice to see so many turtles.  I happened to be looking the other way but Ethan said he saw one about 1. ????? ??? 5 feet long before it slipped into the water.  I’m guessing it was a snapper but was still bummed I missed seeing it so I’ll believe he just made that up : )
Farm Pond, besides the tires, is nice.  People were sunning themselves and walking their dogs in the middle part and I’m glad there is a place in this area to do enjoy.

This morning we went to Anthony’s Cafe & Grill at 740 Waverly St.
Inside is clean and kind of small with an open kitchen. They have a counter and about 6 tables, I forget exactly how many.

Ethan got the pancakes (as usual) and side of bacon.

I got raisin french toast and a side of corned beef hash, which I don’t usually get but I was in the mood for it.

The hash was exactly what I was craving and the french toast was delicious, I could have eaten all three pieces but decided to call it quits after two.  Ethan said the pancakes were very good also. 
Although there was nothing really unique about the breakfast menu, I did like that it says they have real maple syrup by request, so we both asked for it.  They had a few different varieties of brewed coffee, including decaf so that was nice.  Service was friendly and efficient.  Not much more you could ask for from a little neigborhood breakfast place.
I would go back and try lunch sometime.

Last week we remembered we wanted to get our cat, Clyde, this toy we saw a while ago called “Thing in a Bag”

As much as I hate Shopper’s (stupid) World, we thought Petsmart would be a good place to find Thing in a Bag. They didn’t have it but we did see in the back of the store, there is a doggie daycare which has a glass wall and you can watch dogs run around and play. 

I was impressed that everyone seemed to get along and was having a good time.
We don’t have the time or the yard for a dog but we always find them so funny to watch. Often times seeing a dog’s expression while they stick their head out the window of a passing car will be the highlight of the day.  They’re just so sincere in their happiness, it’s funny.  Anyway, we could have sat there all day and watched these dogs run around and play.

While watching the dogs, we were approached by someone who works at the animal hospital that is right in the store.  He gave us a tour and showed us they have an operating room, quarantine area and heated pads for the cages.  The guy gave us a card that is good for a free first-time physical.  We may end up using this since Clyde doesn’t have a vet and we’ve been putting off taking him because he’s been healthy but he’s also a little fat and has a gut (long story how he turned out this way) and we didn’t want to get yelled at by the vet but this guy said he has a fat cat too and they won’t yell at us.

So maybe we’ll bring him down to see if they can see why he’s so fat, maybe they’ll tell us he’s just “big boned’.

(old photo from the winter, it’s all I had on file)

Last night I was elected town meeting member for precinct 13 (the fightin’ thirteenth!) and am now officially a small part of town government : )
I’d like to think I was elected for my little speech I gave about wanting to help make Framingham a better place, but I think the fact that no one else was vying for the vacancy helped just a tad.  Either way, the other TMMs I met were really friendly and welcoming.  Soon after the vote, the town meeting was getting ready to start so I was rushed over to a table to sign a form, was asked to raise my right hand and got sworn in.  Then I was handed a bunch of handbooks, grabbed a seat and started being a town meeting member.  It was funny how fast it all happened.

I had never been to an actual town meeting before, it was really inspiring to hear people from all parts of town voice their opinions.  One in particular from precinct 14 (I think it was 14) who got up to speak and said his precinct in downtown may have problems but there are good, hard working people that live there and we need to pull together to make it better.  I think so many times downtown just gets dismissed as “slumville” and a hopeless case but people that live there really want to make it a place people are proud of.
I know personally, when I tell people I own a house downtown I get some sympathetic looks like “I’m sorry life hasn’t worked out for you” or I can see in their eyes they picture I my house is practically condemned with a la-z-boy recliner in the front yard.  It doesn’t have to be that way though and it’s nice to hear other residents in downtown feel so strongly about that too.
Anyway, I’m excited to be able to be even small part of what goes on in town and find out how it works to make things happen in town.

I ride by Bill’s grill 5 days a week and have had it on my list of places to try for a while.
Finally, this past weekend Ethan got up during breakfast hours and we went down to check it out.
Inside is pretty much what I expected, just enough room for a counter with about 10 seats and three mini-booths for two up againt the wall.  The menu is also what I expected, standard breakfast fare; eggs, bacon, pancakes etc…
Although, on the menu it does say to ask for something if you don’t see it.
The waitress, who mainly stays behind the counter, was friendly and asked from behind the counter if we wanted coffee.   Incase anyone cares, she made a note to tell me when I asked for decaf, that it’s instant. ??? ??? ????????
For breakfast I just got a couple of eggs and sausage that comes with home fries and toast.

Ethan got pancakes and bacon:

This is a very neighborhood type place, everyone seemed to know everyone’s name who walks in, although were not made uncomfortable that we’ve never been in there before.
It’s another “it is what it is” type of place, it lived up to my expectation of being a place to get a decent breakfast and it wasn’t disappointing.  It’s nice to have little neighborhood places like this still around. ??? ?????? ??????? 2023 ????

This past weekend we decided to stop into Watch City Cigar (497 Worcester Rd.-Route 9) just to see what this place was like.  As expected, it’s very masculine inside.  On their website they have a link called “Manly stuff for manly men” that goes to their gift page.

Even though I know nothing about cigars, pipes or anything in here, I was impressed they had so many items and they were nicely displayed too. There was a guy behind the counter was friendly and offered to answer any questions we had.

This was the first time ever I asked if I could take a picture and the person didn’t even take a second to think about it, he immediately responded with “Sure, why not?”.  Most places will let me take a picture but it’s after I explain why because they want to know (which is understandable) but this guy didn’t even question it.  I just thought that was interesting and I didn’t expect it since I saw a few security cameras in there and they have some higher priced items.
As professional as this place is, it seems they have a good sense of humor too, if you look at some of the questions on their FAQ page.  Along with answers to pipe measurements and return policies are answers to questions like “Why is Ernie looking at me like that?” and “Who is the handsome guy that looks like Tom Selleck?”
Along with cigars, pipes, tobacco, humidors and novelty lighters, some of their “manly stuff” is walking sticks, shaving sets and flasks.  You can buy your own wooden “cigar store Indian” too.  Incase anyone is wondering what the Waltham (Watch City) connection is, they used to have their store there before moving here.

 

I don’t know if anyone else has noticed, but as I mentioned in another post, the traffic lights going from North to South in downtown are not timed/configured right.  This is a common display of what happens with the lights all the time – being told you can go but you can’t go because the lights in front of you are red. This is with no trains going by either. 
I heard the other day that this summer the traffic lights downtown are going to be recombobulated to allow cars to move.  Also good to know there is an actual team of people working on the 126 underpass dream/idea/plan.  Who knows, maybe one day driving through downtown might be a pleasant tolerable driving experience. 
Also nice, is that Framingham was granted $50,000 to do something with so on searching the town website I found a nice little document that explains how that money will be used to improve paths and lighting between the commuter rail and parking at Franklin St.

It’s easy to forget sometimes that people actually care about improving downtown and it’s not just a lost cause (although it’s hard not to feel that way sometimes).