By Esther C. Baird First Published in the Tri-Town Transcript Boxford Topsfield Middleton — Well, I’m willing to believe that it’s finally spring. I’m still often chilly but I can sense that soon I will feel consistently warm, perhaps even hot. So in a fit of optimism, I tackled that spring time task that strikes…
The Baird Facts
Packing up the Universe
By Esther C. Baird First Published in the Tri-Town Transcript Boxford Topsfield Middleton — I don’t want to alarm you, but it’s possible that by the end of this column, a hole in the space time continuum may open up and suck us in. Further, the hole is located in Baltimore in a neighborhood that…
Painting until Spring Comes
By Esther C. Baird First Published in the Tri-Town Transcript Boxford Topsfield Middleton — Perhaps by the time this column goes to print, this last round of snow will be a distant memory. But as I type, it’s an all-consuming reality. We are like so many Laura Ingalls in our very own Long Winter. So…
A Rustle In The Garden
A Rustle in the Garden BY ESTHER BAIRD Published in RevelantONLINE on APRIL 5, 2012 Last year, after we celebrated Easter, our first-grade daughter, who was suddenly on a story-writing tear, decided to write down an Easter account she could read to our family. She wrote seven pages full of great detail: Jesus on the…
This story drives her quackery
By Esther Baird First Published in the Beverly Citizen Mar 12, 2008 I know it’s an institution. I know that as a parent living in the greater Boston area I ought to ooze with affection for it. But this is one bit of local culture I could happily do without. I refer to — in…
‘Tis better to have gusto than grace
By Esther Baird First published in the Beverly Citizen Feb 26, 2008 Grace is not the most striking quality of the women in my family. As such, we’ve produced no ballerinas. As a little girl, I was given to climbing trees and catching snakes. My two good friends, on the other hand, both took ballet and,…
Polar Plunge Revisited
By Esther C. Baird First Published in the Beverly Citizen, February 14, 2008 “Four, three . . .” the crowd screamed. “Wait!” I yelled. “Now? Is it now?” I danced around like a maniac. “I didn’t hear ten! Who started counting? So it’s now?” “TWO!” The crowd surged around me. “ONE!”…
Time for a dog of our own?
By Esther Baird First published in the Beverly Citizen Jan 30, 2008, Both my husband and I come from dog families. As growing children we experienced all those great doggy benefits: Exercise, times outdoors, and the tried-and-true responsibility of caring for a living creature. But now we have two young children, and we’re good on those fronts….
Sledding not all it’s cracked up to be
By Esther Baird First published in the Beverly Citizen Jan 15, 2008 Today it’s sunny and warm. Tomorrow it’s supposed to snow “heavily” — up to 14 inches. Great. The snow pack in front of our house was finally starting to melt and we’d just stopped tracking rock salt through the foyer. All that sunshine…
Some Christmas Photo Fun
By Esther Baird First Published in the Beverly Citizen Dec 12, 2007 Our Christmas decorations went up the day after Thanksgiving. We wrapped our house in garland and lights and put our tree in the front window where it shimmers and twinkles. Our small nativity set is under a poinsettia, and while one of the…