i left soon afterwards to catch the 73 bus leaving harvard square. we were due for some torrential rain later in the evening, but the sky was already grey and dark enough that i was afraid it'd start raining early. passing by the harvard engineering school, i noticed the tall crane and saw they'd chopped down one of the large trees that used to grow on the lawn. it was a magnificent tree too, i think a beech, with intricate branching and an umbrella-like canopy. it must've been diseased but the tree looked perfectly healthy to me. also surprising was how harvard was able to get away with cutting down such a large tree when cambridge currently has a tree removal moratorium, even on private property. but with the amount of money harvard has, i'm curious to see what they'll plant there, since i can't believe they would just leave that spot empty. they can afford to buy a big tree and pay to have it properly delivered and planted.
my parents weren't home, they went on a costco supply run this morning, bringing my sister's godmother along the way because she's visiting taiwan in another week and wants to bring back some presents. the house was still littered with items from their unpacking, mostly food. first thing i did when i got back was to put the tarp over the motorcycle, spray a second coat of de-icer on the snowplow, and move the car into the driveway. in the backyard, i added water to the bird baths; they must've been used because they were all empty.
my parents came home in the late afternoon. they were also preparing some food at the cafe to bring to the chinese new year dinner we'd be having at my aunt and uncle's place. we left for arlington around 5:30pm.
