The Middle of April in Salt Water New England - A Few of My Photos

All Photos of/by Muffy Aldrich

 

Casual Friday

Photo by Muffy Aldrich

• Made in the USA Corn Hole Boards from The Muddy Dog <https://www.themuddydog.com/>

• Made in Scotland Lambswool Crew Neck (Past Season Color) from Cordings of Piccadilly <https://www.cordings.co.uk/us/lambswool-crew-neck-navy.html>

• Made in the USA Bengals from Mercer (Past Season) <https://mercerandsons.com/collections/stripes>

• Made in the USA Khakis from Jack Donnelly <https://jackdonnelly.com/collections/twill-chino/products/twill-chino-m2-straight>

• Made in the USA D-Ring Motif Belt from Leather Man <https://www.elizab.com/d-ring-motif-belt.html>

• Made Who Knows Where Boat Shoes - Sperry Originals <https://www.sperry.com/>

Salt Marsh Walk: Ten Bird Species in About An Hour

One short walk in a salt marsh and by the ocean can provide an opportunity to see a variety of beautiful birds, even if many keep their distance. Here are some seen this April day in less than sixty minutes.

1. Ospreys (nesting)

Ospreys gather sticks for their nest.

2. Mallards (nesting)

A Pair of Mallards

A Reader Question: Flying Jackets?

 A reader question:

Dear Muffy,

May I ask the readership a question please.

I am a fan of flying jackets (being an amateur pilot) and have been collecting them since my teens. I have always worn them both for flying and casual wear and I have a variety both modern and vintage including an ex USAAF leather A2 from the second world war. I think they look especially good with an OCBD and a pair of khakis.

Do any other readers share my enthusiasm for this item of clothing?

Kind regards

A Spring Cricket

All Photos by/of Muffy Aldrich

When the sun is bright and the air still chilly, it is an ideal time to break out the cricket sweaters for being out and about.  This one, from Cordings of Piccadilly, is particularly lovely as it is Made in Scotland of 90% wool and 10% cashmere.  Thick and soft.

I also have one in Navy and Cordings has added a third color this year, Burgundy.

My tattersall shirt is a Sero that I bought directly from their Connecticut factory somewhere between the late 1970s and the late 1980s.  I went to so many of their factory sales back then that I lose track of what I got when.

And the new Lotuff Small Tote is still in use in its distinctive color, their new Glacier.  A very Scottish color.

Shown:

• Cordings' Cream Cable Wool and Cashmere V-Neck <https://www.cordings.co.uk/us/cream-cable-supersoft-v-neck.html>

• Cordings' Teviot Tweed Paddock Jacket <https://www.cordings.co.uk/us/teviot-tweed-paddock-jacket.html>

• Sero Tattersall Shirt

• Cordings' Beige Cotton Stretch Lily Jeans <https://www.cordings.co.uk/us/beige-cotton-stretch-lily-jeans.html>

•  Leather Small Tote in Glacier from Lotuff <https://lotuffleather.com/collections/totes/products/leather-small-tote?variant=49637328093488>
  

 

A Question for the Community: Good Use of Sabbaticals?

A question for the community:  What has been a good use of a sabbatical?

From the New York Times today:

Now, many younger workers are opting not to wait until retirement, and are leaving an extended gap between jobs to invest in other parts of their life. But not everyone wants to call it a sabbatical: Some people prefer the term “mini-retirement” or “micro-retirement.”

“Sabbaticals are seen as the thing that an organization offers to you for paid time off, and then you come back to that job,” said Kira Schabram, an assistant professor at the University of Washington who is researching such breaks. “People are just taking it into their own hands.” 

- To Escape the Grind, Young People Turn to ‘Mini-Retirements’ <https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/us/young-people-work-mini-retirement.html>

A Reader Question: For what are we saving our favorite clothes?

 A reader question:

Do you find that you wear your favorite Bosie colors less often than the ones you would consider a bit more prosaic? I ask because we hosted a birthday party today and I "upped my game" a bit by wearing one of my favorite Bosies (I think the color was called 'Ice Blue' or something similar). In any event, every time I wear this particular sweater, I think, "Good heavens, this is beautiful! Why don't I wear it more often?"

I wear sweaters on an almost daily basis through the winter here in northern Michigan, but day in and day out they're the Bosies I like but don't love: Medium Gray, Clipper Blue, Pineshadow Green, Autumn Crisp Gold, etc. Is this silly? At age 68, the Bosies I wear only infrequently are going to far outlive me. What am I saving my favorites for anyway?

Best wishes,

The Beginning of April in Salt Water New England - A Few of My Photos

All photos of/by Muffy Aldrich

 

Arthur Beale X National Maritime Museum Greenwich

Photo of Muffy Aldrich

From Arthur Beale's collaboration with the National Maritime Museum, The Maritime Submarine Roll Neck Pullover, Made in Britain of 100% British Wool.

Shown:

• Arthur Beale Maritime Submariner Pullover <https://arthurbeale.co.uk/products/the-maritime-jumper>

Shown with:

• Ultima Ladies Sailing Boot - Brown <https://us.dubarry.com/collections/womens-sailing-boots/products/ladies-sailing-boot-brown-ultima>

• Beige Cotton Stretch Lily Jeans <https://www.cordings.co.uk/us/beige-cotton-stretch-lily-jeans.html>