Enough snow to track a rabbit...

An old tale from my childhood goes something like this: The way you can tell how many major snows there will be in a winter is to note the date of the first snow of the year that is heavy enough to track a rabbit. That date will equate to how many snows there will be.

Well, today, November 15, is the first snow of the year here in McCartyville and you can certainly track a rabbit in this one. You'll notice I got the boat put away for the winter too.

Each year, once in the late fall and then again in the early spring, my neighbor, Jim, comes over and helps me take the motor off the boat. I suppose I could try to wrastle if off the boat and get it on the stand in the garage by myself, but it only takes the two of us about five minutes and we don't get all greasy and buggered up doing it. He usually brings one of the boys over when he comes -- whoever has his homework done I guess. Anyway, I told them the snow/rabbit tale and guess what, he remembered it. Now he's delightedly looking ahead to lots of snow days this winter.

Bailey went out with me today to walk in the snow. She can't see it, but she remembered it. One big flake fell right on her nose. I'm talking at least an inch wide one. She pulled up short, licked it off, and then kinda ran around a bit, licking the snow off the ground just like she used to do. The flakes are so big she looks like a Dalmation Lab!!

Another sight that always makes me pause and think of the things we have that we had no hand in paying for is the snow falling on the graves of the Civil War Vets' in the cemetery behind our house. The flags waving in the breeze provides a stunning contrast of red, white and blue with the snow on the ground and the green of the pines. The snow is coming down so heavily right now, the fields behind the cemetery almost look like they are in a heavy fog. Kinda eerie. Kinda powerful.

Earth, teach me to forget myself as melted snow forgets its life, teach me resignation as the leaves which die in the fall, teach me courage as the tree which stands all alone...teach me regeneration as the seed which rises in the spring. (William Alexander)

Hooah

Now, just you hold on a minute!!!!!!!

Saturday, Pam and I went to an open house welcome back party for one of my old Sergeants-Major who had just returned from his latest deployment to Iraq (by the way, I hope it is his last -- he's getting too old for this crap). We had a great visit. Two of my other Army buddies were there -- Dave, a former CSM, and Bob, a former 1SG. One nice thing was they all brought their wives so Pam got to meet some and renew friendships with others.

So far, so good. Then we drove back to McCartyville and pulled up in front of the mail box to see what we got besides all those obnoxious, annoying political flyers. And there it was...in fact there THEY were.

I immediately thought about calling the Post Master to file a complaint. How could she be so cruel. Pam and I make Christmas candy and always leave a big platefull for the mail lady, and she does this to us!!!

She delivered those inevitable signs that time waits for no man (or woman) -- GOLDEN BUCKEYE cards. "Say it ain't so, Joe." I remember when my parents got theirs -- and I thought how old they were. I can recall how my mom went into denial. In fact, I think Pam might be doing the same thing.

Well, I finally sucked it up and put mine in my wallet. Might as well use it, I guess. Pam finally today took hers off the little sticky greetings card thingy that it comes on telling you you are getting closer and closer to being old. It's still sitting on the counter in the kitchen though.

The next day, I thought I would give this thing a whirl and see what I could get for it. I went to the Speedway for a cup of coffee after church. You're right -- no dice. They take money, they take Speedy rewards cards, but no Golden Buckeye card. Then I went to Tim Horton's and sadly found out the same thing. Soooooooo, Mr. Golden Buckeye -- you're 0-2. Since the state of Ohio didn't send a list of places I could use this thing, I thought I should go online to see what they had to offer. I printed a list of places in Shelby and Miami counties. Mickey-Ds is in, and so is Wendy's, so that's good. And I guess it's better than nothing.

Since we're looking at an immenent move to PA, I went online to see if they have anything there like this program. Nope. And if they did, they'd probably tax it anyway. Oh, well.

I'll still throw away the AARP things we get in the mail. I don't believe in most of their political stances. But I'll use this card. Thanks Ohio for thinking of your older citizens -- even if I/we don't think we're there yet.

"Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many." (Author Unknown)

Hooah

Milford Trip, Part 3...

Let me give you a little run down on the borough of Milford, just in case you're wondering what two almost-sixty year-olds are doing moving from Ohio to the land of snow and liberal politics.

The town seems to be a getaway for New Yorkers wanting to get out of the city, to escape higher taxes and higher cost of living issues. The main drag, Routes 6 and 209 which intersect at what I think is the only stop light in the town, is non-stop traffic on weekends and everyone seems to have a New York or New Jersey plate. In fact, when I got up at about 3:30 in the morning to go to the bathroom, I looked out the window of the room at the B&B where we were staying and there was still scattered traffic. There also seems to be lots of motorcycle traffic there -- Harleys cruising the backroads of PA with Bruce Springsteen wannabees.

The town itself is pretty nice from what we can tell. We had pizza on Thursday night at the pizza place across the street from the B&B. It was pretty good. As expected, it turned into the teen hangout on the weekend. On Friday, we spent the day with a realtor. Saturday and Sunday were spent the day with Doug, Danika and Quinn. We did a lot of walking throughout the town, which has some really nice shops and attractions.

The borough is trying to build on its tourism theme by having several festivals throughout the year. The weekend we were there was the Blackbear Film Festival weekend. I'm sure that brought lots of people in who might not have been there otherwise. The old movie house where the "indie films" (that's what they call independent films) were shown was right out of the 50s. They had a refreshment tent set up outside and had art and other items for sale. There was a silent auction for lots of things, including the black bear sculptures produced for the festival. There were two bears that I liked -- the "Indy (Indiana Jones) Bear" and the "Armed Forces Bear" (notice ARMY is on top!!).

They had a sign advertising the film festival's location on this old truck, a 1928 Chevrolet. One thing I liked about it was how simple the dash board was. Kind of reminds me of the Cessna 152 I first learned to fly in. I think that's one of the things I like about Milford, things on the surface appear to be simplistic and pretty easy to adapt to. The people I met that weekend appeared to be real down home people and easy to talk to. We drove down to one of the shopping areas and saw the Wal-Mart, the Staples store and other smaller shops. The main downtown area of Milford is full of shops with charm and appeal. Lots of the buildings are over 100 years old and all have been maintained very well. The streets are wide and tree-lined. We also drove past the local high school. It looks like a nice school. I was told that the top four grades have somewhere over 1,700 students or so. It was Friday night and people were pulling in the parking lot, getting ready for that night's football game. From the looks of the traffic entering the parking lot, they take their football there as seriously as they do in Ohio. I'm looking forward to seeing them play. They also have a Zane Gray museum in Milford. I thought my old hometown of Zanesville Ohio had the only one. I learned something new.
*********************************************************
Unfortunately, we did not find that one house that said "buy me." We're still looking, but have since seen a couple of real strong possibilities on the internet. We're planning our nest trip over there for November. I'm sure we'll find that one that is meant for us. I know it will be worth it as the kids will be able to come over for weekend getaways and we'll only be about an hour and a half away from their place.

I'm sure I've mentioned before in one of these articles that I'm really looking forward to Quinn and Doug coming over to go fishing with me in the Water Gap area...that is, if I can get him away from his grandma when they come over. My father and grandmother taught me how to fish and I look forward to teaching them what President Herbert Hoover once said: "Fishing is the chance to wash one's soul with pure air. It brings meekness and inspiration, reduces our egoism, soothes our troubles, and shames our wickedness. It is discipline in the equality of men -- for all men are equal before fish."

Pam and I are looking forward to this new chapter in our lives. We have never been the kind to get settled in a rut. It's kind of like that old saying: The only difference between a rut and a grave is their dimensions. We'll miss our families, and we're going to miss our friends here. Dave will just have to carry on our golfing adventures without me. And we'll miss the families in this neighborhood --they're super people -- we wish we could take them with us. Thank goodness for phones and e-mail.

"If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies." (Author Unknown)

Hooah

Milford Trip, Part 2...

Staying at the Herrington House Bed and Breakfast (formerly known as the Hattree B&B) was a pretty good way to visit the borough. It was an old Victorian-style house which the current owner has refinished and put more of a contemporary look to. I'm not much into decorating and that sort of thing, so I would categorize it as "de-foo-fooing" it. There's probably a real, more sophisticated term for it, but I have to admit the place looks a whole lot better now than it did in the pictures when it was the Hattree.

The minute we walked in the house, the house dog took a liking to us and lay at our feet the whole time we were there. If you've read any of this blog over the year, you know Pam and I are real dog lovers, so this was a nice treat. There were cats there too, but they stayed pretty much in the owners area. I thought this old proverb might suite the place as a motto: "Make happy those who are near, and those who are far will come." We sure had a great time while we were there.

As you would expect, breakfasts were pretty good. Adriane (the new owner) said breakfasts were her specialty. Also, as you might expect, there were good, warm fireplaces in the house. Adriane got them back in working order and they really came in handy as the evenings got a bit nippy a couple of the nights we were there. We also got to meet other guests when we all gathered around the breakfast table. It is amazing how people you think are complete strangers end up having things in common with you when you get to talking with them. Three of her guests were Forest Service employees who came to Milford from across the country for a conference. Believe it or not, I once wanted to be a forest ranger. In fact, I was real serious about it in high school -- it kind of reflected my outdoors nature at that time.

As a new B&B owner, Adriane was not sure that she wanted to let us book a room for Doug and Danika and Quinn. She wasn't sure she wanted to have kids in the house. Well, she said she would try it this time since Quinn was only a few months old. I can see their point with all the antiques and breakables in one of these places. Anyhow, Quinn was the BEST little boy. He only cried one time for a couple of minutes and that was only his way of saying he was hungry. Otherwise, you wouldn't have known he was there except for his laughter and giggling. Pam and I really enjoyed him. He is taking on a personality and really responds to us.

I don't think he was paving the way for future baby guests, but I think he was a hit and I don't think Adriane had any regrets letting them come over to visit us.

“When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses”
(Dr. Joyce Brothers)

Hooah

Milford Trip, Part 1...

For years now, Pam and I have wanted to do a road trip up through New England states in the fall to see the turning of the leaves. We didn't know if this would be a vacation trip while both of us were still working, or a road trip when we were retired. Well, neither of those has happened yet, but our trip a couple of weeks ago to Milford Pennsylvania was about as good as it can get. The leaves and trees along I-80 were just about perfect.

It can be a bit of a culture shock going from the flatlands of Ohio to the hills of PA (I thought they were mountains but a local told me they consider them hills there). However you look at them, it was a very nice trip over and back. The weather guessers called for rain and overcast skies for the whole weekend. We sure were glad they were wrong.

The drive was shortened somewhat with the completion of US Route 30. We made 2 fuel stops and a lunch stop which totaled about 1/2 hour, so the trip took about 9.5 hours to complete. We didn't have any traffic problems -- I-80 is kinda deserted most of the time except around Wilkes-Barre and Scranton.

Milford is a very small borough (1,200+/- citizens) which lies on the banks of the Delaware River at the head of the Delaware Water Gap region. Most of the houses in the area are very old with some dating back to the 1860s. We looked at quite a few houses in the area, both newer ones in the private developments outside town and ones in the borough itself. The homes in the developments meant home owner associations and dues, and usually had a lake/pond of some sort, an association clubhouse, tennis courts and playgrounds associated with them. The dues were generally around $1,100 per year. Unfortunately, these neighborhoods were really isolated and with the terrain being very hilly and curvy, we felt like walking and bike riding would be out of the question for these two "soon-to-be 60" transplants.

We are leaning very much toward living in the borough if we can find the right house. In terms of that right place, Pam has her opinions and I have mine but I'm sure we'll work it out when the right one comes on the market. We saw some houses listed by realtors and some for sale by owners. The borough has nice wide streets and a lot of the places have extensive gardens in place of grassy yards. As I said earlier, the town is pretty old but really full of charm and very well-maintained.

I have done some homework on the cost of living there compared to Ohio, and for us being retired it seems to be pretty favorable for an east coast area. I have also done some checking with the ham radio guys/clubs in the area and it appears that the mountains (hills?) don't impede the transmission/reception of radio signals much at all.

Well, so much for a general run down on the area. As I said, we'll keep looking for the right place to live.

Patience is the ability to let your light shine after your fuse has blown.

Hooah

Trying something new...

I am trying something new with some of the pictures from our trip last week to Milford, PA. To the right, I have put a new link to a web album (Grandma & Grandpa's trip to Milford, PA) which will give you about 30 pictures. There are also two film clips. They are not too good, but are my first attempts at something like this. We only had a little over a day with them, but there were times when we were having so much fun that we forgot to take pictures.

This was Quinn's first overnight road trip, his first stay at a Bed & Breakfast, and his first time at a restaurant (and he got to sit at the big peoples' table). He turned 3 months old today.

Check 'em out.

Hooah

Just a thought...

I know I have written in other postings how much I liked this or that particular season of the year. And I have to admit that each of them has a unique characteristic about it that makes it stand out.

Spring brings hope that my golf game and fishing will be better than the year before. It brings hope that the Reds will be better and that they will get the pitching they need to make it past July. I think I'm getting a better appreciation of what the Cubs' fans have lived with 'lo these many years.

Summer is fun because it brings Friday evening boat rides with Pam at the lake. By this time, my golf game is what it is and fishing is still fun -- especially when I catch something! I also get a boost in the ham radio hobby as there seems to be better signal propagation then. So far, I have made contacts in 18 states. That's not that many, but I don't spend much time on it when I can be outdoors.

But now, we're into Fall and this is probably my most special season. Wm. Cullen Bryant described it this way: "Autumn, the year's last, loveliest smile.” I sit out by the fire ring in the evenings thinking back to things I/we did in the spring and summer. I hear the dryers going in the farmers' silos and think of harvests and preparation for winter. I recall some of Robert Frost's poetry that talks about old age and winter. As I close in on 60, I also think about family. Even though I have generally carved out my own path in life, I, like Frost, still have miles to go before I sleep.

With that, Pam and I are planning another road trip -- one to the town of Milford, PA to look at the possibilities of moving there to be closer to Doug and Danika and baby Quinn. We have been to this beautiful corner of the Poconos a couple of times and it is only about 75 miles as the crow flies from their place in Brooklyn. Of course, the crow and our truck don't necessarily go the same way. There are lots of pros and cons to doing this, but just to be closer to them trumps most of the cons -- except maybe for the cold, snowy winters. We're still young enough to handle that, though!!

In the next few days, I will recount the highlights of our trip. We have a couple of days of house hunting planned and we'll see what happens.

“Do not lose hold of your dreams or aspirations. For if you do, you may still exist but you have ceased to live.” (Thoreau)

Hooah