The feelings are "Mutual", I'm sure......

This past Sunday night there was a very sad occurrence in Sharon. There was a very bad house fire that evening, and sadly the majority of the house was very badly damaged by the fire. When a fire of any great threat occurs, especially to homes and businesses, our local fire companies put out the call for mutual aid. That aid (in this case they needed both men and equipment) is one of the truly great things about living in our small corner of the world. The call I would imagine went out very quickly, as the original Sharon call was for a possible structure fire I do believe.

Jumping into action this night were men and equipment from Amenia, Millerton and Wasaaic, New York and Lakeville and Cornwall in Connecticut. On a holiday eve, men came quickly, but the fire did damage faster. I am not a reporter, but I am a former volunteer fireman, and it was amazing to watch all the pieces work together. Men to the right places. Hose where it was of the best use. Equipment organized and water ferried from a  nearby hydrant. As I said, the loss was substantial, but their efforts, for volunteers, are remarkable.

I failed to mention also the work of volunteer ambulance members who man a treating area, where they meet fireman coming out of the fire in all their gear and air packs. The amount of weight of equipment, the work they do and all makes for tired, hot men very quickly. They are made to take breaks, get O2 if needed, consume cold water, give vital signs to EMT's, cold towel on their necks, and just general take -a - break. I imagine the EMT's can also pull them out of service, if they are concerned by what they may find. Safety. Impressive. Leadership being responsible to their members. Required.

I got to witness this first hand as they called me into action as they needed lots of ice, fast and I had plenty in my ice chest at the store. It felt good again to give a hand, even if in a small way. The good news was no one was injured, and with all that was going on, well, thats just good training, good leadership, and well maybe even a bit of good luck. I heard many were there till five a.m. in the morning, and were in line and marching in the parade at ten. That's dedication.

Lakeville apparatus lighting the scene for safety

(Fire trucks do more than just pump and carry water, as shown above)

Dedicated family members, and townsfolk....we will never forget.

Memorial Day in Sharon, 2011.

Brothers George and David Holst-Grubbe participate in the raising of the flag, along with scouts and veterans on the flag pole at Memorial Park in Sharon Monday morning. The pole is dedicated in memory of their dad, Reidar "Ray" Holst-Grubbe, who over-saw the raising of the flag for many, many years in Sharon.

Memorial Day Parade Preparation (actually the day before)

You think that these big old trucks get cleaned by themselves? This was a three-man effort today.

Once you get one clean, you need to go for a test ride, and make sure everything is ready to go....and what a gorgeous afternoon for a jaunt around town!

After making it back up the hill (always a major concern in a machine which is EIGHTY FOUR YEARS OLD, you need to take pictures with your family and friends, because you never know when it may be your last year playing with Bob's old toy.......

Then it was time for some supper, some stories, and a great campfire in the firepit, with marshmallows the size of tennis balls, graham crackers and chocolate......

It was a beautiful day from start to finish for us, this Sunday before Memorial Day, 2011. There was a sad note though. A family here in Sharon had a major house fire this evening, and their home looks to be a total loss. We all feel badly for them and their loss. Hopefully, they will bounce back from this quickly.

With great respect..

    We all have childhood memories, of which some are great, some not-so-great, and others, well, just plain painful. Last week, while attending my daughters graduation from college, one which I hadn't thought of in years came back and it brought back a wave of emotions.
     At some point during our weekend away we went to Walmart for a product we were in need of. Out front was a gentleman and a lady, both "seniors" but not too old and they were raising funds for the Disabled American Vets. What I remembered as paper poppy's aren't made of paper any longer, but they just took me back to my dad who would always get one once a year and hang it on the mirror in our car. Sometimes there would be three or four or more hanging, which means you at least had that car for that many years (they only sold them once a year in Sharon, at this very time of year). I distinctly remember Mrs. Freundenberg and both Mrs. Gobillott's, and I think Mrs. Paley as well always doing their part here in Sharon. Oh, and Bullet Bess too, from the pharmacy.
     I reached in my pocket, pulled out a five spot and took one with great pleasure from the gentleman. He thanked me and I thanked him. What he was doing was far more important than what I did to earn that money. I took the poppy, and in a automatic rote, I secured it to the mirror in my truck. I was actually anxious to do so. I felt really good all over for doing so. I will look at it each and every day now, and think about what all those D.A.V.'s did for me, to help secure our nations freedom and help secure our way of life. With Memorial Day just about twenty-five hours away now, I am just thankful for our freedom and know that it is not, by any means, free.
     I know the leader of the local Legion Post reads my blog quite often. Here is my pledge to him. You get me some of those poppy's next year, and I'll make sure the D.A.V. gets some financial support, though my friends, family and customers. Write it down. And I'll get a few on some mirrors, like I remember as a kid. And perhaps some kid of today will have good memory to share with their children years from now.

Oh ya, it's warm weather time..

Tonight just confirmed it. I just got in from Bradley with son Andrew, and grabbed my shot of the day....very cool! A luna moth settled down for a moment and I grabbed this before he lifted off again.

Make sure you click on the photo for close-up....

And the final confirmation...while holding the door open to let us in the house, a june bug flew in and my family went into immediate hiding while he buzzed in the kitchen, then nicely flew down into the sink, where I swatted him to sleep with a Lakeville Journal. Ahh, a good use.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh.........

Borrowing......

Pastor Sarah Weaver of Rehoboth, Mass.(http://www.thestrengthoffaith.com/) does a great food and daily life experiences blog. Most all the time she includes food pictures, which I keep telling her I just get hungry when I look at her blog! Tonight, my wife did some food inventing. She made some mini chicken wraps somewhat like the ones at McDonalds™. They were very good! C, make those again, anytime! So, I borrowed the theme from my friend Sarah tonight, and todays post is of supper. Best I could do today on short notice.

 Had some nice boiled green beans to go along with the wraps, of which one was bar-b-que and the other was an apple concoction. Yum!

Dedication.

Small town life at its finest. Committed to giving, or doing your absolute best, for the good of your project, or your team or your organization. There are many examples here in Sharon. These three ladies, on Tuesday morning, working on a whole new planting at the intersection, where just days ago were beautiful tulips. Their efforts we all will reap the beauty of for months to come. Thank you ladies!

Black and White Valley/Cloud Study

Pizza out....... and a strange sight went by..........

~and they went by THREE TIMES! That's a LOT of five gallon buckets!!

Sharon Nursery Pt.4

South....

Sharon Nursery Pt.3

"Trees? There's no trees on the green....."
     (count em')

Sharon Nursery Pt.2

Times change.

Sharon Tree Nursery

     Slide in the soapbox. Climb up on it. Take a deep breath. Make your statement.
      
     I, for one, don't particularly care for the way so many trees have been planted in the town green. Trees in the past were around the outside edges. They are there now. Plus down the middle. And over here. And over there. In the town center, and down on South Main. Too much in my humble. Not complaining. Just expressing my opinion.

     But with that said, have you seen these two trees in front of the clinic/library? Amazing right now! Go see them. My camera can't do justice....

Old Bug

This ol' VW ragtop pulled in the plaza last week. The funny thing was, I heard it coming, before I saw it. That good old Volkswagen "flutter" sound as it came into the plaza. I blanked the license plate so as to not get into trouble with anybody. By the dirt and bugs on the car, I can't tell whether it just drove in from California or out of a very dirty storage spot. Either way, just to hear the true VW sound......it was great!

Happy Birthday Drew!

Yesterday Cat graduated from college...today Drew has a birthday. Am I a lucky Dad or what?

Where did those four years go?

Hobart & William Smith Colleges Graduation
May 15th, 2011

Congratulations to Catherine! You make me very proud......

D*O*W*N !

Blogger has been down for a few days. Thus, no postings. Have a busy weekend coming up, and there will be no postings till at least next Tuesday probably. You all be well!

Ahh, that's better!

Wasn't all that long ago that this was covered with snow. Much prefer this option.

Piece of art

My grass is just starting to grow, up here in the woods. Downtown, in the sunlight, they've been mowing for weeks. Have to appreciate the beauty in the lawn of a professional landscaper......

Bluette's

We built our home twenty four years ago down in the woods. Due to all the wildlife which resided here prior to us, we plant minimally as the animals just devour whatever we stick in the ground, so-it-seems. Our back yard and spots out front each spring grace us with these little tiny flowers my wife and daughter refer to as bluette's. I have no clue if that is indeed what they are, but they are something which adds a nice bit of color to our patch of green down in the woods...

Shining in Sharon

Evening skies over Winchell...

"We are getting an extremely good return on our investment"

For more than thirty years, Dick Carley of Sharon worked for the State of Connecticut, working on road projects from one end of our state to the other. If there was any one in our town who could pass judgement on our current road project, it would be him. He knows right from wrong. He knows what to look for, and where to look for it. He knows materials and he knows mechanics, or contractors if you prefer that name for the men doing the work. He is involved with our project (remember, we all voted favorably, so it is "ours") because he believes in it. I'm in retail. What do I know about asphalt, and road prep and building? I know to trust someone like Dick Carley. His opinion is what counts to me. Dick is enthused with this project. Considering this source, therefore, I too am excited for all the work which is being done.

Today I caught them applying layer #2 to Murtagh Road. With a close eye on the work, from Dick Carley.

Way UP there!

 Last year, remember the summer storm in July, when we had so many trees come down around town? One big mess occurred involving the lines that power most of the plaza in Sharon. Some of a large willow on Jack's land came down, and knocked out power for more than a day. It was a mess. If the market had been open, it would have been a disaster for their freezers and coolers and all that is in them.

Town officials contacted the land-owner, who was in favor. Then they met with the powers to be at C L & P and worked to get them to consider taking down the large willows on behalf of the town and to save their investment in all their lines and transformers as well.  These trees had grown to such a size, and being such a fragile, brittle tree, the potential for more problems very much existed.

Some time back the town was notified that C L & P would indeed do some tree work and today they started. Despite the non-stop wind, which made them work so much slower for safety reasons, one tree is down by late this afternoon and a huge part of another is as well. This bucket truck can reach seventy feet fully extended and the trees were still above his reach. Whoa!

Hungry for the good things........

"Hey.........you...........tall white guy with thin beard and minimal hair covering your head...........come over here and try and pet me, ok? Bite? No.....I won't bite. Really.....You can trust me........"

now what.....

not sure what's up, but I either have cable or camera problems, so I have no photo today.

Financially, I hope it the wire. We'll see what the coming days bring, as it's hard to get out to find a new wire during the week.....

So, any posts for a bit will have to be written, with no photos...

Sight seen by few.....

Okay DCL readers........a real special treat today. You are all going to get to see something that few have ever seen, or will ever see. Today you are getting a close-up view of the bell, which is high-up in the steeple on The Sharon Congregational Church in Sharon!


For years we've (the men who ring the bell) been thinking the old bell was getting tougher to pull to ring, and then lately it was giving the church some good shakes and vibrations when it was rung. Well, about five weeks or so back, it was really bad, and we stopped ringing it till we could get a close inspection on it. Some volunteers stepped up to the challenge. Led by Tim Marks, representing the Prudential Board, who was joined by Chris Coons and Ray Conti. Kevin McCarthy and yours-truly joined in to make sure they did it right!(ya right) At that time, they found that a large u-shaped bolt which held one-side of the bell had finally given in to the weight and to time and stress and snapped, allowing the bell to settle on one side a few inches. Thus, every time we tried to ring it, it was all off-kilter and was just not working well at all. I'm not sure if it did let go, if it make it to the basement or not, but it sure would cause a big hole, since it weighs easily over a thousand pounds! The markings on the side say it was forged in 1825.


As it was still winter, and very cold, a plan was made on what they would do on jacking the bell back into a level, balanced position, secure it well with new bolts, and see if that didn't help restore it. And to do this all when it became warmer...Sunday was the day of repairs, and it all went extremely well. In addition to the securing, lubricating was done to all the moving parts with some good material, and I am told, (as I had to leave before they finished) it now works like the "cat's meow"!


So, Special Thanks to Tim, Ray and Chris for their dedication to not only their churches bell, but to the town's bell, after all, it is in the original meeting house for the Town of Sharon. DCL is not the historical society in any means, but we are glad to give credit to these men for a job well done. Frankly, I can't wait for Sunday the 8th, to hear it ring at 10:30 AM. I bet there may be a fight to see who gets to ring it first! Perhaps we could raffle off the first pull?