Busy Bee

Judging by the size of the two fields of sunflowers on a local farm in Sharon, I'd say this bee, and many more like him, will bee biz-zee bees for some time to come. Agree? bzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

'splain to me this, please!

So, one can afford to have a Ferrari 450 Spider automobile worth $300,000.00, that has 450 horsepower, that looks the way it does, and you can't keep it clean? Huh?  My used Chevy pickup is cleaner...You should be ashamed!! Members of the Ferrari family are rolling over in their graves! For shame!!

following the storm..

Today, parts of Sharon got another "gully-whumper", and a whole lot of lightning and thunder. Other parts stayed bone-dry. The beach had heavy rain, heavy hail and tremendous lightning. At the store, just thunder. The road home tonight...halfway up Calkins Town Road, the road turned soaking wet, as is my yard. Fortunately, no damage did I see.


Went out just as the sun was setting to catch this fog-patch view off 41, looking southwest.

Dominoes....I...I...l...l

     So unless you are living in Arizona or some island off of the Florida coast, you know all about the storm that roared into parts of the northwest corner on Wednesday afternoon. Pouring, wind-driven rain, lightning galore, and perhaps some down-drafts or whatever the meteorologists call those storms that are almost tornado-like, but aren't....whatever, we had a doozey in Sharon on Wednesday.


     Thursday morning I had a meeting on Skiff Mountain so I got to see some of the damage that occurred down South Main up close. At the old Haskell/Simerall/somebody/somebody/Dore Estate on the corner of Herrick and South Main, they had one of their large maples snap and fall into its neighbor maple which then fell into its neighbor. Three in a row. Dominoes. Tough to see the old ones go. My Dad may have well planted these, or maybe his dad before him as they were caretakers for the Haskell Brothers long, long ago. Whatever, I kind of felt a small ouch as I drove past and saw that these old girls all have grown their last leaves.


     If you look closely you can see where a driveway used to be long ago. Funny, but I can remember it, and I was probably about five or six, so that is almost fifty-five years ago..... More proof that nothing lasts forever. Guess I'd better start dancing.

Friends

Time out for a small "Rick" commentary. So far, I have been in Sharon for 58+ years, and in that time I have pretty much come to know, at one point or another, most everybody in our small town. Not everyone, by any means, but a good chunk. 88% are really good people and the other 12% I just haven't come to a conclusion as I probably don't know them at all.

Jump ahead. One of my first jobs was working part-time at the Sharon Package Store for Don Carberry. While I only worked for Don a short while (he sold it to Jack Murtagh) and I worked for Jack as well, after a bit. Don was the best. I developed a great admiration for him then. Thirty-eight years later, I still have one. Don is dad to my childhood classmate Pete, and dad to my neighbor Donna, who lives up the street just 3 doors.. Both are great people. Beth, Don's wife, was really great people. Sadly, she is no-longer here for us to enjoy, but her memories live on with all of us who knew her.

I told you all the above to tell you this one thing...... Getting a picture of Don is a hard thing now days, but I caught him today, as he stopped in for his "Lucky for Life ticket". Knowing Don, I consider that I have already won "Lucky for Life"....no money, just a great friend. 

"More facts and cracks from Don's almanac."

Thanks Cat for catching the door for him! Great timing!

Falls Village Car Show

Last Sunday, there was the annual fund-raising car show in Falls Village. C and I attended for the first time, and while the rain came over the hill from Salisbury in only about thirty minutes after we got there, we did get to stroll through town and see the cars which had not left to beat the rain. A nice event for a sunny day, and I would have liked to spent more time. Guess I'll have to go again next year!

Sunset after sunset..

~ you think I'd get tired of these.
 uh-uhh.

~a couple of days ago. route 41 north, looking west over indian mtn.

Silhouette doe and young buck

~not bad from a moving car.....

"Helenfest 2012"

     So, about this growing older stuff.......I am, at times, beginning to wonder if it's all worth it. I guess if you live long enough, and remain healthy, in a small community such as ours, to live a long time, does has a few benefits. You get recognized by people. You sometimes get more people to ask your opinion on things. You get to sleep in. And if you live long enough, you get to celebrate special birthdays. Today, C and I had the privilege to attend a party in honor of one of Sharon's own, who is celebrating a very special day in her life. Today, Helen Wike Humeston is celebrating her 90th birthday right at home, in White Hollow, where she celebrated her first, and tenth, her twenty-first, and every other one in-between, I do believe. To some, that may seem boring. To me, in this instance,  I think that is extremely cool!


     Helen's family put on a nice meal for well-wishers and visitors, having a nice tent, tables and chairs for comfort, had a fantastic slide-show with pictures from Helen's life set up in the hay mow of the barn, all at the lovely setting of their family farm in White Hollow. We couldn't get there till near the end unfortunately, so we missed the good Barlow beef, but dog-gone if they din't find another cake when we arrived, so I did my part and helped them out by eating a piece. Nice guy, huh?

shame to have to cut into it...

The young lady herself, sitting astride Wil Paley's old Indian..There was a picture in the slide show of her riding one as a youngster!

Still pretty-dang sharp for 90! Ya don't wanna mess..she'll tell you what side the bread is buttered on... :)

Helen's great-grand daughter. Ready for a ride!

     So it was a lovely, but brief visit to The Wike-Humeston Ranch today, but it was a great time! Helen is, and always has been, a good friend and it was fun to join in "her" day! I hope she has many more!! Happy Birthday Helen!

Upper Main on a summer evening..1912 or 2012?

We had an errand to do downtown this evening, so after that mission we took the opportunity to go for a walk around the green, taking in sights that the only way you can see them is by taking the time to walk and enjoy.  I am so used to walking up on "the mountain" that this was a real pleasant change of scenery.


There was lots to see, but this lovely home on Upper Main caught my eye. I found it to be just perfectly picturesque on this gorgeous evening. (I am sure it's just as lovely in the day time!) I played with my Apple iPhoto ™software to throw in the silhouette framing which, after I looked at it a bit, made think this may have looked just like this one hundred years ago, minus a new light on either side of the door perhaps...

May I suggest....if you have the opportunity, go for walk this summer some evening around the green. Take your time, and enjoy the sights. I bet you'll be glad you did...

Picnic time.

Tomorrow is the 4th of July. It is a great day for picnics, celebrated all across this great land of ours. A couple of weeks back, I got home from work and Clare said, "grab the chairs, I have the makings of a picnic. I want out of this house on this beautiful evening." I know a spot where sunsets are special, so we headed out for a lovely hour or so of peace and quiet. No radio, tv, cat, phone...nothing except us and the sunset. Thought I'd show you the makings of our fast little picnic.

I hope you all have a great 4th of July, and enjoy a little picnic time, just as we did.