Bluebloods or rednecks?

A Facebook friend shared a funny anecdote about the Willowdale Pro Rodeo. At one point the announcer asked the crowd, "Are there any rednecks out there?" and the response was, well, something less than deafening. 
The woman next to my friend commented, "Well, this IS Unionville!"

The Circle Game

Three motorcyclists were behind me northbound on Route 82 Saturday afternoon, but then I saw in my rear-view mirror that they kept going around and around the roundabout. Perhaps they got dizzy, because a few minutes later I spotted them going through Unionville when I was coming out of the post office. Were they practicing for one of those daredevil shows, or is it just a fun thing to do?

Downingtown

Downingtown Friends Meeting's annual plant sale was this Saturday, so I stopped by to visit with some F/friends and took home a very nice pink anemone. I don't often drive on that busy stretch of Business Route 30 -- I usually take the bypass -- so I was amused to notice two businesses next to each other in downtown Downingtown: New Fancy Cleaners and Ancient Auto Service. There's also a sign for the new BYOB restaurant, The Orangery: Tuscan Cuisine at Glen Isle, which has been picking up some rave reviews. It's at 130 South Lloyd Avenue.

Walnuts

A few minutes ago I was in the backyard taking advantage of this sunny afternoon to do some garden clean-up. A gust of wind brought an avalanche of black walnuts clattering down on the roof and my deck, but fortunately not my head. I've lived here for more than 20 years and I can't remember an autumn with more walnuts, or bigger ones. Between the falling walnuts and the Osage oranges, driving along some stretches of Route 842 when it's windy has been like running the gauntlet. I'm not sure what that bodes, if anything, for this winter's weather.

Recycling

That green Dumpster-like metal bin in the Unionville Post Office parking lot is part of a paper recycling drive being conducted by the kids at Unionville Elementary School. The school will earn money based on the amount of paper collected. (Phone books and cardboard can't be dropped off in the bin, though.)

Behind the scenes

This sounds fascinating! William McDowell III, the man responsible for the day-to-day project management of the new Barnes Foundation building on the Parkway in Philadelphia, will be speaking about the high-profile undertaking in a lecture on Wednesday, Oct. 24, at Primitive Hall in West Marlborough.
"Bill will give an unusual backstage insider's look at the logistics and challenges of this monumental project."
Tickets are $35 and reservations are required; e-mail tonaleir@aol.com. A reception is at 6 p.m., with the lecture to follow.

Volunteers

Did you get your fundraising letter from the Po-Mar-Lin Fire Company? I did and promptly sent them a check, and I hope you will, too. These folks are volunteers and they work really hard. If you know any of them personally, you don't need me to tell you how dedicated they are. Check out their website, where they post photos of their firefighting and training activities. It takes a lot of money to run their operation and the contributions from local municipalities don't cover their expenses, which is why they need to send out their appeal letter each year.
(And did you notice that Station 36's post office box is 36? Very cute.)

New Wave

My worlds are colliding. Wreckless Eric, one of the stars of the British New Wave of the late 1970s, is coming to Kennett Square! He'll be performing at the Kennett Flash on November 30, and I already have my ticket. Wreckless Eric toured with Elvis Costello, Ian Dury (RIP) and Nick Lowe when they were all with Stiff Records; perhaps you remember his "Whole Wide World" and "Reconnez Cherie"? He'll be performing at the Flash with his wife, Amy Rigby. Now: what to wear?

Absolute absence

Perhaps only a gym devotee like myself can understand the full impact of the horrible news we got last week: my beloved, unique, inspiring, generous, devoted long-time fitness teacher is leaving us for health reasons. I will miss her workouts as much as I will miss her personality; she was always challenging, to put it mildly, but her irreverent style, her total intolerance for whining, and her bad jokes made the grueling exercises actually fun (or, in the case of burpees and tabatas, almost tolerable). Thanks to her, I am in way better shape than I was 30 years ago, my abdominal muscles and legs are amazingly strong, and I haven't had tennis elbow in years. I would now relish doing those President's Physical Fitness Tests that I dreaded in elementary school.
I'm really not sure what I'll do without her. I'm having to rethink my whole exercise program, and I'm not happy about it.
Yes, I realize that losing your aerobics teacher is not the end of the world, especially since she probably should have cut back on her energetic schedule months ago. But without her there will be a BIG empty space in a lot of people's lives.

More stinkbug stories

The stinkbug stories that readers shared with me this week are really, truly disgusting. They say the essence of good writing is brevity, so here are the only details you need (or want) to know: coffee maker; orthodontic retainer; undies while they are being worn.

Breathless

I had coffee this morning with a friend who just returned from a late-summer cross-country drive. He stopped overnight in Raton, a town in New Mexico near the Colorado border, and visited the local branch of the gym franchise he belongs to. He set the treadmill at his usual pace and incline and started walking but was alarmed to find that he became winded almost immediately.
He mentioned to another exerciser how easy it is to become deconditioned. She asked where he was from, and when he replied "eastern Pennsylvania," she pointed out that Raton is located nearly 7,000 feet above sea level, and it takes some time to get used to the thinner air at such a high altitude.
He was immensely relieved.
This story solved a mystery that has been niggling at me since 1978, when I was in the French Alps with about 20 other students, sharing a chalet during Christmas break. One night some of us were cooking a spaghetti meal for everyone, but there was one problem: the big pot of water took FOREVER to boil. People kept coming into the kitchen wondering when dinner would be ready. Now I know what the problem was: the altitude!

Eat to Live

Here's hoping that "Eat to Live," the latest weight-loss and healthy-eating plan, gives the mushroom industry a sales boost. Here is what the author, Dr. Joel Fuhrman, says about Kennett's favorite fungus:
"Eat lots of mushrooms all the time. Mushrooms make a great chewy replacement for meat ... mushrooms contain a variety of powerful phytochemicals and have been linked to decreased risk of chronic diseases, especially cancer."
He advises storing them in paper bags rather than plastic (we knew that) and "adding them to beans, seasoned with herbs and lemon juice."
Alas, he doesn't have kind words to say about milk, butter or cheese, which won't do much to benefit our dairy farmers.
Speaking of the mushroom industry, did you hear the story that NPR broadcast about Kennett Square last week? It's called "How a Sleepy Pennsylvania Town Grew into America's Mushroom Capital," and it features interviews with Chris Alonzo, president of Pietro Industries; Jim Angelucci, general manager of Phillips Mushroom Farms; and Noelia Scharon, owner of La Michoacana ice cream shop and grill. You can read the story on www.npr.org.

Remembrance of things past

My observant friend Laura writes: "Wondered if you had seen the old Democratic yard signs on Marlborough Springs Road? At the intersection with 842 is a Hillary for President sign, and the other side of Marlborough Village, at the zig with Lenape-Unionville (?) Rd, there is a Rendell/governor sign."
I drove by on Sunday but alas -- and perhaps not surprisingly -- they were nowhere to be seen.
Campaign signs are sprouting up along the major roads, and I can't say I've been surprised by any of the resident/candidate match-ups. If you're motivated enough to put out a yard sign, you've probably made your political feelings known in other ways. 

Stitched up

Apparently even knitting patterns have to be "run by Legal" these days. The small print at the bottom of one I'm working from now reads: "Knit One Crochet Too Inc. cannot be held responsible for human or typographical errors, variations in individual work or misinterpretation of instructions."
Talk about litigious!

In reverse

My family and friends have always gravitated toward really big adult toys, things like antique cars, gliders, Woodstock-sized sound systems, and horses. Such things require equally big trucks and trailers for transport, and I've always been impressed by people who can maneuver those massive vehicles, backing them up delicately into a garage and parking them on a dime.

This morning I was watching a guy back up one of those long, open-grate flatbed trailers toward the house steps in preparation for removing a cumbersome piece of old ductwork. He stopped at precisely the right spot so the gate could be lowered onto the top step. I remarked to his buddy how impressed I was with his piloting skills.
To my surprise, he explained that the bigger the trailer, the easier it actually is to manipulate: "You have more to work with."

Toadstools

Some astonishing wild mushrooms sprang up this past week.
These red "Sickeners" (Russula emetica) were in the side yard.

And these were off Route 842 near a local mushroom farm (appropriately enough). I believe they are Parasols (Lepiota procera).

Both were under or near conifers.
(Thanks to my sharp-eyed neighbor for pointing them out.)

Second annual

We had a great time at the Willowdale Pro Rodeo last night. Well, yes, the cowboys and cowgirls had a bit of an "off" night -- none of the bull riders made it to the eight-second mark, the cowgirls kept knocking down barrels, and the steers just refused to be wrestled to the ground. But it was all hugely entertaining anyway, the boy doing rope tricks was amazing, and the sky turned an incredible indigo as the sun went down. The rodeo definitely needs to come back for a third year.