Someone clever needs to come up with a term for the cognitive dissonance we feel when a holiday occurs on a weekday. The Fourth of July fell on a Thursday this year, but it felt like a Saturday, so much so that I thought about driving to the Bakers at Red Lion for some bread (they were shut due to the heat, but that's beside the point). And the day after the Fourth was actually Friday but felt like some odd Saturday/Sunday hybrid. Was the post office open? the library? Was there going to be a crossword paper in the puzzle? Was I going to have my gym class? I missed "First Friday" in Kennett completely because it didn't seem like a Friday.
Monday is going to be very confusing.
(One clever person has already chimed in, suggesting that "Holidaze" is the term I'm looking for.)
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Friday, July 5, 2013
Sticking together
I really like the Saloio rolls that the Giant bakery makes. In fact, I've been known to eat one on the way home from the store as I'm driving.
The other day I was buying some, all warm and chewy, and a fellow customer simply could not get her little plastic roll bag to open -- you know, the clingy bags they supply at the bakery counter to put your baked goods in. She tried one side. She tried the other. She tried rubbing the sides of the plastic together. Absolutely nothing was working for her.
This happens to me often, so I offered to help her. Amazingly, I got it open on the first try. She was so grateful, I think she thanked me five times.
The other day I was buying some, all warm and chewy, and a fellow customer simply could not get her little plastic roll bag to open -- you know, the clingy bags they supply at the bakery counter to put your baked goods in. She tried one side. She tried the other. She tried rubbing the sides of the plastic together. Absolutely nothing was working for her.
This happens to me often, so I offered to help her. Amazingly, I got it open on the first try. She was so grateful, I think she thanked me five times.
It's got legs
A Kennett friend reports that he has a spider living in the earpiece of his phone.
"Too bizarre," he wrote. "I had a call and I felt this weird tickling, like a tiny electrical current, and I looked and saw legs waving."
He inserted a piece of cardboard in the relevant hole of the receiver, which seems to be a good stop-gap measure.
"It's always something," he says, with commendable equanimity. "It's just hardly ever this particular something."
"Too bizarre," he wrote. "I had a call and I felt this weird tickling, like a tiny electrical current, and I looked and saw legs waving."
He inserted a piece of cardboard in the relevant hole of the receiver, which seems to be a good stop-gap measure.
"It's always something," he says, with commendable equanimity. "It's just hardly ever this particular something."
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Snake
On our walk around Anson Nixon Park today, the Cranky Friend and I were bickering as is our wont when suddenly, on the edge of the woods near Walnut Road, I spotted a large snake beside the path. This was not one of those cute little garter snakes that I've been known to pick up and coo over. No. This guy had a thick body, bold markings and a mean-looking cocked head.
In an embarrassing show of cowardice I immediately clutched the CF's arm, hard, and cowered behind him. In contrast, he calmly assessed the creature's markings, estimated its length (about two feet) using his forearm as a guide, and snapped a few photos. The snake stayed still except when the CF got too close, at which point he moved his head in warning.
Our first guess, based on the colors and head shape, was that it was a poisonous copperhead, which considerably amped up the excitement level of our walk. As soon as we reached the Internet we Googled images of copperheads and held up the digital images for comparison.
Well, the markings were similar, but no matter how hard we tried -- and we really tried -- we just couldn't get them to match. Our guy's head was just not distinct enough from its body.
The PA Herp Identification website suggested checking out the Eastern Milk Snake and the Northern Water Snake. The latter, to our extreme disappointment, turned out to be an excellent match for our guy.
A harmless Northern Water Snake when you thought you'd had an encounter with a venomous reptile. Talk about a comedown.
The next morning I went out for a bird walk with an extremely nature-savvy young woman and started to tell her about the snake sighting.
"Let me guess," she said. "It was a Northern Water Snake."
Kindly, she added that they really do resemble copperheads.
(By the way, the Herp site has a popup ad for a site where you can check your arrest record. Do they think people accidentally typed in "herp" when they meant "perp"?)
In an embarrassing show of cowardice I immediately clutched the CF's arm, hard, and cowered behind him. In contrast, he calmly assessed the creature's markings, estimated its length (about two feet) using his forearm as a guide, and snapped a few photos. The snake stayed still except when the CF got too close, at which point he moved his head in warning.
Our first guess, based on the colors and head shape, was that it was a poisonous copperhead, which considerably amped up the excitement level of our walk. As soon as we reached the Internet we Googled images of copperheads and held up the digital images for comparison.
Well, the markings were similar, but no matter how hard we tried -- and we really tried -- we just couldn't get them to match. Our guy's head was just not distinct enough from its body.
The PA Herp Identification website suggested checking out the Eastern Milk Snake and the Northern Water Snake. The latter, to our extreme disappointment, turned out to be an excellent match for our guy.
A harmless Northern Water Snake when you thought you'd had an encounter with a venomous reptile. Talk about a comedown.
The next morning I went out for a bird walk with an extremely nature-savvy young woman and started to tell her about the snake sighting.
"Let me guess," she said. "It was a Northern Water Snake."
Kindly, she added that they really do resemble copperheads.
(By the way, the Herp site has a popup ad for a site where you can check your arrest record. Do they think people accidentally typed in "herp" when they meant "perp"?)
Bartonella
A friend from the Y who read my piece about my frequent tick-sightings a few weeks ago alerted me to an upcoming speaker who is going to be addressing the Lyme Disease Association of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Edward Breitschwerdt, DVM, will be discussing Bartonella. A professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine at NC State University and an infectious diseases expert, according to the university website "He also finds himself on the front lines of a quiet but growing epidemic. Bartonella is a bacteria most commonly associated with cat scratch disease, which until recently was thought to be a short-lived (or self-limiting, in medical lingo) infection. Bartonella isn’t new – doctors have known about cat scratch disease for almost a century – but it’s only in the past couple of decades that researchers like Dr. Breitschwerdt have started to discover exactly how pervasive Bartonella infection is in animals and people."
The meeting is at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 17, at the Kennett Friends Meetinghouse, 250 N. Union St., and is free and open to the public.
The meeting is at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 17, at the Kennett Friends Meetinghouse, 250 N. Union St., and is free and open to the public.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
SunnyGirl Farm
For several weeks, I've seen the sign for the Wollaston Road farmers' market, but always too late. This week a friend texted me that she'd just purchased some arugula and Swiss chard and I needed to head over there. I did. The market is at SunnyGirl Farm, 750 Wollaston Road., and it's open from 2 to 7 p.m. Wednesday. I bought some wonderful beets (complete with the greens) and corn and an arugula-pesto spread. They also had turnips, salad greens (I have plenty of those from my garden), broccoli and olive oils. Worth a visit!
Memorial service
The memorial service for Michael Langer, son of Springdell residents Bernie and Claudette Langer, will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 27, at St. Michael Lutheran Church in Unionville. Michael died on June 20 at age 54 of complications from a stroke.
Life in West Marlborough
West Marlborough Township has a new fireworks ordinance, despite objections from a few township residents concerned that they would have to go through red tape and pay fees to host even a small celebration.
At the July 2 meeting, Denis Glaccum and Skip Powell raised questions about how the ordinance would define "public displays." But Supervisor Bill Wylie said the ordinance was deliberately written in general language just to give the township some oversight in terms of, say, notifying neighbors so they could move their horses indoors before the fireworks start.
"It's intended to create a process where it can be done safely," he explained, "without being too onerous or overreaching."
The entire fireworks issue was launched this spring when a West Chester man approached the township and asked if he could hire a fireworks company to set off a display at his daughter's wedding reception at the Stone Barn in September.
In other business at the monthly meeting, the supervisors appointed Springdell resident Gus Brown to fill a vacancy on the planning commission that occurred when Josh Taylor was "promoted" to the board of supervisors.
Township zoning officer Al Giannantonio reported that he issued a zoning permit for a new run-in shed at the Jacksons' farm on Street Road and had just received an application for a new post-and-beam barn that the Mosses want to build at their home at Blow Horn.
Building inspector Eddie Caudill reported that he granted a building permit to the Leonards, who are renovating their guest house on Wilson Road.
Supervisor Hugh Lofting reported that the township road crew has been busy mowing and doing general maintenance. He said that earlier in the month they had received a few requests for dust control on gravel roads, but "not so much recently," given the frequent storms.
Julia Altman, who runs the Greenmore Farm Animal Rescue on Route 842 (between Ryan and Thouron Roads), asked the township to reduce or waive the $604 permit fee it was charging her to install kennels. She said that amount of money would allow her to neuter several animals. The board did not make a decision on her request.
At the July 2 meeting, Denis Glaccum and Skip Powell raised questions about how the ordinance would define "public displays." But Supervisor Bill Wylie said the ordinance was deliberately written in general language just to give the township some oversight in terms of, say, notifying neighbors so they could move their horses indoors before the fireworks start.
"It's intended to create a process where it can be done safely," he explained, "without being too onerous or overreaching."
The entire fireworks issue was launched this spring when a West Chester man approached the township and asked if he could hire a fireworks company to set off a display at his daughter's wedding reception at the Stone Barn in September.
In other business at the monthly meeting, the supervisors appointed Springdell resident Gus Brown to fill a vacancy on the planning commission that occurred when Josh Taylor was "promoted" to the board of supervisors.
Township zoning officer Al Giannantonio reported that he issued a zoning permit for a new run-in shed at the Jacksons' farm on Street Road and had just received an application for a new post-and-beam barn that the Mosses want to build at their home at Blow Horn.
Building inspector Eddie Caudill reported that he granted a building permit to the Leonards, who are renovating their guest house on Wilson Road.
Supervisor Hugh Lofting reported that the township road crew has been busy mowing and doing general maintenance. He said that earlier in the month they had received a few requests for dust control on gravel roads, but "not so much recently," given the frequent storms.
Julia Altman, who runs the Greenmore Farm Animal Rescue on Route 842 (between Ryan and Thouron Roads), asked the township to reduce or waive the $604 permit fee it was charging her to install kennels. She said that amount of money would allow her to neuter several animals. The board did not make a decision on her request.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
The right path
A pal of mine invited me over this afternoon to take a walk through her wonderful flower garden. She has a splendid green thumb and her hydrangeas, phlox, echinacea, yarrows, roses (the ones the deer spared, that is) and Shasta daisies are growing like gangbusters. In addition to her main garden she has various other borders around the property, including one with Crocosmia, a marvelous plant I'd never seen before. It's a native of South Africa and has a stalk like a gladiolus but a spray of stunning small bright-red flowers. She also let me eat some blueberries from her five bushes.
One thing I love about gardening friends is that they like to share. On a previous visit I left with a muddy cardboard box full of hostas she was ripping out to make a new garden bed (they're thriving here!). And every time I see the ajuga at the edge of her yard I think of the late Teddy Marvin, who lived at Dunleigh Castle opposite the entrance to New Bolton Center; his ajuga is still spreading under my walnut tree.
One thing I love about gardening friends is that they like to share. On a previous visit I left with a muddy cardboard box full of hostas she was ripping out to make a new garden bed (they're thriving here!). And every time I see the ajuga at the edge of her yard I think of the late Teddy Marvin, who lived at Dunleigh Castle opposite the entrance to New Bolton Center; his ajuga is still spreading under my walnut tree.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
To get in touch
Readers, if you ever want to share some news or comment on a story, you can drop me an email at uvilleblogger@gmail.com. Or you can read my blog online and comment there; just search for "Unionville in the News." Thanks for your input.
St. Malachi
St. Malachi Roman Catholic Church is inviting the public to its 175th anniversary on Sunday, July 7. At noon Archbishop Charles Chaput will celebrate Mass, followed by refreshments and "a thunderous Celtic bagpipe tattoo program in the fields adjoining the church!" (per the church website). St. Malachi (pronounced "MAL-a-key") is a beautiful, simple, historic church in a profoundly tranquil Londonderry Township setting (that's me talking). Tickets are free and can be reserved on the parish website, www.olcchurch.org.
New businesses
I was delighted to run into my pal Jim at the Half-Moon on Saturday afternoon. He was taking a break from installing tile at the new Nourish Juice Bar and Café just a few doors west on State Street. Nourish is going to open soon as part of the much-talked-about Market at Liberty Place, at State and Center Streets in Kennett. (Jim used to tend bar at the Half-Moon and used to manage the Kennett Flash.)
Also, I see on Facebook that Two Stones Pub hopes to open a branch this autumn at 843 E. Baltimore Pike, the site of the just-shuttered Kings Island Chinese restaurant (happy retirement to the owners!). Two Stones plans to serve Sunday brunch as well. Their other gastropubs are in Newark and on Foulk Road in North Wilmington.
Also, I see on Facebook that Two Stones Pub hopes to open a branch this autumn at 843 E. Baltimore Pike, the site of the just-shuttered Kings Island Chinese restaurant (happy retirement to the owners!). Two Stones plans to serve Sunday brunch as well. Their other gastropubs are in Newark and on Foulk Road in North Wilmington.
Coming of age
The Cranky Friend ("Do we need to walk so fast? It's hot!") and I had the pleasure of seeing a photo session for a Quinceanera while we were walking at Anson Nixon Park on Saturday. The birthday girl, who looked beautiful, wore a teal-blue, full-length ball gown with a full ruffled skirt. She was accompanied by a group of her peers who took part in the ceremony, all formally dressed: the boys wore black suits with matching blue vests and the girls white and blue dresses. They arrived at the park in one of those white limos that looks like it's been stretched out like taffy.
The Quinceanera is a traditional Latin American ceremony to celebrate a girl's 15th birthday and marks her coming of age as a young woman.
The Quinceanera is a traditional Latin American ceremony to celebrate a girl's 15th birthday and marks her coming of age as a young woman.
Blocked driveway
Two friends who live in Cochranville got hammered by last week's repeated storms and strong winds: two large evergreens toppled onto their driveway, and if it hadn't been for an intervening Norway Spruce that softened the blow, not only their new roof but their cars would have been crushed. Fortunately the damage amounted to only a few dents on the Jeep, but they were busy for days clearing the damage with a tractor and chainsaw so they could get out their driveway. I talked to the wife, my tennis partner, yesterday and she said she was so exhausted that she was at risk of confusing her tennis racquet with a branch.
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