Crossing

My pal Cathy reports that she came across a huge snapping turtle in the middle of Allerton Road. She pulled over, picked up a big stick and did her valiant best to relocate the creature to the side of the road so he wouldn't be hit. "Took me 15 minutes to try to get him moved. He kept spinning to attack .. Finally, a guy in a truck came by and helped." Good for Cathy!
In other snapper news, I came across this in the classified section of a local paper: "Snapping turtles: need them trapped out of pond in New London area." Wow. And you think YOU have problems!

Not even close

The direct-mail advertising people need to take a lesson from their online colleagues.
The minute I post on Facebook that I'm enjoying breakfast at Perkins with a friend, ads will pop up on the screen for pancake mix, or egg recipes, or other businesses near Avondale. Facebook has an algorithm that suggests "people you may know" with amazing accuracy (whether I want to be friends with them, however, is another matter).
But not so with an advertisement that just arrived in the mail. It's from a well-known national charity inviting me to participate in a fundraising run and asking me to attend "an information meeting near you": namely, in Towson, Bel Air, Timonium, White Marsh, and Baltimore, Maryland.
No thanks!

Open space

Congratulations to my friend John D. Snook and his fellow East Bradford Township officials!
East Bradford was one of two Pennsylvania municipalities that received 2012 Government Conservation Leadership Awards from the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association (the other was Broad Top Township in Bedford County). The honor was given "for their demonstrated leadership in the conservation of our special landscapes and critical natural resources." The award was presented at the 10th Annual Pennsylvania Land Conservation Conference in Harrisburg.
In addition to Mr. Snook, the East Bradford supervisors are Vincent M. Pompo and Thomas A. Egan, and the township manager is Michael P. Lynch.

Nature notes

I foolishly left my car windows open yesterday and came out later in the day to find a sulfur-yellow layer of dust coating the black dashboard. It's pollen from the pine trees and the walnut, and between that and the pungent multiflora rose just coming into bloom, allergy sufferers must be miserable.

I noticed a mound of sawdust near my garage door and saw this carpenter bee hard at work, drilling a perfectly round hole in the wood siding. I haven't had much of a stink bug problem this spring, but one friend reports that they are as bad as ever at her Newlin farm. 
My hummingbird feeder is out and ready in the back yard. I spotted one hummingbird at it last week, and while tying up the daffodil leaves yesterday I heard another, that unmistakeable quick buzzing noise, but didn't see him or her.

Dinner at 8

Last night at about 7 p.m. I was picking up dinner at one of my favorite sub places and commented to the guy behind the counter that his take-out business seemed to be hopping. He agreed, but said if I wanted to see it really busy, I should stop back at about 8 p.m.
"Wow," I said, surprised. "People really eat that late?"
He told me that his theory, developed after decades in the restaurant business, is that when it stays light for so long, and there are so many outdoor chores to be done, people don't realize that it's dinnertime until much later than usual.

One-lane bridge

I made a little gardening-related trip out to Lancaster County today and found that the Route 472 causeway over the Octoraro Reservoir at the Chester/Lancaster County line has been reduced to one lane -- literally. What used to be the right lane (if you're headed north) simply doesn't exist anymore. Signs warn vehicles wider than eight feet to take a detour, for obvious reasons. The workers have installed red lights in the middle of the bridge to control traffic flow.

Strong enough

Remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about a flyer that some found objectionable? It was for the "Toughest Woman" competition at a local gym and showed a pink high-heeled shoe, as if that was the epitome of femininity. Well, the flyer has been redone and now shows an arm making a muscle, like on the old Arm & Hammer logo. I showed it to one of the women who complained to management, and she was delighted to see an image she considers to be more appropriate.

Downsizing

The senior Tally-hos are getting ready to move into an absolutely adorable smaller house, which means getting rid of a huge amount of stuff they, and their children, have accumulated over the years. They are being very efficient: I was told that either I remove my dusty boxes of stuff from the 1980s pronto or they will go into the trash. And on Sunday my mother informed me that she had just given away to charity Rosie, our childhood rocking horse.
Mum assured me Rosie got a good send-off.
"I gave her a hug and told her she would have new children to play with," she said.

At the races

Could the weather have been any more glorious for the Willowdale Steeplechase on Sunday? It was in the high 70s and so sunny that people had a hard time checking their smart phones: there was just too much glare on the screen. As a photographer friend said, "Today was a hard day on getting the exposures correct. Bright, harsh light."
It was a fun afternoon. The Willowdale course is set up so nicely that you can see most of the race from almost anywhere. The tailgating was great but there was a different "feel" from the other steeplechases of the season. As a friend of mine put it, there were a lot more "civilians" in attendance, not just the foxhunting and racing set who are regulars at the other races.
Opera singer Martin Hargrove did a fantastic job performing the National Anthem, and I was happy to see so many people remove their hats as a mark of respect during the Anthem (I'm old-fashioned that way).
Thank you to everyone who fed and watered me, and to the organizers for sending me a press pass! Much appreciated.
Later that day I was at the Four Dogs Tavern in Marshallton, and between the post-race partiers and the Mother's Day crowd, I've never seen it so crowded. "Kind of busy, huh!" I said to a worker who was taking a break in the alley outside the kitchen. He turned to me with a battle-weary stare. "It was insane," he said slowly. 
Postscript: It's the morning after, and I can tell you that Banana Boat SPF 100 sunblock really works.

Little foxes

I spotted Unionville Equine Associates veterinarian and wildlife photographer Steve Berkowitz parked alongside my neighbors' driveway Saturday evening taking photos of a family of five fox cubs who live in their field. He said he visits the spot regularly, morning and evening, and has found that the cubs are anything but shy. Judging from the terrific photos he showed me, they even seem to mug a little for the camera. Very cute. You have probably seen Steve's beautiful work in the local equine press.

An old house

Three cheers for the people who are renovating the long-vacant and shuttered-up stone house on Parkerville Road near the old Parkerville Friends Meeting. The newly visible date stone reads 1860. Hope the owners don't come across too many unexpected and unbudgeted-for problems during the project.

Feats of strength

A hard-core gym acquaintance hosts an annual Power and Strength competition at his West Grove home. I have so far avoided competing, and it's a decision I'm glad I made after hearing an account of the day's events.
I'll let my friend Kevin describe them:
1) The "much-feared" shuttle relay, which consists of "sprinting up and down the driveway carrying a variety of HEAVY objects."
2) The water bearer: "Each filled water jug weighs 60 lbs. The band around the ankles limits your stride length to take away an advantage for taller competitors. Whoever carries the jugs the greatest distance before one drops wins."
3) The 20-lb over-the-head sandbag toss. 
4) The obstacle course: "How long can you last walking through a tricky obstacle course while holding a 35-lb kettle bell overhead in one hand and a 35-lb bent curl bar in the other? Whoever walks the greatest distance before dropping one or both weights wins."
5) The snatch-the-pebble feat: "Every time a competitor jumps over the Bosu, he/she must transfer one stone at a time from one side of the Bosu to the other. Whoever moves the most stones in one minute wins." (A Bosu is a half-globe-shaped piece of exercise equipment.)
6) The "dreaded" 20-lb wrist curl, which appears to be akin to curling onto your spoon a very long and very heavy strand of spaghetti as fast as you can.
The winner gets bragging rights in the weight room for the year.