Stinkbug stories

Last week I asked for gross stinkbug stories, and my readers have not let me down.

Having one crawl up the inside of my jeans leg pales in comparison to this nightmarish tale from an Embreeville resident:

"Before a bird walk at a local preserve, I took advantage of the Port-a-Potty. When I pulled down the first bit of toilet paper hundreds of stink bugs came out all over me, the seat and the floor. Being the close confines of the potty and my state of disarray, all I could do was make sure there were none in my pants and get out of there as fast as I could. The final straightening of clothes was completed outside, not caring if anyone was around or not. I never use an outdoor potty now without first checking the toilet paper roll."
Reader Alison reports finding them inside her hair dryer, on the lip of her bedside glass of water ("My disgusted sputtering definitely woke up my husband") and in her chandelier ("130 dead stink bugs in the 8 lights").
An East Marlborough resident reports while making an afternoon cup of coffee, she found one inside the reservoir of her coffeemaker: "I have to wonder...was it there when I made our breakfast coffee too?" And while removing her makeup at the end of the day: "Just before swiping the pad across my eyes...there it was, on the other side, hoping I was too tired to see. What an eye opener."
She also offers some useful advice for stinkbug disposal.
"I heard someone mention during my day around town that we need to give the East Marlborough Sewer maintenance team a break from having to replace so many motors and try not to 'flush' these nasty's down so much.  One alternative catch is a jar with a lid (like a jelly jar ready for the recycling) filled halfway with water & drops of liquid soap.  Open the lid, make the catch, reuse on the next dozen in the house.  I've used this method all week and it's going great." 
Personally I drop them in a plastic bag, either one with a slide across the top or an old bread bag with an office binder clip at the top. I keep one bag in each room where they congregate and just toss the bags when they get too smelly.

Salamander

Check out this wonderfully exotic little guy that I found under a bit of straw in my vegetable garden! He is a Northern Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber ruber) and was about six inches long. After taking his photo I covered him back up and left him in peace.
When I showed this photo to my mother she noted how funny it was that such a vividly orange-colored creature should appear in the part of the garden where I grew pumpkins this year. More than coincidence?

Healthy foundation

My friend and fellow West Marlborough resident Mark Myers has a new accomplishment to add to his already-full resume: he has been named to the volunteer board of directors of the Brandywine Health Foundation.
Says Mark: "Brandywine Health Foundation is a great organization supporting the needs of many people in our greater community. I have visited the Coatesville based organizations the Foundation serves and I have been amazed at the quality of the services and the commitment of the staff supported. However, the needs remain great and we all are called on to find ways to help out." 
Our township is well represented on the Foundation's board: Annie Jones is also a member.

OK, maybe not

When I go to the post office, Starbucks, the Giant or even West Chester, odds are really good that I'll run into someone I know. This seems perfectly natural to me.
So yesterday, I was watching the Eagles game with the Young Relative and they were showing closeups of the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field.
"Oooo!" said I. "Let's see if we know anyone."
The Young Relative rolled his eyes.
"Tilda," he said with a sigh. "It's Philadelphia, NOT Unionville."
I was sharing this story with a woman who is a transplant from a small town in Indiana to Elkton, Maryland, by way of the Main Line, and she pointed out how valuable and uncommon that sense of community connectedness is these days. She said she misses it sorely and urged me not to take it for granted.
I won't! I felt it when I went to the Denim & Diamonds fundraiser at the Unionville Community Fair on Thursday evening: I knew my "Fair friends" would be there, and it never crossed my mind that I wouldn't know anybody.
Sure enough, D&D was a fun party with great food by Triple Fresh Catering (shots of pumpkin soup, mini crabcakes, terrific vegetables, green salad with blackberries and strawberries, mashed potatoes, cooked-to-order pasta, chicken and pork sandwiches, and assorted desserts). 

Hunt Cup

Regular readers know what a big fan I am of the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup races, which is always a great afternoon of racing, eating, drinking and socializing. This year -- the 78th! -- the Hunt Cup will be Sunday, Nov. 4. I already have my parking pass at the ready. The course is west of Newark Road, between Routes 926 and 842. www.pahuntcup.org is the website.

On the creek

My outdoorsy pal Dave asked me to give a little publicity to a group he is involved with, Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, which is "dedicated to the physical and emotional rehabilitation of disabled active military service personnel and veterans through fly fishing and fly tying education and outings." Check them out online.

The Ferm

On Sept. 28 I was walking along State Street in Kennett, on my way to a family dinner at the Half-Moon Saloon, when I spotted my friend and neighbor Claire Murray of Inverbrook Farm. It turns out that Claire was one of the organizers of the Fourth Annual Fermentation Festival, and I had stumbled upon the "Meet the Makers" event that was going on that evening along Sycamore Alley. I was already late for dinner but I assured her I'd be back.
I'm glad I did! There were all sorts of nice folks on hand displaying their fermented food and drink: cheese, wine, spirits, beer and cider. Doe Run Farms from right here in West Marlborough was offering samples of their home-made cheese. I was especially intrigued by an organic ginger spirit called Snap, from Art in the Age.
The event was hosted by Kennett Square Farmers’ Market, Historic Kennett Square's Brewfest, and Talula’s Table. 
One of the press people covering the event took my photo, and wrote down my name, for some kind of a Philadelphia publication. Oh, dear.

Unexpected

I saw a silver Maserati on Evergreen Street in downtown West Grove borough last week. Apparently two pedestrians were as startled as I was to see the fancy vehicle, because they stopped their conversation and stared. One even put out his thumb as if he wanted a ride.
Update: A Facebook friend reports seeing a silver Maserati while she was on Route 926 between Route 52 and 82. I doubt there is more than one around here!

Ignorance of the law

How are West Marlborough residents supposed to know about the township's newly imposed earned income tax?
That was the question raised by Springdell resident Lynn Powell at the October township meeting. No official notice has gone out to residents, and only a handful of people attend township meetings or read the newspaper, so many residents may be ignorant about the tax, which went into effect as of Oct. 1. Although large employers probably have payroll people who keep track of where their employees live and whether their municipalities have enacted earned income taxes, many people these days are self-employed and may well be unaware of their new obligation. In fact, I mentioned it to a neighbor of mine and he had no clue that the tax was even being considered.
Supervisor Bill Wylie said the board members will "do our homework" and see what the best course of action would be to inform residents.

Spent compost

The most exciting thing that happened at this month's West Marlborough Township meeting was a follow-up discussion about the mounds of spent mushroom soil that are being dumped south of Hood Road, near the high-tension wires. (You can see the big heaps if you look to the north while driving along Street Road east of the SECCRA landfill.) Neighbors have told the supervisors they are concerned about the truck traffic, the early-morning noise, and the possible environmental impact of the compost.
Although the person dumping the spent compost, Russell Jones Jr., has a plan to do so that has been approved by the Chester County Conservation District, township regulations define mushroom compost dumping as a "conditional use." This means Mr. Jones must appear before the township supervisors, and they can impose reasonable conditions on the activity.
The township's zoning officer, Al Giannantonio, told the supervisors he has informed Mr. Jones about the township regulation. He has been given 30 days, until Oct. 19, to apply to the township; if he does not, Mr. Giannantonio said he will issue an enforcement notice.