Top ten of 2013

As the year draws to a close, I like to take a look back at some significant events. I paged through my 2013 schedule book and came up with the following, in no particular order.
1. We lost Mary Dugan, Mary McKay, Jack Singer, Susie Buchanan, Dr. Eckman, Barbara Wilson, Mike Langer, Nina Donohue, Thistledown Sheridan ("Danny"), Fennel and "That Tree." But we gained a rejuvenated (well, temporarily) Blow Horn and a replacement sugar maple.
2. We've gotten more snow in the past week than we did all last winter.
3. The long-running dispute over Whitewing Farm has ended (for now). The East Marlborough zoning board ruled this fall that the Shortts cannot continue holding wedding receptions and large parties at the Valley Road farm because it's not zoned for that use. Neighbors had complained about noise and traffic.
4. Foxy Loxy, Jerry Brown's new coffee shop and ice cream store on Route 82, finally opened after months of eager anticipation. It was worth the wait. (Trivia: Dudley Moore addresses Goldie Hawn as "Foxy Loxy" in that classic 1970s movie "Foul Play.") Another terrific new addition to the community is the Market at Liberty Place on State Street in Kennett.
5. West Marlborough's new earned-income tax raised considerably more than the township supervisors had anticipated, raising hopes that perhaps it won't be a permanent obligation for residents and employers.
6. Newlin Township supervisors found themselves on the receiving end of much wrath when they proposed adding new regulations for small horse farms that take in boarders. The last I've heard, cooler heads seem to be prevailing and a compromise is being hashed out.
7. The Lenfest Center, the new headquarters of the Natural Lands Trust at the ChesLen Preserve, opened in June with a splendid outdoor gala honoring benefactors Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest. (The hot-air balloons drifting by from Plantation Field were a bonus.) A few months later, a blood drive at the Center was cancelled because the Red Cross objected to the significant number of stink bugs in the donation room.
8. The major expansion at the Kennett Y was completed in September.
9. Beer and mushrooms make a great combo. The Two Stones Pub opened at the site of the former King's Island Chinese restaurant; Victory Brewing is coming to the Magnolia Place development being built on the west side of Kennett; and the Kennett Brewing Company is expected to open in downtown Kennett.
10. Tilda's life featured a considerable variety of excitement this year (as my regular readers know!). She got her vehicle beached at the Kennels. She grew some awesome pumpkins. And on a first date, your always-graceful blogger tripped over a step at the Kennett parking garage and sprained her ankle. Not too many dates later (yes, with the same guy), she tumbled once again -- this time headlong and joyfully into that crazy, intoxicating state called love.