Back in print

As an avid re-user and recycler, I cannot in good conscience throw out a piece of office paper that is printed on only one side. It eventually gets reloaded back into the printer. So the other day I was giving my quarterly financial report to a nonprofit group I belong to, and one of my fellow board members said she found the reverse side of the profit-and-loss statements far more interesting: it was a recipe for mushroom soup from the New York Times.
Another board member's financial statements were on the pages of a book on religion that I'd printed out to proofread on hard copy. "Apparently you didn't like the capitalization," she observed.

Tell me more!

I ran into a woman on Saturday morning who asked me why I wasn't at a certain community meeting. "I expected to see you there," she said. I explained that I wasn't really enthralled with the group in question -- but, I asked eagerly, what happened at the meeting? She started laughing and I realized that I simply cannot get away from my sense of curiosity. It's genetic.

Plant Sale

I look forward to the London Grove Meeting Plant Sale all year, as much -- I confess -- for the camaraderie as for the flora. I arrived a little before 8 a.m. (the serious early-birds were already leaving), got a cup of coffee and spent the first half-hour walking around chatting with neighbors and friends from all the circles of my life before actually getting down to business.
There's a comforting familiarity about the sale: You know where the Brandywine and London Grove tomatoes will be. You know where Plant Parking will be. You know Margaret Walton will be there selling hanging baskets.
I ended up buying a lovely blue columbine for the new shade garden, a valerian (wonderful fragrance!), some blue salvia for the cutting garden and a tomato plant. I also took home a renewed appreciation of the Plant Sale's perennial sense of community, friendliness and hospitality.
As one wise Quaker lady said to me: "Sometimes people are more important than plants."
(And a special thanks to those of you at the Plant Sale who said nice things about this little column. Very much appreciated.)

For the taking

I mention this each spring, but it's worth repeating. There's a you-shovel-it pile of spent mushroom compost at the southeast corner of Routes 841 and 842 here in West Marlborough, courtesy of Marlboro Mushrooms. It's absolutely free. You can just bring your pickup and start shoveling; people with smaller vehicles can just bring bins to fill. I've used it for years and it is excellent for your garden.

Targeted

Jeff, the owner of Pack-N-Ship (in Jennersville and Kennett), certainly knows his customers. On display at his stores are not only shipping boxes and office supplies -- but also books on riding, horse care, dogs, and raising backyard poultry.

Garden fail

Last fall I ordered only half my usual number of tulip bulbs in an attempt to see whether the previous year's tulips would re-flower. I got a clear answer: they don't. The very few old ones that bloomed were miniature-sized and unsatisfactory. I will continue to treat tulips as annuals and will order my usual quota this autumn.

Sushi

I had a great light dinner at Lily's Asian restaurant on State Street yesterday evening. The "Spring" sushi sampler was just delicious and only $11, including a salad. Even the Cranky Friend smiled and -- hard to believe! -- rubbed his belly in satisfaction.

Stuff the bus

A Kennett school-bus driver pal of mine sent along the following request:
"I was wondering if you could share something that my bus company (Krapfs) is doing for the apartment-house fire victims on Starr Road. There were 18 students from Kennett that had lost everything, and we are doing a 'stuff-the-bus' with everything anybody could offer them. It is from May 13 through the 24th at the Walnut Street bus parking lot. I was hoping you could help us so more people could donate."
Consider it done, D. A great idea!

Fly-in

The other day I was sitting on the back deck eating carrots and guacamole and reading the Kennett Paper and heard that familiar chittering noise: the first Ruby-Throated Hummingbird of the season had arrived! She perched on a pine branch for a few seconds and then came to the feeder and drank a fair amount of nectar. So glad I put up the feeder: my mother had phoned the night before to alert me that a hummer had just arrived at her house, just a few miles east. They are late in arriving this spring.
I saw the first male two days later (males have the red "gorget"), but just for a few seconds.
A West Marlborough neighbor reports that she just saw the first Baltimore Oriole of the season at her house! Eastern Meadowlarks and Bobolinks have also been spotted.

Springdell neighbors

At the May 7 West Marlborough township meeting, Springdell resident Lynn Powell once again complained about the parking situation at the popular Whip Tavern. Mrs. Powell, one of the original "Springdell 8" who brought legal action against the Whip, charged that the Whip is using Springdell resident Bernie Langer's driveway as a parking lot without seeking permission from the township.
Township engineer Al Giannantonio said he looked at the property in response to the letter and photograph she submitted last month and said that Whip employees are parking in Mr. Langer's driveway with his permission, but it's not being used as a formal parking lot.
(During a break in the meeting Mr. Langer, clearly upset with Mrs. Powell's actions, asked me if the township taxpayers are going to have to foot the bill for Mr. Giannantonio's time.)
Mrs. Powell also urged the supervisors to encourage the Whip to "live within their footprint" by posting "no parking" signs on the south side of Route 841, where Whip patrons park when there is no room in the parking lot. Supervisor Bill Wylie said because there was no safety issue involved, "we couldn't justify" putting signs there in addition to North Springdell Road.

Horse sense

At its May 7 meeting, the West Marlborough Planning Commission heard a request from Denise Richmond, who owns the property at 409 West Street Road, just east of Vince Dugan's training facility. She wants to tear down the house, combine three small lots and build a new house and a stable and paddock for one horse.
The planning commission told her that per the township ordinance, she would need to have at least two acres per horse. Because her site is only 1.64 acres, she would need to seek a variance from the township's zoning hearing board to proceed.
Her engineer said they would discuss the matter and would consider rethinking having a horse at the site.

New supervisor

Josh Taylor is the new West Marlborough Township supervisor, replacing Michael Ledyard, who stepped down from his position in April.
Mr. Taylor was the chairman of the township's planning commission, and its members aren't happy to lose him.
"You can't have him," chorused members Nancy Swayne and Anna Myers as Supervisor Bill Wylie announced Josh's promotion at the beginning of the township meeting May 7.
Mr. Wylie was unmoved: "You'll have to come up with another chairman," he told them.
Mr. Taylor is wearing a sling on his right arm after shoulder surgery, and as he took his seat at the supervisors' table, one audience member called out, jokingly, "Looks like they really had to twist your arm."
Both Mr. Wylie and Supervisor Hugh Lofting praised their former colleague Mr. Ledyard and thanked him for his service. Mr. Wylie called him "sensible, optimistic, well-spoken and even-tempered," and Mr. Lofting recalled how he could always "keep things simple and straightforward." Mr. Lofting said he appreciated Mr. Ledyard's ability to cut through legalese (he is an attorney with Morris James in Wilmington) and pointed out that being a supervisor can be a demanding job: "Somebody's always irritated," he said. "Mostly at you."
The supervisors took a brief break from the meeting to honor Mr. Ledyard with a reception featuring an Italian rum cake from Termini Bros. bakery in Philadelphia.

The photo shows Josh (left) and Mr. Wylie.

To the center

Last weekend I joined maybe 30 others, from kids to senior citizens, at the Delaware Art Museum's outdoor labyrinth to mark World Labyrinth Day, a worldwide celebration in which people around the globe walk the labyrinth at 1 p.m. Here, Labyrinth-Master Carol Maurer welcomed everyone and the members of the Cathedral Choir of Wilmington filed in, lining up at the far end of the former reservoir. As they started singing (great acoustics!), the guests entered the labyrinth as they felt moved to do so. The beautiful music, the warm sun, the crunch of gravel underfoot and the sense of camaraderie all made for an inspiring event.
You can find out more about labyrinths on Carol's blog, www.backyardpilgrim.blogspot.com, or www.labyrinthsociety.org. There's also a video of the event on the Art Museum's website.

I thought so!

A few weeks ago I mentioned that there's a hedge that makes it really tricky to see oncoming traffic when you're pulling out from Race Street onto Cypress Street in Kennett. Kennett Borough Council member Dan Maffei just sent me an update:
"The Chief measured the distance to the hedge in question and it is definitely a violation of the minimum clear sight line as defined by highways association. He has approached the owners and will give them 30 days to comply."
Thank you so much for following up, Dan!
In other Kennett news: it's a nice touch to have the borough's Parking Enforcement Officer doing double duty as crossing guard at the First Friday Art Stroll. Light stick in hand, he was shepherding visitors across the intersection of Union and State Streets when I was there.

Prudent

I loved seeing the prom photos in last week's Kennett Paper, but I'm not the only one who noticed that some of the young women seemed to be falling out of their dresses. I know, I know, every generation says this about the fashion choices of the younger one. In my day, we all rolled our eyes at the totally square school rule dictating that mini-skirts couldn't be any shorter than our fingertips.
In the case of these skimpy prom dresses, though, school regulations wouldn't have even applied: my mother would NEVER have let me out of the door showing as much skin as these girls do. My mother is far from a prude; she's just sensible.
And today the ramifications are even more far-reaching: with the Internet, these revealing photos are going to be around forever for future business clients, patients, employers and employees to see -- not to mention random voyeurs and creepos. Not a pretty thought.