Bagworms

I know, I've been talking about insects a lot recently, but they've just seemed noteworthy! I spotted the first bagworms of the season the other day, on the blue spruce in the walkway between the Bayard Taylor Library and the Kennett post office.
Bagworms represent "the larval stage of a moth native to Pennsylvania that is reported to feed on over 100 different plants. It is most common in the southern part of the state, where populations can build up rapidly and become serious pests. On pine trees, its cone-shaped bags are often mistaken for cones, which go unnoticed until the infestation is severe," according to an excellent online fact sheet put out by Penn State's Cooperative Extension/College of Agricultural Sciences. Control measures are listed, but whenever I've had to deal with them I just go out with a big garbage bag and a little ladder and pluck them off, one by one. Low-tech and mindless, but it works.

Ice cream in Kennett?

After working out on Friday I stopped by the Market at Liberty Place on State Street in Kennett for a slice of excellent pizza. While I was eating on the patio, a family of tourists at the next table asked me if I knew a good ice-cream shop in town.
"Do I ever!" I replied, telling them all about La Michoacana and giving them precise directions on how to get there.
"How long is the line?" asked the young boy, giving me a quizzical look.
"Well," I assured him, "there might be a few people ahead of you, but they're very efficient behind the counter and you won't have to wait long."
He explained that he judges the quality of a place by how long the line is. Not the worst metric, I suppose!
By the way, I think the Market at Liberty Place is quickly becoming a fixture in people's lives. I'm there often, and a friend overheard a woman saying on her cell phone, "OK, then I'll meet you at Liberty."

TAL tales

Thank you to my hostesses Frieda Springman, Rosemarie Prestileo and Sandy Otte for giving me a tour of the lovely Community Gardens at the Traditions at Longwood development on Route 926 east of Willowdale. The path leading to the garden area is thickly lined with herbs like stevia, sorrel, lemon thyme, purslane and rosemary. The 20 garden plots themselves (some people need only a half-plot) are impeccably maintained; I imagine it helps that there are strictly enforced rules in place about keeping your area neat and well weeded. Peppers, okra and tomatoes were flourishing (I liked the clever PVC tomato cages), and some forward-thinking gardeners already had their second crop of lettuce sprouting (note to self). The three ladies were proud to show off the newly installed tool shed and the special perimeter fencing that extends well underground to keep out voles and other hungry pests.

Ethics and love

On the tennis court this morning my opponent hit a shot that landed squarely on the baseline. I was running backwards and didn't get there in time.
"No, your point, that was long," he said.
"Absolutely not," I replied. "It hit the line."
Things escalated.
"I saw it! It was long!"
"No way! I was right there!"
Finally he conceded that I just might have had a better view of it and accepted that he had actually won the point.
The tennis pro on the next court, who had clearly been watching the U.S. Open, was amused.
"What you guys need," he advised, "is instant replay."

On the beaten track

The "Brandywine Valley" was featured in the New York Times' travel section last week, and though it's very nice exposure for our area, frankly I thought they could've been a little more creative. Sure, the writer, Geraldine Fabrikant, hit the usual spots -- Longwood Gardens, the Brandywine River Museum, Winterthur, Hank's, Talula's Table -- and I'm glad she visited Tom Macaluso's bookstore, but I wish she'd eaten at one of the awesome Mexican restaurants in town, gotten a sub from Sam's or taken in one of the festivals, events or parades (the Plantation Field three-day event, the Mushroom Fest or the Unionville Community Fair would've been a wonderful spectacle).
Perhaps I speak too soon: maybe the NYT is planning a stand-alone piece on Kennett's Memorial Day parade next year.

Omar Bautista

At the Y the other day my pal Frank Wood pointed out an incredibly muscular guy in the corner of the weight room. It turns out that bodybuilding champ Omar Bautista works out at the Y!
Omar, a native of the Dominican Republic, lives in Kennett Square with his wife and three children. This year he has won first place in the Dominican national bodybuilding championship ("Mr. Republica Dominicana") and he was the overall winner in the Shawn Ray Classic tournament in Baltimore. Next he'll be heading to the North American Championship, which Frank says is "a huge competition against the best in the US, Canada and Mexico."
Frank said he met Omar about 5 years ago through a friend from the Y and Omar has been doing work for his property-preservation business ever since:
"Omar is a good friend. Off stage he is a very humble and quite man -- very polite and considerate, a family man with good character. He does not seek attention. On stage in competition he is totally different: I was shocked when I saw him on stage! A crowd-pleaser to say the least, with the confidence of a champion!" 
(Check out his competition photos online.)
Frank, who is no slouch in the muscle department himself, said he is in awe of Omar's drive and work ethic: "I have seen first hand the dedication it takes to reach his level -- his preparation, diet and training. Just unbelievable how hard he needs to work to win."

Wolf's Hollow

I've mentioned before how much I like Wolf's Hollow County Park, and I urge you to visit. It's about a half-hour west of Unionville, near the Moccasin Run Golf Club, off Highland Road just west of Route 41.
I stopped by on a warm day last weekend and walked the 1.35-mile Upper Wolf's Hollow Trail (there is an excellent map online). It makes a loop, and I arbitrarily opted to start by heading west from the parking lot. That turned out to be the easy choice, because the trail makes a steep, lengthy drop-off down to the creek. Next time I'm going to reverse direction and take the uphill route!
There are lots of other well-marked trails through the park, with spectacular views. And if you enjoy spotting flora like I do there are unusual lichens, mushrooms and mosses all through the woods. Don't miss the clever butterfly garden in the parking lot.
If you're out that way, there's an excellent roadside market, Maple Arch Farm, on Route 10 at Friendship Church Road. I was there this morning and bought two heads of organic lettuce, a container of apple cider doughnuts and a small peach pie.

The Case of the Two Clocks

My friend Wendy Cooper of Kennett Township is going to be speaking at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10, on "The Nottingham Story: A Tale of Two Clocks." Wendy, who just recently retired as curator of furniture at the Winterthur Museum, and her colleague Mark Anderson, senior furniture conservator at Winterthur, will be giving the lecture to a meeting of the Oxford Area Historical Society, but all are welcome to attend. It's at the Oxford Presbyterian Church in downtown Oxford.

Release the hounds!

I was at a party in front of the Cheshire Kennels off Route 82 last weekend and the hounds, known as the "Cheshire Beauties," were NOT happy at being excluded. They were pressing up against the gates of their pens "in full cry," howling plaintively to be let out. And who can blame them for wanting to be part of the fun and eat and drink and play croquet?

Looking up

I was on Apple Grove Road the other day behind a slow-moving car that every so often would become a non-moving car. I wondered what was going on: were the occupants overcome by the road's rural beauty? (Understandable.) Then I saw the binocs pointing out the window and realized I was behind a pair of birders. They motioned me around them, and as I pulled level with them I told them they were very close to the very best birding road around.
"Follow me," I said. They did so eagerly -- it was a woman and her son -- and I left them at the north end of the road and told them to take their time.

New Bolton lectures

The First Tuesday Lecture Series at the New Bolton Center opens this fall with a Sept. 3 talk about "Weight Loss Worries" by Dr. Ashley Boyle. On Oct. 1 Dr. Emily Setlakwe will discuss "Treating Heaves." On Nov 5. Dr. Sue McDonnell, the head of the Equine Behavior Lab, will speak on "Ten Important Observations of Health-Related Natural Horse Behavior." And on Dec. 3 Dr. Thomas Schaer, Senior Research Investigator, Comparative Orthopaedic Research Laboratory, will discuss "Leaping from Bench to Stall, Cage or Bedside." 
The lecture series, according to NBC's website, "is an opportunity for Penn Vet's New Bolton Center to share new advances and cutting-edge information with the local horse community. The one-hour lectures will cover a wide range of veterinary subjects, each one of relevance to the horse owner and caregiver."
I've been to several of the lectures and they are always interesting. They are held in Alumni Hall at 6:30 p.m. RSVP to Barbara Belt at 610-925-6500 or beltb@vet.upenn.edu.

If it sounds too good to be true ...

Does this offer seem a little ... self-serving?
A leaflet enclosed in my credit-card bill suggests that to thank me for my loyalty, they'll let me skip paying this month's bill "without incurring a late fee." Wow! Such largesse!
Then you get to the fine print at the bottom: "Remember, in any month when you decide not to pay your balance in full by the due date, you will be assessed interest charges."
Thanks, but no thanks. That's an offer I have no problem refusing. It's not exactly deceptive, just on the sneaky side.

End of summer

Rants my friend John:

"I hate the 1st day of school. Summer's over, the kids have no reason to pay attention to me, I have to get up on time, it's already getting dark too early, Halloween candy is on display at the grocery store, I haven't finished a fraction of the things I wanted to do this summer, my tan has already fallen off in a flaky dust pile, I don't even want think about Christmas carols sung by Kelly Clarkson (already being hyped), the things that didn't sell at the spring neighborhood yard sale ARE STILL SITTING ON THE TABLE IN MY GARAGE! and they want me to participate in the Fall sale.

I think I am not going to move a damn thing in the garage until I need the snowblower, which will probably be in about two weeks because it is the 1st day of school and time now accelerates. I don't have firewood split, I think my truck needs tires, and the outdoor tables at work need a serious session with Rustoleum.  
Of course, I could start my summer reading now. It's too dark to mow. Two novels I bought in May are around here somewhere. I had better read them before the Christmas LL Bean catalog arrives!"