"My horse people"

In one of my gym classes the other day we were doing an exercise aimed at the inner thigh muscles, the adductors. Half the class was grimacing and complaining; the other half was confused and said they must be doing it wrong because they felt nothing. The contrast, which persisted even when controlling for age, size and overall fitness level, was striking. Our instructor supplied the ready explanation: those who weren't feeling it were, not coincidentally, the equestrians in the class, who already have phenomenally strong adductor muscles.

A non-starter

The first time I wrote about the wine bar and tapas restaurant that was supposed to move in to the old Kennett Café on East State Street in Kennett was way back in December 2010, when restaurateur Jack McFadden hung a sign on the building claiming that it would be open in the spring of 2011. Historic Kennett Square's January 2011 newsletter said, "Jack McFadden has begun to earnestly work on his property. He is hoping to have renovations completed by June but admits that it may take a bit longer."
Renovations were indeed done in fits and starts over the ensuing years, but the place never opened. People occasionally ask me what's going on with the place, and when I walked by this evening there was a sign on the front window: "Property Available." I guess that's your answer.

Beer for sale

A sharp-eyed "Unionville in the News" reader spotted a liquor license application in the window of one of the shops underneath the Kennett Square Inn and asked me to find out what was going on. I discovered that Steve Warner, the Inn's owner, is opening a retail craft-beer store! The little shop is being painted and renovated, and I'm told it should be open by the end of May. It will sell singles and six-packs of a wide variety of beers for takeout.

One way

Wow, starting Monday, May 19, there will be no more northbound traffic on Center Street between Cypress and Union Streets in downtown Kennett; it'll be southbound only in that block. "The change is intended to increase available parking and make the intersection of State and Center Streets safer for pedestrians and motorists," said the borough in its announcement.

From a motorist's point of view, I have to agree that it was difficult pulling out from Center Street onto State Street. An intersection that seems to me to have even more limited visibility, though, is just a few blocks west, at Washington and State, where a hedge blocks your view as you're pulling out on to State Street. Unless you're sitting way up high in a pickup truck, you have to pull far enough out into the lane of travel that you get (justified) glares from oncoming motorists. 

Which way?

"Unionville in the News" reader Joe F. sent me this photo of the Route 52/926 intersection, which could go a long way toward explaining why there are so many lost-looking motorists trying to navigate the detour in Pocopson Township.

An honor for The Honorable!

Congratulations to West Marlborough Township resident Walter K. Stapleton, who on May 7 received the 2014 American Inns of Court Professionalism Award for the Third Circuit.    

Judge Stapleton, who sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, was presented with the award at the Third Circuit’s Annual Judicial Conference in Harrisburg by the Honorable Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and by the Honorable Thomas L. Ambro of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

The judge has had a truly impressive legal career. After graduating from Princeton, he earned his law degree from Harvard (he later obtained a masters in law from the University of Virginia). He went into private practice and served as assistant attorney general for Delaware in 1963 and 1964 before being appointed to the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware in 1970 by President Nixon. He served as chief judge from 1983 to 1985. In 1985, President Reagan nominated him to the U.S. Court of Appeals; he took senior status in 1999. 

In addition to all this, Walter is a charming, witty and self-effacing gentleman and a first-class host and raconteur. The honor is well deserved; we need more people like him in public service.

 

    

     

Hummers (the little kind)

If you haven't put out your hummingbird feeder, it's high time to do so. I've already seen both a male and a female ruby-throated hummingbird at mine, only a few days after I put the feeder out.

Willowdale

What a fun afternoon my friends and I had at the Willowdale Steeplechase on Sunday!
The weather was perfect and the races were fun to watch, especially when we got to cheer for jockeys we knew. We had an excellent vantage point, standing in the back of a Jeep a little ways up the slope near the finish line. Between races we wandered around, greeting friends (one fellow assured us there's going to be a Triple Crown winner this year), looking at the antique cars, browsing through the shops, admiring Hood's new BBQ trailer and then heading to the paddock to check out the horses for the next race. (Toward the end of the afternoon, we basically lolled around in the sun, moving only to get another brownie or pretzel.)
Some people made tailgating their priority, setting up entire bars and lavish buffets and bringing in kegs, porch furniture with cushions, and topiaries. While the adults ate, drank and socialized, the kids ran around, tossing lacrosse balls, baseballs or footballs, blowing soap bubbles and splashing in the little creek. There were plenty of dogs.
This steeplechase tends to be a little dressier than others, and there were lots of fancy hats and sundresses. I couldn't help but notice that bright orange seems to be the "in" color this year.
This was my last steeplechase for the season. Though the spring started out with the freezing mud and sleet of the Cheshire Point-to-Point, the rest of the races I went to -- Willowdale, Brandywine Hills and Fair Hill -- had marvelous weather. And even Cheshire was a memorable experience ... in its own way.

Plant Sale

This was at least the twentieth year that I've attended the Plant Sale at London Grove Friends Meeting, and it was as wonderful as ever. Even though we arrived before 8 a.m. on Saturday, the parking lot was already full of cars. In fact, the early-birds were just leaving, laden down with boxes full of green things. I made a beeline for the geraniums: the Plant Sale always has such beautiful, big, healthy bright-red ones, and in my experience they tend to sell out early. After I had purchased enough to fill the window boxes, I could relax, get a cup of coffee and wander around.
Pat Mooberry made some excellent suggestions for some low-maintenance perennials, and we took her up on them. Margaret Walton helped me pick out a perfect hanging basket for Mother's Day. And if I listed everyone else I saw, either volunteering or shopping, I'd have no room for anything else. I'll just say that it was, as always, a great community event, full of hugs and fellowship and presided over by the magnificent London Grove Oak.
Happily for everyone, the weather was warm and sunny, and I'm told that the afternoon's thunderstorm held off until just after everything had been cleaned up and put away.