STROUD CENTER: Honoring scientists Drs. Sweeney and Newbold

Congratulations to Dr. Bernard W. Sweeney, the director of the Stroud Water Research Center, who was named the Berks County Conservation District’s Conservation "Individual of the Year" on April 27.

The honor was given for his “proactive work to apply the science of riparian forest ecology," District Executive Dan Greig said.

Dr. Sweeney and his Stroud Center colleague Dr. Denis Newbold published an article last year in "The Journal of the American Water Resources Association" about the optimal width of streamside forest buffers.

(I should add that Denis Newbold has some pretty good technology skills, too: he saved the day by running a lecturer's PowerPoint presentation on his own computer at West Grove Meeting the other evening!)  

The internationally known Stroud Center has its headquarters on Spencer Road here in West Marlborough.

KENNETT SQUARE: A hair salon in the former Liz Marden space

The space at 110 South Union Street in downtown Kennett that once housed Liz Marden Bakery is being converted into "Blown Away Blow Dry Bar and Salon." A sign in the window says the salon will open this autumn and is looking for employees, and a Facebook page is already up and running.
That block is becoming a personal services hub, with the Picone Beauty & Wellness Spa, Tribe Beauty Culture, My Polished Nail Salon (which Roxann and Olen Grimes of the next-door Artworks gallery recently purchased) and Fragale's Barber Shop.
You may remember Liz Marden as the bakery that made the wedding cake for the daughter of Vice President Joe Biden and gingerbread cookies for Longwood Garden’s Christmas display but closed abruptly in July 2012.

SUMMER CAMP: Sometimes it's easier just to write a check

Krysta, one of our Kennett YMCA instructors, is such a good sport! She teaches a terrific exercise class that I attend on Friday evenings that always includes a ridiculously large number of pushups (an exercise that never, EVER gets any easier; how can that be?).
When she mentioned that she was helping to raise money to enable underprivileged kids to attend the Y's summer camp, I had the zany idea of volunteering to donate $1 per pushup that I didn't have to do. Another pushup-despising classmate immediately said she'd join me in the scheme.
Krysta jumped at the chance. And when the pushup part of the class arrived, my friend and I made a big deal out of watching her like a hawk and counting out loud so she wasn't tempted to slack off.
"WOW, did you feel that?" she asked the class after one set that looked brutal.
My friend and I looked at each other: "No," we had the pleasure of saying. "We really didn't."
By the end of class she had done a total of 50 pushups. We each wrote a check for $50, and I saw other generous classmates chipping in as well.
I'm sure there's a sports metaphor for a win/win/win situation like this: We got out of doing pushups, we had the fun of watching our instructor do them -- and some kids get to go to the Y's excellent summer camp.

CELTIC MUSIC: RUNA is performing in Hockessin

After I write about a concert I attend, people will often tell me, "Wow, I wish I'd known about that!"
Well, here's a nearby show that sounds like it will be really special: the Green Willow Folk Club will present the Irish/American roots band RUNA at the Hockessin Memorial Hall at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 18. Tickets are $25 in advance (reservations@greenwillow.org or call 302-456-3242) and $28 at the door.
The band members are Dublin-born guitarist/vocalist Fionán de Barra; mandolin/banjo player Dave Curley, from Galway; percussionist Cheryl Prashker, from Montreal; fiddler Maggie Estes White, from Kentucky; and Philadelphia-born Shannon Lambert-Ryan, vocalist and band manager. Their website is www.runamusic.com.
And en route to Hockessin, why not stop off for dinner ahead of time at the Taqueria Moroleon on Route 41?

RELIGION: The beliefs and culture of the Amish and Mennonites

In the final lecture in the "Faiths of Our Neighbors" series at West Grove Friends Meeting, Edsel Burdge Jr. discussed the culture, history and beliefs of the Amish and Mennonites. A Methodist-turned-Mennonite himself, he is a research associate at the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College.
Horse-drawn buggies, one-room schoolhouses and Amish youths are familiar sights in western Chester County, but in his talk I learned a lot about the religious beliefs and rituals of the many different sects of Anabaptists that coexist. They share the belief -- revolutionary when it was first proposed in the 17th century -- that people shouldn't be baptized until they are old enough to choose to join the faith. Both groups are named after their founders, Jacob Amman and Menno Simons.
Mr. Burdge explained that the Amish don't consider modern technology like cars and electricity to be evil per se, but rather dangerous in the sense that they might disrupt the community's traditional fabric by speeding things up and decreasing face-to-face exchanges among the tightly knit group.
I very much want to read a book that he recommended, "Called to Be Amish," Marlene C. Miller's newly published autobiography about joining the Old-Order Amish as an outsider.
Let me take the opportunity to thank West Grove Meeting for presenting this second series of Wednesday-evening lectures. They have been about as varied and entertaining as possible in terms of the topics, the speakers and the presentations (everything from PowerPoint slides to ritual dancing).

LONGWOOD: Stop --- and then look and listen in the gardens

Let's say you're southbound on Route 1, it's a beautiful sunny day, and you decide to visit Longwood Gardens. You get in the right lane and turn onto the exit ramp. And then, whatever you do, don't ignore the stop sign at the end of the ramp! A friend said she was recently pulled over by the state police for failing to come to a full stop there, and she said several people she knows have had the same experience.
She also gave this vivid account of the new-ish Meadow Garden, which I haven't yet visited:
"Oh, it's wonderful! You sit there on a bench, aaahhh, you get to hear the birds, you see a hawk, you see the frogs, you see a snake. Well, I wasn't so thrilled about the snake, but you know, it IS part of Nature."

TRACK: These middle-schoolers are on the move

I watched The Young Relative in action at a Patton Middle School track meet one recent afternoon. Sitting in the bleachers, in the sun, with friends and family is not the worst way to spend a few hours. Thanks to his brightly colored sneakers, it was easy to keep track of the Young Relative as he was competing or waiting to compete.
There were some terrific young athletes, boys and girls, with graceful, effortless-looking form. I enjoyed seeing the kids outside, taking a break from their devices (yes, I know; I should talk), and cheering each other on. I especially admired the guts shown by those who got lapped and finished last by many lengths. They just kept plugging away, a skill that will serve them well in later life.

ROUNDABOUT: The traffic in the circle has the right of way!

A woman who lives in East Marlborough came up to me at the Y this morning and asked me to put out the word about correct traffic etiquette at the Route 82 roundabout in Unionville. Motorists who are actually circling the roundabout have the right of way, NOT those entering the circle. That's why there are prominent "Yield" signs at each entrance.
My friend said she saw an accident there that occurred because one driver assumed that the car in the circle would stop for her. Nope, that's not the way it works. The same rules apply to the Route 52 roundabout, too.

ON THE DECK: Welcoming the hummers back to Unionville

The hummingbirds are back!
I saw the first one of the season, a female, Sunday afternoon in my backyard, followed shortly by a male. Thank goodness I took the advice of the folks at Wild Birds Unlimited in Hockessin and hung my hummingbird feeder out early.
For such tiny birds, the hummingbirds are very bold: the female kept harassing a nonplussed female cardinal.
It was a great bird-watching afternoon. I saw a pair of chickadees making a nest in the birdhouse I have hanging out back. One would fly into the house carrying a beakful of twigs and fluff while the other kept guard on a nearby branch. Soon I'll be able to hear the squeals of the hungry babies!
To add to the fun, a squawking crow was circling with the buzzards, rowdy red-winged blackbirds were making regular feeder visits, a red-bellied woodpecker was jumping around on the still-bare branches of the walnut tree, swallows were darting over the meadow, where the yellow mustard is just starting to bloom, and the mourning doves kept up a steady cooing from the ground.

WILLOWDALE: A new Star-Spangled Banner would be welcome

A faithful reader reports that the American flag flying over the Willowdale Town Center shopping center needs to be replaced, and the sooner the better.
"Truly, it's in shreds. Shameful," she wrote.
I drove by to check it out on Sunday, and she's right: the edges are fringed, the colors are faded and it has definitely seen better days. Here's hoping this little item will help remedy the situation.