Goodbye to the Goddards

I just heard today about the deaths of Steve and Marna Goddard on January 2 and 14, respectively, at ages 81 and 82. The West Grove couple, married for 56 years, will be missed for so many reasons.

The Goddards were the kind of distinctive people who give spice to a community. Their appearance alone made them instantly recognizable: Steve's long white beard and ponytail, Marna's old-fashioned braid wrapped around her head.

The couple donated the land that is now the popular Goddard Park in London Grove Township. And they were fixtures at every kind of cultural event in the area: Hadley Fund lectures, school and community theatrical productions, and concerts. They were regulars at the Anson B. Nixon summer concerts, so much so that we remarked on the rare Wednesday evening when they were absent. They always sat in the front row, and Steve would lug heavy wooden folding chairs for them to sit on.

We were not at all surprised to run into them at plays in Wilmington and at the Milburn Stone Theatre in North East, Maryland. 

I first met Steven when I was working at the Bayard Taylor Library. He did not want to have a computer at home, so he used the library's public computers (and grumbled when we told him his time was up and someone else was waiting!). I've since seen him using the computers at the Avon-Grove Library and I wouldn't be surprised if he is familiar to staffers at other local libraries as well. 

Here is their obituary:

Steven Jerome Goddard, age 81, of West Grove, Pennsylvania, passed away on January 2, 2021 at his home. He was the husband of Marna Mason Goddard, age 82, who passed away January 14, 2021.  They shared 56 years of marriage.

Steve was born in Louisville, Kentucky, graduated from Rice University, and earned his PhD from MIT.  He worked for DuPont.

Marna was born in Hartford, Connecticut, graduated from Earlham College, and earned her MA from Harvard.

Steve and his wife Marna were both music lovers and patrons of the arts, Steve hosted a radio show at WVUD for several years. Their love of nature, community, and conservancy was exemplified by their donation of land to London Grove Township which initiated what is now known as Goddard Park.

Steve and Marna were preceded in death by their son Chad Phillips Goddard, and survived by their daughter Laura Pogue.

Services and interment will be held privately.  Contributions in their memory may be made to London Grove Township/Goddard Park, 372 Rosehill Rd, West Grove, Pa. 19390.

Foxy Loxy will reopen in the spring

After working out the other day I was thinking about heading over to Foxy Loxy in "downtown" Unionville and enjoying a hot cup of coffee in front of the fire -- but then I remembered they're closed until April. Another reason to look forward to spring!

Tina Brown (daughter of founder Henry Brown) explained the reasons behind the temporary shutdown in this notice on the shop's Facebook page: 

Trail cam changes Tilda's life

My new trail cam, a CamPark T-100 model, may be the best Christmas present I've ever received.

As soon as I get out of bed, I check the footage to see what critters visited overnight, before I even feed Tina the cat, pour my coffee, or fix my cereal. (Tina has filed a formal complaint with the West Marlborough Cats' Union.)

The trail cam is equipped with side and front motion detectors that trigger the camera to capture both still photos and videos. First I scroll through the photos for a summary, and then I watch the 10-second videos.

There is no routine for the backyard activity, although usually the opossum shows up shortly after sundown, and then the raccoon or raccoons appear at about 3:30 a.m. After that, all is quiet until sunup -- unless the fox shows up, or the skunk, or the barn cat. We've seen deer strolling by only a few times, far off in the background.

We put out leftovers for the critters every night, whether it's bones, turkey skin, stale cereal, or stuff in the pantry or freezer that predates my low-carb diet. 

We've started to recognize one raccoon with a truncated tail -- we call him Stubbs. Though he can't climb up the feeder pole and swing on the bird feeder like the other more acrobatic raccoons, he's excellent at picking up Cheerios.

The trail cam did have a bit of a learning curve. Determining the optimal settings and location involved some frustration and, sorry to say, some bad language, but we've managed to figure it out.

I share the most amusing or action-packed footage via social media every day, and so far two friends have enjoyed it so much that they've purchased their own trail cams.

A visit to the Conservatory

We had a wonderful, rejuvenating visit to Longwood Gardens on Sunday. The sun was shining and the previous day's wind had died down, so the walk from the visitor center to the Conservatory was pleasant. 

We had a great time exploring the organ display -- you get to see the organ pipes, which range from tiny metal tubes to massive wooden skyscrapers. There's a mural of a long-ago meeting of the organists' guild at Longwood and lots of vintage programs of gala organ concerts. A clever working model shows you how an organ produces sounds, and by pushing buttons you can see and hear how it works. 

The Conservatory displays are full of massed amaryllis, anthuriums, cyclamens, and miniature peach roses this season. Dearest Partner brought his camera and worked diligently making images with just the right lighting and exposure. In the fruit room one of Longwood's resident cats was lying in a sunny spot, licking himself and completely ignoring visitors. 

I'm so glad that Longwood is remaining open during the pandemic. It didn't feel crowded, and everyone wore masks, indoors and out (I did see one woman remove hers to have her photo taken in the Cascade Garden room). Although the masks did cut down on the intoxicating waft of fragrance that usually greets you when you enter the Conservatory, the delightful scent of the paperwhites and Oriental lilies still managed to reach my nose.