KENNETT: A sweet treat

On May 15 we made our inaugural visit of the season to the La Michoacana Ice Cream shop on State Street in downtown Kennett Square, where (as probably most readers know) they sell an amazing variety of flavors of homemade ice cream. In fact, "corn" ice cream is one of their bestsellers, and they even produce mushroom ice cream each year for the Mushroom Fest.
The woman ahead of us, after trying a couple of samples, ordered a cone with one scoop of mamey flavor (a Central American fruit) and one of pineapple cream. Her companion ordered vanilla and chocolate. She shot him a look of utter disbelief and dismay.

LONDON GROVE: It's also a social event

Although my garden, alas, is still too soggy to till, of course we went to the London Grove Friend Meeting Plant Sale anyway on the morning of May 11. The weather was perfect, and we got to catch up with so many friends, both Meeting members and shoppers.
I had to stop myself from purchasing my usual annuals because it looks like it's going to be a while before the garden will be dry enough for planting. I did go home with a very healthy-looking catnip plant that should interest Miss Tina the cat.

RINGTONE: Still young at heart

I was sitting in a waiting room the other day when a woman's phone started ringing, the defiant, era-defining opening chords of Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze." She fumbled through her Vera Bradley bag to silence it but didn't seem at all embarrassed. What was unexpected is that she was probably in her seventies and dressed conservatively. It reminded me of like my (now retired) dental hygienist who liked to reminisce about seeing Black Sabbath in concert at the Spectrum.

HONEYMOON: Exercising for two?

Before our workout the other day, a newlywed friend informed me that she wouldn't be doing any high-impact exercises. My gaze immediately strayed to her belly, and then I looked at her with raised eyebrows.
"NO!" she declared, rolling her eyes and showing me a big softball-induced bruise on her ankle. "Honestly! NEVER get sick or hurt the first few months after you're married. Everybody thinks the same thing!"

PENN: Coyote sighting

A Jenner's Pond resident reports that a coyote has been sighted roaming around the retirement community. One neighbor even snapped a photo of the creature with a rabbit in its mouth. My friend is worried about her outdoor cat but claims that he is "too old" to change his ways and stay indoors.

GIANT: A robot named Marty

The Kennett and Longwood Giants now have a beeping, 6-foot-tall gray robot gliding down the aisles. I encountered "Marty" on his first day on the job at the Kennett store, and he was the talk of the supermarket. His purpose is to detect spills, obstructions and hazards; when he does so, he doesn't clean it up himself but alerts a janitor. A friend reports that Marty spotted an olive on the floor and called for reinforcements.



"Marty," the Kennett Giant's new robot.



HILLENDALE: Fly Eagles Fly

Some pupils at Hillendale Elementary School recently took a field trip to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, motivating one sports-fan father to apply immediately for his school clearances so he could go along "as a chaperone." His wife was amused at his sudden eagerness to get his approvals: "He was dragging his feet for four years!" Social media photos showed the Dad in full Eagles regalia soaking up the atmosphere on the field.