A ride in the PA countryside

An afternoon drive found us leaving Millsburg and winding our way west on US Route 6. Millsburg Road sort of intersects with Route 6 at the top of O'Brien Hill, just past Toad Pasture Road.

Toad points the way to Route 6

US Route 6 crosses over into the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and meanders west to Lake Wallenpaupack.

It has been a few years since we have taken the road to Honesdale. The area from the lake west seems to have survived the dip in tourist traffic. The little towns seem inviting with many little shops and interesting stops.
The D&H Canal runs parallel with Route 6 for a while.

We stopped at Lock 31 to see the lock keepers house just east of Hawley. The building is currently undergoing full restoration by the Wayne County Historical Society. There was a women perched on a second floor windowsill working on the exterior window trim. She was scraping old layers of paint, flake by flake. There will be an open house and festival this summer on August 24th. Hopefully we will take another ride west!

Stopping at a few antique stores that were packed to the rafters we picked our way through Hawley and over to Honesdale. LKD recalled a quirky little place that sells terracotta pots, sea shells, candles (from an amazing assortment made by the "semi" retired proprietor).

The surprise came when we poked into a nook and found a Cajun collection of coconut heads.

It is now less likely that Pirate Pete will be hosting any more mice.

Almost to Honesdale we took a tour of the Sandhouse. Once used to offload barge deliveries from the canal boats, every room is packed with old tools, glassware of every description and the basement reminds me of my grandmother's Brookfield Antique Shoppe just down the road from Millsburg. There was a glass factory located here along the canal. There are still several old stone buildings and a Manor House that are part of a museum. This will need to be further explored.

Seeing a sign for a golf course we took a ride up Cricket Hill. To our surprise, sort of out in the middle of the forest is a scenic collection of tidy fairways and literally emerald greens. LKD thought we should play a round but our clubs have been removed from the boot.

Turns out that the accommodating gent running the place was happy to see us. He invited us to take a golf car out for a full tour of the eighteen holes. We will definitely be going back soon with the implements needed to add a few divots to the tee boxes. It is a good bet that our next tour of the course will consume some golf balls!

The ride back to Millsburg followed the canal back down the Delaware River Valley and over the Hawks Nest.

To our  surprise the nine hole Eddy Farms course is under a greens keeper's watchful eye. Now a Christian Retreat we noted that there was a major shortage of Christians hanging out - we did not see a single Christian retreating. There is hope that the course will be open for non-retreating souls again soon. LKD and I have had many good rounds before Eddy Farms closed up a few years back.

Pirate Pete harbors Mice in Millsburg

Remember the coconut heads that were mentioned a few posts ago? Well it turns out that Pirate Pete attempted to adopt a family of mice. LKD discovered the transgression and exiled the entire trove, including Pirate Pete.

After a brisk tumble down the hill and out into the yard, Pirate Pete has found his way back to his perch. His belly is now filled with moth balls as a reminder about allowing vermin onto the deck.

Golf season seems to have finally begun. We have successfully navigated the Rip VanWinkle Country Club, with the expert guidance from a couple of local gents who we joined up with on the first tee. This round was a warm up to prepare for the annual John Bell Memorial outing. The Lynx at River Bend hosted the tournament on a nice sunny ninety degree day. LKD won the longest drive contest (as usual).

LKD's sister KKD is visiting the house in Millsburg. Walking around and shopping are in the plans for the day.

The temps have been in the ninety degree range for a couple of days. Activities that focus on things inside are preferred, especially after spending the entire day yesterday at the golf outing. Project for today included some carpentry to frame out the door and put a floor into the new storage cubby at the bottom of the cellar stairs. Pretty much ready now to install the ceramic tiles and finish up the project. Pics will be posted in due time.

Rip VanWinkle

After playing nine pins and hanging out with Henry Hudsons merry men Rip VanWinkle slept for twenty years. Apparently when he awoke he built a bridge over the river and a road to get to his golf course. Tomorrow we will venture out to enjoy his efforts.

This afternoon we enjoyed the company of some of LKD's co-workers. Some are retiring and the rest were on hand to celebrate the occasion. LKD did a great job organizing the venue, the menu, the MC and of course the beads.

Some cosmos may have been consumed so now it is a fine time to zzzzzzz out on the deck.

I hope she does not nap until 2033!

Just one more day till Summer

Friday is the summer solstice. The longest day of the year. The first day of summer.

LKD has figured out the destination for our round of golf. The Rip Van Winkle Country Club. She was able to Google the NY Times article.

Today the weeds got wacked, stones cemented, some carpentry and a couple of Labatt's Blue.

Last day of school is coming soon!

LKD is putting the finishing touches on the school year.
Plans are underway for a fun Friday getaway.

As soon as the final bell rings and classes dismissed on Friday morning we will be off to enjoy a nice lunch and afternoon on the golf links.

Although LKD has suggested a familiar venue there is an alternate opportunity to play a gem of a course recently featured in the NY Times.

Following an enjoyable phone call with the country club pro shop a tee time has been arranged.

The course was designed by Donald Ross in 1919. According to the NY Times article we will enjoy mountain views on a course promoting the idea that golf is a state of mind and meant to be fun.

Just in case the state of mind is not able to conserve resources we will bring a lot of extra balls.

On Monday we are playing in the John Bell Memorial Scramble so our round on Friday should be a good opportunity to get the first round of the season out of the way.

Red Ryder BB Gun

The squirrels are taking advantage of our good nature. The think the bird feeder is an all you can eat buffet. Thank goodness for the Red Ryder BB Gun. After a few warning shots, and a couple of shots in the ass, the varmints are keeping their distance.

Progress continues fixing the front steps. Six done and four or five to go.

LKD braved the mice nests in the tool shed to sort out a couple of boxes. Found a bunch of papers from my high school and college days. One of the boxes contained LKD's high school diploma. We saved a few things and the rest went into the burning barrel (aka hillbilly chiminea).

Ready for S'mores

 

 

 



A bit of this and that

The day was one of relaxation mixed with short bursts of ambition.

Spent some time weeding the flowerbeds, weed whacking in the yard, digging a drain out back to see if the puddle can be redirected away from the house, cleaning up Jack's chair that has been lurking in the storage shed for many years.

This evening is the memorial service for a friend and fellow Kiwanian. Gary was a very active member and was out BBQ pit master until his retirement to Cooperstown. The mayor of Millsburg will be going with me to the service.

LKD is at Jean's for the evening.

Rain day is movie day

There is a huge glob of rain storms moving across Millsburg from the west. It looks like there will be several hours of showers and hopefully thunder.

After some reorganizing the downstairs entry and painting the walls it seemed like a good day to go to the five dollar theater.

"Fast and Furious" was a couple of hours of action packed car chases, shootouts, crashes, knock down drag out fist fighting and even a finale that included a cargo jet crashing into an amazing ball of flaming bad guys.
The movie played to an audience of five, including yours truly.




After the movie a quick stop at Wendy's to abuse the dollar menu. The Jr. Cheeseburger is actually pretty good and preferable to the burgers that are found under the golden arches.  LKD is going to have a tasty meal at Nina's with a co-worker. Wendy's .... Nina's.... the suburbs of Millsburg is loaded with fine dining options!

Millsburg Mystery Seeds

It turns out that the mystery seeds are actually Morning Glory plants. They are growing in a couple of patches as well in a few containers.


The patch in the back yard has been discovered by the vermin.

Either deer or the neighborhood woodchuck have given the plants a nice trimming.






 

More progress building the trellis around the old well.

After all that kayak paddling with monkey-man yesterday left tired sore arms.

 The gathering and cutting the selected wood spindles was a bit of a chore.

The deck has been inhabited by Coconut Heads

They seem to have strange taste in the companionship department. 

 

Rolling down the River

 A picture from the top deck.

After all the rain the creek that runs through Millsburg is perfect for a kayak race. The mayor stopped by to take a look. He was not on board for starting the race at his house and 'shooting' the dam. That would have made for some exciting video!

 

 

Monkeyman was very excited to see the cresting waves and whitewater

Instead of paddling down the creek in a kayak a more relaxing setting comes to mind.

The plan today is to work on fixing up an old hand dug well that once serviced an old mill homestead. Some wood posts need to be harvested from the woods and shaped into an Adirondack style enclosure. The rain showers are slowing progress so it may take a couple of days.

Mills Brothers in Millsburg

The Monday weather in Millsburg has turned wet again. A good day to sort some old seventy eight rpm records. A couple of the single play selections included recordings by the Mills Brothers. "Say Si Si" is a song from the 1930's and reached number nineteen on the US charts.

Also in the archive was Tony Bennett crooning his number one hit "Rags to Riches".





The Greek Festival in nearby Scotchtown over the weekend provided some tasty Gyro, Hummus and some other treats. The turnout was apparently pretty good. The Greek beer was sold out!

The steps leading up to the front door are under repair. The first two steps were the most in need so after some demolition and the strategic placement of some concrete the repair seems pretty good.

The late spring flowers are taking turns showing off in the gardens. This is the first year that the poppies have produced any flowers.

 

 

Poppy

 



 



Big Rain on the Way to Millsburg

Four inches of rain is predicted to fall between now and this time tomorrow. The creek that runs through the middle of Millsburg should be quite the boiling brook!

The railing project is near complete. When the weather clears a coat of stain to match the house in Millsburg will be the finishing touch. Buddha is looking pleased with the progress. Not sure what the gargoyle is thinking...

 

 

We are going to use the dining table for the first time since the Tung oil treatment.

Tonight we are going to carve up a Chicken Pot Pie.

 

 

Minor Construction in Millsburg

With the perfect outdoor weather in Millsburg the day was ideal to continue the railing construction out on the front steps.
A quick trip to the Home Depot for some necessary supplies and the project is taking shape.
The work is a bit fussy as there are many compound angles for the railing design detail selected for the finished project.

It seems like the day blasted past. Only the first section of railing was finished. The last section should go a bit easier now that the angles and design have been determined.








Pizza Pie tonight for dinner... LKD is beating up the dough. The basil plant on the deck is going to contribute to the effort!








Looks like Henny is busy trying to entice the hummingbirds. Now that there is a moat to deter the ants from enjoying all the tasty Hummingbird juice.










Even the sun is hanging out in the sun.

 

 

The Pizza Pie was delicious!

 

Millsburg Country Club

Millsburg actually does not have a golf course. Instead the venue for the first round of the season was at the Twelve Hole Fishkill Golf Course. The golf was unremarkable but fortunately the golf ball supply was not exhausted. There are some balls left for another day!

June Happenings in Millsburg

June has arrived in Millsburg. LKD has only a few weeks before the summer vacation.

Yesterday was Lucky Bucks at SHFD. We helped out with the Chicken BBQ and served up about Six-hundred perfectly pit roasted chicken dinners. We enjoy the SHFD annual event. Attended by mostly local folks and a beer truck it is a good day to see those that you may only see once a year (or less).

Not sure is our lucky number was drawn for the prizes but the chicken was tasty!


Last week's dental inspection turned up a small cavity on one of my pearly whites. Today is the day to get drilled and filled. Also in the future one of the wisdom teeth will have to go as there is a cavity that will be resistant to restoration. Apparently a useless tooth way in the back. This wisdom tooth does not have an opposing tooth on the bottom so the plan it to give it a yank.





The weather is predicted to be perfect for golf tomorrow. Having not touched a golf club since last fall it is time to knock off the dust and go smack the ball around a few holes. There is a quirky twelve hole course across the river. A couple of my friends and former coworkers will tee it up. Check back tomorrow to view the leaderboard.