Painting with Tiny Brushes

There is no denying that fall has arrived in Millsburg. Each day the leaves are more colorful and the early morning air crisp.

Pic from Top Deck
 of Millsburg House

The weather has been some of the best on the planet for the past week or so, and the forecast is more of the same for the next several days.



With the mornings cool, the yard and garden now on auto-pilot as the flowers and vines wait for the first frost that will be their demise.

LKD and I have been spending time walking some of the many trails that can be found near Millsburg.

Our favorite is a series of trails maintained as a National Refuge that meanders along the river valley.


The towpath along the old canal and former railroad beds takes us through old woods and to the edges of once bustling transportation centers.


For some reason the lure of painting on wood scraps has captured my interest. A couple of hours most mornings go by in the blink of an eye as basic techniques and simple images appear from the end of tiny paint brushes.

The first couple of attempts are basic silhouettes using only black and white. These birds have come to rest on some scrap plywood. LKD has claimed the one that looks a bit like a crow. The other one is going to Walton to enjoy the view from the deck at KKD's (aka Bee).

Turns out trees are pretty easy. Painting a straight line is a bit tricky. Adding a bit of color to as a background for the bridges and  practice sketching and painting lines.

Having spend some time in a couple of craft stores, the collection of tiny brushes and some acrylic paints have been introduced to Millsburg.

For inspiration there are plenty of images and YouTube instructional videos found on Al Gore's internet.

Below, "The Road Home" is from a series of photos taken on Decker Drive in the town of Greenville. A few years ago, MRB (sister of the artist) created a four season photo series of this scene.

"The Road Home" and "Random Mill on a Farm" are the first attempts using an actual canvas board instead of wood scraps.

 

 



A couple of forgotten places near Millsburg

Camp Deer Trail in the township of Greenville (just up the hill from Millsburg) had a need for someone to mow the lawns, paint the equipment, ready the row boats and keep the dock in reasonable repair. As a fourteen or fifteen year old kid with a bicycle, many days were spent working with Joe. The daily activities discussed and decided by the camp matriarch Pat.

By the time I was hired by Pat, the camp had been closed for at least ten years. Pat was reluctant to accept the closure of Camp Deer Trail and each spring the cabins were swept out, the dining hall stocked and the recreation hall spruced up for another season. There is not much of a historical trail about this summer camp. Some local folks remember the campers arriving at the beginning each summer session, stopping to get a drink of water at Wells Tavern.

One of the projects Pat requested just before the liquidation auction was a new sign for the end of the driveway. After forty years the sign is now done and hanging on the deck of the house in Millsburg.

Millsburg Road abruptly begins where Rome School Road ends. This junction is not at an intersection, rather at the bridge over the creek at the end of the driveway. The creek happens to be the town line where Millsburg residents may reside in either Minisink or Waywayanda.

Rome Schoolhouse was on the Minisink side of the creek. Now gone, there is no longer a trace of the one room school house. The approximate location is now a garden shed tucked into the edge of the woods.

 

In the late 1960's the Interstate Highway System was being constructed. Just up the hill Millsburg Road intersects with US Route 6. At this intersection there was a classic diner serving the truck drivers, bus drivers, local politicians and tourists heading to the Poconos.

 

Frequently while working at Camp Deer Trail the mid-day break would include a quick trip to the Greenville Diner for lunch.

The new highway, Interstate 84, by-passed the diner. Today the empty lot is overgrown and has never been redeveloped.

According to information found on Al Gore's amazing internet, the former Greenville Diner did business on US Rt 6 a little east of Port Jervis.  This diner replaced a Tierney, that was later used as a kitchen.  The Tierney even survived into the 90s.  Unfortunately, when this diner was saved and moved to Ohio, the Tierney did not survive.  Today, this Silk City diner does business in Sabina, Ohio. See link Kim's Classic Diner

 

 

Partially restored by Al Sloan in Alpena, Michigan. Formerly located in Greenville, NY where it replaced an older Tierney that was then used as the diner's kitchen. After moved to Alpena, owners demolished the Tierney. 
Moved to Sabina in the early 2000s.
See Link Diversified Diners

The Yellow Bus Returns to Millsburg

The morning traffic in Millsburg is punctuated by the big yellow busses.

School is back in session.

The Mini reluctantly zips up Millsburg Road before the sun fully rises.

Summer visits, road trips, day trips, pigs and picnics make way for fall festivals, farmers markets and leaves everywhere.

The summer flowers yielding to the cold nights knowing soon the frost will arrive on the garden.


In the dusty corners of the workshop are many interesting items collected and squirreled away over the years.

A car license tag from 1917.
A couple of more recent ones from the 1939 World's Fair were looking a bit rusted.

After cleaning up the years of exposure most of the paint is gone.
Some more scouring, some spray paint, the tags from the World's Fair have a fresh look.

The older plate has the original aged finish.

The cars from 1939 driving on Millsburg Road on the way to the New York World's Fair are streamlined compared to the 1917 models.

Kitchen Makeover

Following a tip we received while attending the Otisville Fair, it was confirmed that DL was in town with the intention of installing a new toaster and a couple of light bulbs in GL's kitchen.

I decided to take a ride over to check on the project and have a cold one with DL.

Apparently, in order to make room for the step ladder to reach the light bulb, it was necessary to remove all of the kitchen cabinets, countertops, floors, appliances, walls and ceiling.

Now that the light bulb was easy to access, the electrician was called to come over and screw in the new bulb.


GL was thrilled to be getting a new light bulb in the kitchen.


A couple of days later, GL, the primary occupant of the kitchen mentioned that it might be better if the stove and dishwasher were put back inside the kitchen. The refrigerator was in the dining room and other appliances perched on the back porch.  GL thinks the new toaster should also be installed inside the kitchen, an alarming development that could delay the project.

Without hesitation, DL called up his three siblings to request a family meeting.

CL flew in from Tucson. KD-S drove down from Cape Elizabeth. JL hopped in his car and came right over from eastern NY and was due to arrive in a couple of days.

In the meantime DL, DLand KL stapled insulation, screwed in some new sheetrock, glued a bunch of tiles onto the floor and slapped on a coat of paint.







GL went roller skating.







The siblings deliberated and finally agreed that the new bulb should be a compact fluorescent.

Agreement could not be reached on the location for the new toaster. The family will meet again in a few months to review all options.

GL was off to pick out the new bulb from the electrical supply store. Hopefully the electrician will be able to come over soon and complete the installation.

JL and LKD anxiously await the arrival of the electrician.
JL is practicing getting just the right amount of butt crack showing to impress the electrician.
JL is pretty sure the electrician will bring some beers.

It is Good to be a Bird in Millsburg

With the mornings now taking a bit longer to unfold it affords some quiet time in the workshop.

Second cup of coffee in hand, some tunes on the radio and the smell of sawdust and spray paint mixing with the aromatic java.

In the time it takes for the third cup of coffee to disappear it is possible to build a bird house.

When the construction of the house in Millsburg was completed all the scraps of cedar trim, siding pieces and any other wood that could be used for building something were gathered and stored away. The larger pieces got used first. Adirondack chair, some shelves and a bunch of other uses.

This left over a collection of ideal size pieces for building birdhouses.

For the past week or so I made one birdhouse each morning.

There are now several new birdhouses.

It is like a Bird Resort outside.

The first three were built with a specific location in mind.

The posts that were installed for the railing earlier this summer seemed ideal for housing some birds.

The next one is mounted on the deck.



Maybe there will be some baby birds in time for Memorial Day next spring.



A couple more that are the same basic design have been embellished with some bits and pieces of wood and glass.



















The other two bird houses have not yet been painted or stained. The cedar will become naturally grey if left outside in the elements.

Pigs, Picnics and a Big Boiling Lobster Pot

As the summer begins to wane in Millsburg, the local fairs have packed up for another season.
The leaves are beginning to show some early fall colors.

This is the week that Big Yellow Busses take over the roads twice each day as they shuttle the school kids back and forth from home to classroom.

The End of Summer Pigs and Picnics have been Digested

Over the past couple of weeks Millsburg residents enjoyed the three roasted pigs. Each porker flanked by summer salads, beans, deviled eggs, sweet corn, chips and dips.

The whole lot washed down with cold draft beer.

Fortunately this year the swine roasts were scheduled a week or so apart. There was plenty of time in between to work up the desire for another pile of pig parts.

One of the last parties of the summer is a celebration of modern medicine combined with the birthday of a liver recipient, our friend JS. After the roasted hog has been dispatched the Lobster Pots are filled with boiling water and live Maine Lobsters. Claws flying, tails dunked in hot butter these oversized Crayfish kept coming until all interested had consumed entire families.

Today is Labor Day. It is a quiet day. ME stopped over and we enjoyed a brunch of Pepper and Eggs and Fried Baked Ziti. This should hold us over until we go to CB's annual Labor Day Picnic this afternoon.