A DOOR AND MORE (from the SPOTS blog)

I know I have been absent - again - but I really have been so busy. The Train Station has been a big part of that business as a couple of us try to work down there a couple mornings a week before the temps hit 90 or more. To catch you up with what has been going on down the street, here is the blog posting from the SPOTS blog.

Work at the station has slowed down a bit in part because of the extreme heat (note the wet T shirts!) and, well, it is summer time and folks have places to go and things to do. We won’t mention the fact that most of these guys have wives with Honey-Do lists a mile long. I have to do my own Possum-Do list and have no one to push those jobs onto, so I can appreciate all the demands these guys have on their time. But, we have some new workers helping us out on Saturday and occasionally during the week, so we are really seeing some progress. One of our BIG jobs (OK, they are all BIG jobs) but size-wise, this biggie that has been slow to come together, literally, is building the new door on the southern end of the building. We will be replacing the old sliding door with a new door that will open out like shutters. It has been a learning experience, to put it mildly. We built the door several weeks ago, I primed it, Paul painted it, Niall split it in half, Charlie and Paul helped put the hinges on it, Niall and Paul screwed a gazillion screws in it to make it good and stable, then did the same to the other half of the door, Crawford Doors made special hinges for us, and Niall and Charlie managed to hang half the door today. Meanwhile, our newest member, Tony, helped me put the fence up around our HVAC compressor and primed some more boards for the inside of the fence. Dennis and Tom ran the wiring that will go to the rest of the building and the layout. We really did not think we were going to survive more than a couple hours in the heat, but we hung in there and got half the door hung and the other half ready to go up. Last week, our former mayor spent the morning vacuuming the office area so we can move our “stuff” out of the storage unit a couple miles away. I might add, he, John Willis Kellam is in his 80s, so you see, we are an equal opportunity volunteer labor force. Nobody is too old! Imagine someone older than I am! But, it sure is nice to have a couple younger guys working, too.It is always interesting to find out what our members do or did for a living. The newest member, Tony, is an Art Teacher, so that makes 2 of us, tho I am retired. Among today’s crew, besides 2 art teachers, we had an Army colonel and veterinarian, a member of the clergy (Unitarian Universalist), an opera star (from the Met), a furniture maker, a heavy equipment operator, and a construction manager with VDOT, a golfer, bicyclist, a big game hunter, a couple philosophers, a Shriner, a couple musicians, and a Ballroom Dance instructor. How eclectic can you get? We represent a wide divergence in political thought as well as religious inclinations. What do we have in common? We all like railroading in one form or another and to one degree or another. We all believe in volunteering. And we all get along very well, thank you.You are welcome to stop by when you see us there or come to one of our meetings, the 3rd Monday of the month, 7 PM, at the Sage in Onley.

THIS SUMS IT UP

WEATHER EXCITEMENT!

FROM A LOCAL NEWS SERVICE: (WESR) A tornado touched down on the Eastern Shore, in Accomack County near Logan Road in Onley on Saturday.A strong storm began moving down the seaside of the Eastern Shore Saturday morning. Heavy rain, thunder and lightening were also reported. As much as 6 inches of rain fell in the Gargatha area. Several reports of heavy rain were also reported as the storms moved south by southwest along the Eastern Shore. According to Greg Lewis of the Accomack County Dept. of Emergency Services there were no injuries and no buildings were damaged. There were reports of power outages in the Burton Shore-Locustville area. Pictured: A confirmed tornado hit the Eastern Shore early Saturday afternoon. The top photo is courtesy of Linda Ross and was taken near Logan Road in Onley. The bottom photo is courtesy of Kate Evans and was taken at 1:25 this afternoon behind Melfa just off of Phillips Drive/Mapp rd, just off of Main Street.
And NO, Pizza Hut did not get hit. That funnel cloud was out in Colonial Village when someone took this picture. Colonial Village begins at the end of my property here in Onley, but on the other side of the street. It goes back to our woods that Elizabeth owned which runs from the middle of my property north and west. The tornado went thru that field on the north side of town, thru her woods and into Colonial Village, then lifted and headed down to Wachepreague and Quinby. Apparently it touched down first near the Custis Neck intersection just above the new Accawmacke Elementary School in Daugherty, then headed down here.

I have been sent numerous other photos, one photo, including the Evans photo has been claimed by several people... a few of these are mine. As I have mentioned before, I have learned not to drive thru flooded areas. Our roads back here are very narrow, so narrow some farm equipment not only takes up the entire road but can rip up bushes planted too close to the road, even knock over utility boxes along the roadways. So, if someone else is coming, it is a guess to figure out where the drainage ditch is along these turtle back roads. And they are turtle backs because it is so flat here, we have to have drainage ditches all over the Shore. The deepest part of this "puddle" might be close to 4 feet next to the field.
I do thank all the folks who called or emailed to see if I was all right. Truth is, Hadji and I hunkered down on the sofa thru most of it. Hadji is scared to death of thunder, and this storm had over an hour of almost continuous thunder. As one blast slowly rolled and rolled the next one hit. Had it been night time, there would have been quite a light show. At times the rain was so hard I could not see my barns out back about 50 feet from the kitchen window. My CoCoRaHS rain gauge collected 1.90 inches of rain, but my neighbor to the south got only 1.5. To the west, Joe's gauge hit 2 inches, and the radio said Gargatha had 6! I do know the first time I ventured out, the road shown here was completely covered, so I turned around on Stonehouse and came back home. The woods in the upper right side of this last picture is where I live. This is about a half a mile from my house. Pizza Hut and CVS are about 1 mile ENE. To my west, they lost power. All I lost was the internet and a bunch of small branches I will have to pick up in a little bit before it gets too hot. It is already steamy out there.

Now you might be wondering, since when is a tornado WHITE? It is white when it starts out as a waterspout... so this is not filled with dust and debris like the tornadoes you see out west, this is filled with water from the Chesapeake Bay! One can only assume then that the rain from this cloud might have been a tiny bit on the salty side? At least that is what one of my fellow weather folks told me. I did not taste it, so I don't know!

PLAYING POSSUM?

PLAYING POSSUM? OR DEALING WITH THE HEAT? Have you seen that new commercial out where the kids have a "pet" possum... it is on the ground looking dead... the kids whine to their father that their possum is dead... he says, "No, its just playing possum, leave him alone." And then it pops up and hisses at them. I have NO idea what the commercial is trying to sell, I just watch the possum and wait for him to roll over and hiss. The weather has been horrible lately, as I am sure you are aware. Hot does not even begin to describe the 100 degree plus temps many of us have been experiencing. So if you can't jump in the pool to cool off, how does a tiny animal cool off? Possum Pics are from friend Bobbie... Its all in the posture...
AND, Seems possums aren't the only ones!
Seems my guys cool off the same way. Hadji... the Rascal... Punkin... Spook...
How do you cool off???????

SOME OF THIS, SOME OF THAT

OK, I DISAPPEARED... well, sort of. I have been so busy I have had lists of my lists of things to do. And I also had a major Lymes flair up that seriously slowed me down and made getting things done a hundred times harder. It is scary when the Babesia in my chest gets active. It is hard to tell if I am having a heart attack or it is "just Lymes." The symptoms are so similiar. Add fear to pain and not much gets done. OK, I read a couple books, something I seldom have time to do anymore. But, I am back on my feet, more or less... You can see some of what I have been up to at the other blog- http://onley-spots.blogspot.com/. Tho I must confess, I have not done much there lately... the body has not been cooperating, and then there is the problem with the heat. I do not do well in serious heat and humidity. I tend to pass out. So, last week while the guys labored in the heat, I sat with my camera and encouraging words and felt awful. I hate to not be productive, and my plans for all the work I needed to get done before this heat set in... well, I just get real mad at myself.
Then on June 16th, I was the "official" (!!!) photographer for our Shore's annual Juneteenth celebration. You history buffs know what that is, I am sure, but did you know that our county, Accomack, is actually mentioned by name in the Emancipation Proclamation? Unh huh.. Sure is. I will not bore you with all the pictures of the politicians and dignitaries, I will spare you all the entertainment shots, but will post Black Elvis upon request! However, I did get a few shots for my own amusement. I will share my kid fix shot for the day. They were dancing up a storm, these two, much to the entertainment of the assembled crowd. Ah, wouldst I could have a bit of that energy and pure joy!!!
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the lilies decided to put on a show. This, a new one, is in front of the St John's Wort. The older lilies have been spectacular this year. Here are just a few of them. I really like what my aunt called 'funny faces' - deep color contrast lilies. This is my version of Happy Happy - and as close as I will ever get to owning one. Look it up, see what Happy Happy costs! In the rest of the yard there is an assortment of color run riot... blue, purple and orange! The window boxes are mostly deep reds and pinks.. And some unusual combinations seem to happen like Russian Blue Sage and gladiolas growing next to each other, and the phlox and coleus out by St Francis. I just thought I would share my garden with you. It has given me so much joy even when I can't be out in the midst of it. For those of you who get my Musings, those are faded prayer flags in the upper left corner. Thanks for stopping by! Next cool day, if you are in the neighborhood, come sit in one of the Adirondacks, have a glass of iced tea, and visit. Punkie will join us, I am sure. He LOVES company.

TICK WARNING

Ticks are out early this year as are fleas! I even heard that ticks have been found all the way up in Ontario! (Thanks Philip!)

Send this warning to everyone on your e- mail list.

If someone comes to your front door saying they are checking for ticks due to the warm weather and asks you to take your clothes off and dance around with your arms up,

DO NOT DO IT!!

THIS IS A SCAM!

They only want to see you naked.

I wish I'd gotten this yesterday… I feel so stupid

SHARING A SMILE

I am in a lot of pain this morning... so I needed to start my day off with a smile. A smile shared is a smile doubled... I hope this gives you a smile too.

I would give credit to the singer(s) or even the photographer, but I know not who they are. This was one of many shots a friend sent... I just had to share it.

HOW DO YOU MEASURE DISTANCE?

And the ANSWER IS......

DRUMROLL? What? No drums this morning? Rats! OK, previous post (PROMISES) answers... THE PROMISES of: 1 tomatoes (duh), 2. zucchini, 3. onions and potatoes growing in bags, 4. yellow wax beans. 5. yellow squash. In the flower department: 1. St John's Wort! (didja get that one?) 2. a new Calla Lily. Is that spectacular or what?

We had a serious soaker rain ... 2.32 inches. It was great, the earth really soaked it up, plants are happy... so I went out with the camera hoping to capture the freshness of the morning, the rain on everything... and I found a few new blooms this morning. First, my favorite, Peace.

Someone gave me these lilies last year, this is their first year blooming. Someone asked about my blueberries, but the focus on the camera kept getting confused even on manual, sorry. Should have taken the picture before I picked 'em! (duh) The Caladium suddenly popped thru the ground - SURPRISE! I am excited about them, haven't had them in years. The magnolia is still going strong.

Usually I show the Buddhas when they are surrounded by flowers, but I also enjoy their simplicity when all is just green around them. They are a wonderful reminder to me when I start my day to think Peace, Compassion, Do NO Harm. I look longingly at the Adirondacks on the patio, inviting me to dry them off and have a sit down, I smile at all the color that surrounds me, grateful That I can see it all, enjoy it all, live in a space where it can thrive... and I see next to it all, the wheelbarrow, and realize it is time to get back to work. Yeah, it is a place of Serenity and Peace, a yard where the Buddha is comfortable with St Francis, both reminding me to love all creatures... and I am grateful I love working in this space, grateful I am able to keep it going, grateful that I WANT to stay busy and find peace in this busy-ness. I share these pictures as a way of sharing my gratitude with others. I wish Peace to you all. Come by, I will dry off a chair for you - or chase a little cat. Sit and enjoy the Peace of my Garden.

PROMISES

AS I WALKED thru the garden this morning with my basket filled with the last of this year's peas (already???) and blueberries, I noticed the progress the other veggies were making. For one thing, the tomato plants were at eye level. So lets have a little guessing game, see what good gardeners you are...Answers tomorrow (if I remember it!) OK, we will start with an easy one....1. 2. 3. 4. 5.. I also saw the strawberries were not finished yet. There are also some exciting new happenings in the flower department - do you know what they are? 1. 2. Yesterday was a day of serious trimming. The redbud was hitting the roof, so I took my mighty 8 foot chain saw and added the middle 4 foot extension. I am so proud of myself... the cuts were perhaps a bit sloppy, but I did all of this myself except for one branch I Tom Sawyered out to a friend who just happened to pull in my driveway to ask a favor. (That'll teach him! LOL!) Actually, the mighty little saw impressed him. The part of the tree on the right was butchered by the power company. Maybe the redbud grew faster toward the house to compensate. I don't know. Sadly, I had to also remove a very large Althea (Rose of Sharon) that somehow just died over the winter. I have waited and waited, but, nothing, and all the others have been in full leaf for over a month. sigh. A friend just read this over my shoulder and said maybe I needed to include the term "Tom Sawyered out" to my quiz.
Ah, the wind has come up, the temps are dropping. I am grateful for the temps coming back down into the 70s. More rain, perhaps? Another day that I will not have to drag the hoses around the yard? I can handle that. I like a good breeze; keeps the mosquitoes away. They have started biting. I used to complain about that until someone told me how bad they were in Alaska in the summer time. Hard to imagine!