MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE!

Make a Joyful Noise!

A Community Christmas Caroling

            Saturday, Dec. 15th, 2012          

Come join the Town of Onley for Christmas Caroling.

We will be leaving the Onley Fire Hall at 6 pm sharp.

If you know of anyone in Onley who could use a visit or cheering up, please call Jan  or John

Please bring some cookies to share!

This is a non-denominational gathering sponsored by Neighborhood Watch.

OK, I did remove the phone numbers from the blog….. but if you are in our area, you know how to contact us! Note: the title covers what used to be called singing when I was younger, LOL! But old age has really done a number on my vocal chords… The point is COMMUNITY… being together, doing something that is fun…

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER – Building update

OK, SHAME ON ME - BUT, I have been soooo very busy, you just would not believe. The guys have done some amazing work down at the station... so I will catch you up on that, quickly... then do another post on what we are really all about - besides saving this building.

First - the building's progress report. I will spare you pictures of packing insulation into the walls and ceiling... and go right to some major repair work. Several storms ago - the one where they thought we might get an inch or so and we ended up with 9 inches of rain, we got to see how badly some of the old boards had been damaged over time. After all, these boards were put in place 127 years ago, and some of them have split here, cracked there... holes had been drilled to put in electricity (what an invention!) and then even a telephone line (who'd a thunk it?) and, well, the rain came in through these cracks and holes. So, we finally got around to removing the old boards and putting up new ones. Here is the strange thing... I can barely lift ONE of the old 1x12's. OK, they are 16 feet long, but still... I can pick up 3 of the NEW 1x12 x 16'. What does that tell you about the stuff that lasted for 127 years? And does that make you wonder how long the new stuff will last?

Another great invention – we rented a “man-lift” and used it to replace the old wood, and do as much painting as we had time for in 2 days.  So the building is partly painted... some battens still have to be replaced, but we wanted to get as much done as we could before the Santa Train came this year.

MORE CAMELLIAS, MORE COLORS

JUST SHARING a bit more of what I see out my windows, walking around in the yard... The colors have been blowing me away this year, for some reason. I am not taking them for granted as I have perhaps in the past. It still amazes me when folks come up to me in the PO or the grocery store and tell me how much they like driving by my yard.

The camellia at the front door.

Just to give you an idea of the size of some of my camellias. This is the one that usually starts to bloom on my birthday. It reaches well above roof level.

The morning sun on the camellia Yule Tide and the Maple tree out front. Yule Tide is over 10 feet tall and almost reaches the power lines. Note the azaleas behind the maple tree.

On the northern side of the house is another huge camellia. Its diameter is over 10 feet and it is also about 10 feet in heighth. I just thought the mixture of colors was breath-taking yesterday morning as I was "rearranging" the leaves in the yard.

CATCHING UP

 Life has been busy, more than busy, and I just have not had time to be on here. Sometimes "life' happens. And then Sandy happened, and even tho I did not have any more damage than one downed tree, still, as an old friend of mine used to say, my tempest fugited! Where has the time gone? 

Many of the leaves are down, camellias are in serious bloom, and the colors are fantastic. It seems the frost we had killed the daisies, but they were awesome for a while and covered with butterflies. I had so many more plants this year, I had to build an extention onto my little greenhouse! Enjoy the pics!

Who would believe I have had to turn the heat on in these little greenhouses already! Frost is predicted for the morning... yesterday, we were working out in the yard in T-shirts. Oh, well, It is that time of year.

If you are interested, the greenhouses are made out of plexiglass. The "roof" part is 1/4 inch plexi, the sides are just 1/8th inch. Most of the wood is scrap stuff left over from other projects. The plexiglas is held in place with corner braces so it can slide out if I need to get inside to do something. It all comes apart by removing 4 screws.

Veterans Day

Amen.

HURRICANE SANDY UPDATE

Everything here in Onley is fine - one tree down, landed on power lines but held ‘til ANEC came and cut it down. Lost power for a few seconds. Lots of water in the yard, but then we had almost 9 inches of rain. But, I am far (2 miles) from the coastal communities that got drowned by the high tides and storm surge. Onley in on the "spine" of the peninsula.

Others did not make out so well... several people lost cars in high water, salty water I might add for those of you not familiar with our topography... one friend thinks her house is a loss- water up 2 feet on first floor, windows smashed in on sun porch (waves? wind?) ...a few folks lost boats. Many were without power for long periods of time, a few still out as of this writing. But, all in all, the shore made out better than places to the north.

I do really appreciate hearing from some of you, thanks for the pictures, Bobbie (Girl Bobbie) and to know you are all right. Would love to share your story and pictures...

And thanks for all the phone calls Bobby (Boy Bobby)...

In fact I got over a dozen phone calls from folks making sure I was OK. I really do appreciate it! I was reminded of what wonderful friends I have.

Thanks for the emails, also.

For pics of the shore, you can check out http://www.ask4direct.com/albumviewer.asp?albumid=5647 and http://www.facebook.com/groups/238075359655302/

you might be surprised who you will find on here, or who you will read about! I found you, Tiger, mentioned. Did you guys lose your cars?

Those of you off-shore folks, let me know how you made out. If you have posted on facebook, sorry, I have not been on fb for a good month... just too busy!

RUSTY and DUSTY (Charlie’s angels-not)

I believe several weeks ago I mentioned 2 little kitties someone left on a piece of Charlie's land. We took the little boys to Uncle Barrett’s to get their shots, then I made arrangements to have them “tutored” at the Neuter Scooter on the 26^th. Both Rusty and Dusty are very lovable. They are happy sitting in whatever lap is handy, and they also tend to try to get in people’s cars. They don’t seem afraid of anything. Charlie, who claims to be a dog person, is actually quite taken with the little fellows and can often be found sitting in his old rocker in his shop with one or both in his lap.

Dusty seems to be a home-body, Rusty is the more adventurous, apparently not at all shy about going in any open door. One day last week-end he disappeared. We were sure someone had picked him up and had taken him home. Charlie walked around the neighborhood knocking on doors asking if anyone had seen the little orange cat. Oh, yeah, folks had seen him. But no one knew where he was.

Then, one day I went into the Post Office – well, I go in there every day, actually – and one of the girls there asked me about a little cat her husband had brought home. They had kept him for 3 days. I asked if he was orange? Yep, she said – and there he was curled up in the chair at the Post Office. Michelle had put a notice up on the bulletin board and was getting ready to call the lost pet service at the radio station. It was Rusty. Oh, my I was so happy to see that little boy! (And I bet Michelle was kinda sad to watch him go!) I took him back to Charlie's and headed off to Wal-Mart to buy them collars so folks would know they belonged to someone.

Apparently Rusty had been going into Dr Bundick’s office every time the door opened and made himself at home on which ever lap was handy! He even tried to get in several of the patients’ cars. Bundick really did not want another cat and certainly did not want one in his office, so he asked one of his patients to please take him home. That was Michelle’s husband.

Charlie is keeping them inside – after all, their “tutoring” has been paid for and will take place on Friday. Then we need to keep them confined for another week ‘til they heal… in these pictures, you will see they have a heated “bedroom” like Spook and Punkin, but it has not been cold enough for that to be turned on. Rusty really likes his little cloth cat house… Dusty prefers Charlie’s chair. This is a picture of Charlie pretending he is not a cat person!

MEETING FRIENDS

As some of you might know, I have had a rough several weeks dealing with numerous obligations and an unexpected monkey wrench being thrown into the mix. Life does that every once in a while to keep us on our toes. Then, too, it is that time of year when it is finally cool enough to do things outside and the list of usual fall chores gets doubled by the extra things that need to be done THIS year, like scraping and painting the Adirondacks, cleaning out Studio East… and my Saturday’s are usually spent at the Train Station trying to be useful but mostly being frustrated by an uncooperative body. How I hate being so slowed down, but I have been having to deal with muscles that just totally freeze up and to try to move them is excruciatingly painful.

But, in the midst of all this chaos and confusion I had a day of sunshine…I had company… and it was such a joy! Fellow Blogger Ginnie (from NC) and I have been “friends” for several years and have often talked about getting together, but schedules and distances just never seemed to work out. Actually, we often talked about meeting when I would be in PA and she would be on her way up to visit family in NY. Then, a friend of Ginnie’s decided to come to VA, and it all worked out. Bonnie had a small sculpture to pick up at Turner’s here in Onley! How cool is that?!? We had a wonderful visit and one I hope we can repeat.

 

These shots are down at Turner’s Studios… that handsome young man is David Turner. You can visit their gallery at http://www.turnersculpture.com/.

CELEBRATE COLUMBUS DAY

BLOGGER CHAOS

WHAT IS GOING ON? I know I am not all that techyfied, but this is rediculous. I no longer seem to have any control over where blogger puts any pictures, sometimes even where my words end up... A perfect example is the mess on the SPOTS blog... pictures got joined together and I could not separate them or I had pictures of ceiling repairs in the middle of the Santa Train. I could not separate the batten picture from the French doors. Even tho all the pictures were marked to go in the center, they went wherever they wanted, it seems. I might have to see if I can figureout live writer again... but that got all screwed up when I bought this new computer and I have not used it since. It doesn't seem like anyone else is having any problems... is it just me?

THE CAT'S OUT OF THE BAG

OR IS HE?  Punkin and Spook have taken a liking to the veggie growing bags. Are they "vegetating?"

 I guess they are called potato bags, mostly, but I found they were also very useful for growing onions and carrots, too! Once the crop has been harvested, the guys immediately climb on board and take a nap. However, the potatoes are producing their second crop, or what will survive of the second crop as both the little guys try to crowd their little kitty butts in without breaking off the plants. It will be interesting to see what is in that bag when the greenery dies back. Sometimes I think of Horton hatches a What? as he keeps the potato crop warm.

 Punkin and the Carrot Bag.

Tell me, is anyone else having trouble with Blogger and trying to get pictures where you want them? My old link to blogger no longer works, and this is in its place... very frustrating!

STILL HERE...

I have been beyond busy for the last couple of weeks... too busy to read, too busy to blog... but just so you know I am still alive, I will share this quote with you. It pretty much sums up my philosophy in life.

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”


Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882); Philosopher, Poet, Author, Essayist

CLIMATE CHANGE? BUTTERFLIES

FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS, this camellia has bloomed on my birthday - not a day before. It was a brithday present, to celebrate my 50th birthday. This camellia is about 12 feet from my computer where I sit every morning (almost) of my life... it is one of the first things I look at each day. It sits right next to my driveway, so it is impossible to ignore it especially when it is in full bloom. Every year, the first bloom of the season has opened right on schedule. But this year, the seasons seemed to have gotten off to an early start. Everything started to bloom early as we experienced the warmest year in recorded history. So I guess I should not have been so shocked when I looked out the fogged up window (from the air conditioner) and saw red. Well, OK, maybe magenta is more accurate. 2 weeks early... there it is.

The temps are still quite summer-like. It was in the low 70s when I got up, will be in the 80s today. At least we are not hitting the upper 90s anymore, tho I hesitate to complain after so many people were in the hundreds last summer, day after day after day. The humidity is so high it is like breathing soup. Our 10 inches of rain from a week ago has long soaked in the ground, but it seems we get a little rain each day, then a burst of sunshine, just enough to make it like a sauna out there.

The dragonflies have almost all disappeared. The yard is now filled with butterflies flitting from place to place. I have several butterfly bushes, phlox, blue sage, and fall camellias all in bloom to keep them happy.

The roses are sending out a new round of blooms.

A TALE OF TWO KITTIES

SOME DAYS ARE JUST LIKE THAT..... what ever that is. But it was a day when I had thought I'd kept all my time to myself to get caught up on things housiefied... every once in a while it seems necessary to shovel a path to the sofa, ya know what I mean? Well, OK, its not really that bad in here, but there are days that need to be devoted to chores in the house. I promised myself to stay off the computer and it was a bit warm to be outside, besides they said it would not be a bad week-end, so the mowing and garden work could wait until Sat or Sun. Right. See  previous post about how well that worked! Anyway, I had myself pretty well organized and had a good start on things when the phone rang. It was my friend Charlie. It seems Charlie was the recipient of a couple of kittens. Someone had left him a present on his property, a little baby blanket with a sick orange kitten and his frisky grey tabby brother. So, I put a cage in the van and out the road we went. The orange one was sitting on his blanket waiting for his owner to come back and get him. That broke my heart. The grey boy was bouncing around in the woods and weeds not far away. He came when called. Obviously they have been someone's loved kittens. My guess is they are about 3 months old. I called the vet and got the last appointment for the day, for the week, as it was Friday afternoon. I was worried the orange one would not make it, his nose was filled with snot, and when a cat can't breathe, they don't seem to be able to eat either. He was weak. Anyway, Barrett gave them each their first shots and sent us home with amoxicillin and eye drops and de-fleaed them. I got a couple of my bigger cages together and we made a place to keep them in Charlie's shop where we could give the Orange fellow his meds and feed them. Anybody want a couple of kittens? They look great now, a week later, and a ton of food, full of energy, tumbling around in the pen Charlie made for them outside. These shots were taken last Saturday, after the rain had started but before the 9 inches fell! Charlie was already soaked from working on the Train Station door (see the SPOTS blog).  

It is a good thing Charlie saw them as he drove by or they would have been underwater the next day, cuz they were staying where  they were put waiting for their previous owner to return. Bless their little hearts.

A side note here... Blogger has suddenly changed its format and how pictures get added and placed. I have not figures it out, seem to have NO control over where the pictures are going. Sorry about that!

NINE INCHES OF RAIN!

YEP, you read that right... 9.03 inches of rain in less than 24 hours! This is my back yard- the water was up over the bottom step of one of the barns, the water was half way up the tires on this little trailer. The rest of the yard was just a pretty little lake! I had planned on cutting the grass yesterday, LOL! Guess that didn't happen! The road out front was flooded - remember this is a turtle-back road, so it takes a lot of rain to cover the center of the road! My driveway goes up a slight incline from the road, so it is also amazing to have several inches of water in the driveway. Here you can see the "wake" from the passing car! Waves in the driveway going up from the road! It was afternoon, but the sky was so dark, the street lights came on. The camera used flash automatically. The carport went under water, as did the back yard. The wind blew a few things around, cat's dishes and water bottles for watering the hanging plants floated in the water.
So what happened? It was not in the forecast... We went from 30% chance of rain to 60%, to this! Durn, several frogs drowned in this stuff!
Did you ever wonder what happens when a Tropical Cyclone is trying to form? It is not a tropical storm yet, not a depression, but it is one in the making. As something like that tries to get organized, this is what often happens. Usually, however, it happens out over open water and we just see the results when it travels inland. Well, this one formed right off shore here and is still, as I type this, dumping rain in northern Maryland and Delaware, southeastern PA and NJ. Here, the sun is out and the world is turning into a sauna. It is not that hot - if you look at the thermometer - but it is steamy.
We had a small tornado a few miles south of here... totaled someone's old trailer, pulled it off the foundation, ripped the roof off. Made a serious mess for the person living in it. Numerous vehicles, most of them 4 wheel drive with owners who think that means they can go thru anything, ended up in ditches. We have deep drainage ditches here, some deeper than 6 feet, and with the ditches filled with water (in part thanks to those who dump litter on the roads) and the road under several inches of water as the rain is coming down several inches per hour, it was impossible to see where the edge of the road was and where the ditches start. We don't have guard rails here. I guess they assumed people would use their brains, but, well, you and I know better, right? So, there were too many vehicles to count nose down in the ditches. Duh.
I hope you did not have a problem in the storm.

"MARY" CATS

WHAT? You never heard them called Mary cats? See that M on their foreheads? No, the cat's, not mine! The story is that about 2000 years ago, there was a special baby born in Bethlehem, and he spent his first few days in a manger in a stable. The weather over there can be chilly, especially at night, and this little cat crawled up in the manger, curled up next to the baby to share its warmth. The baby's mother, whose name was Mary, woke up from her nap and found the kittie curled up next to her baby. She reached over to pet it, stroking its forehead, and forever its decendents will wear a M on their heads in honor of that loving cat. We have one of those cats... and , yeah, he can be loving, but we have found it is just to lull us into a false sense of security while he is planning some mischief to get into. Oh well, we love our Rascal anyway!

A REMINDER

IN THIS WORLD of so much self-righteous hatred, I feel the need to share Mother Teresa's words...
“People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.”

Mother Teresa

If you believe in God, then you believe we are all His creation...
Love one another. Leave the judging for a power greater than yourselves.
When you show hate for another human being, you show hate to God.
Understand that we are all different, that is part of The Plan. Deal with it.

WHATCHA BEEN UP TO?

OK, OK, where have I been? I get so busy sometimes I truly don't know whether I am coming or going. The Train Station accounts for a bit of my time... Please visit http://onley-spots.blogspot.com/ to see what we have been up to the past week. I am too lazy to copy it all over here like I did the last time. True, that only accounts for a few hours of my life, but it seems like more than that.
The garden is struggling. Many of the plants are winding down, the new beans have just started producing. Late tomatoes have started producing. My "people" have been keeping me busy the last couple of weeks. Not complaining, just sayin'. In truth, it is humbling to be able to help folks.
And my Lymes has been acting up a little lately. How I wish I had a Dr available who would write me a prescription for a massive dosing of antibiotics to help kick this stuff into remission again for a while. However, there is no one around here to do that. My regular doctor will give me what she considers 2 weeks worth, but a Lymes dosage will deplete 2 weeks worth in 2 days. Oh well........
It is raining as I type this. We have had almost an inch of rain in the last hour and a half. I won't have to water the garden tomorrow. That will be nice. I will have to buy a new paintbrush because I wash them out outside, so, it did not get done. Small price to pay for the much needed rain. The rain has also dropped the temps down into the 70s. What a relief. It has been beastly hot and humid. I hate to mention that since others have had it so much hotter than we. The humidity has been 200%, I swear! Somedays ya just can't breathe.
Maybe I will find something fun to blog about this week - and maybe the time to sit and read YOUR blog. That would be nice! Yes, the dragonflies are still buzzing around. NO board meetings next week, that will be a break, so maybe I can get caught up. Don't put any money on it.
If you are among the folks feeling ignored, sorry. I promise to try to do better. Note the wording. Try is the key word here.
Enjoy the Train Station blog! Drop in and visit us if you are in the neighborhood and see a bunch of vehicles down there! Bring your paintbrush and hammer... maybe a fan. And water.
Gotta go put my kitchen back enough to cook dinner. Having electrical work done. If its not one mess, its another, right?

NEWEST BFF

YEP, WHO'D A THUNK IT? To be honest, I would not believe it if it hadn't happened to me. As I said in my last post, I have bunches of dragonflies this year... maybe it is because it has been so hot and dry and my place is shady and has several birdbaths, I dunno. Maybe they like all the stuff planted here... whatever. Here they are, and I am loving it! Yesterday, I cut some grass and got the weedwhacker out. It is electric, maybe something in the humming of the motor? Who knows... whatever it is, this one little dragonfly followed me around the yard. I choose to think it is the same one that follows me when I am watering things - I thought it was that he (she?) was attracted to the movement of water, sound of it, the coolness close to the water coming from the hose. As you can see, I have spent considerable time wondering about this. But yesterday, I had the hoses set up in their respective garden areas, careful to not water the Punkin patch snoozing in the last remaining potato bag, while I was weedwhacking in a different part of the yard. I must have been 50 feet away from the hoses, well 100 feet from the hose on the beans, and 40 feet from the cats snoozing or scratching (the ticks have been BAD!) and there he was, buzzing around my head. When I sat down for a little break in one of the Adirondacks, the little fellow came and sat on the arm of the chair across from me. My camera, of course, was in the house. So, I came in and grabbed the camera, returned to the patio, and, of course, no dragonfly on the chair. So, I headed back to the barn and the weedwhacker, and crackle, crackle, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzztttttttttttt, there he was. He sat down on the edge of the wheelbarrow, and I reached into the barn for the camera. These close up shots are NOT telephoto or enlarged by a photo program. The camera was not much more than a foot away. I did not use any color enhancing program, tho I wonder if something might have helped bring out the beautiful soft blue on him, or the turquoise of his eyes. I really wondered if I could slip a finger under him and pick him up, but I did not want to frighten him away.
It is drizzling this morning, so I am not working outside. I wonder where he is hiding. The camera and I will be heading to the Train Station in a few minutes, hopefully to record the hanging of the second half of the Big door. I guess I won't be painting the inside sections to the HVAC fence, since I do that outside. So I guess I will just be a Step-n-Fetch it, or maybe just the photographer. I am glad it is cooler and grateful for the minimal rain. Every drop helps. But I will go looking for him when I get home... or maybe he will find me!