MORE FROM THE MOUNTAINS – STAINED GLASS

THERE IS A GREAT little place up in a village called Bear Creek about 10 miles from our house in White Haven (PA) where I love to go for breakfast or lunch. It is called the Bear Creek Cafe. All I can say is, I have never been disappointed by their food.

They do a lot of great container gardening – a nice way to keep people from parking in the real convenient spots. They have NO handicapped spots that I could find, and dropping someone off out in the street is risky at best.  

The Cafe also has a nice little gift shop where, over the years, we have spent considerable amounts of money. This year, however, we found the prices were just a bit too steep and the selection too limited to spend much. Plus the music got on our nerves, so we cut the shopping short this summer.

Part of the fun of eating here is, besides the excellent food, the scenery is also terrific. If you are lucky enough to get a window seat in the back, you get to look out on a great little creek splashing by as well as some nice trees and wildflowers. But, we got stuck in the lower part of the cafe this year, so I took pictures of their stained glass windows instead. Enjoy!

The furniture is also interesting… not overly comfortable, but interesting. Then again, I don’t think they want you too comfortable as there is often a waiting line to get seated. Of course, that is good for shopping… as I said, it is also a gift shop.

Then, the good thing about it being so crowded is it drowns out the music which we have always found to be most irritating. If it were not for the excellent food and view, I don’t think I could sit thru it. It was the same CD playing over and over this year as last year, and the kind of music that is not to everybody’s taste. Next year, we might see if we can eat in the gazebo. Hopefully they don’t have speakers out there. We usually go there several times and take friends with us, but, one visit was it for us this year.

I guess I am getting old and crotchety, and obviously there are enough people who can tune out the music, but it is a serious distraction from an otherwise great place to eat. We left this year with  contented tummies but splitting headaches. 

THE PUTTER BENCH, a Work in Progress

OK, MOST PEOPLE WOULD CALL this a potting bench, I suppose... but the potting is all done for this year... and mostly what I am doing now is puttering... whatever that actually means. The seeds are all sewn, some are up, some are not, and the lima beans were transplanted earlier this week and looking good! The strawberries are almost finished for now. Sometimes I get a second harvest. We shall see what happens this year. The garden has taken off on its own with a wild riot of color... I never know just what I am going to get out around St Francis, but it is usually beautiful any time of the year. Sooo, now that I have 5 minutes to putter between potting/planting and harvesting, I decided to build myself a potting bench, except, of course, the potting is done for this year. But I end up with all kinds of miscellaneous chores and the old back just needed a place out in the yard where I can DO STUFF without bending down or making a mess in the house, carport, or in a hot stuffy barn. Important stuff like bird feeder cleaning and repair, a place to throw the garden gloves and tools when I have to answer the phone, a place to store the pots, trays, and some of the mixed potting soil till next year, being always mindful to keep that little square spot open next to the Scoop Away bucket (now containing potting soil) - that is the shed where Spook goes when the weather is terribly wet or windy. I decided to give the flat surfaces a coat (or 2) of paint since it is sitting outside. And yes, the bench is tilted. My good friend, Pat, came by and lifted one end so I could tilt it more for rain run off. Another note - I did buy new 4x4s and 2x4s for the legs... 4x4s so it will withstand the hurricane force winds and not blow out in the yard - unless we get a Cat 3 or more. The wood is treated to have contact with the elements. The shelf and work top and all other pieces are scraps I saved for the moment when I might need them. Some of my scrap wood came from the lumber yard's scrap pile. If you go to buy lumber and have them cut it for you, you might notice they have a big scrap pile. Ask and they will usually let you dig thru the pile and take home left over pieces that might come in handy when you make your next project. Got grandkids? A friend's grandson and neighbor kid built a tree house completely out of scrap lumber from the lumber yard. All they bought were nails! It also seemed like a good place to display my very old shore bird decoys... By the way, did you notice the clematis in the St Francis garden??? It is amazing this year. This is not a good shot, but I was in a rush. Forgive me!