SHE TRICKED ME,

but what a treat she was: The Marbled Orbweaver Spider! She sat so still, looking for all the world like a plastic doodad of some kind, with a stamped-on design.  I bent down to pick up this unnatural-looking thing in the woods, and that's when her eight legs shot out and I screamed and released her.

She didn't get a chance to bite me, so quickly did I have a change of heart about picking her up.  But there I was, with The Yard Man and two friends, staring at this marvelous creature, the likes of which I had never before seen in all my live-long days!  It was truly a treat!

Everything about the twenty-five hours spent in Prince Gallitzin State Park, in fact, was a treat!
There was the cabin where Tom and Tina (our generous friends) hosted The Yard Man and me.  There was the exceptionally delicious pasta dish that Tom cooked up for us (this is impressive, Reader Dear--every single spoon and fork and knife and cup and cooking pot and cutting board, and grater, peeler, wine-bottle-opener must be carried in with renters of the cabin!)

But just take a look, Dear Viewer, at what's provided:
A lake, right there outside the cabin door!

Lots of little furry creatures right outside the cabin door, as well.


And there were lovely woods,
and vistas,
and hiking trails!
There was a dam.
And Bluebirds.
And a Pheasant.
And a Red-bellied Woodpecker!
(without a red belly, how odd)

And there were exceedingly tall trees.

 
 Not to mention brightly-colored leaves.
And Lesser Scaups (a breed of duck, Dear Reader).

In addition to all these natural interests, of course, we had the fellowship of friends!

Priceless!



No tricks, this twenty-five hour span was a prince

of a treat!

.......

..........

ONCE AGAIN

there is a bride and there is a groom.
They each say "I do."
And, voila!
Once again, I am eating wedding cake!



This time, The Yard Man and I traveled two states south to attend the festivities. 
This time, the groom is the grandson of my sister.
This time, the wedding is held outdoors, with plenty of sunshine and (argh, once again) plenty of wind!



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I could show you the wind's shenanigans, but (argh, once again) my videos have refused to say I do!

I could decorate this
tale further, but I'm scurrying around, Reader Dear, preparing to take off (hooray, once again) on a two-day trip. I promise (I do) to tell you about it when I return.

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FOREIGN GUESTS AND A LOCAL PAWPAW

 It occurred to me, Dear Reader,  that I haven't  told you about the guests from the Netherlands.  And, hmmm, there was the pawpaw.

First things first.  A few years ago, the Yard Man and I hosted two young men from the Netherlands.  They were real Dutchmen.  They wore  big wooden shoes!

Last week one of these two came to visit, and he brought his parents along.  Now, Jelmer's parents have children scattered around the globe  (Jelmer [say it, Yelmer] himself is working on an organic farm in New York) and they've traveled to many spots around the world.  The Yard Man and I knew we had nothing world-famous to show these guests.  So we took them to Central Market--locally famous!  It is, after all, the oldest continually operating farmer's market in the USA.

Happily for us, it was a pristine day.  We shopped the market for lunch goodies, and then took our edibles to Steinmen Park to eat them.  

I wasn't the only one taking pictures!  Even though this tiny park holds no titles, Chikka and Shimon (ah, Reader Dear, the names are strictly my best phonetic translation!) seemed as pleased with our visit there as were the Yard Man and I.

......

For dinner, we visited El Serrano, a local Peruvian restaurant.  Because Jelmer has lived in Peru, he could explain many foods on the menu.  In addition, he speaks five languages fluently; our Dutch friend could carry on a conversation with a Cuban employee at this Peruvian eating place.  The Cuban employee could give us an underground tour of the wine cellar, stocked with wines from around the world.  It was a delightful international evening for The Yard Man and myself!

......

And the pawpaw? 

"It's a local delicacy!" explained the woman who sold me one of these fruits during the visit to Central Market.  "They only grow HERE," she said.  Whether this is a true statement,  and how big of an area can be defined as 'here' is your guess as well as mine, Dear Reader!  Our Dutch friends were curious about this delicacy, too, and purchased a  couple of them. 

......

I had to let the pawpaw ripen for a few days.  Jelmer and Chikka and Shimon had left by the time I deemed it ready to cut open and consume.  And, when I did-- Oooo-la-la!  I kissed my fingertips!  It was creamy and delicious, with the texture of an avocado, and the taste of a banana married to a kiwi. I scraped out every last smidgeon of the flesh, ate it,  and smacked my lips!  It's already famous in my psyche.  I can only believe that after our friends from the Netherlands tasted this fruit, it catapulted to international acclaim!*

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 * world famous!



HARD WORK!

Yesterday the weather was bright and sunny, but only when the clouds indulged the sun, and opened up windows for it.  I was out on the road, working hard, but only in a sit-behind-the wheel sort of way, and planning which route was best for taking me to the appliance store.

Just as I realized that the clouds were being less generous than they'd been an hour ago, I passed some people hard at work in a much harder 'hard work' way.  And I thought about the fact that  'making hay while the sun shines' would be a very apt description of what these folks were doing, if only the crop were wheat instead of corn and the sun were shining!

 Now, Viewer Dear, these folks were Amish, and I immediately wanted a picture, but I felt too hesitant to put on the brakes, jump from the car and openly photograph them.  Besides, I was moving along at a good clip, and I just didn't have time to make a plan.  As I continued on my way, however, I was more and more convinced I needed a video!  (I had to show you these hard workers in action, Viewer Dear!)  So I came up with a strategy in which I would remain in my car, pull off the road just a tad (there was almost no shoulder) and put on my four-way blinkers.  Then I would simply open my driver's-side window and start filming!  Of course, this plan necessitated that I be driving in the original direction that I was traveling at the time I spotted the scene. 

I pulled into a driveway and  turned the car around.  Then I drove past the workers, pulled into another driveway (there were few other places to reverse my route) and turned around again.  Now I was all set to film the action!  But...alas..as I approached the field, I could see that the horses, wagon and workers were no longer reaping alongside the road.  They had made a full circle and the Amish were unloading the wagon at the back of the field.  Would they now take a lunch break?  If I gave it another try, how long would I have to wait?  There was nothing to do right then, of course, but to drive on down the road.  If I were going to try again, I'd have to turn around again.

 I had a little debate with myself and decided to give it another shot. In the farm lane where I was maneuvering a turn-around, I had a distant view of the field.   If no one comes along to make me move , I thought, I'll just wait here and see if they resume their work.  And what do you know, Reader Dear, very shortly I could see them once again moving along the edge of the standing corn near the road.

I drove past, turned the car around again, and came up alongside them.  Goodness, these horses were moving down the field at a surprising pace!  I didn't have a second to waste!  No one seemed to notice me parked by the road, camera resting in the open window, and I got two excellent short movies before they progressed out of the picture!  I was very pleased with myself.

With a big smile on my face, I set off down the road.  I was back on track and well on my way to the appliance store when I came to a stop sign.  Paused there, I found it irresistible to take a small peek at my terrific videos of the Amish hard at work ( just to admire them, you know, Viewer Dear).

Aaaaaagh! I gave a long and piteous groan.  Obviously, the camera was off when I thought it was on, and on when it was supposed to be off!

I need to have my head examined! I muttered. 

Then (sigh) I reversed my route.



(Getting these pictures for you was such hard work, Viewer Dear! Hard Work!)

 

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FOR SOME REASON, I'm almost always taken off-guard.   It's not like I wasn't aware of the down-pouring of rain yesterday.  And of course I knew about the snow that got all mushy the day before that.  But this morning the sun was right up there where it belongs, doing its job so admirably.  I set out to run errands, drove down the hill, never giving a thought that there might be a small ocean where the creek usually flows.

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