Unfinished Business

Zoey with her special human - April 4, 2010.

My Dad with Zoey on the beach, Autumn 2014.

Just before my father passed away, he asked me to do a few things for him. One of the things he felt most strongly about was taking Zoey, his German Shepard to the beach once the summer season was over, and letting her run in the surf. Zoey really, really enjoys doing this!

So on two warm Saturdays, I've taken her down to the white sandy beach of New Jersey and let her romp. She was so pleased!

Arf! Arf! She wants to bite the curl on the incoming waves. The piling with the flag is the sole remnant of a boardwalk that washed way in the 1940s.

Any dog whisperer will tell you she is smiling cheek to cheek!

"Come on Mom! Get wet with me! Surf's up!"

Where's My Human?

My father went back in the hospital a week or so ago, he kept falling down and hitting his head - he was mildly concussed and very confused - and in that state, messed up his medications - mistaking Percocet for high blood pressure medication (for starters). It was a very crazy week.

He is now in a Rehab Center - the staff are making sure he exercises, takes the right medications at the right time, and eats properly. He looked pretty good yesterday (I mentioned to my mom he looked a half dozen years younger). So we are encouraged as of now.

His dog, Zoey has been really lonesome. She misses every member of "her pack" when we aren't around. I qualify as a pack member!

I took my dad's dog over to the rehab center because he wanted to see her. Just outside the center's dining room is a small gazebo and it was nice and shaded.

While we were waiting for my dad to come out two old ladies stopped by in wheelchairs wanting to see the dog. So Zoey was happy enough to say hello and lick their hands softly. You should have seen their smiles.

My dad then came out in a wheelchair and we had a big reunion! My dad was very happy to see Zoey. It has been about two weeks. You should have seen the tail wagging and heard the gleeful wuff-wuffs! After my dad returned to his room two more patients came out in their wheelchairs just say hello and to pat her head. They were absolutely thrilled to see her.

Zoey waits for human to come home - he should be there tomorrow (Friday) noon Zoe!

Photos from January

I've been really busy and have been missing blogging mojo - I'd say more about these photos that were taken late December and early January but I've got to scoot... Hope to post more soon.

A cherry tree in bloom in January - a warms spell got it royally confused!

The aftermath of Super Storm Sanday (2012) linger on...

Santa waves from the porch in a house that was recently raised.

Beautiful Dolphin sculpture.

Another house being raised. This one is actually sitting in the street while they dig the new foundation.

Winter Beach - my favorite time down the shore.

My Dad's dog Zoey makes herself at home.

The place down the shore. I need to do some exterior painting.

The Morris Arboretum was brown and dull - It has exploded with Spring flowering now. I got to get there and take some photos of the blooming trees.

My older brother and his family spent a week in Myrtle Beach.

A South Carolina snowman.

The Myrtle Beach lighthouse.

While he was on the beach in South Carolina, I was on the beach in New Jersey.

New Jersey beach.

My family memories at the beach photo collage. Over 110 individual photos are mounted in the "room divider".

Heartache - Friends that Hurt (Part 1)

Rest in Peace Kero - I have long adopted other people's pets - a couple of them have become "nearly my own."

Kero was one of them.

I watched him grow up - and read about his "exploits" and experiences. I sorted out his photos for his special human - enjoying each and every pose he had. He had presence - an attitude - and his human loved him beyond all the words she ever wrote about him.

I took pleasure in creating the covers for each and every one of the "Kero" books, even if my talent was meager and crude.

Kero Celebrates Christmas - I wondered how he didn't get lost in the snow with his gleaming white coat. I was always pulling for him to "catch" Santa Paws when he came by to leave him his Christmas presents.

Kero Celebrates Halloween - he was admittedly, perhaps a tad spoiled - he certainly got his share of the treats.

Kero Celebrates His Birthday - I only regret there weren't enough of them.

Kero Goes Walkies - For a little dog - he had a big heart and loved to explore the world outside his door.

Kero Goes To Town - He took some adventurous trips, here and there, and even rode the train!

Kero Gets Sick - Everyday I rooted for him to get well and to stay well. He has gone to the place that well loved doggies go - the Canine Valhalla. His presence in our world, too brief as it was, was a gift to us all.

He will not be forgotten. My thoughts and prayers are with his grieving special person.

Busy Weekend

Last weekend, despite it being overcast and gloomy - with periods of gentle rain, was a busy one. Friday evening found me in Baltimore, Maryland with my parents enjoying the Inner Harbor sights and sounds. I enjoyed watching the folks take out peddle boats that were made to look like dragons - some were green and some were purple. It was a little odd watching some folks peddle them backwards - the red ship in the background is a lightship. The Power Station, the home of a seafood restaurant, Barnes and Nobles, and the Hard Rock Cafe is behind it.

Early the next morning, we boarded a cruise boat and took an extended tour of the Baltimore Harbor that focused on the various lighthouses and ship channel navigation lights. My favorite (photograph) was the one of the abandoned Fort Carroll light, with a Cormorant on the top, drying his (or her's) wings. The odd sunlight coming through the clouds makes for an interesting effect.

The abandoned fort is well out in the harbor and is covered with birds, Cormorants, Egrets, Herring Gulls and others - I wouldn't want to walk on it since it is covered in white splatter - but I did have a good laugh at this sign at the "Sally Port" entrance. "Private Property! Keep Off! Guard Dog!"

After the cruise, we went to the houseboat, where we rested briefly from the drive (Baltimore is confusing and the traffic over the Kent Narrows bridge is horrible), and the I went with the one-legged lady and her dog, Barley, to the Chestertown Fountain Park to hear Vic Vacuum and the Attachments (no kidding, that's the band's name!) play some rock and roll tunes from the 1950s and 60s. It was quite a sight watching old grey-haired ladies with walkers dancing to the tunes! The weather, while gloomy, was comfortably cool. Barley made some new friends - he seemed to enjoy Mr. Vacuum's music.

Woof!

Stop and Smell the Roses!

On Sunday afternoon, on my way home from the houseboat, I was stopped in Georgetown, Maryland when a drawbridge opening occurred. I've been keeping track of how often I have to sit and wait at this bridge (not that I mind, the views up and down the river are nice!) and have been stopped seven out of seven times heading home and two out of seven times heading to the houseboat.

I took this photo with my cellphone and sent it to my mother and to the one-legged lady at the wharf telling them I had been stopped once again and both of them told me, "Patience! Reflect on the fun you had during the weekend and enjoy!"

The hood of my car is a mess, I parked under a tree at the wharf to keep it in the shade!

Before heading to the wharf, I make sure I mow my lawn, sometimes I use a push mower when I want the exercise. It takes me about two and a half hours pushing - the riding mower is much faster, but I've been having trouble getting it to start. Turns out the connector to the starter was loose - and I fixed it, so when I'm in a hurry, I ride the mower and get the job done in about forty minutes. I was so happy when I got it to run!

My mom's birthday is coming up soon - and I've been looking around for something she might want and like. I spotted this wooden wire reel at the wharf and asked the owner if he had plans for it. He said, "Take it away and it's yours!" So I stuffed it into my car and brought it home. The next weekend my mom said, "Durn, the wire reel is gone! I was going to ask if I could buy it. I think it would make a neat patio table.

Mission accomplished.

One day last week, I got home from work and saw an ambulance and a police car in my neighbor's driveway. I was very concerned about them, they are good neighbors. By the time I walked over, the ambulance and police car were gone and no one answered the door. Their dog, a seven year old mutt that thinks she is still a puppy was tearing around the backyard like a maniac. An hour later, she was still out there and no one answered the door - it being hot as heck out, I let myself through the gate and made sure she had a bowl of water (she did). She seemed a little lost, so I sat with her for a half hour, hoping her mom or dad would come home. It grew dark and quite late so I went home, but I checked her a while later and a light was on in the house so someone came home.

Turns out her mom, who had lung cancer, had a dizzy spell and was choking on something. She called 911 for herself and put the dog out in the backyard so she wouldn't jump all over the EMT. She went to the ER and her husband drove there straight from work. I told them I "doggy sat" and they were quite pleased that someone was around - I told them it they ever needed a doggy sitter, emergency or not, I was "up for it." And if they needed a helping hand, I was "up for that" too.

Last weekend was the annual "Swim for Life" event at Rolph's Wharf. I loaded some photos into Flckr. There were about 300 swimmers and they swam 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 miles - unless they were in the triathlon, in which case they swam 2.4 miles and then biked 110 miles and then ran a marathon.

I was feeling somewhat cocky, having swam a mile and a third at the YMCA the week before in an hour and fifteen minutes. And then I heard during the awards ceremony for the swim, someone had swum a mile in nineteen minutes! Some days, I can't even walk that fast!

Life keeps ya humble...

Will the last person out...

...turn off the lights?

It was with certain feelings of sadness that I closed up the houseboat for the season this past weekend. I always hate to see the end of a season - with its uncertainty as to what the winter and the next year will bring.  This past boating season was a mixed one - interrupted for a long stretch in July when my dad suffered a heart attack - it was also interrupted by a number of rainy weekends too.

I did however, enjoy getting to meet the dogs, Huckleberry, Newfie, and the new wharf dog, a black Labrador named Gracie.  Gracie provided a bit of comic relief a couple weeks ago as she got her head stuck in a red bucket that held feed corn for the ducks, geese, and chickens.  Unable to shake it off, she ran around the parking lot like a maniac until she rammed into a parked black pickup truck - the impact freed her head from the bucket and the appearance of the "huge truck that came out of nowhere" scared her witless.  She jumped up and backwards at least three feet!  The owner of the truck, and the owner of the wharf and I witness this cavorting and broke out in laughter.

Huckleberry and Newfie are the "tree farm guard dogs" - but neither of them seem to see many people and both are as shy as can be.  I started carrying "Beggin' Strips" when I walked up the long wharf road past the tree farm to see if I could tempt them.  The first meeting was uncertain, just as Huckleberry was just (finally!) going to allow me to pet him, my cellphone beeped for an incoming text message - that startled him so badly he took off and soon had a hundred yards between us!  The two dog slowly warmed to me, however as the weekends went by - and this past weekend, I was met at the farm boundary by two drooling dogs in search of a head pat (I suppose they actually just wanted a Beggin' Strip).

The boats are being taken out of the Chester River, one by one and the Water's Edge will be out within the week.

Until next year... I leave my water-borne friends and neighbors.

..and get ready for the "Pumpkin Season," those 6-7 weeks between now and Thanksgiving.  I do enjoy the cool air and the changing leaves.  Recently, I went to the Morris Arboretum and looked at the scarecrow contestants.  They are in my Flickr account (here).  I think you will enjoy them.  They are so creative!

Ghosts of Our Grandfathers

Recently, I've been very busy at work. Some of this work involves setting up and learning about new computers and new operating systems. Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8 to be specific.

I find myself reduced to having all thumbs as I attempt to find my way around the new "user interface" that Microsoft hopes will "look like" what you see on smart phones.

Doing this work, got me to thinking that if my Grandfather was still around, I would be rewriting the very first program I ever wrote (back in 1977-ish) for him to use with a new computer system, or perhaps even as a smart phone app.

He might have even liked it - each version of computing he lived through made his life easier - since "the program" he used to determine pricing at the foundry got more and more user friendly and reduced his work (and mistakes) with each version.

But it has not been all work and no play for me even if the weather has mostly conspired against weekends with nice weather. On the one nice weather weekend this past month, my Dad and I went to the Golden Age Air Museum in Grimes, Pennsylvania where we saw airplanes of World War One and the Depression Era fly.



I am always amazed by the sight of airplanes such as this, built in 1917, still flying! I took a ton of photos (here).

The weekend after that, the weather was stormy and gloomy but the rain held off for the most part, so I got to the houseboat to unwind from "enjoying" way too much Windows 8.

Some of you may remember the cutest little wharf rat in all the world. Here's Barley making a new friend!


My mother always says, "When it rains, we rest." Here she is resting by reading a book on the houseboat in the dinette.


For my mom's birthday celebration, my dad arranged for a sunset dinner cruise on the Tireless. The Tireless is a restored, all wooden 68 foot long Classic Trumpy motor yacht, built for Roger Firestone in 1963. Roger Firestone was the youngest of five sons of Harvey S Firestone, founder of Firestone Tire. I find it amusing that he would name a boat "Tireless" but it makes perfect sense...it has no tires!


Dinner was super yummy! I didn't eat again for almost a whole day.


While we were cruising, my dad suddenly exclaimed, "I don't believe it! Look over there, there's the Muriel Eileen!"

Built in 1926, the Muriel Eileen is a wooden "Chesapeake Bay Buy boat" typical of many similar boats of that time. It has a mast and boom forward of the hold with the pilothouse aft of the hold with the hull decked over. It is 58 feet long and 18 feet wide

These "buy boats" were used to haul freight, watermelons and oysters in the days when roads in the Chesapeake Bay area were poor. They literally bought oysters from fishermen direct from their boats while they were still out in the bay oystering, hence the name.


When Muriel Eileen's owner started to renovate it, he contacted my father regarding some of the brass fittings that needed replacement due to extensive wear. My grandfather worked up the pricing using "the program" I wrote and he also made the wooden patterns. The circular ring where the rope enters the boat from the wooden pole is made of brass...and was made by my dad and grandfather. I think they are called hawse pipes. They typically run an anchor chain out of a boat (or ship) through such a fitting to protect the woodwork.

This is not the only "old" boat on sailing on the Chesapeake Bay that has bits and pieces my dad and grandfather made.


HMS Sultana was a small Royal Navy schooner that patrolled the American coast from 1768 through 1772, preventing smuggling and collecting duties. She was retired when unrest in Britain's American colonies required larger, better armed patrol craft.

In mid-1999, my father was asked if he might help with a project to build a replica of the Sultana. The ships rudder required straps to mount it around the propeller (an engine is required by the US Coast Guard in order to carry passengers.)

My dad had the straps were made from bronze and supplied them. A couple years later, he was called and invited to the ship's launching. The replica of HMS Sultana was launched in Chestertown on March 28, 2001.


As launched, the straps were painted white. Today, they are painted black (as in the first photograph.)

For those of you with sharp eyes, I am in the front row and the third person standing to the right of the street lamp (next to the guy with a yellow vest).

Labor Day weekend proved dreary and gloomy, so I decided to take a road trip away from the houseboat. In the small town of Sudlersville, I found the local train station. The tracks went from Wilmington, Delaware through Massey (of the grass airfield fame) to Queenstown, Maryland.


I tried to find out more about the feed mill/elevator in the background, but couldn't find its owner.

I then went to Ridgely, Maryland and visited its train station, now a museum.

This station was on the line from the sleepy bay side town of Oxford, Maryland to Clayton, Delaware where it connected to the line that ran to Wilmington and Philadelphia.

From 1871 to 1920 or so, a daily steam train took freshly caught and canned oysters from Oxford to Philadelphia, stopping at this station to pick up rail car loads of Strawberries. Ridgely was the Strawberry Capital of America back in the day. Did some of those strawberries and oysters get eaten by my great-grandparents?

Did the place "next door" to my great-great-great-great-grandfather sell "Oxford, Maryland" oysters (see previous post)?

Maybe - just maybe. :)