Still enjoying the northeast...

Well folks, it's a summer that defies categorization, and doesn't lend well to blog entries, either. It's been a summer of old friends, rainy weather with occasional sunshine and mild blue skies.This is a new economy, an energy-booming area and all our RVing neighbors here are workers with either the pipeline, gas drilling and wind generator companies. Most have their families with them here on "pipeline alley" at Alparon Park, Troy, PA. They are a great bunch of hard working family men from West Virginia, Wisconsin, Mississippi and lots of other places. We've also enjoyed having the 134th annual Troy Fair in our backyard but our sleeptime suffered as a result. The tractor pulls were two late nights, the country music headliner another and the last two nights finished us off with the Demolition Derby! It was the biggest draw of the fair. What is it about us that we crave smashing up cars as a spectator sport?

We've been gone long enough to where we don't recognize or remember more than half of who we meet. And for the ones we remember (and they remember us), it's hard to say because they've all gotten so much older. Not us, of course, as we're still full of vim and potential. It's just that we may be a bit greyer and slower to respond. We've had potluck dinners like we remember with all food cooked from scratch and most fresh from the garden. We are long time gardeners and most of our close friends here are the same. It's always great to be invited to pick fresh from the garden. But it's not a great year for tomatos and potatos around these parts as the blight has wiped out most everyone's crops. Root crops, crucifers and corn seem to have benefited from the overbountiful rains. With the cooler temps many are still picking lettuce and now readying a fall planting early. I've managed a few local hikes, a kayak trip down a stretch of the Susquehanna River, played music with friends and even attended a bluegrass festival.

Unlike a movie of a similar title, this is the summer of "one wedding and three funerals". Not the ratio we prefer, but at our ages it's becoming more the norm. The wedding was a grand time of old and new friends, bluegrass music, delicious food and a beautiful young bride-friend and her handsome new husband. One passing was of a very dear friend and aunt, Marian, my dad's oldest sister, who was always a special person to me and one who will be very much missed by all who knew her. She was a woman who could always find contentment and the positive in life, even when times and events don't lend themselves easily to such a view. The other two funerals were of boyhood friends; all the more poignant. These are good attention-getters as we must remember to sing & dance more and enjoy the flowers along our way; our season's getting shorter every year.

And so tonight it's off to dinner with friends and if the weather holds, fireworks on the Susquehanna River. Happy trails and keep in touch...