Then There Were Four

First thing when I returned home from Pennsylvania yesterday was check my bluebird box. Ah ha! As I suspected, it now contained four perfect blue oval eggs. The second batch of bluebirds is on its way!

The Purple Martin house is fully occupied with Purple Martins raising their young. One of the other bluebird houses is occupied by a swallow and her four perfect white eggs, which will hatch any day now. The house sparrows have found nesting places on nearby properties because I see them all around. I saw several dozen flitting about in their normal raucous activity as I took my walk a few nights ago. All is well in the bird habitat in our little corner of the world here on the Delmarva peninsula.

Golden Anniversary Class of 1959

The DHS Class of 1959 50th Anniversary Portrait



Last night at this time I was sitting on a folding chair in the middle of Walter E. Kottmeyer Stadium in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. The occasion was the Commencement Program for the Downingtown High School West Campus class of 2009. I, along with seven of my classmates from the Downingtown High School Class of 1959 were the Golden Anniversary Class and guests of the current DHS Class of 2009.

Tonight as I type this blog, another ceremony is being conducted for the Downingtown High School East Campus class of 2009. Although I was invited (and I said I would attend), I opted out. While I enjoyed last night's ceremonies, I didn't want to repeat sitting out in the cold breezy evening with only my yellow shirt for warmth. If I was smart I would have worn a suit or a sport jacket (which I don't possess) but I thought the evening would be warm. I actually debated wearing a short sleeve shirt of a jersey. Boy I'm glad I didn't make that decision.

Instead, I journeyed back to my lovely home in the wide open spaces of southern Delaware. Am I ever glad to be home! I like Pennsylvania but it's just too crowded for me at this time of my life. Too much traffic on the roads (including a lot of school buses) and too many winding roads. I'm very tired right now so I'll make this a brief blog entry. I have many more pictures to post and a few videos.

The trip was well worth it for the once in a lifetime experience. I'm glad I went.

The Class of 2009

Well, here I am at my Mom’s in Pennsylvania. I arrived this afternoon to attend tonight’s Downingtown High School’s class of 2009. Each year the graduating class invites the class celebrating their 50th anniversary as guests to their graduation. I am a member of the DHS Class of 1959 of fifty long years ago. It is a cliche but it hardly seems like fifty years. I know that all of the members of tonight’s graduating class don’t realize how fast the next fifty years will fly by. They will find out, oh will they ever.

I wasn’t sure how to dress for tonight’s occasion. So I wore tan Docker pants and a yellow Eddie Bauer shirt. I considered a suit but thought that would be too much clothing on a summer night. Oh was I ever wrong. First of all, tonight was overcast (thank goodness it didn’t rain because we were sitting outside in a football stadium) and chilly. The temperature hovered around 58 degrees. Five members of my class also attended tonight’s ceremonies and were dressed in suits. I told them I was retired and I don’t wear suits or ties anymore. Still, I felt underdressed. Which is a shame because people do judge and react to you on appearance and I do look so good in a suit and a tie.

I took many pictures and a few videos of the occasion which I will post on future blogs, Facebook and You Tube. I can’t post one of my original pictures on this blob posting because I’m at my Mom’s computer and she doesn’t have my camera’s software for downloading my pictures.

As members of the 50th anniversary class we wore ribboned sashes. Yes, I have a picture of two of me in a sash. That is one thing I never had draped over me before, a beauty queen type sash. There is always time for a first, even at this late stage of my life.

I must say that we were treated very kindly and with respect for the organizers of the event, especially the superintendent of schools. She corrected the program that had my name as "Walter Tipton" (where did they get that?) instead of my name "Ronald Walter Tipton." She wanted to correct my name because she would be announcing it at the ceremony which she did. I was very proud to stand up when she called my name (along with the other members of our small contingent of the DHS Class of 1959.) I thought we might be shunted aside like some old relic but they actually did treat us with some deference. They even supplied us with a bus from the cafeteria where the reception was to the football field, the site of the graduation ceremonies. We really didn’t need a bus. It was only a little over a block away. But, it was a nice gesture.

Tonight’s graduation ceremony was for Downingtown West Campus. I was also invited to the graduation ceremony for the Downingtown East Campus (held tomorrow night at the same location) but I think I’ll pass on that one. While tonight’s ceremony was fun and interesting, once is enough. I have no desire to sit through another two hours valedictorian speeches and of award and diploma presentations.

After the graduation diplomas were all handed out and the mortar board caps were tossed in the air with a mighty cheer, we 50th anniversary Old Folk exited the field first through an honor guard of students of this year’s graduating class. Passing all those young faces that bore nary a wrinkle I couldn’t help myself when I said to one astonished redheaded young man "See you in fifty years!" Upon hearing that his face broke into the broadest smile I’ve ever seen. Oh young man if you only knew what you’re in for. He doesn’t know that the next fifty years will go by so much faster than the last twelve. But he will find out then he will be standing in the spot I stood in tonight. Perhaps he will remember me and then understand what I meant when I said "See you in fifty years!"

Ah One and Ah Two!

My resident bluebirds have begun their second batch. Yesterday the first egg was laid. This morning another pastel blue egg was added to their neat nest. By the time I get back Thursday I expect to see two more additional eggs in their nest.

Tomorrow I'm going to Pennsylvania to visit my Mom and attend the graduation ceremonies for the DHS Class of 2009 as a 50th anniversary guest. In a way I really don't want to go because I love my home here in Delaware so much I hate to miss even one day. But I do have some business to take care of in Pennsylvania and I would like to attend that graduation ceremony. There is only one time that I have the opportunity to be a 50th anniversary guest (DHS Class of 1959) and I don't want to pass up the opportunity. I'll take pictures and maybe even a video or two. We'll see. I just hope this isn't a bust and I'm viewed as some ancient fossil. Actually, I don't care if I am. I just think it will be interesting. Of course I'll probably be the only member of my class who attends.

This morning I found a new plant place. It's called the Sandy Hill Greenhouse and it's on Sand Hill road, about ten miles from where I live. I loved it. This nursery is my new plant center. Mark the owner was talking to me and he said this is his second year in the retail business. Prior to this he was in the wholesale business but decided to make a go of it in the retail trade. He said so far this year business has been slow but I predict he will do very well. He has a big nursery with a large selection and all his plants are healthy and vibrant. I told him his business will build by word of mouth. When we Plant People find a good place we put the Word out. I was advised by my friend MJ in Milton to check out this garden center. Thank you MJ!

I took the drive this morning to see if my check engine light came on again. It did. In fact it was on the whole time I went up and came back. When I got home I called my garage and told them of the problem. They told me to bring the car down. I go out to my car, turn it on and the check engine light isn't on now. This is going to drive me crazy. So I called The Garage (yes folks, that is the name of my garage) and told them that the check engine light wasn't on now. Hmmm.

There always seems to be some little nagging thing like this to get on my nerves. I'm going to have to put this out of my mind and enjoy my trip to PA tomorrow. What's good about my trips to PA is that I always come back here, my beautiful home in Delaware. To me each day I spend here is like a vacation day. I love it!

Video of Bill and swallows mowing lawn

Bill mowing the lawn this afternoon with the swallows following him look for a meal.

Lazy Sunday

"Stormy", my friend Big Bob's cat



Today is another overcast day on the Delmarva Peninsula. No complaints from this quarter. After the past two years of almost no rain during the spring and summer seasons, the farmers of the area are finally getting a decent growing season. Everything is so fresh and green. While it would be nice to have more sun, this isn’t a bad trade off. We have still gotten enough sunny days for my tan to return.

My tan, that’s ironic. All the years I laid out in the sun trying to get a tan and it never worked. I never lay out in the sun now and in fact, try to avoid the sun between 10 am and 4 pm, lest I reactivate my precancerous skin cancer condition. I have yet to put my toes in the sands of any of the beaches here on the eastern coastal shore. The closest I came to a beach was last year when my brother John visited me from Greenville, South Carolina and he walked the beach (in his brown dress shoes yet.) I stood on the boardwalk and watched him. Now I’m covered in a healthy tan all summer long without any effort. I never got a tan like this living in the middle of the woods in Pennsylvania. It must be the ocean breeze that produces such a tan.

I haven’t taken my car out for a ride yet today, but I’ve been assured by a couple of friends that my check engine light was probably caused by me not screwing on my gas cap tight enough. The check engine light came on immediately after I got gas yesterday. In fact, even before I turned on my ignition, I was aware that I had not tightened the gas cap as much as I usually do (four turns.) Both of my friends said they had the same thing happen to them. They said they took off their gas cap and put it back on again but that it did take a few days for the check engine light to go of. I’m hoping that is my situation. I can’t afford any more big expenses at this time. It seems as if once I get my spending under control, some unexpected emergency always pops up. The unexpected seems to be expected.

This morning I got up early to make my favorite Quiche Lorraine. I like my version best. I’ll have this for lunch all week. I also baked some cinnamon muffins for Bill’s sweet tooth. Actually, my sweet tooth too but I’ll be gone for at least two days this week visiting my Mom in Pennsylvania and attending a couple of graduation ceremonies. Yes, I will go up to PA with my check engine light on. I’m confident that my gas cap caused the problem. If not, well I have Triple A. I’ve had it since 1982 and never used it. If my buggy does conk out I hope it’s not in the middle of Newark, Delaware. Now wouldn’t that be an adventure?

Check Engine

The actual picture of the message on my dashboard




Right after I gassed up at the Wawa in Milford, I turned the ignition to my 98 Subaru Forester on and I immediately noticed something new on my car’s display behind the steering wheel. Two letter in orange glow that said “Check Engine.” Gee, I wonder what that means. Actually, I know what that means. That means I’ll probably have to put out some more bucks on my faithful Subaru. I guess I should count by blessings because I have over 113,000 miles on my car. This is the absolute first time I’ve seen that message. To be honest, it’s a message that I didn’t want to see.

Reading my Subaru handbook, it tells me there are two possible reasons for the “Check Engine” message. One is the emission controller is shot (catalytic converter.) The other is that I didn’t put my gas cap on correctly and that the “Check Engine” message will go away all by itself after a few more drives. I’m hoping for the second reason. I don’t need any more problems right now and I definitely don’t need to put out more bucks for car repairs. A few months ago I spent over $1,700 to a new air pump, rear window shield motor and some other motor parts that were starting to wear out. My old buggy has been riding smooth since then. I was sort of hoping to get at least 250,000 miles out of this car.

So, I will take my friend out for a couple of rides tomorrow and hope the “Check Engine” light goes out by its self. One thing in my favor, the light came on immediately after I put the gas cap on it. I remember that I didn’t tighten it up all the way. That was before I saw the “Check Engine” light. But then, about a month ago I lost my gas cap and the “Check Engine” light didn’t come on. Maybe it has something to do with the way I tightened it. I hope so. I was planning on going to Pennsylvania on Monday (or Tuesday) to visit my Mother and to attend two graduation ceremonies of the Downingtown High School Class of 2009 as a class 50th anniversary guest. But I can’t see myself driving the 125 miles to PA with my “Check Engine” light on. I’ll be looking at it all the way up to PA.