Thursday ToadBits

Eastern Redbud

Hampshire County Treasure

According to the Hampshire Review, the local newspaper that serves the area around our WV place, the stand of Eastern Redbud trees along Route 50 I spoke of the other day is a national treasure. The reporter, who actually did some fact-checking with the WV Department of Highways (WVDOH), says the trees were not planted for a purpose. They occur there naturally. Which makes it even more special in my book.

The blooms don’t last long. If you’re up for a drive this weekend, head for Hanging Rock, West Virginia. It’s on US 50 just West of Capon Bridge. At any other time of year, if you blink while driving on US 50 you just might miss Hanging Rock. But there’s no chance of that when the Redbuds are in bloom.

While you’re there, be sure to stop for fine eats at El Puente, our absolute favorite restaurant in Hampshire County. Or, even better, let us know you’ll be in the area and you can stop in for a visit. We’d love to see you!

No Fly Zone Across the UK

Did you know there was a complete closure of British airspace yesterday? A COMPLETE closure from noon to 6:00 PM. That’s huge. Check out this aerial view of Heathrow. Did you see all of the planes? Not only are there a lot of them, they are BIG planes. I have never seen so many 777s and 747s in my life as I did at Heathrow. Now look at the aerial view of Dulles Airport in Virginia. That should give you some idea as to how much traffic goes through Heathrow. And that’s just one of the UK’s major airports.

Talk About Embarrassing Husbands

And now for the Psycho Dog Man. My favorite CNN reporter, Jeanne Moos, did a story on the Psycho Dog Man that’s pretty funny. Not LMAO funny, or even LOL funny. Just odd. Apparently, he’s an Internet sensation. I’ve never heard of him. But this guy is now famous for his “absolutely spur-of-the-moment” impression of a ferocious dog. I bet his wife wishes she had a dog house to hide in…

I Live for Tight Corners

Frugal or Just Plain Stingy?

Amy and I had a discussion recently about this exact thing. She’d read this interesting article about it and asked me what I thought. She works hard and is very good at saving money to make her family’s income go further. But she wonders if she’s wrong, maybe even (gasp!) stingy. Or even a tightwad.

My answer? “Nope. You’re smart. You are working hard to stretch your finite amount of cash. Besides, you’re saving money. You’re not being stingy or refusing to share.”

I will never be rich. Being frugal (a good thing!) like Amy takes a lot of work.

No one will ever call me a tightwad or accuse me of being stingy (a bad thing!) that’s for sure. I’m not an irresponsible “loose spender,” mind you. I’m just the kind of person that has no problem sharing.

Hmmm, SHARING. It has sort of a nice ring to it. Two sweet syllables… shar-ing.

What’s that mean really? Hubby and I had a treadmill we probably paid a few hundred bucks for several years back. We’d talked in the past about selling it on Craigslist or eBay. Recently, one of Amy’s friends saw it in our basement and offered to BUY it from us. Jess is a very sweet girl. She’s been Amy’s friend for years. She’s not poor or destitute. We could probably have gotten something out of her for the treadmill, but the thought didn’t even cross our minds. It was a thing we didn’t need any more. Jess could use it, so we gave it to her. Free. No strings attached.

It really isn’t that remarkable a thing to have done. Any NORMAL person would have done the same. I wouldn’t even be mentioning it here if it weren’t the first example of sharing that came to mind.

There’s that word again. Sharing.

Oh no! Don't let it go!

Taking money from someone for an inexpensive thing you are no longer using is just wrong. It’s very self-centered. It’s the perfect example of selfishness. Of putting ones wants/needs/comforts above those of everyone else. Would it have been different if we needed the money? Say, if we were out of work and struggling to pay our bills. Maybe. But we don’t need the money. What if it were a higher-ticket item? Then it might have been different. It would be okay in that case to expect something in return, just nowhere near the original cost.

There are just some folks who seem to think hanging on to things and every sad, stinking penny, being miserly, selfish, and a tightwad is an acceptable way to be. But you know what? It isn’t acceptable. It’s sad, pathetic and just wrong.

Hypothetically speaking, let’s say you bought a blender a couple years ago for $30. It’s serviceable, but on the small side. You want a larger-capacity blender. They’ve come way down in price in recent years so you buy yourself a brand-spanking-new, bigger blender for half or even one-third the cost of the first one. Good deal!

Then someone comes along with a blender even smaller than your first one. Let’s say it’s your uncle. Uncle needs a bigger blender, too. The thing is, Uncle is older, somewhat technologically challenged, and doesn’t know much about blenders. He doesn’t know he could easily get a new blender that’s four times the size of your old one for about $15. Since he’s on a fixed income, he can’t afford to spend money blindly. So he asks you for advice.

What kind of person would say, “Hey, I just got a new blender myself. It’s probably a little bit bigger than you need. But my old blender is bigger and holds lots more than the one you have. It still works just fine, too. So I’ll sell it to you for $10.” (Making the net cost of the new blender $5, by the way.)

A cheap, stingy, thoughtless person. That’s what kind.

The right thing to do would have been to say… “Uncle, I just bought a new blender myself. It’s four times the size of my old blender. And it only cost $15. It might be way bigger than you’ll ever need, though, so you can HAVE my old blender if you like. It should be plenty big enough. Of course, if you’d rather have a new blender, which might have too much space but is really better in the long run, I’ll show you where you can get the same one I got for only $15.”

You know what I would have done? (Tight corner here I come!) It’s $15 we’re talking about. That’s about what I’d spend on a nice lunch (if I ever got out of the house).

I would’ve said, “Uncle, I just bought a great new blender that would be perfect for you. It was only $15. I’d like to buy one for you, too.”

Uncle, knowing I can easily afford that second blender would be thrilled. I’d be $15 poorer and have nothing tangible to show for my expenditure. The stingy tightwad would be $10 richer.

This is all hypothetical of course.

I just REALLY felt an overwhelming urge to say I would so much rather be poorer than CHEAP.

West Virginia’s Redbud Row

There’s a stretch of US 50 just west of Capon Bridge, West Virginia that’s a must-see for us every Spring. For 1.5 to 2 miles, the road is lined on both sides with Eastern Redbud trees.

There’s a reason for this, but dang if I can find out why (fruitless Internet search this morning).

Both Hubby and I look forward to seeing the Redbuds each year. Like Forsythias, they’re one of the first signs of Spring. And, well, they’re just pretty. Depending on the light, angle and distance from which you are seeing the trees, sometimes the flowers look purple, sometimes pink. They always look pretty though.

Eastern Redbud at the WV Place
Another Shot of the Eastern Rudbud
Eastern Rudbud Looking Purple

Can you tell that I like taking pictures of them?

Along that stretch of US 50, there’s not really a convenient place to stop. So I just shot a video as we drove by the other day.

This is not exactly riveting, but it’ll give you an idea as to just how many Redbuds there are. We’re going at least 55 mph and the video is almost two minutes long. I could figure out the distance based on that information, but it’s way too early in the day for me to be doing math.

I hope you enjoy this look at Redbud Row….

K Wins the Prize

The second weekend in April has us back at the WV place. Temps this week are significantly cooler than last week. It was in the low 40s when we woke up this morning. The high is only supposed to reach 60. That’s MUCH more Spring-like, which is fine by me.

Although cooler, things definitely got more green over the past week. And the redbuds, which were just starting to bloom last week, are now in full bloom.

Redbud Tree at the End of Our Driveway
Redbud Close-up

Are you wondering what this has to do with K? Bear with me. I thought I’d give you some nice, pleasant, soothing images first.

I shot these pics this morning while I was out walking with the girls. Thanks to Google Maps, I can give you a satellite overview of our walking “trail.”

I labeled the map so I wouldn’t have to describe each marker in too much detail. Our driveway is 500-600 feet long. It bends in the middle. A typical walk takes us “down the hill” to the end of the driveway at Turkey Hollow Road. From there, we turn left and walk to the top of Turkey Hollow Road and then round the bend and continue to the cul-de-sac at the end of Turkey Hollow Road. The closest public road is at the bottom of the ridge behind our house. All of the roads on the map have a dirt and gravel surface, which means not a whole heck of a lot of traffic.


This morning, K disappeared into the woods opposite the end of the driveway at Turkey Hollow Road. I knew she wasn’t far away, so I continued walking to the top of Turkey Hollow Road, which is about 300 feet from the end of the driveway. After a minute or so, she reappeared. I called her once and she ignored me. She was busy sniffing at the ground. From that distance, I couldn’t tell what she was sniffing.

When I called her the second time, she came running.

K Comes A Runnin'

It was only on the way back toward the house that I discovered what she’d been sniffing.

K's Prize Carcass

Yep, she’d drug a carcass out of the woods.

K won the prize for first bit of grossness discovered this weekend.

Upon closer inspection (I had to look), I realized it was a possum. It was no baby either. This lovely bag of bones was at least a foot long. Of course, I couldn’t just let it lay there. Would you want your dogs eating (and potentially puking up) this nice treat?

Closer Shot of K's Treasure

I made K leave it lay so I could return to the house for a bag. (It was far too spread out and loosely assembled to just pick it up with my hands.)

She was not happy to leave her treasure behind.

Not Happy to Abandon Her Treasure

She was even less thrilled to see me bag it up upon our return.

Can I Have My Bone Back?

It’s a good thing I have a strong stomach.

And guess what? Mere minutes after our return to the house, Meg reappeared with a bone of her own.

Bone Envy

It was much larger, and older, so I’m guessing it was one of the original pieces from the infamous bone collection, which you can read more about if so inclined.

Meg’s bone is now in the bag with the possum carcass hanging high up on one of our porch columns where it will be safe until we dispose of it.

Why not just put it in the trash? Because our trash can is in the garage. And bones like that tend to smell pretty bad.

Hubby and I plan on taking a bicycle ride a bit later today. Hopefully tomorrow’s post will be a little less grisly.

Sorry, but that’s the reality of life in the woods…

All About the Dogs

The weather was absolutely gorgeous this past weekend. Sunny and in the 80s. Unreal for early April. But we’ll take it!

Hubby and I covered just under 300 miles on our motorcycles on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was the longest riding day.

I don’t have any pictures to share because riding a motorcycle requires two hands and full concentration. Besides, while the weather was gorgeous, for the most part things are still pretty brown. In the higher elevations of Western MD and PA that we rode through, there’s still some snow in spots. There are lots of trees and flowers in bloom, but they’re sort of confined to peoples’ yards.

Since I didn’t get pictures of our ride, I’ll share a bunch of pics I got of the dogs this weekend.

First up, K…

Her face is much more expressive when we’re at the WV place. Like all of the other dogs who have ever lived there with us or visited, she LOVES it. It’s quickly become her favorite place in the world, too.

Coon Dog 1

For whatever reason, Belle was obsessed with her stuffed raccoon this weekend.

Coon Dog 2
Coon Dog 3 (take note of that pretty, white fur)

She carried that coon on pretty much all of our walks. It waited at the end of our driveway as we explored beyond that point. But she always picked it back up on the way home.

Speaking of walks… since we left the dogs home alone all day on Saturday, I took them on an extra-long walk when we returned.

"Are you coming, Mama?" (notice Belle still has the raccoon?)

All of the girls get very excited when they realize we’re going down the hill. K was excited, but after I abandoned her earlier in the day, she wanted to make sure I was coming along. She is quite the Mama’s girl.

Meg After the Walk
K After the Walk
Belle After the Walk

Sorry for the blurry shot of Belle, but she runs everywhere she goes when we’re off exploring. So getting clear shots of her can sometimes be challenging.

Speaking of Belle… all of the girls enjoyed the long walk, but I think Belle enjoyed it the most. She was in rare form, too. She gets that way periodically. What I mean by rare form in this case is running through a swampy ditch like a crazy dog. I think she likes the way it sounds as she splashes through the water. She runs as fast as she can in one direction, then stops, turns around, and runs as fast as she can in the other direction. It’s quite comical to watch. It’s almost like she downed about 15 cups of coffee and has all this energy to burn off NOW. She’s done it in the little wet-weather stream at the end of our driveway before, too.

The only problem with the swampy ditch is the way she looked when she was done.

So Much For That Pretty Liver-and-White Princess

She looks a bit like K there doesn’t she?

I could make her stay away from the swampy ditch, but she was obviously having such a blast. Besides, once she dries she doesn’t look nearly as bad. (NOTE: I do have more pics, but they’re not very good. They do, however, give you an idea of how goofy she looked running around . Even K thought she was weird! CLICK HERE if you want to see the rest of Belle’s Swamp Dog pics.)

Our walk tired all of the girls out.

Later in the Day, After She'd Dried
Meg Catching Her Breath After the Walk
K Was Catching Her Breath With Meg, Too

Thinking Spring

Spring is definitely here. Wanna know how I know?

It’s Easter, for one.

Not being a particularly religious person, and having adult children, Easter doesn’t mean much to me.

There’s the grandkids, of course. But their father (my son-in-law) has a pretty big family and they tend to celebrate with large family gatherings. So most of our Easters are spent in West Virginia.

We could do the typical grandparent thing and get them Easter baskets full of candy and cheapo toys. But their parents don’t let them have much candy (which is really a very good thing) and they have lots of toys that more often than not end up being discretely disposed of because they totally clutter up their house.

So Easter is pretty much just another day to us. It would be more exciting if we got Good Friday and/or Easter Monday off of work. But we don’t.

Anyway… after Hubby sent me the bunny pic shown above, I decided to see what other kind of Easter humor was out there.

You did see me say I’m not particularly religious, right? I mention that again because some of these are slightly off-color.

They’re not REALLY bad. But they’re not all sunshine, rainbows and cute little bunnies either.

That’s totally something one of my dogs would do.

That last one is my favorite. Nothing like a slightly humorous joke with a picture of crabby-looking old folks.

Okay, okay, I’ll stop. Those images really aren’t all THAT funny. Besides I’d rather share some pictures I took yesterday that really are signs of Spring.

The Redbud Trees are Starting to Bloom
New Growth
More New Growth and Blue Skies
New Growth on Another Bush
The Lizards Have Awakened From Their Long Winter Slumber
The Forest Floor is Coming Alive
Nothing Says Spring Like a Motorcycle All Gassed-up and Ready-to-Ride

That’s it for pictures shot yesterday. But it’s not the end.

When I was at my friend Tracey’s house a few weeks ago, I did more than photograph her poultry. I took some pics around her house. One of my favorites is the one I got of her basket full of chicks. She made them. She’s very crafty. In fact, she’s the one who taught me to make hand-tied quilts.

Tracey's Home-made Chicks

She’s got a great eye for decorating, too. This one picture I took in her kitchen makes the perfect Easter banner with which to end this long and sort of boring post. Sorry.

From Tracey's Springy Kitchen

I hope you have a fabulous Easter!

Why We Became Residential Tourists

Care to venture a guess as to what Hubby and I will be doing this weekend?

Forecast for the Weekend (Romney version)

Those of you who know us really well should have no problem figuring this one out. I mean, look at that weather forecast!

Adding “Romney” to the graphic caption is probably a bit of a giveaway.

Curious about the post title? You know how hard it is to think of interesting and relevant titles for every post? Especially in the morning when one is still half asleep?

If I ever title a post “Untitled” you will know I am having a really bad day…

Anyway, I was reading a book a while back about the history of Appalachia. It talked a bit about the economy, lack of jobs, etc., which explains why a lot of young people move away from the area as soon as they can. Then it talked about folks like us. People who live in our near cities and buy property in the mountains on which they situate a house they only live in on a part-time basis. Mostly weekends, of course.

I thought it a pretty apt and cool descriptor.

So, did you figure it out yet? Maybe this photographic hint will help…

Hubby and I on "The Dragon"

Lucky for us we visited The Dragon when we did, ’cause now it is CLOSED. For serious. It’s temporary, thank goodness. I feel bad for motorcyclists in that area or those who were planning to visit that area this summer. Although there’s always the Hellbender.

Here’s something interesting… the road known as the Hellbender, is now being referred to as the Moonshiner28 by the folks who have capitalized on The Dragon. Here’s a map link that should show Route 129 on the left and Route 28 (Hellbender) on the right. Where The Dragon’s curves are technically challenging, the sweeping curves and twisties on the Hellbender are just plain fun.

If only it were closer…