Monday Morning

Ahhhh, I hate going so long without posting to my blog. So many things going on and so little time for the computer. I've been busy tying up loose ends before I head out for the Florida Keys on saturday. I have a project that I must finish at work and most importantly, I must finish painting our master bedroom at home. Family gathered on sunday in Fostoria to celebrate Maria's Dad's 75th birthday. Fantastic food and fun conversation. NOBODY tells a story like Pops does. Sure, I've heard a few of them before, but he never fails to come up with something that I've never heard before. If I see and do 20% of what he's experienced, I will have lived a great life. And of course, the food was amazing.

I guess we were spared the wrath of nature today. Instead of 6" of snow or a coating of freezing rain, we simply had about an inch of slop on the ground and on our windshields this morning. I suppose we are getting ready to transition to spring. However, we will probably be blasted with one more good snowfall. Everyone loves spring, but we sometimes forget that the transition consists of wet snow, cold rain, ankle deep mud and temps in the 40s for a period of time. Not a pleasant process, but it's the price we pay to experience the four seasons.

Warm Thoughts

I thought maybe it was time for another installment of "Warm Thoughts" to cheer those of us up who are up to our ears in snow, or for those that miss the North Coast and the natural beauty of Lake Erie.

These shots were taken while I participated in the Blessing of the Fleet, in downtown Put-In-Bay. This annual event gathers together patrol, rescue and ferry boats from the area, to receive the blessing for a safe and prosperous season. It usually takes place in mid or late April and the weather rarely cooperates. However, this was a rare year where the seas were calm and the skies were clear. After the blessing, the captains and crew usually gather for lunch and camraderie for a couple of hours. It is a fantastic tradition and one that I look forward to every year.

Back on the Rock

I got back into town on Sunday afternoon, man is it good to be home! Nothing beats sleeping in your own bed, where you know the comforter is truly clean!!!! (You know the feeling.) I spent the weekend in a pretty dumpy Ramada Inn in Fredericksburg, VA. Why? Well, for the love of my hobby (beer can collecting) and the enjoyment of seeing friends, some who I see only at this show. However, the old Ramada Inn is on it's last legs. The heavy snow load on it's roof was causing issues, such as leakage, major leakeage in the lobby and common areas, where collectors had displays. The place no doubt has mold and a funky odor. Many rooms have issues with plumbing, electrical, heating and just plain uncleanliness. Now don't get me wrong, I would never stand for this or even consider staying in such a place, if I didn't really, really want to be at this show. But I think the powers-that-be may have had enough of this place. It could very well be demolished soon, so who knows?

Anyway, good to be home. Yes, it continues to snow. Currently, we have about 1" of new fluff with another 2" possible. Mid and southern Ohio is getting the bulk of this current system. After this passes, the weather looks to be fairly calm for the next 7 days, with temps being bearable in the 20's and low 30's. I'm staying busy by beginning some boat work such as bottom painting and refinishing, ordering stock for our store and answering a few phone calls from eager boaters. At home, my goal is to paint our bedroom in the week, before I travel to Florida for the month of March. Very much looking forward to spending March in the Florida Keys, just outside of Key West. I'm hoping to have a laptop for the trip, so I can maintain my blog and keep you all updated with cool pics and stories from my favorite place in the World. Keep reading and thanks for stopping by.

My Crazy Hobby: Beer can collecting

I'm off on another road trip that will take me away from "Around the Rock" for a few days. I'll be travelling to Fredericksburg, VA for a.......Beer Can Show. Yep, you read that correctly. People still do that. It was huge back in the 70s and 80s, but really tapered off. However, there are still some hard core collectors that hung on and still enjoy buying, selling and trading cans. I'll be gone for the weekend and will be hanging out with over 600 other can junkies at a dumpy Ramada Inn that rolls out the dirty carpet for us. But it's a great time and we have the run of the place. My specialty is older Ohio cans. Sorry, I don't need your Billy Beer, Mash or JR beer cans....those are worthless and have not interest or value. So again, thanks for checking out my blog and I'll be back at it on Monday, February 15th.

We Survived !!

Well, looks like Danbury Township survived the latest bout with Old Man Winter. I would be surprised if we actually got 10 inches of snow, might be more like 8. The bulk of the snow fell between 7am tuesday and noon today, as things really tapered off. The best part of all is so far, we haven't gotten the high winds that were originally forecasted. Of course, they could still kick up and blow this fluffy stuff around, as it looks like the snow will be hanging around for awhile. I hope you enjoy the few pics I took around our home and at Shrock's Marina. As far as I know, we had no downed trees or powerlines and no power outages in the area. The roads are in pretty good shape as I write this.

Deer Population Report

Spotted this deer herd on my way home from work today. You are looking at a field on the east side of Englebeck road, just north of the old railroad tracks. This is a common gathering point for the deer. It's a cut corn or bean field and evidently, they are still able to find some morsels for nourishment. In all, there was upwards of 20 deer milling about, but I spooked some of them. Others were just around the corner of field, out of camera range. I'm amazed at the number of deer you can spot in this area. I'm amazed that we don't have more car vs. deer accidents, but am surely thankful for that. I never seem to get bored spotting deer.

The Calm Before the Storm

I'm sure tomorrow and wednesday mornings will look much different in our backyard, but for the moment, this winter day got off to a beautiful start. You can see that there is a low fog hanging across the fields, like a comforter to keep the ground and her creatures warm. But to no avail, as the temps were as cold as zero around our area today. Most structures, natural or man-made, had a coating of heavy frost and ice crystals. With an impending storm on the way, we had no choice just to savor today's beauty and hunker down for what awaits us in the coming days. It's amazing how you can take for granted where you live, getting bored with the same old scenery. Then, you wake up to a scene such as this and you are provided with a completely different outlook.