Farewell.....for now.

Well Friends, my packing is almost complete. But the snow continues to fly and has been for what seems like 3 days straight. Of course it is...because I'm getting ready to travel. Typical luck for me. However, I am determined to get on the road early saturday AM and head south.

This lake effect snow has been relentless. It almost feels like rain, but I assure you, it is making one slushy mess of the Rock. We may have gotten close to 6" in the last 36 hours. Still coming down and could get another 2-4" by morning. I will be getting an early start and hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst. Look for me online again early next week. My laptop has been delivered and is waiting for me in the Keys. Meanwhile, I'll be able to post to Facebook with my Ipod. Can't wait to make my first post on "Around the Rock" from the Florida Keys. Until then, keep the home fires burning and I'll be talking to you soon.

Strange Duck

This little fella has been hanging out in the open water in the harbor all winter. We have a bubbler running to keep some piers from lifting with the ice and many different waterfowl gather here. My pics aren't too great, since this guy is so timid and shy. Everytime I try to creep close, he takes off. I'm no hunter, so I'm not sure what kind of duck we are looking at here. Feel free to leave a comment if you can help with the ID. (As with all the pics, you can click on them to greatly enlarge them.) Typically, we see your average seagull and Mallards, but this one is different and always alone. Our bubbler kicks up dead fish off the bottom of the harbor, offering delicacies only a bird would love! We are the largest open air sushi joint on the Rock right now!

Another taste of winter....and more to come!

The forecast called for a dusting.....no more than 1/2" of snow. Wooops! We woke up to at least 2" and another 1" fell during the morning. Not a big deal, as most of it is melting now, but man, it would be great to be a weatherman. No worries about ever being wrong. I know we've all thought to ourselves that if we were wrong so much at our jobs, we'd be standing in the bread line!

Just as this little bit melts, the wind is kicking up and the forecast calls for 2 to 4 more inches tonight and tomorrow. We'll see how the weatherman fares on this call.

Shout Out.........

I wanna give one to Kevin Smith and Anna Fontana, newly engaged and the cutest couple on the Rock ! Both of them enjoy my blog and have repeatedly passed on kind words to me and I just want to say thanks. I plan to keep up the work of bringing news and views of Danbury Twp., as long as everyone enjoys it! I wish I had a good way of tracking who all checks out the blog. I'd really like to know how many people are enjoying it. Feel free to send me an email, just to say hi and give me your thoughts about "Around the Rock". Suggestions would be welcome too. Is there anything you'd like to see a picture of or maybe someone?

shrockbryan@yahoo.com

A Special Invitation.......

I will be taking my blog on the road for the month of March. I will be travelling to the fabulous Florida Keys on saturday to spend the entire month at mile marker 15, just outside of Key West. We have a small home rented there and I look forward to spending some quality time working on my writing and improving my attitude. Most of all, I look forward to Maria coming down for some much needed relaxation, along with daughter Hillary and her boyfriend Adam. My parents will pop in for a couple of nights as well. I realize this is a tough assignment for me to tackle, but I am committed to bringing, you, my reader, quality postings, even though I'm away from the Rock.

Please join me, as I try to bring you down to my favorite place on earth to show and tell you about the fabulous scenery, history, fishing, entertainment and sunsets. It is with mixed emotions that I leave the Rock for such an extended amout of time. This will be a test to see if this is a place that we could someday call home. I look forward to the experience and would be honored if you would check back often for updates.

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.