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.

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.

Nature's Artistry

Such a magical morning we woke up to today. The air was still and cold. The sun was just breaking over the horizon. The setting was so eerie with the silence of the morning. You can hear a pin drop on these mornings when such a chill is in the air and the wind is nonexistent. I walked out on our back deck to shoot these pics as the temps hovered in the low single digits. But the cold wasn't a factor with the beauty of the morning.

Mother Nature squeezed every last bit of moisture out of the air to form these ice crystals. So fragile, yet so dramatic. Not enough moisture, too much wind or not cold enough and her efforts go unnoticed. But on this particular morning, she has outdone herself.

Sum Sum Summertime !

As a major winter storm is bearing down on us, preparing to drop 6 to 12 inches of snow, if not more, my thoughts turn to more pleasant memories. Boating, fishing and enjoying 70 degree plus temps. I can't wait to enjoy my new hobby of perch fishing again. I did it quite a bit as a kid, but got away from it as an adult. Since we love eating perch so much, I decided to get back into it. Maria loves to fish as well, so it makes for a nice activity we can do together. A good friend of mine at the marina, Buc and my Dad got out a few times together too. I always thought fishermen were crazy. They are still crazy, but why not join the craziness? It's fun, relaxing and puts food on the table.

Check back often for updates. I have more pics to post later.

Snowmobile Adventure

I wish to bid you all a fond farewell as I embark on my annual adventure to the Great White North. Indian River, MI is my destination, where I shall meet up with my group of sledding friends. I've been riding with these characters for almost 25 years, doesn't seem possible. Included in that group is my Dad, who will be 68 this year. Still going strong and loving snowmobiling as much as ever. Upon my return, I will resume my "bloggin operations" and continue to bring you news and views from Danbury Township. I sure do appreciate the kind words about the blog. Please continue to spread the word to your friends and family. I will see you all again on Saturday, Feb.6th.