The Leaves of Brown Come Tumbling Down.....

Well, it's only been six months since my last post. Summer came and went far too quickly. The season here in Lewes is marked by increased traffic, full restaurants, and many visitors to the Little House in Pawpaw's Forest. The traffic and the full restaurants we could do without, but we love to have visitors. Our guest room was always booked and housekeeping was always kept busy getting it ready for the next guests.

The boat was a great escape from the blistering heat this summer. we would often go out and anchor in the bay, jump on the Pirate Couch, and just hangout with our feet in the water and a Manhattan or Bloody Mary in hand.

The Pirate Couch for the uninitiated is this Towable that we pull behind the boat. The Benjamonkey coined the name last year and it stuck.

Late summer saw me getting ready for the Osher class I taught this fall. It was a 5 session course that required me to put together about 7 hours of lecture. It was entitled "The Civil War Through the Eyes of One Family," and it was based on 4 letters that my 3Xgreat uncle wrote to his parents and brother. I can't tell you the amount of time it took to prepare, but it was hours and hours. I ended up with 50 pages of lecture and 212 Powerpoint slides. The course was well attended with an average of 33 students each week,  and it seemed to be well received by those who kept coming back. In a moment of insanity, I offered to reprise it in the spring at both Osher campuses here in Lower Slower Delaware. At least I won't have to prepare it from scratch!

This was my title slide that I used to open each session. It was accompanied by Ashokan Farewell, the song that Ken Burns used as a theme for his "Civil War" documentary.

Tomorrow, Jill and I will be presenting at one of the Lewes Historical Society's "Lunch and Learns."
Our topic is Three Loves of Lewes. I will be talking about a love triangle, murder, and attempted murder that took place back in 1799 for our first Love Story. The second will be the failed romance of Betsy Patterson and Jerome Bonaparte in 1804. Jill will then take over and talk about her first novel, Bay Avenue, and why Lewes is the perfect setting for romance. We are really excited about doing this, but having it come right on the heals of the Osher class was just a bit nerve wracking.  I think we have pulled it off and by this time tomorrow it will be all over but the shouting.

 

And this brings us to Fall. The leaves are starting to collect in Pawpaw's Forest, the Pine needles are collecting on the roof, and the temps are only getting into the high 60s. Thoughts of pulling the boat for the season are creeping their way to the forefront of our minds and conversations. 

The guests are slowing down, and trips up to babysit the Benjamonkey and Even Evan are on the calendar, and that's okay with me......

Flights of Fancy

Flights of Fancy

Well another year has passed by since my last blog entry. The Road to Hell is now a multi-laned expressway. How do these things happen? I really intended to make regular entries in this blog. Since my last entry, last May, so much has happened in our lives. We still love living here in Slower Lower Delaware. Retirement is still the best gig ever. As you can see from the above pictures, the birds still come to the feeders in Pawpaw's Forest.
Last summer flew by in a succession of days on the boat or days on the beach. We are so blessed to have the option of how we will spend our days. Most of the time we would just go out on the bay, drop the anchor and read, fish, or have a cocktail. Those times give credence to one of my favorite quotes from Wind in the Willows - "It's the only thing," said the Water Rat Solemnly, as he leaned forward for his stroke. "Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” - by Kenneth Grahame
The Water Rat speaks the truth here. We love just being on the water.

The Fall found us involved in The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, a branch of the University of Delaware. For $225 we can sign up for a number of courses dealing with everything from Basketweaving to Mahjong ....... So far we have taken courses on Art Theft and Forgery, Delaware in the 20th Century, Birding, Chili Sampling, Philosophy, Chorus, and The Weather. I will be teaching an Osher course this fall on "The Civil War Through the Eyes of One Family." Using my genealogical research on my ancestors, documents and letters they wrote, and a lot of research on the Civil War, I will look at how members of my 3XGreat grandfather participated and were affected by the battles in which they were involved. Primarily I will be looking at The Battle of Balls Bluff, McClellan's Peninsula Campaign, and The Battle of Fredricksburg. I am really excited and looking forward to it.

Osher is also responsible for my new found hobby of Birding. The Birding course I took in the Fall and the new camera I got for my birthday, got me fired up about our feathered friends. Since October, I have taken thousands of pictures of birds. Most of them are posted on my Facebook page in a couple different albums Bill Hicks. every morning I sit and have my coffee looking out into the 150 acres of woods that abuts our property and take pictures of the birds, and squirrels, that come into my feeders. The pictures above are from this morning and are pretty representative of a typical day.

This winter found me Volunteering with the Lewes Historical Society and becoming one of their Interpreters of Living History. My "character"is Gilbert McCracken, a Delaware Bay and River Pilot of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was born in 1766 and died in 1839. He fought in the war of 1812, participated in the Defense of Lewes during the Bombardment of April 6th and 7th, 1813, and was injured when a cannon exploded as he as loading it. He and his son Henry, also a Pilot, made the first attempt, in 1805, at recovering the treasure from the HMS DeBraak, which sank off of Cape Henlopen in 1799.

                       Here I am dressed in my 18th Century garb as Gilbert McCracken

We took our annual Florida Trip the first two weeks of January, and took our bikes. We logged 58 bike miles on the trip, much of it in Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge and Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. It was a great chance for us to catch up with family and friends and enjoy a little warm weather while we were at it!

Also this winter saw the arrival of Evan Gideon Copeland, our second grandson, on February 11th. He was such a little peanut at 6lbs 8 oz, compared to Benjamonkey's 8lbs 6 oz. They are both growing so fast I can't stand it.

That brings us to Spring. The garden is in, the birds are migrating back, the boat is in the water and the promise of Summer is just around the corner. The political campaigns are beginning to really heat up now and settle in to the two probable candidates, Hillary Clinton for the Democrats and Donald Trump for the Republicans. I have followed the debates, and Town Hall meetings since the beginning and look forward to these two meeting head to head. I will reserve any comment for a future blog.
Again, like I said last year, I will really try to be a better blogger and post something more often. My intentions are good, but as we know..... the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

In the meantime, I'll enjoy my birds, boat and babies ... and I am more than okay with that.