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......