photos by Elaine A. Russell

Endings are beginnings, and beginnings are endings.... or so the axiom goes. I am not sure who said that.. but I have been thinking about it today.

Today we are going fishing with the hopes of getting a nice trout for supper. I also hope to get to Fezz's 1950's Diner (http://debbyjacks.com/menus/fezzsdiner.html) just outside of town to take some photos. And of course, get some fern photos if I can. It is really overcast again.. so it may not be possible.

Update to come later ~~

UPDATE: well --- we made it to the Diner, but as soon as I got there and started to take a photo.. the power went out. A huge thunderstorm with a tornado watch went thru with 80 mph winds. I got a cup of coffee.. but couldn't get anything else (as the power was out). Torrential rains came down. So --- no fishing.

I came back to town, and FINALLY found my husband's aunt.. I have been to her house several times, and thought I was just missing her. Turns out.. she has been in the hospital for a year, and another 16 months in an assisted living place. When I found her, we both had tears in our eyes. She is in her late 80s.. not sure exactly how old she is. She was working on a puzzle. Her mind is good, but her body is not co-operating. After our visit, I went and picked her a bouquet of sweet peas nearby, and took them back to her for her room.

By then, the storm had mostly passed. I decided that I would try to go to the woods anyway.. and hopefully get a shot or two of ferns. I went all the way past Cherry Springs and the great lookout.. and then down some side dirt roads deep into the heart of the Susquehanna Woods. Got some great photos.. and some awesome mist.

Coming down out of the woods, I stopped at my brother in law's house. I got to visit him and his new wife, his mother (who just had surgery) and is finally retiring from her full time job at the age of 76. I got out my ever-present fishing pole from my car and went fishing on their property. Didn't catch anything.. but the trout were certainly teasing me by jumping up out of the water and shaking their tails at me. My brother in law showed me a snake skin that he found near his basement door this am.. over 3 feet long. Said he didn't know where the snake was, but he was ready to shoot it if he had to. Ya gotta know Bill... .I can certainly see him shooting a snake in his basement.

Also got to visit with my nephew, his girlfriend and one of their daughters. She is adorable.

After that ... I drove into town and stopped quickly at Othmer's Pond. This is one of my favorite places. I remember when I was in high school I used to clean the main home there. There was a second home on the property years ago... the caretaker's house.. but it has since been torn down. As you probably guessed from it's name... there is a huge pond there. It is gorgeous, and not horribly deep in most parts. There is a little island near the middle of the pond. For years.. it was the place where everyone would go to skinny dip in the summer, and ice skate in the winter. It was once a doctor's elite home... but has passed thru several owners since.. and I have no idea who owns it now.. but it looks like it is now a high end retreat place. http://othmerpondestate.com/

Then.. back to my parent's house. It is late.. and I still have some laundry to do if I am going to head out tomorrow. There is supposed to be a county-wide power outage tomorrow. I probably won't be able to get my photos burned to cd from today.. but perhaps I will be able to get them done further on down the road somewhere.