Crossing the Conestoga River

Bob was at the Conestoga River Bridge today and this is the movie he made. I think it's pretty good!

Following the Three Mile Island Generators

In anticipation of tomorrows move, we went to see what was going on with the generators that are being towed to Three Mile Island and are now within three miles of my home.

The pair of huge cranes with cables that will support the Conestoga River bridge as the generators are transported across this bridge on their next leg of the journey. This road has been closed for the past month as PennDot prepared the roads and bridges for this event.

The two turbine generators are now parked at the Rock Hill Tavern, where many of the patrons park when they visit this establishment for the great beer and sandwiches this 200 year old tavern is known for.

These next photos are of the generators.

It was a beautiful day today. We couldn't just drive up to the generators, but parked a few hundred feet away and walked to the tavern and the generators.

The generators are accompanied by their envoy of police, and transporters including the travel trailers for the folks with them.

Shenck's Wildflower Preserve

Not far from my home there is a Wildflower Preserve called Shenck's Ferry WildflowerPreserve. I visited there today. This first picture is a shot of the road we followed to get there. This is Greenhill Road right near my home.
As you travel further south on Greenhill Road, it becomes a one-lane country road. Here it is near the intersection of Shenck's Ferry Road.

You still go further south on Greenhill and follow the signs to the wildflower preserve, the road turns into a small cow path that is totally unpaved and cuts through the woods. This is a wonderful find! And a great place to hike. Taking a car on this road may not be such a good idea because the ruts are almost 1½ feet deep in places.

A wildflower with a bee

A pond near my home.

The typical government sign for the area.

An incredible find!!! Who'da thought! A tunnel in the middle of nowhere! It leads nowhere but maybe once it was a bridge over the road for a railroad. There is now no sign of any type of railroad any longer.

Looking through the tunnel.

The tunnel from the other side. The mountain runs over top of it and trees are growing nicely.

The plaque is hard to read but it says that the tunnel was built in 1905, probably before the horseless carriage came here. It also has listed the contractors and builders of the tunnel.

Another wildflower along the way.

A wild Widdow's Tears.

More wildflowers found along the way.

We didn't travel the entire length of Greenhill Road. It would be an entire day's hike and that's not the time to get there or climb the mountain to get home. We were out about 3 hours today and this is what we saw. It is lovely there.

See if this works

This is home.

Roadside shots

Between the struggles at work and concerns of family, I've been keeping myself fairly busy the past couple of months. This morning I went for a walk to just enjoy the quietness of the morning. Most folks don't know about the small cluster of homes on top this mountain. We are surrounded by woods that meander down the mountain and small country roads that wind through them. Each year I live here, the woods encroach a little more on this small cluster of home; something I don't mind at all. This morning the peacefulness of this mountaintop wrapped around me like a warm cozy blanket and the birds and insects serenaded me. It's a good day.

Some shots of local and distant areas I've been visiting.

Somerset County - many coal strip mines have left this area barren. The earth is healing itself, but is taking much time to do so.
The Safe Harbor Dam.


The railroad that follows the Susquehanna River


Indian writing on the walls of the dam.

The burial site of Flight 93.

A country road.

A bridge over the Conestoga River at the Port of Lancaster.

The Holiday

Yellow Daisy.

I spent most of my holiday around the house weeding and digging up volunteers that weren't in a good spot. I also planted a new shade garden under the oak. Very pretty. Nice weekend so far.

This is Oranges and Lemons Gallerdia

Mister Lincoln Rose

Asiatic lily, Kansas

Asiatic daylily, Grand Cru

Fanfair Gailardia

Baltimore Oriole daylily.

Daylilies in the garden

Some of the really fine daylilies in my garden. I do enjoy these plants.



Wineberry Candy











Red Hot Returns













R&R Rose Crush












Night Beacon








Little Girl










Julie's Pick. This one is unusual because it is a cross between Pink Damask and King Porcelain. This is not one that you will find in any catalog as I call it this. I think it is a very lovely Daylily and it has been in my garden for the past two years. I have three fans of it now and will most likely divide it for my sisters. Maybe I should see about getting it registered if it holds another year.

Indian Giver

Forgotten Dreams

Barbary Corsair

Aurora Raspberry

From the garden

Night Beacon Daylily

Electric Lady Miniflora Rose

Barberry Corsair Daylily

Aurora Raspberry Daylily

These are just a few of the wonderful flower bounty this year.

I know I've not been here much, but things have been happening. More on that later.

New Favorite Roses!

Who says climber aren't as pretty as hybrid teas? These two older large climbers are topping my chart right now with the shear number of blooms, the amount of new growth and the strength of very good roses. The color of Summer Wine is very luscious as is the fragrance. There are few coral/pink roses that I really like and this is one.

Summer Wine ~ Kordes, Germany, 1984, Parentage Unknown.

Another new (for me) variety that has impressed me is City of York, a lovely white rose with very yellow centers and stamens and a fragrance that is extremely mouth watering and unique.

This is also an extremely vigorous rose similar to a rambler. The buds are a creamy yellow opening into a lovely white bloom with the bright yellow stamens. It was named after the city of York, Pennsylvania.

City of York ~ Tantau, Germany, 1945, 'Professor Gnau' x 'Dorthy Perkins'.

Both these roses were planted last year and allowed to grow a full year before they started blooms. It is normal for climbers to bloom on old wood, so they do need that first year to gather their strength and grow some wood for the following season.

I was also impressed with the strength and ability to overwinter in my area. Neither had any winter kill and started just where they left off this spring. I've been watching these roses as they pushed out this spring and budded up. Now I will get to see them boom in all their glory and wonder why I hid these terrific beauties back around the square foot garden. Actually it was the only place I had with a fence large enough for these large beauties to grow on. And when I thought about it, I spend a good many of my early mornings and almost every evening back in the garden tending it, so they will get seen and enjoyed on a daily basis.

I spent a year deciding on which roses I wanted for this area and another year as they got their start. It was a decision that I am not displeased with at all.