tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45092413762463884952012-01-13T00:48:17.639-05:00City Slipper offers regular vicarious escape from the city to rural America. If you live in a city, but entertain thoughts of going rural, City Slipper provides insights into what awaits you.Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.comBlogger251100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-4643228601914546182008-09-20T12:00:00.002-04:002008-11-01T22:07:01.376-04:00

I shop for groceries at as many as five places: The local Weis Market, a modern, typical grocery store; the local Super Walmart for a few items that are crazy expensive elsewhere; the Farmers’ Market on Wednesdays and the Flea Market on Thursdays for fresh and often local produce; and the nearby Mennonite grocery store where nearly everything is amazingly inexpensive.I call it the Mennonite

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-7745389690690253662008-09-13T12:00:00.002-04:002008-11-01T22:09:33.610-04:00

Here’s something I enjoy a few times every month or so: moonglow. It occurred to me recently, that moonglow might be a completely unknown phenomenon to someone who lives in the city. Sure, city dwellers see the moon, but they also see the light from thousands of electric-powered lights; except during a power outage, there’s never a time when the moon lights up a city. Often in the countryside,

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-23395960586406971832008-09-07T21:29:00.005-04:002008-11-01T22:10:29.874-04:00

I enjoy the comedy of John Stewart on the Daily Show, and was quite amused on Friday by his piece on small town values. (Follow this link if you want to see it.) Ignoring the political focus of the segment, I imagined myself trying to answer the question, “What, exactly, are small town values?” It’s a challenging exercise.Uniquely Small Town Values?The only value I can think of that may be

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-66041364810304781352008-08-26T12:00:00.005-04:002008-11-01T22:11:30.848-04:00

A week has passed since the event, but it’s still fresh in my mind as if it happened only minutes ago: my son went down with his pirate ship, the White Pearl. (No worries. He came back up. This story is not a tragedy.) About five weeks back, my son’s friend invited my son to participate in Sunbury’s upcoming Cardboard Boat Regatta. Roughly, the rules require that boats entered in the regatta be

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-73898932547724665472008-08-18T12:00:00.003-04:002008-08-19T08:27:16.465-04:00

This past weekend, my wife and I attended the wedding of one of her friends. In my experience, it was an uncommon event: it was held at a farmer’s produce store outside of town.I’ve attended, perhaps, twenty weddings. Most were held in churches, followed by drives to country clubs or hotels or other places that could hold crowds for meals and dancing. Only three weddings I’ve attended were

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-74151693140079149402008-08-13T12:00:00.003-04:002008-08-17T22:11:04.675-04:00

While at the Mennonite grocery store today, I did quite a bit of shameless people-watching:There was a heavy old woman who I saw only from the rear as she selected a cart outside the store, pushed it in front of the entrance door, and stopped there to read the specials listing—blocking my way for several seconds (very unhealthy seconds for a former Bostonian). When finally she started walking, it

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-61581227567223324862008-08-08T23:54:00.003-04:002008-08-08T23:59:16.592-04:00

It is so intensely fair season in central Pennsylvania. Every small town, every county, and every fire station…as well as some farm stores, a hospital or two, and bunches of churches, sponsor fairs, festivals, or carnivals. With some of these events running for a day, others for a weekend, and still others for an entire week, it’s impossible to patronize all of them. For that matter, smaller

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-61161458464925453302008-08-03T12:00:00.001-04:002008-08-04T08:59:42.557-04:00

On Thursday of this past week, the prominent headline on the front page of our local paper read, “BEAR RUNS WILD IN TOWN.” This newspaper, the Daily Item, originates from Sunbury, a town about 10 miles south of Lewisburg. The paper covers the central Susquehanna Valley, including such places as Selinsgrove, Milton, Mifflinburg, Middleburg, Northumberland, Danville, Elysburg, Warrior Run, and

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-70898951541561530252008-07-28T12:00:00.003-04:002008-07-31T15:26:06.818-04:00

A few weeks ago, my oldest son participated in his annual piano recital. His teacher organizes her students into recitals from their earliest lessons—in fact, this year a kid who had had only one or two lessons participated: he bowed to the audience.As always, the recital was at a nursing home. This provides a change of routine for residents who choose to attend. There was a piano in the

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-49641758010562936942008-07-24T12:00:00.003-04:002008-07-31T09:48:23.956-04:00

What a wet shopping day! Since I took over cooking for the household back in December, I’ve done the grocery shopping on Wednesdays. Yesterday, it happened to be raining quite hard during my excursion.My shopping trip usually includes visits to a Mennonite grocery store, to the Lewisburg Farmers’ Market, to the nearly adjacent recycling center, and to Weis Market, the local branch of a typical

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-31969888572318802932008-07-21T12:00:00.002-04:002008-07-29T10:48:46.948-04:00

I love hay season. The timing of the season varies from farm-to-farm, but usually the local farmers cut and harvest in late June or early July, and again in September. Much depends on rain. In some seasons, central Pennsylvania farmers may get three cuttings of hay, and in a very dry year, the second cutting can be a great disappointment.Making hay is a simple task. You begin by having a

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-61387083685411725522008-07-17T12:00:00.001-04:002008-07-28T20:46:35.003-04:00

Natural gas is available in Lewisburg. Many residents can have it piped to their houses, but I live beyond the reach of the natural gas lines. So, without spending coin for infrastructure updates, I have no choice but to run all my heating systems on electricity.About a hundred years ago, electricity might not have been an option. Then, there was a movement under way to run electric

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-64850823465702509582008-07-14T12:00:00.001-04:002008-07-24T13:23:08.846-04:00

I take a camera with me nearly every time I leave the house (except, perhaps, for three out of four dog walks). Most times, the camera is a nuisance, hanging on a shoulder or around my neck and flopping in the way when I walk quickly, bend over, carry things, or otherwise do something active. Occasionally, I see something beautiful, odd, or unusual that begs me to capture an image. While it

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-56343604997997551862008-07-10T12:00:00.001-04:002008-07-24T13:15:22.336-04:00

Summer camp season is upon us. My oldest son has already completed a week at Susquehanna University’s Wind Ensemble Institute, a sleepover camp at which he spent as many as six hours a day practicing clarinet in preparation for a recital and a concert at week’s end. (The concert was very impressive for an ensemble of mostly high school kids.)My daughter is away this week as a Girl Scout. She’s

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-73162094235020827932008-07-06T12:00:00.002-04:002008-07-20T22:00:07.468-04:00

Independence Day has given rise to a family tradition at our house: What with the town’s official “End of June” celebration now a week behind us, we invite a bunch of people to party on the Fourth. This year we organized a dish-to-share dinner. We grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and provided various soft drinks. Guests brought salads, casseroles, desserts, and whatever alcoholic drinks they

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-19152715213563077312008-07-02T12:00:00.001-04:002008-07-20T21:53:39.782-04:00

I track the progression of summer by the free food available in my neighborhood. When strawberries ripen in the meadow across the street—or in my yard if I don’t mow often enough—I know that summer is upon us. The berries are copious, and could provide for many shortcakes but for one problem: these are woodland strawberries, and they don’t have much flavor. In fact, they’re not even juicy.I

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-74072339734811794612008-06-28T12:00:00.001-04:002008-07-20T21:47:39.354-04:00

Lewisburg has one of the most amazing end-of-June celebrations you could imagine. Here’s the plan for this year: Wednesday, Sousa in the park. Thursday, Yankee Doodle Dandy at the local movie theatre. Friday, a big band concert on the lawn followed by fireworks. Saturday, a parade followed by concerts on the lawn and picnicking under the trees.If it sounds suspiciously like a 4th of July

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-55405169719482767712008-06-26T12:00:00.001-04:002008-07-20T21:42:06.767-04:00

Starting in June of each year, Lewisburg sponsors music in the park. This is one of the great entertainment bargains available anywhere: there’s no charge to attend, and you can take along your own seating and snacks. The park in question is Hufnagel. The music varies.Hufnagel Park sits in the western third of the downtown business district. It is a narrow block, but quite deep with a creek

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-36682403017264680902008-06-21T12:00:00.001-04:002008-07-20T21:36:35.495-04:00

With my wife, Stacy, teaching summer school, I had taken my kids to Ithaca for a week at my dad’s lake house. Stacy finished teaching on Thursday, and went north to join us for that evening, for Friday (summer school runs Monday through Thursday), and for Saturday morning. To the great joy of the kids, Stacy took the dog along.Cocoa was thrilled to visit the lake cottage. There must have been

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-29027674155179390102008-06-20T12:00:00.002-04:002008-07-20T21:32:20.659-04:00

Vacationing at my dad’s cottage on the west shore of Cayuga lake, I’m drawn to the dock that provides level access to the water. I love the water—it seems there’s always something happening on, in, or around it, yet it can have a very calming effect. I’ve been to the dock alone a few times during this trip.Along this section of the lake, rock cliffs climb twenty to thirty feet from the water’s

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-30387485716051507282008-06-19T12:00:00.002-04:002008-07-20T21:24:01.716-04:00

My geology professor in college took our class on a field trip to Robert H Treman State Park just south of Ithaca, NY. Trails within the park run along a large stream that has carved a gorge in which you can identify several examples of geological phenomena we’d studied in class: rotational slump, landslide, bedding planes, rock fracture, plunge pools, freeze-thaw, running-water erosion,

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-67734215791152240882008-06-17T12:00:00.001-04:002008-07-20T21:19:22.611-04:00

Until about ten days ago, my family was headed to South Carolina for this third week of June to visit my wife’s parents. My wife had offered to teach summer school if the need arose… and it suddenly did; so we postponed the trip. But could we find another week during which all the kids were available for a family trip this summer? Of course not.So, to salvage any hope of a “family” vacation, I

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-46398868853572617732008-06-13T12:00:00.001-04:002008-07-20T21:12:28.173-04:00

Discussions abound about what makes golf great: the history of the game, the challenge, golf course design, player personalities, character of the players, camaraderie with your playing partners… Some commentators wax poetic. Others speak with reverence, describing certain courses as “hallowed ground.”Great friendships grow around golf. Generally, you meet other golfers when one of your buddies

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-63626859947642430232008-06-10T12:00:00.006-04:002008-07-20T21:09:37.448-04:00

I’d just taken the left branch at a fork in the road, when I glanced across a large field to my right and noticed what resembled a stonework aqueduct. Curious, I continued along the field, looking for a route toward the stonework, but none became apparent—until I turned around and went back to the fork. Driving along the right branch of the fork, I could tell I was nearing the unusual structure

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4509241376246388495.post-9515134192250682412008-06-06T12:00:00.002-04:002008-07-20T20:39:13.820-04:00

When I was young, there were peonies in my parents’ yard. The extent of my fascination with those peonies was related to ants: as the flower buds developed and then blossomed, little ants crawled around on them. Each spring, I’d watch for a minute or two, and then find something interesting to do.I must have liked those ants because when I finally moved into my home in rural America, I

Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14143709305669136276noreply@blogger.com0