Author: bbpeck

So our Delaware sit went a little differently than planned. Last Friday night, Cassie, the sweet 13 year old Golden Retriever that we were caring for, started really struggling to get herself up and get herself in a comfy position when she was lying down. Her back legs didn’t seem to have any strength.

Saturday morning, she wasn’t better, so we reached out to the homeowners. They felt that she had probably hurt herself getting on and off a bed or on their wood floors and thought it might resolve itself. By Sunday night, all were in agreement that she needed to see the vet. We got a 4 pm appointment on Monday, and they prescribed some anti inflammatory pills.

We were skeptical. At this point, Cassie’s back legs were not working, and we were having to lift her to get her to get up and change positions, go outside,or get up to eat. We had put extra floor coverings down in the house because she couldn’t get any traction on the wood flooring. The happy news is the pills worked. Starting some time Wednesday, she started getting stronger. Today, when we left her, she was back to “normal” except that she wasn’t hopping upon furniture, which is probably a good thing. Bob and I made sure one of us was always with her, so we became quite attached. She is a sweetie.

Today we left Cassie to drive what we thought would be a maybe 6.5 hour drive to Greensboro, NC. Holiday car travel made it over an hour longer. We drove through Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, and Virginia before stopping for the night.

The pics below are mostly from our drive through Maryland before everything slowed way down going around DC and then through Virginia.

Tomorrow, we are going to stop in Boiling Springs, NC, to visit a former home owner and neighbor that we got to know over a 4 month housesit early in 2023, before we head to a repeat housesit in Atlanta, Georgia.

Just a quick blog today (photos mostly) from our near freezing walk along the Isaac Branch Trail segment of the St. Jones River. It is a well maintained asphalt pathway which runs alongside the St. Jones River, and is part of the Capital City Trails Network.

This portion of the trail is 2.6 miles long. We walked 2 miles before turning around. Had we known the total length ahead of time, we would have likely went until the end. The signs along the route show greater distances, so it must connect to other trails.

Here’s the pics. It was a lovely walk. We saw one other walker and one well bundled up cyclist. We continue to be surprised by how marshy this area is, but we are less than 10 miles from the coast.

Note about St. Jones. The internet tells me that a John Jones (1530-1598) was a Franciscan monk, born in Wales, and executed in England. He is one of the 40 martyrs of England and Wales, lay and religious Catholics men and women who were executed between 1535 and 1679 for offenses under various laws enacted by Parliament during the English Reformation.

After a very rainy Wednesday, Bob and I headed to the Air Mobility Command Museum on a much cooler (high of 44 F but feels like temp 10 degrees cooler) but drier day. The museum is located South of Dover Air Force Base in and around an old WWII hangar. It’s free to the public, and is the only museum in the United States dedicated to the history of airlifts and air refueling. We learned a bit about that, but mostly, we ogled old and some current (in the sky) military planes.

Upon entering, there is a small theater that continuously runs 4 different films — one about the Air Force and 3 about different types of planes. We saw all of 2 films about the C-5 (biggest plane at the museum) and the KC-10, which does mid-air refueling. Crazy to watch and cannot imagine trying to make that happen. We then explored the inside of the museum and an old control tower before heading out to see the planes and other outdoor exhibits.

Bob and I had to get out and enjoy the unusually warm December weather today (high of 59 F!), so we headed out to a local park for a hike through the woods.

While we found the park online, it was not marked when we got to the site, so we think this is where we hiked but we’re not sure. If it was Hunn (and we think it was), it has 173 acres and contains a couple of tidal basins. There was also no trail signage except for the one below. Still, a pretty walk on a lovely day.

Bob and I headed out today to see some of the local sites. First, we headed to Fifer Orchards to peruse their farm market. Fifer Orchards is located in the nearby community of Wyoming, Delaware, about a 15 minute drive from the house. It has a population of about 1,700 and was named after the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania.

On the way back from the orchard, we stopped at a couple of other places in Wyoming as well. First, was the Rider Country Store in an old rail depot building.

Finally, we wanted to get some photos of a couple of historical landmarks in Magnolia that we had read about.

Bob and I arrived yesterday morning in Magnolia, Delaware, for maybe our 4th housesit where we will not actually meet the homeowners. We had lots of communication ahead of time, but our respective travel schedules didn’t overlap, so no meet up.

This is our first housesit in the state that was first of the original 13 colonies to ratify the constitution. The town of Magnolia, population 285, is in Kent County, just south of the state capital of Dover. The area was originally known as Caroon Manor when the land was given by the Duke of York, the owner of the land that was subsequently named Magnolia after his favorite tree. Another fun Wikipedia fact, the founders chose to have a circular boundary for the town to represent brotherhood (obviously, no one was thinking about representing sisterhood).

Within the town of Magnolia, we are located within the community of Champions’ Club. It is a 55+ active adult community. It boasts a golf course and has street names like Nicklaus and Augusta National. I do appreciate being consistent with a theme.

More importantly, we are caring for the very sweet Cassie, a 12 year old Golden Retriever.

Today, after stocking up on some groceries. We walked along the greenway path behind the community center. Along the walk, we saw indications that there was a former golf course along the walk that has given way to park space for the newer housing development.

This was a short sit for us. We leave tomorrow after just over a week stay with four fun felines. They have kept us entertained. Here’s some of our favorite photos.

Tomorrow afternoon, we head towards our next sit in Delaware.

Late this morning, Bob and I drove out to a trailhead to walk part of a rail to trail path that he had found. The temp was in the mid 20s F, but it was sunny and the path and trail were beautiful. Here’s the proof.

The part of the trail we were on ran alongside the Cheshire Reservoir of the Hoosic River. There appeared to be some cute houses or communities across the reservoir.

After our walk, we treated ourselves to a lunch out in a cafe in downtown Pittsfield before coming back to the house. And then this.

The snow wasn’t predicted until tomorrow night, so this was a surprise. Could get up to 5 inches tomorrow night, but parts of New York and other states have had over 1 foot.

Today, we picked the Berkshire community of Stockbridge to explore. With a population of just over 2,000, it is the smallest of the towns that we have visited. We started with a hike to a tower. It was a short but fairly steep hike and our first (almost) winter hike in a long time.

After we returned to the car, we headed to the Norman Rockwell Museum. We weren’t planning to go in today, but I wanted to at least get a photo of it. We got some extra surprises.

What we didn’t know is that Norman Rockwell’s son Peter is a sculptor and some of his work is displayed on the grounds. If you’re using your (perhaps big) head, you’ll see where this is going.

Then we headed back into downtown to check out the shops. We found a few to poke through as well as some just classic New England style buildings and a fun old hotel.

December already?! Today, I visited the home of the writer Edith Wharton (1862-1937). She was born into upper-class New York “aristocracy” who went on to become an award-winning author. Her most popular novels are “The House of Mirth,” “Ethan Frome,” and “The Age of Innocence,” for which she was the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Literature. She was also the first woman to receive an honor doctorate of letters from Yale.

She was also a garden and interior designer and wrote several design books. The home I visited today, The Mount in Lenox, Massachusetts, was an example of her design principles and her primary residence from 1902-1911, after which she moved permanently to France (without her husband from whom she was ultimately divorced).

When she moved, she took all of her belongings with her, so the furnishings of the house are period appropriate but not hers except for the architectural details, paintings put into the walls, and 1500 of her personal collection of books that the foundation purchased for the home.

The grounds are beautiful as well, and she designed the gardens. There is also a pet cemetery, as she and her husband had five dogs.