Saturday

Brisk out! 35.2 degrees and clear at 7 o'clock.

In re: old-fashioned weather forecasting --- Mrs. Aldridge of Madison Street has observed (with pleasure!) that the bees that have bothered her throughout the Summer seem to have either left or holed-up early.

An all-brown woolly-bear caterpillar was sighted on the Sanger Avenue sidewalk. Does that prove anything? Only that brown woolly-bear caterpillars are not extinct!

Hundreds - or, perhaps, thousands - of geese have been circling in the skies over Waterville for the past few days. Some gaggles aim North; some set out toward the East or West. Very few head South.

No: hazelnuts - used for flavoring coffee and simply eaten whole - don't come from Witch Hazel. (I wasn't sure, so I "googled" hazelnut and found lots more than I ever wanted to know about them!)

On Madison Street

On Putnam Street

It'll be a nice day to decorate. Send me a picture of YOUR front door!

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Friday afternoon

Score one for Waterville!

After months (or years?) of "discussions," Waterville has won, and the tilting pole next to the Bank buildiung has been replaced with one that stands perfectly straight!!



And after years and years of wondering how to keep the drainage ditch next to the Buell Avenue sidewalk from getting clogged, it appears that the solution is, simply, to keep Kevin digging!





Paul Evans, the D.O.T. Landscape Designer, has been in town "planting" a dozen or so brightly-flagged stakes on E. Main Street and in Monument Park.
We are given to understand that living trees will be planted starting next Tuesday.





The blogger will be taking the weekly "Ride in the Country" tomorrow instead of Sunday: taking pictures in the rain gets to be frustrating and the forecast for Sunday is "wet." This afternoon we took a quick run to the countryside to see if the Witch Hazel was in bloom: Yes!





I've "Photoshopped" this picture of the Cleary Homestead. The leaves on the big maple tree are just beginning to turn, but if you go back sometime over the weekend it might look like this!

Add Bright to your life: remember the Garden Club's great Rummage, Bake and "Mum" Sale
tomorrow from 10:00 - 4:00 at the Methodist Church on Terry Place.

Friday

It's 48 degrees and soggy, again.



This morning's Utica Observer-Dispatch contains the obituary of Alton Hinman of Deansboro, whose paintings of local scenery had made him famous throughout this area.





Remember that time, over a year ago, when we all wondered if the Harringtons were ever going to have a reasonable driveway, again?

Finally!

They have. And it's GRAND!

For all these years we've enjoyed and taken for granted the magnificent view from the Hanover Cemetery. Well, some lucky people have gone one better; they're building a house atop the hill across from the cemetery, and can call the expanse their own.



Down the hill, just to the East of the Hanover-Sally crossroads, another foundation is being poured.



Although the actual Village Lmits have not changed, it seems that Waterville is spreading out, more and more!

Thursday afternoon

Stripes EVERYWHERE! More white paint on Main Street than we've ever seen before. (Actually, it's not paint, but adhesive-backed cutouts, I'm told, however the effect is the same.)



There are new "STOP" lines and plenty of arrows, but the best thing that we've spotted, so far, is.....



a pedestrian Crosswalk on West Main Street from "Stinkers" to the Medical Center. It isn't handicap accessible (nor should one infer that the location indicates a precise need!) but it is at least a place where we - and any chickens who want to - can cross the highway legally.



This morning landscapers arrived at the Library to plant the circle, install more turf and plant grass seed.



The weather may be gray, but decorations on more and more houses - like this one on Berrill Avenue -- brighten the village as much as Mary Whalley and Mother Nature touch up the countryside.

Thursday - Garbage Day

It's 54 degrees and still DARK at 5:50 A.M.



Jazz-lovers will brighten up: it's John Liebing at Michael's, this evening from 7 - 10.

I don't know about the weather in Boston, but the mood is DARK: the Sox lost badly - 0-11 - in last night's game against Tampa Bay. They'll be in Baltimore over the weekend. In New York, however, everything's SUNNY and BRIGHT!



Check the New York Yankees website for more reasons why!


The WCS Boys Varsity Soccer team will meet Adirondack Central at 7:00 this evening at Brothertown Stadium and Varsity Football will play Hamilton Central at Hamilton on Friday at 7:00. Keep track of ALL WCS Sports at the "Sports Zone!"


The more culturally-inclined will be in the "stands" at the Stanley Theater in Utica, tomorrow night, cheering for The 5 Browns
Irresistible Champions of the Piano.



"Charming, articulate and brilliant, this youthful quintet of brothers and sisters, all virtuosic concert pianists, reawaken the lively tradition of multi-piano performances that flourished in the Romantic age. Each of the Browns – Desirae, Deondra, Gregory, Melody and Ryan – possesses a distinctive and discriminating keyboard talent, honed at New York’s Juilliard School. Through a variety of ensemble, duet, and solo pieces, including Flight of the Bumblebee and selections from West Side Story, The 5 Browns exhibit a musical understanding that verges on telepathy, while their elegant and expressive interpretations leave audiences worldwide 'whipped into a polite frenzy.' ”

More Down-to-Earth Matters continue to be questions the answers to which whould give us indications of future weather:

"Why are we not seeing 'woolly-bear' caterpillars of any brown/black combinations?"
"Aren't the deer turning dark early?"
"Have you noticed the huge number of pinecones on red cedars, this year? - Or all of the 'helicopters' on maple trees?"

Perhaps readers will be willing to share their opinions? Email the Writer

Wednesday wrap-up

Sorry for the delay. The writer's "Mac" went to The Connecting Point in New Hartford, today, to have its memory increased. Now why can't I get the same service for MY brain?



A correction has been made to the curbing in front of the Hotel: the angles are less acute - perhaps that makes it less dangerous. But that's only ONE of several such "bulb-outs" that remain sharp and threatening - beware, especially, of the one in front of "Mac's"!




And finally - after parents of school children have been begging for crosswalks - those at the corner of Babbott and Main have been painted; chalk-line indications show where they will be at the intersection of Routes 12 and 315. Perhaps, by week's end, the most important crossing of all --- at Madison Street and Sanger ---bold white lines will have been applied.



Something's going on here on Tower Street: perhaps a new drain? or curbing? It's hard to tell.

This morning we gave you a sampling of the Writer's weekly column that runs in the Waterville Times.

Also in "the Times" - Page 1 Headlines:

"Mother Asks for Help" locating her daughter, Michelle Hutchings, who has not been seen since July 30.

"Ex-WCS Teacher Charged" with sexual misconduct.

"New Field Opens With 4 - 0 Run" recap of the WCS Varsity Football Team's win over Sauquoit, last week, on the artificial turf of Brothertown field.

"Augusta Wants One-Year Lease" Town officials ask for space in Oriskany Falls Village Hall.

Marshall Township Veterans of Foreign Wars Plaque deadline October 10.

And where else but in Waterville could a piece of United States Postal Service Mail addressed only to "Aunt Irene and Uncle Bill" get properly delivered? Or - yesterday - a post card addressed to "Rhoda and the Children" reached the correct recipients - members of the Historical Society's SRO Loomis Family Players!

Wednesday Morning

Recyclables!

41.7 degrees: not shiney, but not soggy, either!








"Social Notes" excerpted from the writer's weekly column - In Timely Manner - in today's issue of the Waterville Times:

We had a delightful telephone call from our special friend, Marjorie Barnes, who - a longtime reader of the Waterville Times - wanted to know all about the changes along Route 12, on Madison Street and also at the new Library. A packet of photographs will soon be in the mail to the Barnes at their home in Virginia.

Carol and Steve Aldridge, accompanied by Mrs. A.’s son John Platz, of Barneveld, attended the Rochester wedding of her nephew, Dr. Eric Socha, the son of Paul and Joanie Socha of Whitesboro. Mrs. Aldridge’s mother, Edith Socha who lives in Deansboro, attended the wedding in the company of her son Gary and his wife Nancy from Dan Diego, California, who have been guests at the Aldridges’ in Waterville. Carol writes, “Steve, John and I stayed the night in Rochester and got up Sunday morning and drove to Buffalo to visit my other son Aaron Platz, his wife Annie, and 2 granddaughters, Samantha who is 5 and Leto who is 8 months old. Gary & Nancy have been wined & dined by family members including Paul & Joanie, Rip & Judy Elliott, Dorothy & Fred Moon, and myself. We even enjoyed a fish fry at Michael's on Friday the fifteenth. They took Mom for a drive up to Old Forge on Monday the 18th. Poor Nancy is freezing. She is not used to this cold weather!” They returned to California last Saturday.

The Philip Persons of Putnam Street have just returned from a trip to Kalispel, Montana, visiting their son, Bill Burback and family, Terry and Kayli. Each day proved to be a new experience. With Bill as their tour guide, Mrs. Person writes, they saw first hand, the beauty of the countryside and surrounding majestic mountains -- “the "Big" skies of Montana --just unreal!! The high point was a trip to Glacier National Park, driving the scenic route to the very top, where we found freshly fallen snow,then crossing the Continental Divide. What a magnificent view!! What we actually needed, was MORE time, perhaps on our next trip.”

The William O’Dowds of Stafford Avenue North took their annual trip to Milbridge, Maine, to visit their daughter Mary Margaret and her husband Tom Potter. The weather was beautiful. They went to Calais and visited a lovely museum which is going to close due to lack of funds. “It had a lot of data about the Indians and early settlers among the other displays and,” wrote Peg, “it was sad to think that this place will close. We visited Saint Croix Island where the first French settlers came in 1604 -1605. The first winter took 35 lives so in the spring they moved to Port Royal. Mary Margaret makes a great tour guide." On the way back to Waterville they stopped at John O'Dowd 's home in Amherst, New Hampshire, where Bill inspected John's new work on the house and gave his approval. Their grandson Dylan was there but John's wife Yim, a flight attendant, was on a flight to San Francisco and not to return ‘til the next day.

We wish a speedy recovery to Mr. T. Snyder of West Bacon Street who is back in Waterville after a bit of a stay in the hospital. He is currently undergoing rehabilitational treatment at the Harding Nursing Home. We note that Miss Marion Barnes has recently taken up residence at Hardings'.

Looking Back!




Wow!

(Click to enlarge Snapz and Photographs.)

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Later on....

When I went 'round the corner by the Hotel and Morgan's Hardware, this morning, something was beginning to happen and some pavers had been removed behind the pointed section of offending curb. An hour or so after I took this picture, the cause of so many Firestone fatalities had been removed! Mr. B. reports that there is no indication of just where or how the new section of curbing will be situated.

The sign in the Park is a little hard to read - probably just a matter of Windex! - but it says:

CELEBRATE THE
ALUMNI MEMORIAL WALKWAY
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1 - 4 P.M.
HIGH SCHOOL ENTRTANCE



The Walkway

This view's for Gayle.

Looking to the Southeast from Madison Street.

In the village, 'Del has her house on Sanger Avenue all brightly decorated and


the Brouillettes on South Stafford have an Annual Autumn Guest!

Tuesday morning

It's 47.7 degrees and cloudy-dark at an embarrassingly-late 7 o'clock!

Light rain, during the night. Weeds should pull easily.

Find the WCS SPORTS SCHEDULE and STATS at the "Sports Zone."

Tonight at 7:00 P.M. - BOARD of EDUCATION MEETING at the High School.

PLANNING AHEAD

Thursday at Michael's John Liebing, a one-man accoustical band offering a variety of musical styles from 7:00 - 10:00.


And on Saturday:
Benefit for Private Steven Smith 10 am-'til ? at the CJ Fulmer American Legion Post #92 Sangerfield.

Sports Boosters Bottle Drive 9 am WC S High School

Waterville Garden Club rummage, bake and mum sale, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Waterville United Methodist Church.

Things to watch for today? The same as yesterday! (Especially white lines at crosswalks and at stop lights!)

Monday evening

The outdoor display of "mums" at Alcotts is bedazzling! I want all of them!









At Dan Maine's workshop, he and Marilyn have loaded huge vases with Sunflowers AND placed warm orange-glow spotlights to shine on them after dark! Worth an evening drive.



Work along the highway was fairly - and routinely - dull: more fill has been added behind retaining walls; Ms. Wittenbeck is about to get a new driveway as are the Harringtons. On Buell Avenue, more driveways are being finished off and topsoil stockpiled for use within the next few days. There was no activity on the Morgan's Hardware curbing nor were any of the crosswalks painted. (We understand that they had been PROMISED for last Friday!)

There are still a dozen or more "fix-up" projects in process: Mrs. Tonetti's home, in Sangerfield, gleams with Pepsodent-white paint but, in town, "the blues" have it.



Babbott, Madison and Osborn.

Also .....

Mark Twain may not have said that, but he had plenty of other comments about the weather!

In re: Hinman's Farms on Route 5: the sign out front still says CLOSED! (That's not good!)

And about "oast" houses: the late Marion Brainard owned a pretty watercolor that showed two cobblestone oast houses on North Stafford Avenue. I don't know when they were taken down, but many of the cobblestones were then used to build two similar houses, still standing, one of which belongs to the K. VonMatts.

Monday Morning!

It's a hair over 50 degrees at 6 'clock.