Sugar Grove
By Paula Mitchell
Spring has blessed everyone with a prelude these recent days. It has been a balm for the soul.
Warm, sunny days with abundant sunshine and blue skies have replaced the cold, gloomy days of the tail end of winter. The sunshine is awakening the hills from their winter sleep, and the new growth is beginning to stir and sprout.
Songbirds are also exuberant with this weather. They are singing at dawn and dusk. Their days are filled with building nests for the fledglings that will come soon. The red breasted robins have returned from their southern vacation, allowing one to enjoy the watch of their queer, jerky walk and head cocked to one side.
Meadows and fields are greening, with subtle signs of spring’s coming. The spring peepers have been singing their chorus, luring springtime from her hiding place now for the past two weeks. Their shrill song of springtime tells of warm nights to come.
The official first day of spring comes on the heels of St. Patrick’s Day. For many, this is the accepted time to plant potatoes. March has been well-behaved but she can be a capricious lady with changing moods. It is too soon for this warm, spring-like weather to last.
The writer leaves her readers with an Irish blessing:
“May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And the rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again—
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.”
Life’s little instructions include the following:
- Believe in miracles.
- No one is in charge of a person’s happiness but oneself.
- Pay off one’s credit cards every month.
- The most important sex organ is the brain.
- Save for retirement starting with a person’s first pay check.
Area residents are experiencing fake spring. Is winter waiting around the corner? Sunday’s winds and rains were a change. Tornado warnings were added to the mix. About 1.2” of rain had fallen, along with a display of lightning and thunder.
Quotes for the week are as follows:
“The truth is you don’t have to be special. You just have to be what most people aren’t: consistent, determined, and willing to work for it.” — Tom Brady
“What’s good about March? Well, for one thing, it keeps February and April apart.” — Walt Kelly
“Be somebody who makes everybody feel important.” — Charles Schulz
“If you bungle raising your children, I don’t think whatever else you do matters very much.” — Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.
“An eye for an eye will make the world go blind.” — Mahatma Gandhi
Sitting outside to enjoy the beautiful sights is the place to hear the “Talk of the Grove.”
Phil Downs has returned home and is feeling so much better. He attended the Saturday of last week’s firehouse auxiliary meeting and dinner, and also worship service on Sunday.
The Sugar Grove Maple Leaves 4-H group had a meeting. They heard a wonderful presentation from Brenna Mitchell on the Five Boys.
“Pidge” Anderson has heard the peepers and even had a mess of dandelions. She thinks spring is finally here, and hopes it stays.
Eugene Varner, Geneva Mongold, Nathaniel Hammer, Evelyn Varner, and Erma Moats motored out to the Ronnie and Karen Pitsenbarger home for a dinner in honor of Wanda Pitsenbarger’s birthday.
Pendletonians once again made the trek to the Highland Maple Festival, both weekends. Many stood in line for quite a time for the tasty buckwheat cakes. Weather was conducive to the crowds gathering for the variety of interests along the way.
Saturday visitors in the home of Willard and Judy Rader were Bob and Marti Fisher of Romney.
This week’s clickety-clacks for the chin waggers are as follows:
- The way it smells after a rain is called petrichor.
- There’s a planet mostly made from diamond.
- Australia is wider than the moon.
- Sharks are the only animals that never get sick.
- Indonesia is home to the world’s largest Muslim population.
Concerns are for the following: John Ashley, Roger Ashley, Mercedes Aumann, Dave Basagic, Allen Beachler, Liz and Mick Bodkin, “Bo” Boggs, Patty Chapman, Marie Cole, the Robert Cook family, Stanley Dahmer, Phil Downs, Isaac Eye, Marie Eye, Mary Eye, Carl Gant, the “Buck” Geary family, David Gillespie, Lola Graham, Patsy Green, JC Hammer, Steve and Armanda Heavner, Donald Hedrick, Hannah Hedrick, Jack and Starr Hedrick, George Hevener, Jim Hiner, Evan Hise, Edsel and Mary Ann Hogan, the Virgil Homan, Jr. family, Keith Hoover, Myrtle Hoover, Debbie Horst, the Enos Horst family, Richard Judy, Marsha Keller, the Sherwin Kimble family, Tom and Kim Kline, Tracie Knight, Laura Kropp, Melissa Lambert, O’Dell Lambert, Robert Lambert, Rex Landis, Roger and Skip Mallow, Audree Marsh, Ed May, Gene and Joan McConnell, Gary McDonald, Neil McLaughlin, Rose Miller, Bruce Minor, Barbara Moats, Gloria Moats, Jim Moats, Helen Nash, Rick Neil, Aaron Nelson, Angie Nelson, Ruth Nelson, Cheryl Paine, Terri Parker, Wilma Pitsenbarger Rexrode, Andy Pond, Janice Propst, Alda Propst, Janis Propst, Marilyn Propst, Mike Propst, Sheldon Propst, Tom Rader, Willard Rader, Brandon Reel, Jason Rexrode, Jimmy Rexrode, Linda Fay Rexrode, Dennis Riggleman, Jenny Ruddle, Mary Sawyers, Brittany Shriver, Annie Simmons, Erin Simmons, Eva Simmons, Greg Simmons, Judy Simmons, Natalie Stephenson, Nelson Simmons, Tonya Simon, Robbie Sites, Mike Skiles, Ed and Carolyn Smith, Tina Stuben, Steve Stump, Gary, Carol, and Jon Swecker, the Turner family, Linda and Larry Vandevander, Sandra Vandevander, Amy Vaus, Estelle Wagner, Mary Louise Waldschlager, Rene White, Sherry Wilfong, Judy Williams and Ann and Ed Wimer.
