Chain Up!

Just thought I would drop a note to anyone considering coming up in the next few days. The snow is now being covered with freezing rain. It is extremely slippery to walk or drive. Don't even THINK of driving back here without chains. It is also helpful to have cleats for your shoes should you get stuck. There is nothing worse than getting stuck then getting out of your vehicle only to fall on your face. I wish I didn't know that one by experience. These are the days even the animals have trouble. I was once told of an ice storm so bad deer broke their legs trying to walk and many had to be humanely shot. During that event there were many more deer than now. Many times when the weather gets bad you can see the deer sleeping on the sunny sides of the mountain in an almost hibernation type mode. They move as little as possible to save energy. Moving as little as possible sounds good to me and Lee so we are both waiting for nicer weather to venture out. Mountain girl, Paula, logging out.

Back Home in Leetonia

I am back! Leetonia Lee did such a good job while I was gone we might have to get her to write a little more often.

Looks like the excavator left by the township will be with us for the winter. They waited too long to move it and it is pretty much snowed in. The stack of firewood for next winter is also feeling a wintery blanket of snow.

The snowmobile is ready for any problems the township may have with getting us plowed or getting to cabins that never get plowed from here. Our snowmobile is pretty old and doesn't have some of the smooth riding features of the newer models. So I have to say we don't ride it for fun. I use it to make a trail for my cross-country skis and for short trips around Leetonia.
When I drove back to the woods with Lee, Sunday, I felt good again seeing the trees and the mountains. I just don't feel at home without them.

My first day back was greeted by a cold artic blast. Thirty mile per hour winds took our cabin to a brisk 48 degrees when I woke up Monday. Leetonia Lee should be called Polar Bear Lee because she likes it cold. I am sure if I or the dogs didn't complain not much firewood would be burnt above 50 degrees in the house.

We are a spoiled lot compared to the pioneers of the area who often had frozen water in their buckets to melt before they could make coffee. Of course they didn't have to worry about pipes freezing, since they didn't have any. They kept on heavy clothes and didn't take baths in the winter. I am sure by Spring it was a pleasant change to get really clean. This time of year brings a lot more work to my work. It is harder to get materials into jobs and to get to the jobs to do anything. I think often much of my work involves getting to work and setting up rather than getting much done. We passed the shortest day of the year on Sunday so with more light everyday we will have more and more time to get things done. Mountain girl, Paula, logging off.

Six plus inches of snow and ice with cancellations!

Paula's flight from Chicago was canceled due to the snow storm. She is going to try again Sunday but we have snow in the forecast for Sunday also. She's going to have to look on the bright side of having more time to spend with the Grand kids. They are thrilled. If this weather keeps up she may be spending Christmas in Illinois.

The storm started off with freezing rain followed by 6 or more inches of fluffy snow. It isn't good packing snow. I couldn't even make a snow ball. Currently it is back to freezing rain. I took the boys for a walk and had a difficult time because it was so icy under the snow. We followed the track of one lonely snow mobile. That is the only evidence of anyone in the area. I won't be driving until they plow and cinder the road. Walking is hazardous enough.

Scooter is thoroughly enjoying the weather. He blends in so well I have to really look for him when he gets ahead of me. Leo and Thor were relieved to get back home by the fireplace. Their legs are shorter than Scooters which makes it harder to trudge through the snow. Also they don't have a warm coat like Scooter.

It looks like we are going to have a white Christmas in the Leetonia area this year. It's hard to believe it's just around the corner. Where did the year go? We are focusing on a healthy, safe and abundant year for 2009 and wishing the same for all of you. Leetonia Lee logging out.

Weekend Weather Update

Looks like we are going to have 5 to 8 inches of snow on Friday the 19th. Of course there will be a wintry mix at some point in the day to make it extra special. Saturday will be mostly cloudy and then more wintry mix on Sunday. Temperatures will range between 11 and 29 degrees over the weekend.

The plowed part of Leetonia Road is good except for a few icy spots that didn't catch the cinders. I traveled down to Cedar Run on the non plowed part of the road today. I pulled over to the side of the road just past Leetonia to let 2 snow mobiles go by. The road is tricky due to the ice under the wintry mix that is on top. I made it to Cedar Run traveling slowly and very carefully. Friday will be a different story. I expect more snow mobiles up for the weekend so if you plan to drive to your cabin take extra care and watch out for the snow mobiles.

The picture of the melting snowman is on the road going toward Cedar Run just before the swimming hole by Nightingale Camp. The picture of the road is somewhere in the same area.

Weather permitting Paula will be flying into Elmira Friday night. She is homesick so hopefully she won't be delayed by the weather. Scooter keeps looking for her. He misses going to work with her. Leo is just interested in his food, walks and keeping warm. Thor is adjusting well and finally being accepted by Leo and Scooter.

Hope this helps any one who wants to venture here for the weekend. Logging Off, Leetonia Lee.

Let it Snow

The picture of the Christmas tree I posted Thursday versus the picture I took of the same tree today tells the story of the snow we got last night. Six inches of new snow fell in some areas which make the roads much more difficult. My guess is not as much snow came down in the Cedar Run area. We usually get more snow and lower temperatures closer to Leetonia. All the pine trees are weighted down by the snow. It's a winter wonderland but hard for traveling.

The electric went out last night and then again this morning for about 5 minutes. We are likely to have more power outages today. It seems like power outages are a regular occurrence any more. So bring your chain saws in case trees end up down, your generators and chains.

Leetonia Lee Logging off.

Weather and Roads for Leetonia update

There was a wintry mix all day and now it is snowing. We are supposed to get 2 to 4 inches by morning. Saturday and Sunday are mostly cloudy with only 10% chance of precipitation. Temperatures will range between 13 and 36 degrees.

Today I traveled to Galeton and it was slow going but good where it is plowed and cindered. I also went to Leetonia and there is at least an inch of packed snow and ice on the roads. I didn't have trouble with a Subaru that has studded snow tires but if you don't have at least 4 wheel drive it will be difficult especially with the added snow coming tonight. Remember there is ice underneath the snow so take precautions if you drive up this weekend.

I know many are trying to get that last day of deer hunting in. I talked to one of the Lowe brothers today and he said he wasn't seeing any deer. It was raining and sleeting when I saw him driving looking for deer. I told him the deer are taking cover just like the hunters.

I finally got the pictures to load.

I hope everyone has a good, safe, warm weekend. Leetonia Lee, Logging off.

Paula the Princess, Grandmother and Carpenter

Paula's daughter Mary came through with the pictures. As you can see Paula is having quite a time playing with the grand children. She will have to savor every moment. The first picture is Paula with Ella. The second is Paula, Reilly, Ella, Joel and Sam laying on his stomach. Paula is holding their monkey puppet.

It has been quiet in the woods today. Everyone is probably in Wellsboro at the Dickens festivities.

I plan to hibernate for the most part while Paula's gone so I will post only if something newsworthy comes up.

Later. Mountain Girl Lee leaving the site.

Dickens Days in Wellsboro

Today I took Thor into Wellsboro to get his shots and buy a camo sweatshirt for him. I think I should have gotten it a little bigger although he seems to be comfortable in it.

Wellsboro is bustling getting ready for Dickens Days. I stopped to visit Willow and Charlotte at An Enchanted Boutique. They have a good sale going on now. They moved to a new location which is upstairs in a building on the corner of Main St and East St. So if you are going to Dickens make sure you stop and tell Willow that the mountain girls sent you.

Paula's daughter Mary left me a message that she is emailing me a picture of Paula which is quite pretty. So that will probably be my next post. I know you all will be waiting with baited breath to see that picture.

Last night the temperatures dropped freezing all the slush on the road and then it snowed 1 to 2 inches. Needless to say there are some slippery spots. The part of the road that gets plowed is good. I didn't travel on the other part so I'm not sure how it is. Please be careful if you drive up here this weekend.

I would like to send a special hello to my sisters Diane and Michal and my Dad Fred. They live in Illinois and love to see whats going on in the mountains. Diane and Michal have both visited us and would love to move up here. Also a special hello to Brad and Joan. We miss you.

Mountain girl Lee logging off.

Weather and Roads for Leetonia this weekend.

I didn't have any trouble getting from Leetonia to Cedar Run today. Traveling from Cedar Run to just before the narrows going into Leetonia the road was mostly muddy with slush in places and then ice in the Red Rock area. From the narrows into Leetonia the road was slush and ice. The part of the road that is plowed has cinders but there are still some slick spots to watch out for.

The temperatures will be dropping with highs in the 20's and lows in the teens for the weekend. That means everything will freeze up again. Some flurries are expected but at this point they aren't predicting much.

We advise all those coming up for the weekend to drive cautiously and be prepared preferably with studded snow tires and chains. The road conditions change quickly with temperature and precipitation. The ditch has had some visitors lately so be careful not to be a statistic. The problem seems to be when someone is coming from the other way.

I took Thor with me to Cedar Run today to show him off to Charlotte and Phil at the Cedar Run Inn. Charlotte couldn't believe how calm he is for a puppy and how well he gets around. He is fast becoming a popular mountain dog.

This is other mountain girl Lee logging off for now.

Lee and the Boys

Paula made it safely to Illinois. Her grand kids couldn't wait to see her. They always want her to play the bear game with them which is her being the bear chasing and catching them. I'm sure she is going to need a long rest when she gets home.

In the meantime the boys and I are hanging out. We took a walk back to the pond this morning. We got a harness for Thor to make it easier to walk him. Well as it turned out I couldn't keep up with him. He gets around minus a leg quicker than I do. He was even going up the hills after Scooter. I had to get him back on the path so he didn't get the leash caught up in the trees. I think Thor could have taken a longer walk but he took a long nap after we got home. He seems to be adjusting to his new home and brothers very easily. He is very sweet and lovable and gives lots of kisses.

On our walk to the pond we noticed the deer scratched through the snow to get to the clover we planted there. The woods were very quiet today. I think most of the hunters left. I only saw a couple cars go up the road. It's sunny today with the temperature at 36 so more snow is melting. Leetonia Road coming in from Gaines is good. I won't find out about Leetonia Road from Leetonia to Cedar Run until tomorrow.

I hope this satisfies all the faithful "Lost in Leetonia" readers for now especially Fran. Paula gave me orders to post. I told her she could also post from Illinois. She could post pictures of her daughter's bathroom remodel that Paula is supervising.

Signing off for now. Lee and the Boys.

Thor comes to live with the Mountain Girls

As you can see Thor has made himself at home. Of course we are already abusing him with reindeer antlers. Such is the price you pay for coming to live with us at Christmas.

Thor is six months old and rescued from the woods after having his rear leg shot up so badly it had to be removed. He also had a face full of quills. He hops around well but is still healing and not able to keep up with the other dogs yet.

As you can tell nothing much bothers him, which is amazing if you figure in his bad experience. I have a feeling this dog will teach me a lot about forgiveness and healing. He is pretty amazing to watch. So Thor and the boys are ready for Christmas. We put a small tree up outside today. My back isn't up to our usual large one. If you are up in the woods stop by and give Thor a hug.. he gives loads of kisses out for them. Mountain girl, Paula, logging out.

First Day of Buck Season

Well it was a tough first day for buck season. The weather was slushy and hard to get around in. The roads were very hazardous. The temperatures however were quite warm and much of the snow melted in the low areas.

The traffic was a problem getting in and out but we managed to go to town for my Physical Therapy appointment. Tomorrow I head to Rockford, Illinois to be with my daughter for a couple weeks and work on her project.

So Lee will be in charge of anything that gets posted. We also picked up Thor yesterday so we are now a three-dog household. We have become outnumbered by the dogs. Thor is very sweet and seems to get around good on three legs. Leo's nose is a little bent out of shape accepting another intruder, and Scooter just wants him to play. For now Thor is happy to go out a little and sleep on the couch as he continues to heal.

Mountain girl, Paula, logging out.

Thanksgiving in Leetonia

Well, no relatives close and it is pretty quiet in the woods. A lull between bear and deer seasons. We have so much to be thankful for this year, not the least being both of us still living. Also special thanks to all the people who supported us during my accident this summer. There are so many great, giving people in this world and the news we look at everyday doesn't represent that.

We have enough food for 10 people so I will be eating leftovers through next week. The cleanup crew also enjoyed the special day of food. Leo gulps all the big pieces fast. Scooter is more meticulous cleaning up anything left behind.

Although, Scooter is a good cleaner, Lee still insists on washing the dishes afterward. Can you imagine?

I think now we will all collapse in a Turkey haze, sleep, and read a little before going back to work tomorrow. With all the snow up here it has been a little more like Christmas than Thanksgiving, but I know winter hasn't even started in Leetonia. Have a great Thanksgiving! Mountain girl, Paula, logging off.

6" of Wet snow

We had another couple inches of wet snow last night bringing the total to six inches. Just enough for this snow bear to take shape. We have a new watcher to the blog from Arizona, hence the bear welcome.

Snow plow is going down to Theresa house and back, but no further. Lee went out to Cedar Run today and said the snow drops off considerably at Mine Hole. With warm temperatures for the next few days, hopefully it won't interfere with buck season.

I am hoping this early snow is not a predictor of snow to come this year. I am not looking forward to snow challenges at all. Today I am making yeast rolls for tomorrow's dinner so I am out of the kitchen when the main chef is busy.

I am not sure how long the snow bear will last. Scooter has been eying him with evil intentions and I am sure he can tear the bear down much faster than I built it. Its always fun building snow things makes you feel like a little kid again. Hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving tomorrow. Mountain girl, Paula, logging out.

More snow fell last night, about 4 inches of very wet snow. It was easy traveling early, but as the trucks packed the road it became slippery and dangerous. It was day 2 of bear season. I saw three bears taken in the Leetonia area yesterday. Lee saw one shot next to Brad's in Cedar Run today and I heard several late shots. The bears don't seem to be fairing too well this year.

After a hard day looking for bears these three hunters spent a quiet evening at Cedar Run Inn. The hunter with his arms crossed, boasts of 43 years of bear hunting without a single bear being harmed. The Inn departs from its regular
menu during hunting season and serves one thing to everyone. It is very causal style dining. Lee and I were invited to dinner and enjoyed the mashed potatoes, corn, and stuff chicken breast followed by "fruits of the forest pie", a multiberry delight.

It appears we are to continue having this early snow through Friday, which is the beginning of buck season. This will make travel up here difficult for most flatlanders. I am hoping none of them meet the creek up close. So if you are coming be prepared, bring chains and your 4-wheel drive vehicles. Mountain girl, Paula, logging off.

Cold and Snow

This morning it was 56 degrees, not outside, inside. The temperature outside was a brisk 17 degrees warmer than the last couple days which have been at single digits. It seems we have gone from Indian Summer days of 60 to Artic Cold overnight. The dogs, especially Leo, are quick to wake us up to put more wood in the fire. We got about an inch or two of snow last night giving us a very wintery look.


Lee isn't going to be able to pull the trailer with the lawn tractor as it will slip, so she is stuck splitting the wood and leaving it in a pile where it is at. It always seems like winter is quick to come and slow to leave. I will have to admit I am a little shaky driving since the accident and the truck always slips a little in the snow even in 4-wheel drive. This has never bothered me before, but I have found my heart in my throat a couple times and the roads aren't that bad. I hope this uneasiness fades from my memory quickly.

Normally this time of year is a time to slow down and take a breath from the fast paced summer. This is not the case for me this year as I must make up for having the summer off. Although, I am not working up to full speed yet, I am doing about 75%, which isn't too bad after 5 months. I think of how many people pulled together to help us this summer and I am truly grateful. I know it is the way of the Valley to be so supportive of each other. Something the rest of the country may be learning as we move into harder times. This Thanksgiving I have much to be thankful for. Just the fact I am here and doing well is more than enough. But the most important thing I am thankful for this year is all of you out there who have shown your love and caring for both Lee and I during my accident and recovery. It is something this mountain girl will never forget. Mountain girl, Paula, logging off.

Weather and Bear Season

Monday is the first day of bear season and a day my dogs dislike. The reason for this is how the hunters hunt. They often form large driving groups yelling and making noise to drive the bears towards the shooters. The dogs aren't used to so much noise in the woods and will growl and bark at the racket. There is something about it that makes even me a little on edge.

As you can see we don't have much snow to the east of us they got hammered with two snows of a foot each. Personally I am glad not to have that kind of snow this early. We still have some work to do. I have to fix the fence in our back yard for an injured dog coming to stay with us in about a week. His name is Thor and is recovering from an amputated rear leg.

I am still doing PT, and feel about 80%, my hardest thing is to get into small spaces, like under cabinets, crawl spaces or like I did yesterday work inside a fireplace box installing a glass door. The twisting irritates the back quickly. We are definitely into the gray short days now and it is difficult to get much done while the sun shines. Hope all of you have a great Leetonia day. Mountain girl, Paula, logging off.

Fall and wood

Just thought I would give you an update on the firewood. Lee is down to the last batch of firewood to be split before winter. We sawed the rest of it yesterday and she has a week's worth of spliting and stacking ahead of her. I was able to run the chain saw while she lifted the logs, but I must admit I paid for it by the end of the day. My mind is well ahead of my back on healing.

Our seasoned firewood came up about a cord short so I will be looking for some more before snow. Last week we didn't use a stick of firewood as the weather stayed unseasonably warm. It changed
last night to cooler weather so it is back to log burning.

The trees have mostly lost their leaves in preparation for the snow and the gray days of winter will be upon us soon. I have one additional thing to report as to the voting. It appears only 25 of the 31 eligible voters voted. For President it was McCain 15, Obama 6, and write-ins 4.

I thought it was curious that 4 people didn't like any of the available candidates for President. That is almost 20 percent of our voters. Do any of you remember a time you could cast your vote in Leetonia? If you do let me know what you remember about past elections. I hope we see some programs like the CCC with the new administration. All of the work done in this forest was done during that period and not much but maintenance since. I would love to see the trails, bridges and tree plantings done again and part of our national treasure, "Leetonia" revived. Mountain girl, Paula, logging off.

Voting Day in The Mountains

Today we voted at the old schoolhouse about 10 miles from our house. It was a very nice day as far as voting weather with the temperature near 51 at 10:30 am. We have often gone in the snow or ice so not having to battle the elements was great.

As we heard of long lines and waiting across the country we laughed to ourselves knowing the possibility of having more than one person in front of us was slim. With only 31 eligible voters in our township,we are one of the most sparsely populated townships in Pennsylvania

Our polling place is modest and I am sure is one of the few polling place with an outhouse(I guess that is where the secret ballots are cast). Many times the officials have card games and all day food buffets while they wait all day for the occasional voter.


As old fashioned as the building is we do have automated voting machines that you place a magnetized card into. They are touch screen and come in large or small print for us hard to read voters. There are two machines, but only one was turned on today and was more than adequate to handle the crowd. LOL. We have 100% turnout most of the time so we are few but dedicated voters. The township is predominately Republican in makeup. However, I don't know how they are all voting this year.
So for all you people with long lines, I can only suggest one thing move to Elk Township in Tioga County, Pa for fast easy service and a fully functioning outhouse. Mountain girl, Paula, logging out.

October Snow

This morning I woke up to see a white yard. Small flakes are still falling and it looks like our first day of temperatures not getting out of the 30's. I have been busy trying to finish up outside work, but it is slow going with my back still healing from the accident. At the most I have been able to work about a half a day. Still I feel lucky to be working at all.

I am doing physical therapy twice a week for the back and by next Summer I hope to be back into good shape. Lee has been splitting wood for the next winter and moving wood closer to the house for this winter. The cost of propane is at a all time high $3.25/gallon. Thankfully, we only used 118 gallons this summer to heat our water, stove and dryer. We use the small gas space heater in the winter only when we leave for an extended period of time or the temperature drops below zero. Last year we used about 200 gallons during the winter. I know the cost of heating effects everyone in the Valley.

Slate Run Store has a large area to heat and very little income in the winter. We have been warned of severe hour cut backs and the employees have been told to come wearing a coat. It is a sign of difficult times. Something this area has been used to and people work together and do what they have to get through it. I know this will be a long winter for many lets hope its not a cold one as well.

The snow should melt off before the weekend as temperatures are going to be back in the fifties. This Friday is Halloween and if you are like me you can remember dragging yourself through the snow to trick or treat once or twice. During the day's of paper bags many a child lost their candy to the wet snow working on the bag. Have a great Leetonia Snow day. Mountain girl Paula logging off and going to work.

The Leetonia Cemetery

The first picture shows a big improvement done to the Leetonia Cemetery last year. Its own sign and a few steps going up to the graves.
All of the graves are on the side of a very steep hill just up Francias Leetonia Rd about 150 yds from its intersection with Leetonia Rd. At one time there was a school house on the property and you can still see the foundation for it. I believe they held church services in the building as well. Later on the school was moved to the site were the Bonitz camp now sits.
There is a very surprising thing in this graveyard. A large part of it is filled with young children and babies under the age of two. Many of the stones record to the day the amount of time the children lived. Most of the deaths occured near the year 1878. I often wondered what killed them and by chance was reading an old Morris Newspaper account during the same period. It had said there was a large Whooping Cough Epidemic that had killed many children in the town of Leetonia.

The second picture shows part of the row of tiny head and footstones. It seems they keep most of the youngsters in this row heading up the mountain. It makes you realize how lucky we are today to live in a society were infant deaths are much rarer.

The last headstone is a Campbell, a World War I veteran, and from what I could tell one of the last people to be buried in the Cemetery in 1919. The Campbell family surrounds this headstone and there are quite of few of them that lived and died in Leetonia. I know one of the young Campbell boys was killed by the train in town, but I have yet to find his headstone. I believe he was about 10 when it happened.

There is something about the Cemetery that gives you a feel for how hard people who lived here had things and what a hardy group they had to have been to survive here. Mountain girl, Paula, Logging out.

Brown Township Firehouse Dinner

Tonight was the last Brown Township Dinner of the season. The Township has several dinners throughout the summer to raise money for the firehouse. The dinner tonight was pork and sauerkraut along with mashed potatoes, hot dogs, applesauce and an assortment of desserts.

There are a lot of people up for the weekend with the weather being nice and the leaves giving an enjoyable blast of color. You can see there was a full house inside the fire station as well as a constant exit of to go dinners. It is always a good time to catch up with friends as well as to meet people new to the area.

You are probably wondering why the last picture is of a deer mount. Well, there are actually two deers inside the station and any other fire station that might seem strange. So I asked around because where there is a deer there is a story. Bob Drexel informed me that the two deer were actually part of a trio of deer mounts brought to the fire house annual flea market. One of the trio sold and the other two landed a permanent position on the wall inside the fire station. I had hoped for some elaborate story about the fire trucks hitting the deer or fireman hunting them atop of fire engines, but alas I had to settle with the true story. Brown Twp. Fire company has two deer mounts because no one else would take them.

I apologize to anyone who had a funny look when I took this picture. Guess I should have said cheese. Have a great Leetonia day from the Valley of the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, Mountain girl, Paula logging out.

Fall Ritual

I have always said there are really only two seasons up here in Leetonia: wood gathering season and wood burning season.

The logs you see in the picture are tops cut above our place by loggers last fall. After spending time, gas, money on permits, and stress on my vehicle. I have decided spending the money to have logs delivered is more cost efficient for me.

As you can tell there is still plenty of work to do after the logs are
here. They have to be cut into fireplace size pieces, split, stacked and dried for a year. Lee is splitting the firewood for the 2009-10 winter. The firewood for this year still needs to be moved close to the house before snow. We usually stack both porches full and find that makes it through the winter.

I don't like to keep wood on the porch year round because of some of the insects in it like to eat wood houses just as much as they do firewood.

The last picture shows you the progress Lee has made through the stack. The first picture are the logs yet to be cut and split. I am afraid I am not much help this year with my lifting limit still at 30 pounds so Lee is stuck with the entire job. I did notice Scooter "helping" by dragging fairly large pieces away to chew on. If we could just teach him to stack them he could pay for some of that dog food he eats. Looks like beautiful weather for the weekend and we are enjoying the pleasant temperatures. I am sure there will be a hum of chainsaws and splitters running this weekend as camps and homes try to off set the cost of heating this winter. Mountain girl, Paula, logging off.

Things Past and Present

I was blessed with a visit from blog readers, Fred and Carol Espenship. They were nice enough to take Lee and I out to eat at Antlers last night and in return I gave them a guided tour of Leetonia.

It was a beautiful day except for one thing. The dreaded attack of the lady bugs. The lady bugs (really called Asian Beetles released by the State to eat gypsy moths) came out in full force today for the first time. Fred said he had never seen anything like it and I
believe him as this has been an annual event for only the last dozen years. They get everywhere and they bite you if they feel like it. Only an annual spraying of the outside of our camp keeps them from coming in.

Back to the real story. As you can see from the first picture Carol and Fred are standing in front of Fran's old residence. I included a more recent addition to the property of a plaque for Hershey Zimmerman Jr. who also was a past resident of the camp. We went around and I showed them were various buildings are located and we did a nice visit to the Leetonia Cemetery, which I will cover on another post. Fred was amazed at how much has changed in Leetonia. The trees are much bigger than he remembered and some camps are now gone and some remodeled (mostly my work). They are headed to Cedar Run Inn tonight for dinner and I am sure they will be impressed and filled with the good food there.

Fall and more quills

Well its official Leo isn't smart. He decided to take another try at a porcupine and yes we got to pull quills out of the inside of his mouth again. Two quills broke off on either side of his nose. We are watching to see if we can get them out later or it will require a trip to the vet. He hid in the bathroom and even jumped into the tub to try to escape the dreaded pliers.

Today he is not happy, not just because of the quills, but the weather went cooler. It is in the 40's and raining. Leo has retreated under the blanket until Lee Anne decides its cold enough to start a fire. It was 62 degrees inside the house this morning and according to Lee that just means you add a jacket. Some of Lee's friends are coming in today and I predict they will be able to convince her to start a fire while they are here. This is my least favorite weather because it chills you to the bone. Colder and it snows and you don't get wet so it doesn't feel as cold.

The leaves have made it to around 50% color so this next week should be good for viewing. On a sunny day I will get a picture for you. The hummingbird feeders have been cleaned and put away for another season. The hummingbirds officially left on September 23rd. So it is officially Hummingbird Fall.

We have had just enough rain to turn the new gravel in front of the house into a muddy mess. I don't expect much change in that until it freezes. I am seeing a couple of sun moments peaking through the clouds, but I think today is a good day to rest indoors and enjoy living in Leetonia. Mountain girl, Paula, logging off.

New sign in Morris and more Fall color

Morris Fire Department got a couple new signs they look nice. The trees are getting more color by the day. I took a couple of pictures from the top of my hill. I would say we are at about 30 percent. I would expect 50% color by the weekend with the peak sometime the following week.

Mostly Maples and Cherry trees have changed. The oaks are starting here and there. The Larches are still green. Seems they are the last to go. The bears are starting to eat the apples. I noticed some applesauce piles on my walk today. This means if I want apple pie I need to make haste picking some for me before they eat them all.









The smell of leaves (not burning ones) is in the air and the sound of crunching as you walk is pleasant to the ears. The ferns are also changing yellow and then brown. Soon there will not be any reminder of the green blanket that covers the mountains with during the summer.

I am back working a small amount mostly supervising others and picking up materials. The day is still much longer than my back has a mind to feel good, but I am sure in a month or so it will be much better. I am limited to 30lbs of lifting so that leaves out several of my tools.

Mountain girl, Paula enjoying the view and logging out!