Snow can be...

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” ~ John Ruskin

Snow can be beautiful...

Snow can be fun...

Snow can be messy...

Snow can mean work...

Snow can mean, "Oops."

But mostly snow can be fun...

And beautiful...

More on the way, folks!

Groundog Day in Crisfield...Not! Crab predicts weather in Maryland

"I make the weather." ~ Quote from movie Groundhog Day.

Punxsutawney Phil, you have competition!

 We don't have any groundhogs in Crisfield unless they have rounded up some scuba-diving gear.

Filtered photo to show the shadow better. Slight, but there. Maybe that means only five more weeks of winter.

Many of you may remember the adventures of John John Crabby Crab.Well, he decided that Punxsutawney Phil should not get all the glory of predicting the weather. After talking it over with Sookie, his soul-mate (a sook is a female crab), he went down to the Crisfield dock to see if he could see his shadow. He did. A tiny one, but a shadow none the less.

Next year Crabby Crab wants to invite our Mayor P. J. Purcell to don a tux and top hat, making this an official event. He also wants to invite the city officials and Miss Crustacean, along with a ton of visitors. BIG PARTY!

Crabby Crab thinks we should wake up a Crisfield crab from his mud-house to do the honors. DNR, can we get permission for a watermen to round up just one crab? We can fix up a nice mud-hut for him to emerge from. Please? You can come, too.

________________________________

After Crabby Crab had predicted the weather, he had a snowball fight with Sookie. Notice no shadows in this photo, not even a shallow one.

Six more weeks of winter - perhaps five based on the shallow shadow in the first photo and no shadow in the second photo. 

Let's see if a Crisfield crab is smarter than a Pennsylvania groundhog.

Snowstorm in Crisfield

“For many years I was a self-appointed inspector of snowstorms and rainstorms and did my duty faithfully, though I never received payment for it.” ~  Henry David Thoreau

We have been in Crisfield for four years and have not seen much snow. When it does snow, it usually melts quickly due to the marshy terrain. I am sure the old-timers can tell you a story or two about snow, but for the most part, Crisfield is spared the blizzards that plaque many states. But today we had a blizzard. And it is still snowing.

The morning began like this:

And quickly turned into this:

But Crisfielders love a little snow from time to time...

Cat Chatter

“When my cats aren't happy, I'm not happy. Not because I care about their mood but because I know they're just sitting there thinking up ways to get even.” ~ Percy Bysshe Shelley

One of our cats (we have five) has been secretly corresponding with a a cat he met though my blog. He finally fessed up after I started to notice traces of catnip and cat-food crumbs on my keyboard, not to mention finding strange emails floating around. After forgiving Skipper for using my  bandwidth,  I thought I would post these  photos of Skipper and his friend Gray, a cat who lives in Canada.

I think it is wonderful that a blog such as this one can bring people together in a positive way, showing them parts of the world they might not otherwise see. From the Friday Shootout that I started with Reggie Girl (I don't have time to participate these days, but the shootout continues to grow and bring people together) to the many people who come to this blog though searches or other blogs, I have met some fascinating people - and animals.

I have followed the adventures of Barry and Linda's dog Lindsay, two more Canadian friends I met though this blog, and met Charleston, South Carolina's Butler and Bagman's dog Sallie. Sallie recently passed away, but Butler and Bagman provide us with some cat "tales" from time to time.

I have met cats and dogs around the world via this blog, but I never dreamed cats would be communicating over the Internet.

First, let me provide you with an email from Gray (photo by Geoff):

"Hiya Skipper,

I'm dictating this to my human because I'm busy playing with my bouncy mouse (photo attached).  My nicely posed photo was taken in a sunny spot in our diningroom.  I have a big comfy chair by the window in the diningroom where I can sleep or watch the birds at the feeders, two in the livingroom and one in my own room - which is upstairs and gets the morning sun too.  My humans think the chairs in the livingroom are their chairs but they have nice blankies on them for me (which make great forts...) so they're sitting ducks too.

I hope you're having fun watching winter birdies from your windows too.
 
Hi to your humans from mine!Your Canadian friend,
Gray"

From Canada with love - Meet Gray...

And our little devil Skipper...Yea, I woke him up for this photo. He was't too happy. If looks could kill.

 Gray owns Elaine Dale and Geoff. Geoff is a freelance writer and is Gray's personal photographer, updating a photo of Gray on Elaine's blog on a regular basis (see her top sidebar). Elaine has some wonderful photos on her blog. Her snow photos are fantastic and she loves to photograph birds - in the summer months you can watch the doves nest and have their babies. Check out her archives for some fantastic nature shots.

"Cats are connoisseurs of comfort” ~ James Herriot

Happy Anniversary and a Belated Happy Anniversary...

 “Dedication is not what others expect of you, it is what you can give to others.”

 I started this blog on February 16, 2009. This will make my 332rd post. On February 27, 2009, I started the "My Town" shoot-out with Reggie Girl. It was a little fun thing we did every Friday, posting photos from our towns.We would take turns picking the assignments. I picked the first assignment - signs. The above photo was one of ten signs I posted. We usually tried to post ten photos for each assignment.

People enjoyed our little shoot-outs and wanted to join in. "The more the merrier," we thought. I even started the Friday "My Town" shoot-out blog for those interested in joining up. It grew a little faster than we had expected and Reggie Girl dropped out. Due to time restrictions, I too, had to drop out. But I am happy to say that we picked up a great team of dedicated people who have done a wonderful job of keep the shoot-outs going.

Thank you to everyone for their dedication. This is your anniversary, too.I hope we can celebrate another one next year.

 I have enjoyed keeping up with what is happening, and when I have time, I do try and visit blogs around the world. My, we have some wonderful photographers who have joined up.

Thanks for your continued emails and friendship. Don't write me off completely. I may just "Mr. Linky" in one day.

Crisfield Valentine's Ball...Ya'll Come

2nd Annual Valentine's Ball to benefit Crisfield Events

Saturday, February 13th, Crisfield Chesapeake Masonic Lodge

$75 - Catered by Watermen's Inn

Dancing to Barren Creek

From last year's event...

Lovin' you is easy cause you're beautiful
Makin' love with you is all I wanna do
Lovin' you is more than just a dream come true
And everything that i do is out of lovin' you
La la la la la la la... do do do do do

No one else can make me feel
The colors that you bring
Stay with me while we grow old

And we will live each day in springtime
Cause lovin' you has made my life so beautiful
And every day my life is filled with lovin' you

Lovin' you i see your soul come shinin' through
And every time that we oooooh
I'm more in love with you
La la la la la la la... do do do do do

 

Loving You by Minni Riperton

Glenwood Evans and Son in Crisfield

"You are blessed if your  family is well and your house don't burn down." ~ Lewis Culbertson

Meet Lewis Culbertson. He knows a lot about family. He has seventy-five grandchildren. I featured Lewis on my blog last summer. He holds the status of rock-star around Glenwood Evans and Son, having worked for the family since he was ten-years-old. Culbertson will be eighty-five in June, 2010.

Charles Bradshaw, who works at Glenwood Evans, says of Culbertson, "When he is gone there will be a void around this place. All the waterman know him; they wave when they pass by and they expect to see him when they drop off their crabs and oysters or pick up their bait."

Culbertson is known for sitting on the dock in an easy chair when he is not working. When one chair wears out, another ones arrives. Local recreational boaters also know Culbertson. In the summer months when we take our boat out,  we always look for the chair to see if Culbertson is there so we can wave. If we don't see him in his chair, we know he is busy working the forklift, putting gas in boats, or doing a million other things  around the dock that keeps it running smoothly.

I plan on writing a "real" story on this fascinating man and the family who has kept him in their employment for nearly seventy-five years, when I get a little time to actually sit and write.

Culbertson is a walking history book and he has so much to say. For now, enjoy this little photo essay. I was at Glenwood Evans today and had a chance to chat with Culbertson before the oyster boats arrived with their bounty.