Deer hunting haulers

At Mantz's Meat Market, most of Monday morning's prizes were laying in the back of a 'beater' pick up truck,  or even huge, shiny trucks jacked up so high I'd need a ladder or a boost to get in.

Then drove up a sparkling Mercedes-Benz SLK230. Surely, he's just checking on the status of his baloney or a few steaks, we thought. The last time a Benz pulled into this meat market was when Joe the Butcher was in diapers.

When the driver opened his trunk, this big doe was stuffed inside. It was kind of funny, in a strange sort of way. A Benz isn't meant to haul a bloody carcass across town, after all, that's why God invented pickup trucks. A Benz is meant to impress, and it certainly did Monday.

Of course, life is about perspective, and maybe all of us onlookers had jumped to the wrong conclusion. Maybe his pickup was being used by a friend for his deer. Maybe his pickup was getting fixed.

Or maybe, those of us who lack the funds to purchase such a fine vehicle just don't understand. After all, a Benz is a car, much like any other car.  Right...

It just seemed to wrong, for so many reasons. The driver said he heard a lot of that kind of comment. But he didn't mind. On the next trip back,  steaks will be waiting.

Watching deer hunters, killing time

 As I waited for deer hunters Monday morning to wander out of the woods (sooner or later they'll grow bored of sitting in their tree stand or standing alone in the cold) I at least had a warm van for refuge.

Over there on a ridge is a hunter, apparently waiting for deer to stroll past.

They never did.

There's another hunter leaning against a tree for the past hour, hoping deer will race past, escaping other hunters.

They didn't, either.

So, with the hunters' activities slowed to the speed of ice thawing, you look for something to do until The Moment happens-- assuming it will.

Look down, and in the chilly morning air is a gallery of frosty ice tossed over a field of greenery. Throw on a macro lens that's older than most Dispatch reporters and add a circle flash that in human years could graduate from college. And then, look close.

Making a picture out of a frosty morning is a challenge. Old lenses are tight and finicky, old flashes don't work with digital anything. Fingers get cold, batteries die quickly, and my old stomach grumbles for a Lee's Diner breakfast.

Try different angles, different lights, different magnifications. It's fun. Really.
 

Friendship fruit salad at Locust Grove

Zane Cronkrite, 6.

Addison Evans, 6.

Isabel Walker, 6.

Travon Orr, 6.

 Travon Orr, 6, bottom right, and his kindergarten classmates at Locust Grove Elementary School replayed Thanksgiving  between Native Americans and the pilgrims, Wednesday, November 21, 2012, with 'friendship fruit salad'.

Izaiah Stansbury, 6.

Football team descends on donut pile

The West York football team went through a light practice Thanksgiving morning in preparation for its Friday night showdown with Susquehanna Township, but the hundreds of family and friends who showed up weren't interested much in practice.

Thirty four dozen Maple Donuts were delivered shortly before practice began, and when coach Ron Miller dismissed the players they descended on the concession stand like a swarm of bees, where boosters gave out the goodies.

Well, that's not quite correct.  They just opened boxes full of donuts and seconds later it was empty.  Imagine a football team attacking a donut pile.

Check the video at about the 1:20 mark, where a half dozen hands wanted the same donut, one got it, but had it taken away by a bigger teammate.  I think it's funny, but the player who lost his prize probably wasn't so amused.

Lining up for turkeys

Hundreds of people lined up Tuesday at the York Benevolent Association for their free Thanksgiving do-it-yourself  dinner, including turkeys. 

Officials there said lines have never been this long, and traffic control was necessary to keep the peace. People waiting in their cars in the handicapped line were even seen squeezing into line, and the line sometimes reached around the corner a block away. 

It's a shame that there's even a need for places like the Benevolent Association, but there are a few hundred people in York who are glad it's here.

Gingko trees, goldfinches and the sun

I've always liked yellow; its bright, clean look, and how you can almost hear the color trying to mellow even your toughest day. And it's the eye's seasonal alarm clock, reminding us that things are about to change.    Yellow daffodils and bright forsythias signal that it's time to put away the skis and rock salt-- spring is here. That was six months ago, and today the almost electric yellow maple and gingko trees are gently prodding us once again to take down the porch swing and button up for winter's hibernation.

. Yellow shines with optimism, enlightenment, and happiness. Shades of golden yellow carry the promise of a positive future. Yellow will advance from surrounding colors and instill optimism and energy as well as spark creative thoughts.  From http://www.squidoo.co/allaboutyellow

 Yellow is light, joyful. The sun is yellow. Goldfinches are yellow.  Sunflowers.  The yellow brick road.  A Yellow Submarine.  Glowing Peace rose, black eyed susans, marigolds, coreopsis. It's a color, an outlook and a mood.

Learning about Thanksgiving

Visited York Adventist Christian School Thursday afternoon for the school's recycling program and found a small tribe of Native Americans/kindergartners learning about Thanksgiving and its traditions.

 Kindergartners Caleb Romero, 6, left,  Leila Murray, 6, Kiara Morrobel, 5, and Lili Seda, 6, pose in their Native American costumes.

Can't help but be impressed by the school's small class sizes and obvious care, ability and friendliness of its teachers.

The kindergartners explained to me about the sharing of food between the Native
Americans and the pilgrims, about Plymouth Rock, how they survived the cold and how they fertilized the farm fields.

Of course, I couldn't resist taking pictures of this small tribe, first with a cute smiley pose, and then with a silly pose.
 

Electric redness

 On the way to play pickleball in Lititz Tuesday morning, saw this line of electric-red maple trees on Fourth Street. Agreed, Photoshop is our friend, but these trees didn't need much help. The folks at Moravian Manor see this treat whenever they look out their windows.

It's mid-November, and most of the leaves are still on my trees in York. Hope they fall before the snow does.

Bald eagle release video

This is the bald eagle release video that goes with an earlier post of still photos.  In the video, you'll hear raptor rehabilitator Mitzi Eaton explain the stress that goes with releasing a bird, especially eagles, who have a tendency to steer clear of people.

There was a crowd assembled at the release site, and Mitzi said it was the largest crowd she's ever had to talk with prior to the release. However, all the folks cooperated and were quiet during the event, and the bird soared to a nearby tree for a while. He then headed across the lake, looking as graceful as any other eagle-- even one who hasn't been in a cage for three months.

Bald eagle release

Just prior to Mitzi Eaton releasing a rehabilitated bald eagle Saturday, York Daily Record photographer Jason Plotkin and I were joking about asking Mitzi to have the bird fly straight out of the cage and right up, and onto a bare evergreen branch a 30 yards away.  We'd get the entire event, catching, releasing and flying away, we said.

Yep, getting that is like training a cat to sit up and beg or a cow to spit milk out her nose. It wasn't going to happen.  Except that it did.  Couldn't have asked for a better position.

A slideshow/video with Wildlife Conservation Officer Greg Graham and Mitzi explaining the rehab process is in the works and will be posted, as soon as my computer is returned from the Intensive Care Unit.

Wind, rain, snow and roses

God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.

   So, some of the front yard roses survived Hurricane Sandy's wind and rain with minimal damage. But it's doubtful Mr. Lincoln (top), John F. Kennedy (bottom left) and Chicago Peace will handle tonight's freeze and possible wet snow with such grace.

    The roses were cut today and saved in a vase where their fragrances will fill the house for a few days before they too, will succumb.

    I'll trim back the bushes a bit so they don't snap during winter snowstorms,and mound around the bases with mulch and fallen leaves.That will protect them from the late winter warm snap that always has them-- and us-- thinking that spring is here.

   For almost exactly six months the roses brightened our garden. The first rose (Climbing Peace) bloomed May 5.

Miss York County pageant shows talent

CHELSEA SHANK / The York Dispatch
505-5432 / @ydhealth

The five winners chosen at the 64th annual York County Pageant on Saturday will go on to compete in Miss America competitions at the state level.
Laura Traub, 21, of York Township, was crowned Miss York County.
Traub sang "If I Had My Way," by Frank Wildhorne for the talent portion of the event. Her platform as Miss York County 2013 is autism awareness, which was also her platform for that past year that she has been serving as Miss Susquehanna Valley 2012.

To see more photos, check here.

"I baby-sat a little boy who had autism, and my senior year in high school I did a project at a school specifically for children with autism and I really connected with them," said Traub.
She is a neuroscience major at the College of William and Mary.

Laura Traub of Camp Hill was crowned Miss York County.

"I had a great experience last year with the directors, so I knew I wanted to compete with them again," Traub said. "I felt comfortable on the stage, since I had already competed there before." "I knew a lot of the girls, so it was just really fun to spend the day with them and get to know everyone and then just go out there and do your best," said Traub.

She received a $5,000 scholarship for winning Miss York County and will hold the title for one year. During that time she will have the opportunity to promote her platform of autism awareness throughout the state.
Lindsey Reichard was selected as Miss Susquehanna Valley.
Traub and Reichard will go on to compete at the Miss Pennsylvania pageant in Pittsburgh in June, and the winner at that pageant will represent the state in the Miss America competition.
The Miss Pennsylvania Outstanding Teen winners are Becky Zaneski, Brielle Morgan and Alli McClune.