Our friends Beth and Chuck are now welcoming pets to their beautiful cottage/cabin in the Hocking Hills. Honey Ridge, the name of their charming two-bedroom facility, is centrally located, lovingly maintained and just plain peaceful. And their rates are very competitive.
So, if Marsh Hollow is unavailable, or you are looking for a two-bedroom cabin, check out Honey Ridge.
We’ve had almost a week of somewhat normal temperatures after weeks of well-below-normal temperatures. Dave and I decided to check out the Ash Cave waterfall to see if it was frozen. On our last trip in January, it had big stalagtites reaching down to a really big stalagmite of ice.
Yesterday, it was running freely and there was still a nice pile of ice at the bottom:
Beware: the trail in was a solid sheet of ice. VERY SLIPPERY!
I’m beginning to feel a little tender from the 5k “Indian Run” race at the Hocking Hills State Park on Saturday. Dave and I ran/jogged/walked over the trails, and while we improved our time from last year’s event, we dropped in the standings! But our Kelly won her division!
This is a great event, with 5k, 10k, 20k, 40k and 60k runs. While some of it is on paved roads, most is on trails. Plenty of hills and tree roots to navigate. Check it out at http://www.1800hocking.com/indianrun because there will be another one next September.
Yesterday, Dave and I met up with our good friend Sandy for some great music at the Washboard Festival in Logan. Year after year, this festival features incredible music, and this year was no exception. It’s not too late for you, because the music continues today (Sunday) until 5 p.m.
The bands must all have a washboard in them, and since the washboard is a funny-kind of instrument, most of the bands are pretty funny too. They all have such a great time, the audience just can’t help but join in. The music ranges from jug to blues to jazz to zydeco, plus just plain silly. These are professional musicians and all are very talented.
Yesterday, Dave and I got to see Big Mama Sue & Friends (the voice, the banjo, the piano playin’), the Cincinnati Dancing Pigs (funny funny funny), the Juggernaut Jug Band (such harmonizing) and Robin Lacy & Dezydeco (young, tight leather pants). These were all great, but my favorite was when Buffalo Ridge and the “Washboard Ensemble” took the stage. In addition to the great band, the ensemble included a bunch of amateurs and other professionals. Amatuer might be the wrong word, these people take their music seriously. The closing tune, “When the Saints Go Marching In” was toe tappin’, foot stompin’, hand clappin’ good stuff. And you’ve never seen that many washboard players in one place. And yes, I might have to get me one of those ‘boards!
2015 update: Etta’s is long gone, but Rocky’s Outdoor Gear is still there and still wonderful.
Pat, Patty, Maggie & Makenzie (daughter & family) drove up from Georgia week before last to visit all their folks in Ohio. We were lucky to have them stay with us for almost a week (in the cabin, not in the house for goodness sake).
We had a wonderful time showing them the sites. M&M are finally both old enough to do a little hiking so we tripped over to Ash Cave and Cedar Falls. Then it was off to Etta’s Lunchbox Cafe for some eats. Motto: “we’re not your Mom, but we’ll pack your lunch.” Very tasty.
Next stop was Rocky’s Outdoor Gear in Nelsonville, one of my favorite places to shop. They’ve got much more than boots. It’s 3 floors of house stuff, clothes, gifts, knives and boots, boots, boots. DEFINTELY worth a stop (about 45 minutes from Marsh Hollow).
Our Spring magazine from Geico had a nice little article for teens about different driving dangers, comparing the city to the country. Excellent advice, which I will paraphrase here:
On rural roads:
Enjoy your drive in the country. Just SLOW DOWN.
Mary at Marsh Hollow
For the past week or so, Dave & I have been listening to Whip-poor-wills singing their songs. They are to be heard in the evening, and last a long time. According to A Guide to Field Identification Birds of North America (1983), the song lasts 55-60 minutes! We have never seen this bird, but enjoy its song, as a sign of spring, year after year. The song can be quite loud as the bird gets closer, and one blog writer described whip-poor-wills as “unshut-able.”
On another topic, I have mentioned how much I enjoy reading the police & sheriff’s reports in the Logan Daily. Here’s a sample from the Thursday paper:
Andy Ucker, Cox Road, reported that he found a roofing nail in his driveway on Saturday, April 29. A deputy talked with a neighbor who said he didn’t see anything suspicious in the area.
There’s probably more to this story, but don’t you WISH you lived somewhere where this is considered an important reason to call the law?
Have a great weekend!
Mary at Marsh Hollow
Yes, the lilacs are in full bloom as are the dogwood trees. They’ve been blooming for a week, but this weekend must have been the peak. The redbud trees are starting to leaf out, so the blooms are fading. I really can’t decide which is my favorite of these three – guess I don’t have too!
Even more exciting news: Dave saw a single hummingbird earlier this week. I’d better get the feeders washed, filled and hung up. Those little birds are very demanding.
Our Eastern phoebes built their regular nest on our front porch. I haven’t checked for eggs yet, but mama and papa phoebe are always around. Little Six (our black kitty) loves to sit on the window cell and watch them fly back & forth. They’ve picked a good spot – Six cannot climb up to the nest.
Our friend Sandy came over yesterday to hunt for mushrooms (morels). In past years, we have found a few, but expected better results ’cause we thought Sandy, being a born and raised country girl, would give us an edge. Not so. She told us we had lots of prime locations, but we found no mushrooms. Even the usual little patch had zip. We’ll try again in a few days, after we get the next rain.
However, we found a lot of wildflowers, among them Bluets, Violets, White Violets, Wild Sweet William, Large White Trillim and Golden Ragwort. The May Apples are sprouting everywhere, but the flowers aren’t open yet . Dogwood blooms appear to be floating at the edge of the woods, and the Redbuds are really putting on a spectacular display this year. Speaking of Dogwoods, there is an absolutely gorgeous old, pink Dogwood on Route 56 in Laurelville, just east of the Apple House. It blooms beautifully, year after year.
While not wild, our crabapple trees are heavy with flowers this year. And smell wonderful. The lilacs should pop open in a few days! My favorite.
Just a quick post – this morning I heard a lot of gobbling (as in many gobbles) from the pine grove near our Marsh Hollow cabin! Turkeys are very clever and we don’t see any around our home because of our dog patrol (Juice, Mac & Boede). It’s spring in the Hocking Hills.