Autumn in PA

This is a picture of a tobacco barn down the street from me. I should have gotten closer but I was taking the shot from the car. The barns are constructed so that tobacco can be dried in preparation for the auctions in December. I tried to find a wagon that was harvesting the tobacco but didn't see one around. I should take a drive around the county. I know the Amish are still harvesting. Below is another barn nearby. Not the one above. You can see the tobacco hanging up in this one. The cladding boards are the ones that can be opened and closed for airing. I believe they close them if it's raining.

There is no machinery to harvest tobacco. It's done by hand. Fastened in some way between 2 long boards by the stem, it is hung in the barn and left to dry. The above barn is very typical of the ones in this area. I seem to remember that, down South, the tobacco is stored/dried in long, open spaces with a net of some sort over them. It's been years since I've seen them, however, so I can be totally wrong.

This is what the inside of the a Pennsylvania tobacco barn looks like with the tobacco hung to dry.

OK, I have drained my knowledge of tobacco growing. On to other topics. One being I hadn't realized how long it's been since I posted. Weeks for crying out loud. Stuff has happened, of course. Most of it you already know, but I'm putting it here for myself.

Olivia went out for the Hempfield High School football team as I mentioned earlier. The coach threw everything he could at her, including huge players, but she stayed stuck. And gradually has won the coach's respect. I imagine he thought she'd bail the first time she was run over by some of her teammates in practice. Which shows how little he knew her. LOL She on the JV (Junior Varsity) team, of course. But she is still a midget among the giants. In case you can't tell, she is #88.

The good news for her is that the coaches, with all this new respect, put her into the game in the last 2 games. Granted Hempfield was ahead and it was the 4th quarter. Still, I didn't think she'd ever be put into a game. Unless it was the very last play of the very last game of the season. Her mom, Phyllis, got so excited I thought she was going to fall out of the bleachers. Olivia has been having lots of aches and pains due to all her various sports. She later told us that she couldn't feel a single one when she stepped onto the field that first time. She is an amazing person. I'm not sure I would have had the gumption to stick it as she has when I was her age. I like to think that I would have but I'll never know.

It won't be long till grandchild #13 puts in his appearance. The first week in November is his due date. I'm not sure what his name is and haven't asked Amy. I know she is very ready and I am very excited at the prospect of a new little person in my life.

The weather in Lancaster County has been off and on. September had some chilly nights. I never have gotten around to lighting the pilot light on the furnace. It's warmed up enough each day that I didn't need the heat. Now, the first week in October, it's Indian Summer and pretty darned hot.

I spent yesterday at a girl's fall softball tournament. It was too warm for me in the sun. Fortunately, there was a lovely row of old trees with great shade. They provided all the shade we needed for the day. The Blaze, Olivia's new tournament team for 2008, won all 3 games they played yesterday. I'm not sure if this will show up or not but here is the URL of the Google aerial map. If you click on Satellite, you will see the park. The field we played on is in the lower left corner. You can see the row of trees. The Turkey Hill is just below that and to the left a bit. The larger building is a gym. Just left of that is a dentist's office. Left of that is the Turkey Hill. They let us use their restr oom. TG and it is quite a hike to the concession stand. It's the small white building nestled into a grove of trees midway u p the field. Trust me, it's a lot further than it looks.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&newwindow=1&safe=off&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=community+park&near=Lancaster,+PA&fb=1&cid=0,0,7503140874932197737&sa=X&oi=local_result&resnum=1&ct=image

That's pretty much all I have to say for now. It's been a quiet Sunday. Did a few chores and hung out with Bella. She is learning to catch. I bought her a star-shaped squeaky toy and call it her baby. If I tell her to go find her baby, she goes into overdrive till she locates it. She sleeps with it and it is always nearby. Too cute. I love having a dog again.