Winchester Phil, our Local Furry Forecaster

On Saturday Janice and I went to Winchester to meet one of the town's newest celebrities, Winchester Phil. He was going to be predicting the length of winter on Monday and had been gradually woken up by his keeper for the event, being moved from his 40° hibernation temperature to a 50° environment. It took him 30 hours to wake up. By then he was starving and ready to meet his fans. Usually groundhogs start hibernating just before Christmas and then awake around now. But Phil doesn't know he's a groundhog. He was raised illegally by humans and then confiscated by animal welfare and is looked after by Valley Wildlife Care. At about 7 years old, he's spent his life as an education animal and is well used to being around humans. He should live to about 10 years while in captivity but in the wild with the risk of predators, his life span would be around 3 years.

Phil had pulled in a large crowd of people to the library in Winchester, and books were laid out for the kids as well as a puppet show. I spotted Janice near the front photographing the activities but I hovered around the area where I could see a large covered cage which I just knew was housing our furry star. I chatted with Lynn, Phil's keeper, and she gave me a peek under the blanket. Phil immediately responded by reaching up for attention, not the least bit put off by the presence of a stranger. I was delighted, I've always adored groundhogs and seeing one this close was a real treat.

Lynn picked him up and he sat on the table sporting his homemade harness and immediately wanted to be fed. He had a stash of muesli cookies but he was really enjoying a peanut butter and hay sandwich.

I couldn't stop watching him, he was simply gorgeous, and I never knew that they were similar to hamsters with cheeks that became food pouches. This guy was seriously tucking it away and I stared in wonder as his cheeks got larger and larger and larger. He stared back at me quite a bit too and seemed to accept my unwavering gaze of admiration as par for the course.

Even with cheeks fit to bust he didn't stop stuffing. I guessed he might be giving us a clue as to his weather prediction on Monday as he was certainly packing it away, probably to store as fuel for another 6 weeks of hibernation.

As the crowds began to disperse Janice and I still stood and continued to chat with Lynn and the volunteers. Phil continued to bite and chomp and gorge his cheeks, somehow pushing the food back almost to his shoulders but when viewing him from the side, he didn't look so bloated. He decided he wanted his bed so Lynn heaved that up on to the table for him and he rummaged around in there for a bit and I think he offloaded a few pounds of fodder into a deep corner. He unearthed a plastic carrier bag which Lynn grabbed, looking a little embarrassed. Apparently he likes those and will steal them and then hide them in his bed. He doesn't eat them but I guess he likes the crinkly noise. I thought he was burrowing about trying to get comfy for a snooze but no, he sat up and started snacking again.

After a few minutes he was back out on the table to see if any fans were still standing and adoring, but it was really only me and Janice, so he climbed back in to his box and curled up, grabbing his blankie. Lynn said he's always loved sucking on his blankie and that made him even more cute and endearing. So as he nuzzled and held his blue fleece we quietly wished him a pleasant doze and left him to sleep off his lunch.

Janice spotted this photo on Facebook showing her and myself in Phil's adoring crowd of admirers.
And bless his heart, he must have loved his attention that day as on the 2nd, he predicted that spring would come early to VA, see here.

Icy Morning

I woke up Saturday morning to ice and snow, and also my Baltimore trip was postponed to a later date. so with a lazy day in front of me I decided to load up the crock pot with pork chops, vegetables and dumplings, then I dressed to go outside. I had to take all these photos with a tripod, my hands got so cold I couldn't hold the camera still enough but I managed to capture the ice OK using some stabilization. Didn't enjoy getting low to the ground though, the grass was wet and cold.

By late afternoon most of the ice had gone but I still didn't venture out, not with a delicious casserole calling my name!

Exploring the Husk of a Distillery

Sunday was a gloomy, dank day, and absolutely perfect for urbexing photos. We were in PA to visit an old distillery which has a lot of coverage on the internet so I feel it's OK to mention its name here. A distillery, built in the 1850's, which had managed to survive prohibition by distilling medical spirits but was well known for distilling Overholt whiskey. It stood tall and desolate as we approached and it was apparent that it was really nothing more than a shell.
 It sported some recent fire damage scars from 2004 but still managed to create a dramatic first impression. There was a fire here in July 1884 when one warehouse with 600 barrels of whiskey was saved.  The Somerset Herald wrote in their story of July 30, "The heat of the fire was intense, and the flames lit up the country for miles.  Burning whisky flowed down the river.  Twenty-five barrels were rolled away and the whisky dipped up by a mob.  There were hundreds of drunken men."  The detail about hundreds of drunken men may have been the reason why, in 1905, Fire Marshall W. H. Marietta "issued orders that no liquor be given the firemen, saying that it was impossible to drink whiskey and fight fire at the same time."  It was an order that prompted some of the firemen to strike, "but they were not from Connellsville."
Maybe this was remembered years later when another fire broke out in 1905 prompting the headlines, " WILL MAKE OLD TOPERS SIGH. Four Million Dollars' Worth of Overholt Whisky Fed a Fire at Broadford, Pa."
There was still snow on the ground from the previous week and as we walked towards the abandonment, rain and sleet started falling again and the hulk of bricks towered above us.

We took shelter inside and looked around. There's some great photos online of what used to be here, even after it had been left to fend for itself, but there were no relics to be seen now, Plenty of broken glass, graffiti, old boxes and paint pots and bricks but very little furniture or equipment left.

A beautiful old iron spiral staircase could be seen reaching up towards a hole in the roof but we weren't tempted to climb up, even though someone had thoughtfully left a pallet and part of a ladder as a way to start ascending the broken  metal stairs.

I really liked the windows in these ruins but was suffering from a lack of creativity in my shots. I wasn't sure if it was the weather, or the fact that I'm not really happy with the photos from my G15 camera and am counting down the days until I have a new top of the range mirrorless camera. Maybe it was a combination of both. The weather outside was horrid and we had to stay under shelter. I saw a couple of mad men racing up the river in a speedboat, and although they were well wrapped up, I had to question their sanity. i was so surprised to see them I wasn't quick enough to grab a shot.

I couldn't take many exterior shots, the sleet was pretty hard at times. So I walked about and occasionally pulled out my camera for a quick snap and then hurriedly tucked it into my jacket again. It was a little frustrating as the brickwork here really warranted some closer shots. But it couldn't be done.

 We trampled through a couple of outbuildings and then decided to find somewhere warm for lunch and beer. The sleet was coming down harder and we wanted to get warm.
Rumor has it the distillery is haunted by a son whose family murdered him for monetary gain and his apparition has been seen on various occasions, as well as objects mysteriously moving or the feeling of being watched. I wasn't aware of these tales before I went but felt nothing untoward while I was there. The full story is here.
Some more shots and information is here, many photos of buildings now no longer standing.