Once Elegant

As in many rural areas, countless homes have fallen into decline here on the VA eastern shore through neglect or years of abandonment.

As we’ve travelled many back roads in and around these parts, it has always surprised me how once large family homesteads were left to fall apart through the ravages of time and nature.That decline also extended to a once elegant landmark motel located on US Rte. 13 in Accomac, VA — The Whispering Pines which had centrally-heated rooms and featured an in-ground swimming pool, dining room and soda shoppe, and tourist cabins. It was usually referred to simply as The Pines. Originally built in 1932 by the late Charles F. Russell, The Pines operated as a family business for 50 years; most of the seven Russell children and 12 grandchildren worked there as their first job. It also provided jobs for hundreds of local workers over the years. So well-regarded was The Pines that many regular travellers were known to schedule their southern route trips from NY to Florida around a stop at The Pines. It was known for gracious hospitality and good food. Local folks too often visited The Pines to dine or visit the soda shoppe. Celebrities stayed there, including the cast of the 1961 film, Misty of Chincoteague. Newsman Walter Cronkite and singer Diana Ross of The Supremes fame dined there. Years past, the Glenn Miller Band entertained at The Pines. After Russell’s death in 1963, the family continued running the business, selling it in 1972. In the early 1980s, owner Ralph Powers, was fatally injured on the grounds. Afterwards, The Pines was operated by several owners, and fell into extensive disrepair. In 2012, the property was sold at a tax sale for $27,000 in back taxes. But, on the day of the sale, the owner filed for bankruptcy; the property was encumbered in the bankruptcy process.THIS week, a fire of suspicious nature added to the deterioration and destroyed The Pines main building that formerly housed the dining room and soda shoppe. The block construction is all that was left standing. Several other buildings on the property remain standing in various stages of deterioration.As relative newcomers to the Eastern Shore, we were not familiar with The Pines grandeur as it was already well in decline in 2005. This week, blogger friend, Possum, featured a memory post based on personal experiences as a long-time resident.

Photos showing the decline and fire aftermath were taken by me. Background information and early photos of The Whispering Pines were obtained from sources that included the Eastern Shore Public Library. Also, Grenville, a former NJ firefighter, was at the fire scene as was local radio station owner, Charles F. Russell II, whose great-grandfather built The Pines.

More of the Same

Right about the time things start drying out from the previous week’s downpours, comes another full day of rain . . .

Thanks to Mona for letting me know that my ID of this bathing bird was incorrect — it’s a Carolina Wren (not a nuthatch).

Check out her Montanagirl blog for some beautiful images of birds and more.

Hope the weather is improving in your part of the world.

Pulled Pork 1-2-3

1 = WOW, 2 = So good, 3 = Very Very Easy

These are some of the leftovers as I forgot to take before and after of prep and then cooked. Grenville and I are trying to figure out why we never tried preparing this before this past Saturday.

OK, our excuse could be that we are not really southerners. Not that being from the South is necessary, but this dish is sure popular here.

Pulled pork is a form of BBQ in which pork, usually shoulder cut (also called Boston butt) is cooked low and slow using grills, smokers, ovens and our choice, a crockpot slow cooker.This process is the quintessence of Southern smoke roasting — lazy, slow, easy, and fragrant. The cooked pork is SO tender that it’s pulled apart using fingers or forks to shred the meat. It’s usually served on a bun with BBQ sauce with cole slaw either piled on top or as a side dish.

In some places, pulled pork is made from a mixture of the blade shoulder and arm shoulder meat and served with a tomato-based barbecue sauce. In others, either a whole hog, mixed cuts of the hog, or the shoulder cut alone are used; the pork is served with or without a vinegar-based sauce.

A whole pork shoulder (15-20 lbs.) consists of the upper part (Boston Butt) and the lower part (the Picnic). The difference between these is the bone structure. The butt has a small shoulder blade bone and the picnic has the front leg bone and joint. Also, the picnic is normally sold with “skin on” and the butt only has a small fat cap.

We invited friends over, even though this was a first time recipe for us at home.  Haven’t you ever done this?

Only a few things were needed, the pork, some spices and a large crockpot. Lots of variations for a rub and my choices were: cumin, garlic power, smoked paprika, chili powder, sea salt and ground black pepper, also added a roughly chopped onion at the bottom of the crockpot and 1/4 C of apple cider vinegar. Meat was placed in fat side up. The fat easily pulls off after 6-7 hours of slow cooking.

We’d offer y’all some, BUT there weren’t many leftovers, thanks to 6 hungry diners — maybe next time. We’re doing this one AGAIN.

Bird Bath

One of the best things about looking out the F&P kitchen window is seeing entertainment provided by birds that regularly visit.

Today was NO exception.

This nuthatch always hangs around the back patio and, after the recent rains, was determined to go for a dunking. His chosen spot was the top of a container on the back patio.A depression in the top always catches some rainwater — there’s been a lot of that lately. Then, it was drying off time on the nearby woodpile.

Time for a final pose, before flying off

Maybe, he will return next weekend — the bath will still be here.

Friday Funnies

Just wondering IF . . .

Man driving was the chauffeur OR the dog barked directions.

Drying Out

Yesterday, parts of the US, including northern VA, got hit with another winter storm dumping inches of wet snow. But, the Frog & PenguINN’s snow shovel sat idle as the VA eastern shore was pounded with winds up to 35 mph and downpours — 2.04 inches of rain within a 24-hour period.

Here’s some shots from the morning after when I took a walk around the neighborhood.

This is not waterfront property, well maybe now it is, and looks like it’s a good thing there’s a boat nearby.

Nope, these are not peaceful streams — looks can deceive.

These are where vegetable gardens will be planted if Spring AND dryer weather come here (soon), preferably together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We hope that blogger friends and all others in the path of the latest winter storms were safe.

So when did that groundhog say Spring was coming?

Seeing Double

NOPE, it’s not a re-touched, manipulated or cropped image, folks — it’s SOOC or straight out of the camera — and it really happened as these 2 female cardinals patiently waited their turn at the feeder last week.  It was shot indoors from the kitchen window.
While it’s not unusual to see up to 6 to 8 male and female cardinals gathered on this tree, this nearly duplicated pose seemed amazing.

OFTEN, the best shots happen when least expected.

The FM Principle

Once again it was the FM principle working at The Frog & PenguINN. And, shame on you for thinking that FM meant anything more than “Fairy Magic.”
Here at The F&P we have a resident group of Glass Fairies who have been known to rearrange wine glasses. Another group, the Card Fairies, mysteriously leave cards and notes for special occasions and holidays. Always a good thing.

There’s also Stuff Fairies that are far less helpful and often make more work than not. The less said about this group, the better cause less stuff is what we are hoping to have.
BEST of all these groups are the Magic Fairies who come when least expected — and can return anytime.
HOW do we know?

A month ago, one of the back burners on our just over-a-year old gas stove wouldn’t light. When turned, the electronic igniter would emit a hissing sound indicating that gas was getting through, but no flame. Grenville went through all the manual’s troubleshooting steps (yes, we sometimes do that). Still, nothing worked, and as any service call these days entails a minimum fee, just to look at the problem, we were either not using that burner or Grenville would manually light it. We figured that sooner or later we’d get it repaired, but we still had 3 good working burners and only 2 in the household so there was no BIG rush.

Every  so often, we would try lighting the burner; this weekend to our surprise it worked  . . .

You may scoff and say there’s no such thing as fairies, but as for Grenville and I — we believe !

NOW, if we could only find those House Sale Fairies.

Post Office for Sale

Who owns the “Post Office” or more specifically the USPS? Technically, it’s the U.S. Federal Government.  However, it’s classified as an “independent establishment of the executive branch of the Government of the U.S.” and operates independently of government control, run by its own non-political directors.

But, right here in this little VA eastern shore town of under 550, both the lot AND apparently the building that currently houses the Onley, VA  post office are for sale.

Nope, this is NOT a joke folks.

YES, this is the VA town we’re  living in until our home, The Frog & PenguINN, sells and Grenville and I can relocate to northern climes, closer to grandkids.

SEEMS most things have a price these days, and this bargain can be had for $250,000 — only a quarter of a million dollars.

While this may seem like an early April Fool’s joke, it’s NOT. That sign is really outside the property and appeared there this week. It’s placed near a home, possibly some folks think it’s a residential listing. But these photos and details from the listing website leave no doubt that it’s not.

Listing Details

List Price: $250,000 Farm: No Zoning:   County: Accomack Town: ONLEY Waterfront: NON-WATER Water Frontage (Feet) +/-:   Water View-Wide Long Limited:   Year Built +/-: 1960 Sq Ft +/-: 1840 # Restrooms: 0 Lot Size +/-: .333 Current Use: Office, Business Service, Other-See Remarks

Exterior: Brick and Block Heating System: Circulating Hot Water, Boiler Cooling System: Central A/C, Heat Pump Water/Sewer: Well Water, Septic System Access: Interstate 1 mile or Less, City Street, Paved Road Floors: Concrete Slab/Grade, Vinyl/Asphalt/Tile Roof System: Steel Joists, Built-Up Location: Freestanding Parking: 0-10 Spaces C&I Features: Loading Dock, Lifts, Delivery Doors Miscellaneous: 220 Volts, Office up to 2500 Sq Ft

It seems that the building and parking lot are privately owned and the post office pays a monthly rental. Word is that the current owner wants to sell high to make a profit — doesn’t everyone these days?

Grenville and I were wondering IF a new owner could oust the current tenant. We hope not cause we really like the P.O. staff who are always friendly, cheerful and helpful. We’ve come to know the clerks in our nearly 8 years of living here. Here in Onley, folks living on Main Street have house delivery; those of us living on back streets have an assigned P.O. box in this building. Even though we plan to relocate, we hope they are not forced to do so prematurely.

Any prospective buyer would be located right in the center of downtown Onley, VA on the corner of Main St and Coastal Blvd.

All the photos are taken from the realty listing, except for the For Sale sign which was photographed this week.

Since I was curious about the availability of post offices, I did some online research. I found out that those in the market for a new office building or warehouse, riverfront property, a site located near downtown stores, or maybe in a suburban office park should check out options offered by the The U.S. Postal Service.

In 2011, the USPS launched USPSPropertiesforSale.com, a site listing more than 90 post offices and mail distribution centers that it’s hoping to sell to generate revenue and cut operational costs. The site works like any other online real estate site: Type in a state and city, ideal price, and then browse options.

Everything has a price.

Friday Funnies

Gives Sticker Shock a different meaning . . .

You never know what you’ll spot at Walmart.