Juggling our time between the railway museum and Caboose Falls has been a challenge this year. More and more, we find that the biggest demand on our time here isn’t the trains at all, but the grounds.
It really is remarkable how quickly nature reclaims her territory. The soil here is so rich that if we miss even a week of maintenance, the place begins to look like a jungle. There is a constant battle to keep the paths clear, the vines under control, and the grounds looking like a place people are actually meant to visit. Now, with autumn approaching, I’m reminded that the work isn’t about to slow down. In fact it only get more demanding as we head steadily on toward winter.
The wildflowers we planted along the bike trail have nearly run their course for the year. We’ll certainly need to scatter more seed next spring, and hopefully find some varieties that will continue blooming into late summer. We planted them to beautify the mess left by PennPower. Their damage will probably take another year or two to fully overcome. But, it’s nice to see the area beginning to recover, even if it is happening more slowly than we’d like.
Even with a lot to do, we always find time to share Caboose Falls. This weekend we had guests for dinner. On the menu was grilled chicken, a fresh vegetable salad, and angel food cake for dessert. It certainly wasn’t up to the standard of a Fr. Ed dinner party, but it was a lovely evening nonetheless.
The trains were fairly quiet all day, although we did catch a glimpse of the B&O heritage unit passing by. Our neighbors (CSX) recently worked on their ballast, and in the process knocked over and mostly buried our favorite waiting “bench.” Since it’s far too heavy to move, we’ll have to start thinking about an alternative. Incidentally, the ballast looks great.
We ended the day dealin’ card games in the club car, which in this case was our transfer caboose, P&LE 565.
Not a bad way to end a day at Caboose Falls.