Yesterday was one of those Pennsylvania days I love.
I’ve lived in California, Ohio, and my beloved Montana, coming back to Pennsylvania fourteen summers ago. There are things I’ve enjoyed about every place I lived.
There are many things I like about being in the state I grew up in
- Crickets – is there anything better than their late summer chirping on a dewy evening? Mom always said once the crickets started singing, school would begin in six weeks. I never remember to time it.
- Undergrowth in the woods – it’s a thick cushion in the summer and in the fall it crunches under your feet.
- Punk – Do you know what this is? I’ve only seen it in our woods.
- Fungi – in all their varied colors and shapes, growing in all the places they shouldn’t.
- Lightning bugs – little amber and green lights that brighten the yards and fields. They should be coming soon.
Pennsylvania days mean colors
- Green – The different shades that unfold throughout the spring. Each lawn can hold several hues of grasses and the plants surrounding them mock the varied greens in a Crayola box.
- Fall—the vast array of colors in every tree and on many shrubs and plants. I pick fallen leaves every autumn and press them because the colors are so stunning.
- Curved back roads – learning to drive on roads without lines. I’m still tempted to go fast around the bends.
- Proximity to things – Target and Costco…is it good to live close?
- Short winters – I love Montana with all my heart, but three months of winter versus six works for me.
- Old friends – reconnecting with friends from college, high school and, ahem, sometimes grade school.
- Rivers everywhere – there’s so much water here! Pittsburgh is a city of bridges with great names (Roberto Clemente, Rachel Carson and The Warhol = The Three Sisters; The Hot Metal Bridge, Panther Hollow, The Birmingham…aren’t these great names?)
- And Thunderstorms…
Pennsylvania Days are Summer Storms
That’s what lead to this blog. Thursday was one of those days where we woke up to rain pouring down. I knew it was going to be a day that the rain continues and the sun sleeps behind the clouds.
Our flowers needed the rain and the grass was turning a bit brown around the tips. We didn’t have to go anywhere (I love working from home!) or do any work outside. So let it rain. It wasn’t until after supper that the true storm started. The thunder rolled and the lightning shimmered while the rain continued down in droves.
Yes, Montana had storms that were great waterworks–lightning shows that captivated me. Perhaps it’s the closeness of the rolling hills of Pittsburgh versus the expanse of the Montana Beartooths. The storms here are all around you and even in your home you feel the power of them encompass you. It’s like being at the ocean without getting wet.
What do you love about where you live?
(One last thought for those of you who grew up near me. I have always loved turning onto Donaldson Road from Route 22. It meant I was getting closer to home.)
I live in Pennsylvania, too, and have the same likes as you, Rose, except we don’t have nearly as many rivers :-). I would miss the farmland if I moved away and the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables in their respective seasons. Back to the farmland, I have fond memories of walking the road of my childhood home at twlight with cornfields on both sides of the end of the road. The stalks rustled in the evening breeze and stirred our imaginations as to the possibilites of what might be in the cornfield in addition to corn.
I’m glad I went to York College and got to live near your part of the state so I could understand the beauty of rolling hills and farms that last a long time.
I love Montana with all my heart and could never move back to PA but I do miss all those things you mentioned.
This morning I am looking at blue, blue skies with not a cloud, blooming lilacs (which is a rarity in my yard), and yes, all those different shades of green. Love it.
Ah, and that’s one thing I always miss about Montana–that blue, blue sky that goes on forever.