favorite things and photos of days gone by

In advance of a photography gig I was checking out what I had on some old chips, and came across photos of one of my favorite things: Sugartown Strawberries. Have you been to Sugartown Strawberries? Met Farmer Bob? What are you waiting for?

Sugartown Strawberries kept me in some awesome veggies and things this past summer and fall. They also do these farm table dinners in the fall along with hayrides, and they have a little country store. I wasn’t able to attend any of the farm table dinners in 2011 and hope to change that in 2012 as they looked pretty awesome.

As much as I tote my camera, almost every time I went to Sugartown Strawberries this past summer and fall I almost always forgot my camera. I plan to remedy that soon because I love the property – it’s very cool much like the owner. It is located at 650 Sugartown Road in Malvern.

Before I get onto the second part of this post, I wanted to take the time to thank all of you have discovered my latest blog project and read the posts. I also figure I must be gaining in site visits as attempts at spamming have increased dramatically.

Now to part 2. A few years ago, before it came down, I started photographing Addison Mizner’s La Ronda in Bryn Mawr. It was the castle of our childhoods along the Main Line. As a matter of fact I know a woman who once called it home when I was little. I never played in it’s cavernous front hall, but was always fascinated by it.

Somehow as the decades pased, La Ronda survived. Until a few years ago when the last owner of the house while it stood decided to sell it to a man whose heart’s desire was to tear it down. And tear it down he did. The bones of the mansion were picked over via salvage and bits and pieces are still being sold today.

In the place of La Ronda a gross McMansion has grown – complete with a hockey rink because you know every kid needs one. The irony is that the new house is basically the same size as what was torn down. The McReplacement is a Pohlig product. As in Pohlig Builders the developers out of Malvern. (And speaking of Pohlig, I swear I have seen a new Pohlig sign on Sugartown in Easttown on the grounds of what I thought was an intact estate – anyone know anything?)

So check out the Proper Philadelphia’s post titled La Ronda Revisited . That is part 2 of this post. The blogger quotes me as I was quoted in an article in The Philadelphia Inquirer in May 2011. It’s a weird feeling revisiting your activism past…..

I did several photo sets on La Ronda. Some of the favorite photos I took were of La Ronda’s woodchucks. If you are interested in the photos: