Tag Archives: morris arboretum

east whiteland, land of betrayal and bad plans.

Posted on by
Reply
Sign of the times taken by someone NOT trespassing. Not my photo, saw it on social media. Corporate welfare bought to you by Governor Josh Shapiro. Residents are always optional in his equations.

East Whiteland Township, Chester County is just a place where most honestly feel government pays lip service for every shitty thing that happens. Well not everyone. Some just ignore us altogether like State Representative Kristine Howard. She literally does nothing and says nothing. Never shows up for anything in her district. But she is BFFs now with neighboring State Representative Danielle Friel Otten whom people elected as a pipeline activist and that didn’t last long as she just wanted to sit at the popular kids table in Harrisburg and is a sell out.

Governor Josh Shapiro is everywhere as he is up for re-election. But he is busy having his literal neighbors dislike him and handing out corporate welfare as that sign in East Whiteland indicates. Yes I can have that opinion while I say I told you so. Shapiro has always been exactly who he is.

If anyone had been paying attention except for some of us, they would have seen it back when he was former Congressman Joe Hoeffel’s Chief of Staff (1999-2003). We certainly saw it when we were starting to fight eminent domain for private gain in Ardmore, PA. It was literally his job to help and/or at least listen to Hoeffel’s constituents. He didn’t and I can distinctly remember him avoiding residents in Ardmore at a town hall meeting in early eminent domain days. The meeting was at a senior center in Ardmore.

Now we don’t really have a viable choice on the other side of the aisle, just Marge Simpson, err Stacy Garrity. That woman was pro-data center until a lightbulb went off and she thought she could maybe get two extra votes and she flip flopped to being sort of against them.

There is one person whom we know cares 100%: State Senator Katie Muth. She is a fierce mama bear for all of us. She cares. She shows up.

I guess I just don’t understand how anyone thinks this data center or any data centers are OK. I also don’t understand one of the East Whiteland Supervisors after finding this video:

Now he is only one of three supervisors. But like with many other municipalities, you have at least one who thinks data centers are wonderful and the hypocrite tree hugger in that video from NBC 10 above that’s on YouTube is the one in East Whiteland. According to this media report and subsequent research, he apparently works for Morris Arboretum owned by the University of Pennsylvania so does that mean Morris Arboretum and Penn are pro data centers?

https://www.morrisarboretum.org/blog/penn-today-qa-chief-arborist-peter-fixler

But the rest of the East Whiteland board? It’s like they are doing fear based governance. They are so afraid of what might happen to them that they’re not thinking about what will happen to the all of us and aren’t I allowed to have that opinion? Shouldn’t the courage of your convictions mean something when you’re an elected official? I mean, if you can’t stand up for the people who elected you why are you in office? What are you getting out of it?

Today, as I was standing outside in my garden, looking into my woods, I was pondering all of this. I will share my thoughts next in a little video, and then I will share some video snippets from the most recent East Whiteland meeting and some other stuff.

I’m sad. I am sad that we don’t matter. I’m sad that our local environment doesn’t matter. And I am fearful we will run out of water and not be able to afford our power. No one has been able to allay these fears and I don’t think they really can and I’m allowed to have that opinion too.

What happens if we actually become Logan’s Run?

https://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2026/07/pjm-interconnection-issues-maximum.html?m=1

https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/US/HTM/1937/0/0394..HTM

https://www.inquirer.com/news/pennsylvania/east-whiteland-data-center-proposed-changes-20260709.html

https://www.inquirer.com/business/peco-new-office-chester-malvern-20260709.html

the ultimate tree carving

Posted on by

DSC_0186So.  We had this tree. It was beautiful but was a house killer so it had to come down. I hate when trees have to come down. The tree guy says to us at the time (a few months ago)  “Do you want to keep a tall stump I know a guy who carves trees.”  We said yes.  We called this guy up several times. Only this tree carver never called us back.  Good thing in the end, because our tree was carved by the person I think meant to carve it.

totem

Around the same time Carver “X” wasn’t calling us back,  friends in Phoenixville had a giant tree  carved.  It was amazing.  We asked them who they used.  “Marty Long” they replied.  So we called him up. He asked us to look at his website to see if what he did was to our liking.

I think it took five seconds of looking at his website to say “oh yes, please”.  This was tree carving I had never seen the likes of. It was fully sculptural, often lyrical and even fey. I have a friend from high school who is a marvelous sculptor, so I appreciate the craft.

Marty said he would fit us in when he had time.

frogSummer rolled through and I began to realize that some of my favorite wood carvings I had seen out of trees were his creations.  The giant frog in North Wayne. The rabbit totem pole on the Haas Estate facing County Line Road in Villanova.  And many others.  It ends up that all of the wood carvings I really like are his.

DSC_0012Marty was trained as a chef at Johnson and Wales.  He went from crazy ice carving to tree/stump carving.  He also carves benches and furniture and does extreme power carving.  One of the many articles written about his work was written by my friend Bonnie Cook:

Tree sculpture creates a buzz A dead white oak  is transformed into art with a children’s theme.

By Bonnie L. Cook INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Posted: September 02, 2008

High above the road in Villanova, what’s left of a giant oak is becoming chainsaw art.

Marty Long, an ice sculptor turned wood carver, slices away at the 12-foot-high trunk in front of an orthodontist’s home at 91 N. Spring Mill Rd.

DSC_0018We had a different vision for our tree then the people interviewed above.  We both love owls and I also love green men and wood sprites and spirits. Marty came and walked around, checking out my quasi tamed but somewhat feral garden (as I have previously mentioned, my garden suffered from lack of care due to an elderly gardener before I got my paws on it.)

He called us a week ago and said it was time.  I was so excited I think I was probably a bit ridiculous to live with.

DSC_0033

Marty and his assistant John showed up and he asked me what we wanted, or should I be more specific, had what we wanted changed since we first met with him.  I said nope and said the end result would be up to him as the artist.  I figured the wood would tell him what it wanted to be as he got into it.

From the body of a tree formerly known as a GIANT RED OAK has arisen this amazing sculpture.  It’s like a totem pole and it is awesome.  I have the ultimate owl on one side DSC_0066guarding over us and my garden, and on the other side of the tree is a wood-spirit who must have a green man as a cousin.  He gazes out at us with knowing all-seeing eyes and his hair and beard are partially made of leaves.

DSC_0130I find myself just staring at the tree. Marty’s work is simply amazing and very beautiful.  His tree carvings are raw energy and then they flow into these amazing creations.  They are indeed pieces of art if you let him go with the flow of his creativity.

If you want to connect with Marty, here is his website: www.martylong.com. Tell him you read about him on Chester County Ramblings.  If you want the most amazing thing ever, this is your guy.

Chester County has some truly amazing crafts people and artists.

I think this thing is so cool that I need my own druid…..

Thanks Marty!

DSC_0190

DSC_0162