Flights of Fancy & Trails

This morning I stopped in the coffee shop, Spilling the Beans, for a morning brew. It’s always a great place to see the locals but today the morning men’s coffee clutch was busting at the seams. It always makes me smile to see these men who have worked so hard all their lives, in business, family and community, just sharing what they know and having a great time. As always I can hear the voice of my friend Ron Black, a voice of wisdom and always a fun and interesting story!

As I added cream to my coffee I was pleased to realize that I had happened upon one of the displays of painted birdhouses that will be raffled off to benefit the Allegheny Valley Trails Association. Each was uniquely created by a local artist. Several of these artists may surprise you, as they are better known as a bank teller, physicians’ assistant or teacher. When I looked curiously for more than the 4 I could see, Ron Black informed me that there were several other locations where more are displayed. They include The Oil City Library, Transit Art Gallery, Spilling the Beans, The Franklin Library, Feldman’s and Something Clever.

This fund raiser, organized by Melody McFate, a local artist and bicyclist, will help the AVTA with maintenance of the more than 40 miles of paved biking and hiking trails in the region. Tickets for the birdhouse fund raiser are $1 or 7/$5 and may be purchased at the locations where the houses are displayed. The winners will be announced at Franklin’s May Mart on May 3^rd. For more information you can email Melody McFate at rwmmdm@comcast.net.

The Oil Region’s bike trails are a real treasure. If you haven’t visited them recently, there’s no better time!