Greetings to all. We have been having a mild winter this year. No complaints about that. The days are getting longer and some of the birds that migrate north during the mid-winter months have started to arrive.

First, I received a recent call from Donald and Shirley Weigand, who live in Liberty. They had 40 robins on February 12th. I had a wonderful conversation with Donald, a fellow nature and bird lover. Carl and Patty Lindsley advised me that they had 50 robins at their home in White Sulphur Springs on February 17th.

Pat and Jill Welsh advised me that they had five bluebirds at their Youngsville house on Wednesday, February 19th. Pat tells me it is time to clean out the bluebird houses! I have only seen one red-winged blackbird at the Otto residence. Pucky Huddle Road. I have seen several chipmunks scurrying about, so that is a sign of spring (as chipmunks are hibernators). So far, no sightings of woodchucks, another hibernator.

Faithful readers of this column know that I live on Pucky Huddle Road in Bethel. I grew up on the family farm, about two miles from downtown Kenoza Lake, thus the reason why the name of this column is the Kenoza Lake news column. Today, I would like to dedicate this column to the memory of a very special person who lived on Pucky Huddle Road, our dear friend and neighbor Gene Romer.

My husband Ray and I moved to the 2.5-mile-long, dead end road called Pucky Huddle Road, back in June 2007, right after we got married. Other than one other couple, we didn't know anyone who lived on the road. However, over time, we have gotten to know many, many wonderful neighbors. One of those people, was Gene Romer.

The first time we spoke with and met Gene, was one morning, when we had a bear standing on the back deck of our house, checking out the bird feeder. I don't recall the exact date, but it must have been in 2008 or 2009.

It is my understanding that Gene and his wife Mary were the pioneers from New Jersey who first settled and retired on Pucky Huddle Road and subsequently, at least three other couples moved and built homes here. A number of those people were of Italian heritage. There was and still is a large Italian component on Pucky Huddle Road.

Gene was a retired fireman who worked in Jersey City, near the Lincoln Tunnel. Gene loved to drive up and down our local roads, looking at wildlife, checking on some weekend homes that he was engaged to watch. Gene started his patrols at dawn and drove his Subaru very slowly. He was an excellent hunting scout for my husband Ray and Ray would consult him often on his deer, turkey and bear sightings.

Gene was a man of few words. He was a gentle giant. He loved the Yankees and the New York Giants. When I was doing my six years of daily jogging and walking, I would almost always cross paths with him and we would exchange nature sighting tidbits. If I drove down the road and Gene was driving the opposite direction, we would stop and chit chat about the neighborhood. If we invited him in the house, he would rarely sit down for a cup of coffee, he was always on the go.

Based upon the way the Otto house is situated, we can look out our dining room windows and see cars driving up and down the road. I cannot count the many times we watched Gene's Subaru slowly going up and down the road. If the weather was bad, Ray and I were amazed that we would still see Gene out there driving slowly, on Pucky Huddle Road.

If we needed a ride or pick up at Fox's service station, Gene would always oblige. He loved to fish and was part of the fabric/ non-gated community called Pucky Huddle Road. However, he was the glue that kept it together. He was one of the top reasons why living on Pucky Huddle Road was so special (as was Cliff Horton, who passed away last year).

Gene had some health issues in recent years. The last time we saw him, was late last week, right before he was hospitalized.

So, with tears in my eyes, I am very saddened to report, that our dear neighbor and friend, Gene Romer passed away early on Wednesday morning. Ray and I will forever have a hole in our hearts. Adieu, our dear friend. We miss you already.

The next Kenoza Lake column will be in the March 6th paper.