OK, it’s been great having temperatures in the 50’s this winter. But when it gets below 30 degrees and the wind blows so hard it keeps me awake at night, I need some respite for my weary mind. So I take myself back to Longwood Gardens in nearby Kennett Square, PA and recall the gorgeous orchids on display in the conservatory in the past.

I know it’s orchid time again, but until I can get myself over there (waiting for a warm and sunny day when the long walk from the visitors’ center won’t freeze my nose off), I will bask in the glory of these orchid photos I took a couple of years ago.

Silently sitting on the banks of the Brandywine River with a mill race (foreground) on the back side of the mills, the Eagle Roll mills at Hagley Museum in Wilmington, Delaware, were used in the manufacture of gunpowder from 1802 to 1920. The high stone walls face the millrace, while the walls were shorter and the roof on the river side was at an angle to direct the explosions towards the river, should there be a spark causing explosion. DuPont was the major supplier of gunpowder for Union troops during the Civil War.

In January of 1920, there was an explosion (there had been many explosions and deaths in the nineteenth century) of 50,000 pounds of gunpowder at the powderworks, and killing 5 men. Thereafter, the production of gunpowder at this site ceased.

In 1952 family members donated 185 acres of land and the DuPont company established a $6,000,000 endowment for the Eleutherian Mill-Hagley Foundation for a museum of industrial history. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1966.

Contact Carolyn Roland, Architectural Historian and Realtor in New Castle and Kent Counties in Delaware and Southern Chester County, Pennsylvania for your real estate needs. Serving the area for 25 years.

Since one year ago, real estate sales in New Castle County, Delaware, have continued the same trend which existed at the end of 2011. January listings were up almost 17% compared to one year ago. The good news is that closed sales were up more than 26% and pending sales were up twice that amount, 58%.

Another trend that continued into 2012 was that prices dropped 20%, while days on the market averaged almost 7% higher than the previous year. An anomaly is that single family detached listings were down almost 16%, which reflects what I am seeing with sellers. They are holding their homes off the market that they would really rather sell.

I saw this happen with one of my clients, for whom I did a market analysis showing that they would definitely have to list their house for about $50,000 less than they originally paid for it 3 years ago. They can't afford to do this, and I hope they can hold out for quite a while and hope rental income on the property will ease the pain. It's an awful situation to be in, don't you agree?

A recent issue of Wall Street Journal's SMART MONEY focused on three towns in Delaware and profiled their affordability for retirees. As a whole, the tax situation favors retirees because there is no sales tax, Social Security benefits are tax-exempt, income tax rates max out at 6.95% and seniors can exempt $12,500 of investment and pension income from state taxes.
Philadelphia is just a short drive from northern Delaware, and a couple of hours drive in either direction takes you to Baltimore, Washington D.C., and New York City.

If you choose to move to the beach, remember that Rehoboth Beach is called "the Nation's Summer Capital," and can be pricey. The median home costs $650,800 and the cost of living is 81% higher than the national average.

Historic Old New Castle, on the other hand (the main street is seen at the right) has a median home price of $210,000 and a population just under 5,000 for the whole city of New Castle. It has many historic homes, sits on the Delaware River with a view of New Jersey, but you will need to travel a mile or so down the road to get to a large grocery store, and it's about a 15 minute drive from Wilmington, the State's largest city.

Another town in Delaware that was profiled was Newark, which is the home of the University of Delaware. This brings many activities, plays, musicals, a walkable downtown with over 30 restaurants, parkland, walking and bike trails. One of my favorite activities is Ag Day, held each year in April near the Agriculture buildings at the University. The picture at the left is of Miss New Castle and a Paws for Life dog, who were attending the Ag Day festivities. The University Botanical Gardens hold a big plant sale that day in the greenhouses, and I always come home with some new specimens for my garden. Newark has a population of almost 30,000 and a median home cost of around $270,000. The University is in the process of developing the closed Chrysler plant location for high tech and energy saving companies, and utilizing the rail tracks and Amtrak station in town.

So what are you waiting for? Hop on I-95, cross those bridges, get those Amtrak tickets or tickets to Philadelphia International Airport, and come to DELAWARE!!

On Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012 at 1:30 p.m., the New Castle Courthouse Museum http://history.delaware.gov/museums/ncch/ncch_main.shtml located at 211 Delaware St. in Old New Castle, Delaware., will present the program "Forgotten Presidents and How the Presidency Evolved." Admission to the museum, which will also be open for visitation between 1:30 and 4:30 p.m., is free and open to the public. For additional information, call 302-323-4453.

Led by historic-site interpreter Bob Vander Decker, the program will explore the lives of the 14 men who served as presidents of the Continental Congress. See info at http://www.russpickett.com/ushist/uscont.htm This convention of delegates emerged as the first national government of the United States during the period of the American Revolution through the ratification of the United States Constitution. One of those men, Thomas McKean of Delaware, served as the Congress' 8th president in 1781.