Monday

Yikes it's cold out with temp's in the 40's, damp, overcast and rain. After sleeping in the morning until about 8 AM I did a quick look around outside and was quickly disappointed with the overcast skies. It was initially 54 but after lunch the weather when quickly down hill. At least we got our hike in to the top of the mountain after a breakfast of buckwheat pancakes with eggs on top, of course it was nearly 10 AM before sat down to eat. On our way back down from the top it began to sprinkle and the temperature began to drop. Nancy managed to take a few shots of the trees in the backyard showing their colors. I'm afraid with this rain and a little wind the leaves will be gone before peak is reached. The yard is covered with leaves just since it rained this afternoon. I will enclose a few pics but with the overcast skies the colors are subdued.

While waiting for Nancy to get ready for the hike I managed to remove all the picnic tables and benches from the side deck and store them under the porch out of the rain. A prolonged rain and fog cause a lot of mildew and mold on them even though they are painted. I have several volunteer tomato plants that came up in my compost pile and will transplant them before the real cold weather this weekend. There is a chance for some snow in the higher elevations. The flowering plants we left under the roof line while in Florida prospered from the dripping morning dew. WOW the possibility of snow this weekend and we are only 700 miles from our Florida home.

I started this book a couple days ago and finished COLD MOUNTAIN this afternoon; once the rain and cold made us stay indoors. I find it a good read. I saw the movie years ago but as is the case there was no resemblance between the two. The time setting is during the Civil War.The book leaves you with a few questions but a worth while read and I recommend it.

Nancy made an absolutely delicious potato soup for supper with a fresh salad. The only veggies from the garden were some fresh beet greens, basil and oregano for the salad. The pole beans are still there but the leaves are slowly turning yellow. I have a couple green pepper plants with some fruit and a little bit of kale, but other than that the garden is finished here in the mountains for another year. The soup was made from the last of my spuds.

Well I had to cancel my PB match this evening due to this weather. Hopefully we can get a match in sometime this week but the forecast doesn't look promising. Well will close for now, all my Florida friends stay cool and we will try to stay warm. LATER