Tuesday

Well once again another beautiful day in the mountains and the morning started out with a 7 am wake up. After my quiet time and a couple poached eggs I headed out to check the gardens. It was in the high 50's with overcast and a slight fog in the area. After giving all of my new seedlings a drink with the hand sprayer I headed down to pull the blades off my riding mower and sharpen them. I spent the next hour or so working on the antique rotor-tiller which has a bearing going out on the drive wheel which runs the belt that turns the tines. I was about to give up when I think I may have corrected the problem of the drive wheel throwing the belt off; I mentioned out loud I was going to scrap the machine if it didn't work and suddenly it worked after trying several different methods of keeping the belt on; now I don't believe it heard me but whatever.

It was close to 11 so we took off on a hike to the top as Nancy was feeling much better after a cup of decaf coffee of which she has stayed away from due to her acid reflux condition. We stopped and visited with Helen a widow who lives on top but this winter she spent it off of the mountain at her daughters home on Greensboro and just recently came up to her place for a few days. She leaves again this week for an extended trip to Alaska aboard a cruise ship and traveled last summer to visit  her son who lives in New Zealand who had a production part in the movie Lord of the Rings. She is quite the gadabout at her ripe age of 90 plus. After our visit we headed on back to the cabin for a bite of lunch as hiking up that back trail helps in working up an appetite.

We sat on the front porch as we ate our lunch of potato salad and a burger, and the nice breeze was delightful, oh my what a setting as the air was so fresh and clean. I headed down to the basement after lunch and bottled the remaining wild blackberry vino and attached our private label to 6 bottles. I'm debating whether to make any this year but the wine berries bushes are loaded with fruit. I spent the next hour going through the bushes clipping out the dead limbs so when it comes time to pick in July I won't have to fight the prickly vines. I then painted the renovated fire circle seat as the threat of rain was non-existence at this time of the day. It was after 4 when Nancy got back from the mailbox on the golf cart so I decided to take the rest of the afternoon off and read until it was supper time.

Nancy made a large fresh salad and we finished up the potato salad on top with some Greek dressing and wow was that ever dewisheous(Annsley) After the clean-up I headed out to walk around the gardens when the rain finally fell. It is a nice soaking soft rain but wow did the temp ever drop dramatically. We closed the windows and put on flannel shirts and even though its a soft rain we hear thunder off in the distance; hopefully we won't get any gully washers.

We just got word our friend Eddie whose wife Kimberly called and said he made it through a 3 hour surgery to replace his ankle. I never knew you could replace one of those but he had it done in Salem, Va. I think he has had all of major joints replaced due to arthritis and old injuries from training and breaking horses.  Great to hear he is on his way to recovery once again. Well that was about it for the day as I'm finally getting these legs in shape from climbing this tilted property, LATER Enclosed are a couple pictures from our Memorial Day surprise visit from youngest sister Dee and her daughter Kelly.