Sunday

Well we awakened around 7 to a chilly morning but at least there was blue skies and the promise of a clear day. It eventually did warm to around 60 but not more than that as the day progressed. By late afternoon it was back down into the 50's and the promise of even colder temps tonight as well and the chance of rain sometime overnight. Monday is supposed to be another rainy day but the rest of the week looks good according to the fore cast with temps reaching the low 70's and down to the high 40's at night. Yeow is that ever an ideal fall day and of course the leaves are starting to change as well. It seemed like overnight we saw lots of yellows, reds, browns especially on the parkway.

Worship was awesome this morning at Cornerstone and afterwards we headed out to the pharmacy to renew some of Nancy's scripts and while they were being filled we headed to Subway for lunch then to Food Lion for some groceries. After picking up her scripts we headed home and it was nearly 2 PM before we made it back. Nancy put together a veggie casserole and a Cole slaw as we were fellow shipping with our small group around 5:30 at the Crouse House. We had a good turn out for burgers, dogs, slaw, casserole, a couple dips and chips, sliced 'maters and onions and apple pie. I passed on the last as I had a piece of Nancy's chocolate cake with white icing after getting home from church. I must be more adamant about not eating these sweets as the past couple days with all the company I've been a bad boy, Yeow it sure is easier to put on the extra pounds than it is to take them off.

Clarence and I showed a couple folks how to play "chicken foot" domino's and we played several rounds until it was time to head out for the cabin. We saw a couple deer on the way home as well as a possum, yikes they are one ugly creature. It was really cooling down with the heavy dew on the roof as it was already covered in dew  when we came up the drive. Well that's about it was this day as the Tampa Bay Bucs lost by a couple points in the final seconds, the Rays won their game but need some help by others teams to get a shot at a wild card spot. I noticed where the temps were over a 100 degrees on the football field in Tampa during the game, LATER  Here are a couple pics from yesterday.

Saturday

Well it was a just about a wash out for the day with a soft rain falling as we awakened around 7:30 to start the day.After our quiet times we each made egg sandwiches for breakfast around 10 AM. The rain fell steady and at times it poured a gully washer. I did some household chores like vacuuming as we were having a ton of friends for supper around 5:30. The rain finally let up around noon so we took off on our hike to the top of the mountain around noon. It was a good fast hike as we heard thunder in the distant. We stopped and picked up our weekly dozen of free range eggs that Jetta picked up for us then we headed back down the trail. It starting sprinkling again just as we reached the back yard and shortly thereafter the skies opened up.

I tuned in to the college football games and then read a little while we waited for the rain to let up. It finally slowed down around 4 PM. I put the cut chicken on the grill for a 5:30 supper. Yikes was that ever good along with all the side dishes brought by everyone. We had squash casserole, deviled eggs, potato salad, fresh garden salad, pigs in a blanket, hot rolls and chocolate cake with white icing and of course both barbecue and grilled chicken. We had a total of 11 for supper and afterwards a raucous game of Sequence. Once again the gals come through with a win for the night. We met Karin's male friend Roger along with Katelyn's male friend Jonathan for the first time and they fit right in with us as we were all rowdy during the game.

Tomorrow is worship at Cornerstone, LATER

Friday

Well the morning started out with a 7:30 wake up, wow can I ever sleep up here in these quiet hills of course its often after midnight before I lay me down to sleep. I'm once again into another great book by Greg Iles, he is an awesome author. After our get up we did our quiet times then settled for cereal to start the day. After breakfast I headed out to check on the gardens; of course there is little to check on except those beets the deer pulled up a couple weeks ago. They are almost ready to pick as we love the green tender leaves for our salads.

I headed up to the top of the mountain on the golf cart as I picked up some non-stick bandages for neighbor Norman yesterday while in Galax at Wal-Mart. Norman has a terrible infection in his legs and the wounds will just not heal properly; poor guy is suffering terribly. Anyhow while at his place I cut him some of the corn stalks from my corn patch so he could do a fall theme with dried corn stalks, pumpkins and mums. Later in the day I did the same scene in front of our circle planter with corn stalks, pumpkins and a pot of beautiful yellow mums. After helping Norman I picked up a load of rocks from around the corn patch and transported them to my gardens. I did another load of rocks which kept me busy until it was time for our hike to the top.

We saw no one on the hike except our canine pal, Zeke. His master was gone so we didn't stop except for a pat on his head. After the hike I could feel hunger pains, plus it was after 1 when we got back from the top of the mountain. It was spitting rain but not enough to take the laundry off the line and after the front passed the sun came back out with a nice breeze. It was in the low 70's and just an awesome day. I finished up the leftover pork roast and smashed taters and gravy, Yumm!!! We were planning on going down to Mt.Airy around 5 to the one a month horse sale. We sat around and read until it was time to head down off the mountain. That was the first time we had been down that way this summer. We stopped at Hardee's and had a burger and fries and that was a first this summer for us as well. Actually that meal tasted better than the one I had last night at Boogy's and it was about 1/3 the cost as well. The meat tasted like real beef and was yumm.

We got to the horse sale and met up with the Dalton and Luffman Gang and also saw our friends Eddie and Kimberley. There were some really nice horses going for such unbelievably low prices; 2-3 hundred bucks for some full grown steeds. The really beautiful pedigree ones were going for 7-8 hundred which should have been 2-3 thousand. Many owners just took their horses home as they didn't want to give them away. The place was packed with folks; yet it was a buyers market. We left a little after 9 PM and got back on the mountain around 10 PM. Wow was it ever dark coming back to the parkway.

Well tomorrow we are having several folks for a barbecue chicken supper. Many folks are bringing dishes as well and we should have a raucous game of Sequence after eating. We are having some first time guests as well.

I want to remind all the September promo is about to end with All Nutrilite Products being BOGO this month. That means you get 2 for the price of 1. This offer probably won't be around again for at least 6 months so if you use vitamins treat yourself to the best. These are plant based and grown on our organic farms in the U.S.A. I was skeptical at first but when I realized the Wal-Mart stuff is synthetically made and lots of their stuff comes from overseas and wind up undigested in septic tanks and waste plants. I'm an IBO which means I can give you personalised pricing which can save you even more $$$. Nancy and I both use Nutrilite vitamins and supplements and we love them as well as the Legacy of Clean products. You actually save money when you use the best and especially when our team leaders offer promos like this month on Nutrilite. Check us out at Amway.com/JNTriplett. What you will find there is our store with retail pricing; but if you let me know you would like to be a customer I will give you a 20% discount in addition to the BOGO's on our monthly promo's. Let me me know if your interested.

Thursday

Well is was a day with absolutely beautiful temps; 40's to start the day and it reached 80 while we were in Galax, Va. After a 7:30 wake up we did our quiet times then had the usual bowl of boring oatmeal with some frozen blueberries. After eating I headed out to check on the gardens and the new seedlings I have started to take back to Florida when we go in November for my winter garden there. We got ready shortly thereafter for our daily hike to the top.

We did the whole hike to the top without stopping to rest. Wow that is a great sign that once again we are getting into shape. The top was lonely as most are gone until the week-end. We did see Jetta at the end of the road on top and visited with her and Zeke. We headed on down to the cabin and it was just a little after noon and lunch time. We finished up a nice salad for lunch as we knew we were eating out in Galax at Boogy's. This restaurant was one of our favorites for years but 3 years ago it went belly up. Its been open about 5 weeks now and we just found out about it a couple weeks ago. The ambiance is very nice overlooking the municipal golf course; but with regard to menu and prices Nikolas in Roaring Gap is tops for quality food and prices for an upscale eatery.

We picked up our mountain mom Helen and headed out around 1:30. We made several stops at the bank, grocery for buckwheat pancake mix, Tractor Supply and winding up at Wal-Mart for groceries. Afterwards we headed to Boogy's around 4:30 and there were already folks dining. Helen had beef and Nancy and I had seafood. I should know better than to order Mahi-Mahi that was on special here in the mountain; but I did and that was a mistake. It was edible but barely although the chunkney or sauce was quite tasty that was piled on top of the dried out leathery fish. I could have sent it back but I learned a lesson. Nancy's salmon was quite good and Helen's shoulder steak was tasty but not nearly good as the steaks we had at Nikolas, Oh well. We had a great waitress but I would rather have good food and a lousy waitress than the other way around.

We dropped her off at her cabin a little after 6 then headed over to get the pumpkins left on Joe's doorstep by a neighbor as he had no use for them. I'm going to use the dried cornstalks from the garden and the pumpkins for a Fall decoration that is approaching with Halloween, LATER

Wednesday

Well it sure turned out to be a very warm day after a cool start; of course a couple days ago we had cold temps in the 30's and evidence of frost. After a 7:30 wake up we did our quiet times then had a mountain breakfast of  buckwheat cakes, hickory smoked bacon and free range eggs; yeow did that ever taste good and what a great way to start the day. After eating and the cleanup I headed outside to spend the morning working with the gardens and then I decided to change the oil in my golf cart. Its been a couple years since I last changed it. We decided to take a hike after I completed that chore.

I changed into shorts and a t-shirt as the temps were in the high 70's. We had an awesome hike and I made it to the very top without stopping. Nancy took a couple "get your breath stops" but she quickly caught up with her long strides. We saw no one on this hike and made it back to the cabin in 45 minutes. We had a lite lunch of leftovers.

After lunch we took off on the golf cart to the mailbox but stopped off at Russ and Linda's for a chat. We shared some of the green peppers we picked from Joe's patch as well as a few cherry tomato's from the last tomato plant in our garden. I took off while Nancy visited with Linda to the mailbox then stopped and visited with Grant as he was about to head out to his residence down off the mountain. I cut a bunch of limbs that were poking out into the road on the way back to the cabin.

Nancy had a small pork roast in the oven baking and along with smashed taters, gravy, salad and peas we had us a feast. Yeow was that ever good eatin'. After the clean-up we headed outside as it still was close to 70 degrees, so we clipped some briar's that were growing in the fence rows then headed up the back trail to clip some of the branches that was crowding our path. We stayed outside until nearly dark before calling it a day around 7:30, LATER

Tuesday

Well the morning started out with a phone call from our neighbor wanting me to check on her husband who was at their cabin just down the hill from us. He apparently was feeling woozy before going to bed last night after taking a double dose of his prescribed medicine and failed to answer the phone when his wife tried to call him this morning. I donned my winter clothes as it was in the 30's and headed down the road to their place only to find his truck was gone. There was all kinds of speculation as to why he failed to answer the phone. The end results were good as he left earlier than expected to get some breakfast at local cafe.

I came back and did my quiet time then had a breakfast of a couple eggs with a tomato, jalapeno pepper and the muffins Jetta shared with us yesterday. That held me most of the day except for an apple around lunch time. I spent the morning digging and spreading dirt in the lower yard that had some uneven spots. I hauled about 8 golf cart loads of dirt which kept me busy until I took a break for my apple. Then I dug 2 post holes and set 2 locust posts along the build up wall in the lower yard. Hopefully that will reinforce the wall that holds the yard.

We took off on our daily hike to the top of the mountain and made it all the way to the top without a rest stop. When we reached the top we saw where Ann and Sandy Cline were visiting their cabin. In May Sandy had a serious bout of blood on the brain and he nearly succumbed to that illness. He was in ICU 3 times since May and the prognosis wasn't good. Today he looked great and except for some minor short term memory he is almost back to normal. It was great to see him and Ann. John and Shirley were also up from Mocksville and we all stood around and visited for quite some time.

After leaving them we stopped by Jetta's and visited with her for just a short while before heading on back down the mountain. We decided to visit Helen so we drove over and gave her a book to read, also I took out her window a/c unit as she won't be needing that anymore this year after the cold temps this morning. We headed over and picked some peppers and tomato's from Joe's garden as he is Florida and it will be another week or so before he gets back. There were lots of 'maters that has rotten spots as he failed to stake or tie them up; but we did manage to find a 1/2 dozen good ones and the peppers were just everywhere.

After leaving there we headed home where I cut out the dead limbs in the wine berry bushes until it was time to start the grill. We did chicken fajitas, sauteed peppers and onions, black beans and rice and the last few nubbins of corn for supper. Yeow was that ever great eatin'. After the clean-up I settled into the Fox news Channel. While the temps were cold to start the day it nearly reached 65 as the day progreesed and its not too cold out as night time falls;but it sure is black outside at 7:30, LATER ...Here are a few pics Nancy took on our afternoon road trip to Joe's and Helen's.

Just a reminder the promo for Nutrilite Products that are BOGO for the month of Sept. is just about to expire. This is great savings on super products. Call me or e-mail me if you want further savings as I can offer you even greater discounts. I must make you a preferred customer at no cost to you so you can receive the discounts in addition to the BOGO's.

Monday

Well today started around 8 o'clock when our son Bobby called us on his way to the warehouse. It was so warm and snuggly in the warm bed with the outside temps into the high 30's. There was some frost and freezing temps just a little ways from us. After our quiet times we had a breakfast of eggs, grits, toast and of course I sliced a tomato and a jalapeno on top of my eggs.

I ventured out to rake leaves and haul them to my gardens but before I headed out we had some what of a scare. Yesterday on the way to church we noticed an unidentified male walking in our lane. He was a stranger and then again this morning on Face Book we saw a character who had escaped from prison who was serving 3 life sentences for murder and robbery. The male looked a lot like the escapee so I called the local sheriff and he sent out a deputy and we checked all of the cabins and several of the hunting shacks in the area and we found no evidence of any break-ins. We still haven't been able to identify the male walking in our lane, Oh well!

After a late lunch we headed out to the top of the mountain for our daily hike. We saw no one except for Jetta. We stopped and visisted with her and learned today was her birthday. Joe is away so we stayed for awhile and shared a delicious lemon pudding she made. It was after 4 before we got back to the cabin. I then burned the week's trash while Nancy headed in out of the rapidly falling temps. It was 6:30 before we heated up a frozen pizza for supper, LATER

Sunday

Well it was in the 40's this morning as we awakened around 7:30; and what a beautiful day it was as we started the morning after our quiet times with the boring bowl of oatmeal. We got ready and headed out to Cornerstone Fellowship where our youth and their leaders did the whole service. The house was packed and we were amazed at how good of a job they honored the LORD with their music, dramas, skits and message. Just an awe inspiring day with so many personal testimonies and how their lives have been changed by sharing their faith. After the service we were treated to a spaghetti lunch as a fund raiser for the youth and their mission activities. We hung around and ate a lite lunch with them as we were invited to another church members house to watch football and eat burgers and dogs.

We fellow shipped with the Adams family until nearly 4:30 then headed for the cabin. The temps had warmed up to the high 60's with bright sunshine and clear skies. We took a different route through the mountains and saw some beautiful scenery. The leaves are starting to show some color with this cold snap and the heavy rain from last week. There are lots of leaves already falling without changing colors; whats up with that? Anyhow we took a nice hike to the top and I made it without stopping especially since I had a bite to eat at church and then a couple burgers later in the day. Yeow the apple cake Mechelle brought to the outing was very good, Dewisheous. The only drawback was we watched the Bucs lose a close one to the Cowboys but I learned the Rays swept the Blue Jays, so we are still in the hunt for a wild card spot in the playoffs.

After getting back from the hike I tuned into the Steeler game and saw the Raiders beat them in a close game. Oh well!! It's supposed to drop down into the 30's tonight and there is a chance of frost. Fall is here by the date as well as by the change in the temps, LATER  

Saturday(Anniversay Day)

Well today was a special day for Nancy and I as we started the morning off by sleeping in until after 8 AM. We did our quiet times and played around on the computer until nearly 10 o'clock before starting breakfast. We decided to have hash browns, eggs and toast of course I threw in a whole tomato and a jalapeno pepper with mine. There is something about the taste of a fresh 'mater with eggs and 'taters. Well that held me until nearly 6 PM when we had dinner at a very good restaurant with our "mountain mom". More on that meal later.

I piddled around in the garden and yard until it was time to take our daily hike. Wow it was such a beautiful day and it reached 76 on our back porch in the early afternoon. We did see some clouds move in, which brought the hint of a possible shower one moment then bright sunshine the next. We visited with Jetta on top for a few then headed back down to sit on the deck and soak up the sunshine while reading. Helen lent me the book WHAT REALLY HAPPENED by Reil Hunter. She was the mistress of John Edwards, candidate for president of these United States a couple times and had a child by her while his wife was suffering from cancer. I didn't find her story all that interesting if all you want to know is how she slipped in and out of various hotel rooms all over the world, who paid their expenses for their rendezvous, how horrible Edwards wife was, and how much she was in love with this man who had 3 other mistress's when she met him and finally how much Edwards loved this child after first denying he was the father. I can't say much for her story or her book; I wouldn't recommend the read.

We got ready around 5 and headed out to pick up Helen"mountain mom" and drove to the Roaring gap area. The restaurant Nikolas didn't open until 5:30 so we made a leisurely drive through the Roaring Gap Club. Yikes what fab homes are there and this is place where big industrialist or big money have unbelievable homes. The Reynolds(tobacco), Haines(underwear), Grays(power brokers) and Miller High Life(beer) just to name a few have summer places. The views are breath taking as well as a golf course that's the best I've ever seen, Oh well!!! We headed back to the eatery and the doors where open but very few folks were there.

We had eaten there before and the food was memorable plus one of our dear sweet friends, Kallie Dalton works as a bus boy type. She was off tonight but another one of her high school friends was in attendance. Well we started with a glass of vino then had a nice crispy salad followed with crusty garlic bread and a steak prepared to perfection. Helen and I had the N.Y. strip while Nancy had the rib eye. They were served with a scalloped potato and fresh green beans but the flavor of the spuds were awesome. I'm surprised the place doesn't do more business and this is the second time we've eaten there and the food has been superb, the prices are a little high for mountain folks but comparable to a Bonefish Grille but not as high as a Salt Rock Grille. We learned they had a place in Moorehaven City which is down on the coast of N.C. and they were popular down there as well with great food.

I almost forgot the girls had cannoli or some kind of pastry for dessert which was probably the least tasty of the whole meal so I had to help Nancy with her portion. All in all we had a grand time. We got back to the cabin around 8 and then the neighbors came up bringing her sister and husband and we taught them to play Sequence. Well needless to say the gals picked up the play really fast and slaughtered us men 5-2.

Well it was a fun day for us as we remembered a Saturday 33 years ago and what made it special was our "mountain mom" Helen and her departed husband Roy was there on that evening we wed and she celebrated with us at dinner tonight. She has been a dear friend and like family for all these years holding our son Bobby and daughter Amy when they were new born's as well as getting to know and hold our gran babies Ava,Annsley, Sam and Gabe as well. It was an awesome day as we reflected, LATER  

Friday

Well it was another beautiful day here in the mountains and it started for us around 8 AM. After our quiet times we settled for a bowl of boring oatmeal before I ventured out to check on the gardens. There isn't much to check on since just about everything is gone except for the beets that are starting to come back. Most every plant now has some small green leaves showing despite being eaten off and pulled out of the ground by a deer. I fed all of the potted plants and then repotted some Swiss chard seedlings and then sowed some spring onions from seed as well as a couple more Celebrity tomato plants. Hopefully they will make and I will take them back to Florida in Nov.

I decided to remove and replace some of the timbers that I had around the lower garden with rocks. This took me most of the morning but I like the results and I won't have to worry about these rocks getting termites. I finished that job and I knew it must be close to lunch time as the oatmeal was wearing thin so we had a couple cans of sardines, onions, crackers and mustard. Wow is that ever one of our favorite lunches. After eating we piddled around in the flower beds cutting all of the dead heads and stalks. We decided to then take off for the top of the mountain for our daily hike. Wow was it ever a nice day with just enough coolness in the air to keep the sweat down.

We made it to the top without stopping(or at least I did as Nancy made one stop). We saw our friends John and Shirley who were up just for the day with a friend of theirs from church. We stopped and visited Jetta as she and Joe got back from W.Va. after being gone for a week assisting with the care of their nephew. Joe took off again back to W.Va. after mowing the yard. What a nice thing for Joe to do. It was good to be greeted by Zeke as we approached their driveway.

I came back and fired up the riding mower and did the yards which took a little over an hour. It was going on 5 o'clock so we read for about an hour then Nancy heated up the left over stuffed peppers and taters for supper, yeow was that ever tasty.  Jodie, Gerald and Gabriel came up around 7:30 and we played 3 hotly contested games of Spades and the guys once again won All 3 games by big scores. Seems we have been victorious the last 2 times with 3 wins each time. That is a record for us as we usually split in games. Well its nearly 11PM and they have just left after a fun filled evening.

I want to say Happy Birthday to our son-in-law Tyler as he turned 34 today. He sure has been a great husband to Amy and father to Ava and Sam. We love him lots, LATER 

Thursday

Well it was just a fantastic day that started around 8 AM. We did our quiet times before a lite breakfast of cereal and a left over fish sandwich for me. I headed out to check on gardens and I needed a long sleeve shirt and long britches. It was a cool 50 degrees but there was the look it was going to be a nice fall morning. I headed up to the corn patch to pick the last of the corn. The ears were very small and not filled out. The heavy wind and rain from Tuesday had the stalks beaten down to the ground. I need to go up and cut the stalks up so they can break down over the winter and add some humus to the soil for next years planting.

After leaving the corn patch I loaded up the golf cart with rocks as I wanted to replace the fence holding my compost pile. The timbers were rotting out and full of termites so I knew I wouldn't have to worry about that problem in the future with a rock wall. I gathered up 3 more loads of rocks and finally rebuilt the fence in total. Tomorrow I want to replace some of the fence around my lower garden and get rid of some of the rotting timbers as well.

We had a bite of lunch then we took off for our hike to the top of the mountain. We stopped and visited with Norm who said he wasn't feeling that well. He said he is getting no sleep and he has no energy at all. After leaving Norm we headed on across the mountain. It was just a beautiful time of the day to walk and the sides of the mountain is starting to show some color. We came back and sat on the porch and read for a couple hours. We were having the old gang for snacks and Sequence around 6:30.

Well Nancy made a great salsa and a bean dip while Kimberly brought a sausage and cheese dip and Audine brought a delicious pound cake. We substituted snacks for our supper and played 7 games of Sequence. This is breaking news as the guys came back from 3 down and won the best of 7 games for a change. LATER

Wednesday

Well we awakened to cool temps and skies that had broken clouds; but no rain or fog. After 2 days of the wet stuff we were ready to dry out and it did with a slight breeze and temps which may have reached the high 60's. After our quiet times and a bowl of boring oatmeal I headed out to check on the gardens. The grass was still wet from the night before, plus once again there was a heavy dew overnight. I had to wear my gum boots as the grass was that wet.

I started the washing machine for Nancy then ventured out to check on the yard. There was pine cones everywhere so I began picking them up to the tune of 5 gallons buckets of them, eventually dumping 4 full buckets at the fire pit to be burned at a later date. Neighbor Gerald came by with his box blade and tractor leveling out the driveway that washed from the gully washer rainfall of yesterday. Nancy wanted to get a few things from the grocery and I wanted to return some library books that would be due on Thursday so we headed to Sparta. I found 2 books by Greg Ilies I haven't read yet, so of course I checked them out and Nancy found a couple of Debbie Macomber books as well. It was going on 11 AM so we decided to head to the Mustard Seed for lunch but first she wanted to check on the clothing in the first part of the store. She tried on a couple sweaters but decided they were just to expensive at even the mark down prices.

We will have our friends Dan and Carol bring a jacket and some of her winter clothing from Florida when they come in October. Wow right in the middle of this post Skype informed me that Halley Jo Dillon was on line so I called her and we spoke with her in Woodstock, Va. and with her mom and dad as well. She is now stationed in Colorado, still in the Army as a nurse. She has to leave on Friday to head back. I love this new technology.

Well after a nice chat with her I'm back to downtown Sparta. Lunch was fab with creamy chicken enchilada soup and a wrap of spinach, turkey, ham, cheese and bacon. After eating we stopped off at the grocery for a few items before heading back to the cabin. There was enough coolness in the air to make long pants a necessity plus it kept away the irritating gnats and skeeters. We headed out for a daily hike to the top of the mountain and noticed lots of tree limbs down along the way. One was so large on the back road it was all the two of us could do, to move it onto the shoulder. Also we noticed the flag pole at our friends, Joe and Jetta's place was damaged. The flag was still attached but it seems the pole was shortened.

After the hike I picked up 4 trash cans of sticks and small limbs that had blown down in our backwoods yard and piled them up for kindling. It was just so beautiful outside and in the direct sunlight it was actually very toasty. Nancy put on a pot of stuffed green peppers in the oven for supper and we invited our "mountain mom" Helen to join us as her brother Joe left this morning for Tennessee. He will be gone for about a week or so and eventually is heading to the panhandle of Florida with his daughter and family on vacation.

Well dinner was fab and after the cleanup I headed out to destroy another underground nest of yellow jacket bees with a gas cocktail. They very nearly got me a couple days ago while I was looking for fishing worms. I'm still ticked at the last one that stung me on the finger about a week ago. I forgot too mention on yesterday's post that grandson Gabriel was 2 years old on Tuesday. He had his party last Saturday and had a great time with lots of kiddos and the pictures were great as well. Well that's about it for the day, LATER

Tuesday

Well it was one of those days when we never ventured out of the cabin until late afternoon. The morning started with a lite rain and lots of wind after an all night down pour. Yikes did we ever get rain almost 4 inches overnight and most of the day. After our quiet times we had buckwheat cakes with a couple cackle berry's on top to start the day; actually that was around 10 AM. After breakfast I settled in with a book I've been wanting to read THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. Wow that is a good read and sets up the other 2 books in that trilogy that I have already read. I read about half of it during the day.

I decided since we never got outside for our morning hike that I would use the stairs as a way to get some cardio workout. I did the upstairs a dozen or so times then later in the afternoon I did the basement stairs a dozen or so times. That does get your respiration's up and is good for a minimal workout. After a lite lunch of Ramen Noodle soup around 1 PM we settled once again into the reading stage until all of a sudden the rain stopped and the sun came out around 5 o'clock, yeow was that ever nice so we took off on a hike out to the mailbox which is close to a mile each way with a couple good 13 per cent hills to climb. We made it out and back with no wet weather which was nice. We saw a beautiful red tail hawk and a doe with a small fawn on the hike. That black bear which was supposedly seen last week is still hiding from us or else its moved on.

We came back from the hike and noticed once again the driveway is washed pretty good from the torrential downpours. Neighbor Gerald is up at the cabin next door with his brother so tomorrow he assured us he would once again scrape the driveway with his tractor. Wow is he ever a blessing with his box blade and tractor. I fried up the bass and couple sun fish for supper along with some fresh 1/2 runner green beans and a couple ears of corn on the cob. I'm down to my last 2 ears for this season and wow were they ever good. Next year I'm going to plant corn again despite the late planting and the destruction of so many ears by the raccoon, LATER

Monday

Well we slept in once again after staying up reading until 1 AM last night. It was close to 7:30 before we awakened to fog and dew dripping from the roof. We were completely socked in with heavy fog. After our quiet times and a bowl of oatmeal I headed out to check on the gardens and eventually transplanted some potted plants. The fore cast was for rain starting after lunch and for rain the next 36 hours, so I thought it best to get these plants in the ground. We are supposed to have jacket weather after this front moves through on Wednesday.

Even though it was really foggy we decided to take a hike to the top. It was a good thing we did as the rain did become steady in the early afternoon and is still falling as I write this post. There are flash flood warnings for Allegheny County as we are supposed to get from 1-4 inches of rain. On our hike we saw a small bird with some yellow wings just sitting in the road on top. We never touched it and it just sat there like it was confused from all the fog; we nearly stepped on it. We went ahead and completed the hike then we came back on the golf cart with Nancy's camera as she wanted to photograph the bird. Well it was gone when we got back so she took off down the back trail wanting to take photos of some mushrooms and tree fungus. I drove on back to the cabin and on the way this beautiful red tail hawk flew directly in front of me then just a little ways further I saw another hawk sitting on the power line. I drove onto the cabin and picked Nancy up so she could photograph this hawk and sure enough it was still on the power line. She did managed a long distance shot before it took off.

I decided since it was such a foggy overcast day maybe the bass were biting so I dug a can of worms and we took off to Helen's to fish. We first visited with her for awhile taking her some fresh corn on the cob and green beans from my garden. It started to sprinkle just as we got to her place but we decided to see if the fish were biting anyway. I caught a nice bass and she a couple sun fish before the rain go to heavy so we headed over to Joe's for some bell peppers and a couple tomato's. IT really was raining pretty hard and steady by now and so we headed on home.

We spent the rest of the day in the cabin reading, on the computer and talking on the phone. I grilled a couple chicken breast for fajitas to go along with a fresh garden salad and beets for supper, LATER

Sunday

Well today was a great day of worship at Cornerstone with awesome music and a very profound message on running the race of life. It was good to hug many necks, shake lots of hands and see lots of familiar faces as we took some time together to honor GOD with our presence. It also was another time to celebrate with our Element Church family in Tampa, Florida their birthday of 4 years where our son Bobby is their pastor. May they have many more birthdays together.

Our day started with a 7 AM wake up from a restful night after a full day of good food, fun and fellowship yesterday. The morning atmosphere of fog and overcast skies was quite the contrast from bright sunshine and blue skies of yesterday. The day progressively changed from fog until a light rain fell in the late afternoon and temps didn't get much above 65. Once we got home from church around 1 PM we didn't venture outside the rest of the day. The last of the pasta fagioli soup warmed us up along with the last couple ears of corn on the cob from the garden for lunch. With this rain we may have a few more ears mature but the cooler temps will probably prohibit them from fully filling out. They were sure good what little time we had them and hopefully next year we will learn to get the corn planted a little earlier and fertilize it a little more as well and hopefully keep the raccoons from destroying nearly a 1/4 of the crop.

I tuned into the NFL and saw the Panthers play a good game and saw where the Bucs lost at the end after leading the Super Bowl Champs by 2 touchdowns at one time, Oh well that's the Bucs luck as usual. The Rays also lost 2 in a row to the Yanks and looks as if their chance to make the playoffs is in jeopardy with just a few games left to play. They sure have kept our interest in the game with their team of young players. Well that's about it for the day as Nancy has been on the phone with family and friends most of the afternoon, LATER  

Saturday

Well the day weather wise was just awesome until late afternoon when it sprinkled a little and then became overcast but no real rain or cold temps. The morning started out with us once again sleeping in, wow that is becoming a habit I'm not real crazy about as I like the early morning when daylight approaches. One good thing about sleeping in, is we only eat 2 meals a day because breakfast/brunch is usually around 10 AM, oh well!

After our quiet times Nancy fired up the oven and we put some frozen biscuits to bake and then she put some super tasting sausage patties into simmer while the biscuits baked. I slathered horseradish on my sausage biscuits, enough to clear out my sinuses. I jumped in the golf cart after eating and drove to the top of the mountain to pick up a dozen eggs Jetta picked up for us on Friday. The Browning's headed to Charleston to help with the medical care for their nephew for a few days. I kept looking for the bear that was seen on the back road a day or so ago but all I saw was a large doe that crossed the road in front of me.

We got ready and headed out to Sparta for the annual Fall Heritage Festival. The town street was closed off and several vendors, food tents and a stage was set up for the various bands that would entertain throughout the day. We stayed long enough to see and listen to 2 very good bands both Blue Grass, Country, Pop and Mountain Music. I could hard keep my feet and legs still as the vibes had me wanting to get out on the dance floor. There were a few brave souls who cut the rug and even the Possum Queen in full Indian regalia showed us how to do it. We saw lots of familiar faces and met us with the Dalton Gang minus Andy who was home smoking a Boston Butt for supper.

We headed out after 2 PM and managed to get 3/4 of our hike in before in clouded up and started to sprinkle. It didn't amount to much after we started back down the mountain but at least we got the hard part in; going up without a stop. I came back and tuned into a couple football games. The Florida schools once again dominated but the Rays lost to the Yankees and the Braves came back against a very good Washington ball club.

We headed out to the Dalton Farm a little after 5 with a cookie sheet loaded with oven taters, yeow where they ever smelling good and we did sample a couple on the way there. The smoker was smelling good as we arrived and there were all kinds of good eatin' but before we started chowing down we managed to get in a few games of corn hole. Supper was awesome with the smoked butt, taters, cold green pea salad, baked apples, baked beans, fried squash and rolls. Once again we had to waddled away from the table. The guys did managed to finish up the corn hole playing in the back yard after shooting a little at a plastic water bottle with a 410 shot gun. I knocked the bottle from the fence post only to learn I hit the post just below the bottle but Andy finally took the top off with a good shot. The gals all walked down to the barn to gander at the horses and alpacas. Gerald and I managed to squeak out a best of 3 games win against Caleb and Andy in corn hole, thanks to Gerald good tossing.

We headed in about dark and decided to get in some Sequence; well it was a gals victory again as they won the first 3 and then we managed a win and finally they won again so we decided we were bored with losing or they were bored with winning. We headed out around 9 after we had a great fun time as well as eating. I watched a little more football with Texas and Ole' Miss and decided to call it an early night, LATER

Friday

Well it was just another beautiful day here in the mountains, actually today was rather nippy to start but warmed up in the afternoon to nearly 80 degrees. The sun was bright with blue skies and a nice comfortable breeze which made it nice. I spent the morning after my quiet time and a mountain breakfast of buckwheat cakes, eggs and ham on the side trying to figure out how to stiffen up the bearing in the old rotor-tiller; I think its a lost cause. I tried several methods but could not keep the belt on the pulley that drives the rotor. It was close to 1 PM when Kay Luffman called about Nancy and I helping get in some square bales of hay.

We headed out around 1 PM and got to the hayfield where one field of 77 bales was waiting to be picked up. Nancy drove the truck and Kay and I threw up the bales and then stacked them. Andy showed up just as we finished the first field then headed over next door to another field that Gerald was just finishing up baling. This field had about 225 bales and once again Nancy drove the big truck pulling a goose neck trailer while Andy stacked and Gerald, Kay and myself threw up the bales. It took us about and hour or so to load the two trailers then we headed to the barn.

It took us nearly another hour to off load the 300 bales and stack them in the barn. We were on our way back to the cabin around 3:30. Wow was that ever a good workout and it felt good to help our friends with this chore. Needless to say we were all hot, sweaty and dirty from all the grass seed and dust that comes with making hay. At least the hay was well dried and cured so the bales were pretty light with an average weight of about 40-50 pounds.

After we got back to the cabin I converted my old grill from a bar burner to an H-burner. The old burner was rusted out and caused hot spots when grilling. For about 20 bucks I save a couple hundred by using a universal stainless steel burner. The only loss was my electronic starter. After refitting the grill we settled in for the leftover stuffed peppers and smashed taters along with a fresh garden salad, yikes was that ever tasty. After the clean up we headed outside to wonder around the yard so I burned some trash in the fire pit. Well tomorrow is the Mountain Heritage Festival in Sparta and supper at the Dalton so once again we will have a busy day, LATER 

Thursday

Well today was one of those days where I got very little accomplished except for a trip to Galax and then a trip to Sparta. The morning started with a 7 AM wake up but since it was so warm and snugly we decided to snooze until nearly 8AM. After our get up we did our quiet times and then had a bowl of cereal before getting ready to head out to Galax.

We took off to Galax around 10:30. The weather was just beautiful with bright sunshine and cool temps; I actually wore long britches to town for the first this summer. We stopped at Wal-Mart then I headed to Lowes for a few articles. We shopped for Annsley's birthday and found a great learning electronic game titled Leapfrog Leappad 2. It was voted the best learning game for kids of the year. I had to get a new burner for my old grill as it had burned out and then I found some articles I needed to try and fix the old rotor-tiller again.

Well we got back to the cabin around 1:30 and had a couple sandwiches before we took off for our one and only hike of the day. We learned from Norm that a friend stopped and mentioned to him he saw a black bear on our back road yesterday. Wow that's where we hike everyday. Anyhow Nancy is now bummed about walking in our back woods without carrying a gun. We got back to the cabin then got ready to head to Sparta to watch our friend Kallie play in her high school tennis match. It was a bit nippy at the match and since she had hyper-extended her knee in practice the day before she was somewhat limited in her movements. She played a good match but lost in the end.

We headed home afterwards as we were stiff and cold from sitting on the bleachers. We heated up some of that leftover pasta fagioli soup which hit the spot on this cool evening. It was 60 when we got home and starting to get dark. Well that's about it for the day as we were gadabouts. We got a call from our "mountain mom" Helen that they were back home from their 10 day trip to Colorado and they had a wonderful time visiting old family friends. Well that's about it for the day and I learned the Rays dropped 3 straight games to the Orioles and are now in 3rd place in the division. We are headed to New York to play the Yankees for 3 straight games, hopefully they can get back to their winning ways, LATER

Wednesday

Well once again we started the day a little late as we slept in after staying up past midnight. It wasn't quite as cold as the night before but still temps were down into the high 40's which made for good sleeping weather especially with the added quilt on the bed. After our quiet times with a cup of hot green tea we had the usual bowl of boring oatmeal with a fresh peach and a little cinnamon. I headed outside to check on the gardens for deer damage.

The chicken wire over the beets seems to be working for now and I even see some small green leaves starting on the the beets that had been re-planted. I decided to check out the rotor-tiller I repaired a couple months ago and it did seem to work for awhile; enough so I could work in the dried leaves I had spread in the lower garden yesterday. It finally gave out on me again as its just old and the bearing on the pulley for the belt is worn out which causes the belt to fly off after awhile. Its an old used tiller and I love tinkering with something that use to work great at one time. I have access to a newer model that Norman has and will probably wind up using it later in the season.

It really warmed up just before lunch as I had a good sweat going working the lower garden. The only thing still producing there is a few hills of green beans, some Zinnias and endive. We had a couple tomato sandwiches on pumpernickel with sliced onion, mayo and lettuce. Yikes that was as fine a sandwich ever. The 'maters were awesome in flavor and ripeness and came from Joe's patch.

We sat around and read for an hour or so before getting ready to take off on our hike to the top. It was just such a gorgeous day with just enough coolness in the air to keep the bugs away and the sweat down. We stopped and visited with Jetta and once again I got zapped on the finger by a dang yellow jacket. Yeow did that ever smart and 5 hours later its still hurting. That was the second time this summer I've been stung and both times on top of the mountain at Joe and Jetta's. I killed a large nest of them night before last under my shed so at least I'm killing the ones on my property without being zapped. They are the meanest bees and this time of the year they are very aggressive always into or around whatever your doing when outside. Tomorrow I'm looking for more nests to exact my revenge for this sting today.

Nancy had a pot of pasta fagioli soup she made with a smoked ham bone simmering most of the afternoon and the smell had our taste buds watering. Yikes did that ever taste delicious with a fresh salad for supper. After the cleanup we took off on another hike down the gravel road to Grant and Shirleys and then back to the cabin. The sun was just going down and it was such a beautiful Fall evening. Tomorrow we are off to Galax for birthday shopping for our grand daughter Annsley who will be 5 next month and for a few goodies we need as well, LATER

Tuesday

Well we slept in until(I'm embarrassed to say) son Bobby called around 8:30 and we were still in the sack. We spoke with him for nearly an hour then we did our quiet times and finally around 10 AM we had a lite breakfast of cereal and fruit, yeow there is something about cool morning which make you want to stay under the warm covers especially with a quilt on the bed.

I headed out to check on the gardens and once again the chicken wire helped with keeping the deer out of my beets or whats left of them. I feed all of my potted plants with Miracle Grow then headed out into the backwoods yard where I have a ton of decomposing leaves from the past couple years. I like to spread these leaves in the garden then plow them under but last year I didn't get to put any on the garden. I carried about 12 large trash cans of leaves for the lower garden and when the new leaves fall later on I will attempt to add them to the garden as well. The leaves add so much to the soil and when you can plow them under for the winter they will break down and add humus to the soil.

After a lite lunch of leftover scalloped taters for me we got ready to head to Sparta as Nancy had a hair appointment. I stopped at the grocery for a couple items then sat in the parking lot of the salon and read for an hour or so. Yikes was it ever a beautiful day with temps around 70 after a cool start in the 40's. We stopped by our friend Joe's place and picked a couple tomato's, peppers and jalapenos. He is due back from Colorado later in the week. We came home and I took a bag of the fresh picked peppers to our retired friend Norman on top of the mountain and visited with him for awhile before heading on across and checking on Jetta. She gave us a taste of her pickled peppers and cabbage which reminded us of chow chow, yikes is that ever good and I can hardly wait to have a pot of pintos as it goes with them.Thanks Jetta for that goodie!!!

Nancy had made stuffed green peppers earlier in the day and put them in the oven while we hiked. What a delicious aroma when we got home from our hike in the warm cozy cabin. She made some smashed taters and with the red sauce from the stuffed peppers over top of them sure made for a great supper. After the clean up it was still light enough to take a late evening hike with the temps in the 60's, so we headed down the drive and up by the old Todd place to the back road and then down our trail in the backwoods yard. Wow was it ever a nice evening but darkness is coming so much earlier now as we are surrounded by tall trees which keep out the morning and evening sun.

The Rays are playing the Orioles on T.V. which I seldom get to watch which is maybe a good thing as they are stinking up the field tonight. They are just a game behind the Birds but sure aren't playing like it, LATER

Monday

Well Fall has definitely arrived here in the mountains of N.C. This morning our neighbor on top of the mountain had 40 degrees but of course by the time we got up it had warmed up to a nice 50 degrees. There was lots of sunshine in the tree tops and bright blue skies for most of the day. I think we may have broke 70 for the top temp of the day. After our quiet times we had a great breakfast of fried egg sandwiches, actually I had two but one was without the egg just tomato, onion and mayo on toasted bread. Wow that held me until suppertime.

 After breakfast I ventured out to check on the gardens and once again a dang deer was in my beets overnight. This time since he had already eaten the greens off he decided to pull the beets out and left about 2 dozen of them on the ground uprooted. Since the sun hadn't yet reached the roots I managed to re-plant the beet stock. I then watered them in and covered the newly re-plants with some chicken wire. Hopefully that will discourage them from digging or pulling them up.

I decided to check out some of the wood I had stored under the back porch. I found lots of termites in the wood so I decided to saw it up and store it away from the cabin and use it for kindling. That took me most of the morning and into the early afternoon. We decided to take a hike as it was just an awesome day for being outside. When we got back Nancy had a lite lunch but I still wasn't hungry so I replaced some of the wood timbers around my upper garden fence. Nancy took off on the golf cart to the mailboxes while I finished up some other garden chores.

I finished up around 4 o'clock after filling a plastic bottle with a little gas and a piece of cloth to act as a wick. I'm waiting until it gets pitch black as I have a very large nest of yellow jackets underneath my shed. They very nearly zapped me this morning as I was looking for some stored locust posts. I will give them a rude awakening once darkness sets in and they are all in the hole in the ground.

We had a grand supper of fresh picked 1/2 runner green beans, leftover scalloped taters and broccoli and a couple ears of fresh picked corn on the cob. After the clean up we decided since it was so nice we would take a second hike of the day so down the driveway and then up the back road. We saw 2 large deer on the road, probably the ones that's been getting in my garden. Well if they show up before bedtime I have loaded the 12 gauge with skeet shot so I will power their behinds if I see them in the garden patch. I would love to make them aware my garden is off limits.

Well its been a great day weather wise and I managed to get a little cleaning up done. We got in a couple really good hikes as well, LATER 

Sunday

Well we started the day around 7 and was it ever nippy here at 50 but just up the road it was 39, yikes that's wintertime in Florida, oh well. The day turned out to be just beautiful with clear blue skies, no humidity and bright sunshine that reached the temps to around 70 by early afternoon. After our quiet time Nancy had Cheerios and I finished up the last buckwheat cake for breakfast. We got ready and headed out for worship at Cornerstone around 9:30.

Pastor B had an awesome service to go along with the praise and worship music. Afterwards we met up with the Dalton Gang at a local Mexican Eatery and enjoyed a delicious lunch of enchiladas, salsa and chips. We stopped off at the grocery and fruit stand on the way out of town. We got back and made a couple phone calls then headed out to the top of the mountain for our daily hike. The top of the mountain was so clear and beautiful. We stopped and checked on Jetta as Joe is out of town then headed on back down the back trail.

I mixed up some miracle grow and fed the beets or what was left of them as a deer once again finish off the other half they missed a couple nights ago. They at least didn't pull the plants up and just ate the tops off; so hopefully the tops will grow back. I checked in with the NFL and caught some of the Redskins win then settled into watching the Bucs win over the Panthers. We headed out around half time to Gerald and Kay's place on the other side of Sparta for supper. We met up with Mechelle and had a great meal of barbecue pork chops, baked beans, deviled eggs, salad and Nancy brought a squash casserole. Yeow was that ever good eatin'.

The gals took off after supper to visit Katelyn and the new horse she and Mechelle they just bought(I will enclose some pics) while Gerald and I stayed back and watched the end of the women's final in tennis and then the conclusion of the Bucs game. We headed out around 8:30 for the cabin. The temps were already down into the low 50's as we got home, yikes they're talking down in the 40's again tonight. Well its been a good day of worship, food and fellowship plus both of my sports team won; the Rays and the Bucs, LATER  

Saturday

Well it was a 7:30 wake up after a neighbors dog barked incessantly until after midnight last night, yikes where were its owners. The day started with lots of clouds and finally a little sunshine but the temps were in the low 80's once again for the past couple days. The fore cast is for this to be the last hot day of this year, yeow this is early in September; can this mean there is going to be a hard cold winter here in the mountains. After our quiet times Nancy put some frozen biscuits in the oven then fried up a couple frozen sausage patties and eventually fried a couple eggs so we had the sausage, egg biscuits to start the day. I had sliced tomato and a little fresh ground horseradish on mine, yeow was that ever dewisheous.

I headed out to check on the gardens for any new deer damage but everything looked good. I worked in the gardens turning over some areas where the weeds were out growing the plants. I then sowed some Swiss chard seeds as well as more lettuce and then sowed 4 Celebrity tomato seeds in a clear plastic blueberry package which acts like a greenhouse. After the garden chores I headed up to the corn patch to check on its status. Once again no coons in the trap so I decided to bring the trap back to the house and clean it up so I can return it to Andy and Mechelle Dalton. I pulled 4 ears of corn and shared them with Joe and Jetta.

I decided to take out the fertilizer spreader and spread pelletized on all of the yards. Wow did I ever work up a sweat. After a lite lunch of the leftover fajitas we sat around waiting for it to digest then we took off to the top of the mountain for our daily hike. We made it to the top with only one rest stop and was it ever hot on top. We saw no one except Jetta  and visited for just a few minutes as a large black rain cloud suddenly loomed over us. It never rained but sure looked threatening the rest of the afternoon.

We had a supper of fried ham, scalloped potatoes, fresh broccoli and a garden salad, yikes was that ever tasty. After the cleanup I tuned into the Florida vs Texas AM game. The Gators pulled off a win after losing in the first half. All of a sudden the wind came up and the temps dropped from the low 80's to the low 60's in just a few moments as well as a lite rain shower. The fore cast is for the low 50's tonight and just the high in the 60's tomorrow.

Well its just around 7:30 and its nearly dark as the clouds have moved in and a lite rain is falling. This is definitely the beginning of a Fall evening, LATER  

Friday

Well the day started with a 7:30 wake up. After our quiet times we had a breakfast of fried left over parsley potato's, a couple fried eggs and I had a sliced tomato with mine and a couple jalapeno peppers. It was close to 9:30 before we ever ate so I passed on lunch except for a red delicious apple around 2 PM. I ventured out after eating and discovered we had our first deer damage this summer. It seems a large deer; as per the size of its hoof print in my garden ate about half of my beet greens but other than that I noticed no other deer damage. Something must have scared it off or because there was nothing else worth eating as the garden is rather anemic.

I did plant my dried garlic bulbs or the flower that forms on the garlic plant. Seems I have several green shoots coming up in the garlic patch so I decided to go ahead and plant the patch. Today was another hot and muggy day but by the evening it seems a much drier air has permeated the area and by the weekend its supposed to really turn Fall like with cool mornings in the 40's, yikes!!!! After that planting I started a couple geranium cutting hoping at least a couple with survive and get big enough to take back to Florida in Nov. The 4 tomato cuttings perished due to all the wet weather so I will try again with seeds in a couple weeks to get a couple large enough to take back for my winter garden.

I then got out the weed whacker and edged all the yards and gardens; wow did I ever work up a good sweat. We decided to go to the post office in Glade Valley and mail a box of birthday goodies for grandson Gabe on his second birthday. Afterwards we headed down the parkway to check on a picturesque site for Fall pictures around a small pond. The leaves were all still green and no real sign they were beginning to change despite some large trees on the way to Galax that have started to change.

After getting back we headed out on a daily hike to the top of the mountain. Its becoming much easier as we make the climb to the top without stopping for a rest. There was haze down off the mountain which made seeing Pilot Mountain almost impossible. We stopped off at Jetta's as she picked up a dozen free range brown eggs for us. Her garden is really producing peppers and green beans but most everything else is declining. We headed on home and I got out the riding mower and did the yards. That took me right up to 5o'clock before finishing.

Nancy had green beans cooking and had made a nice salad while I shucked a half dozen ears of corn from the corn patch. We still have an empty cage which is nice and now with all of the rain and beautiful sunshine today I hope the young ears will fill out and give us another couple weeks of fresh corn. Yikes is that ever good eatin'. After supper I did the clean up then settled in to watch the Fox News after catching the last 2 game of Serena Williams winning a quarter final match at the U.S.Open 6-1, 6-2. Yikes she looks unstoppable and hopefully will continue her winning ways.

We heard from our "mountain mom" Helen as she is on vacation in Colorado with her sisters and brother. She said they were having a fun time seeing different parts of the country and isn't expected to be home until next Wed. or Thurs. We learned our son Bobby and Jill are on their way to Atlanta for an Amway Conference as Jill is into the company and is quite the expert with the Artistry makeup and skin care program. LATER

Thursday

Well the rain finally stopped after 5 straight days of rain, fog and overcast. We saw the sun which was quite hot and bright in the late afternoon for the first time in days. It actually got into the low 80's as the day wore on. Next week we are looking at lows in the 40's and highs only to the upper 60's. Today is probably going to be the last hot day of this year, yikes is that ever hard to believe.

We started the day around 7:30 then after our quiet times Nancy had oatmeal with fruit for breakfast and I ate a couple leftover buckwheat cakes slathered with real butter and molasses. We got ready and headed out to the big city of Galax to do some shopping. I gassed up at $3.57 up from $3.42 from last week at the same station then we headed to Wal-Mart. We had to finish buying birthday gifts for our youngest grandson Gabe who will be 2 on the 18th of this month. We just need to box them up and get them in the mail tomorrow. We loaded up on a few groceries then headed home. We were nearly creamed by a large buck who just missed us as he ran across the parkway in front of us on the way to town and we saw a doe and 2 fawns standing along the parkway on the way home. Must be the day for deer to be seen in public.

It was close to 2 PM before we finally had a bite of lunch after getting home and putting away our goodies. After eating I did a few garden chores then attempted to make a fire in the pit so I could burn 6 bags of accumulated garbage. The cans and bottles I drop off at a dumpster and the rest I burn in the fire pit. Well all of my kindling was soaked from the past several days of rain but eventually I got a good fire going and burned the trash. We then took off on our daily hike to the top of the mountain. The woods were still quite wet as was the grass and weeds that lined the paths. We saw Joe and Jetta and sat around on their front porch visiting until we had cooled down from our hike. I brought them a spaghetti squash from my garden and that will be a first for them to try. It looked like it was going to rain so we took off for the cabin and we did a have a minor rain shower for just a few minutes on the way down. The rain cooled things down just a bit and felt wonderful as it really was quite warm today.

It was nearly 5 PM so we decided to make fajitas out of the smoked leftover chicken. Nancy cut up and sauteed a bunch of green peppers, onions and fresh mushrooms while I got some corn on the cob ready for the microwave. Yikes the fajitas were great and made good eatin' with a little red pepper diced on top with sour cream. The corn was magnificent as well with a little butter and salt; these ears came from the corn patch on top the coon was tearing up. Once again the animal cage was empty; but I left it set in the garden just in casre the coon came back. After supper I piddled around with the fire cleaning up more down sticks in the backwoods yard and getting them to burn.

Well it was a rather warm day but as evening is upon us the temps have dropped a little and the night insects are loud. Wow is it ever pitch black outside at a little after 8PM, LATER

Wednesday

Well it was close to 7:30 when we started the morning. Once again rain was falling and did off and on for most of the day with the totals being over an inch. We did cereal with fruit for breakfast after our quiet times. I did get out in between the rain showers to motor up to the corn patch and once again the cage was empty and there was no new damage. I left the cage once again baited with a fish and since its been raining so much the fish hasn't rotted yet but tomorrow will probably be a day to change baits especially if the sun comes out.

I had dug some fishing worms yesterday so after getting back to the cabin I mentioned to Nancy this is the kind of day the fish should be biting at the lake; so we took off and just as we arrived it once again opened up with a good shower. I brought a rain parka for her and I used an umbrella as we fished. We each caught 2 nice bass which gave us enough for a good supper. Just as we finished up with the bait the sun tried to peak through the clouds but we were out of bait and getting hungry so we headed home. The rain started again as we got back to the cabin. After a peanut butter and banana sandwich the rain lessened enough to where I was able to fillet the bass.

We sat around and read as the rain continued right up to 4 o'clock but we decided since lunch was late we would try to get a hike in to the top of the mountain between the rain showers. The woods were dripping wet with puddles all along the back road but we did the whole hike and even stopped to visit with Joe and Jetta for a few moments. She loaded us up with more fresh 1/2 runner green beans. After getting back I chopped up fresh cabbage with a green pepper and a carrot for Cole slaw to go along with our fried bass and butter(Lima) beans, Yikes was that ever good eatin'.

Well after the cleanup I settled into watch some tennis then Rays Baseball as the rain once again fell. I think this is supposed to happen for a couple more days. We heard from our "mountain mom" Helen today as she is in Hays, Kansas on her way to Colorado with her brother and two sisters, LATER  I need to mention to all of you who read this post that our team leaders for Amway have announced they are extending free shipping to all(customers and IBO's)who purchase at least 30 PV of products. You must make your order before the 10th of the month and then you will receive a reimbursement check in the mail for the amount. After you make an order send a copy via e-mail to fhorders@flhconline.net  to receive your check, also don't forget this month is all Nutrilite products are BOGO. Your Bogo's will be shipped separately at the end of the month to you free of charge, check out our store at; Amway.com/JNTriplett     

Tuesday

Well the morning started around 7 AM with a wake up as Bonnie(dog) wanted outside. Mike is an daily early riser and Bonnie is on his time schedule. Mike and Dee were leaving this AM to head back to Woodstock, Va as tomorrow is a work day for both of them. We had a grand visit and ate way too much with only 1 hike as the rainy weather kept us cabin bound. We did have some great fresh green beans, corn on the cob, sliced tomatoes and garden salads which made up for the ham, beer in the rear hickory smoked chicken and T-bones. Yeow its fruit and lite eatin' the rest of the week.

They left around 10 to a light rain falling and so I high tailed it to the top of the mountain to check on the cage. One again no coon in the cage so I'm thinking he was a loner as the corn patch sustained no new damage. Just maybe with all this rain the new ears that are left will fill out and make for some good eatin'. After checking out the cage the rain let up enough for me to check out my tater patch. With all this rain and the wet ground I didn't want to let them stay in the ground and rot like a couple years ago. I dug about 5 pounds of each red spuds and white spuds. A couple of the white ones were baking size but the hills only had one  tater. I think I will move the patch to a different end of the garden and use more fertilizer next year.

Just as I finished the tater digging the skies opened up again and we were inundated with a steady down pour. We had nearly an inch last evening and the ground is wet down to about a foot. We decided since we had a large breakfast of buckwheat cakes, eggs and ham we would skip lunch and just have fruit. We took off for Sparta as our light over the stove burned Saturday afternoon and today was the first day the building supple store was open. It rained buckets in Sparta and all the way home. We decided to read until was time to start supper which was meatless for me as I picked 2 ears of corn from patch here by the cabin along with a fresh salad and parsley red taters. Nancy can't eat corn so she had some of the smoked chicken.

Well that's about it for the day as it sure is quiet around here with just the rain falling on the tin roof, LATER

Monday(Labor Day)

Well after a late night of games we still got up around 7 AM as Bonnie(dog) needed to go outside so we decided to start the day. It was rainy so we cancelled on any outdoor activities except for later in the day when we got a hike between the mist, low lying clouds and fog. Mike and I took off after a breakfast of sausage, eggs and 'taters in the golf cart to check on the wild animal trap I set the evening before in my corn patch. We found the trap empty and the small fish was right where we placed it the night before; so either the one coon we trapped and moved was a loner or its noise in the cage warned all the others away 'cause I found no new damage to the corn patch.

Dee wanted to copy some of our photos from our laptop so we headed to town to pickup a thumb drive at Kerr Drugs then made a stop at Lowes Grocery for some goodies before heading back to the cabin. We were still socked in with fog and light rain so we got interested in the US Open Tennis matches as well as just relaxed telling stories then we decided to play another game of Phase 10, once again Nancy kept the gals string of winning in tack with a last play victory, Oh well!!! We decided it was time to have a bite of lunch so we munched on ham, smoked chicken and deer salami. Well the skies cleared for a brief period so we thought now is the time to get in a hike to the top of the mountain.

We ran into our old friends John and Shirley on top as they were washing the tin roof of his cabin with a long handled pole. It did bring back some of the luster and of course the rain showers helped with the rinsing part as well. We got back from the hike just in time as once again the clouds rolled in and the rain fell; luckily not a gully washer like the evening before but a steady rain which gave us about an inch all total for the day. We sat around enjoying one anothers company until it was time to start supper. I picked a few ears of corn from my patch here at the cabin and wow were they ever dewisheous along with fresh 1/2 runners once again, another fresh salad and then I grilled some superb T-Bones that were on sale at Lowes; yikes was that ever a good feed. After the cleanup we skyped with Hally Jo in Hawaii and had a great time seeing her and her fiance, Stuart. Halley will be leaving Hawaii for Colorado to finish up her tour of duty with the Army in about a week or so.

Well it was time once more to burn off some of these great calories with a game of Sequence. Mike and Dee didn't remember if they had played it with us before but we had a raucous time until nearly 11:30. I was told love doesn't keep score but since that was the first bit of celebration Mike and I had all week-end playing with these hard nosed game playing gals. Well Mike and Dee left this morning(Tuesday) after another mountain breakfast of buckwheat cakes, ham and eggs, LATER

Sunday

Well we are getting the effects from Issac as its been wet, humid and overcast for days. The morning started out with our quiet time and then a lite breakfast before we headed out for worship at Cornerstone. We had a good crowd with great music and a great message. We headed home and just got in the cabin when we got a heavy downpour. We quickly got a couple whole chickens ready for the smoker. I picked fresh Rosemary from the herb patch along with some fresh garlic and then I put a couple fresh picked ripe red apples into the cavity as well.

We got those on around 12:45 with the Hickory smoke reaching into the cabin while I did a couple little chores as we got ready for my baby sister Dee, husband Mike and their Jack Russell, Bonnie. Boy is she a mess as she is into everything outside and will go after a bear if she can find one to fight. After our company arrived we ate some ham sandwiches then Mike and I took off on the golf cart to the corn patch and sure enough I had a very large raccoon I had trapped overnight. He was not happy to be in that cage and was just covered with mud as it had rained overnight. I loaded him or her up and took it over across the parkway and turned it loose in the woods over there.

The girls took off to the Blue Ridge Gallery to visit as we have gotten to know the owners plus the girls really like to peruse the gallery. Mike and I watched a little tennis until the girls got back. We were concerned for the girls as the sky really opened up with a gully washer. We got 11/2 inches of rain in a very short time.

I took the chicken off around 6:15 and yikes was it ever cooked just right. Nancy had a big pot of 1/2 runner beans cooking along a few ears of corn the 'coon missed and then a huge fresh salad. While the girls cleaned up Mike and I headed back to the top of the mountain with the fresh baited cage to see if there is another 'coon in the area. We skyped with Kelly in Missouri as Jordan was gone. It was good to see her and Molly(dog).

Afterwards we got out the fresh apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and wow was that ever tasty. Well It was time for a nap but instead we taught Mike and Dee how to play Phase 10. Well it was nearly 1 AM when we finally called it a night after Dee won the first game and Nancy won the second one. It was the gals night, LATER 

Saturday

Well it turned out to be another summer day after a 7 AM wake up. The evening before was quite traumatic as Nancy experienced a stomach bug which kept her in terrible pain and in the bathroom. She managed to make it through the night after a couple glasses of ginger(spice) in plain water. That spice is one of the best when ever your having any kind of stomach pain. She felt much better this morning and as the day wore on despite having sore tummy muscles from all her upchucking. I'm really surprised I didn't catch the bug as we both ate the same supper; but so far so good for me. We had to postpone one day of our visit with sister Dee and Mike as we wanted to make sure we weren't contagious.

I headed out to check on the wildlife trap after my quiet time and a lite breakfast of fruit only. I was disappointed the trap was empty but delighted that no more damage was evident to the few remaining corn stalks. I still have a couple dozen ears left in the patch. I think the reason they never came back was I took a tarp that we had been using to cover the gate and I think the coons were using it as a way to climb over the fence. Anyhow I left the trap baited for another night and the tarp off once again at the gate.

I picked up a load of rocks from the roadway on the way back home and then did a few piddly jobs around the garden which had me in a deep sweat. It was so humid today and the temps were in the middle 80's. I had to set in the basement a couple time throughout the day to just cool off; last week it was cool enough to keep the cabin windows closed. Jodi and Gerald came up for the week-end and she came by for a visit and both of them came around 6:30 for Spades. Well it was a guys night and we beat the gals 3 games of Spades in a row. I think that was the best we ever played and we were only set twice during the whole night.

We got a nice shower of rain around 5 PM and it lasted for nearly an hour which really cooled things down compared to what it had been earlier. Tomorrow is worship at Cornerstone then Dee and Mike should be here in the early afternoon hours. They will be staying a couple nights, LATER

Month of September Special

Our team leaders have made it a great opportunity for us who use quality vitamins, supplements, etc which are all organic and made only in the U.S.A. The Nutrilite products are the very best so check them out on our website store; Amway.com/JNTriplett. Any of the products on the website store with Nutrilite in the name is BOGO( that means when you buy one you get a second identical one Free). That's twice as much or half price, depends on whether your bucket is half full or half empty. Probably won't see this promo again for at least 6 months or more so stock up. For those here in N.C. I will put an order in on the 10th of the month and if anyone wants to place an order with me let me know via e-mail or land line and I will save you the shipping expense as I get reimbursed for my shipping, LATER