Saturday

Whew was it another HOT day here in what is usually the mild mountains. I slept in until 7 AM and then after my quiet time and a couple poached cackle berry with some grits I headed out to check on the gardens before we got ready to head to Sparta for the open class 4-H sponsored horse show at the fair grounds. I had the privilege to m/c the show once again and Nancy helped with giving out the award ribbons and trophies. It was a grand time with lots of young participants and even though it got into the 90's by the early afternoon there were no casualties and a good time was had by all.

After the show we came home and chilled until it was time for supper then afterwards we headed down to our neighbors Gerald and Jodi for some 5 Crowns and Spades. The gals once more were victorious in a close game of Spades and the 5 Crowns games were won by Jodi and myself(these were individual efforts). While down at their cabin it started to rain softly and is raining as I make this post. The temps have cooled down considerably and the sound on the roof is putting me to sleep as I make this post. We probably won't see them again for at least 2 weeks as Gerald heads to Sturgis for the motorcycle rally and Jodi heads back to work the middle of August.

Just an update on Paw Paw's progress. I spoke with him today and there are no beds in the Martinsville hospital so they are keeping him in the D.C. Va center. He is taking physical therapy daily and seems to improving slowly. He is just ready to get home and be where he can be visited more easily by family and friends, although he has no complaints about the VA care he is just ready to get back to some aspect of normal surroundings. Once again we are indebted to those who were prayer warriors for him and we are so thankful he has had no real major complications especially at his age.

Well its been a busy week and tomorrow its worship at Cornerstone then entertaining the Dalton gang along with Gerald and Kay. Hopefully this rain will keep things cooled down enough we can their company. I will enclose a few pictures from the horse show today, LATER

Friday

Today was a busy day but not a whole lot accomplished; however I did manage to finish with neighbor Gerald's artistic weld the homemade handle for the ice cream maker of our "mountain mom's". After our quiet times and a bowl of oatmeal with 3 fruits I headed out to water the gardens before meeting up with Gerald to work on the road into our cabins.

This is a private road so we(those who have cabins and property) are responsible for the upkeep and maintenance. About 1/2 or more of those who have access to the road help(money and labor) with the upkeep but just a couple actually do the work and Gerald does the most work as he has a tractor with a scraper. Anyhow we met around 9 AM to move(by hand) a large load of stone into the drainage ditches to help stop erosion and before that I trimmed lots of branches, limbs and briar's that were starting to intrude into the drive area of the road and any over hanging branches. It really started to get hot around 11 so we called it a day for working in the sun and heat until we get another cooler day.

I did a few little jobs around the cabin while Nancy was at the beauty salon getting her hair cut and colored. It was really getting hot and the temps soared close to 90 once again so there was very little to do except work in the basement and on the porches out of the direct sunlight. Well I decided to work in the shade on the back porch staining the walls. I managed to get about 2/3 thirds of the porch stained before calling it a day.

Nancy put together one of my favorite dishes for supper using Zucchini squash and dill from my garden called Zucchini pie. We used our last pack of frozen ground deer meat instead of hamburger fried up with onions and green pepper for the base then mixed all this into sliced sauteed squash and dill. She next places this in a baked croissant roll glass dish and then puts cheese and sliced tomatoes on top. My oh my is that ever good and whats weird is I like it to cold pizzas the next day if there is any left overs. Yikes is that ever good eatin' and especially when most of the ingredients you grow or known who killed the meat.

Well after supper we cooled down watering the plants then headed down to Gerald and Jodi's for a game of Spades which the gals won and the a game of domino's which Nancy won(and I was the biggest loser) at least I was sleeping with a winner!!! Well we head back around 9:30 and it was still in the 80's so it was time for cold showers, reading and bedtime, LATER

Thursday

Well the day turned out to be another scorcher with high temps and a blazing sun and once again a dry evening; could we ever use a shower just to cool things off. I hand watered the gardens this evening but so far they seem to be holding up or should I say still green and producing. I picked a couple cukes today and noticed a few more cherry tomato's had started to turn a light shade of pink. The spoonies are still producing but not nearly as fast as they need to be, as a dozen of them in your salad is like a bucket of sand at the beach.

After our quiet times and a bowl of cereal with peaches, blue berries and a banana I head over to Helen's(mountain mom) to assist with Lowes delivering her upright freezer. Well Lowes was fast and they were gone by the time I got there just before 9AM so I headed over to Joe's to see if I could figure out why his phone which is on the same jack as his DSL will not work. The phone works on the jack in the next bedroom but will not work where it use to; as lightening struck the electrical receptacle but it still works but not the phone jack, anyhow that was a fruitless try but we eliminated the possibility the phone was no good. I can't for the life of me understand the phone line for the DSL works on the same jack but not the phone, we even changed the filter as well but to no avail, Oh well!!!

I headed home and we had a lite lunch before taking off on our hike to the top, wow was it ever starting to heat and fast. After the hike I starting a fire in the fire pit while Nancy filled a pot with raw peanuts, salt and water. I boiled those babies for about 4-5 hours and my oh my were they ever good eatin', so much so we had them for supper. We did manage a salad also but the main course was boiled salted peanuts. While they were cooking I headed down to neighbor Gerald's as he and the family arrived from Raleigh, wow was it ever hot down there as well with temps over a 100. I helped him move a pallet of slate rocks that will be used to finish the block walls of his cabin. We loaded several loads in the back of the golf cart and carted them down to the lower area behind the cabin, what a work horse that machine is as he was initially carrying them by hand. Luckily we were in the shade but it still was downright hot.

After the rock job was over I headed down to the basement where I continued to work on fabricating a handle for the White Mountain Ice Cream maker that I borrowed from our mountain mom. I found an old wrench with a box end that fits the nut that goes on the drive for the maker. I then took a hack saw and sawed off the open end of the tool then drilled a hole that allowed me to insert the old handle and spindle into the tool. I then crimped the handle to the tool using an 1800's anvil(my great- grandfather used during the Civil War) and now I need neighbor Gerald to arc weld the nut to the inside of the tool. Actually this crank and handle will be much stronger than the original cast handle that came with the maker; and it looks pretty good as well. If I remember I will post a photo. Well that kept me busy for a couple hours as that forged steel was hard and besides I was using all hand tools.

It was still in the 80's as supper time came so we ate light and never heated up the kitchen besides it was too hot to really enjoy a big meal. After supper I headed down to basement and strained my blackberry must and placed the liquid into (2) 1 gallon jugs where it will cook(ferment )for about 6 months. Well not much else is going on except in the morning while its still some what cool, I will help neighbor Gerald to place some large rocks(ric rack)into the drainage ditches along our private road that washes heavily when we have these down pours. He has a tractor with a front end bucket which will make it nice in the movement of these rocks from a central location to various areas along the roadway. LATER These 2 pictures are of a salad we had with Nasterium flowers which are delicious and the blue pot of raw peanuts on the fire.

Wednesday

Well I woke up after 7 AM this morning for a change, actually felt good to sleep in except I was dreaming about taking a seminar for motorcycle riding; I know that was a dream as I've investigated my share of m/c fatalities over the 30 years I spent with the patrol. It sure was nice to wake up and realize this was just a night mare. After my quiet and of bowl of cereal with; banana, wine berries and blue berries. Yikes did that ever taste good but not nearly as tasty as the French toast of yesterday.

I headed to the basement to put some long pants and boots on as I was heading to Ms. Helen's place on our mountain top. We have an agreement that I will give her half the blue berries I pick from her patch. I also volunteered to clean the briar's and trash bushes out as well. I picked about a quart of berries but spent the next hour or so in the hot sun cleaning, clipping and hauling the trash down from the patch. The briar's are a real problem as they are the kind which just reaches out and grabs you. When I left the patch my shirt was soaking wet and even my socks were damp from the sweat, yikes was it ever HOT and on top of that the mosquitoes, gnats and deer flies loved to buzz your eyes and ears.

I changed clothes to some shorts and a dry shirt before we took off on our hike for the day and decided we would stay off the front road as the heat was really building and beside there is no shade. We stopped at Joe and Jetta's and sat a spell as Joe told us about the bee's nest above his garage door. Last evening when we walked I noticed they were Yellow Jacket Bee's but he didn't think so, well long story short a couple of them popped him today so he took my advice and destroyed the nest. Those are mean and nasty insects and I have no fondness for them and now he believes me. I took him a spoon tomato which was good for a chuckle and a head of cabbage from my garden.

We came back and I cut lettuce and Nancy made an awesome lunch of homemade bread with mayo, sliced tomato, sliced onion and lettuce, WOW that is the best ever sandwich. We just chilled after lunch as the heat was up into the low 80's again, this has been the hottest summer so far and for such a long time. We took it easy and read until it was time to get ready to head out with Helen and Joe to Galax to do some shopping and have supper at a home cooking restaurant called Flossie's. The meal was good and reasonably priced. Afterwards we headed to Lowes and then to Wal-Mart before heading home. The evening had slipped away and it was going on 8 o'clock by the time we headed in the drive. It was still 90 degrees when we left Galax; but the temp had dropped down to a pleasant 77 when we started up the drive. I watered the upper garden and I'm going to add some Epsom salt to the tomato's and peppers to see if that will help with production.

Just an up date on Paw Paw as I spoke with him around lunch time. He was waiting to be transferred back to the Martinsburg, W.Va. Veterans Hospital. Hopefully that went through for him, and as well as for those who live close to there. LATER

Tuesday

Well I was awake and ready to roll at 6:30 but Nancy convinced me to stay in bed until after 7:30 so I gave it a try until 7 then I had to get up. You would think being retired I would want to sleep in but that's not the case as I need less sleep now that I'm older, anyhow it was a beautiful morning with temps near 70. There was a heavy dew once again and I could hear it dripping from the roof. After our quiet times we had a delicious breakfast of cinnamon bread(Mennonite bread) dipped in egg and fried, my oh my was that the best ever.

I had promised an old friend from church I would come by his old dairy farm(he retired and sold his milkers) and collect some old cow manure for my garden. Well we loaded up about 8-5 gallon buckets plus 6 sacks of the dried stuff, wow was that ever cured and I could just see plants growing before my eyes once I spread this in the veggie and flower gardens. Many thanks to Clayton as he knew I was a avid gardener. We were close to Eddie and Kimberley's farm so we stopped by and played with the orphaned colt and she gave me some peonies she was wanting to move from one of her flower beds. It was getting close to lunchtime so we headed for the cabin.

Nancy was putting together a fresh salad and I added to it some fresh arugula and nasturtiums leaves and flowers, wow do those ingredients add much flavor but Nancy isn't fond of any of them. After lunch I dug up a new bed for the peonies and planted them then got ready to mow the yards. It took me about 2 hours and wow was the sun ever bright making it definitely a straw hat occasion. Luckily I now have the riding mower thanks to Mike and Dee.

Well after mowing I headed to the lower garden which was by now in the shade so I loosened the dirt around all of the plants except for the potato's as they are starting to finally bloom. I cut 3 heads of cabbage as the slugs are starting to have over night feasts on them and have just 2 more heads growing. I slawed one for supper to go along with our fried fish and 1/2 runner beans. Yumm what a supper and complimented with some home grown sliced cucumbers. After the clean up we headed out on our hike to the top of the mountain. We stopped and visited with Joe and Jetta and she blessed us with a mess of fresh picked 1/2 runners from her garden and a small loaf of homemade bread. She makes awesome bread as we found out last year. We headed for the cabin and decided to call it a day. I had a call from oldest sister, Josie that middle sister Pat and Keith were down to visit with Paw Paw today and he seems to be progressing but at a slower pace than he wanted. Seems he will be there a few more days as there are a few minor problems which will require daily monitoring of his lungs and kidneys.

Well I picked another dozen spoon tomato's today and probably could have added a couple more to them in the soup spoon, yikes are they tiny. Well the Ray's are having a tough road trip as they are in California, maybe its a good thing they don't start play until 10 PM so I don't see the results before bed time. Tomorrow we are going to Galax and taking Helen and brother Joe along as we dine out then head to Lowes and finally Wal-Mart, LATER

Monday

Well this has been a busy day that started around 6:30 this morning when I rolled out. After my quiet time and a bowl of cereal with a peach, banana, wine berries and blue berries I got ready to head over to Helen's too work on her shop door. I checked it out on Friday and determined the anchor board for the chain assembly had pulled away from the frame causing the door to hang up when opening and closing. I aligned it up and tried to drive the large spikes back into the frame but finally put some large screws into the anchor board, that seemed to work and the door moves smoothly once again. On the way out her driveway I noticed what at first I thought was a black snake curled up but on closer inspection I determined it was a pile of bear scat(poop) that resembled a large pile of black berry seeds. She has tons of wild black berries and her neighbor Odell Wright saw a black bear just across the field from her on Saturday evening checking out his grapes. Yikes a bear in the 'hood.

After getting back from Helen's we got ready for our daily hike to the top of the mountain. It was another warm day with high humidity and as we crossed over onto the front road the heat was becoming intense, sort of like a typical Florida day in the summer. I was wringing wet with sweat by the time we got home and I could feel my tummy growling so we made a tuna salad with lots of fresh lettuce, cukes, olives, pickles and herbs. I headed out to rotor-till my garlic patch after lunch and then spread some compost on top as I'm getting ready to sow garlic seeds for next years crop. I probably harvested 20-30 garlic bulbs and have them drying under the back porch. I then rotor-tilled the weedy areas in the lower garden before a sudden thunder storm ran me into the basement and shed. While waiting on the rain I took off the riding mower blades and sharpened them, then changed the oil in the mower as well.

I next worked on changing the regulator on my gas grille as its been making a loud noise while cooking. I had to change out the side burner valve as well which required some country boy engineering but it worked and now I'm back into the grilling business. The rain finally let up so I started to weed whack the yards and got about 2/3 Rd's complete when Nancy called me for supper. I headed into the lower garden on the way in an cut a small head of cabbage which she cooked in the microwave, wow was that ever tasty and so mild. While waiting to eat I spoke with Paw Paw in D.C. and he sounded good except for his desire to get back home or at least back to W.Va. Glad to hear he's coming along as it was 2 weeks today he had triple by-pass. We also had some fresh new potato's with parsley and sliced tomato's to go along with the cabbage. Yeow was that ever a great meal and no meat for a change.

After supper I finished weed whacking including all the trees in the back woods yard; the skies by now have started to clear with some blue overhead and the humidity seemed to have disappeared also,so we headed out on another walk. This time we stayed in the road down to the creek at The Heglars then walked back, wow it was another good workout. When we got back I decided it was time to burn trash so I got a fire going and burned two large bags plus picked up sticks and limbs from the back woods yard. I finally headed in around 9 PM and hit the shower.

It's been a busy but fun day and tomorrow is starting to look like it might be busy as well. The rain cooled things off and helped the garden. I picked 2 really nice size Zucchini's; perfect for a pie later this week. LATER

Sunday

Well it was another warm day but the afternoon thunderstorm with hail and a downpour which dropped 1 1/4 inches of rain in about 20 minutes was a real temperature changer. The morning started out with a sleep in until 7 then a lite breakfast after our quiet times before we got ready to head out to Cornerstone for worship. We had a large crowd today with several new faces and we were missing some regulars especially one sweet lady in particular who is battling cancer. Keep Sherry Edwards in your prayers and thoughts as she is battling this terrible disease and it seems to be getting the upper hand as of right now. Also continue to keep Paw Paw(dad) in your thoughts and prayers as well. I spoke with him this morning and he seems to be getting stronger each day and is looking forward to going home.

After church we made a quick stop at Lowes before heading home for a light lunch. After lunch I dug up my garlic as the plants had dies and strating going to seed. I got several nice bulbs and will get the bed ready for the seeds to be sown in the next couple days. I had noticed several Yellow Jacket(bees) flying in the space between the outer boards around the window frame of the bathroom, well needless to say I went to war with them and killed about 50 with a fly swatter as they entered and exited this small space. I helped to slow them down when I inserted a folded piece of newspaper in the crack so it made for easier killing, although a couple did chase me onto the porch a couple times but survived without any stings. These are the meanest, nastiest bees and will sting and bite at the same time over and over again, so I have this love/hate relationship. I hate the bees but love to kill them one by one. After darl I removed the paper and sprayed an insecticide into the space then replaced the paper hoping that will kill the nest and any bees left inside.

Helen our mountain mom came for a nice visit just after the worst of the storm had passed. She shared pictures of their last week-end family reunion in the Outer Banks area of N. Carolina. We had a good visit and I picked her a mess of collard greens as well as a spoon tomato. Well after supper we took off on our hike to the top of the mountain. The temps were in the low 70's and it was still cloudy with just a little sunshine. We saw the Browning's, Sarah and her pooch Penny and the Fuller's with their pooch Rico. Well its another busy week as neighbor Gerald is coming up to his cabin after spending the week in New York for a family wedding