Well Friday turned to be the nicest weather day so far this year at the cabin. It was in the high 50's to start the day and may have reached the high 70's. The sun was rather warm but as soon as you got into some shade it was awesome. We decided early in the morning we would go to Sparta for some errands after our mid morning hike.
The day started around a 6:30 wake up and after my usual cup of green tea, a few quiet minutes and a smoothie for breakfast I ventured down to check on the gardens for any critter damage. Everything looked good and the peas and beans grew another couple of inches overnight as well as did the 'mater plants. They have really greened up and are now blossoming The one's that had fruit set are now ripening and look pretty in the garden. I'm hoping today to maybe set out some of the lettuce seedlings into the ground.
Nancy put in a couple loads of laundry and they were drying on the clothesline outside and all this before 10 AM. We decided that was a good time to get our hike in for the day so we set off to the top. Once again it looked lonely there as we saw no one about. We headed on back down and changed clothes and got ready to head to Sparta. We first stopped at the library for a couple of reads then headed to the Mustard Seed diner for some lunch. We saw and sat with Stacy Adams and Mechelle Dalton who were just finishing up. Stacy is the assistant states attorney and Mechelle is a parole and probation officer for the county. We shared some stories and laughs before they had to go back to work. I had the broccoli and cheese soup and half a grilled panini sandwich of cheese, bacon and tomato, yeow delicious!!! Nancy opted for the same except she wanted the pasta salad instead of the soup.
We next headed to the coffee shop just up the street where one of my pickle ball converts and his wife run a small shop. His dad is our family doctor in the mountains and also played a little pickle ball with us from time to time as well.They just opened this shop and specialize is all kinds of coffee, homemade breads, wine and wine tasting and soon will be serving lunch sandwiches. We ordered 3 different kinds of loaf breads for next weeks company and I will pick them up next Friday when I come to town for a kayaking trip on the New River with Stacy's husband Don who is the county manager. We will chaperon a group of youngsters on their outing adventure on the river.
Well after a couple stops at different grocery stores and a vegetable stand we were loaded down for another week of fine eatin' and entertaining. We are having a large group here on Saturday evening for burgers, dogs, baked beans, cole slaw and desserts. I think we are planning on about 15 for this cook out and then to teach them a new game afterwards. Well we got back out to the cabin around 2:30 and then I got ready to mow the yards which took me about 2 plus hours. Thankfully I now do it with a riding lawn mower thanks to my baby sister Dee and husband Mike who gave me their practically new mower which was too small for their large yard in Woodstock , Virginia. I thank them silently every time I start to mow this couple acres on this hill. There is a trick to mowing on a hill as well and it takes some know how which I have mastered after many trial and errors.
It was nearly 5 PM when I finished and I wanted to go look at an aerator for the yard that Joe had abandoned due to its malfunctioning. I wanted to see if I could repair it and after checking it out its beyond repair so that looks like my next purchase at Lowes. I have lots of moss in the backwoods yards and I think its because the soil is so compacted as it's not wet or damp. It does get some sunlight but when I cleared it several years ago I didn't go deep enough in getting rid of the top layer. I do have some grass but despite extra liming it's still not grassy enough for me so I think aerating will help tremendously in getting rid of the moss.
I grilled some Salmon steaks and along with some new potatoes and Brussel sprouts we had us a good feed. I loaded the Salmon with fresh dill, lemon pepper and garlic salt, Yeow was that ever good eatin'. I added fresh parsley to the taters and garnished them with fresh thyme and a hot cayenne pepper. Can't get any better than that; of course Nancy isn't into my hot peppers but they sure wake up the taste buds. Well after visiting Joe about the aerator we stopped and visited with our "mountain mom" Helen for an hour or so. She has so many rabbits at her place. She keeps catching and releasing them while trying to catch a rogue ground hog that is annoying her. He hasn't been back for a few days so she is tired of catching the rabbits and now hasn't set the trap for a couple days. We had a good visit and the tomato plant I gave her and set out from my Florida seedlings is blooming as well.
After a hot shower I read for a few minutes and then it was lights out for me by 10 with Nancy soon to follow. I did watch a little of the college baseball world series until I started falling asleep on the couch, LATER
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Friday, June 21, 2013
Friday Morning
Well Thursday turned out to be gorgeous after a foggy start from another 1/2 inch of rain during the early morning hours. The grass stayed wet until the early afternoon when we finally got some much needed sunshine. It was so wet out instead of taking a hike up the mountain we hiked out to the mailbox which is close to a good 2 mile walk. There are a couple steep pulls which had the sweat popping out on my brow.
The morning started with a 6:30 wake up and get up after hitting the sack around 10 the night before. Up and down this yard plus the hike wears you out come night fall. I'm surprised I'm not worn thin but the good eatin' is maintaining the spare tire, Oh well!!! After my quiet time and the posting of this ramble we decided on a mountain breakfast of sausage patties, fried taters and eggs with toast and homemade strawberry freezer jam we have carried from here to Florida and back, Yeow!! No wonder I'm keeping this spare tire.
We headed to the mailbox around 10'ish and noticed that Grant and Shirley were up for the day. Grant had already mowed as he came up the night before and had gone off to acquire some parts for a leaky commode at Blevins. We visited with Shirley and the grand kids for awhile then headed on out to get the mail and the weekly newspaper. We noticed a large snapping turtle along side the road and it looked as if it had been run over slightly. There was some blood on the shell but it was still alive so I put it into the ditch which had cold water. That sort of revived the critter. Grant saw it before it was hit and noticed it trying to lay eggs in the mud by the shoulder before it was hit. There were 2 or 3 trucks that came in our road all within minutes of each other so we aren't sure which one struck the turtle.
We headed home and had a lite lunch before heading to the back road with the push mower and weed eater on the golf cart. The back road had grass a foot tall and when its well your feet get soaked as we traverse to the top on our daily hike. That kept us busy as we mowed a couple tenths of a mile. We also clipped low hanging branches that slap us while in the golf cart. We headed on back down and the sun was delightful with temps in the middle 70's. I piddled around in the back yard picking up sticks and then managed to reach over the fence in the upper garden with a hoe to get the ground ready for some lettuce seedling that are about big enough to transplant. I want at least 4 leaves before I set them out so that could be this week end if the weather stays somewhat dry and warm.
We noticed on our ride back down the mountain the old Ray Todd residence has really been fixed up. Several of the out buildings are gone, the block work around the cabin had been covered in stone as well as the steps have been replaced. The well house is covered in stone with a roof. The place looks great and its been cleaned up of much of the trash left laying around. There is a new back porch and deck as well as guttering. It really is looking good and from what I understand a steal as it was a foreclosure.
Well after a lite supper of chicken salad on lettuce we headed out to wonder around in the yard. Nancy notice some little black beetle was making holes in her flowers so I mixed up a batch of insecticide and sprayed all of the flower beds while she pulled weeds. The soaking rain has made it easy to weed the beds as the roots come right out whereas when this clay dries out its hard as concrete. I burned household trash and once again picked up several buckets of small twigs and pine cones from the yards. This rain had really caused the grass to look good and fill in. I want to give it another coat of lime next week.
I tuned into the Rays vs the Yankees and we were winning big when I decided to call it a night around 10:30. I wasn't as tired tonight as we didn't work all that hard for the day so we read until after 11. I started a new book by Grisham THE TESTAMENT. The first couple chapters are very intriguing, LATER
The morning started with a 6:30 wake up and get up after hitting the sack around 10 the night before. Up and down this yard plus the hike wears you out come night fall. I'm surprised I'm not worn thin but the good eatin' is maintaining the spare tire, Oh well!!! After my quiet time and the posting of this ramble we decided on a mountain breakfast of sausage patties, fried taters and eggs with toast and homemade strawberry freezer jam we have carried from here to Florida and back, Yeow!! No wonder I'm keeping this spare tire.
We headed to the mailbox around 10'ish and noticed that Grant and Shirley were up for the day. Grant had already mowed as he came up the night before and had gone off to acquire some parts for a leaky commode at Blevins. We visited with Shirley and the grand kids for awhile then headed on out to get the mail and the weekly newspaper. We noticed a large snapping turtle along side the road and it looked as if it had been run over slightly. There was some blood on the shell but it was still alive so I put it into the ditch which had cold water. That sort of revived the critter. Grant saw it before it was hit and noticed it trying to lay eggs in the mud by the shoulder before it was hit. There were 2 or 3 trucks that came in our road all within minutes of each other so we aren't sure which one struck the turtle.
We headed home and had a lite lunch before heading to the back road with the push mower and weed eater on the golf cart. The back road had grass a foot tall and when its well your feet get soaked as we traverse to the top on our daily hike. That kept us busy as we mowed a couple tenths of a mile. We also clipped low hanging branches that slap us while in the golf cart. We headed on back down and the sun was delightful with temps in the middle 70's. I piddled around in the back yard picking up sticks and then managed to reach over the fence in the upper garden with a hoe to get the ground ready for some lettuce seedling that are about big enough to transplant. I want at least 4 leaves before I set them out so that could be this week end if the weather stays somewhat dry and warm.
We noticed on our ride back down the mountain the old Ray Todd residence has really been fixed up. Several of the out buildings are gone, the block work around the cabin had been covered in stone as well as the steps have been replaced. The well house is covered in stone with a roof. The place looks great and its been cleaned up of much of the trash left laying around. There is a new back porch and deck as well as guttering. It really is looking good and from what I understand a steal as it was a foreclosure.
Well after a lite supper of chicken salad on lettuce we headed out to wonder around in the yard. Nancy notice some little black beetle was making holes in her flowers so I mixed up a batch of insecticide and sprayed all of the flower beds while she pulled weeds. The soaking rain has made it easy to weed the beds as the roots come right out whereas when this clay dries out its hard as concrete. I burned household trash and once again picked up several buckets of small twigs and pine cones from the yards. This rain had really caused the grass to look good and fill in. I want to give it another coat of lime next week.
I tuned into the Rays vs the Yankees and we were winning big when I decided to call it a night around 10:30. I wasn't as tired tonight as we didn't work all that hard for the day so we read until after 11. I started a new book by Grisham THE TESTAMENT. The first couple chapters are very intriguing, LATER
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Thursday Morning
Well Wednesday turned out to be a busy day as I decided to clear out the back woods that was being taken over by Mountain Laurel, small pine seedlings, briars, Maple seedlings and an assortment of vegetation. It's been a few years since I cleared out the area up behind the cabin and with all this rain this past year or so it quickly began to grow up. I used the weed eater for some of the small stuff, a mowing scythe for some of the larger stuff and then finally cutters for the bigger stuff. I gathered a pretty good pile that now needs to be burned.
The morning started with me wide awake at 6:15 so I let Nancy sleep in and started the day with posting this ramble along with my usual cup of green tea with a little cinnamon. I don't know if I'm losing any of this belly fat as a result of that concoction but it sure does add some flavor to what is normally a boring taste. After that I did my quiet time and then had a meal replacement shake from Nutrilite for breakfast. I left some here from last year and I want to use them up before they expire. They are quite tasty and only have 140 calories but are loaded with goodies. I try to buy them when they are bogo and keep them on hand.
I headed out to the backwoods to work while Nancy did laundry. She is thrilled about how the water flows so much faster into the machine since I cleaned out that filter; what a difference that makes. Our water is so sweet and soft here in the mountains that I can't describe how good it tastes and so cold coming out of the ground. We took our hike around 10 to the top of the mountain and saw no one since Joe and Jetta are gone for a week on a vacation. We missed seeing them and Zeke on our daily walks.
We came back and I piddled until it was lunch time then I started weed eating the yards and gardens as I want to mow on Friday for the weekend. We have a gang coming for a get together of food and games. The sun was out for most of the day but there was still some moments that looked like rain. During the night it poured buckets and woke us up and this morning it's so dang foggy you can hardly see off the porch. If it stays like this we will probably head to town for some shopping, a trip to the library, etc.
Well that was about it for Wednesday as I stayed outside until nearly dark piddling around in the gardens and yards. We took a long golf cart ride after supper up to the top of the mountain and down some of the trails through the woods. It was cool with temps into the upper 60's. I picked a couple more tomato's today and have several ripening as well, LATER
Just a reminder if any of you use the Legacy of Clean(LOC) products that I distribute for Amway this month all of their LOC products are buy one get one free. We use them both here in the mountains and in Florida and when I say they are good, believe me and especially the cost is in half during this promo month. We use 1/3 of what you normally would use in a load of laundry and they are designed to be safe for the environment as well. If your interested send me an e-mail and I will put you on my preferred customer list or just go to my website an order at; www.amway.com/JNTriplett
The morning started with me wide awake at 6:15 so I let Nancy sleep in and started the day with posting this ramble along with my usual cup of green tea with a little cinnamon. I don't know if I'm losing any of this belly fat as a result of that concoction but it sure does add some flavor to what is normally a boring taste. After that I did my quiet time and then had a meal replacement shake from Nutrilite for breakfast. I left some here from last year and I want to use them up before they expire. They are quite tasty and only have 140 calories but are loaded with goodies. I try to buy them when they are bogo and keep them on hand.
I headed out to the backwoods to work while Nancy did laundry. She is thrilled about how the water flows so much faster into the machine since I cleaned out that filter; what a difference that makes. Our water is so sweet and soft here in the mountains that I can't describe how good it tastes and so cold coming out of the ground. We took our hike around 10 to the top of the mountain and saw no one since Joe and Jetta are gone for a week on a vacation. We missed seeing them and Zeke on our daily walks.
We came back and I piddled until it was lunch time then I started weed eating the yards and gardens as I want to mow on Friday for the weekend. We have a gang coming for a get together of food and games. The sun was out for most of the day but there was still some moments that looked like rain. During the night it poured buckets and woke us up and this morning it's so dang foggy you can hardly see off the porch. If it stays like this we will probably head to town for some shopping, a trip to the library, etc.
Well that was about it for Wednesday as I stayed outside until nearly dark piddling around in the gardens and yards. We took a long golf cart ride after supper up to the top of the mountain and down some of the trails through the woods. It was cool with temps into the upper 60's. I picked a couple more tomato's today and have several ripening as well, LATER
Just a reminder if any of you use the Legacy of Clean(LOC) products that I distribute for Amway this month all of their LOC products are buy one get one free. We use them both here in the mountains and in Florida and when I say they are good, believe me and especially the cost is in half during this promo month. We use 1/3 of what you normally would use in a load of laundry and they are designed to be safe for the environment as well. If your interested send me an e-mail and I will put you on my preferred customer list or just go to my website an order at; www.amway.com/JNTriplett
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Wednesday Morning
Tuesday was another nice day for working outside with cooler temps and overcast skies most of the day with occasional showers and periods of sunshine. We had a steady rain in the early afternoon that amounted to 1/2 inch and sent us both onto the porch to read for a couple hours. Nancy donned her sweat suit and finally headed inside to close the windows. It was down into the low 60's.
The morning started around 6:15 with such stillness as I couldn't go back to sleep. I wonder if my inner clock is so use to the roosters crowing around 5'ish and then trying to get in that extra hour that when I awake around 6'ish that's it for sleeping, oh well. After my usual cup of green tea with some cinnamon I did my post for this ramble and my quiet time, then made a smoothie of a fresh peach, banana, and blue berries, yikes was that ever good and healthy. I headed outside to check on the gardens. I caught another field mouse down below the deck and I'm wondering where "blackie" the snake is as he is usually the best mouser around. This year I've already caught 3 mice all of them outside or in my red out building.
The gardens look great and no further damage and lots of new growth; my sugar peas have broken ground, the tomatoes are ripening and the cukes are blooming as well. I had to resow some of the beet seeds as the heavy rains when we first got here washed most away but a few did survive and are up plus the beets I brought from my Florida garden are sending out new leaves. We love to add beet greens to our salads and they are so good for you.
I headed up to the Browning's to pick up some fertilizer Joe didn't like as it's made from dried chicken manure and it does have a smell. Well he had stored it in a trash can outside and some how it got wet and began to rot. Yeow was that ever a smell so I just spread it by hand onto the backwoods yard and it took me forever to wash the smell away. The nice afternoon rain also washed the smell away as well. We took off on our hike just before lunch and saw no one on top of the mountain. The fog had rolled in and cut off all of our distant views but the snowy white clouds and fog was absolutely beautiful. We had to cut the hike across the top short as it began to rain.
We came back and had our favorite lunch of canned sardines with fresh sweet onion on a cracker with mustard, yeow is that ever a tasty treat we just love. After lunch we took a golf cart ride out to the mailbox then settled in as the rain fell. We got in several hours of reading before starting some supper. I fired up the grille for some marinated chicken breasts which we turned into fajitas with the last of my red and green peppers from the Florida garden. We added the leftover garlic pasta and broccoli from last nights supper. After the clean up I headed outside to weed eat the back woods area that is starting to grow up.
Nancy whistled and said we had company coming and it turned out to be Ray and Audean on a 4 wheeler. They stayed for an hour or so as he has been real sick with an inner ear infection. He looked rather unsteady on his feet and rather puffy around the face. He suffered from a cancer that got into his ear a few years ago and we certainly hope that hasn't started again. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Speaking of thoughts and prayers they worked as Amy and Tyler got home a little before 9 last evening after driving 1500 miles from Kansas. Ava had picked up an intestinal bug during their overnight stay in Tennessee so they were delayed due to all of the potty stops but they made it safely which was answer to prayer, LATER
The ripe tomato pictures are from the seedlings I brought with me from Florida that had fruit already set. I have the first ripe tomato on the vine for the year amongst my gardening buddies here in the mountains.
The morning started around 6:15 with such stillness as I couldn't go back to sleep. I wonder if my inner clock is so use to the roosters crowing around 5'ish and then trying to get in that extra hour that when I awake around 6'ish that's it for sleeping, oh well. After my usual cup of green tea with some cinnamon I did my post for this ramble and my quiet time, then made a smoothie of a fresh peach, banana, and blue berries, yikes was that ever good and healthy. I headed outside to check on the gardens. I caught another field mouse down below the deck and I'm wondering where "blackie" the snake is as he is usually the best mouser around. This year I've already caught 3 mice all of them outside or in my red out building.
The gardens look great and no further damage and lots of new growth; my sugar peas have broken ground, the tomatoes are ripening and the cukes are blooming as well. I had to resow some of the beet seeds as the heavy rains when we first got here washed most away but a few did survive and are up plus the beets I brought from my Florida garden are sending out new leaves. We love to add beet greens to our salads and they are so good for you.
I headed up to the Browning's to pick up some fertilizer Joe didn't like as it's made from dried chicken manure and it does have a smell. Well he had stored it in a trash can outside and some how it got wet and began to rot. Yeow was that ever a smell so I just spread it by hand onto the backwoods yard and it took me forever to wash the smell away. The nice afternoon rain also washed the smell away as well. We took off on our hike just before lunch and saw no one on top of the mountain. The fog had rolled in and cut off all of our distant views but the snowy white clouds and fog was absolutely beautiful. We had to cut the hike across the top short as it began to rain.
Nancy whistled and said we had company coming and it turned out to be Ray and Audean on a 4 wheeler. They stayed for an hour or so as he has been real sick with an inner ear infection. He looked rather unsteady on his feet and rather puffy around the face. He suffered from a cancer that got into his ear a few years ago and we certainly hope that hasn't started again. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Speaking of thoughts and prayers they worked as Amy and Tyler got home a little before 9 last evening after driving 1500 miles from Kansas. Ava had picked up an intestinal bug during their overnight stay in Tennessee so they were delayed due to all of the potty stops but they made it safely which was answer to prayer, LATER
The ripe tomato pictures are from the seedlings I brought with me from Florida that had fruit already set. I have the first ripe tomato on the vine for the year amongst my gardening buddies here in the mountains.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Tuesday Morning
Monday turned out to be a nice day despite the threat of rain for most of the day. It did sprinkle occasionally between periods of sunshine, the temps stayed in the low 70's but the humidity was really on the rise during the late evening as 5 of us guys played about 2 plus hours of pickle ball at the Roaring Gap Club. We were a bunch of sweaty bushed guys by the time we decided enough around 8:45. It was a great workout and we had some really good rallies, too bad we have to take a week off as Ted will be entertaining out of town guests next week.
The morning started much the usual around a 6:15 AM wake up as I could hear a lite rain on the tin roof. That didn't last long so I had my usual cup of tea, my quiet time and then after posting this ramble I heated up the 2 left over buckwheat cakes to start the juices flowing with a little real butter and honey, Yeow they tasted as good as the day Nancy baked them.
I headed out to check on the gardens and all seemed in good order with no evident damage to the plants. I still have a critter that gets into my compost pile each night, but as long as it stays in there it's fine with me. There isn't much to eat but for banana peels, egg shells and coffee grounds and vegetable stuff. I put no meat or bones in there so it isn't getting much to munch on.
I took the water hoses to the washing machine off and checked the screen that allows the water in and it was nearly blocked with silt. That was why it was taking so long for the machine to fill. I Googled the problem and I think it has an answer for everything and sure enough after taking an ice pick and opening up the mesh screen the water flows like its supposed to. I doubt this machine's screen has ever been cleaned as we bought it used. It's like a new machine despite being ancient. I transplanted some more lettuce seedlings into individual pots and the ones I transplanted a couple days ago look as if they may make. I did some more garden work through out the day turning over the lower garden by hand with a shovel and breaking up the dirt clots for the new transplants.
Nancy put a load of laundry in and then we headed out to the top of the mountain for our daily hike. We saw Zeke as we passed the Browning's and then waved at Jetta as she was out back working in her garden. We walked on through the Cahoon's place and then checked to see what progress had been done on the addition to the Leslie house. Wow are they ever doing a great addition to their already nice place with 3 floors. The views are fantastic from their side of the mountain. We headed for home and then a lunch of salad as the morning quickly passed us by.
After lunch I took off the mower blades and sharpened them as I want to mow again before the week end. We are entertaining the Dalton's, Luffman's, Karin Hearl and her friend Roger on Saturday evening and then a game of Balderdash. Should be a fun time. I helped Nancy put together the new bed upstairs in Amy's room as we get ready for her mom, sister, niece and husband next week for about a week. We piddled around doing little odd chores until it was time to grille a couple Salmon steaks, yeow they were excellent along with garlic butter pasta and fresh broccoli. After the clean up it was time to head out for pickle ball. I picked up neighbor Gerald and we headed out a little after 6. It was after 9 before we got back to the cabin and we both were starting to feel the effects of a great workout. Lots of ibuprofen tonight.
Amy and family are on their way back from Kansas after nearly 2 weeks of family time with Tyler folks. They left early in the morning and are planning on spending a night on the road instead of driving straight through. If you have a moment keep them in your thoughts and prayers for safe travel, LATER
The morning started much the usual around a 6:15 AM wake up as I could hear a lite rain on the tin roof. That didn't last long so I had my usual cup of tea, my quiet time and then after posting this ramble I heated up the 2 left over buckwheat cakes to start the juices flowing with a little real butter and honey, Yeow they tasted as good as the day Nancy baked them.
I headed out to check on the gardens and all seemed in good order with no evident damage to the plants. I still have a critter that gets into my compost pile each night, but as long as it stays in there it's fine with me. There isn't much to eat but for banana peels, egg shells and coffee grounds and vegetable stuff. I put no meat or bones in there so it isn't getting much to munch on.
I took the water hoses to the washing machine off and checked the screen that allows the water in and it was nearly blocked with silt. That was why it was taking so long for the machine to fill. I Googled the problem and I think it has an answer for everything and sure enough after taking an ice pick and opening up the mesh screen the water flows like its supposed to. I doubt this machine's screen has ever been cleaned as we bought it used. It's like a new machine despite being ancient. I transplanted some more lettuce seedlings into individual pots and the ones I transplanted a couple days ago look as if they may make. I did some more garden work through out the day turning over the lower garden by hand with a shovel and breaking up the dirt clots for the new transplants.
Nancy put a load of laundry in and then we headed out to the top of the mountain for our daily hike. We saw Zeke as we passed the Browning's and then waved at Jetta as she was out back working in her garden. We walked on through the Cahoon's place and then checked to see what progress had been done on the addition to the Leslie house. Wow are they ever doing a great addition to their already nice place with 3 floors. The views are fantastic from their side of the mountain. We headed for home and then a lunch of salad as the morning quickly passed us by.
After lunch I took off the mower blades and sharpened them as I want to mow again before the week end. We are entertaining the Dalton's, Luffman's, Karin Hearl and her friend Roger on Saturday evening and then a game of Balderdash. Should be a fun time. I helped Nancy put together the new bed upstairs in Amy's room as we get ready for her mom, sister, niece and husband next week for about a week. We piddled around doing little odd chores until it was time to grille a couple Salmon steaks, yeow they were excellent along with garlic butter pasta and fresh broccoli. After the clean up it was time to head out for pickle ball. I picked up neighbor Gerald and we headed out a little after 6. It was after 9 before we got back to the cabin and we both were starting to feel the effects of a great workout. Lots of ibuprofen tonight.
Amy and family are on their way back from Kansas after nearly 2 weeks of family time with Tyler folks. They left early in the morning and are planning on spending a night on the road instead of driving straight through. If you have a moment keep them in your thoughts and prayers for safe travel, LATER
Monday, June 17, 2013
Monday Morning
Sunday turned out to be just another beautiful day weather wise with a few high clouds and temps that reached the high 70's. There was a nice gentle breeze that kept it pleasant. I started the morning off around a 7 AM wake up with a cup of hot green tea while making this post then a few quiet moments before heading out to check on the gardens for damage and to my chagrin I found where some nocturnal critter had a field day in the lower garden and in the garlic patch. I found no hoof prints so it wasn't a deer but some type of critter that was digging in and under the leaves. It probably was looking for earthworms which this year I have an abundance of due to the bed of leaves I placed in the garden last fall.
This critter also ate the leaves of my sweet potato plants and dug up several tall garlic plants. I think it must be a family of skunks or 'possums as both are known to eat earthworms. I learned in the afternoon, neighbor Gerald had and overnight critter get into his chicken house and kill and nearly devoured one of his young laying hens. He thinks it was a bobcat as it pulled away some large rocks he had lining the bottom of the outside run and once inside it was able to get up through the bottom of the house and grab a hen. I think he set a baited trap to capture the varmit last night. I'm not sure if I want to set a trap to capture any skunks as it might prove difficult to get rid of it; especially if it sprayed. I can remember as a kid we had a skunk to get in our chicken house one night and Paw Paw shot it, Yikes it was my job the next day to remove the dead skunk and let me say that smell is one you never forget as it almost makes me gag now after occurring over 50 years ago.
We got ready to head out to Cornerstone for worship and the service was about the Top Gun ministry for men not only in our church but for the surrounding area. There was another church pastor and several of his men who went through the course at Cornerstone and today was the graduation day for many. It was an awesome time of testimony of the candidates as well as their spouses and children who spoke about how the difference this course had changed their family life and even marriages. There were lots of tears as well as laughter throughout the service which lasted well into the afternoon. Its a 6 month course of study with weekly get together's that bond a group of men who are dedicated to being the spiritual leader of their family and community.
We headed home afterwards to a lunch of salad then I vegetated watching baseball until it was time to head over to the Luffman house for supper. Kay and Gerald(Mechelle's folks) invited us for a Father's Day meal of barbeque ribs, salad, baked beans and Nancy brought her oven potato wedges. It was a sumptuous meal and afterwards we played our first game of Sequence for the summer. While we men were short on players we had to incorporate a gal player to play with us and if the truth be known we didn't win any games until Kaitlyn came on board. We did mange to win 3 games to the gals 6 so it wasn't a complete butt whupping but close. We had lots of laughter and bantering back and forth until it was time to head out just before dark. We set up a rematch for next Saturday at our place along with food before some of the gals head to Europe for about 2 weeks.
I set up another pickle ball match for Monday evening depending on the weather as it's calling for rain showers through the next couple of days. Please keep Amy and Tyler in your thoughts and prayers as they travel back to Florida from Kansas as I write this post. That is a long trip especially with Ava and Sam strapped in car seats. I received a beautiful card along with a gift card from daughter Amy for Father's Day so that made the day for me as well as lots of hugs from church folks, LATER
This critter also ate the leaves of my sweet potato plants and dug up several tall garlic plants. I think it must be a family of skunks or 'possums as both are known to eat earthworms. I learned in the afternoon, neighbor Gerald had and overnight critter get into his chicken house and kill and nearly devoured one of his young laying hens. He thinks it was a bobcat as it pulled away some large rocks he had lining the bottom of the outside run and once inside it was able to get up through the bottom of the house and grab a hen. I think he set a baited trap to capture the varmit last night. I'm not sure if I want to set a trap to capture any skunks as it might prove difficult to get rid of it; especially if it sprayed. I can remember as a kid we had a skunk to get in our chicken house one night and Paw Paw shot it, Yikes it was my job the next day to remove the dead skunk and let me say that smell is one you never forget as it almost makes me gag now after occurring over 50 years ago.
We got ready to head out to Cornerstone for worship and the service was about the Top Gun ministry for men not only in our church but for the surrounding area. There was another church pastor and several of his men who went through the course at Cornerstone and today was the graduation day for many. It was an awesome time of testimony of the candidates as well as their spouses and children who spoke about how the difference this course had changed their family life and even marriages. There were lots of tears as well as laughter throughout the service which lasted well into the afternoon. Its a 6 month course of study with weekly get together's that bond a group of men who are dedicated to being the spiritual leader of their family and community.
We headed home afterwards to a lunch of salad then I vegetated watching baseball until it was time to head over to the Luffman house for supper. Kay and Gerald(Mechelle's folks) invited us for a Father's Day meal of barbeque ribs, salad, baked beans and Nancy brought her oven potato wedges. It was a sumptuous meal and afterwards we played our first game of Sequence for the summer. While we men were short on players we had to incorporate a gal player to play with us and if the truth be known we didn't win any games until Kaitlyn came on board. We did mange to win 3 games to the gals 6 so it wasn't a complete butt whupping but close. We had lots of laughter and bantering back and forth until it was time to head out just before dark. We set up a rematch for next Saturday at our place along with food before some of the gals head to Europe for about 2 weeks.
I set up another pickle ball match for Monday evening depending on the weather as it's calling for rain showers through the next couple of days. Please keep Amy and Tyler in your thoughts and prayers as they travel back to Florida from Kansas as I write this post. That is a long trip especially with Ava and Sam strapped in car seats. I received a beautiful card along with a gift card from daughter Amy for Father's Day so that made the day for me as well as lots of hugs from church folks, LATER
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Sunday Morning
Well Saturday was pretty much a piddle around day which eventually took us to Galax, Va. for some entertainment as the city was shut down for vehicular traffic for the Leaf and String festival. The morning started with a roll out sometime after 7 to cool temps in the middle 50's, ahhh is all I can say. I did my usual routines of hot tea, posting this ramble and quiet times before having a smoothie to start the gastric juices flowing. Afterwards I headed out to check on the gardens.
I hand watered several new seedlings while the washing machine filled(I think the filter must be clogged as it takes forever to fill) so we could do some laundry. It was a great day for hanging clothes outside on the clothesline. We took off for our daily hike to the top of the mountain and saw a vehicle at one of the houses but no one was insight so we continued on across the top where we met up with Joe and Jetta. We stopped and visited with them for a spell before heading on back down the mountain to our cabin. It was close to lunch time so we indulged in a fresh chicken salad on a bed of lettuce, yeow was that ever tasty especially with my home(Florida) grown tomatoes on top. Speaking of home grown tomatoes I have several that are ripening on the vine that I set out when we first arrived here at the cabin.
We got ready and headed out to town. The day was just beautiful with a warm breeze in the 70 degree range and no humidity. The festival was competing with another festival not to far away in the Grayson Highlands Mountains. The number of exhibitors was very limited and there was only one station where music was being played whereas there is usually 4 stations. We did hear some good Blue Grass Gospel from a local band of all young gals. They were very talented and all of the instruments where represented. We watched some real good cloggers and then visited an area set off for authors from the area. I purchased a book about the spine(mountains) between W.Va. and VA. The book is much like The Charles Curalt(sic) episodes seen on PBS. He interviewed folks from the areas starting in Frederick County all along the spine down to Grayson and Carroll County(Galax). We also spoke with an author who said our dear departed friend Ralph Payne, who was from Galax actually saved his life when he was a young man in a very bad car crash. I will post a photo of him as well as the first author.
Well we headed out around 4 PM to gas up and shop once again at Wal-Mart to stock up with goodies for the cabin and for family and friends coming in the next 2 weeks. It was late afternoon before we got back to the cabin and decided to doctor up a frozen pizza with fresh onions, peppers, oregano, basil and fresh mushrooms for supper along with a garden salad, Yikes that was some good eatin'. I headed out to the gardens once again to check on the new transplants and hand water the ones that had dried out. I did move up some lettuces into larger pots earlier in the morning and they looked great. Lettuce is so hard to grow here because of the clay soil but I'm adding lots of sphagnum moss to the mixture of compost and I think these may make.
I had a large pile of debris that needed burning so I had a good fire going in the campfire circle and then picked up 2 more full trash cans of sticks, pine cones and limbs from the back woods yard. There is still a lot of moss there as well but the lime seems to be helping with getting some grass to grow there. It wasn't long before it turned dark
around a 8:45 so it was time to hit the showers and then curl up with the book until the sandman came calling, LATER
I hand watered several new seedlings while the washing machine filled(I think the filter must be clogged as it takes forever to fill) so we could do some laundry. It was a great day for hanging clothes outside on the clothesline. We took off for our daily hike to the top of the mountain and saw a vehicle at one of the houses but no one was insight so we continued on across the top where we met up with Joe and Jetta. We stopped and visited with them for a spell before heading on back down the mountain to our cabin. It was close to lunch time so we indulged in a fresh chicken salad on a bed of lettuce, yeow was that ever tasty especially with my home(Florida) grown tomatoes on top. Speaking of home grown tomatoes I have several that are ripening on the vine that I set out when we first arrived here at the cabin.
We got ready and headed out to town. The day was just beautiful with a warm breeze in the 70 degree range and no humidity. The festival was competing with another festival not to far away in the Grayson Highlands Mountains. The number of exhibitors was very limited and there was only one station where music was being played whereas there is usually 4 stations. We did hear some good Blue Grass Gospel from a local band of all young gals. They were very talented and all of the instruments where represented. We watched some real good cloggers and then visited an area set off for authors from the area. I purchased a book about the spine(mountains) between W.Va. and VA. The book is much like The Charles Curalt(sic) episodes seen on PBS. He interviewed folks from the areas starting in Frederick County all along the spine down to Grayson and Carroll County(Galax). We also spoke with an author who said our dear departed friend Ralph Payne, who was from Galax actually saved his life when he was a young man in a very bad car crash. I will post a photo of him as well as the first author.
Well we headed out around 4 PM to gas up and shop once again at Wal-Mart to stock up with goodies for the cabin and for family and friends coming in the next 2 weeks. It was late afternoon before we got back to the cabin and decided to doctor up a frozen pizza with fresh onions, peppers, oregano, basil and fresh mushrooms for supper along with a garden salad, Yikes that was some good eatin'. I headed out to the gardens once again to check on the new transplants and hand water the ones that had dried out. I did move up some lettuces into larger pots earlier in the morning and they looked great. Lettuce is so hard to grow here because of the clay soil but I'm adding lots of sphagnum moss to the mixture of compost and I think these may make.
I had a large pile of debris that needed burning so I had a good fire going in the campfire circle and then picked up 2 more full trash cans of sticks, pine cones and limbs from the back woods yard. There is still a lot of moss there as well but the lime seems to be helping with getting some grass to grow there. It wasn't long before it turned dark
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Saturday Morning
Well Friday turned out to be picture perfect with temps that were awesome as it never got much over the 70 degree mark despite the blue skies and bright sunshine. It started off at 56 degrees with a breeze that was evident most all day until late evening when it finally settled down; just in time for our pickle ball play on the outside court at the Roaring Gap Club.
We actually slept in to start the day until nearly 7:30. I had my cup of hot green tea which was steaming in the brisk air, did my quiet time after making my daily post then had a smoothie for breakfast before heading out to check on the gardens. I had to put long pants on as it was that chilly outside. The gardens looked great with no deer damage however some critter keeps digging in my compost pile where I bury my kitchen scraps such as egg shells, spud peelings, coffee grounds, etc. These scraps feed my fishin' worms which later give me some of the best compost ever called casings.
I gassed up the weed whacker and headed down to the bottom of the driveway to mow around the street sign and the drive leading up to the cabin. Our road is maintained by Gerald with his tractor who keeps it scrapped and makes sure we have enough gravel to keep the mud ruts at a minimum. I usually trim the low hanging branches by standing in the golf cart with a pair of clippers and this time with the whacker trimming off the new tender limbs that protrude into the roadway and scrap the side of your vehicle. That kept me busy for an hour or so as I just did the driveway from the bottom of the hill.
Nancy had laundry flapping in the breeze on the clothesline. She is always saying how all is well when she sees clothes on the line and of course we still do that even in Florida. I grew up on the farm where we had no indoor plumbing, no hot water heater and no clothes dryer. It was all done usually on Monday morning where I heated cold water pumped by hand at the well for the washing machine in a big black kettle outside with a fire under it and then carried the hot water to the washing machine. Our clothes were always hung out on a clothesline and then later had to be ironed by hand. There is nothing like the smell of fresh laundry dried outside.
We decided since it was so beautiful outside that we would get our hike in for the day so we took off to the top of the mountain. We only had to stop once in our back woods to catch our breath enroute to the top. That's encouraging as we slowly get our mountain legs and breathe. We saw one cabin on top with a car out front but saw no one moving about. Its such a lonely place up there with no one around all of the beautiful majestic homes and cabins with awesome views. About half of them are for sale or soon to be according to one year round resident who has their place up for sale as well. The view is beautiful of Pilot Mountain and then further to downtown Winston-Salem. The small community of Glade Creek is also visible with all of the farm land with its huge dairy. Occasionally you can get its smell when the wind shifts towards the mountain.
We did see our old friend and jack of all trades Dean Todd who was finishing the gutters on the Browning's resident. Dean is possibly the nicest feller you ever met and he is always there for those who need work done. He did some work for me when we put down our wood flooring years ago and he is Ray Todd's brother who built our cabin. We had a salad for lunch then I headed out to transplant some Cosmo seedlings when I noticed a 3 ft or so black snake where I do my transplant work under the back porch area. He was trying his best to get to a birds nest that had been built under the porch on the satellite wire that runs into the house. Nancy got some pictures and then finally he gave up especially after I moved a bench which got him with a foot or so of his goal. He pay me no mind as he went about his business of securing some lunch as well.
We picked up Helen and headed over to her brother Joe's place. He likes to bake and is quite good at it as well as he makes the best pound cake from scratch you will ever eat. We framed around outside looking at the 3 or 4 acres he mows weekly and his flower and vegetable gardens. Joe is a fantastic gardener as week as a person. He loves to entertain and sets a fine table as well with cloth napkins and china. The cake and ice cream hit the spot for an afternoon pick me up. We dug up some seedlings that looked like Larkspur that he was trying to eradicate from his Lily beds then we headed back to Helen's.
I drilled some deep holes in a stump that wasn't dead enough to be removed by hand and then poured some stump killer into the holes which should help with getting rid of it. I then put her window air condition in for her before heading back to the cabin. We decided since I had a 6:30 pickle ball match we would eat around 5 o'clock. Nancy microwaved a couple spuds and with left over chops from the other night to go along with a can of sweet peas and we called it supper. Wow did that ever hit the spot with the fresh herbs and cayenne pepper on the spuds.
I picked up neighbor Gerald and we headed out for some great exercise on the pickle ball court. We initially had just the 3 of us which made for some good play but when our 4th player showed we had even more good play and some very nice rallies. After about 2 hours and with darkness approaching we decided to call it a night as this was the first for these guys in over a year.
We made a date to do it again on Monday or Tuesday depending on the weather forecast in the late evening. We even have lights on the court so time isn't a factor except for Ted and Craig who still work whereas Gerald and I are retired,
We actually slept in to start the day until nearly 7:30. I had my cup of hot green tea which was steaming in the brisk air, did my quiet time after making my daily post then had a smoothie for breakfast before heading out to check on the gardens. I had to put long pants on as it was that chilly outside. The gardens looked great with no deer damage however some critter keeps digging in my compost pile where I bury my kitchen scraps such as egg shells, spud peelings, coffee grounds, etc. These scraps feed my fishin' worms which later give me some of the best compost ever called casings.
I gassed up the weed whacker and headed down to the bottom of the driveway to mow around the street sign and the drive leading up to the cabin. Our road is maintained by Gerald with his tractor who keeps it scrapped and makes sure we have enough gravel to keep the mud ruts at a minimum. I usually trim the low hanging branches by standing in the golf cart with a pair of clippers and this time with the whacker trimming off the new tender limbs that protrude into the roadway and scrap the side of your vehicle. That kept me busy for an hour or so as I just did the driveway from the bottom of the hill.
Nancy had laundry flapping in the breeze on the clothesline. She is always saying how all is well when she sees clothes on the line and of course we still do that even in Florida. I grew up on the farm where we had no indoor plumbing, no hot water heater and no clothes dryer. It was all done usually on Monday morning where I heated cold water pumped by hand at the well for the washing machine in a big black kettle outside with a fire under it and then carried the hot water to the washing machine. Our clothes were always hung out on a clothesline and then later had to be ironed by hand. There is nothing like the smell of fresh laundry dried outside.
We decided since it was so beautiful outside that we would get our hike in for the day so we took off to the top of the mountain. We only had to stop once in our back woods to catch our breath enroute to the top. That's encouraging as we slowly get our mountain legs and breathe. We saw one cabin on top with a car out front but saw no one moving about. Its such a lonely place up there with no one around all of the beautiful majestic homes and cabins with awesome views. About half of them are for sale or soon to be according to one year round resident who has their place up for sale as well. The view is beautiful of Pilot Mountain and then further to downtown Winston-Salem. The small community of Glade Creek is also visible with all of the farm land with its huge dairy. Occasionally you can get its smell when the wind shifts towards the mountain.
We did see our old friend and jack of all trades Dean Todd who was finishing the gutters on the Browning's resident. Dean is possibly the nicest feller you ever met and he is always there for those who need work done. He did some work for me when we put down our wood flooring years ago and he is Ray Todd's brother who built our cabin. We had a salad for lunch then I headed out to transplant some Cosmo seedlings when I noticed a 3 ft or so black snake where I do my transplant work under the back porch area. He was trying his best to get to a birds nest that had been built under the porch on the satellite wire that runs into the house. Nancy got some pictures and then finally he gave up especially after I moved a bench which got him with a foot or so of his goal. He pay me no mind as he went about his business of securing some lunch as well.
We picked up Helen and headed over to her brother Joe's place. He likes to bake and is quite good at it as well as he makes the best pound cake from scratch you will ever eat. We framed around outside looking at the 3 or 4 acres he mows weekly and his flower and vegetable gardens. Joe is a fantastic gardener as week as a person. He loves to entertain and sets a fine table as well with cloth napkins and china. The cake and ice cream hit the spot for an afternoon pick me up. We dug up some seedlings that looked like Larkspur that he was trying to eradicate from his Lily beds then we headed back to Helen's.
I drilled some deep holes in a stump that wasn't dead enough to be removed by hand and then poured some stump killer into the holes which should help with getting rid of it. I then put her window air condition in for her before heading back to the cabin. We decided since I had a 6:30 pickle ball match we would eat around 5 o'clock. Nancy microwaved a couple spuds and with left over chops from the other night to go along with a can of sweet peas and we called it supper. Wow did that ever hit the spot with the fresh herbs and cayenne pepper on the spuds.
I picked up neighbor Gerald and we headed out for some great exercise on the pickle ball court. We initially had just the 3 of us which made for some good play but when our 4th player showed we had even more good play and some very nice rallies. After about 2 hours and with darkness approaching we decided to call it a night as this was the first for these guys in over a year.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Friday Morning
Well this week has just flown by and Thursday was no exception as we started the day around a 6:30 wake up. Nancy managed to stay horizontal for another 30 minutes but once I'm awake I have a thousand things running through my mind that I want to get accomplished. After a cup of hot green tea with cinnamon, a few quiet moments to reflect, give thanks and pray for those who are in some kind of need and then the posting of this ramble I headed out for a quick check of the yards and gardens. We decided on a mountain breakfast of buckwheat cakes with a banana in the batter and some fresh eggs, yeow what fine eatin especially with real butter and honey on top.
After breakfast I once more headed out to work down below with my plants in the lower garden as I wanted to side dress the sweet taters and cabbage with a little organic chicken manure; boy does it ever smell at first but after a couple days its not noticeable. I noticed new growth on both so that's a good sign as I have them in the garden which gets the least amount of direct sunlight. I turned over another strip of the ground with a shovel and broke the clods of soil so it will be ready for some lettuce seedlings in a week or so. I then headed out to various areas of the garden and flower beds to transplant some 20 plus Zinnias plants.
I staked my tomato plants and noticed real growth there as well. I even have one turning red from the transplants from Florida. I loosened up the soil around them as well as this clay ground gets as hard as concrete when it dries out. I've been using a little spaghnum moss in an around the transplants which helps with keeping the soil from hardening. I'm picking cayenne peppers now and took a couple with me when we went out for supper later in the evening after dropping a twin bed off at the local thrift store in Sparta. We picked up a full size bed from a neighbor and exchanged the twin bed and donated it. We met up with Helen, Joe and their youngest sister Martha at the Pines Restaurant around 4:30. I think we all had catfish which was excellent eatin' and I sliced my cayenne peppers in the pintos that came with the meal. That got a laugh from all and reminded them of an old friend who did the same many tears ago.
It rained while we were in town and really dropped the temps from the low 80's to the low 60's in no time. Nancy even wore a sweat shirt when we got back to the cabin and on our hike to the top. We saw no one except Zeke the Browning's friendly pooch on our trek across the mountain. The smells are just fantastic with the wild roses and black berry bushes in full bloom. It was such a pleasant evening I stayed outside wondering around in the yards and gardens until nearly dark. Nancy found the Ray's game on the tube and they were getting blown away by some prior teammates who were traded to the Royals in Kansas City. It was so bad I couldn't watch it any longer so I headed for the shower and then curled up with a good book, LATER
After breakfast I once more headed out to work down below with my plants in the lower garden as I wanted to side dress the sweet taters and cabbage with a little organic chicken manure; boy does it ever smell at first but after a couple days its not noticeable. I noticed new growth on both so that's a good sign as I have them in the garden which gets the least amount of direct sunlight. I turned over another strip of the ground with a shovel and broke the clods of soil so it will be ready for some lettuce seedlings in a week or so. I then headed out to various areas of the garden and flower beds to transplant some 20 plus Zinnias plants.
I staked my tomato plants and noticed real growth there as well. I even have one turning red from the transplants from Florida. I loosened up the soil around them as well as this clay ground gets as hard as concrete when it dries out. I've been using a little spaghnum moss in an around the transplants which helps with keeping the soil from hardening. I'm picking cayenne peppers now and took a couple with me when we went out for supper later in the evening after dropping a twin bed off at the local thrift store in Sparta. We picked up a full size bed from a neighbor and exchanged the twin bed and donated it. We met up with Helen, Joe and their youngest sister Martha at the Pines Restaurant around 4:30. I think we all had catfish which was excellent eatin' and I sliced my cayenne peppers in the pintos that came with the meal. That got a laugh from all and reminded them of an old friend who did the same many tears ago.
It rained while we were in town and really dropped the temps from the low 80's to the low 60's in no time. Nancy even wore a sweat shirt when we got back to the cabin and on our hike to the top. We saw no one except Zeke the Browning's friendly pooch on our trek across the mountain. The smells are just fantastic with the wild roses and black berry bushes in full bloom. It was such a pleasant evening I stayed outside wondering around in the yards and gardens until nearly dark. Nancy found the Ray's game on the tube and they were getting blown away by some prior teammates who were traded to the Royals in Kansas City. It was so bad I couldn't watch it any longer so I headed for the shower and then curled up with a good book, LATER
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Thursday Morning
Well Wednesday was probably the hottest day we have had so far this summer as the afternoon was quite warm in the sun; but in the shade it was tolerable as there was a slight breeze. I will be glad when Nancy finishes her Radon test for the cabin as we have to keep all of the windows and doors shut for 72 hours; that makes for stuffy air. I was barely able to sleep the night before due to the lack of fresh air despite the fans on non-stop so last might I cheated and cracked a window above our heads which made for a good nights sleep. The test kit is in the basement and the cabin is really air tight so I don't understand why we can't have some fresh air at night.
After a 6:30 wake up I started the day with my usual hot green tea, a few quiet moments then a smoothie with a peach and banana, yikes is that ever tasty especially with a little cinnamon on top. I headed out to walk the property and check on the gardens. I had a few slugs during all that rain so I spread a little slug poison for them and that along with a couple hot dry days seems to have helped with their destructive appetites. The radishes can be seen from the porch and there are a few new beets showing some color. I planted the beets I brought from Florida and they too are showing some new leaf growth. I have a tomato turning on one of the seedlings I brought as well. The new seeds are breaking ground in pots so I'm hoping I can get them in the ground in a week or so. The cabbage, sweet taters and herbs all seem to be doing fine at this point as well are the Zinnias. Most of the transplants are doing well now that we have had a few warm dry days.
I finished up the new picnic table and sawed up the old one for the campfire. I made it a foot longer and just a few inches wider so we should be able to seat 6-8 comfortably. I got the first coat of paint on it as well and Nancy is thrilled with it size and shape. I must say it turned out alright for a shade tree carpenter. We got our hike in while the first coat of paint dried on the underside boards. It was rather warm on top and we saw Joe and Jetta as they drove in from off the mountain. It was hot down off the mountains and into the 90's in some areas. We came back and I fixed a guacamole dip for lunch. This is the recipe for the best tasting dip ever; 2 ripe avocado's, 2 cloves of garlic(squeezed) 1/2 of a sweet onion(minced), 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/4 of lime or lemon(squeezed juice), couple tablespoons of fresh chopped cilantro and a sprig of dill(chopped) mix thoroughly and add salt and pepper to taste..my Amy isn't a fan of guacamole but she loves my recipe and so do we on salty chips, it's out of sight....enjoy!!!
After lunch I did the finishing paint on the top side boards and carried the table on top and put it under the back porch, by then it was after 4 PM so it was time to take a break from the heat. I worked in the basement which was cool and refreshing at nice temp in the 60's, yeow was that ever reinvigorating. Grilled some pork ribs and Nancy made fried taters and onions along with a salad for supper. Delicious ribs especially when slathered with Sonny's Real Pit Barbecue sauce. We brought a couple large 1/2 gallon jugs with us to give out to our grilling pals here in the mountains. After the cleanup we took off on our first over the mountain golf cart adventure. We headed on top and then down the backside to visit Ray and Audean for an hour or so. We had a good visit and decided on next Saturday for a get together and play that game they all love; Sequence. We have more hoot'en and holler'en than the law allows but it a great time to get together and snack and renew old friendships.
Well we are getting ready to get rid of the twin bed in one of the bedrooms and install a full size bed so its off to donate the bed at Allegheny Cares in Sparta and hopefully find a bed frame for the full size bed this afternoon. We will then meet up with Helen and Joe for an early supper in town. I lined up a pickle ball match for Friday evening around 6:30 at Roaring Gap Country Club so if anyone wants to play give me a holler. We could always use more players, LATER
After a 6:30 wake up I started the day with my usual hot green tea, a few quiet moments then a smoothie with a peach and banana, yikes is that ever tasty especially with a little cinnamon on top. I headed out to walk the property and check on the gardens. I had a few slugs during all that rain so I spread a little slug poison for them and that along with a couple hot dry days seems to have helped with their destructive appetites. The radishes can be seen from the porch and there are a few new beets showing some color. I planted the beets I brought from Florida and they too are showing some new leaf growth. I have a tomato turning on one of the seedlings I brought as well. The new seeds are breaking ground in pots so I'm hoping I can get them in the ground in a week or so. The cabbage, sweet taters and herbs all seem to be doing fine at this point as well are the Zinnias. Most of the transplants are doing well now that we have had a few warm dry days.
I finished up the new picnic table and sawed up the old one for the campfire. I made it a foot longer and just a few inches wider so we should be able to seat 6-8 comfortably. I got the first coat of paint on it as well and Nancy is thrilled with it size and shape. I must say it turned out alright for a shade tree carpenter. We got our hike in while the first coat of paint dried on the underside boards. It was rather warm on top and we saw Joe and Jetta as they drove in from off the mountain. It was hot down off the mountains and into the 90's in some areas. We came back and I fixed a guacamole dip for lunch. This is the recipe for the best tasting dip ever; 2 ripe avocado's, 2 cloves of garlic(squeezed) 1/2 of a sweet onion(minced), 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/4 of lime or lemon(squeezed juice), couple tablespoons of fresh chopped cilantro and a sprig of dill(chopped) mix thoroughly and add salt and pepper to taste..my Amy isn't a fan of guacamole but she loves my recipe and so do we on salty chips, it's out of sight....enjoy!!!
Well we are getting ready to get rid of the twin bed in one of the bedrooms and install a full size bed so its off to donate the bed at Allegheny Cares in Sparta and hopefully find a bed frame for the full size bed this afternoon. We will then meet up with Helen and Joe for an early supper in town. I lined up a pickle ball match for Friday evening around 6:30 at Roaring Gap Country Club so if anyone wants to play give me a holler. We could always use more players, LATER
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Wednesday Morning
Tuesday was a busy day that started around a 6:30 wake up for me. Nancy managed to linger awhile in bed but my internal alarm had me wide awake before the roll out. I don't miss the roosters at 5'ish but still find it difficult to sleep in as I'm so use to being on the pickle ball court at 7:30, Oh Well!! After my usual cup of tea while posting this ramble I spent a few quiet moments then did my smoothie of a fresh peach and banana for breakfast before heading out to check on the gardens. During the middle of the night early Tuesday morning, it came up a horrendous storm which awakened me to the sounds associated with a twister while dumping heavy rainfall. I thought everything would be destroyed when I went out to check on the gardens and yards and while it was drenched everything looked normal, thankfully.
We headed over to help our "mountain mom", Helen with some chores. She lives just a couple miles from us and we often take the golf cart but today we drove the truck. First we had to release a bunny rabbit she caught in a trap overnight while trying to capture a ground hog that has become too familiar with her cabin. The bunny just hopped off to meet up with his pals as several were waiting in the yard. She counted 9 at one time in her yard. I then knocked out a tree stump that was evident in the yard making it difficult to mow around. She has one more stump that needs removed but I will have to drill holes in it and pour some stump rot solution to help speed up the rotting.
We headed over and found a couple wild azaleas, the locals call it wild honeysuckle but its a bush that has orange blooms and grows like a spindly tree. We purchased one from a nursery years ago but the deer ate it off; I now have 2 as we dug them from her berry patch. We then headed over to the road and entrance way of her driveway to help with trimming her shrubs and the bushes along her driveway. The bushes and shrubs were just out of her reach and we cut and trimmed several wagon loads for her brush pile. We then cleared out an area for her to sow wild flower seeds. We got a lot done in just a couple hours and I could tell by my rumbling belly it was time for some lunch.
After a lite lunch of something quick and easy; sardines with onion and mustard on a cracker which just happened to be one of our favorites. I also finished up the last of the cookies made without sugar or flour. I really like them as raisins, applesauce, oatmeal and almond milk make up the ingredients and next time I can talk her into making them(she doesn't like them) I want some walnuts added to the mix. After lunch I headed down to the basement area to work on a new picnic table. We've had the same table for nearly 15 years and after many repairs each year it has finally rotted to where it's not safe anymore; so I copied the design and spent the better part of the afternoon making a new table from lots of scrap lumber. I want to paint it thoroughly before putting the top on and bringing it up to the deck. Well that kept me busy right up to supper time. I grille several chicken legs and Nancy sautéed up some yellow squash with onions to go along with a baked potato loaded with herbs and sour cream, yeow was that ever some good eatin'.
Nancy started the Radon Gas test for the cabin which requires the windows and doors be closed for 72 hours so the first day of being closed up makes it rather stuffy to say the least. We have the ceiling fans on which make it comfortable but I miss the fragrance, and the birds singing and the feel of the ambiance, oh well!!! I found the Ray's vs the Red Sox on one of the ESPN channels and got to watch them beat the Sox who are number one in our division, finally our bats came to life and the pitching wasn't bad either. We lost the game the night before in extra innings when we came back from being down 6 runs; that was a tough one to lose.
We went a whole day on Tuesday without any rain during the daylight hours and the gardens are starting to dry up somewhat. I need to replant my 1/2 runner beans and a few other seeds as well. I'm hoping to set up a pickle ball match on Thursday evening with some local fellows as it stays light
until nearly 9 PM, LATER.. Here is a photo of the front of our mountain mom's cabin.
We headed over to help our "mountain mom", Helen with some chores. She lives just a couple miles from us and we often take the golf cart but today we drove the truck. First we had to release a bunny rabbit she caught in a trap overnight while trying to capture a ground hog that has become too familiar with her cabin. The bunny just hopped off to meet up with his pals as several were waiting in the yard. She counted 9 at one time in her yard. I then knocked out a tree stump that was evident in the yard making it difficult to mow around. She has one more stump that needs removed but I will have to drill holes in it and pour some stump rot solution to help speed up the rotting.
We headed over and found a couple wild azaleas, the locals call it wild honeysuckle but its a bush that has orange blooms and grows like a spindly tree. We purchased one from a nursery years ago but the deer ate it off; I now have 2 as we dug them from her berry patch. We then headed over to the road and entrance way of her driveway to help with trimming her shrubs and the bushes along her driveway. The bushes and shrubs were just out of her reach and we cut and trimmed several wagon loads for her brush pile. We then cleared out an area for her to sow wild flower seeds. We got a lot done in just a couple hours and I could tell by my rumbling belly it was time for some lunch.
After a lite lunch of something quick and easy; sardines with onion and mustard on a cracker which just happened to be one of our favorites. I also finished up the last of the cookies made without sugar or flour. I really like them as raisins, applesauce, oatmeal and almond milk make up the ingredients and next time I can talk her into making them(she doesn't like them) I want some walnuts added to the mix. After lunch I headed down to the basement area to work on a new picnic table. We've had the same table for nearly 15 years and after many repairs each year it has finally rotted to where it's not safe anymore; so I copied the design and spent the better part of the afternoon making a new table from lots of scrap lumber. I want to paint it thoroughly before putting the top on and bringing it up to the deck. Well that kept me busy right up to supper time. I grille several chicken legs and Nancy sautéed up some yellow squash with onions to go along with a baked potato loaded with herbs and sour cream, yeow was that ever some good eatin'.
Nancy started the Radon Gas test for the cabin which requires the windows and doors be closed for 72 hours so the first day of being closed up makes it rather stuffy to say the least. We have the ceiling fans on which make it comfortable but I miss the fragrance, and the birds singing and the feel of the ambiance, oh well!!! I found the Ray's vs the Red Sox on one of the ESPN channels and got to watch them beat the Sox who are number one in our division, finally our bats came to life and the pitching wasn't bad either. We lost the game the night before in extra innings when we came back from being down 6 runs; that was a tough one to lose.
We went a whole day on Tuesday without any rain during the daylight hours and the gardens are starting to dry up somewhat. I need to replant my 1/2 runner beans and a few other seeds as well. I'm hoping to set up a pickle ball match on Thursday evening with some local fellows as it stays light
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Tuesday Morning
Monday was a wash out in the early morning hours before daybreak but eventually cleared off and during the day it stayed relatively rain free until late afternoon and then during the night it rained so hard I thought a tornado came across the cabin. I started the day with my cup of hot green tea while making this post and afterwards had a few quiet moments before a smoothie for breakfast. I then headed out to check on the gardens and to walk the yards. The fresh air with the perfumed smell of wild roses and flowering plants is hard to describe; if you have ever been to Hawaii it reminds me of the same fragrance in the air.
I headed out with the weed whacker to once again edge around all of the property and then we both raked up more dead grass and scattered it in areas that are a little thin in the outback yard. The grass there is twice what it was last year but there are still areas that are in need of seeding so the extra mowed grass with all of the seed heads should help to remedy those areas. I then headed down to the lower garden and while the ground is wet and easily penetrated with a shovel I wanted to build back the bank that surrounds the garden. Once that ground of clay dries out it almost impossible to loosen unless your using a pick or matick. It becomes almost as hard as concrete. Anyhow that took me a couple hours as I built the bank back and also made a water run off for the garden.
Nancy decided she wanted to test the cabin for radon gas as a neighbor told her there was the possibility of it occurring here in the mountains. Seems a neighbor on top of the mountain experienced it in his basement so now she is concerned we may have it. I guess Allegheny County has the second highest source of the gas in the Carolina's. She called the Extension Office in Sparta and they have the kits for free so after a lunch of tuna salad we headed to Sparta. Well we headed to the post office to mail some cards and stopped by the Extension and there was a sign on the door, they would be gone until 4:30. So we had 2 hours to kill.
We headed to the library to pick up some books which took about an hour then Nancy visited all of the shops on Main street while I sat in the truck and read a very good book titled THE LONESOME TRAVELER. It's a different read about a teenager who hooks up his donkey to a homemade cart and with his dog heads 700 miles to visit his mother who is in a sanatorium. Well we got back to the house around 5 PM and saw where it had down poured again. The sun was shining and I noticed that I now have radishes breaking the ground as well as a few beets. I think the bean seeds rotted due to all the rain.
I fired up the grille for some cubed deer steak and then Nancy sauteed some onions and peppers and I picked some fresh cilantro, thyme and basil and we had fajitas along with pintos over Jasmine rice, awesome eatin' and so healthy as well. After the clean up we headed out in the yard then decided to get our hike in to the top of the mountain. It was just gorgeous out with bright sunshine a cool temps after the rain.
We finally got to see Norman our old WW11 veteran who just turned 85. He is really a character who is from W.Va. and always has some great saying. He really seemed frail but was outside walking around his place. He said his lungs are giving out on him as well as his knees and he doesn't sleep much at nights. It was good to see him but sad to see him going down hill with his health. After a nice visit we headed on back to the cabin cutting short our walk across the top. The Ray's were playing the Red Sox on ESPN so we tuned in only to find them down 6 runs in the first inning. But as the game wore on the Ray's came back to tie the game and send it into extra inning. I headed for the sack as it was going on 11 and past by eye lids staying open, especially after that nice hot shower, LATER
I headed out with the weed whacker to once again edge around all of the property and then we both raked up more dead grass and scattered it in areas that are a little thin in the outback yard. The grass there is twice what it was last year but there are still areas that are in need of seeding so the extra mowed grass with all of the seed heads should help to remedy those areas. I then headed down to the lower garden and while the ground is wet and easily penetrated with a shovel I wanted to build back the bank that surrounds the garden. Once that ground of clay dries out it almost impossible to loosen unless your using a pick or matick. It becomes almost as hard as concrete. Anyhow that took me a couple hours as I built the bank back and also made a water run off for the garden.
Nancy decided she wanted to test the cabin for radon gas as a neighbor told her there was the possibility of it occurring here in the mountains. Seems a neighbor on top of the mountain experienced it in his basement so now she is concerned we may have it. I guess Allegheny County has the second highest source of the gas in the Carolina's. She called the Extension Office in Sparta and they have the kits for free so after a lunch of tuna salad we headed to Sparta. Well we headed to the post office to mail some cards and stopped by the Extension and there was a sign on the door, they would be gone until 4:30. So we had 2 hours to kill.
We headed to the library to pick up some books which took about an hour then Nancy visited all of the shops on Main street while I sat in the truck and read a very good book titled THE LONESOME TRAVELER. It's a different read about a teenager who hooks up his donkey to a homemade cart and with his dog heads 700 miles to visit his mother who is in a sanatorium. Well we got back to the house around 5 PM and saw where it had down poured again. The sun was shining and I noticed that I now have radishes breaking the ground as well as a few beets. I think the bean seeds rotted due to all the rain.
I fired up the grille for some cubed deer steak and then Nancy sauteed some onions and peppers and I picked some fresh cilantro, thyme and basil and we had fajitas along with pintos over Jasmine rice, awesome eatin' and so healthy as well. After the clean up we headed out in the yard then decided to get our hike in to the top of the mountain. It was just gorgeous out with bright sunshine a cool temps after the rain.
We finally got to see Norman our old WW11 veteran who just turned 85. He is really a character who is from W.Va. and always has some great saying. He really seemed frail but was outside walking around his place. He said his lungs are giving out on him as well as his knees and he doesn't sleep much at nights. It was good to see him but sad to see him going down hill with his health. After a nice visit we headed on back to the cabin cutting short our walk across the top. The Ray's were playing the Red Sox on ESPN so we tuned in only to find them down 6 runs in the first inning. But as the game wore on the Ray's came back to tie the game and send it into extra inning. I headed for the sack as it was going on 11 and past by eye lids staying open, especially after that nice hot shower, LATER
Monday, June 10, 2013
Monday Morning
Sunday turned out to be another great day weather wise until late in the evening when once more the duck weather returned and I mean in a big way with down pours throughout most of the night. We started the day with a 6:30 wake up to bright sunshine and temps in the low 60's. I headed out to check on the gardens and seedlings after cup of hot tea, this postings an a few minutes to reflect and give thanks before we got ready to head to Cornerstone Christian Fellowship for worship. Wow we were greeted with handshakes, hugs and "glad your back" all morning. There were 30 folks or so missing as they were on their way to New Jersey on a mission trip; but we were pleasantly surprised to see so many new faces there as well. The speaker was a Gideon from Grayson County, Virginia(Galax)and he had a super presentation with testimonies and videos. There were a few tears shed including us during the service. Afterwards we headed to Lowe's for a couple items then to Hawks for some vegetable and flowering plants as well as some fresh peaches.
We got back to the cabin around 1 PM so we had a chicken salad roll up then I headed out to the garden. The ground was drying nicely and I wanted to get the new seedlings in before this next front that was heading our way. I trenched two rows for the 9 sweet potato vines and then dug up 12 holes for the cabbage plants as well as hilled up 4 spots for the cucumber plants. I then weeded and loosen up around the dozen or so potato plants and fertilized them again. Nancy was busy planting some new flowering plants she bought as well. If all of my Zinnias and seeds I sowed make we should have more than enough color for the beds.
I decided to give my self a rest while riding the mower and so I mowed the yards again at what we call the normal height. The grass was so high and thick we had to cut it with a much higher setting when we got here. Nancy raked up much of the cut grass as it began to pile up. Well it started to sprinkle just as we finished so we called it a day and headed in to fix some supper. She had a pot of pintos cooking most of the afternoon and they were perfect and tasted great. I fried up the 4 trout fillets outside on the grille to a beautiful golden brown and along with a salad we feasted, yeow was that ever some good eatin'.
After the cleanup we chilled watching the tube and she on Face Book until I could barely keep my eyes open so I hit the shower. It was a little after 10 when I decided to hit the sack to the sound of the rain on the tin roof, LATER
We got back to the cabin around 1 PM so we had a chicken salad roll up then I headed out to the garden. The ground was drying nicely and I wanted to get the new seedlings in before this next front that was heading our way. I trenched two rows for the 9 sweet potato vines and then dug up 12 holes for the cabbage plants as well as hilled up 4 spots for the cucumber plants. I then weeded and loosen up around the dozen or so potato plants and fertilized them again. Nancy was busy planting some new flowering plants she bought as well. If all of my Zinnias and seeds I sowed make we should have more than enough color for the beds.
After the cleanup we chilled watching the tube and she on Face Book until I could barely keep my eyes open so I hit the shower. It was a little after 10 when I decided to hit the sack to the sound of the rain on the tin roof, LATER
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Sunday Morning
Well Saturday turned out to be a typical N.C. morning and one more reason why we came to know and love being here; cool in the 50's and sunny to start the day and by late afternoon it was in the low 70's and still sunny. We slept in until 6:30 before rolling out to start the day. It is so quiet here with just an occasional crow cawing off in the distance and the birds just love it here as well as they give us a constant concert all day long. We hear a dog bark from the neighbors once in awhile but they are far off enough it isn't bothersome to me.
After my posting, cup of tea and my quiet moments to give thanks, reflect and lift others up in thoughts and prayers we did our own breakfasts to start out. Nancy was outside on the porch doing her quiet time wrapped up in a sweat shirt and jacket so I made my smoothie then headed out to walk the property and check on the newly set out seedlings. So far despite the 3 inches of rain on this clay soil they are looking rather well. The seeds I sowed will probably rot in the ground but the rest isn't too bad. With a couple more days like today they will flourish.
Andy and Caleb came by about mid morning with 4 beautiful freshly caught Brook trout and one was still flopping. They had been out on a father/son outing and I reaped the benefit of their endeavors. That Caleb would rather fish than eat and he gets it honest from his dad as he is quite the fisherman and hunter. Many thanks to the two of them and I will savor eat bite on Monday night when I fry them up. I may share a photo or two; nothing better than fresh trout from a mountain stream. I got around to liming the yards while they were still wet from the over night rain after they left and that kept me busy until lunch time.
We had a garden salad for lunch using some kale, tomato, peppers and basil from my garden in Florida. Nancy worked outside weeding flower beds and I sowed more seeds into pots. We then decided to take our second hike to the top of the mountain and once again it looked lonely and desolate on top. We did meet up at the end of our walk across the top with Joe and Jetta. We visited for a short while before heading back down. We continued with some small chores and I transplanted some herbs into bigger pots; especially dill and cilantro. I think I will leave them in pots as I can control them a little better especially with all the rain in the forecast and then I can always set them in the ground. This is the first year my cilantro never re-seeded itself in the herb bed.
We got ready around 5 o'clock and headed out to the Woodie River House on the Little River for a catfish cookout. Folks bring covered dishes and they fry the fish in huge cookers. There were lots different folks there from Cornerstone, First Baptist, the mayor, judges, business folks and just some old time folks and of course their family and friends. We are in the last category but know many over the years in attendance. The ambiance is just awesome and the eatin' superb. We gathered around for a couple hours before heading out and stopped for a visit at our mountain mom's beautiful place as well. She has an over abundance of rabbit's as we counted at least a 1/2 dozen in one place while driving in. We had a good visit and left just before it got dark.
Well it seems the Ray's won another game over the Orioles big time. I watched a little of it before the cookout on a channel that caters to the teams in the D.C. area. They are just a couple games back of the league leaders. Today is church day at Cornerstone and we will get to renew our friendships there after being away for 7 months. We saw Pastor B at the cook out last evening and he is taking about 30 folks to New Jersey for a week of work regarding Hurricane Sandy's destruction and the on going rebuilding. That should be a grand time of work and fellowship with such dedicated folks, LATER
After my posting, cup of tea and my quiet moments to give thanks, reflect and lift others up in thoughts and prayers we did our own breakfasts to start out. Nancy was outside on the porch doing her quiet time wrapped up in a sweat shirt and jacket so I made my smoothie then headed out to walk the property and check on the newly set out seedlings. So far despite the 3 inches of rain on this clay soil they are looking rather well. The seeds I sowed will probably rot in the ground but the rest isn't too bad. With a couple more days like today they will flourish.
Andy and Caleb came by about mid morning with 4 beautiful freshly caught Brook trout and one was still flopping. They had been out on a father/son outing and I reaped the benefit of their endeavors. That Caleb would rather fish than eat and he gets it honest from his dad as he is quite the fisherman and hunter. Many thanks to the two of them and I will savor eat bite on Monday night when I fry them up. I may share a photo or two; nothing better than fresh trout from a mountain stream. I got around to liming the yards while they were still wet from the over night rain after they left and that kept me busy until lunch time.
We had a garden salad for lunch using some kale, tomato, peppers and basil from my garden in Florida. Nancy worked outside weeding flower beds and I sowed more seeds into pots. We then decided to take our second hike to the top of the mountain and once again it looked lonely and desolate on top. We did meet up at the end of our walk across the top with Joe and Jetta. We visited for a short while before heading back down. We continued with some small chores and I transplanted some herbs into bigger pots; especially dill and cilantro. I think I will leave them in pots as I can control them a little better especially with all the rain in the forecast and then I can always set them in the ground. This is the first year my cilantro never re-seeded itself in the herb bed.
We got ready around 5 o'clock and headed out to the Woodie River House on the Little River for a catfish cookout. Folks bring covered dishes and they fry the fish in huge cookers. There were lots different folks there from Cornerstone, First Baptist, the mayor, judges, business folks and just some old time folks and of course their family and friends. We are in the last category but know many over the years in attendance. The ambiance is just awesome and the eatin' superb. We gathered around for a couple hours before heading out and stopped for a visit at our mountain mom's beautiful place as well. She has an over abundance of rabbit's as we counted at least a 1/2 dozen in one place while driving in. We had a good visit and left just before it got dark.
Well it seems the Ray's won another game over the Orioles big time. I watched a little of it before the cookout on a channel that caters to the teams in the D.C. area. They are just a couple games back of the league leaders. Today is church day at Cornerstone and we will get to renew our friendships there after being away for 7 months. We saw Pastor B at the cook out last evening and he is taking about 30 folks to New Jersey for a week of work regarding Hurricane Sandy's destruction and the on going rebuilding. That should be a grand time of work and fellowship with such dedicated folks, LATER
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Saturday Morning
Friday started out once again with rain, overcast skies but the temperature was awesome in the low 60's for most of the day until late afternoon when sunshine prevailed with a steady breeze. I could literally see the ground drying up so we spent the afternoon outside working in the yard and gardens. The morning started out with me awake around 6:30 despite being overly tired from the day before. After my posting, a few quiet moments we did our own breakfasts; Nancy with her oatmeal and fruit and me with another smoothie. I headed out after breakfast to gather up trash that couldn't be burned then loaded the empty gas cans as we were heading to Galax for more shopping.
We stopped off at the feed store for seeds and saw our old friend Eddie. We mentioned we were going to the horse sale in Mt. Airy later that evening and he and his wife Kimberly were headed there as well. We then headed to Lowes for some herbs and flowering plants. Seems we are always finding holes in our flower beds where large plants have disappeared over the winter so Nancy wanted to fill them in with new plants. I picked up some more essential herbs and vegetables like; cilantro, dill, sweet potato plants, egg plant and a lavender plant that I thought was rosemary, oh well. I never could find any cabbage plants as it's a might late to plant them but last year they did fine.
We then headed to Wal-Mart for more stocking up as Nancy calls it and believe me we did. We did need a couple essentials and some more insecticide granules to spread along the porch deck to keep the black ants away. We headed back to the cabin after gassing up the truck, hi-test for the golf cart and the middle grade for the mower and other power tools. The attendant for the station must think those Florida folks are weird with 3 octanes of gas in one stop.
We got back around 1'ish then ate a quick bite of leftovers before we then headed out to work in the yard. The garden is much to wet to even think about planting so I sowed several containers of seeds and moved some of the flowering plants into larger pots. We worked out in the beautiful sunshine and cool temps until it was time to get ready and head down to the horse sale. The auction is about 45 miles away down off the mountain so we decided to eat at Subway for supper before heading out to the stock ring. There were some beautiful animals and a few not well cared for as well being auctioned off. Our friend Mechelle bought a nice Appaloosa. The place was packed and still going strong when we left going on 10. It was a long drive back up the mountain and parkway with nary a bit of light. I mean it was pitch black out. We scared up several deer along the parkway as well as a few other nocturnal animals. It was after 11 by the time we got showers and hit the sack.
We were awakened at 5 AM this morning by the timer on the electric stove making a beeping noise. I eventually had to go down in the basement to shut off the breaker to keep it quiet. It started raining again sometime during the night so it looks like it might be once again
an inside kind of day; at least that will give me some time to trouble shoot this stove, LATER Here are a few pics from the top of the parkway as we travelled into Galax.
We stopped off at the feed store for seeds and saw our old friend Eddie. We mentioned we were going to the horse sale in Mt. Airy later that evening and he and his wife Kimberly were headed there as well. We then headed to Lowes for some herbs and flowering plants. Seems we are always finding holes in our flower beds where large plants have disappeared over the winter so Nancy wanted to fill them in with new plants. I picked up some more essential herbs and vegetables like; cilantro, dill, sweet potato plants, egg plant and a lavender plant that I thought was rosemary, oh well. I never could find any cabbage plants as it's a might late to plant them but last year they did fine.
We then headed to Wal-Mart for more stocking up as Nancy calls it and believe me we did. We did need a couple essentials and some more insecticide granules to spread along the porch deck to keep the black ants away. We headed back to the cabin after gassing up the truck, hi-test for the golf cart and the middle grade for the mower and other power tools. The attendant for the station must think those Florida folks are weird with 3 octanes of gas in one stop.
We got back around 1'ish then ate a quick bite of leftovers before we then headed out to work in the yard. The garden is much to wet to even think about planting so I sowed several containers of seeds and moved some of the flowering plants into larger pots. We worked out in the beautiful sunshine and cool temps until it was time to get ready and head down to the horse sale. The auction is about 45 miles away down off the mountain so we decided to eat at Subway for supper before heading out to the stock ring. There were some beautiful animals and a few not well cared for as well being auctioned off. Our friend Mechelle bought a nice Appaloosa. The place was packed and still going strong when we left going on 10. It was a long drive back up the mountain and parkway with nary a bit of light. I mean it was pitch black out. We scared up several deer along the parkway as well as a few other nocturnal animals. It was after 11 by the time we got showers and hit the sack.
We were awakened at 5 AM this morning by the timer on the electric stove making a beeping noise. I eventually had to go down in the basement to shut off the breaker to keep it quiet. It started raining again sometime during the night so it looks like it might be once again
Friday, June 7, 2013
Friday Morning
Well it definitely was duck weather most of the morning on Thursday and we haven't received any of the tropical storm effects yet. I think the rain gauge on top of the mountain was nearly 3 inches according to Jetta. There were moments when we saw the sun in the late afternoon enough so we took our first hike of this year to the top. The visibility was maybe a couple ridges over but the fog and low clouds kept any long distance views to a minimum. We visited with Joe and Jetta and that's about the only folks we saw. We did notice a new mailbox at one of the what use to be vacant cabins and saw a couple vehicles there, everything else looked quiet and lonely. The grass had really grown up around a few places and we noticed where some of the trails were washed by all the heavy rain. Despite the wet weather the temps stayed around 60 for most of the day.
I rolled out early around 6 despite the rain falling on the tin roof as I wanted to do lots of inside jobs plus my internal clock had me wide awake. After my posting and quiet moments to give thanks and reflect and just gaze out into the back woods that we were actually here after 7 months of dreaming of this beautiful ambiance, we started the day. Nancy made a couple fried eggs along with some kielbasa and of course I had to have a couple home grown 'maters with mine. I headed down to the basement to get the vacuum and started on the upstairs. The place really looked good with only a few dead flys in the window sills. I somehow thought I burned the vacuum up when an internal breaker popped shutting me down until it cooled off. The bag full sensor must not be working so once I cleaned the bag and the machine cooled down it started back up; but I had already ordered another one on-line so now we have a spare , Oh well.
We had a lite lunch after the hardy breakfast then decided since it had stopped raining for the moment to venture out into the flower beds where we pulled weeds and grass. It's funny this grass will only grow in flower beds and not where I want it to. I picked up more limbs and sticks from the back yard as I still need to mow it as soon as it dries up. The sun actually broke through for seconds at a time and we took off for our first hike. It was after 5 before we got back to the cabin and so we had to get ready for our get together with the Dalton Gang and friends at Nickolas Restaurant in High Meadows. It was Kallie's 17 birthday so we met with her family and friends. We had lots of laughs, lots of hugs and some good eatin' as well, plus her boyfriend drove up from Raleigh to surprise her. Juan is from Columbia, South American and both of them met in the gifted math and science program at Duke University. He seems to be a really nice lad and we indoctrinated him into red neck, country boy humor. He laughed with us as well as probably at us. It was a fun evening.
Afterwards we stopped by and visited with our "mountain mom" Helen for a couple hours. It was good to see her again after 7 months and she looked great and going strong for her many years. We shared hugs, laughs and stories for nearly 2 hours when I started getting sleepy so we headed for the cabin in once again the rain. It rained gently most all night long and is raining as I make this post. I guess we will go to the big city of Galax, Va. for Nancy's list and some seedling for my garden. I'm only a couple weeks later than most garden planted up here and that shouldn't make a difference, LATER....Here are a few photos Nancy took on our hike!!
I rolled out early around 6 despite the rain falling on the tin roof as I wanted to do lots of inside jobs plus my internal clock had me wide awake. After my posting and quiet moments to give thanks and reflect and just gaze out into the back woods that we were actually here after 7 months of dreaming of this beautiful ambiance, we started the day. Nancy made a couple fried eggs along with some kielbasa and of course I had to have a couple home grown 'maters with mine. I headed down to the basement to get the vacuum and started on the upstairs. The place really looked good with only a few dead flys in the window sills. I somehow thought I burned the vacuum up when an internal breaker popped shutting me down until it cooled off. The bag full sensor must not be working so once I cleaned the bag and the machine cooled down it started back up; but I had already ordered another one on-line so now we have a spare , Oh well.
We had a lite lunch after the hardy breakfast then decided since it had stopped raining for the moment to venture out into the flower beds where we pulled weeds and grass. It's funny this grass will only grow in flower beds and not where I want it to. I picked up more limbs and sticks from the back yard as I still need to mow it as soon as it dries up. The sun actually broke through for seconds at a time and we took off for our first hike. It was after 5 before we got back to the cabin and so we had to get ready for our get together with the Dalton Gang and friends at Nickolas Restaurant in High Meadows. It was Kallie's 17 birthday so we met with her family and friends. We had lots of laughs, lots of hugs and some good eatin' as well, plus her boyfriend drove up from Raleigh to surprise her. Juan is from Columbia, South American and both of them met in the gifted math and science program at Duke University. He seems to be a really nice lad and we indoctrinated him into red neck, country boy humor. He laughed with us as well as probably at us. It was a fun evening.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Thursday Morning
Wednesday was a day with mixed temps and weather. It started off on the cool side according to Nancy but I found the conditions perfect for working outside. I had a sweaty shirt for most of the day until late afternoon when it became damp with mist from the fog. The morning started around a 5:30 wake up and since I had so much on my mind that I wanted to accomplish I rolled out around 6. NO roosters crowing at 5'ish so I actually slept rather soundly. After a cup of tea and a few quiet moments I headed out to check on the temperature and it was around 58 with the skies overcast; but the birds were happy with loud singing and the fresh smell of blooms was evident in the air.
Nancy was up and doing her morning routine so I dressed and headed out after a smoothie. I wanted to get my seedlings in the ground and so I started in the upper garden with the tomato, peppers and basil plants. The ground was relatively free of weeds as the heavy cover of leaves acted as a barrier to their growth. I will have to remember that next Fall when I winterize the gardens. I then moved over to the herb beds and once again it had a few more weeds but not nearly as much as last year. I transplanted Thyme, basil, marigolds and sowed to rows of beets and radishes. According to the waning moon phase it was a could time to sow seeds that have root crops. I then moved down to the lower garden where the weeds were a little more evident but still they came up very easy. I had about a dozen hills of potato's that came up where I had planted them last November and about half that many hills that came up voluntary so I moved them into the area with the ones I had actually planted.
It was lunch time so we had sardines along with onions and tomatoes from my Florida garden on crackers with mustard. One of our favorite lunches. Neighbor Gerald came by for a visit and stayed while we ate and thanked him for mowing a path into the cabin. He once again offered his services and equipment. He will be living here permanently which makes for having a good neighbor year around, especially when we aren't here in the winter; plus he maintains the road with his tractor as no one else has the know how or equipment to do so.
After lunch I headed down to move the Zinnias up into larger pots and transplanted more marigolds in the front flower beds. Nancy was on her knees and backside most of the morning pulling weeds from the beds and getting them ready for the beautiful flowers that will shortly be appearing. I hauled several loads of weeds and debris she had accumulated on the front yard to the compost pile. She finally took a break as her fingers were sore as well as her backside. It was close to suppertime so we had a garden salad to go along with frozen spaghetti sauce we brought from home. Yeow was that ever delicious with some garlic bread. After supper I headed out despite the foggy conditions to mow down some of the knee high grass. I had taken the weed whacker earlier and topped the high grass making it easier for the riding mower. I worked on the main yards until nearly dark and decided the back woods yard can wait another day.
After a hot shower I could barely keep my eyes open so I watched a little of the Ray's game on the Internet and they won in the 9th inning against the Tigers and it wasn't long afterwards I was in sleep mode as it was close to 10 PM. I'm not sure what time the rain started in the middle of the night but its been raining off and on all morning and I notice where water is standing in a couple places in my newly planted garden, Oh well. Keep Amy and her family in your thoughts and prayers for safe traveling to Kansas; 1500 hundred miles non-stop as Tyler left in the afternoon so the kids could sleep during the night. His youngest sister is getting married on Saturday and both Ava and Sam are in the wedding party, LATER
Nancy was up and doing her morning routine so I dressed and headed out after a smoothie. I wanted to get my seedlings in the ground and so I started in the upper garden with the tomato, peppers and basil plants. The ground was relatively free of weeds as the heavy cover of leaves acted as a barrier to their growth. I will have to remember that next Fall when I winterize the gardens. I then moved over to the herb beds and once again it had a few more weeds but not nearly as much as last year. I transplanted Thyme, basil, marigolds and sowed to rows of beets and radishes. According to the waning moon phase it was a could time to sow seeds that have root crops. I then moved down to the lower garden where the weeds were a little more evident but still they came up very easy. I had about a dozen hills of potato's that came up where I had planted them last November and about half that many hills that came up voluntary so I moved them into the area with the ones I had actually planted.
It was lunch time so we had sardines along with onions and tomatoes from my Florida garden on crackers with mustard. One of our favorite lunches. Neighbor Gerald came by for a visit and stayed while we ate and thanked him for mowing a path into the cabin. He once again offered his services and equipment. He will be living here permanently which makes for having a good neighbor year around, especially when we aren't here in the winter; plus he maintains the road with his tractor as no one else has the know how or equipment to do so.
After lunch I headed down to move the Zinnias up into larger pots and transplanted more marigolds in the front flower beds. Nancy was on her knees and backside most of the morning pulling weeds from the beds and getting them ready for the beautiful flowers that will shortly be appearing. I hauled several loads of weeds and debris she had accumulated on the front yard to the compost pile. She finally took a break as her fingers were sore as well as her backside. It was close to suppertime so we had a garden salad to go along with frozen spaghetti sauce we brought from home. Yeow was that ever delicious with some garlic bread. After supper I headed out despite the foggy conditions to mow down some of the knee high grass. I had taken the weed whacker earlier and topped the high grass making it easier for the riding mower. I worked on the main yards until nearly dark and decided the back woods yard can wait another day.
After a hot shower I could barely keep my eyes open so I watched a little of the Ray's game on the Internet and they won in the 9th inning against the Tigers and it wasn't long afterwards I was in sleep mode as it was close to 10 PM. I'm not sure what time the rain started in the middle of the night but its been raining off and on all morning and I notice where water is standing in a couple places in my newly planted garden, Oh well. Keep Amy and her family in your thoughts and prayers for safe traveling to Kansas; 1500 hundred miles non-stop as Tyler left in the afternoon so the kids could sleep during the night. His youngest sister is getting married on Saturday and both Ava and Sam are in the wedding party, LATER
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Wednesday Morning
Well I finally got a good nights rest after barely being able to sleep for days in anticipation of the journey to the mountain cabin. All that work at did at night in Seminole in my sleep was for nothing, oh well. Its sure great to be here and NO roosters to awakened me at 5'ish as a matter of fact it's almost too quiet. I walked out on the deck at a little after 6 and the awesome smells awakened me to the beauty of nature. There was the smell of fresh mowed grass neighbor Gerald mowed for us around the cabin as well as the wild rose and blackberry bushes that are blooming all around us and the sound of birds singing is just magnificent. Speaking of birds I have one that is nesting under the porch with 4 eggs in it so I will be limited to the area until they hatch and are gone.
It is 58 degrees on the back with no humidity while Seminole is already at 88% and in the high 70's. We slept with all the windows and doors closed and an extra comforter on the bed and was quite comfortable. It's overcast here and hopefully the rain will hold off until I can get those seedlings I brought from Florida in the ground this morning. The mowing and weed eating will have to wait for another day or so, LATER. Nancy took a few pictures.
It is 58 degrees on the back with no humidity while Seminole is already at 88% and in the high 70's. We slept with all the windows and doors closed and an extra comforter on the bed and was quite comfortable. It's overcast here and hopefully the rain will hold off until I can get those seedlings I brought from Florida in the ground this morning. The mowing and weed eating will have to wait for another day or so, LATER. Nancy took a few pictures.
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