Friday

Well the day started out with bright sunshine and cool temp's of 50 degrees. After our quiet times Nancy whipped up a banana in the buckwheat pancake batter and baked up some of the best eatin' pancakes you will ever have melt in your mouth, and they are so nutritious for you as well. We had a couple strips of bacon to go with cakes which I slathered with Amish Butter and honey. YUMMM!!!

After breakfast I got a couple loads of laundry out on the clothes line. What a fresh smell to your clothes that dry in the clean mountain air. We had to go Galax, Va. today and wanted to leave by noon as Nancy had a 2 PM appointment. We decided it would be best to get our shopping done beforehand. We had to fill one of her prescriptions and have found that once again Wal-Mart is the least expensive for the same medicine. After Nancy's appointment we headed to Subway for a cold cut sub with the works. That is a healthy lunch and reasonable in cost. After a few more stops we finally got back to the cabin around 4 PM. We decided to take a good long hike before eating supper. The air had just a touch of fall and once again we noticed several trees were starting to change colors and many were already losing their leaves.

We stopped and spoke with neighbor Gerald as he is getting ready to bow hunt in the AM for those 4 legged deer. The season opens early tomorrow. Saturday is going to be a busy day for us as we are going to help with the horse show in Sparta then head out to the Little River for a fish fry later in the evening. The Woodie's hold a couple get together's a year where lots of the local people plus family bring covered dishes and they deep fry usually flounder.They have a beautiful summer house on the Little River with an open outside area under roof with a fire place for parties,etc.

Well our hike took us down our drive then up the back road and across the top of the mountain and down the other side. It was about a 1/2 mile further than our usual hike and it felt so good to get the heart rate going along with a burn in the legs. On top we spoke with our old friend Norman for just a few minutes and he warned us to watch out for rattle snakes. It seems some one reported seeing one recently. We have been coming to this area since 1992 and have yet to see a live one. We see lots of big black snakes(which we like) and a couple dead copper heads(the deader the better) but never a rattler. Oh well!!!

I can't believe it dark at 8 PM where did the summer go? I can't believe its been 8 years since those gutless creeps murdered so many innocent folks. I hope they are enjoying their 40 virgins in Hell. LATER.

Thursday

Well what a wet day and its still raining as I write this post. The rain let up a little around 2PM which allowed me to ride the golf cart out to the mailbox. It was one of those days that after our quiet times we spent the day on the Internet or watching the U.S.Open. The most exciting thing for the morning was the omelet Nancy made using brown free range eggs, fresh onions, peppers and tomato's. Yikes was that ever good eatin' for breakfast.

Around 4 PM the rain let up enough for us to get our daily hike to the top of the mountain. Wow was that ever good to get out of the cabin. We saw no one else out taking advantage of the break in the rain. I believe we must have had 3-4 inches of rain in the past 24 hours. I did get to watch some good tennis and a foreign film with sub titles called Vagabond. It was kind of depressing.

Nancy made a one dish supper using up some leftover cooked macaroni with fresh garden grown; green peppers, onions, garlic, tomato's, oregano, basil, parsley and chopped chicken apple brat's topped with Parmesan cheese. I added a chopped fresh jalapeno pepper to mine. A fresh garden grown salad with 5 kinds of lettuce, cucumber and tomato topped off supper.The dish kind of reminded me of beef-a-roni with a tomato sauce.

Well hopefully tomorrow we will see the sun. That reminds me that the St.Pete Times newspaper use to give away the next day's paper for free if the sun didn't shine during the whole day. Well that's what happened here, today. Tomorrow we are off to Galax for some shopping and then on Saturday I've been asked to MC the annual 4 H Horse in Sparta. Yeow that will be a first for me but should be fun. Well will go as its half time with the Titans and Steelers tied at 7. Its a good game much better than I anticipated on the Titans part. LATER

Wednesday

Well the day started out around 7:30 and as I checked outside for the appearance of any deer I noticed lots of ground fog. After our quiet times Nancy heated up the griddle and made buckwheat pancakes with a banana in the batter along with some smoked bacon. I smothered my cakes with Amish Butter and homemade black raspberry jam. YUMMM!!!

After breakfast I noticed the fog was lifting so we got ready to head out for our hike of the day. The woods were still wet from last evening rain. We climbed to the top with out any rest stops and was greeted by bright warm sunshine. Nancy had on long pants, shirt and another long sleeve shirt. The temp was 58 when we headed out. By the time we walked along the mountain ridge she had shed the long sleeve shirt. We noticed lots of leaves on the ground from the rain of last night and the maples were starting to turn a light color.We aren't sure what that means as its too early for color, and then again maybe it means we are going to have an early cold winter.

When we got back from the hike we decided since we had a large late breakfast we would skip lunch and have an early supper as I was playing pickle ball at 5 PM. I changed out a leaky pipe under the sink, fix a dresser door in the upstairs bathroom and then strained my scuppernong must and added more sugar. All of a sudden it became overcast and started to rain. At times we had a steady downpour and lasted until about 4:30. I really thought it was going to rain out our pickle ball play.

Nancy made a great Zucchini Pie for dinner to go along with a fresh garden salad. We ate supper around 4 and was it ever a good pie with fresh home grown Zucchini's, peppers and tomato's on top.

I picked up Ted Smith and we headed to Roaring Gap to meet with John and Rick. We played for about 2 1/2 hours with each of us taking turns with different pardners. All toll we played 11 sets of doubles and Ted and I played 2 sets of singles. Great workout plus the game is so much fun. I got back to the cabin just as darkness was setting in. Nancy had wondered around outside taking a few flower pics, mushrooms and just some fun pics. Well will close for now, LATER.

Tuesday

Well the morning started out with temp's in the high 50's and bright sunshine streaming through the tree tops. After our quiet times and a lite breakfast of Cheerios and banana we got ready to head over to our "mountain moms" place to help paint her work shed. Her brother Joe also came to help with the job. I did all the ladder work and under the eves while Nancy, Joe and Helen did the ground work and trim. I must say a few people not to mention any names Helen; had painted themselves up real nice as well.We had it half done by lunch time and finish the total job by 3:30. It was a fun day and Joe and Helen who are in their 80's worked right along with Nancy and I. We were tired by the time we got home so much so we just popped a couple frozen pizzas in the oven for supper.

After supper we got a nice soft rain which kept us indoors until dark. I just sat around on the couch watching the U.S. Open Tennis and Nancy played on Face Book. Not much else happened today and we really had fun doing our good deed for the day.We will have no trouble sleeping tonight. LATER

Sunday on Monday-LABOR DAY

To all who still LABOR please continue as I need for you to pay your social security as I am now collecting it. THANK YOU ALL. I paid it for 48 years + and not one person ever Thanked me so I want to start a "grateful for those who LABOR and pay."

Sunday was such a super day which started out with our quiet times, lite breakfast of Cheerios and a banana before getting ready to head out to Cornerstone for worship. Pastor B as he refers to himself had awesome message and super music that reflected our praise and worship for CHRIST JESUS. There were 10 going to be baptized after the service in a creek the old fashion way at a beautiful setting in the mountains. One never knows when your plans will change due to different situations as I altered my plans after the service.

Friends of ours had some hay in the field that needed to be put in the barn before rain ruined it, so with a farming background I volunteered to help knowing that rain would ruin the hay. We all had worshipped earlier but knew that wet bales would rot if left in the field. I was treated to some of the best smoked ribs I have ever eaten while waiting to head down the mountain to haul hay hay. Man, Andy knows how to fix those baby backs for sure. We met up with Gerald and Kay at a beautiful piece of bottom land with 350 + square bales of hay. The bales were tight and the hay was some of the best I ever helped put up. It actually was a fun job and everyone pitched in making the afternoon a great one. Anytime!! I reminisced about all the hayfield's I had been in during my growing days as a young farmer. There were lots of laughs and stories that made the job go fast. Thanks for letting me be a part.

Meanwhile, Nancy, Mechelle and Kallie went to the creek for the baptizing while the rest of were in the hayfield. Nancy later went to the funeral home too support the family of Peggy Woody who had just lost her grandfather on Friday. On her way back she picked me up at the Daltons so we could get home and get supper ready for their gang as we were playing Sequence after eating. We had a supper of grilled dogs, baked beans, macaroni salad, sliced 'maters and 2 desserts Mechelle made from The Pioneer Woman website;Key Lime Pie and Ice Creame Sundae Pie. The eatin' was great and I think to satisfying as we(men) lost our competitive edge. The gals put a whupping on us at 7-1. Next time no hayfield and no food for at least 2 days, well maybe an hour before playing and definitely no desserts. We need to be hungry!!

It was another great day and I had no trouble falling asleep until 7:30 this morning. Not sure whats in store for the day but the day started out after our quiet times of fried brown free range eggs, smoked bacon, sliced 'maters with jalapeno's and toast smothered in Amish Butter and homemade black raspberry jam, now that's a country breakfast.

Here are a few of our church friends who were baptized yesterday at the creek.LATER

Saturday on Sunday Morning

The morning started out with me up and getting that pork butt in the smoker at 7 AM. I had it stoked full of Hickory wood and nuts. I keep it smoking until around 5 PM when the bone just pulled out of the meat. After getting that going we did our quiet times and had cereal with banana & blue berries for breakfast. The sun was shining with blue skies and a heavy dew. Yeow I just love these mountain mornings with temps in the 50's. We were having the ole' gang over for a get together around 6:30. Nancy was cleaning the cabin and I was doing a little garden and yard work. We finally got our hike in to the top around 10AM and met up with several week enders. They all were going to or doing their cook outs as well. We had a good hike and got back to the cabin just in time for lunch which was the left over tortilla soup from Friday night. Man is that good eatin' and good fer' ya'.

I loaded the smoker up again with another batch of Hickory wood and nuts. We got a call from up on top that heavy smoke could be seen down below our way and right away I surmised they could see my smoker smoke; but no way was my smoke that heavy. Any way to make a short story long the neighbor who just had his timber cut had started to burn the piled up brush and it got away from him.So he did the right thing and called the fire department. I understood several units responded and sprayed down the area as well as a bulldozer had to be used to keep the fire from a nearby wooded area. Yikes that is close to being catastrophic for us land owners with homes.

I managed to sneak in a little U.S.Open Tennis and saw this young American 17 year old Melanie Oldin upset for champion Maria Sharipova in 3 sets. GREAT PLAY!!! I also saw a little of BYU upset #3 Oklahoma,wow what a day for college football. My Rays fell flat again after leading big in the early innings. I think you might as well stick a fork in them as they are done for this year. Oh well they are a Cinderella Team and it was great last year they went and nearly won the whole thing.

In between smokers and sports I managed to fertilize my non producing blue berry bushes, repot 3 inpatients plants that had become root bound and separate some mustard seedlings. I love fresh mustard greens and only hope these make before heading to Florida in November. We got a short shower for about 1/2 an hour which settled the dust and hopefully helped in damping the area out by the woods fire. I can just see a fire like the ones the California folks are experiencing.

Our guest began arriving and we chowed down on; potato salad, Cole slaw, deviled eggs, tomato pie, sliced tomato's, green beans and of course pulled pork. Nancy's gotta be the "ugliest cake she has ever made" but tastes the same, chocolate with chocolate icing was the dessert. Great evening with the guys pulling out a come from behind win at 5- 4 in Sequence, again. We decided to call it a night around 9:30.

Today, Sunday should be a great day again as we will worship corporately(a bunch of people gathered) at Cornerstone and then head over to a small creek where we hold our dunking(baptizing) in the cold water. We are then expecting company once again this evening for a weenie roast and then more Sequence with the Dalton Gang. Should be a another fun day. I think we are free so far on Monday.
Well better close as its near time to get ready to head out to church. We were glad to hear Amt, Ty and Ava made it safely to Kansas for their week long vacation with Ty's family. Hey to all there!!! LATER

Friday

Well the day started a little earlier than the last week as we rolled out about 7:30. Yea, I know that's late but better than 8:30. Anyhow it was about 10 degrees warmer this AM than the past couple days and even reached 75 today for a high. After our quiet times and a couple brown eggs for breakfast I headed out to check on the gardens. Once again the deer have left us alone. I wonder if the smell of Marigolds may be having some effect. I have them planted everywhere in the garden and they are loaded with flowers. Never before have I had so many. I probably brought 50 small seedlings with me from Florida last May when we came up and now they are huge with 30 and 40 blooms per plant. Hopefully that is the reason.

My upper thighs were a little sluggish this morning and Nancy wasn't feeling all that great either so we skipped the morning hike and I took one after supper alone. Norman, my senior friend on top gets me a dozen free range brown eggs weekly so I walked up to his place to pick up the eggs after supper. I worked on my fertilizer spreader as the shaft broke on Tuesday while sowing grass seed with lime. I took it apart and found the little plastic shaft that causes the spreader wheel to revolve while moving had broken into. I took a bolt and ran through the plastic shaft. Works good as new so far. After fixing the spreader I loaded up the grubbing hoe, shovel and rake and headed down below the front yard to dig topsoil for the yard. I dug about 10 golf cart loads and spread it by hand in some of the lower areas. As the day wore on it got warmer and warmer until I had a wet shirt. I dug up 2 maple trees about 15 feet in height each and transplanted them to the lower edge of the side yard.Hopefully they will help hold the yard that I filled in with topsoil. I stayed with this project until about 4 PM.

Nancy suggested I head out on the golf cart to check the mail. I took the pitchfork to clear up some of the debris that had accumulated from the last logger who used our road and left it a mess. Meanwhile I ran into Sandy and John also on their golf cart from up on top of the mountain. Next I saw Donna Hudson who I hadn't seen since last year. She and husband Carl have been on the go all summer plus they have a house near Myrtle Beach, S.C.Well I spent about an hour clearing limbs and rocks from the road. When I got back Nancy was working on supper. The aroma of tortilla soup drifted from the kitchen and soon had my appetite whetted. This is an excellent soup made with chicken breasts cubed, carrots, jalapeno peppers, garlic, onion, celery, chicken broth and diced tomato's. It's served with cheese on top, sour cream(optional) and tortilla chips. It has cumin, lemon pepper, chili powder as part of the seasoning. YUMM!!!

After supper I hand watered the gardens again as it has been 5 days since we have had any measurable rain.The garden is still producing so it needs a drink, daily. Well I burned the trash accumulated from the past several days so Nancy played in the fire while I watered. Well I didn't have as an exciting day as the past couple days;but it was a great day for being outside. LATER.