Monday

Well Sunday was an awesome day of once again renewing old friendships and acquaintances at Element Church in Tampa where my son is the pastor and worship leader. Element was celebrating 5 years of existence and wow is all I can say about this group of folks that call Element their church family. We heard some amazing, heart warming and tear dropping stories of how GOD has changed lives and brought them to be a part of this life's story at Element. Nancy and I feel so blessed to be involved there as well. We had a delicious lunch of grilled Nathan dogs, salads, fruits and of course desserts(I skipped that part) and then watched our local Bucs on the big screen while the multitude of kiddos played and ran around with each other.

We had ridden over with Dan and Carol so we left around 1:30 or so for Seminole. It was great to see our newest house church members, Patrick and Kathryn as well as old friends and Elements landlord Jerry and Becky Hoffman. They are such dear folks and sweet people. We got to know them a couple years ago when they came for a couple days visit at the cabin and we see them occasionally when in Tampa. They belong to another church but do visit Element from time to time.

Well the Bucs managed to lose their game once again in the last 4 minutes after leading for the entire game and the Rays nearly blew a 6 run lead in the last couple innings. They will have a 1 game playoff for the wild card slot against the Rangers tonight(Monday), and the winner goes on to play the Indians in the playoffs. Lets hope they bring their best game as the past couple of seasons that team had knocked us out of the playoffs.

We headed over to GG's for a visit with Errol and Arianne when we got back from Tampa before they headed back to the Miami area. They actually live in Ft.Lauderdale but both teach and work in Miami. He is a college professor of music and she is a private school music teacher as well as they both teach voice and piano. They both are quite talented, generous and sweet people. It was great to see them since their beautiful wedding in May.

Well we ate some leftovers from the big dinner and it looks as if that will be the fare for a couple days as once again we prepared way too much food. It was delicious, although. Seems we are booked for the rest of the week with Amy, the Botbyls and then the birthday/pool party on Saturday in Riverview at Brian and Susan's house(Jill's folks) for a combined party for Annsley and Gabriel. Then we leave Sunday morning for the trip back to the cabin for about a month or so. It has been a whirlwind 4 days already, LATER Nancy had her camera with her so here are a few pics!!!

Sunday

Well it was another hot day with just a little less humidity. At least you could walk outside for a few minutes without breaking out into a sweat. How I will miss those cool dry days at the cabin when we come back here for good this Nov. I can't believe how much hotter and wetter it is here, oh well. There must be some internal alarm clock for me 'cause I can't sleep past 6'ish here in Seminole whereas the outside stillness and elevation allows me to sleep in under the warm covers at the cabin; of course the a/c runs so often during the night that is definitely a sleep interrupter.

Saturday was such a busy day especially for Nancy as she was in the kitchen starting with breakfast for Ava, Sam and myself and then to after midnight. The kiddos spent the night on Friday and did sleep in until 7:30. We were up before daylight as the morning light comes so much later now and we had much of our early morning routine out of the way. Nancy made eggs for us all as we forgot to bring our buckwheat pancake mix with us. The kiddos love pancakes. After that cleanup she started on baking chocolate chip cookies for Sunday's homecoming at Element Church in Tampa as they celebrate 5 years with a cook out and eventually with the Bucs game on the big screen.

Nancy then prepared a rub for the spare ribs which I wanted to get on the smoker by 10 AM. After getting smoker loaded with apple and hickory wood we loaded 2 1/2 racks of ribs in it and plugged it in for it to smoke for 7 hours. Amy came and picked up Sam and Ava after we messed around outside with Ava catching lizards and Sam was in his make believe world of being Farmer John. I piddle around while they caught critters as I tried to spread out some of the rolled up grass and weeds from the gardens so the sun could dry it out and make it easier to mulch with my mower. This makes for great compost for my winter garden.

I then vacuumed the house and washed pots and pans as Nancy made scalloped cheese potatoes and other dishes for the big family dinner. Errol and Arianne drove up from Miami for the occasion as we celebrated GG and Tyler's birthdays. GG will be 85 on the 1st of October and Tyler just turn 35 the day before our anniversary. I managed to get in a little of the Rays game as they once more lost to the Jays and if they lose 1 more game they will be out of post season contention. Their fielding and hitting went south and were beaten by the team with the worst record in their division, oh well. I think they need some divine intervention if they are going to continue into the post season.

Well we had a house full and the eating started with my guacamole which turned out awesome and Errol made some bacon wrapped dates which were rather tasty as well. We then had a taste of some fruit of the vine as we snacked then we all sat down to a meal of smoked ribs, scalloped taters', 1/2 runner beans, salad and Tyler made homemade yeast rolls which I thought were excellent. He was disappointed as they were his grandmothers recipe but lets face it no one can cook as good as your grandmother until you become one yourself. Nancy them made a wine berry(picked from our patch at the cabin) cobbler and topped that with vanilla ice cream. Yeow what a feed and I made myself stay away from the dessert but did lick the dipper before I washed it.

We sat around afterwards and Errol set up his laptop and we watched movies of their wedding in Miami as well as the recent wedding in Michigan of Arianne's sister Alexandria(which we missed). They all stayed late except for Tyler who took the kiddos home around 9:30 until nearly midnight and would probably have stayed longer but GG and I were starting to yawn. It was after midnight before I got in the shower and hit the sack only to hear Nancy still in the kitchen doing some final cleanup chores.

Today it's off to Tampa around 9 'ish to worship with our son Bobby and the rest of the Element Family. It will be a special day as well as we see our other grand kiddos; Annsley and Gabe. We will head back over to the Riverview area which is south of Tampa on Tuesday for supper with them and again next Saturday for a combined birthday celebration at their other grand parents home that has a pool. So that will be a special day as well for the kiddos, LATER  Here are a couple pics of Ava and Sam when they spent the night on Friday.

Saturday

Well Friday was a busy day that started around a 6'ish roll out from the sack. After a cup of green tea and a few quiet moments I had a bowl of oatmeal with a banana before getting ready to ride out to the rec for some 2 plus hours of pickle ball. We had six players to start and quickly picked up 2 more so we had 2 courts in play for most of the next 2 hours. Wow what a workout and it didn't take long to work up a good sweat with the great play. I was made to feel welcomed by all and it didn't take long to get back in the groove with some nice long rallies.

I headed out for the library after the rec and picked up a couple new reads; one is about the James/Younger gang that terrorized the banks and railroads after the Civil War and their escape from a botched holdup in Minnesota(I read half of it during the afternoon while watching Sam in between reading him several books) and the second read is about the Seal rescue of kidnapped Jessica Buchanan. Both books look very interesting and the first book has you riveted to each page and there are old photos of the deceased and captured as well. Anyhow the girls(Nancy, Amy and GG) took off to the mall and shopped until around 2. Sam and I had lunch together, read books and he wanted to watch BOLT which gave me time to read as well.

After the girls got back Nancy drove GG home and once again stopped at the grocery for goodies for Saturday nights birthday celebration dinner. We chilled until the Amy and Tyler brought Ava and Sam for supper and then they spent the night with us. I grilled chicken breasts, and Nancy made their favorite macaroni and some cooked broccoli and cauliflower(the kids like them raw with ranch dressing). After the cleanup we headed outside to play with the neighbors stray cat that comes back to visit despite moving 2 doors down. Zorro is his name and he is very friendly and the kids love seeing and chasing him.

I headed in to watch the Ray's lose big time to the lowly Blue Jays in a bad way with 3 errors on their fielding. We were ahead to start with then let the game get out of hand and that makes our chances to make the playoffs even more interesting with just a few games to play. I put on a movie for the kiddos and then popped them some old fashion popcorn before their baths. We let them stay up until almost 10 and once we said prayers they were out like a light until 7:30 this AM. Needless to say after they went to bed it was shower time for me as well and shortly thereafter I was out, LATER

Friday

Well the difference in heat and humidity is astounding. This morning in the mountains it's in the low 40's and here in Florida it's in the low 70's. Yesterday I sweated through 2 shirts with water dripping from my body. Unbelievable as I tried to work in the shade for most of the day. I caught up on the yard and garden work and even took the afternoon after lunch off for a couple hours as the heat was just oppressive.

Thursday started with me awake at an early hour as my clock was ticking on all of the chores I wanted to accomplish first and then how to work in some pickle ball among those chores. After my quiet moments and a lite breakfast of oatmeal and fruit I decided to forgo play and work instead as we were having a big crowd here on Saturday for a birthday dinner. The yards and garden needed some attention as the rain here was much like the rain we received in the mountains to start the summer. Water is seeping out of the yards onto the street and the lawns are mushy. I did manage to get both front and rear yards mowed despite it being so soggy and wet. I next tackled the gardens and I had a huge pile of grass and weeds that was so large that it reminded Nancy of windrows of hay that needed to be baled. Basically I used a digging fork to roll the grass while extracting the roots into a huge ball so that it will die and dry out and then I can mulch it with my mower and use for compost this fall.

I did one side of the garden before lunch and the other later in the afternoon when the sun shifted onto the other garden. The shrubs had gone wild with all the rain as well and some were near roof high. I did find within the overgrown vines 3 orchid plants that were blooming. I will post of picture when I can remember to do so. Amy, GG, Tyler and Sam came for lunch and Sam was so cute with the new truck we got for him at the Mast General Store. He had grown so and has really started to mature. We both read him a couple stories and he knows all of his colors and shapes.

After a sumptuous lunch of salad and sandwiches Tyler had to go back to work and the rest lingered for awhile. Our cable TV needed a reboot so a technician came by and cleared up that problem in no time. Amy picked up Ava from school and brought her by while Nancy made chocolate chip cookies. Ava has grown as well and just loves her school. We had a nice visit then I headed back outside once more to do more garden and yard chores until suppertime after the kids left. Nancy came out as we finally got a nice sea breeze which took away some of the humidity. We both worked outside until 6 before heading in to made some supper which was awesome. Sam's Club had fresh steel head trout fillets and along with a baked spud and some canned peas we feasted.

After the clean up which is easy now with the dishwasher we settled in to some local and Fox news before the Ray's game came on. The Ray's won again and are headed as a wild card for the post season with just 2 more wins. We spoke with our "mountain mom" Helen and she said the temperature was in the 60's for the high which was lower than our low for the day. Seems we got a little rain on Thursday at the cabin as well. Well that was about it for the first day back and now since I caught up on all the major chores I can head to the rec for some fun exercise, LATER

Thursday

Well here we are in Seminole, Florida after an all day trip back to the flat lands. We got up around 3:30 am and got away from the cabin a little before 5. It was in the high 50's with a bright moon shining when we pulled and headed south. We had an uneventful trip until some yaywho decided to change into our lanes somewhere in Georgia. Luckily I was able to serve and barely miss him and fortunately I was able to keep the truck under control and we continued on into the hot muggy south land.

The traffic was rather light for most of the way and we did encounter lots of rain in the Charlotte area and lots of love bugs in Florida. (I need to scrub those nasty insects as their bodies produce a chemical reaction that will literally take the paint off of your vehicle.)The further south we headed the hotter the outside temperature rose. We had a lot of rain clouds with an overcast most of the way in Florida but no rain. We actually could have used to little to wash the bugs away and at one of the rest stops there were hoses out for that purpose and we used it to some success as the windshield was covered with those nasty bugs.

We reached Tampa just before the major rush hour around 3 PM and managed to get through without any stop and go traffic. We saw more vehicles on the road in Tampa than we have seen all summer in the mountains. Unbelievable amount of traffic in Tampa and the St.Pete area. We made a stop at Sam's Club on the way in and loaded up with meat for this next week or so's family dinners and then a stop at Aldi's which is near the house for some staples. It was close to 5 or after before we started unpacking and the neighborhood looked as if it has been inundated with rain. Water was standing everywhere and the yards were soggy but looked lush and green.

The gardens had grass and weeds over 6 feet tall in places and the shrubs where in need of trimming as well. The house looked in good shape and dry which was a plus after last years leaky roof which we replaced during the winter months. We quickly put away the cold stuff and headed to GG's for a roast turkey breast supper with smashed taters, gravy and broccoli. Yeow did that ever hit the spot after a couple dried sandwiches in the truck while travelling. We stayed and visited until after 9'ish before heading out as I watched the Ray's beat up on the Yankees in the second win in a row over the boys in pin stripes. We(Rays) have a good chance now to make the post season if they continue to play ball as they have the past few games.

Well it sure is a different ambiance here in the 'hood with houses next door, muggy conditions and high heat. The a/c has been running through out the night and that kept me somewhat awake after such stillness at the cabin. The next door neighbors are gone with their roosters so that is a plus. I have lots to do before we have the family over for ribs on the smoker as we celebrate GG and Tyler's birthday on Saturday. I doubt if I make it on the PB court until maybe Friday or Saturday as it looks right now.

Thanks for the prayers for safe travel as it definitely helped with the close encounter in Georgia. We will need them once again as we plan on leaving from here a week from Sunday for the return trip to cooler temps and lots of visitors there during the month in October and November who want to escape from this sauna here in Florida, LATER

Just a business note for you readers of this ramble and who are preferred customers with me at Amway. The special for this month of Sept. is ALL drinks in the website are Bogo. Not only do you get a discount but this month it's 2 for the price of one and the free ones(bogo's) are shipped at no cost to you at the end of the month. It's a good time for the twist tubes( these are 2 vegetable and fruit serving) in a twist tube that you add to water. I really like the taste and if your kids or grand kids won't eat veggies or fruits use these for them to get their much needed nutrients from these vegetables. Our grandson Gabe has his "juice" every morning and he is a picky eater. All of the sports drinks as well as the Perfect Water( remineralized and oxygenated) of which we use both are bogo as well. Any questions on how to order or if you want the extra discount as a preferred customer write me at the; www.amway.com/JNTriplett and I will assist you.

Tuesday

Well Monday turned out to be a very nice day after a chilly start with temps down into the middle 40's. There was plenty of sunshine and the breeze kept it a long pants and long sleeve day except for when I was working in the direct sunshine sawing up some trees and stumps at our "mountain moms" place.

The morning started much the usual with a 7'ish roll out to start the day. We did our routine which started with hot drinks, our quiet times and then Nancy baked some  biscuits with sausage patties and egg for breakfast, Yeow was that ever tasty and held us except for a salad for lunch around 1 PM. I piddled around the gardens and yards until it was time for our daily hike to the top.

 The deer once again ate off the Swiss chard as well as had a midnight snack of sweet tater vines. So far the vines continue to grow and show no signs of dying. The chicken wire has preserved the beets and they continue to grow despite being munched on several times. One of the collard plants has been removed to the compost pile as it rotted off at ground level. The other plant that looked so bad never sent out any roots from the ball of the plant for some reason and it to maybe headed for the compost pile.

We saw several folks on top of the mountain as we hiked. Mike and Nancy were up sealing their logs on their cabin and we saw the Cline's as well for the second time this summer. Sandy seemed to be doing much better and of course Ann was her old self as she was weeding in her flower gardens. They were planning on spending the night for a change which was a good sign for Sandy's recovery. We headed on across the top and saw no one else as the Browning's were all inside including Zeke. We headed on back down to the cabin and while the air was still chilled there were signs of it warming up. Nancy hung a load of laundry then we settled into a nice fresh salad complete with garlic bread. After lunch we headed out on the golf cart to Helen's as we wanted her to return a couple library books the next time she is in Sparta for us and I wanted to do some chainsaw work for her.

The huge fields next door to her were being harvested for their pumpkins. There were 6 large tractors with wagons and lots of Mexican workers who were loading some of the thousands of pumpkins. That was quite an operation and throughout the county there are several acres of pumpkins ready to be harvested and sent off to stores throughout the nation.

We headed home as the air started to chill down around 3 PM. We stopped and visited with Gerald for a few and to let him know we were leaving for about 10 days or so on Wednesday morning early for Florida. We hope to be back for another month around the first week in Oct.or so before closing up for the winter the first week in Nov. We have been having some winter like mornings for Florida already, yet the temps in Florida are still rather warm at 85 daily and with lots of rain.

I will be away from this ramble for a day or so as we travel 700 + miles back to Seminole on Wednesday. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers for safe travel as we head back for several birthday celebrations, family dinners and getting my garden ready for planting. I plan on getting a little pickle ball play in as well with the gang from Seminole Rec. I need to work on reducing this spare tire around my middle.

I tuned into the Rays vs the Orioles yesterday afternoon and the Rays came from behind and in the bottom of the 9th won it. There is still a chance they may make the post season playoffs after all, LATER  

Monday

Well Sunday turned out to be just a beautiful day all around. The weather was fantastic with cool temps in the high 40's to start the day with sunshine striking the tree tops around the cabin and blue skies over head. It warmed up to the middle 70's by late afternoon and made for a perfect afternoon to do our hike to the top of the mountain. Nancy was still wearing long pants and a sweat shirt but I had shorts and a tee shirt for the hike and as the sun set I once more donned the winter attire. Nancy and I were celebrating 34 years of marriage on this date and as we were congratulated by many at Cornerstone we found out the couple(Sherill Bottomly) sitting in front of us were celebrating their 7 years together this day as well.

We started the day much the usual with a few quiet moments to give thanks and ask for special consideration for many who have needs beyond what we can do for them. Afterwards we did our own breakfast of oatmeal meal and fruit and then got ready to head out for worship with a great group of folks at Cornerstone in Sparta. The drive was just magnificent with the morning after an all day rain. The air was so clean and clear and the green mountains were starting to show just a wee bit of color. I have a feeling it's going to be an early fall this year and the colors should be just brilliant.

Pastor B had a good message on the book of James about our actions(works) as believers and the praise music was very inspiring. Afterwards we met up with the Dalton Family, Katelyn and her beau Curtis at the Pines Restaurant for lunch along with lots of other church folks from around the county. They put us in a special room in the back because of the size of our party which made for a great time as we were alone and away from the crowd. The turkey, dressing, smashed taters & gravy were awesome tasting and 4 of us dined on that entree. We had a great time together as we all shared some exciting moments in our relationships with family and friends.

We stopped and visited with our "mountain mom" Helen for a few before heading back to the cabin around 4'ish. It was such a beautiful afternoon in such a beautiful setting. She has been fighting a head and chest congestion as well as has been her brother Joe but both seem to be on the way to wellness once again.

The mountain top looked lonely as we hiked across the top with no one out an about so we headed on back down around 5:30 ish to have a lite supper of leftovers. I was tuned into the Ray's who beat the Orioles once again for 3 in a row and upped their lead in the wild card race. The Bucs were beaten badly by the Patriots and some other big name NFL teams were beaten as well including the Steelers when I shut the TV off around 10:30.

Well we want to thank all who took a moment to reflect and comment on our special day with cards, e-mails and of course Face Book. Wow did we ever feel like VIP'S with your salutations, LATER

Sunday

Well Saturday was a wash out with rain that started on Friday night and continued throughout the day until the late evening. At times it was a gully washer and this morning (Sunday) the inside of the windows had some steam from the warmth of the cabin that collected due to the temps dropping overnight into the 40's, yeow!! It's a good thing we are heading to Florida on Wednesday as we will need to bring warm clothing back for the next month before we head south for good for the winter.

We did our usual morning routine with our quiet times and then a lite breakfast after posting this ramble. We had anticipated the weather co-operating so we could visit the festival in downtown Sparta but since the rain wasn't letting up we decided to stay home until around 5 PM when we headed out to the Dalton Farm for supper and games.

We spent the rest of the morning reading and then I watched  the Ray's defeat the Orioles on the Internet 5-1 which puts them up a game over the nearest contender for the wild card slot. They still have a chance to make the post season playoffs with some good ball playing efforts. We visited with the Dalton's and Luffman's for a delicious roast beef dinner, salad, oven spuds(Nancy brought), cooked carrots and cheesecake. I passed on the dessert with some restraint as I looked down at my spare tire. I must regulate my portions and their content as I head back for a couple weeks due to all of the family dinners that will feature some awesome eatin'.

We played the best of 9 sequence games and despite our 2-0 lead to start with, the gals came back and won 5-4 in a very close match. It was great fun and enjoyable and we got back our old player Andy to play with us once again which meant a lot to the group. He is much like his old self and that meant the most for all of us. Well we headed for the cabin around 8:30'ish and the roads were wet with some wash out on our private drive due to the heavy rains. Today Sunday is a special day for Nancy and I as we will celebrate 34 years of marriage together, LATER

Saturday

Well Friday was a beautiful day despite the late evening rain and fog. It warmed up to the middle 70's for most of the day and we saw lots of sunshine as the day wore on until around 6:30 when the fog rolled in along with a rain shower. It stayed foggy all evening and it's still foggy as I make this post. At least the temps are moderate to start this day in the low 60's.

After our quiet times and a lite breakfast of oatmeal and fruit I headed out to check on  what's left of the gardens. Cut worms took out a nice lettuce plant and something has left 2 of my collards all but ready for the compost pile. It looks as if a mold or mildew has left the leaves droopy and ready to fall off. I headed out to rake the ashes from the stump I was trying to burnt up a couple days ago and found the stump was still there despite the hot fire. I scattered the ashes around in the backwoods yard as I learned oak ashes produce the same effect as lime on the soil by reducing the acid PH.

I noticed the truck was looking awfully dirty and dingy so I pulled out the wash and wax liquid, scrub brush and chamois and went to work on cleaning the outside of the truck as well as the inside of the bed. That kept me busy until lunchtime. I had to use the golf cart bed to stand on to reach the top of the truck and afterwards gave it a good washing as well. After a lite lunch I fired up the riding mower and did the yards and then we took off on our daily hike to the top of the mountain. I took Norm's mail up for him and then we stopped and visited with Joe, Jetta and Zeke for a spell before heading back down to the cabin. The yards always look and smell so fresh after the grass is cut.

I vacuumed the cabin while Nancy made salsa and hoagie sandwiches for our company that was due at 7. After we got ready for them we waited and waited and finally around 8'ish they showed up. Gerald had come up earlier and we were hungry so we had a couple of the tasty sandwiches while waiting for the rest. Eddie and Kimberly finally showed with her layered dip and all the fixin's for homemade peach ice cream.

 It was going on 9 PM when the ice cream was finished which never really set up. I passed on both the cake Audine brought and the ice cream as it was just to late to be eating all that sweets. I had a difficult time sleeping as it was with eating so late, oh well. We had a raucous time playing several games of Sequence and the gals were on tonight and won big. It was going 11 before we called it a night and starting cleaning up the ice cream maker and sending everyone on their way. The fog was really heavy as they all headed for home.

I checked on the Ray's score and they were losing again after losing the night before despite having some of the best young pitchers in baseball. They seem to be falling apart here at the end of the season, LATER 

Friday

Well Thursday turned out to be a busy day with our trip to Galax early in the morning then lunch out and a hike and finally a pickle ball match with 5 other fellers.

We started the day around 7 ish and it was a bit chilly but eventually warmed up to the upper 60's by late evening. We didn't see much sunshine but did run into a rain shower on the way to Galax and noticed we had received a nice shower at the cabin sometime while we were gone. The newly sown grass seed as well as the veggies that are still living needed that rain as I had been hand watering daily. We did our usual routine of our quiet time, posting of this ramble and a lite breakfast before leaving the mountain.

We headed to Wal-Mart for some goodies for tonight's (Friday)get together with the old gang while I had the truck serviced for our return trip on Wednesday to Florida then we stopped and gassed up at $3.18 before heading over to the barbershop for an ear lowering and finally at the propane gas station for a tank fill up for the upcoming cold weather. On the way back we took a different route other than the parkway and stopped at the Mountain Surf restaurant for lunch. I had the bean and bacon bowl of soup with a grilled cheese sandwich while Nancy had stew beef and gravy with real smashed taters and pinto beans, yeow was that ever a tasty lunch and we licked the plates clean it was that good.

We took our daily hike after stowing the groceries to the top of the mountain and it had warmed up considerably since early morning despite the rain shower. We stopped off and visited with the Browning's for a spell before heading back. It was going on 5'ish so I grilled a hamburger from our Delicious Ribbon Gift(Amway) and it was fantastic. The meat from the Mid-Western Company is awesome and we have yet to get a bad cut or burger. We sliced up a sweet vidalia onion along with one of sister Dee's tomato(I've still a couple down in the cool basement) some dill pickles and mustard and had a feast on a croissant roll, Yeow was that ever tasty.

I caught up on the news while waiting to pick up neighbor Gerald and we headed to the Roaring Gap outside court for some hour and half of pickle ball with 4 other guys who are

all from Cornerstone. We headed out a mite early around 8 PM as we relinquished the court so those 4 younger men could wear themselves out. We play where the winners split and stay on the court and 2 new players come in and Gerald and I was on the court quite a bit during the evening play. We both had wet shirts from the activity. It's great the enthusiasm is catching on with a lot more players and we had one player who hasn't played in a couple weeks due to work. So the interest is there and now that we have the use of the church for play during inclement weather the play should continue through the winter months, LATER   Nancy took her camera with us on our hike to the top of the mountain and the views were awesome after the rain as the clouds and mist were a part of the scenery. If you look closely she captured a flock of birds by accident as they took flight in one of the last photos.

Thursday

Well Wednesday was overcast and cloudy with just a peep of the sun from time to time, actually every time we saw our shadow we made a comment. It was rather chilly most of the day so much so I had to put a sweater on while working outside until I started a fire on one of the stumps. I was hoping I could burn it out and while doing so I cleaned up several loads of limbs and debris from the back woods.

The morning started with us snuggling under the covers until 7:30 or so as the outside temps were down close to the 40's. The cabin was snug as well since I installed the sheets between the upstairs which keeps the warm air down below. We did our usual morning routine with our hot drinks, quiet times then I ate a couple of the leftover buckwheat cakes with honey and butter before heading outside after posting this ramble.

The rabbits have now decided they like the taste of my sweet tater' vines but have left everything else alone. There are lots of new leaves starting on the Swiss chard and beets and if they are left alone by the animals we should get at lease another mess of them. I picked another mess of 1/2 runner beans of which I'm still seeing some blooms. I'm disappointed in the collards as two of the plants aren't going to make it for some reason. The leaves are just curling up and dying while the other to plants are thriving and they are within a foot of each other, oh well. The new lettuce and spinach seedlings are doing well and seem to really love these cooler temps.

We headed out for a daily hike to the top of the mountain and once more spoke to Nancy and Mike who are staining the outside walls of their cabin and then we stopped and visited for 1/2 hour with John and Shirley before heading on across the top. Norm had already got his mail which was a good sign he was up an about and we passed by the Browning's who were gone. We walked up through the Cahoon place and then up to the Leslie's and wow what an addition they added onto their place. It looks as large as the original house. We headed on back down to a lunch of salad loaded with fresh herbs and some nasturtium blooms for me.

After lunch I had some burnt oil(used oil from oil changes) and poured the holes in the oldest stump full of the black stuff then set a fire on top of the stump. Nancy came out and helped me keep the fire going for 3-4 hours while I gathered sticks, pine cones and all kinds of debris from the backwoods and loaded it on my golf cart. I hauled several large loads and we had quite a fire on the stump. It will be interesting to see if that made any difference after I dig out the ashes once the coals have died out. They were still alive as darkness fell. I had placed large rocks around the stump to contain any sparks that might go astray but the ground still had lots of moisture from all the past rains.

I grilled a couple Kobe beef steaks and Nancy sauteed green peppers and onions and we made fajitas to go with blackeyed peas and rice, yeow was that ever good eatin'. After the cleanup I ventured out briefly to check on the stump as it was starting to get dark and the temperature was falling with heavy dew in the air. We tuned into the Ray's vs the Rangers game and what a barn burner that was. We flipped in between innings to our favorite show Duck Dynasty and what a hoot that was. I stayed up until the 11th inning when the Rangers were about to go ahead on some sloppy play from the Ray's so I cut the TV off and went to bed around 11:30. Well I checked this morning and the Rays won the game in the 12th inning, Oh well I should have stayed up!!!

We are off to Galax this morning for some shopping and a hair cut as we need a few things for our get together on Friday night with our old gang for Sequence. That should be a raucous time and then again on Saturday for cookout at the Dalton Ranch and Sequence once again for another raucous time. There is never a dull moment here in the mountains as tonight I'm scheduled for pickle ball with several fellows, LATER 

Wednesday

Well Tuesday was one of those days where I got very little accomplished mainly due to a runny nose and it being chilly outside. I felt like I was trying to catch a cold so my energy level was low and my enthusiasm was even less.

Nancy made buckwheat cakes with a banana in the batter and with a couple cackleberries on top made for some good eatin' to start the day. I had slept in until 7:30 and Nancy until going on 9. It was close to 10 before we ever ate breakfast. Oh the joys of being retired. After eating I headed out to check on the gardens. It was overcast and dreary looking and the breeze was chilly despite it being in the low 50's. The deer fence is working or maybe its because there isn't much that looks tasty to the 4 legged critters.

The 1/2 runner green beans are still holding and it looks as if I may get another pickin' soon. The Swiss chard is trying a comeback despite being eaten off at nearly ground level and the beets as well are adding new leaves. It will take a few days but I do believe they may make a come back. I've been helping them with a miracle grow feeding a couple times a week since they were last eatin' off by the deer. The collards have grown but one of the plants acts as if it might die and I can find no reason for that to happen. The new lettuce seedling are growing as they like cooler weather. My 6 corn stalks are actually tasseling at the height of about 3 feet and I'm finding silk on what appears to be the start of an ear. I'm letting them grow just for the fun of it as they are still green. My nasturtiums are blooming and growing like crazy and I love the taste of the leaves and blooms in my salad. They have almost a radish flavor and really add color to the bowl.

We took off on our daily hike and first saw Mike and Nancy at their cabin as they were taping the logs to be stained and then we visited with John and Shirley as they were up for a day or so. We headed on across the top and took Norm's mail up for him and then head towards the Browning's. They were gone on a trip to W.Va. to see a sick relative. We headed on down the mountain to have a lite lunch around 1 PM.

We had thawed out 2 plastic freezer bags with 5 cups each of wine berry juice so we could make a couple batches of wine berry jelly. We ended up with 17 jelly jars and each one sealed so we will be bringing some back to Florida with us in a week or so. Speaking of heading back to Florida one week from today our plans are to be on the road by 5 in the morning to beat the rush hour traffic in Charlotte. We will spent about 2 weeks there celebrating birthdays and I will get my winter garden ready for planting.

I sat around watching NFL replays for most of the afternoon on the tube until it was time to grille a couple bone-in pork chops, yeow was that ever tasty to go along with some fresh 1/2 runners from the garden and a sweet tater. After the clean up I vegetated to the couch with Fox News until the Ray's game came on and that turned out to be a bust as they were losing big time when I hit shower at 9. I slept like a baby until 7:30 this AM and my sinus seem to be better as well, LATER 

Tuesday

Monday was another fall day with temps staying in the upper 60's  to low 70's for most of the day. Whenever the clouds covered the sun it was chilly with the breeze. It did cloud up and sprinkle a little from time  to time but not enough to settle the dust. We just worked around the cabin. Nancy hung 2 loads of laundry and I worked in the garden and yards.

We slept in until after 7 as I have developed a runny nose and an occasional cough. I blame it on the sudden change in temps and the Goldenrod that is blooming everywhere. After our quiet times and hot drinks we settled for oatmeal with fruit for breakfast. I loaded up with my anti-oxidant's and supplements before heading out to check on the gardens for deer damage. We saw lots of signs in the backwoods and even saw 2 last evening but so far the deer fence has worked.

I loaded up the trash cans on the golf cart and headed to the backwoods where I gathered several loads of dried leaves and spread them out down near the garden where I could mulch them with the riding mower. I turned 6 large loads of leaves into 1 large can and then spread that on the garden. Eventually I will use Norm's rotor tiller and turn them under to add humus to the soil. The earthworms will compost the humus and that will in turn help keep the soil from being compacted and add nutrients as well for next years garden plants. I figured if leaves can grow huge trees in the forests they surely could help growing plants.

I worked on that project until it was time to head out for our daily hike to the top of the mountain. We stopped and took Norms mail up to him(our good deed for the day)and left it on the porch then headed on down to the Browning's where we saw their son was visiting from Ohio. We small talked until we started on food and my tummy was growling; so we headed back to the cabin. It was going on 1 and I was ready for the last of the vegetable soup and a couple pieces of fried chicken Nancy purchased  a couple days ago.

I headed back out to the garden and spread a couple more trash cans of leaves on the lower garden and then decided to spread some dirt on the rough places in the back woods yards. I dug 2 loads of golf cart dirt and spread it as well as sowed some grass seed and then covered that with some old hay to help hold the seeds in case it should gully wash with rain. That took me up to about 4:30 and then we headed out to the mailbox on the golf cart.

The tummy was growling for sustenance so Nancy fried up 2 nice egg plants that someone blessed us with from church and we covered them with thyme, basil and hot pepper(cayenne from the garden) for me. That is an awesome dish and we made that our main meal except for a fresh salad. The key is to peel them and slice it thin and coat them with egg and cracker meal or crushed corn flakes and quickly fry in olive oil and then garnish with whatever; very tasty. These where the purple ones that were just perfect in size. After the clean up I headed out and hand watered until dark. We noticed 2 large deer in the backwoods yard by the large rhododendron.

It was nearly pitch black by 8 so I tuned into the Ray's game which surprisingly was televised and the Rays won big over the Rangers. There is just a flicker of hope for them to be in the post season playoffs. After the game a hot shower and then it was to read a few minutes before lights out for me, LATER       

Monday

Well we had a great weekend full of activities that started with helping out at Cornerstone with a banquet on Saturday and then church on Sunday and with eating out at the Pines and then last evening some pickle ball with 5 other fellows at Roaring Gap until 8 PM. The weather was perfect with cool mornings and warm bright sunshine and no rain in the afternoon and evening.

We started Sunday out with a sleep in until 7. After our cups of hot drinks and our quiet times we had oatmeal with fruit before heading out to worship with a great group of folks at Cornerstone. Our praise band was on vacation so our Blue Grass Gospel quartet Priority Blue lead worship with several songs before Pastor B delivered a great message from the book of James. Afterwards we hooked up with the Andy, Mechelle, Katelyn and her beau Curtis at the Pines restaurant for our big meal and only one for the day. The food was tasty and plentiful and afterwards we made a stop for some salad fixin's before heading back to the cabin.

Nancy sat on the deck in the warm sunshine in a sweat shirt as the air still had a chill to it while I vegetated in front of the NFL football games. Both of my teams lost but my hero Peyton Manning with the Broncos put on a show against his younger brother Eli with their win over the Giants. I had set up a pickle ball match for 6:30 outside at Roaring Gap with several guys and we had a newbie show for the first time. Gerald and I were there first and tried to wear ourselves out before the rest of the gang arrived so we left early after about an hour and half. I had picked up a little sniffle due to the change in the weather or because the Goldenrod is blooming everywhere. I could feel the dew falling despite being under the lights so thought it best not to linger in the cool night air.

After a hot shower and a bowl of old fashion popcorn we tuned into Mountain Man  and then afterwards it was lights out for me while Nancy was in the shower. The summer is gone from the mountains this year as its now dark just before 8 PM and the night air has a chill to it as well. The grass has practically stopped growing and the leaves are showing some color and many have fallen off the trees. I do believe we are in for an early winter. We spoke with Amy and its boiling hot in Seminole with thunderstorms and awful humidity. Wish we could send some of these chilly mornings down that way, LATER

Sunday

Brrr, it was cold to us flatlanders this AM as we awakened to clear skies and bright sunshine. We had the low in the high 30's and it may have reached the high 60's by late afternoon. The sun was quite hot out of the cool breeze but it made for an exceptional Indian summer day. We spent the afternoon at Cornerstone inside helping with the set up and meal prep for the local Pregnancy Center banquet and fund raiser for both our youth and the center.

After our quiet time and a lite breakfast of cereal with fruit I headed our to check on the gardens for deer damage. I have noticed the Japanese beetles seem to have gone as I only saw one yesterday and I sent him to forever gone. My unsightly deer fence seems to be working or they have decided what little was left isn't worth the effort. I walked up in the woods behind the yard and the deer scat(dropping) is everywhere and most of it is from the big buck we see around from time to time. It was so nice to be outside without those infernal gnats and deer flies buzzing your head. For some reason this year the gnats have been especially bad.

We took off on our daily hike to the top of the mountain and what a beautiful walk in the woods. The views from the top were magnificent with great distant views. We saw no one but did see the evidence where an outside campfire was smoking at one of the weekend residents. We headed back down the mountain to an early lunch of leftover vegetable beef soup and crackers, Yeow it was more flavorable than yesterday when first made and it hit the spot on this fall like day.

We got ready and headed out a little before 1 PM as we wanted to visit the library in Sparta on our way to Cornerstone. There was plenty of help at the church and after a few little jobs of peeling 5 dozen hard boiled eggs for deviled eggs we took a break and sat outside in the sun reading for an hour or so before the real hard work began. We served about a total of 75 folks then washed all the dishes by hand; glass plates, silverware, pots and pans then we cleared the tables and once more set up the worship area with the removable chairs. We were finished by 8:30 PM then bid all a good night and head back to the cabin. We had shut all of the windows and I hung the sheet in between the upstairs to keep the heat downstairs and it was toasty when we got back. The temps were already dropping into the low 50's outside.

I tuned into a good college game between Ole' Miss and Auburn  and it was a close game right to the end with the Eagles winning in the last minute. The Ray's were winning in Minnesota but rain had stopped the game as I got ready for some horizontal lab. It was toasty under the quilt and I did not want to get out of the sack this AM at 7:30; but it's church day so we are up and raring to go for another day, LATER

Saturday

Well Friday was an awesome day to be outside working with the cool breeze, bright sunshine an occasional clouds. The cool temps kept the gnats away so I didn't have to wear my peasant straw hat which made for less sweating about the head. Usually I'm soaked due to having to wear that hat but the bugs have been horrible this summer for some reason, anyhow it was a great day for hard work and I really got into working on getting 3 stumps down to ground level.

After our quiet times and a breakfast of sausage, eggs and grits I headed out to check on the gardens for deer damage. I didn't find any new evidence so the deer fence must have worked at least for one night. The white grocery bags fluttering in the air seems to have really helped but makes for an eye sore. I headed down to the shed and loaded up the golf cart with the chainsaw, sledge hammer and wedges, ax and grubbing hoe. I wanted to reduce the oak stumps from the trees I recently felled and sawed up, down to ground level and then drill holes into them to help speed up the rotting process so I can eventually dig the stump out and plant grass seed. I spent several hours working on the stumps which caused me to use some muscles I hadn't used in quite awhile; like swinging a 10 pound sledge hammer and driving wedges into the wood. I often wondered how those old timers made it through the day driving spikes into the railroad ties as they laid the steel rails for the railroad.

I stopped after the first stump removal and we headed out for our daily hike to the top of the mountain. The air was crisp and so fall like it made for vigorous walking and there were some leaves starting to accumulate on the back trails as well. The signs point to an early fall and leaf color change this year. We stopped and took Norm's mail up to him for our good deed of the day. The mountain was quiet with no other activity as we headed down except for some white flags of the deer tails we saw heading off into the woods. These deer looked very healthy and were quite large; they should make for some great eatin' this winter if my huntin' buddies can bag me a couple before we head back to Florida for the winter.

After a lunch of leftovers I headed back out to tackle another stump and then to clean up the mess of wood, rocks and saw dust that I created during this process. I must admit that the area looked a lot better after such back breaking on your knees work. I finished around 4 o'clock then sat on the deck to read until it was suppertime. Nancy had a pot of vegetable soup cooking and the smells were evident along with a cake she was baking for the fund raiser at church on Saturday. That soup was awesome and hit the spot with the cool temps we were having. It was down to 44 degrees this AM when I checked the outside gauge on the back porch at 7:30.

 After supper I burned trash and then Nancy decided we needed a campfire so I built up a nice one with lots of the debris that falls constantly in the yards from the trees. Despite the nice rain we had on Friday night the dry cool temps had the wood ready to burn and it made for a nice campfire. We stayed out by the warm fire until nearly dark before heading in as the temp's were falling rapidly, LATER

  

Friday

Well Thursday was a day where I should have lost a few ounces from around the spare tire as I ate sparingly while working and playing hard. The morning started with the usual routine after a 7'ish wake up. The skies were somewhat cloudy but it managed to stay rather nice throughout the day except for some thunder off in the distance. We did get a shower or two somewhere around sunset and then again later in the evening we got a nice soft rain, wow I never thought I wanted to see rain again for quite awhile but it was a welcome relief.

After our quiet times and a bowl of oatmeal with fruit I headed out to check on the deer damage and they(deer) used the gardens as a smorgasbord once again; the beets were eaten off at ground level and even a few were pulled out of the ground, the Swiss chard was another casualty with it being eaten off at ground level as well, the lettuce was eaten off and so was the sweet potato vines. I spent the morning constructing a deer fence complete with plastic grocery bags hanging from the line and then used some chicken wire across the beets. Hopefully they will continue to grow and sprout new leaves as we mainly like the greens for salads more than the beets themselves.

Gerald came up with his Kawasaki Mule and we loaded it several times with the sawed oak wood. After lunch we got together and with his log splitter we split and stacked both trees on his back porch. We probably got close to a couple cords of wood to season for the winter. That kept me busy until 3'ish when I decided to read and rest on the back porch until it was time to head over to Cornerstone for some pickle ball at 6:30.

Nancy had me fry up some bacon outside on the grille for a lunch of BLTs in a tortilla wrap after our daily hike to the top of the mountain and that held me the rest of the day except for a handful of mixed nuts before heading out to play at 6. It seems our other players were unable to make it at the last minute so Gerald and I played several games of singles then just hit for about an hour and a half. We were both whipped so we called it a night around 8 PM then headed out. The concrete floor makes for a different bounce than the outside non-skid court and we are starting to get use to the surface with some nice rallies. This venue will be nice for those who pursue this sport this winter here in the mountains. The only draw back is removing and then replacing the chairs weekly.


 Nancy had gone off around 4 PM to watch our young senior friend Kallie play tennis at the high school so I rode with neighbor Gerald. She was already home when we got back around 8:30 and had watched Kallie lose in a close match. We tuned into the Ray's game and they won but I have a feeling it's too late with just a few games left in the regular season to make a difference, LATER

Thursday

Well Wednesday morning was disheartening when I looked out the back windows and noticed right a way the deer had destroyed part of the garden and the damage looked even worse this morning. The beets were eaten off at ground level and the Swiss chard must be a favorite because its all gone to ground level as well. Oh how I'm going to enjoy deer this winter on the grille.

The weather was perfect for working outside and that's just what I did after my quiet time and then a bowl of Cherrios with fruit for breakfast. I fired up the chainsaw and had one tall oak about 60 feet in height down and was trimming it up when neighbor Gerald arrived with his chainsaw. We worked that tree up in no time and then he helped me throw down another tall oak about the same in height and a little bigger around. While I trimmed that oak he began hauling sawed wood down to his place for firewood to burn for heat this winter. With both of us sawing on the tree it was sawed up in no time and we decided since it was lunch time to haul the rest of the sawed stove length wood on Thursday as we both were soaked with sweat and that we were retired(no since killing ourselves).

Nancy made a chicken salad for lunch and since I was so sweaty and dirty I ate outside on the picnic table then I finished raking and piling the brush from the sawed tress. I worked on that for another hour or so then changed out of the wet clothes for an hour or so rest on the back porch reading. We then took off for our daily hike to the top of the mountain. There was some mist and haze in the valleys and the view was limited to about 40 miles or so. We stopped and visited briefly with the Browning's before heading on back down the mountain.

I picked more sugar peas and Nancy made a beautiful salad to go along with the stir fried peas, fresh mushrooms, and onions over a bed of Jasmine rice with a grilled Salmon steak for supper. We invited Gerald to eat with us and afterwards we got in a game of 3 handed hearts and then a game of Oh Well for 17 rounds. I won the hearts and Gerald, Oh Well. The gals didn't fare well tonight. After Gerald left we did the dishes then settled into Duck Dynasty until it was time for showers and eventually a little reading before lights out at 11 for me, LATER Nancy took a few pictures of us working on the oak trees.

Wednesday

Well Tuesday was another model day with bright blue skies and lots of sunshine and moderate temps. It was in the low 60's to start the day and may have reached the 75 degree mark by late afternoon. I hand watered once again the gardens and wow are they ever coming on; however I should have said were because during the night deer got into the lower and herb gardens destroying the Swiss chard and beets. I haven't been down to check on the rest of the veggies but from what I can see from the deck they had quite a night eating and tramping the gardens, oh well!! I sure love the taste of them on the grille and chicken fried deer steak is awesome with gravy over rice, yeow!! I will get my veggies back but processed!!!

We headed to Galax, Va. after our quite times and a lite breakfast. I dropped Nancy off at Wal-Mart while I headed to Lowes. We saw and chatted with our old friend Kimberly as she still works 2 days a week at the super center. She is a real hoot and I love to tease her. I gassed up with the same price as last week so that's a good thing as we will be heading back to Florida for about 10 days come the end of the month to celebrate several birthdays. We saw our old friends Walt and Theia there as well and chatted with them for a spell. Both are having health issues that come with growing older. It was good to see them and hug their necks. We haven't been out to their place for a visit at all this summer.

I bought a replacement bar and chain for the chainsaw and wow what a difference that makes. I worked up the down oak in nothing flat and Nancy helped me load the golf cart several times and then we stacked it up for neighbor Gerald who will be spending the winter here. We then took off on our daily hike to the top of the mountain and saw no one but Zeke who came out to greet us. We headed on down to sit on the porch and read until it was time to eat an early supper for me as I was playing pickle ball at 6:30.

I headed out to church where we now are trying to get this ministry in motion but only had 3 players for the evening' Craig, Gerald and myself. We got in nearly 1 1/2  hours of play as 3 of the fellows had to work late and never made it. It was still a great time with lots of wet shirts and we are getting use to playing inside on the concrete floor. We headed home after wearing each other out with singles play and 2 on 1 play. We are hoping for a better turnout on Thursday night

.

Well the Rays lost again to the league leading Red Sox at home and it's not looking good for this Cinderella team this season. It will take a miracle and a lot of help from other teams to beat the Sox's for the pennant, Oh Well!!! LATER  Gerald's chickens came for a visit while we were at pickle ball and Nancy captured them on film. She loves to watch them and does a great chicken imitation as well.

Tuesday

Monday was another great day for working outside as once again the rain passed us by. I know I'm hard to satisfy but now I'm wanting a little side show of the rain. I drug out the garden hose for the first time this summer and sprayed all of the gardens. Wow I usually have to do this several times during the course of the summer months but with all of the rain when we first got here, today was the first time.

The morning started around 7 'ish after a long evening in front of the tube watching some close football games. We did our respective quiet times with our cups of hot drinks and then oatmeal with fruit for breakfast. I've noticed the spare tire is inflated once again due to all of the good eatin' and I've been especially bad with the bread and desserts. Now is the time to cut down on both as the abs have become soft and fluffy, oh well.

I headed down to check on the neighbors chickens and gather the eggs and found 3 in the nests. I let them out later in the day and they walks around scratching and pecking until nearly dark when they go back into their house and onto the roost. Next year we are having chickens as they are fun to watch plus they are great bug eaters. After a check of the gardens I fired up the chain saw and took down one of the crookest oak trees ever in my backwoods yard. Well that thing got hung up in another tree as it fell and it took me a couple hours of trying to get it on the ground. I tried pulling it down with a rope by hand, then the golf cart and the riding mower and all to no avail. I then hooked a chain to a tree nearby and with a powerful come-a-long managed to slide it off the stump and it crashed to the ground.

We took a break from the tree until after our daily hike to the top of the mountain. We stopped and chatted with Mike and Nancy then headed across the top where we visited briefly with Joe, Jetta and Zeke. We headed on down the mountain as I could feel lunchtime coming on. I had worked up a good sweat so I was needing some calories. After a lunch of fresh garden salad a lot of which came from my garden and the last of the Rosemary bread(thankfully). That is the best bread ever but oh so fattening.

I headed out and began trimming and sawing up the oak. Nancy came out to help me clean up the branches and leaves and pile the brush down into the gully below the yard where I will burn it on the next wet day and then we hauled most of the sawed up wood up to our wood pile for future camp fires. We were finished up in a couple hours and then rested on the deck reading until suppertime. I did managed to pick a mess of 1/2 runner beans. They were small but very plentiful because when I replanted them after the third time I did sow them too close together, oh well.

We ate leftover sauerkraut, smashed taters and pork for supper, yeow I actually think the flavor was better than the day Nancy fixed it. Well after supper I headed down to pen the chickens up as they were on the roost then made a few trips around the gardens checking for beetles. They have finally started to ease up with their multitudes and now I'm only finding a few of the voracious eaters still on the bean and basil plants. After dispatching them with a thumbnail to their heads I watered the porch plants and moved my seedlings up under the porch. I think a rascally rabbit nibbled the lettuce seedlings off the night before, oh well.

Well it was getting dark so I ventured in to watch Nadal finish off Jokovich in the championship tennis match in 4 sets and he picked up a cool 3.6 million bucks for 2 weeks work. What is wrong with that picture to make that kind of money for playing a game plus all of the notoriety for being on T.V. Well I flipped to the MNF game and the Redskins looked nearly as bad as the Bucs. These guys are way over paid for playing a game in my opinion and then to perform in a less than stellar manner, oh well!!! I hit the showers at half time and could no longer watch as the game had a criminal at quarterback in Michael Vick. Oh well!!! LATER

Monday

Well Sunday started off with once again nice temps in the 50's and reached the middle 70's. There were a few rain clouds around but none fell in our area. I was hoping for a brief shower for the garden. We slept in until 7 before doing our usual morning routine before heading off to Cornerstone for worship. We each had hot oatmeal with fruit and I added a little honey and cinnamon to mine. Nancy had made Cole slaw and brownies to take with us for a luncheon at the Adams house after church where several gathered to kick off the NFL season with a cook out.

We had an awesome service at Cornerstone with a large crowd and afterwards we mingled before heading over to Don and Stacy's. Don had set up 2 different T.V.'s as well as his lap top so we could view 3 different games at once; much like a sports bar. Well needless to say all of the teams we were pulling for lost in the final minutes and some in the final seconds such as the Bucs. The Browns who is a hometown favorite of Stacy's, the Panthers which is a local favorite of all here in the mountains, the Falcon's which is Don's hometown team and of course the Bucs which I kind of pull for and at times are a rival to the Falcon's and Panthers. We have great fun and the eats were superb as well.

We got to meet a new family who also attended the cookout. Rick and Nickola Williams who live out near Camp Cherrio and not far from our place were there with their daughter and son along with Mechelle and Caleb, Clara and Clarence Crouse attended also and of course Jack the son of Don and Stacy. A fun time was had by all despite all of our teams we pulled for losing. This has been an annual get together for the past couple of years as Don has the NFL ticket which gets you every NFL game every Sunday.

Nancy and I took the scenic route through the mountains on the way home and at times we had no idea where we would come out. We saw some old house foundations on top of some steep hills and we wondered how anyone could have farmed and lived off of such steep land so many years ago. We did see an abundance of wildlife so the hunting must have been good and provided plenty of meat. The views were indescribably gorgeous. The road took us down near the New River and then upwards to mountain top heights.

We made a grocery stop in Sparta for some frozen pizzas and some goodies we will need this upcoming week before heading home for a late evening pizzas loaded with fresh mushrooms, green pepper and onions. I tuned into another game which was a barn burner between the 49'ners and the Packers and then into the late game between the Giants and the Cowboys; what a day of football and to think there is another game tonight. I managed to keep the eyelids open until the 4th quarter then hit the sack around 11'ish as I was plumb wore out after making all of those plays vicariously, LATER 

Sunday

Saturday turned out to be once again another beautiful day with no rain (which we could use a little), blue skies and bright sunshine. The temps stayed down in the low 70's with a cool start in the low 50's. Just picture perfect weather for being outside but we started the afternoon in the building at Cornerstone around 1 PM to start the pickle ball ministry. Four of us players met there and moved the chairs, outlined the court with painters tape, set up the new portable net and played for 2 plus hours then reset the chairs for the service this Sunday morning gathering. We had a few visitors come by but it was just the 4 of us; me, neighbor Gerald, Craig and Rick. Two of our other regulars; Steve and Ted were tied up for the day and weren't able to be there. There were a couple who said they would attend but were no shows. I think the facility will accommodate at least 2 more courts and be a good venue for an invitational tournament for the area in the future and Pastor B who came by and watched seemed very interested in the prospects of that occurring. He was delighted the building was getting some use other than Sunday morning and for concerts.

The morning started much the usual after an early wake up by me as I planned the layout of the court in my sleep. We started the morning with a large breakfast after forgoing supper on Friday night. We fried up a couple sausage patties along with eggs on biscuits and a tomato for me. Yeow good eatin' and that held me to supper except for a few sunflower seeds when I got back from pickle ball around 4'ish. We did get our daily morning hike in around 11'ish to the top of the mountain. We stopped and visited with the Browning's for a few minutes before heading on back to the cabin. I picked up Gerald a little after twelve as I wanted to stop by the library while we were in town for a book Nancy had ordered before heading out to set up the pickle ball court at Cornerstone.

After leaving Cornerstone with a wet shirt I lounged around for an hour watching a little U.S.Open tennis and college football before we got ready to head back to town for an evening at Kay and Gerald Luffman's house. Nancy made a baked bean casserole to take with us to go along with corn on the cob from their garden, pork barbecue and slaw as well as a Toffee pie made by Mechelle and then we settled into a few games of Sequence.

 Well the boys spanked the gals ready big time the first 2 straight games which is usually the overall winner in the best 2 out of 3 games, but some how the rules were changed when the gals came back and won the next 3 games in a row after we declared ourselves the winners of the night, and lost our edge. Oh well it was a fun night and we( Gerald, Caleb and myself) played honorably despite the accusations by the gals in the first 2 games as we tore them up. It was a fun night with good eatin', great raucous fellowship and never a dull moment as it was after 9 before headed back to the cabin. Today is the gathering at Cornerstone for corporate worship with some really nice sweet people of the mountains, LATER

Saturday

Yikes, Friday was such an awesome day with the likes of a fall day or Indian summer. The low was in the 50's with the high in the low 70's. We headed down off the mountain last evening which is usually 10 degrees warmer and we actually were chilled at the horse sale in Mt. Airy.

 The morning started much the usual around a 7 AM wake up which is a little after day break. We are nestled down in the woods so we never saw the sun until much later in the morning. I wore a flannel shirt with long pants until mid morning. We haven't had any rain now in over a week which has been nice but the heavy morning dew keeps the grass wet until after lunchtime. I'm hand watering some of the gardens daily and of course my new lettuce and spinach seedlings.

We headed out around 11 for our daily hike to the top of the mountain. Once again the view was awesome with just a little more haze down off the top but we could still make out the buildings in downtown Winston-Salem. We stopped and visited with Sara the retired USAF Lt/Col nurse who is up from Charlotte for a few days. She says she hasn't felt this good in years since she had an afib operation on her heart about a month ago. We headed on across the top and spoke briefly with Norm and then ran into a older gent on a 4 -wheeler who lives out on Foggy Mountain Road a Mr. Fulks. Don't you just love the names of these roads. He remembered that I was a retired trooper and he said he once helped Ray Todd on the construction of our cabin.

We headed on down the mountain after leaving a package of ginger snaps on the Browning's front door as they were out serving the community with meals on wheels. We had a large lunch as we knew we would eat lite for supper and eventually we skipped supper all together as we headed down off the mountain. I finished up the leftover bass fillets on a wrap with onion, cucumber, tomato, hot pepper and basil(like a fish tacos except I used a flour tortilla) and Nancy had a ham wrap with all the fixins' as well. We had a little snack of some chocolate covered almonds from the Mast General Store just before we pulled out around 5 for the trip to Mt. Airy.

We made a goodies stop in Galax for some paper goods for the Ebenezer Children's Home where our youth group is going on Sunday after our regular service at Cornerstone. We headed on down the mountain which is about 40+ miles or so from the cabin. They were selling some beautiful horses as well as a few neglected ones. If we were here year round we would have purchased this one beautiful Paint mare or another black Quarter horse Nancy fell in love with that supposedly came from Oklahoma. Oh well!!!

It was going on 10 PM when we headed out for the drive up the dark mountain winding road. Lots of deer and other night time critters were evident along the roadside as we travelled home. The stars were so thick it looked like the Northern lights as we viewed the skies after getting back. Well Saturday is a new adventure for me and pickle ball as I introduce the game to our multi-function church facility. The open worship center is already lined for basketball and now we will see if it's functional for pickle ball as well. I will meet up with a few of our regular players and we will measure out the court and use a chalk line as well as tape to set up the court dimensions initially. Hopefully we will be able to lay permanent paint lines for future inside play, especially during the cold winter months.

We have been invited out to supper and games this evening(Saturday) as well as a football kick off lunch after church tomorrow for another get together with a couple NFL games going on at the same time. There should be some fine eatin' and the boys have to back up their last two wins in a row over the girls. We now have a reputation to uphold as Sequence winners for this year; but there goes the spare tire again, LATER

Friday

The weather has been just perfect; bright sunshine, blue skies, no humidity and a gentle breeze after a cool start of temps in the low 50's and a high somewhere around 75, yeow this is gorgeous weather and while we had so much rain earlier we could almost use a nice shower as I'm now hand watering what's left of the gardens.

I started the day around 7 AM with the posting of this ramble, a few quiet moments and then a breakfast of Cheerios and fruit before heading down to neighbor Gerald's place. Another neighbor George and myself were assisting Gerald with installing the tin roof for his carport he built last week. The job was relatively easy as George and I handed up the material to be fastened down with screws. That was a tough job for Gerald who was riding the ridge cap and the steep decline on the far side of the roof made for using lots of precaution. That took us a couple hours and afterwards I headed out with the weed whacker.

We took off on our daily hike to the top of the mountain and the views were excellent today with the building in downtown Winston-Salem visible at 70 miles away. We visited with Joe, Jetta and Zeke for a few before heading on down the trails for a lunch of leftover spaghetti. After eating I headed out to finish the weed whacking before firing up the riding lawn mower. I did all of the yards and it was nearly 4 PM before I finished. Nancy had invited our "mountain mom" Helen and her brother Joe for a supper of; roasted pork and sauerkraut along with smashed taters, hot dogs, Kielbasa, oven rolls and ginger snap cookies for dessert. I could smell that cooking as the aroma drifted outside all afternoon.

After a sumptuous supper and clean up we headed out after they left for home to the mailbox and saw 6 deer along the roadway. We headed back to piddle around in the yard until nearly dark. I hand watered the gardens by carrying the water down the hill as my rain barrel was now empty. We actually could use a shower as the sun and wind has finally dried things out.

I tuned into the football game and the Broncos whipped the Super Bowl Champs as I headed for the sack in the 3rd quarter. Today we are heading down off the mountain for the horse sale in Mt. Airy this evening after a stop in Galax for a few goodies, LATER..Here are Nancy's ginger snaps which are awesome.

Thursday

Wednesday was one of those quiet days as our guests left the day before. The morning started out with a sleep in until 7:30 after getting to bed before midnight for a change. We did our usual routine with our hot drinks and then our respective quiet times before a lite breakfast of oatmeal, fruit and honey. The sunlight was in the tree tops but the temps had dropped down into the low 50's overnight so we were chilled as I quickly closed the cabin windows which were open during the night.

Nancy put sheets and blankets in the laundry and I ventured out to check on the gardens and yard for deer damage. It seems they only had a midnight snack a couple times at the hydrangeas. I headed down to the lower garden with the mattock to loosen up the soil around those plants. The ground is still holding a little moisture but as it dries out it become hard as concrete. That kept me busy until it was time to head out to the top of the mountain for our daily hike. We saw Norm briefly and took him his mail and headed across the top to the Browning's and left them a couple of Dee's tomatoes hanging on the door knob. They were gone so we headed on back down the mountain to a salad for lunch.

Afterwards I worked the packed soil in the herb gardens and the upper patch. It seems since I cut off the dying leaves on the cucumber plant it looking a whole better and I've noticed new blooms and even a few nubbins coming on. The cayenne peppers are really starting to form and I'm hoping to get enough to dry and take back to Florida this winter. I picked a nice mess of sugar peas which are delicious in a stir fry and in salads.

The air was perfect for working outside in the shaded part of the woods below the gardens as I cleaned up fallen branches and made a nice brush pile for burning on a damp day. I headed up into the back woods looking for lighter knots which is petrified pine. Joe Browning calls it hot wood and its used for starting fires much like kindling is used, but all you need is a match as the wood burns quickly. I found several areas with old pine trees that were cut many years ago and the lighter knot was present under the leaves and debris. I piled up several areas for later use and then Nancy joined me in the woods as well and we walked throughout our 7 acres in the woods looking for the stuff. We also found lots of deer signs and even where they bed down at night. We had a fun time tramping around in the woods and exploring the different deer paths.

We sat on the porch cooling off from our adventure in the woods and read until it was time to start supper. My fishin' buddy Caleb had blessed us with a pack of frozen bass fillets a couple weeks ago so we had it thawing most of the day. I cleaned and chopped up some Swiss chard Karin brought us a few days ago from her garden and got it ready to stir fry with garlic and olive oil. Nancy had a pot of rice pilaf cooking and I had the bass fillets frying outside on the grille; wow did we ever have us feast. We both love fried bass and the greens and rice just complimented each other.

After the clean up I headed out to water the garden by hand and then we took off on the golf cart to the mailbox. Afterwards we decided to ride to the top of the mountain to check on the Browning's and low and behold the sack with the 'maters were still hanging on their door knob so we brought them back with us in case they were going to be gone for an extended period. Jetta called later in the evening to say they took a day trip and were back so we will take them a couple 'maters tomorrow.

Well I received my portable pickle ball net from Taiwan delivered by UPS today and I'm trying to set up a time we can make our inside debut pickle ball ministry at our Cornerstone church facility. I think right now its set for 1 PM on Saturday with all but one of our regular players attending and I hope to pick up a few more players as this gets started. Several have voiced their interest in the game.

We watched the show about the 911 tragedy on Fox News channel last evening and what a tribute to those who were needlessly killed by Muslim terrorist and who are still reeking havoc in the world. Well it was shower time after a busy day and not long afterwards the sandman came calling. We had the extra quilt on the bed as the temps were falling once again and Thursday morning it's down in the 40's, Yeow winter weather for us Florida thin blooded folks, LATER