Monday Morning

Well Sunday started out with a sleep in for me until nearly 7 o'clock which was fine but not my usual 6 'ish. I like it. I suppose all of those activities on Saturday plumb wore me out; anyhow it was a day to get ready and head out to worship with our mountain friends and family at Cornerstone in Sparta. We had a nice crowd and the message and music were both inspiring. Afterwards we met up with several and headed out to the Patio Eatery for lunch where we saw several of Cornerstones family as well. It a real small place but the food is exceptionally good and plentiful. We made a quick stop at the grocery as we were invited out to Elk Creek for supper and then again tomorrow evening on Monday out to the Dalton Farm to eat. Yikes, there goes the spare tire, oh well!!

We came from town and Nancy settled into making an apple pie to take with us to Sam and Marcia for dessert after a spaghetti, salad and bread supper. We thought we would take a short cut through the mountain to their place but wound up missing some roads and it took nearly a half hour and 10 miles longer, oh well. That is another story in an of it's self as the road signs sort of shift with time. We had a great time at the Carlan's and played a hotly contested game of Euchre after supper with the guys coming from behind to win on the final hand. We inspected Sam's new F150 crew cab truck which will be used to pull their new camper trailer as they start to travel again. What a beauty with all the bells and whistles now on a standard package for trucks. They no longer will tent camp but have the luxury of taking their bed with them in style and comfort. Sounds exciting!!It was really dark out when we headed out for home just before 9'ish. It took us about half an hour less by going the familiar route which took us through Sparta, so much for short cuts especially when we miss roads in the day light hours.

We were disappointed to hear the finals results of the little league game as Pennsylvania jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first inning over Japan but wound up losing 18-11. We missed the blow out by the Japanese boys as we left for Va. after the first inning and saw the final score later in the evening. They had a tremendous crowd on hand to watch this game and give their support for the boys from the Keystone State. I think Japan has won the series several times in the last couple years and are well trained and disciplined young boys, Congrats to them and to the boys from Pennsylvania, LATER  

Sunday Morning..last Sunday in August 2015

Well I must say Saturday was one of the most interesting days we have experienced this summer. We visited a recent widow who is one of the sweetest "raised in the country" ladies I've ever known, met a new couple near our cabin just off the parkway who are charter boat owners and he is still a captain on a catamaran based in Florida, returned a teething ring for baby Miyah too her grandmothers horse farm and then went to the Mathews Farm and Museum in the Mt. Vale area near Galax,Va. and then we saw our dear friends Walt and Theia Hampton in Galax when we stopped at Lowes. Wow what a day of renewing friendships and making new friends and what's is the chance of meeting an old Air Force person who we were in Viet Nam at the same time back in the 60's and who probably helped to load my aircraft in Saigon. He was part of this Confederate reenactment at Mathews Farm and I also met a fellow who all of his family relations came from Winchester and many of them went to St.John's Church where I attended as a youth. Is this not a small world?

Well the morning started out much the usual except I rolled over and slept in until nearly 7 o'clock with isn't the norm for me. After the other usual routines of a few quiet moments and the posting of this ramble we had a mountain breakfast of soft boiled farm raised eggs in a bowl of grits and of course I diced up a jalapeno pepper and a small tomato with a splash of Crystal hot sauce for flavor, yeow was that ever a wake up for the gastric juices. We decided since we slept in to not try and make the 10 AM showing at the Mathews Farm but do some visiting before the 3 PM show. So I loaded up the propane tanks, the gas tanks and the garbage for dumping and we took off to meet at Kimberly's place to return the teething ring.

On the way we noticed someone outside the B&B which is just off the parkway at Hare Pond so I pulled in an introduced myself as being from Florida as we knew or heard they were from there as well. It turns out they are in south eastern Florida where they own a couple huge catamarans and rent cruises on them to the Bahamas. Scott invited us in to see the now no longer B&B and unique huge house built in the 1800's. Of course it's been renovated with now 4 bathrooms and 5 bedrooms with a parlor pool table and a separate room with a bar and lounge. The place is huge and they tried to keep as much of the original structure as possible. We chatted with Scott and his wife Cara for nearly an hour as they showed us around and we made plans to get together some time in October before we all go back to Florida for the winter. Sorry we didn't take any pictures but will next time as the house is awesome. Scott and I had a lot in common as he too served in the Army and was a local police officer before becoming medically retired after a severe leg injury while chasing a suspect on foot. We hit it right off as he showed me around the place.

We next stopped at Kimberly's for just a few minutes before stopping to see our dear friend who just recently lost her husband. She invites us every Sunday to stop by when we are out in her area of the county so we did. We sat on the porch an visited for nearly an hour as well. She showed us the house where she grew up as a young girl on the farm which is just across the road. She and Clayton came back to Alleghany County after marrying and started a dairy business where they milked 3 times a day for nearly 40 years until his health became to bad to carry on. They were both involved in the church and the community and we instantly took to them at Cornerstone. She gave us some ripe tomatoes which she doesn't eat but grew them for Clayton as well as a couple green ones which we fixed for supper when we got back to the cabin. We had fried rainbow trout that I caught from a local lake along with fried green tomatoes and they were excellent for supper.


After leaving Betty's we headed into the Galax area and stopped off at the Mathews Farm where a regiment from Kentucky was bivouaced reenacting the daily life of a Confederate soldier in 1861 in full regalia. The farm had old time music, sewing, blacksmith and even the type of photography from that era. It was as real as it got with the mismatch uniforms and weaponry. The women folk were in period dress as well as their kids and grand kids. The local women's auxiliary for the fire department had home cooked Brunswick stew, pinto beans, cornbread and slaw for sale so we ate lunch there as well. We mingled with the soldiers and I mentioned I was in Viet Nam and a couple of them came by and we chatted about the where we were and what we did and one fellow in particular was well aware of the C-141 aircraft that I was a loadmaster assigned on as he was with the air freight section in Saigon at Tan Son Nhut AFB. We had a nice chat and several others came by and then one in particular learned I was from the Winchester area of Va. and all of his people the Allamongs were originally from there as well. What a small world and Nancy just rolled her eyes as I usually find someone or something to have in common with folks wherever we go. I just love meeting and getting to know folks wherever.

We stopped and filled up both all three propane tanks as well as the gas can. It was down to 1.98 a gallon, yeow that is the first for under two bucks in awhile. Unbeknownst to us our old friends the Hampton's saw us gassing up and then followed us to the Lowes parking lot where they pulled in behind us. We haven't had a chance to visit them this summer so we had a small reunion in the parking lot. Nancy heard me speaking with someone as she got out of the truck and thought who has he(me) saw that he knows now. What a laugh we had and a good visit. Walt is till having health issues but seemed able to get about with ease except for his breathing and Theia looked great and was her usual self. After hugs and promised to call them in October when we get back from out West we shopped for a few items then headed home. It was going on 6'ish so we started supper which was excellent. After the cleanup we walked around in the yards until dusk started to settle then headed in where I had 2 football games in progress, LATER      

Saturday Morning

Well Friday didn't find us leaving the cabin except for a hike to the top of the mountain just before noon. It was rather nippy to start the day with temps in the low 50's and occasionally clouds that temporary blocked the sun which dropped the temps even more during the afternoon. There is definitely a touch of Fall in the air despite this still being the month of August.

I started the day with my usual 6'ish roll out and morning routines. After a hot cup of green tea I took a few quiet minutes to connect with my Creator and then posted this ramble. I finished the last piece of crumb cake with butter on top for my breakfast and then I headed outside to piddle around. I fired up the weed whacker and mowed down some weeds below the gardens and trimmed up the yards. The grass has really slowed down growing due to this cold snap so I will probably mow it once more before we leave for Florida on Labor Day. I did pick another handful of the small tomatoes and a couple more cucumbers. The cukes have been amazing this year as has the Bell peppers. I sowed more lettuce seeds but they haven't broke through the ground yet.

The grass seeds I sowed on the area where I dug out the stump is up and showing some good color. The peas are about gone as the vines have turned brown with an occasional green sprig with some blooms and small pods. They are a cooler weather plant so I'm hoping with daily watering they will start producing again. It doesn't look as if the okra is going to make as it loves hot weather and we barely reach the 70's during the day. I must say the Zinnias are doing great and have such beautiful colors. The Morning Glory vines have turned light yellow and we have had no blooms now for several days; they were magnificent in color for the first year and so abundant at times.

We took our hike after Nancy hung some laundry outside on the clothesline. We stopped and chatted with Ann and Sandy Cline briefly as they were getting ready to leave for a doctor's appointment in Elkin. I'm surprised they drive all this way up to the mountains from their home about an hour and half away. We headed on across the top and visited with the Browning's for a spell while sitting on their front porch. We so enjoy our almost daily visit with them as we hike on our way back down the mountain. Zeke actually followed us for a short distance as he is starting to show his age and has lost his puppy play.

We came back and had a salad for lunch then settled into reading on the deck. The deck area was out of the wind and the warmth from the sun felt good. The air was so dry which made for a chill in the air as well. We read until nearly 6'ish when we decided to finish the leftovers from the supper the night before and my oh my were they still delicious once again. We seldom have stuffed peppers in a red sauce and when we do its delightful and so tasty. After the cleanup which wasn't much as we microwaved our plates we took off on the golf cart out to the mailbox in hope we could scare up some wildlife for pictures but they were all hiding. We then took the back road to the top of the mountain for pictures with the sunset but that setting was so hazy it wasn't a good photo op as well. So we came back to the cabin and tuned into the Fox News Channel until the pre-season football came on.

Well around 10'ish it was a hot shower for me and when that occurs the sandman awakens and it wasn't long I was in the horizontal lab position, LATER

Friday Morning 8/28/15

Well Thursday was another work day as I did my good deed for the week by helping our "mountain mom" Helen with a few chores and then we had her and her brother Joe over for supper. The weather once again was magnificent for being outdoors and especially for working. I don't think it got over 70 for the day with lots of sunshine and a gentle breeze.

I started the day once again with a 6' ish roll out to 52 degrees, yeow was it ever chilly outside with the gentle breeze. I did my morning routines and a few quiet moments to give thanks and I use the website each day titled www.ebread.org to start the day with a few minutes with my Creator. It gives you the scripture and then the thought for the day based on the scripture and then how this may be applied my daily living. My son in law Tyler turned me onto this site a couple years ago. The hot cup of green tea was nice on this chilly morning in August as it warmed my innards on the way down. We are now closing every window at nights due to these cold mornings from this past week.

Well after the posting of this ramble I had a bowl of oatmeal with cinnamon and honey then headed over to Helen's to help her with some chores. I drug out the wooden pallet from the shop and looped a log chain around it so she could pull it with her diesel Kubota garden tractor along her rutted driveway. It was like a washboard. Dragging the pallet straightened and smoothed out the ruts as well as using a blade on a tractor and a whole lot cheaper. After that job since we had the tractor and log chain out we pulled out several old stumps that get in her way while mowing. There were several which wouldn't budge  but we managed to pull out 4-5 stumps that had been in the ground for years and now she can burn them. I then loaded up a couple containers of Roundup and sprayed the grass growing in the rocks were the water runs off of her hill. This area use to wash out and since she had a load of larger rocks placed in the gully the erosion has ceased but grass likes to grow and choke out the rocks. That kept me busy until lunch time. Helen was on her tractor mowing when I finished with her chores. She is a busy lady at 87 especially using her tractor and burning brush and stumps.

We had a lite lunch of salad when I got home as we knew we were eating big for supper. After lunch I loaded up the golf car with cutters and a pitchfork and headed out our lane to trim low hanging limbs, briars as well limbs protruding into the road that scratch the vehicles passing by. That kept me busy for a couple hours until nearly 4 o'clock. Joe and Helen always like to arrive somewhere around 4'ish when we have them for supper. Nancy had large green peppers from my garden stuffed with hamburger and rice baking in a cast iron pot covered in red sauce as well as smashed taters and a cinnamon crust cake for dessert. We had some cheese, black olives, dill pickle and sliced tomato as an appetizer. What a feed that turned out to be and I had seconds, yeow was that ever good as I had really worked up an appetite. We had a grand time together and it wasn't much longer after dessert they headed out for their respective places along with most of the dessert.

We did the cleanup and then settled into the Fox News channel and then into the little league game between Calif. vs Texas. Texas came back to win in extra innings in the losers bracket and will play Penn. next for the American title. Well it was a busy day and after a hot shower the sandman was calling my name, LATER

Thursday Morning

Well Wednesday was a bit nippy to start the day with temps down close to the 40's in the month of August, yikes!!! I don't believe it ever reached the 70's during the whole day as at 3 PM it was 68 degrees on the parkway on our way back from the city of Jefferson over in Ashe County, N.C. What a fun day we had as we took our "mountain mom" Helen and her brother Joe on a little adventure for most of the day. We were gone over 5 hours as we had lunch out at a new eatery, then went to the cheese factory and saw how cheese is made and then traveled some new roads we had never been on before. It was after 3 before we got back to the cabin so we decided to sit on the porch in the sun to warm up and read for a couple hours before turning on the baseball games.

The early morning was much the usual with a 6'ish roll out for me, my routines of a few quiet moments, a lite breakfast and the posting of the day before activities on this ramble. I saw my first deer and it was a very large buck in the backwoods yard as I looked out the kitchen window upon awaking. I've seen lots of tracks this summer and the evidence of their presence in my recently transplanted red raspberry bushes but this was the first time I actually saw one in person in the yard and he was a big one. We have seen his tracks in the soft soil all over the mountain with the dew claws visible which indicates a large animal as well as his scat(droppings) which is totally different from does and smaller animals. This was a big deer and I can now envision steaks sizzling on the grill from this well fed animal. I mentioned once before if I could get venison on a regular basis I would forgo beef forever as it's that nutritious and delicious.

We met up with one of Bobby's schoolmates Sammi Martin (Ashley) at her recently opened Harvest Cafe in Jefferson for lunch. It's a quaint place to relax for a quick lunch with sandwiches, wraps, hot soup of the day, coffees, and some bakery items. They make up their menu the first thing in the mornings so you don't have to stand in or wait to be waited on. We each had a different sandwich or wrap with a cup of soup which happened to be corn chowder. I found the food was delicious and when we first arrived there was but a couple other patrons and very soon thereafter the place filled up with a lunch crowd. She along with 3 other helpers were filling to go orders and getting customers through the line as you ordered at the front. There were all types of clientel from teenagers to the blue hairs and we had one youngster who entertained us with his violin playing at the age of 7. He was very good with an assortment of tunes from Blue Grass to love songs. The motif for the cafe had a Christian influence with a prayer wall and several scriptures displayed.


Well after lunch we headed on over to West Jefferson which was just down the road and stopped at the cheese factory. We ventured into the viewing room and saw part of the production of making cheese. Each of the 3 huge tables hold 20,000 pounds of milk and eventually that turns into about 2, 000 pounds of cheese that is formed and placed into these rings we saw on the first table. What a process  as it goes through aging and then the flavors are added. We sampled several in the show room and then purchased some to bring back with us. I especially love the 5 year aged sharp cheddar, yeow was that ever delicious!!! I had brought a cooler with ice which kept everything fresh and cool. We stopped at the super Wal Mart just down the road for a few needed items before heading back. We decided since we drove down the Blue Ridge Parkway that we would head back a different way so off we went on a new road none of us had ever been on before which eventually brought us back to the parkway. Wow the scenery was just magnificent and we still wonder how the old timers ever got their horses and buggies back in these hills and scrapped out a living.

We ended up back on the parkway then headed for Helen's to drop them off. It was still in the high 60's with bright sunshine and just a beautiful day. After reading for awhile neighbor Gerald who was down for the day from Blacksburg stopped by for a visit. After he left we made a smoked chicken fajitas for supper an after the clean up we took off on our daily hike to the top of the mountain. This time I decided to hoof it with Nancy and the knee held up rather well. It seems going down hill aches it more than going up. It did well and swelling didn't seem to reoccur, thankfully.

Well Jetta Browning our neighbor on top blessed us each with a piece of coconut cream pie and a muffin which despite our not wanting to eat dessert or breads we could not turn down one of our favorites. They both were delicious as we devoured them when we got back to the cabin while watching the world series with Pennsylvania playing Texas. It was a close game until the last inning when the Keystone state won and will now play in the finals this weekend and the team from Taipei also came back and won in extra innings. We have really enjoyed watching these little guys play ball and this has become one our our favorite things to watch this time of the year on TV, LATER

Here are a few pictures from yesterday!!

Wednesday Morning

Well Tuesday was another relaxing day as I'm still rehabbing my knee. It is doing much better and I think in a day or so I will get back to hiking the mountain with Nancy, but yesterday I followed her in the golf cart to the top. It was down right chilly inside the cabin when I awakened and rolled out to start the day as the early morning temp's were in the low 50's yikes!! By late afternoon we saw some high 70's on the back porch and we sat there and read for a couple hours.

The morning started for me around 6 'ish. I shivered until I could get the windows closed and don a flannel shirt. It felt like a Fall morning. After my usual morning routines and a cup hot of green tea I did my quiet time and posted this ramble. The financial news isn't great with the big correction in the markets and if the predictions are correct it could even be worse. I took a friends advice and moved my investments into a cash account so as to not lose what little I had accrued for my retirement. It seems his advice has paid off for now.

It seems we finally have someone speaking for the little guy in America with Donald Trump and what I really like about him is he is not a politician. It's obvious he is not beholding to any special interest group or lobbyist as he is self made and he really loves America and wants to make her great again. Despite his belief in himself and somewhat of a braggart I think he will finally stand up for what is right for the country and once more make America a great place for those who love her and what she stands for. We need a leader and not a community divider who has accented what was once good as now being bad. Our culture has definitely taken a major shift from what our founding fathers envisioned for those who came here to settle this land.

Well we settled in to the Little League World Series with two games played during the day and evening. We watched both games and tonight Nancy's home state team from Pennsylvania will play another undefeated team. That should be a good game. Well that was about it for the day except I did piddle around outside burning a couple weeks worth of trash, hand watering the gardens and harvesting cucumbers as well as watering the recently sowed grass seed on the area where I removed the tree and stump. Today (Wed.) we pick up Helen and Joe and take them with us to Jefferson for lunch at the Harvest Cafe. One of Bobby's classmates all through 13 years of school just recently opened this Christian oriented cafe and we wanted to try it out plus get to see her after several years. Sammi and Bobby were always great friends through school and have kept in contact through the years. We are looking forward to seeing her again since they graduated in '99 from Indian Rocks Christian School where her dad, Charlie Martin was the pastor at the church, LATER

Tuesday Morning

Well Monday found me doing just about no work at all as I'm convalescing my knee which I tweaked a couple weeks ago. Luckily there is no real pain, just some swelling and stiffness as a couple years ago I hurt it by hyper extending it on the pickle ball court. Living here in the mountains haven't helped with taking it easy unless I spend the day in the cabin on a flat surface, oh well!!! I watched the Little League World Series on the T.V. starting around 1 and then stayed up and watched our Bucs beat the Bengals on Monday Night Football. Wow did they ever look decent for a change against a playoff team for the last 4 years. My hopes are up for a good season as both offense and defense played exceptionally well.

The morning was much the usual with a 6'ish roll out to start the day. After my routines and a few quiet moments I fixed a breakfast of farm grown eggs with grits and a diced up tomato with a jalapeno pepper in the mix as well. Yeow did that ever wake up the gastric juices as we hadn't eaten anything except some popcorn since lunch on Sunday. I headed out with my knee braces on along with my gum boots as the dew was very heavy in the grass to check on the gardens. I remembered I needed to clean the smoker and the wash up the grates and get it ready for the next occasion and then I took out the tomato plants in the raised beds as the fruit had some type of blight. I disposed of the plants onto the brush pile so as to rid the compost pile of any contamination from these sick looking plants.

Nancy wanted to get her hike in as the temps were in the 60's with bright sunshine so I gassed up the golf cart and followed her most of the way on her trek as she at times even jogged a little on the back road. We stopped and visited with the Browning's for a short spell before heading on back down the mountain to a late lunch. We had some smoked chicken leftover from Saturday so we made wraps loaded with fresh cucumbers, tomatoes and jalapenos for me, yeow was that ever tasty. After lunch I iced the knee then found a comfortable spot in front of the tube and then vegetated for the next several hours. We have always loved to watch the little guys play baseball and envision our own grandsons playing in the little league one of these days.

Well around 6'ish we decided to clean up some leftover green bean casserole and baked beans with some more smoked chicken for our supper. After the cleanup Nancy wanted to work on her "getting ready for the dress to fit at the wedding next month" so she took off on a hike to the mailbox with me following in the golf cart. It was such a pleasant evening with temps in the high 60's and bright sunshine although we have really started to notice the difference in the early approach of dusk, yikes, by 8 ish its almost dark whereas a couple weeks ago it was still light at 9:30. Wow, did this summer ever suddenly leave us and really we had only a day or so of noticeably hot weather. We decided on the way back from the mailbox(Nancy was now riding shotgun) to take a different road that runs alongside of our property and noticed one of the landowners on the back side of us had hired a track hoe to straighten out his driveway. What an improvement that made along with some fresh gravel to the rutted driveway.

Well we circled our property and found where someone had dumped a bag of trash. Nancy retrieved it and found cans and other construction material scattered in the bushes so we hauled it back with us for disposal. I can only imagine who would do such a thing as we have one neighbor whose area is just stacked with stuff everywhere, oh well. Occasionally her son visits as her husband passed a year or so ago. They are definitely hoarders It was nearly dark when I put the golf cart up for the night so we tuned into another baseball game then watched the Buccaneers until nearly 11, LATER  

Monday Morning

Well Sunday once more found us with awesome weather to start the day and then a few clouds late evening that eventually brought us some rain by bed time. I started the morning a little later than my normal 6'ish roll out. The outside air was chilly with temps into the middle 50's and the dew was dripping from the roof and the extra blanket was conducive to sleeping in under the warm covers. It was corporate worship day with our church family at Cornerstone in Sparta and Pastor B had another great message from Philippians on maintaining our Joy in life. The praise music was awesome as well. Afterwards we met up with Sam and Marcia as well as Mechelle, Caleb, Katelyn and Curtis and saw almost everyone from our supper on Saturday night eating at the Pizzeria as well. We just love small towns and the chance of running into folks you know and love most anywhere you go.

We decided to eat our big meal of the day at lunch time with their awesome buffet which includes a salad bar, a hot bar and then a pizzas bar all for 20 bucks for two including tax and tip. The food is very fresh and the bad thing is you want to taste it all so you have a tendency to over eat, oh well. We didn't stuff our selves but did manage a couple slices of their thin crust pizza which is very good. We stayed and visited with Sam and Marcia for another hour or so before picking up a few items from Lowes Grocery before heading home. The Carlan's have purchased a double axle mobile trailer and are now looking for a truck to pull it with. They have narrowed it down to a new Ford F 150 and are shopping around for the best deal. We gave them a little input as our son Bobby just purchased a new F150 as well and he shared all of the bell and whistles that now come standard with the XLT packages. The Carlan's want to travel and camp out west again but this time not in tents as they have the adventuring and wanderlust bug again. We never pictured Marcia as the outdoors person but she has fooled us on many of our preconceived notions about her. We just enjoy their company and friendship tremendously.

We came back to the cool cabin and opened some windows to let in some warm air and sunshine. I'm still nursing this hyper-extended knee with a little swelling but no real pain so I iced it down and wrapped it while we sat and watched the little league world series. I learned from Face book there was a team from the Winchester, Va. area playing in a step up from the regular little league play. They were in contention against a team from the Orient who had a great pitcher and just annihilated our boys with the 10 run rule, oh well it was good to see some of the familiar last names from my hometown and I wonder if these boys were grand kids of some of my team mates from high school. They very well could have been.

We watched a couple very good baseball games and the final game of the evening was a real nail biter with the team from Pennsylvania having to come back in the final inning to win after being ahead really big for most of the game and who were a favorite to win as well. I popped a bowl of corn and we sat on the couch after we got back from our hike up the mountain. I decided I would ride the golf cart to save the knee and she would would walk and occasionally jog as I followed behind her. Well as we neared the top of the mountain the golf cart sputtered and I noticed we were very low on gas; so we turned it around and coasted most of the way home except for a little pushing in a couple places. I managed to coax it up our driveway and now today I probably need to clean the fuel filter as well since I've yet to do that since I've owned it, oh well!!!

I've decided to forgo any pickle ball this coming week and give the knee a total rest from any real workout. I've injured or tweaked it before and now I must rest it the best I can, but of course I'm up and down the stairs here daily as well as the yards so it may take longer than being on flat land. I want to get back to playing this winter in Florida so I will just forego any play until then. I think digging out the stump didn't help any with being up and down in a hole while putting strain on the leg and knee, oh well!!!

Well after the last out in the ball game I headed for the shower and then for a few chapters in DeMilles new book RADIANT ANGEL before it was lights out for me sometime after 10, LATER

Sunday Morning

Well Saturday morning was spent getting ready for our 10 guests who came for a supper of smoked ribs and beer in the rear chicken. The weather was perfect with temps staying in the middle 60's for most of the day after a chilly start and there were periods of sunshine and clouds despite the threat of rain. We had a moment just before I was to start the smoker when Nancy opened one of the pack of ribs which caused us some concern and trip back to town for more meat. I will digress later in this ramble an explain what that was all about.

We slept in until nearly 7 AM for a change after putting an extra quilt on the bed during the night. That added warmth messed up my alarm clock and allowed me sleep in, wow was that ever nice. Luckily we had closed most of the windows the night before as we can feel a taste of Fall in the air as it was down into the low 50's over night. Just perfect weather right now and maybe another sign the Almanac is right in predicting a cold snowy winter this year for this area.

We did our usual morning routines with our few quiet moments, a lite breakfast then the posting of the day before's activities in this ramble before I headed down to gathering a bucket of apple, plum and hickory wood for the smoker. I wanted to get the meat on by at least noon for the 6 o'clock feed so around 11'ish we opened the ribs and one of them smelled funky. We called the grocery store in Sparta which is about a 20 mile or so round trip from the cabin and off I went with the funky sack of ribs. Well they had another one waiting for me but I insisted they open this one and smell it. Well every pack they had in the store was funky so the meat manager substituted country style ribs in the place of the baby backs. I got back a little before noon and got the smoker going loaded down with ribs and birds.

We cleaned house and then settled into the Little league World Series the rest of the afternoon and watched two good games while smelling the wood smoke. Wow was that ever a great smell. The birds fell apart when I took them off the smoker as did the ribs. I could have pulled them apart as they were that tender and oh what a flavor. We had Karin's mom Betty and her step dad Randall here for the first time and we always enjoy sharing our place and its uniqueness. Gerald, Kay and Mechelle came as well as Karin and Frank and Karin daughter Katelyn and beau Curtis who is stilling for a slot with the sheriff's dept. We had a grand time of eating and then afterwards showing them around the cabin and yards.

We had baked beans, garden grown smashed taters, mac and cheese, green bean casserole, broccoli salad, sliced garden grown tomatoes and two old fashion recipe butterscotch pies for dessert to accompany the ribs and chicken. Needless to say the ribs were devoured and enough bird leftover to top a salad for tomorrow. There was a lot of groaning about overeating at the game table late in the evening.

We cleared off the tables and got into a gal vs guys game of Sequence and the guys prevailed again with another win. A couple folks had never played the game and then someone mentioned domino's and the "Mexican train" so we showed them "chickenfoot" dominoes and they were really tickled with that version. We played 5 or 6 rounds and really never kept score but it was a fun time; loud and raucous  as well. It was going on 10'ish when they all left and we will meet a couple of them for lunch in Sparta after church tomorrow. What a grand time of fellowship. We won't see a couple of them again this season as Betty and Randall will be traveling in their motor home.

Well after the dish washing and putting the cabin back in order it was shower time and then a few chapter in a new DeMille book before the sandman calleth, LATER

Saturday Morning

Well Friday was a fun day with shopping and eating out for lunch and then mowing the yard after getting back from Galax some time around 3:30 in the afternoon. It was really a very pleasant day with temps not much out of the 70's and plenty of sunshine.

The morning started with my usual 6'ish wake up and roll out to a very cool cabin as we had left the windows partially open during the night. Once again it was down into the high 50's but the air was extremely dry after so much humidity the past week that we were cold so out came the flannel shirt for me and heavy sweat shirt for Nancy. After my usual morning routines of a few quiet moments and then a lite breakfast.  I headed out to check on the gardens and yards. There was no deer damage and the Japanese beetles have seemed to retreated back to were they came from. I only saw a few of them on the Zinnias and bean plants. I picked another hand full of cucumbers which are just going crazy with producing.

We got ready and to headed out for the day as we needed to make several stops in Galax then make the circle and stop in Sparta a couple places before getting back to the cabin. I needed to pick up a couple books at the library and some ribs that were on special at one of the grocery stores in Sparta. We stopped an ate lunch at Applebee's in Galax and got a very nice meal of shrimp and chicken on a hot platter with roasted taters and sauteed onions and mushrooms. Wow was it ever sizzling hot when they brought it to the table. We did the artichoke dip with chips for an appetizer and its always very tasty. That was our big meal of the day.

After putting away all of our goodies I fired up the riding mower and mowed the yards, by then it was going on 6'ish so we ate a small salad for our supper then we took off on a hike to the top of the mountain. We saw no one on our walk as dusk was beginning to settle in the woods and Nancy spotted a creature crossing the road in the distance which she thought was either a bear cub or a large bob cat. I tend to think it was a large dog as I didn't see it but either way it was spooky in the woods.

We settled into the Fox News channel and heard Donald Trump for the first time giving a talk in Alabama to thousands of supporters. Let's face it he's no orator or speech giver but his message is clear; we are a screwed up country with our present leaders in charge and he is beholding to no one. There is no doubt he is a self made man and he isn't ashamed to tell you as well, maybe this is what we need as we have let the PC(political correctness) crowd run our land into debt and left us weak military and caused such social unrest its unimaginable. They are trying to sell a treaty with the very people who hate us and Israel and now we find our secrets have been compromised by an inept and less than honest cabinet member. I think Trump is just what we need who is a straight shooter and fears none and who truly loves America. We need a leader much like Teddy Roosevelt who walked quietly and carried a big stick and a vice president like Ben Carson or Ted Cruz and I think we will see America once more become the worlds best. If this is not a great land then why do so many want to come here and or destroy us? Oh well, that is just my take on things and we will see what GOD has in store for us, LATER

Friday Morning 8/21/15

Well Thursday was a work day until I finally managed to remove the stump, whew what a job that turned out to be and I think I will pass on removing the Maple tree this year and really I may leave it after all as the leaves turn beautiful in Fall. This gum tree nearly did me in as it took 4 days to finally remove it, dig out the stump and fill the hole in and sow grass seed. Neighbor Gerald pulled it the remaining way out of the hole and carried it with his front end bucket up into the woods and deposited it in the bushes away from my sight. I was having nightmares over this stump.

The morning started much the usual with a 6'ish wake up and roll out. I had that blasted stump on my mine and knew without a doubt this morning would be my last chance to use Gerald's tractor for extracting that monster from the hole I had dug around it, so that caused to me to speed up my morning routines. I did my quiet time and posted this ramble then ate a breakfast of eggs, grits, tomato and jalapeno pepper and was in the hole with that stump before 8.

I rested or took it easy the rest of the day except for a hike after supper and a little garden work. I harvested more cucumbers, peppers and the last of the lettuce as well as some beet greens, kale and Swiss chard to add to our salads. I resowed some lettuce seeds for a fall patch. I'm really disappointed in the tomatoes this year as well as the 1/2 runner beans. I did pick enough for a mess for us but not enough to give away and some of the beans still have a some evidence of the rust spots. This is the best year ever for peppers, cucumbers, beets, Swiss chard, lettuces, kale, sugar peas and the bird egg beans(also called Cranberry or October) are filling out in their hulls and showing some red streaks in the hulls which is how they got their name. They are my favorite all time bean that is hulled and cooked without the hull.

We took a golf cart ride to the mailbox after a lunch of sliced tomatoes and cucumbers with some cream cheese on crackers then headed up on top of the mountain where we visited with the Browning's for nearly an hour. It was nice to sit and relax after meeting the challenge of the gum tree and to see the sun that is now shining on that shaded section of the yard. Hopefully that extra sunlight will help thwart the growth of the moss in that area plus its one less tree I have to mow around. Those were the main reasons to take out the tree as well. I did take off the gas tank and fuel filter on the riding mower as for the first time ever it acted like it wasn't getting fuel to the carburetor while mowing. Since I had the gas tank off I greased the steering mechanism as well which is accessible under the gas tank. I blew some fine dirt like debris from the filter and cleaned out the tank. Hopefully that was the cause of the engine to shut down momentarily.

Well I fried up some bass fillets I had caught a month or so ago and had frozen in water and they were just as tasty as the day I caught them and along with garden grown cooked and buttered beets and some canned blackeyed peas for our supper. I added a jalapeno pepper to mine which really added some life to the peas as well as a few drops of sweat on my brow but they were so good. After the cleanup we took off on our hike to the top and noticed the Carmichael Cabin has a new realtor sign. We noticed some folks looking to buy it a couple weeks ago and the old sign was gone so we decided they must have sold it but today the new sign changed our way of thinking and noticed in the weekly paper it was listed with another reduced selling price. It is a beautiful place and immaculate on the inside and the views are just breathtaking but the land is barely walkable with a steep slope except for on top and it is right across from two cell phone towers which takes away from the ambiance.

We tuned into the Fox news channel and watched the news shows until I began to doze around 9:30. We did notice the evening darkness is coming much quicker now and it was pitch black at a little after 8, whereas a couple weeks ago it was still light out after 9:30. The morning are chilly with temps down into the high 50's and we have to close the windows at night due to the damp chill in the mornings. The Morning Glory vines have stopped producing blooms as they gradually reduced their morning blooms from a couple dozen to just one bloom last week. The Zinnias are still showing their splendor with the different colors on one plant which amazes me. Lots of the other flowers are starting to lose some luster as well which is a sign summer is about over. The Fall Daisies will be blooming shortly which is a real sign that colder weather is coming soon, LATER

Thursday Morning

Well Wednesday started with an unusual wake up for me which was nearly 7:30 as that tree stump must have really whipped me the day before. I worked on those roots for 1/2 a day on Wednesday and still wasn't able to remove it from the ground while pulling on it with Gerald's tractor. This tree has some big roots and today will be my last chance to use the tractor as he leaves for Blacksburg so I will have to use a hand winch or just burn it out which requires more effort and constant attention. I just want it out so I can even out the ground and plant grass seed, oh well.

The first part of the day was devoted to stump removal after my usual morning routines that started an hour later. I did my quiet moments and then ate a lite breakfast of oatmeal, cinnamon, honey and blueberries after posting this ramble. It had rained off and on during the night and everything was wet and the humidity was nearly a 100%. We had periods of rain, sunshine and clouds throughout the day and by late evening thunder storms were once again upon us. We had to take our pickle ball play inside at the church due to the weather as well.

We never got a hike in today as the periods of rain were unpredictable plus I was working in the stump hole all morning and after two different tries with the tractor gave up for the day. I must have shed 5 pounds as the sweat poured off me with the digging ,chopping and sawing of these hard to get at roots deep in the hard rocky ground. Wow did I ever get a workout and that dang tree stump is still firmly in the ground looking at me as I write this ramble. What a challenge this one has become, oh well today is the day it will become history, I hope.

Well we had 5 players for pickle ball and Gerald joined us for the first time since his knee replacement 6 months ago. He did quite well and never seemed to have lost any of his skill despite being away for so long. We worked up a good sweat with lots of rallies and after nearly 2 hours we headed out for the cabins. Nancy was at the High Meadows Country Club for their monthly sit down dinner with lots of the local women. These gals whom many were or still are doctors, dentists, lawyers, artists, authors, bed and breakfast owners and house wives of men who were professionals. We weren't quite sure how she got invited to this group but she thoroughly enjoyed herself and it was after 9 before she got home. Mechelle our friend who manages a huge farming enterprise that raises Christmas trees and beef cattle here in the county invited her and she was warmly received by many of the gals who range in age from the 30's to the 80's.

Well after getting back to the cabin it was time for a hot shower and then a few minutes of the Fox News channel with what is happening to our nation. Once again we are finally seeing what corruption has been occurring with our leaders in this administration as they and our potus sell us out to a country that chants death to us with back room deals that guarantee them the means to acquire nukes to bomb us with and the funds needed to purchase the missiles from Russia to deliver them to our soil. They must be laughing at our inept leaders and now we know our own Secretary of State who some think would make a great woman president has let money buy her influence in foreign affairs as well as made our secrets available to those want to destroy us and our way of life. Wake up America, LATER

Wednesday Morning

Well this morning is a first for me in quite awhile as I over slept or just plain didn't awake at my usual time of 6'ish but instead it was nearly 7:30, yikes that was nice for a change. I suppose working on digging out that tree stump made the difference. Oh well it doesn't take much to excite this mundane life style once in awhile.

I started Tuesday with much the same or usual routines before heading after a mountain breakfast of sausage, egg biscuits slathered with fresh horseradish. I must say the frozen biscuits we purchase at Wal-Mart are just like homemade ones with none of the mess. Just pop them in the oven for about 20 minutes at 375 and they are so fluffy and delicious. Never would I have thought they would be so good.

After a few quiet moments and the posting of this rag I changed into my grubby work clothes fired up the golf cart and loaded it with tools and headed up to the sawed down tree stump. Well I sweated for 2 hours until lunch time digging, shoveling and sawing off roots as I got about half way through getting the under ground roots cut off. I want to be able to wrap a log chain around the middle of the stump from underneath it and pull it with a tractor the rest of the way out of the hole. It just so happens neighbor Gerald is down from Blacksburg for a couple days and he has agreed to pull on the stump after lunch on Wednesday with his tractor. Hopefully that will save me many more hours of digging on my hands and knees.

Well after cleaning up from all of the dirt and sweat we took off on our daily hike to the top of the mountain. The place was like a ghost town as just a few workers were at one cabin working on the renovations at Shawnee's place but other than them it was very quiet on top. Well the temp's were in the low 70's and the fog spiraling up between the mountain ridges were beautiful which cut down on the long distance views. We came back and had some crackers with peanut butter and cream cheese around 1:30 as the biscuits were still keeping us from being hungry. We decided to head over to our "mountain moms" and her brother Joe place to be pick jalapenos and green peppers of which he had plenty and wanted to rid his garden of the plants. I took her another mess of beets as well. We picked a couple dozen of the peppers and then shared them with Gerald when we got back to the cabin.

Well we sat around and read the rest of the afternoon until it was time to start the grill for a couple marinated chicken breasts that accompanied fresh sauteed sugar snap peas and a yellow squash as well a fresh cooked carrots. I loaded the breasts with fresh rosemary and thyme as they cooked, yeow what a delicious supper. It rained off and on for most of the evening as we settled into the Fox News channel until it was shower time and then a few chapters of LOVE DOES by Bob Goff, LATER

Tuesday Morning

Well Monday was a work day for me as I took out another tree that was shading a portion of the backwoods yard up near the fire circle. That kept me busy for several hours with the cut down, saw up and then haul the brush and wood away from the grass. I only need to dig the stump out and it will be gone completely. I must say that was a job especially since I was having chain saw problems and it's looking like that will be my next investment. I eventually had to borrow neighbor Gerald's saw to complete the task, oh well!!!

The morning started much the usual with a 6'ish roll out for me. The dew was dripping from the roof and the skies looked as if it was going to be a clear day. It's a good thing we did laundry today as this morning it's raining and the forecast is for it to be this way until Friday. We did need the rain but not an all day occurrence for the rest of the week. Anyhow, I'm ahead of myself as this is just Tuesday morning and our weather forecast is some what unreliable when it comes to rain predictions.

I headed out after my usual morning routines of a few quiet moments, a lite breakfast and the posting of the day before activities on this rag. I did manage to put the boot to several slimy slugs as they love the cool damp mornings on my initial walk around. I saw a couple cotton tails out in the yard munching on the abundant clover which has infiltrated the yards this summer. After speaking with our "mountain mom" I fired up the golf cart and loaded it down with the tools I would need to take out the tree. It was a rather nice size gum tree which has so many limbs and leaves that it always shades that one section of the yard and of course the moss loves the shaded area. I decided the area needed light so the gum tree had to go. It's not like I'm short on trees as the back woods yard still has lots of trees even after taking out several large oaks last year.

I worked up a good sweat and was soon soaking wet despite the temps in the low 70's. That kept me busy until 3 PM when Nancy called a halt to my working for the day on the tree. I have to leave the digging out the stump to another day which is always exciting. I changed out of my wet work clothes and sat on the back porch and read Bob Goff's book LOVE DOES for an hour or so. This is a great read about one man and how he handles life. It's easy reading and many of his experiences I can attest to but the difference is how he brings GOD into every occasion while not being overly religious per say.  Nancy decided we would finally eat some garden grown beets so I harvested 17 plants which I brought up from Florida in May and transplanted. I had some beets the size of a soft ball. We fixed two for supper along with the beet greens and a grilled pork chops, yeow were they ever delicious with a little butter. I stored the 15 in the basement and then bagged up a couple for our neighbors the Browning's when we headed out after supper for our daily hike. What a beautiful evening for a hike and by the time we got back it was really starting to get dark in the woods and kind of spooky especially with all of the animals that like the night time.

We tuned into the FOX News channel for an update on all that is taking place in our land. I'm not one to put my head in the sand and pretend that all is well but we have the most inept leaders in our land and I'm now for sure the most crooked. There is no wonder a guy like Donald Trump is leading all of the career politicians in his bid to be president next year. This administration has sold us out to the special interests, to our enemies who chant death to America and those who want to see the country go bankrupt with this out of control spending and now they have a criminal running for president in their party, wake up America before it's too late. How can anyone trust those who no longer care about what happens to US(A). We as a people are the first to help a neighbor or a country that is in dire straights but those in this administration and the media demonize the country, our faith and what made us strong and generous to a fault, LATER

Monday morning

Well Sunday was a another fantastic day with awesome weather. It did cloud up and rained for just a short while in the afternoon which kept the temps in the low 70's after a chilly start. By late evening the skies had cleared and it was just perfect as we hiked to the top of the mountain. We had a good time of worship at Cornerstone Church in Sparta and afterwards met up with Sam and Marcia for lunch at a new place near the Lowes Food Store. We were thrilled at the food and service and we sat outside on the covered porch and ate.

The morning was much the usual except for my nearly 7 o'clock roll out to start the day, wow that was nice to sleep in for a change. We did our morning routines of a few quiet moments and a lite breakfast as we got ready for worship. It was such a beautiful morning with the sun peering through the tree tops, cool damp air kept our windows closed, the skies were blue and the dew dripped off the roof. The beauty of the flowers were almost breathtaking as they showed their variety of colors. We headed out around 9:30 and hugged and greeted at the church door while many of our friends who normally sit with us were out of town or away for their last weekend before school starts. Pastor B delivered another message in the Joy series and the worship music was awesome as well.

This new eatery is right in the Trojan Shopping Center. It featured hot and cold sandwiches and breakfast all day as well as salads. Sam and I had breakfast food as he had waffles and bacon and I tried the specialty omelet with hash browns and biscuits while Nancy had the Club sandwich and fries and Marcia the hand formed burger and fries. Wow were we ever pleased with the quality of all the dishes and we had a real sweet young lady who is studying to be a nurse as our server. We sat outside in front of the grill on the porch/patio and noticed several of our church folks coming there to eat as well. We never noticed this place before and its definitely a keeper place to eat after church as it now has changed hands and has new hours of operations. That meal held us through out the day and evening except for a late snack of salsa and chips after our hike.

We met our neighbors that have renovated an older cabin through the woods. We haven't seen them in years as they are only here from time during the summer. We seldom ever hike up by their place, yet we can hear them from time to time when their dog barks. Anyhow as we were about to leave out on our hike a car drove up into our driveway and they introduced themselves. We thought they were in the late 70's and even older in age. She introduced herself and stated she was on Facebook so we befriended her and learned she was younger than myself, yikes!!! We invited them in but they had a new dog which they had left outside at their cabin to see if it would stay home as they drove off. I gave them a couple freshly picked cucumbers. They were looking for someone to drill them a well as they shared a community well with a property owner  next door. Seems they were having some issues with him. They also were looking for someone to scrape their driveway with a tractor which neighbor Gerald did at one time. We told them about George and his tractor.

Well we saw no one on our hike except lots of deer and rabbits and the cool temps made for great hiking. The sun was shining and the rain clouds had cleared out for the day. We had a coupe of tenths of rain the past couple days and the grass and gardens were looking great as a result. I tuned into some football and Nancy was on the phone and computer until it was shower time. I finished up my last Lee Child book and started on a birthday present book titled LOVE DOES that sister Dee purchased for me. It wasn't long after a hot shower and a couple chapters the sandman calleth, LATER

Sunday Morning

Well Saturday turned out to be another busy day with a raucous game of Sequence later in the evening with some old friends we haven't seen in many moons as well as meeting for the first time baby Miyah who is now 7 months old. She is the grand daughter of Kimberly whose husband Eddie suffered the serious farm accident when he broke his neck in several places over a year ago. He is still making progress with his rehabilitation and now can move several limbs with limited mobility.

The day started with us actually sleeping in for a change and for me that was at nearly 7 AM; yikes I missed most of the morning, for some reason I like to be awake just at day break when all is still and the morning glories are just opening up to show off their beauty. It was rather cool here for the middle of August and we had a nice rain later in the evening which really cooled things off again. I started the morning with my usual quiet time and then a lite breakfast before heading out to check on the gardens. The beetles are still leaving lots of holes in the flowers and bean plants and after the rain the slugs were out in the wet grass. Needless to say a quick stomp on them from my boots and they were history, but what nasty coating they leave on your fingers when picking them off the plants, no wonder they have no natural enemies.

I picked some cilantro and thyme for our dishes we were preparing for the evening meal of salsa and chips, guacamole, con casio, layered taco salad and stuffed mushrooms, yeow what a feast that was and the flavors just meld together. We took our daily hike just before lunch and chatted with Sarah and her pup Lexie on top but saw no one else. We thought sure some of the weekenders would be up as its still hot down off the mountain. It was like a ghost town on top with even the Browning's gone. We settled into a lite lunch of hot dogs and salad for a change with home grown tomatoes, cucumbers and onions, yeow.

We sat and read for a couple hours as we were ready for our company who was coming sometime around 5'ish. We got to meet and love up on the grand baby Miyah who is just a delight and very aware of all that is going on. She is rolling over and sitting up and has a quick smile as well. She did rather well considering all of the noise from her grand mother while playing the game and the boy's won in straight games over the gals. That was a hoot as well as both of my team members played for the first time ever and with Terri, Kimberly's sister playing for the guys. It was after 9 before they all got packed up and headed out.

I tuned into the Bucs vs the Viking game on the tube and they were the same ole' Bucs as they were getting it handed to them once again. It's not looking good if this game is a prelude to what we can expect this season. They were down 20 points when I turned them off at half time and hit the showers and then a few chapters with a Lee Child book, LATER

Saturday Morning August 15

Well Friday was a busy day as we stayed on the hill except for a couple of hikes. I did yard work all afternoon while Nancy cleaned the house as we get ready once again for company for Saturday evening. A couple of these folks have never been to our place and we always enjoy first time visitors, especially if we are having food and then playing the sequence game. 

The day started with my usual roll out at 6'ish and then my handful of vitamins and supplements washed down with a cup of hot green tea. I post the day before's activities or lack thereof and then did my usual daily quiet time with my Creator before heading out to check on the gardens and yards for any damage. Once again the deer stayed away and I'm beginning to wander if the new aluminum pie pan that's handing and swinging on the far end of the clothesline is making a difference. It is constantly swinging or making some movement even when it seems there is no wind and I know deer are skittish when it comes to movement, oh well!!!

After a breakfast of a couple soft boiled eggs with a ripe tomato and a jalapeno pepper I headed out to burn trash and split liter knots for the next fire. I piddled around in the gardens hand watering the newest plants as well as harvesting some lettuce. We put that in to soak in the cold water while we headed out on our first hike of the day to the top of the mountains. It was such a magnificent day with temps barely into the 70's and a gentle breeze. It stayed that way for most of the day even into the late afternoon. Paw Paw called around 3:30 and it was 96 degrees in Winchester, Va. and 76 on our back porch as I spoke with him. What a difference a little altitude makes.

After a lite lunch of an ear of corn for me and cooked in the microwave for about 7 minutes with the husk or shuck on and a small salad loaded with fresh lettuce, green pepper, Swiss chard, beet greens, sugar peas, onions, tomatoes and cucumbers all from the garden and with a few chick peas and shredded carrots on top. Not only was it delicious but pretty to gaze upon with some feta cheese to round out the taste, yikes!!! Afterwards I fired up the riding mower and headed out to mow all of the yards even the backwoods yards. That kept me busy for the next several hours as I weed whacked the whole perimeter as well. It was after 4 when I finally finished.

Well after a lackluster supper of store bought frozen Salmon that was supposedly wild caught in the USA and processed by China. It was terrible and never will I purchase that product again. Someone tell me why would you let another country process your fish caught in our waters. I know they are cheap labor but not trust worthy, anyhow I ditched the rest of the 2 pound bag into my compost pile for the fishing worms to digest. The half runner beans picked from our vines were awesome. The beautiful summer squash I picked was tasteless as well and neither of us enjoyed it. I think there must be a different way of preparing that beautiful vegetable as it was awful in taste and the worms got a big treat once again, oh well it's not often we have a yucky meal and Nancy warned me about the fish processed overseas despite individually wrapped and quick frozen but I was hard headed, oh well!!!

Well after the cleanup from supper we decided to walk out to the mailbox and maybe visited the Heglar's, Grant and Shirley as we saw their car last night on the way home from Sparta; but they were gone with the blinds shut. We did the nearly 2 mile hike which included lots of hills without seeing anyone. The Hudson's are gone with their gate closed and so it our neighbor, Tim at the foot of the hill. It was just us on the mountain for the evening. I had noticed while mowing a new and different yellow jacket hole in the ground and luckily they didn't sting me after mowing over it. I loaded up a plastic bottle with a little gas and cloth inside of it for a wick and after dark stuck the bottle neck in the hole. Good by you nasty bees as they are aggressive this time of the year.

Well that was about it for the day as I watched and flipped back and forth between two pre-season football games. The Panthers came from behind and beat the Bills and the Falcons beat the Titans. Both of those winners are in the Bucs league and look rather impressive even though it's pre-season. It was time for a hot shower as I had dozed a little in the fourth quarters. I read a few chapters after the hot shower and it was nighty nighty for me just before 11. We were awakened around 2'ish with the much needed rain beating down on the tin roof and to the clock on the stove blinking. We must have temporarily lost power during the storm, LATER

Friday Morning

Well Thursday started out with unseasonably cool temps that were down into the low 50's, yikes and it was after 8 when we finally rolled out due to watching the meteorites flash across the skies until nearly 1'ish in the morning, wow I haven't been up that late in quite sometime. After our usual morning routines and a few quiet moments I whipped up some oatmeal with honey, cinnamon and fresh blueberries for breakfast before heading out to check on the gardens. The dew was exceptionally heavy this morning as it dripped from the upper dormer onto the tin roof; so I donned my gum boots for the walk around outside in the wet grass.

The beetles seem to be the biggest culprit so far this year along with the slugs and I found a few worms once again on the kale plants. I dusted them with a little Sevin dust after squashing several between my fingers and picked several Japanese beetles as well. I ended their eating frenzy with a thumb nail across their heads. My neighbor on top of the mountain uses these bags which attract them in droves but for some reason I haven't used them. The deer have been nice to me this year so far. We saw the same 2 bucks and a doe several times as we head out the lane leaving Keys McGee's yard. They are looking fit and well filled out and yesterday we saw another 3 deer on top of the mountain and one of those was still about half way grown. So we have plenty of deer around and so far have stayed away from the gardens except for eating the blooms off of a few cone flowers. The hunting season opens next month and I can vision a few packages of venison in my freezer for this winter. It's the best meat ever and with no hormones or steroids.

Well we made our daily trip to the top and I exchanged a few cucumbers for some delicious salad tomatoes with Jetta. Her tomato plants while aren't large are very prolific with upwards of a dozen or more baseball size fruit. She is having a banner year while mine are just starting to show some color finally. It nothing to brag about so far but at least a couple are finally turning and ripening. I gave our "mountain mom" a couple of beets which were very nice in size and she said they were delicious. I picked a squash from a plant given to us by Karin and we are unsure of the type but it's very unique in color and size. I think we will bake it in the oven like acorn squash. The yellow crooked neck squash never made in the lower garden but this squash plant did and I have another small fruit starting to grow as well. I picked a mess of half runner beans and since I stopped watering them with the garden hose much of the red spots have disappeared from the bean. I'm still somewhat disappointed with their out put as the vines looked great. I use to give beans away but so far I've only picked enough for our second mess of them, oh well. I think some of the seeds I sowed were ones I dried out and saved from my Florida garden last year and maybe that is the reason, oh well.

We sat and read for a couple hours on the porches after lunch as I don't have any major projects I want to under take except for taking out two more trees this summer in the backwoods yard. I may throw one of them down next week and dig the stump out depending on the shoulder. It's still giving me some pain and discomfort at times and luckily its the left shoulder and not my pickle ball playing one. I've always been a physical or active person that loves working, especially here in the mountains. Sometime I invent things to do to keep busy but being outside is what I love to do most.

We took off for Sparta to meet up with the Dalton's and Luffman's for a

supper at the Pizzeria. Kallie got back from her 5 week medical assistant job in Peru and we were excited to hear all about her work and travels there with a group of students from college. The pictures she shared on her adventures were awesome as well as her experience with helping the indigent folks in that country. She is leaving today for Raleigh as she enters into her second year of study. She has blossomed into a beautiful young lady and we are excited for what she is doing and becoming. We will miss her this Fall as she is several hours away.

Well we headed home just before dusk started to settle and it was rather nippy by our standards so we closed all the windows and settled in with a hot chocolate while watching the news and the first pre-season football game. I made it to half time then hit the showers and it wasn't long after a couple chapters in a Lee Child book that it was lights out for me at 10:30, LATER

Thursday Morning

Well Wednesday was a rather chilly day to start as the temps were down into the middle 50'. This is August and already the mornings are starting to feel like its Fall and the rest of the day really didn't get very warm as the humidity was very low with a gentle breeze for most of the day. We were bundled up in coats, hoods and blankets as we sat outside in our Adirondack chairs under the stars looking for the Perseid meteors that lite up the skies until nearly 1 in the morning. What a show we saw as they streaked across the skies for just a brief second or less. They came from all directions and some were much brighter than others. The very first one I saw was the brightest and lasted the longest so that had me intrigued for a couple hours.

The day started much the usual for me as I rolled out a little after 6. After a few quiet moments and the posting of this ramble I soft boiled a couple eggs in the microwave added a home grown tomato and jalapeno pepper and called it breakfast. Yeow, was that ever delicious and a way to start the gastronomic juices flowing. We ate rather lite for the rest of the day as we are trying to shed a little of our spare tires before the wedding in September. It seems our entertaining has added a few inches to the middle and our clothes are a bit snug, oh well.

Nancy hung laundry outside on the clothesline while I gathered Japanese beetles from the veggie and flower heads. They sure can mess up the leaves in just a day or so with unsightly holes. We decided to take off on our daily hike to the top of the mountain and the buildings in down town Winston were visible in the dry air. It was a beautiful breezy hike as we stopped and chatted for nearly an hour with the Browning's. They blessed us with some of their tomatoes which are coming in quite abundantly so I will bring them some cucumbers which we are getting abundantly. My tomatoes aren't ripening but I'm sure when they do I will have plenty to bless others.

We chilled for a couple hours sitting on the porch reading after a lunch of sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce. We decided to have some sugar peas, green pepper, celery, mushrooms and onions sauteed together and with a grilled salmon steak for our supper, yeow once again it was delicious with a little soy sauce. I got ready and headed out at 6 for some nearly 2 hours of pickle ball play with 4 other players at the Roaring Gap Club. The play was awesome and our rallies were great with some super play. They were still at it when I left just before dark. On the way back to the cabin I saw what appeared to be a bear down in one of the fields along the roadway. At first I thought it was a large deer but on closer inspection it turned out to be a bear. It was down in a gully and quite some distance away but by the time I slowed and tried to get a better look it was gone from sight into the bushes. This has been a week of firsts with the rattle snake and now the bear.

After a hot shower I popped some corn and we settled into the Ray's vs the Braves ball game on TV. Seldom to we get their games here at the cabin but since they are playing the Braves which is sort of a local team we watched the Ray's come from behind at Tropicana Stadium in St. Petersburg, Fl. and win 9-6. I know my friend Gerald Luffman must be cringing as we swept his team the Braves. We are still in the hunt for a wild card spot in the playoffs. Well, with all the hoopla about the meteorites we decided to give them a look and headed out under the stars around 11. The skies were just doted with stars, the Milky Way and constellations and finally I saw the first one which was intriguing. I saw a dozen or more and Nancy saw about half of what I saw as she tried to capture one on film. They were very fast and streaked across the sky for just a second or so. It was going on 1 or after when I crawled into bed and tried to warm up, LATER

Wednesday Morning

Well Tuesday back at the cabin was just another magnificent day with plenty of sunshine, a nice gentle breeze and temps just barely reaching the 80 degree mark sometime around 2 in the afternoon. It quickly receded as the day wore on and by this AM it's down into the middle 50's. The forecast is for highs somewhere around the middle 70's for the next several days with no precipitation. The rain we got on Monday night sure brightened up the gardens and the yards.

The morning was much the usual with a 6'ish roll out for me and a sleepin for Nancy. She didn't sleep well on our trip which is usually the other way around but maybe I'm reverting back to my old flying days when I slept in a different bed and in a different country each day or on the noisy aircraft as we sped through the air at 550 miles per hour. Wow those were the days!!! I did my usual morning routines of taking a few moments to honor my Creator, give thanks and lift up those we know who need some special considerations for healing and comfort from our LORD. Our country needs so many of us to pray for some leadership that will once again do what is right, honorable and pray for the healing of our land and for keeping us safe from those who chant "death to America".

I headed out to the gardens after a couple of soft boiled cackleberries with a ripe tomato and a jalapeno accompanying them. Wow does that combo ever wake up your taste buds and we tried to eat lite for lunch with just a salad as we were invited to a birthday cookout for Curtis one of our young friends. He turned 24 and along with Katelyn his girl they manage a small place with all kinds of animals; goats, calves, rabbits, chickens and horses. This is the same couple that our grandkids, Annsley and Gabe had such a fine time petting their animals. We had the usual fare with grilled; burgers, dogs, brats, covered dishes, salads and Katelyn baked his birthday cake which was delicious. We had a fun time with their families and friends and the evening was just perfect as well. They are refurbishing an old farm house with a couple acres of land for all of their critters and she had done quite well with canning from their garden as well. They are a throw back to what life was like many years ago with their love for the land and farm animals. Both are waiting for career jobs as he is waiting for a law enforcement position after completing the school for certification and she is studying to become an EMT.

We did get in a hike just before lunch to the top of the mountain and chatted with Shawnee our newest neighbor on top. She and her husband live in Raleigh and are remodeling a small cabin with an extra bedroom and bath. Their views are excellent from both the front and back porches and we had a nice chat with her before heading back down the mountain to a lunch of salad from the garden. I found another tomato starting to ripen lying the ground, but at least some ripening is finally occurring. I picked a nice mess of sugar peas and blessed our "mountain mom" Helen with some as well as a couple beets which are bigger than a baseball. Speaking of baseball we were able to watch the final innings of the game between the Braves and the Ray's on our TV and the Ray's won 2-0. I know our dear friend Gerald who lives here is an avid Braves fan so I will have to rub it in. They play again tonight on the tube.

Well after getting back into the mountain living where nothing is flat here except the floor and several trips up and down the yards and the hike I was ready for some horizontal lab after a hot shower and a few chapters in a new Lee Child book a little after 11, LATER