Well Monday was another work day around the cabin and then we entertained for supper our "mountain mom" Helen and her brother Joe. I must say it was our warmest day of the year at 84 degrees on the back porch during the hottest part of the day but that high is nothing like the heat and humidity in Florida. We did have a nice breeze at times which kept it bearable as I worked outside on the deck floor and railing during the hottest part of the day. My old straw hat gave me plenty of shade while I pressure washed the boards for the first time in 20 years.
The day started out with my internal alarm waking me at my usual, a little before 6 in the morning despite staying up until after 11 at night. It seems the older I get the less sleep at need despite working myself to a frazzle walking up and down these hills. The nice gentle breeze had the new wind chimes on the back porch playing a melodious tune as I wondered out into the yards and gardens checking on slug damage and the growth of some new seeds I sowed last week. I see the maroon color of Swiss chard in the appearance of very small seedlings popping through the ground and even the tops of some spinach seedlings making an appearance as well. Both of these veggies are cooler weather plants but I have seen the 40's during July here in the mountains plus the seeds were a couple years old and I wanted to see if they were still viable.
After my usual morning routines one of which includes letting Nancy sleep in and my quiet moments to reflect, give thanks and lift up in remembrance some who need some extra special thoughts and prayers during this their time of need. I love walking the yards and smelling the fresh cool morning air that has never been breathed before. The smells from the woods and gardens is intoxicating. I usually scare up a few rabbits as they love the clover which has taken up residence in the front yard grasses and the sound of the birds in the trees is comforting as day break approaches. The 64 degree temperature was awesome as I wondered around outside in the stillness of the morning wearing my gum boots in the wet grass from the overnight dew, yikes if it would only stay like this I wouldn't hesitate staying here year 'round.
After a safari of squashing slugs which has suddenly been reduced to just a few in the mornings hunt because we are now dry and could use a little rain. I'm carrying water to my plants to give them a drink in both the morning and again late evening. Only the recently transplanted squashes still wilt during the day but the rest of the veggie plants are doing quite well. I actually harvested some lettuces, kale and beet greens for the first time for our salad for supper of which Nancy had prepared Swedish meatballs in a nice gravy over Jasmine rice and green peas. Helen brought some popsicles for dessert which was perfect afterwards. They seemed to really enjoy their meal and our sharing of family thoughts before and afterwards. The big news for them was the large black bear both of them have seen near their cabins and the damage done by a lightning strike that fried some of Helen's appliances. These two amaze us as they are routinely busy outside working their places on garden tractors, weed eating and clipping bushes and they both are in their late 80's. While they do lots of social things together since both have lost their spouses many years ago, they are usually confused when together as being husband and wife. It's so funny when we go out to eat they always get separate checks for their meals and the looks they get by our servers is hilarious.
I finally finished the ladder work on the cabin as I got rid of the black mildew that likes to discolor the cabin walls and now I'm about to finish the deck as well. Pretty soon I will have caught up on the "to do list" I set for myself to complete for this summer except for setting some posts around the gate at the foot of the driveway and then the repainting of the basement floor some time when cooler weather prevails and the floor warms up with less condensation. That is one nice thing about living here for 5 months or so and that is there is always something to do and when that's done you find something else to do. I thrive on keeping busy and active.
On a sad note our Tampa Bay Lightning got shut out last night 2-0 by the B'Hawks from Chicago and who are now the champions in hockey for this season and now have the coveted Stanley Cup. Our team had a great season and they got beat by a better team last night so now my focus in sports in our our Ray's who have been playing decent ball and are either in first place in our division or near the top, LATER
