After my usual routines of a few quiet moments, a lite breakfast and then the posting of what we did the day before so our grand kids will sort of get the feeling of what life was like in the mountains with us I headed outside. There was plenty of dew and wet grass which is great for slugs. I smashed dozens as they made their way towards my gardens and a few that were already there. They or their first cousins the cut worm took down two of my Zinnia seedlings over night. Luckily all of my Zinnia seeds sprouted and I have tons more up and ready to transplant into individual 9 packs. These flowers are amazing as they will produce several flower heads on one stalk as they mature and some will grow to 3 feet in height. They definitely have become one of our favorite annuals for color and overall beauty.The steevia cutting I made for a friend looks great and should have roots by now and soon ready for transplanting.
I fired up the weed whacker and did all of the yards which took me right up to lunch time so we decided to get our daily hike out of the way before eating. We did the mountain hike at a fast pace as we saw no one and never stopped except for a quick rest stop on the steep incline. We were back at the cabin around 12:30 for a lunch of deer sausage(Caleb blessed us with), cheese, sliced cucumbers and crackers. The deer was excellent much like salami and if you didn't know the difference you would guess it as the best salami ever eaten.
I headed out to fire up the riding mower and commenced to mow for the next couple hours non stop. No sooner than I finished mowing we got a heavy down pour which was welcomed by the grass and the gardens. We received nearly a 3/10ths inch of rain which is right much in such a short period. We sat on the porch and read until neighbor Gerald came by with his new bride Karyl for a visit. His son Gabriel came by later as he had driven up from Raleigh for a visit with his dad over father's day. We remember when he was but a small lad always wearing his little red rubber boots with his mother carrying him piggy back while we hiked the mountain and now he's over 6 feet tall and built solid as he is a wrestler in high school. I think he mentioned he will be a junior next year. Wow do these kids ever grow up fast.
Well it was close to supper time after they left and declined to get together for card games later so I whipped up a guacamole for us using fresh cilantro and thyme from the garden, wow was that ever tasty and took the edge off of our hunger until it was time to fry up some fresh rainbow trout that I caught on Thursday evening, yeow what a tasty meal along with some steamed Brussel sprouts in a Dijon sauce. The trout was superb and you can't get it any fresher as it came from a private mountain lake and into an ice chest after unhooking it. I blessed our "mountain mom" with a couple meals of it as well and she said it was delicious as well. I froze enough for another meal for a later date in a plastic zip lock bag with water which keeps it almost like the day you caught.
After the cleanup we wondered around outside the yards and gardens where I found tons of the slimy slugs out in the grass from the earlier rain. Needless to say I sent them onto their happy hunting grounds with the toe of my boot. Well it was after 9 before we headed in the cabin and I finished the book by Lee Child BAD LUCK AND TROUBLE. He is a decent author and keeps the story interesting with lots of action and thought provoking insight into his main character Jack Reacher. I started the new read based on actual real life scenarios of spy's during the Civil War involving women. My daughter Amy read the book and recommended it and she was right on with the interesting facets of these real women who took sides in the war and did their best to make a difference. It's titled LIARS TEMPTRESS SOLDIERS SPY by Karen Abbott and what I've read so far is fascinating.
Well today we headed to worship with our mountain family at Cornerstone Church on this special day as they graduate a men's 9 month in depth program called Top Gun that started last fall. The stories they tell of their relationships between this band of brothers is awesome and this all reflects onto their family life. There will be many tear filled eyes as they share about this experience as well as does their spouses and kids on the change that occurs between and within them. Should be an awesome day of worship and afterwards we will visit one of the local eateries for lunch which always offers free pie to all the dads or men. I may just have to have some of the butterscotch pie which is always offered and seldom seen in Florida, LATER Here is a picture of our new quilt from Cracker Barrel and some after mowing and grooming the yards and the fresh trout supper.
