Well Tuesday was mainly a fun day that found us down our mountain only to climb Stone Mountain with the Tracy's then over to Widow Falls where we slid down the rocks into a pool of cool clear water, yikes was that ever refreshing after our 3 mile hike out to Wolf Rock and back. It was a bit on the hot and humid side of the weather with rain clouds off in the distant and even a few fell on us. The hike was mostly shaded which helped keeping the temps down.
The day started much the usual with a 6'ish roll out for me. It was still rather dark outside which indicates the summer is just about gone but the heat and humidity have decided to linger. This has been the most humid summer ever and especially the last couple of weeks. The grass and flower beds love this weather. I did my usual morning routines of a hot cup of Turmeric drink while posting my ramble and then a few quiet moments with my Creator to lift up those I know and love and to humble myself while giving thanks for the many blessings in my life. I especially lifted up our nation as we are on the verge of anarchy with all of the racial unrest, disregard for law and order and for failing to prosecute the elites in our society for obvious and blatant disregard of the rule of law.
We were having the Tracy's along with their son Ryan who is visiting from Florida so we put the cabin in order with a through cleaning and getting ready for our hike and then supper later in the evening. They came around noon and then we headed out shortly thereafter down the mountain. This was their first time to the park and they were in awe of this huge mountain of stone. We decided to take the moderate hike and leave the strenuous climb for a cooler day. This hike was no picnic but the vistas where awesome as we stood on what could be the surface of the moon. This huge ball of solid rock went on for thousands of feet in any direction and looked to be separate from the main rock mountain by a large valley with a stream in between.
We headed down to the small waterfalls where we cooled off by sliding down the slippery smooth rocks into a 3 foot or so of cool water. The guys did the slide while the gals walked around in the cool water cooling off. We did the slide several times and then noticed a small water snake on one of the rocks who was attempting to catch the small minnows for his meal as they leaped in the water. He was beautifully marked and didn't let our presence discourage him from his attempt to catch a fish. A few other folks came while we were there and one party had a huge Great Dane that wasn't to thrilled with the cold water.
We headed back up the mountain to our place after a stop for some ice cream in Roaring Gap. The crews who were clearing the power lines of trees and limbs were in our driveway and road so we had to wait a few times for them to clear out their cuttings before we could get to the cabin. They sure are doing a great job of widening the power lines and even sawed down a huge dead tree at Gerald's that was hanging close to his garage. They sawed that down about half way which will make it so much easier to take down the rest of the way without it falling on his building. I expect they will be in our road for several more days.
I picked another 8 cucumbers today after picking 14 on Monday. This has been a great year for them but not so great for tomato's as they have yet to ripen. The squash isn't doing well with all of this humidity either, oh well we have had a great garden thus far. The Shasta Daisies are just about gone as well but the Zinnias are doing fantastic with the circle drive exploding with color. The Morning Glory vines are just about to the top of the arbor on one side and the honey suckle on the other side. Hopefully we will see some of their beautiful blue flowers. Next year I will start them earlier and plant them from seedlings instead of seeds around the arbor. The black raspberries are sending out 3-4 foot shoots and so we may have berries next year as well.
I shucked 8 ears of corn we brought back from the Shenandoah Valley and had the grill hot for hamburgers. We had tater salad that Kathryn made as well a homemade biscuits for strawberry shortcake with vanilla ice cream and real whipped cream, yikes what a feed. We of course skipped lunch so that made it easier to eat big for supper. After the clean up we got into a card game called OH -ell. It was a raucous game with Ryan wiping the floor with us despite just playing it for the first time. Afterwards I took the guys up to the top of the mountain on the golf cart for a view as we weren't sure if Ryan had ever been there. They headed out just before dark so we finished up the dishes and watched the Olympics until it was shower time and then I headed into read a little before lights out around 10:30. What a great day we had and then this evening we are meeting at the Tracy's cabin along with the Carlan's for supper and some card games. Retirement is a must, LATER
