I started the day much the usual with a 6'ish roll out to my cup of hot green tea laced with turmeric while I posted this ramble from the day before's activities and then spent some quiet moments with my Creator giving thanks and lifting up several for comfort, healing and safe travels as well as those in the path of this storm called Dorian. The forecasters are saying Florida will be effected in some way the first of the week or maybe sooner. I'm praying the upper winds will keep it out to sea away from land and any destruction. The state is under a watch and our family and home is located in central Florida and on the west coast, so we do have concerns for both.
After a breakfast of eggs and grits with the hottest jalapeno pepper(thanks Mike) ever I headed out to check on the gardens and flower beds. The pesky deer made their presence known again last night eating the flowers and new growth on the raspberry bushes, so far they have stayed away from the rest of the gardens except for eating my beets off to the ground. They too know what is good for them and I know when I'm eating the venison neighbor Gerald gives me from his harvest here on the mountain they have eaten well. There is nothing like home grown meat with no steroids or hormones added to it.
I loaded up the hoe and shovel on the golf cart and headed down to a pile of top soil which has grown over the years from the runoff of the rain. The soil had no or very little stones or gravel in it, so I loaded up the golf cart three times over the morning and spread the soil in several low places in the backwoods yards but mainly in the flower beds as they needed new dirt. That kept me busy for a couple hours as well as giving the outhouse its final coast of paint; matching up the colors from the spray paint on the silicone caulking. The old shed in over 25 years in age and still looks good for another several years as Mr. Roy used pressure treated wood for the frame and flooring during construction. We got in a mountain top hike before lunch and it was another perfect day for distant views.
We stopped and chatted with Ben and Laura on the way down and he had a picnic table he wanted to get rid of that was made of pressure treated lumber. We really didn't need it but to help him out and to give us a table near the fire circle we loaded it up on the golf cart and brought it down off the mountain. I'm sure it will come in handy and can be left outside in the weather. We had a bite of lunch around 1'ish then chilled for awhile before taking a golf cart ride to the mailbox and visiting with neighbor Gerald who is constructing another chicken house. He plans on having chickens again for the fresh eggs which he did a few years back; so it looks like he will be here on the mountain year round again with occasion trips to Blacksburg.
Well that was about it for the day except for some piddly jobs and forays around the area. We took a golf cart ride in the evening to the top of the mountain and down the back roads for the first time and noticed where the road had washed out last year. It will take some heavy rain again to wash this area out as it is fortified with huge boulders and the blacktop is once more in place. It was a beautiful evening so when I got back I hand watered the gardens from the rain barrel and noticed the recently transplanted lettuces have added another leaf during the day. They love these cool nights and warm days with lots of sunshine. It's supposed to be this way until the first of next week.
The Rays finally came through with a win at home and kept their playoffs hopes alive for a wild card spot. They have some tough competition coming up against the Yankees and the Red Sox's later this next month and that will probably determine if they get the slot for the playoffs. College football is back this weekend and I'm thrilled. We head down to Wilkesboro today Saturday for the big FaithFest concert which lasts for about 8-10 hours with the headliner King and Country plus lots of Christian artists. It's an outside event and it does get rather warm in the afternoon sun but your allowed to bring coolers with food and drink plus your chairs. It's a great event but about an hour or so from the cabin. We will meet up with the Tracy's about half way there and ride together and have a lunch somewhere in the area, LATER
Another view from the back deck of Ben and Laura's looking down on our side of the mountain with Bullhead in the distance.
