Well Friday after a cold start was another nice day even if it was a bit chilly at times with the stiff breeze. There was tons of sunshine and blue skies which made for some great outside work for me. Nancy stayed inside with the heat on and in her sweat shirt but I loved it. After a late start around 7'ish I did my routines of course its still pitch black outside so I posted this ramble and then did my quiet time and then headed out around 8 ish for my solo hike. The gals(momma deer and her twins) were in the backwoods yard eating the green grass until I headed out then off into the woods they scattered. I see them some morning eating the corn neighbor Gerald puts out this time of the year and we saw a huge buck on our afternoon hike to the top of the mountain.
I piddled around in the front yards once again raking pine needles and leaves and filled the other flower and garden beds instead of using manure this year for a change. It takes me a couple of days when I first get here in the summer to weed these beds so this year I'm not using the horse manure because of the weeds it produces, plus the leaves and needles breakdown giving me compost. I'll use a little lime to offset the acid they produce to bring the PH of the soil back to neutral. Hopefully this will save me a ton of weeding next summer. I took off the blades on the riding mower and sharpened them for next season and then removed the battery. I then cleared off the porches and stored the furniture in the back of the shed with the mower in front of it so I can just remove the golf cart first and then the mower come next summer when the grass is knee high
After lunch we took a golf cart ride to the top of the mountain after checking on the mail. We spoke with Carl who is up from his Wilmington house on the beach to winterize their beautiful place for a few days. It's rather warm on the east coast where they live for most of the year. We came back and decided to get in a hike to the top of the mountain as well and we came up through the woods checking out the property and the lines. It's fun to walk through the woods now that they are knee deep in leaves. We stopped and chatted with Billy on top for a few and then saw Sarah and Tom on their way in. We visited with them just for a few as they were in their car. We came across the mountain then headed down the back road which was covered in dead fallen leaves and then up our steep driveway. That is great exercise and Nancy fell asleep while watching TV.
I found a great show on Nat Geo titled the Texas Ranch House that brought back living in 1867. It's a great story thus far with everything about ranching and living in that era. Very interesting and enjoyable as the men worked the 10 thousand acre spread looking for wild longhorn cattle and the women worked the house and gardens. There are no modern or present day conveniences for any of these folks and they dressed in the period as well. No running water, no refrigeration and no electricity. I watched that until shower time around 10'ish awakening Nancy asleep in her chair. That hike took it out of her, LATER
