Well things are quiet around the home front this morning after the Ross Family left yesterday morning at 6 for Seminole, Fl. They got home safely around 6 in the evening. It was a rather cool day here with overcast skies for the biggest part of the day and even a lite rain shower in the afternoon. The skies cleared around supper time and it was beautiful the rest of the evening.
We started the day much earlier than usual as Amy awakened us around 5:30 as they made their last minute preparation for leaving so we stayed up the rest of the day. Actually after our morning routines of quiet times and the posting of this ramble we started on cleaning the cabin of Rocky slobbers and hairs. I vacuumed and then cleaned the floors while Nancy stripped beds and cleaned the upstairs as well as had two loads of laundry going. I even vacuumed the basement because Rocky spent a lot of time down there cooling off on the cold basement floor. That kept us busy all morning until lunch time then it was outside working in the yards and flower beds. What a keep busy day until late afternoon when I settled into the Rays game which they lost in the 9th inning 6-5 to a good Oriole team which is now in first place.
I'm finally going to get some cucumbers and zucchini squash as I see some on the vine which looks like they will make instead of rotting which has been the occasion thus far. I did add some bone meal(calcium) around the plant so maybe that made the difference. The tomato's are loaded with lots of large green fruit but none ripening or signs of ripening yet and both types of beans; 1/2 runners and bird eggs(October) are loaded with blooms and small beans. The bell peppers are maturing and need harvesting as well as are the jalapeno peppers. The wine berries are ripening but not enough to make any jelly with, which we really never enjoyed like the black raspberry jelly and the blue berries are huge this year with what looks like a bumper crop and should be ripening soon. I think I'll have plenty to freeze for cobblers this winter in Florida.
The dahlias still haven't budded up but the plants looked nice and healthy. They sure look like zinnias which we love and now some of them are showing some colors in several different beds. The marigolds are beautiful once again around the fire circle garden as well as are the cones and snap dragon's. Finally things are getting beautiful but about 2 to 3 weeks late according to last years pictures. We did take a modified hike over and up the Rich Hill Mountain road and stopped to visit with Ann and Frank. They are doing as well as can be expected as Frank is on constant oxygen. Anne is gardening with what little land that is usable. Their front yard is so steep and continually washes with these heavy down pours but they have small beds along the driveway which is filled with all kinds of flowers and veggie plants and of course she has tons of potted as well as hanging baskets and plants on their front porch and deck. She has a tomato plant in a pot that is showing signs of ripening. We visited for close to an hour before heading up the steep roadway and then across our back road and finally down the steep backwoods trail to the cabin. What a beautiful place GOD has blessed us with and to come into clearing of the cabin and the land is just so awesome and magnificent. We of course did a lot of work but its just so rewarding to see this creation out of the once wooded land.
Well that was about it for the day as we cleaned up some leftover and then I cut up a whole chicken we were going to fix with the Ross's but ate fresh caught bass instead from our "mountain moms" lake. After supper we walked around the yards but the grasses were so wet from the lite rain shower I had to put on my gum boots and Nancy called it quits since her tennis shoes got soaked. I pulled a few weeds and grasses in some of the beds until dusk then settled in until it was shower time and some horizontal lab.
Today is corporate worship day at Cornerstone in Sparta as we missed last Sunday due to Amy and the girls being here. We will watch Cornerstone in Leesburg with Gary Hamerick then S.R.B.C. later in day with Pastor Dereck after worshiping locally with our Pastor B and then lunch out at the Pizzeria with the Frankis Family. Hopefully we can get a hike in later in the evening, LATER
