Sunday Morning June 30th

 Well Saturday was a total work day and I felt it come evening as I could barely keep my eyes open until 10'ish when I usually hit the sack, oh well. I got a lot accomplished with most of it being outside with the weed eater and then the riding lawn mower but some digging as well. My muscles are really feeling it this morning as well and I'm sure glad that today is a day of rest, plus worship both on line and in person. 

I started the day with my well before 6 rollout to my routines that begin with some quiet time to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift up several by name for comfort and healing. All seem to be holding with this. After checking my social media responds I headed out on my solo morning hike to the top of the mountain. What a beautiful morning with fog surrounding the views for a change but so quiet as well. It looked at times like it was going to rain but none fell except during the early morning hours we got a short down pour.

After getting back from my hike I checked the gardens for deer damage and they did a number on my jalapenos again as well as the three peppers plants that were blooming in the out back patch. They were eaten down so much I don't know if they will recover, luckily I have several pepper plants in the upper garden patch which the deer never get in. I took two of the jalapenos plants that still had some leaves on it and transplanted them into the upper patch in hopes they will make. I have yellow squash almost ready to harvest and several small cucumbers on the vine as well. The wild wine berries are ripening as we speak and many are ready to pick and they are so sweet and delicious.

After a breakfast of oatmeal with lots of fresh berries I headed out to weed eat all of the property which kept me busy for a couple hours and then after lunch another couple hours on the riding mower doing the whole property as well. The place looks great after the little bit of rain and green is showing in the grasses once again. The flower beds are starting to add some growth from the sowed seeds and hopefully will start blooming in the next week or so. I noticed a rabbit ate down some of the tomato plants I had extra and set out down below the garlic bed, so I had some volunteers in the compost pile which were quite large. I set them out not knowing what they are and then sprayed them with an insecticide in hopes to thwart the bunny from eating them, oh well.

I grilled pork chops for supper and along with a sweet tatter we ate well. We had had a large garden salad with the last of the macaroni salad for our lunch. After the cleanup I hand watered a couple of new seedlings then headed in to see where the Rays lost again. Its a tough year for them as they are way out of of the league leading first place Orioles, LATER

Saturday Morning June 29th

 Well Friday was mainly another work day except for the early evening when we headed to Sparta for some items needed for Monday's supper for Bobby and family and then over to The Frankis place. We left the cabin around 4 and didn't get back until after 10. Jake is building a beautiful huge house on their 20 some acres and its huge to say the least and the setting is awesome. The morning started with my usual well before 6 rollout to my routines that begin with some quiet time to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift up several by name, all seem as well as can be expected.

I headed out around 7:30 for my usual solo hike to the top of the mountain and then down the road passed Steve's place and up the steep driveway for a great workout. I did about half of that hike later in the morning with Nancy as she is trying to get back to exercising and because of her high BP she is doing small hikes, but at least she is exercising.

After a delicious breakfast of an egg sandwich which is really sour dough bread toasted with mayo, tomato, lettuce, pickles and onion. That held me until an apple around 1'ish. I knew we we eating large at Katelyn's around 6:30 which she had smoked chicken thighs, deviled eggs, salad and we brought a huge bowl of macaroni salad, all of which was excellent. I decided to burn stumps once again so I had them both going for most of the day and they did burn down considerably but the stumps which are solid oak are so hard and it will take another couple burns before at least one is gone. The larger of the two will take many more burns but I'm gaining. I drilled some holes into the one stump and added a little gas into the holes in hopes that will help with the burn and I believe it did. I'll not burn again until after Bobby and family leave.

Nancy was busy with her usual getting the upstairs prepared for family with making beds and cleaning. We did get a little rain over night so that helped with the dry conditions. I cut Katelyn a nice mess of lettuces and cleaned them for her as well as we took a nice mess of raspberries. I picked again and while we are getting about a fourth of what we first were picking, there are still some red ones on the vines. The grands should have a fun time picking whats left and then with the rain overnight the wine berries should come in. The blueberries bushes are loaded as well but not ripening just yet.

Well today Saturday I'll weed eat and I'm so thankful for the rain during the night. It actually woke me up with the hard down pour on the tin roof but it didn't last long enough to gully wash the driveway. Since I've been spreading some of the lose gravel by hand getting up and down the drive is much easier, LATER 

Friday Morning June 28th

 Well Thursday started out with my usual well before 6 rollout to some lite rain dripping off the roof. What a nice way to start the day after not having any rain for a couple of weeks and then a couple of time during the day it rained very lightly but at least it put some moisture back into the ground. It was just enough to get a small drip from the rain gauge but it was wet. After all of the rain to start our visit here I never thought I would be begging for some rain, oh well.

I skipped the early morning alone hike because of the rain, but Nancy and I later in the morning took a hike which was her first really hike down the driveway and up to the back road behind our property and then down the steep trail, she did good and really seemed to like it. I piddled around the gardens setting out the last of the seedlings then harvested some beautiful radish tops as I sowed the seeds in the wrong sign of the moon and got just a few radishes, but beautiful tops. I'll wait and sow in the dark of the moon in a week or so which is went you sow seeds that grow into veggies below the ground. These huge beautiful tops is a prime example of sowing in the wrong sigh of the moon.

After a lunch of a fresh garden salad I headed down to get the basement ready for Annsley and Gabriel who will be staying down there in the bunk beds next week. I damp mopped the floors after vacuuming and moved the bikes out to the shed as to give them more space. That kept me busy for a couple hours and then it was set on the porch and read. I finished an awesome true story titled BEFORE HE AWAKES of a wife killing two husbands for money and while she got away with the first murder they eventually convicted her for the second after some good police work and all of it happened right here in N.C. She was eventually sentenced to death but was dropped down to a life sentence and is still in prison to this day. I started a new read by Bill O'Reilly titled KILLING THE MOB which is another true crime read.

Well it did rain litely a couple times during the afternoon, but sunshine did prevail with less heat so it was nice to be outside on the porch reading. We finished up the leftover from a couple days ago of fresh grilled salmon and some pasta with white sauce, delicious despite still being a leftover. We got word of a YouTube website that was showing live Keswick basketball games so we tuned in at 8 to watch grand daughter Ava play. She scored a dozen points and made several rebounds plus several assists. Their team won by 16 points against a very aggressive team in St.Petersburg. We saw several folks at the game as well as we would be there if we were at home in Seminole. 

We did tune into the presidential debate and Biden is ready for the old folks home as he mumbled and stumbled through his answers without a teleprompter. He is such a disgrace to the office and we know why America is in decline just as he and Obama have planned and are doing. Trump has issues but he has made America First in all that he did while in office and we can only hope he is once again in the white house and rights this ship which is sinking under this corrupt inept potus and his administration, LATER

Thursday Morning June 27th

 Well Wednesday was once again a hot and dry afternoon after a rather nice morning which started out with a well before 6 rollout to my usual routines that begin with some quiet times to honor my lord Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift up several by name. All seem to be holding with this post. I headed out for my morning hike to the top of the mountain after some stretching and then came back to check the gardens and the deer ate down all 6 of my jalapeno pepper plants that were starting to bloom, dad gum it, oh well. I ate a deer burger for supper so I guess we are even just not the one that ate my peppers. I'm hoping neighbor Gerald here will deliver it to me next fall.

I took the leaf blower and headed up the back steep trail and cleared it out from debris as the hiking up it was rather slippery to say the least. It had been a couple years since I last cleared off the trail. I'm making this post this morning with the sound of a light rain on to the tin roof and it a very nice sound for a change as we need rain after none for a couple of weeks. I was planning on burning stumps today but so glad to hear this sound on the roof and I'm sure the gardens and yards are welcoming it as well.

I did piddle around in the gardens and hand watered them as well as the flower beds. After a breakfast of egg sandwiches with tomato, lettuce, onion and pickles I headed out once again to fire up the chain saw and work on the couple of stumps. The upper stump has just about got down to ground level and with at least one more burn it should be gone or least down low enough as to not interfere with mowing and the other tall stump which was 3 feet high on the lower side is down considerably. It will take several more burns before its down to ground level, anyhow burning them out is so much more easier than digging them out which I did a few years back and plumb wore myself out doing it.

I fired up the riding mower and brought it out from the shed to crawl under it and take off the blades and then sharpen them. With this rain I should be able to mow again before Bobby and family arrive on Monday evening. I was worried the grass would be brown and dried out and I didn't want to mow it but there are some tall weeds in the mix. We took the golf cart to the mailbox and then stopped on the way in and spoke with Grant and Shirley for a few before heading on in to visit with Ann and Frank for a few as well. The sun was really starting to heat up by then so we came home and turned on the a/c for the rest of the day.

I sat outside on the back porch and read for a couple hours until supper time then after the clean up and the sun was off the berry patch we headed out to harvest another batch of berries to freeze and give away. Once we were finished I hand watered until dark then we settled into some hand, knee and foot until after 10. Nancy beat me on the last hand in a highly contested game. It was shower time and some horizontal lab shortly thereafter for me as she is a night owl, LATER

Wednesday Morning June 26th

 Well Tuesday found us down off the mountain where the temps were in the low 90's, yikes that reminded us of Florida except for the lack of humidity. Nancy had a doctor's appointment at 11: 30 and then we visited Helen at the senior center for over an hour before stopping at the new Chick filet for a delicious lunch. It's pricey for a couple sandwiches but oh so delicious as we had the new maple bacon cheese one, I had the spicy while she had the regular. Afterwards we headed to Wal-Mart across the street for more items as we get ready for a week of company plus we are visiting with our local friends on Friday evening for supper and games. 

I started the day with my usual well before 6 rollout to some quiet times to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift up several by name for comfort and healing. All are holding with this post. I headed out around 7:30 for a hike up the mountain and then down through the hoaders place before coming up the steep driveway. There wasn't much wildlife out and about. After a quick walk around the yards and gardens I hand watered some of the patches and then had a breakfast of oatmeal, banana, walnuts, raspberries and honey with some cinnamon, delicious. 

I had a couple areas on the long driveway that till was holding patches of loose gravel so I headed down on the golf cart and a rake and scattered these pockets of gravel which cause the truck to spin out before getting traction. That sure made it nice when we came back home from Elkin in getting up the driveway. I've not used Gerald's tractor yet as he made it know it was available if needed. Such a great neighbor and we are hoping his recovery from his knee replacement is doing great.

Well not much happened after getting back on the mountain as the sun was quite hot so I sat on the back porch and read for a couple hours until we had a lite supper of some leftovers. We had deer burgers from the other night left over as well as grilled salmon so Nancy won't have to cook for a couple evenings. I hand watered again as the sun set and brought some shade and shadows to the gardens and then I tuned into the Ray's game on the laptop. They were playing good baseball against the Seattle team. I hit the shower around 9'ish and then read for another few minutes until 10 then it was horizontal lab for me, LATER

Tuesday Morning June 25th

Well Monday turned out to be another hot day after a rather nice start. We need rain bad as I'm now hand watering a couple times a day with the new seedlings. The wind really dries everything out as well. I see where we are in a drought zone with no moisture for at least 3 weeks. The morning are nice up until the early afternoon when the heat comes upon us.

I started the day with my usual well before 6 rollout to my routines that begin with some quiet time to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift up several by name for comfort and healing. All seem to be holding with this post. I took my first solo hike up the backwoods trail and then down to Steve's place before meeting Nancy who is finally starting to do some exercise, because of her high BP. She came down the driveway and we walked up and through Steve's place. We sent him a photo of his now abandon place for a couple months and then walked back up the steep driveway. That is a workout in itself.

I piddled around hand watering the gardens before we got ready to head out to Galax for some shopping and to run a couple errands. We made a stop at Cumberland Knob to drop off a sack of trash and then to the UPS store in Galax to make a return and then I dropped Nancy off at Wal-Mart while I headed out to Lowes for some items. We loaded up once again with groceries for the visit next Monday with Bobby's crew for a week and then some visitors who will be here with them, but staying in their own AirBNB. We don't have as many visiting this year and thats a blessing because of Nancy's BP issues and doctors appointments.

I picked up a nice fresh salmon filet and I grilled it when we got back home around 2'ish. We decided since we were attending separate Bible classes at church for both men and women we would eat early and make that our big meal of the day. We had steamed broccoli and cauliflower and pasta with an alfredo sauce with our salmon and sat outside on the deck under the umbrella. There was a nice breeze and it really hadn't got hot yet, but that soon changed around 4'ish. I spoke with an old airman friend from our days in California flying in C-141's back in the 60's. We have lost several of our buddies to agent orange as we carried in to Viet Nam on the aircraft and was exposed to it both on the plane and in country. So far I've been unaffected to my knowledge but many of us loadmasters were diagnosed and have now passed away.

Well we headed out to Cornerstone around 6:30 and spent two hours within our respective classes. There was good attendance in both classes and then headed home just before total darkness. We saw a couple deer along the roadway, but thankfully stayed there as we see them lying along side the roads after being hit. I hit the shower and then watched a little of the last hockey game for this season and Florida was up by goal with one more period to go, LATER

Monday Morning June 24th

Well Sunday found us at Cornerstone in Sparta for worship but before heading out we watched another great message from Gary Hamrick on line from Cornerstone Chapel regarding Paul's message about the government in the book of Romans. Everyone who is a Believer should hear his message and take heed.

I had started the morning with my usual well before 6 rollout to my routines that start with some quiet times to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and then lift up several by name for comfort and healing. All seem as well as can be expected. I walked around the property checking for deer and slug damage but all seemed well. I sure miss my hike with Steve at 7:30 to the top of the mountain, since he left for Seminole around 6'ish. He made it back safely after about a 12 hours drive.

We headed out around 9:30 for Cornerstone and heard a good message from pastor B and afterwards met up with the Frankis Family at a new Mexican eatery just outside of town. I was very impressed with the service and the authentic food and the price was very reasonable. Its small with some outside sitting as well as inside. I think there were 7 tables and booths inside and at least that many outside. That held us the rest of the day except for an apple and some peanut butter around 7'ish.

I watched the Ray's finally win the best of 3 games in Pittsburg before heading back to St.Pete. They have so many injuries and their pitching isn't as strong this year and I doubt they will make the playoffs if they continue to lose, who knows maybe they will turn it around and finish strong. We ended the evening watching some girls pro softball teams play before hitting the shower and then some read time before lights out around 10'ish. We desperately need some rain as I'm hand watering daily and the grasses are turning brown which is quite unusual, but the high heat in the afternoons and the breeze is drying everything up. I did pick another basket of black raspberryies and they too are starting to dry up on the vine. Today Monday its off to Galax from errands and then again back to Cornerstone at 7 PM for both a women's and mens Bible study classes, LATER

Sunday Morning June 23rd

Well Saturday was probably out hottest day so far this year with temps in the 60's to start the day and maybe it reached the low 80's. We did turn the a.c on during the afternoon as Steve came by around 3'ish and we got in another game of hand, knee and foot before supper and the another game afterwards as he is leaving this morning for home. We had him for a supper of delicious grilled venison burgers and tatter tots and then we saved enough room for the raspberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream that Nancy made the day before but we were to full to eat it, yeow was that ever delicious as well. It was a fun week with him visiting daily for suppers and games while he and I took morning hikes to the top of the mountain and we even shared some tools while he worked around his place and of course I was busy during the day at our place.

It will be just the two of us for the next week until son Bobby's family arrive for a week of total activities and some awesome eating as well as games during the day with the grands and of course some of their friends and ours together here for cooking out, in the mean time we have to make a run to Galax for shopping and then down off the mountain for doctors appointment and to visit with Helen in Elkin. I sure hope we get a little rain as the grass in turning brown here. I'm hand watering the gardens and flower beds daily now with this heat in the afternoons.

I started the fires again on the two stumps and they burned through out the day and one is getting close to ground level while the other stump which was a couple feet in height has dropped down to about half its original size. Both were huge oaks and hard to cut with the chain saw and drill with bits in hopes of getting the burn down into the stumps. Steve had an old chainsaw he picked up at a thrift store so I worked on it and got it running and I'll use it. Mine is old and the chain needs replacing and not much count for sawing into the one stump. I got his to run and it sawed up nicely and old log I had down below once I changed plugs and gave the carburetor and the air filter some cleaning. I'll keep it for now as he has no use for it and use it as my own.

Nancy won both card games with huge wins but we did give her a run for it as I won the night before with a huge win. Steve played hard and won a couple rounds but ended up with no wins during the last couple of days. He is a hoot to play with and loves playing cards. He taught us another game the two of us can play or with other friends called Michigan rummy or whatever state you want to call it. We will have to teach Jake and Katelyn this new game. 

After Steve left around 7:30 I helped with the cleanup from supper and then headed out to give the new seedlings a drink before dark. The sun was hot during the afternoon and dried out the soil. Most all the plants look good except for where the deer ate off the sunflowers. Today is worship day at Cornerstone in Sparta at 10 and then on line at 8:15 with Gary Hamrick at Cornerstone Chapel. We take time every day usually in the morning to give thanks and to honor Jesus as well as lift several up by name for comfort and healing. Keep Steve in your prayers for safe travel back to Seminole, LATER

Saturday Morning June 22nd

Well Friday was another busy day with lots of outside work in the gardens and yards and then again in the basement as we get ready to have the Triplett grands here in about 10 days. We want to get the bunk beds in the basement made up before they arrive which is a chore bringing the mattresses down from up stairs to the basement, so I will get Steve before he leaves tomorrow to help with that chore today.

I started the day with my usual well before 6 rollout to my routines that begin with some quiet time to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift up several by name. All seem to be holding with this post. I headed our around 7:30 to meet Steve at his place which is down our driveway and up the back road and we hiked to the top of the mountain. The views were a little better but still lots of haze off the mountain. We saw no one as we hiked across the road and then down the back side through the woods and came out at our cabin all in about 30 minutes or so. I'm really looking forward to doing it daily now that Steve and I have our mountain legs, but he will be leaving on Sunday morning. I know it will be another confrontation with Nancy to do this alone but I will do it. I now have the hand walkie talkie working so she can check on me and see or hear if I'm accosted by a bear or mountain lion which she is afraid of, oh well.

 I did harvest a nice mess of lettuce when I got back from my hike and cleaned and then spun it dry and broke it up into the fresh salad bowl and have a couple of bags for sandwiches as well. I have radishes almost ready to harvest as well and the yellow squash is maturing and will be ready to harvest in a couple days. I trimmed off all of the suckers and lower limbs on the tomato and pepper plants as this is supposed to improve their growth and out put with fruit. I transplanted the last of my leafy green seedlings which were kale and Swiss chard into the upper patch and now have the garden totally sowed. I was hoping the sweet taters or tubers would send out slips for planting but that doesn't look good for this years planting as its still some what dormant despite some roots. That was my first ever attempt to try and grow them and now next year I will know what to do and when to start them growing slips for planting, oh well.

 I did manage to hand rake some of the large loose piles of gravel that make it difficult getting up the driveway and that was my first chore of the morning while it was cool and that made for a good sweat. Neighbor Gerald who is recouping in Winston with his knee replacement offered me to use his tractor when needed, but for this small chore the rake worked much better. I noticed on my walk around the yards these deer overnight ate down the lilies around the well house and the sun flowers. I decided to spray the ones still standing with some insecticide in hopes to deter them from their almost daily overnight eating, oh well. I'm eating them tonight with burgers which are so delicious which our neighbor Gerald blesses us with yearly with his hunting on our land. They eat my good flowers and gardens which make them even tastier on the grill.

It got rather warm here in the evening and with the oven on Nancy wanted the a/c on and we kept it on over night, but its back in the 60's this morning and I turned it off upon rising for the day. Steve came for a supper of chicken fajitas, dried pinto and October beans as well as cornbread and sauteed peppers and onions. Nancy picked another mess of black raspberries for a cobbler but we were so full we decided to try the cobbler tonight with our deer burgers, LATER 

Friday Morning June 21st..longest day light of the year

 Well Thursday was another work day which meant I was burning once again on the two stumps, one is just about gone but the other one has quite a ways to go, but it keeps me busy and I will succeed by the end of summer.

I started the day with my usual well before 6 rollout to my routines that begin with some quiet times to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift up several by name for comfort and healing. All seem to be holding with this post. I headed out with neighbor Steve around 7:30 for a morning hike to the top of the mountain and wow was it ever nice to be back in that mode. We saw a few squirrels but no deer this morning but did see evidence where they had eaten off the tops of the sun flowers along the fence near the red shed over night, oh well at least they didn't eat the garden down.

I had the stumps on fire and kept them burning for most of the day but they are two tough oak stumps with a diameter of about 2 feet or more. It will take several more burns before I get them down to ground level. Its very challenging but keeps me busy. I did trim the maple tree by the compost pile with a long pole saw which works the shoulders and they are a little stiff this morning. 

The gardens are doing as well as can be expected without any rain for over a week now. I'm hand watering the new seedlings daily and will harvest some of the beautiful lettuces this morning for the salad bowl. The flowers seem to be doing OK but the black raspberry bushes are producing like never before. I will once again harvest them this morning.

We were supposed to attend a Bible study couples class at 7 in Sparta so we ran errands to the landfill, library and then was going to eat out but once we were in town we got the notice of the cancellation of the class so we picked up a few groceries at Food Lion then headed home with some chicken tenders and had a garden salad with them, then called Steve and had him come up and we played cards until after dark. I think he has one or two more nights here before he heads back home and then he goes on an alaskan trip with his family for a couple of weeks.

Well that was about it for Thursday and now today is a new day and I hope the best for all especially getting along with Nancy as she has become miserable at times with this BP issue, LATER

Thursday Morning June 20th

 Well Wednesday was another work day with a delicious supper and cards games afterwards with friend and neighbor Steve who will be here until this weekend when he returns to Seminole. We took our morning hike together around 7:30 to the top of the mountains and views were much nicer but still distant views were hazed and full of fog or mist. All in all it was a great hike and we saw no one out and about.

I had started the day with a well before 6 rollout to my routines that start with some quiet times to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift several up by name for comfort and healing. Helen seems much better as Nancy spoke with her and I listened in while pulling weeds in the front flower bed. She seems at times a little confused and I'm sure that comes with her age.

I headed out after a breakfast of cherrios as the milk needed to be used after the grands left to putter around in the gardens. So far the deer have been kind and not destroyed my veggies except for one time when they ate off some lettuces and pepper plants. I did transplant into the garden proper some Swiss chard and kale seedlings that I had started from seeds. Everything else is maturing and now the pepper plants are blooming as are the squash plants. Nancy made a yellow squash with pea pods in a stir fry over Jasmine rice for supper which was delicious to say the least, along with grilled marinated chicken breasts.

I fired up the chain saw and made some cuts in the two large oak stumps I'm burning out this summer. They are slowing burning up but it will take many more burns to get down to ground level. Between the saw cuts and the drilled holes and the fat wood or lighter knots I'm using I will eventually burn them away. Its a chore but not nearly as tough as I did one summer when I dug out 8 or so stumps by hand. Now that was a job that I will never forget.

Nancy had several loads of laundry drying outside on the clothes line during the day and I think we have caught up on that chore since the grands are gone. We await the other set of grands in about 10 days or so for a week and then the laundry starts all over again. We will today skip supper at the cabin and cards as we will attend a couples class at 7 in Sparta but before we will run some errands and have supper out at the Muddy Creek eatery. after Steve left I soon hit the sack around 10'ish after a hot shower, LATER

Wednesday Morning June 19th

Well Tuesday was another busy day with some fun thrown in for supper and then card games afterwards with friend and neighbor Steve who is here until this weekend then he goes back to Seminole, Fl. I started the day with a well before 6 rollout to my routines that begin with some quiet moments to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift up several by name for comfort and healing. All seem to be holding with this post.

I did an early morning full hike to the top of the mountain with Steve and we stopped and chatted with Billy on top at his beautiful log home on top before heading back down to a hearty mountain breakfast of fried leftover tatters, eggs and toast with a jalapeno pepper cut up in my tatters. That held me except for apple with some peanut butter until supper when Steve supplied a froze lasagna and Texas toast for supper as we supplied the fresh garden salad. He also supplied a decadent frozen pie for dessert. After supper we played Michigan rummy and some golf until 8:30 while Nancy rested from the golf game.

I piddled around in the gardens and gave the burning stumps a day off as Nancy wanted to hang laundry and with the wind shifts she didn't want the wood smoke on them. I headed up into the woods after lunch looking for lighter knot pieces and found some but couldn't find some caches I had made months ago, oh well, either I forgot where they were or limbs falling from tress had buried them. We took the golf cart on a trip to the mailbox but saw no one outside to chat with so we came back and I watched some National Geographic videos made by Bob Ballard who found the Titanic. He has some amazing footage of the Titanic, the Bismarck and the Lusitania all of which he found.

That was about it for the day as supper was delicious and the games afterwards were fun and the hike was especially great. I'm planning on doing it daily in the mornings even after Steve is gone. I did watch some of the Rays game and they were winning when weather caused a delay, so it was shower time and then some horizontal lab at 10'ish, LATER

Tuesday Morning June 18th

 Well this month is moving right along and soon we will be seeing the longest day of the year on the 21st. Where is the time going? I started the day with my usual before 6 rollout to my routines that begin with some quiet moments to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift several up by name for comfort and healing. All but Helen seem to be doing OK. She was back in the hospital with breathing issues and we haven't spoken with her since. 

Yesterday was a total work day for us except after supper we played cards with Steve who joined us for a delicious supper of grilled pork chops, asparagus and buttered parsley taters, wow so delicious as does everything taste so good in the mountains. I did my first hike to the top of the mountain with Steve and did it every feel so good. I'm starting that event again hopefully each morning especially this week with Steve. We jumped a large doe as well as several squirrels on our hike.

I came back and had a breakfast of oatmeal, cinnamon, honey, walnuts, banana and a couple of strawberries. Afterwards I headed out to get the fires going in the two stumps that I'm trying to burn out. I did finished the one stump by cutting most of it out, but the two huge oak stumps will take several more days of burning to get them down to ground level which I'm hoping to do this summer.

After lunch we took a golf cart ride out to the mailboxes and then I moved some seedlings into 4 packs. I noticed what I thought was a zucchini squash plant is actually a large yellow squash with lots of little ones. I had bought 4 yellow seedlings and this one large seedlings was marked zucchini, oh well. I'll be giving away yellow squash to neighbors and at church. Everything else is looking good with tons of beautiful lettuces and the herbs are doing quite well.

After supper we played one game of hand, knee and foot and Nancy slaughtered us after losing the night before, oh well. After the game and Steve headed back to his place we hit the showers and was soon ready for some horizontal as it had been a long day for me, LATER

Monday Morning June 17th

 Well Sunday was another day that started with some worship on line and then again corporately at Cornerstone in Leesburg and then in Sparta. Gary Hamrick had a great message from Romans and we had a guest speaker from the Gideons. Afterwards we headed to the Pizzeria for lunch with Steve who rode with us to church then to lunch and then to Food Lion for some items.

I started the day with my well before 6 rollout to my routines that begin with some quiet times to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift up several for comfort and healing by name. All seem to be holding with this post. The lunch was delicious as we look forward to that weekly meal after church. The Frankis Family was camping this weekend for Fathers Day and our Pastor B and family was on a cruise. The attendance was down to about half as many were absent. We stocked up on some Bogo items and weekly specials before heading home and to drop Steve off at his place.

I decided to start a fire once again in the two tree stumps I want to burn out this summer and then worked on the other stump I'm cutting out. It is much more rotten than the two huge oak stumps but I'm starting to see some progress on the burning affects. I worked on that project for about 4 hours before we knew Steve was coming up for snacks while we played cards at 5. We decided to play hand and foot which is boring after adding the knee to the game, so we played that first game without the knee and the decided on the full game which took us close to 3 hours to play. Steve won the first game and I won the big game handily. It was 9:30 before we finished and Steve headed out.

I hit the shower and then checked on the ball scores and the Ray's finally won a game against the Braves. I got calls from both Amy and Bobby about Fathers Day and once again I was brought to tears by Amy beautiful cards. Bobby mentioned he had something coming from Amazon so to look for it this week. All is well with them as Katie is off with her folks to a funeral in Tennessee, so Bobby has all 4 of the kids for a couple of day. Rocky still hasn't eaten anything since being home which wasn't the case here. That was about it for the day as by 10, I was ready for some horizontal lab, LATER

Sunday Morning June 16th

 Well Saturday started out much the usual with a well before 6 rollout to my routines that begin with some quiet time to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift up several by name for comfort and healing and for traveling mercies for daughter Amy and her family as they left around 7'ish for hot Florida. It was a sad moment for us and a few tears were shed as they left as we love our family and even the hard headed Rocky. He was missed mostly for his snoring, slobbering and just plain willful display of not listening, but we love him and it was quiet with out him being in the way. He was so funny as they packed the car he wasn't letting Tyler out of his sight as he wanted to go home. I know he misses the freedom here and the cool temps, but he loves his family.

Well after they left it was busy, busy the rest of the day as we cleaned the cabin from top to bottom because Rocky sheds a lot and then it was clean up the effects of his slinging slobbers everywhere inside the cabin. I harvested a huge mess of lettuces and cleaned them and took a bag down to give to neighbor Gerald who is recouping from knee replacement and give him his mail. We chatted for a few minutes filling him on all thats happening with us and he reassured me he wants me to learn to use his tractor when he's not here. That was a big blessing to know of its availability when needed to keep the driveway passable.

I decided to set the two stumps in the backwoods yard on fire in hopes to burn them out this summer. The grands would have loved to be apart of this but with Rocky presence I thought it best to wait until he was gone because he is so nosey and loves sticks as much as the grands love working with fire. They made several fires in the fire pit using their skills of fire making without matches. What an entertainment that was for all three of them. I did move up some Swiss chard seedlings into 4 packs and will set them out in a few days into the garden proper and then and watered everything especially the beautiful lettuce seedlings. I've been removing the first blooms on the tomato plants as well and any suckers to see if all these videos on tomato growing is true when it promotes these actions.

Steve came up for a supper of leftovers and then afterwards he taught us a new card game called Michigan Rummy which we really enjoyed and it was fun and much quicker than our usual hand, knee and foot card game. He stayed and we played 3 games with me not winning any after being ahead until the last hand, oh well. We did speak with Helen and she sounded a whole lot better on the phone and said she felt better since having covid. Well the Ross Family got home after a 11 hours trip, so thanks to all who kept them in your thoughts and prayers. We sure had a grand time with them and of course it was very quiet around the cabin. We are free from company until the 4th of July week when Bobby and family arrive and along with friends who won't be staying with us but will be visiting. 

Today is worship day both on line and at Cornerstone in Sparta. We have so much to be thankful for and we keep praying the terrorist will be eliminated within the world and hopefully we here in the USA get a real potus who loves Americans and our freedoms, LATER

Saturday Morning June 15th

Well Friday was our warmest day thus far and we actually turned on the a/c in the afternoon for the first time this summer. The mornings are nice and once that sunshine took over from the clouds it got up into the 80's which isn't really hot for Florida, but for here its hot. I started the day with my usual before 6 rollout to my routines that start with some quiet time after posting this ramble to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift up several by name for comfort and healings, all are holding at this time except Helen who had contracted covid at the ALF in Elkin. We spoke with her and she sounded horrible.

Well we had another fun day with the grands but they are leaving this morning for Seminole. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers for traveling mercies and safety. They should be home by dark depending on how many stops they make with Rocky.

We ate good yesterday with a huge breakfast of French toast, bacon and eggs plus juice and then again for lunch with deli sandwiches and then Mexican dishes for supper. We ate every supper on the deck which was delightful. Rocky ran and played and got so hot at times we put him downstairs in the basement to cool off from time to time. He is one hard headed animal but such a gentle giant. He can not stand some things and barks for you to quit what your doing like singing or hugging and he hates cardboard boxes and sticks which just drive him crazy. He attacks large sticks and the grands just tease him with them. I'll be picking up discarded sticks this morning after they leave as well as taking down the fences around the flower and veggie gardens. We played Sequence again after our showers and the girls won again 4-1. They are the champs this summer.

It wasn't long until everyone hit the sack as they get up early this morning and leave. I hear them upstairs getting dressed and then will head down for coffee before heading out. Rocky will surely miss his freedom here and the coolness of the mornings and nights, LATER

Friday Morning June 14th

 Well Thursday was another busy, fun filled day with excellent eatin' and then we had our old friend Stevie visited us for supper from Florida. The temps were a little warmer as it got into the upper 70's and low 80's but cooled back down for the evening and night. We did set around the fire after supper and the Ross Family along with Rocky took a nice long hike just before dark.

I had started the day with my usual before 6 rollout to my routines that begin with some quiet time after posting this ramble to honor my lord Jesus, to give thanks for another day and to lift up several by name for comfort and healing. All seem to be doing well at this time. We got ready and the gals and myself headed to Galax, Va. for some shopping around 10:30. I loaded a couple sacks of garbage and a cooler and we headed off stopping to dump garbage at the Cumberland Knob area on the parkway. There are 3 huge dumpsters and we use them when going to Galax instead of driving into Sparta.

We made a stop at the Mule Hell place for smelly soaps, etc and its very distinct in odor and then I dropped the girls off at Hobby Lobby while I went and had my ears lowered. I picked them up and dropped them at Wal-Mart while I visited Lowes for some items before coming back to pick them up. I brought a book to read while they shopped. We had another load of groceries and some items before we headed home. It was going on 2 ish when we made it back safely and had a bite of lunch. Tyler and Sam stayed back at the cabin as he was working and Sam is just not a shopper and he an Rocky paled around.

Me and the grands went looking for sassafras trees and found some on top of the mountains. We pulled a couple young saplings and saved the roots for making a tea as Sam is into everything that is holistic and good for you. I told him about the time I took a bunch of youths on a wilderness trip and they were sick and down in the dumps and I found some sassafras roots and made a tea which perked them up, Sam was intrigued and I showed him what the leaves of the tree looked like and he found some on top of the mountain and brought them to me. We went looking and took a hoe and dug up a couple roots. Its been many moons since I last tasted and smelled the roots which root beer was once made from.

I cut up two whole chickens and grilled them along with fresh green beans and oven fried tatter wedges and fresh from my garden a salad. The grands have been picking the ripe rasp berries in the back yard and they had enough to add to a peach cobbler for our dessert along with some vanilla ice cream. They also made a delicious and one of my fav's a banana pudding after getting back from shopping. We had a bunch of bananas ripening and that was a great way to use them. The cobbler was the best ever and so easy to make and we all sat around the fire circle enjoying the talk and the dessert. It was going on 9 when we broke up and Steve headed home with an extra plate from supper as he is here alone from Florida. Sheri stayed back as Steve wanted to get some work done and she is a distraction, LOL, oh well.

We all came in a Rocky was so hot we put him in the basement for the cold floor to cool him down. He get so worked up with his breathing and slobbering after a hike that its becomes some what of a worry, but he cools down in the basement. I hit the showers and then read until 10 as everyone was whupped after playing some badmiton and then running around the property. What a fun day we all had, LATER

Thursday Morning June 13th

Well Wednesday was a full day that started with a well before 6 rollout to my routines that begin with some quiet time to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift up several by name, all seem to be holding with this post. The Ross Family was still sleeping in along with Nancy but my internal alarm has me awake around 5'ish and I linger for a few before rising to the occasion.

Nancy made a huge mountain breakfast with sausage and eggs as well as toast and there was fruit and juice. which held me until supper time except for an apple. She had a huge pot of zuppa soup for everyone but Tyler who can not eat garlic which is just the opposite of me as I try to eat a glove almost daily when I think of it. I piddled around in the gardens and did start to work on the one stump which is slowly rotting. I used my new saw blade on my recip saw and worked away about a third of the stump to below ground level; Nancy made me quit after working up a sweat  and then it was just entertaining the grands the rest of the day which they basically did themselves with golf cart rides, fire building and running around the property with Rocky who at times got so hot from chasing them.

They did take a hike with him to the top and gave him a bath not only because he stunk but to cool him off when they got back. He spent quite a bit of time in the cool basement during the day while Tyler worked from down there as well. Amy was washing and drying several loads of laundry from their trip as the space was limited in their rental condo. I had two racks of baby back ribs on the smoker for 6 hours and they were done to perfection when we ate around 5:30, outside on the deck with black beans and rice, broccoli and a fresh garden salad mainly from my lettuces. Of course there was tons of fresh fruit and homemade oatmeal cookies for dessert and then after the cleanup we played several games of badmiton before having a campfire so the kiddos good have smores.

We sat around the fire until after 8 as dusk was falling and then played the best of 5 games in Sequence. The gals won 3-1 and then it was shower time for for me and some horizontal lab a little after 10. It was a full day and we so enjoyed the grands as they have really matured, LATER

Wednesday Morning June 12th

 Well the Ross Family got in around 11 last evening after a long trip from Colorado and it was an exciting reunion for Rocky as he went wild with enthusiasm for their return. It was long past midnight when every thing quieted down enough to get some shut eye. Many thanks to ALL who kept them in your thoughts for safe travel.

I had started the day on Tuesday with my usual well before 6 rollout to my routines that begin with some quiet time to honor my lord, Jesus after posting this ramble and then to give thanks for another day and to lift up several by name for comfort and healing, all seem to be holding with this post. I checked the gardens for deer and slug damage and didn't see much of either except a grasshopper had eaten down a couple lettuce seedlings yesterday. I'm finally seeing some color in the row of kale I sowed as well as in the beet row. Both of these are super foods and so good for you especially for Nancy with her high BP.

We headed to Sparta to pickup some bread she had ordered from Becca's and then a stop at Walgreens and finally at Food Lion once again to stock up. The cupboards and freezers are filling up once again as we prepare for these couple of days of feeding the Ross Family and then Bobby and family arrive in two weeks for a week. There goes the waist line again but its so much fun and the excitement with the family being here as well as some friends. The friends Dan and Carol won't be staying with us for a change as they are with their daughters family in a rental in Sparta, but we will certainly be entertaining them during that week.

We got back on the mountain around 1'ish after a final stop at the meat market for more produce which I sure hope gets eaten. We ate lite as were having shrimp and pasta for our supper later in the evening. I piddled around outside setting up the badmitton net and did some hand watering of the gardens after a delicious meal. I did set and read for a couple hours on the porch as it was just a gorgeous day with bright sunshine and temps in the low 70's after a chilly start to the morning. We did play a game of hand, knee and foot and I even up the scoring with a win. Speaking of a win the Ray's finally won against a Chicago team in their home field with a walk off homer, LATER

Tuesday Morning June 11th

Well Monday was down right chilly to start the day and as evening progressed it got chilly again, wow what a summer thus far here in the mountains, much like years ago when we first bought the property. We never needed a/c until the last couple years and now it returning. I believe its a cycle that occurs instead of the climate change all of the wokers are promoting, oh well.

I started the day much the usual with 5:30 rollout to my routines that begin with this ramble and then some quiet time to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift up several by name for comfort and healing all seem to be holding and Helen seemed much better when we visited her at the senior living center in Elkin. Nancy baked fresh chocolate chip cookies and we took her a sack of them and she right away ate two as mentioned how delicious they were. We stayed until they came and got her for lunch then we headed over to Lowes which was on the way to Wal-Mart and picked up an item I needed before filling a grocery cart at Wal-Mart. Our cupboards are full once again and we have to shop at Food Lion again today as we head to Sparta for 3 loves of fresh baked bread at Becca's coffee shop.

After getting back on the mountain we had some leftovers for lunch around 2'ish then a fresh garden salad around 6'ish for our supper. I then fired up the riding mower and mowed every thing but the backwoods yard which I usually mow every other time as it doesn't grow quite as hardy as the rest of the yards. There is more weeds and moss but its getting better each year when I lime it from time to time. After mowing I weed whacked everything as well and it looks great. I did transplant some marigold seedlings into larger pots and the stirred up the packed soil around most of the garden veggies. I only hand watered some of the small seedlings, despite the rain last evening, as the wind and sun had the top soil dried out.

I started a new read and it a page turner titled INTO THE DEEP by the author Robert Ballard. Its an autobiography and his claim to fame is the discovery of the Titanic. Its a very interesting read and one I couldn't put down when ever I had a moment to relax. I read in the morning before we headed down off the mountain and then again after supper forgoing any cards or baseball games on TV and right up until my shower before bedtime, LATER

We spoke with Amy and family and they left Colorado early in the morning and made it to Missouri to spend the night after a brief stop at his parents house in Kansas. They should get in here sometime late this evening. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers for traveling mercies.

Monday Morning June 10th

Well Sunday was an awesome day of worship both on line and in person at Cornerstone in Sparta. Afterwards we headed to the Pizzeria for lunch with the Frankis Family and had a delicious pan pizza and salad and of course saw several we know from coming up here every year for the past 20 years for 5 months at a time.We have certainly been blessed in several ways and now Nancy seems to have her BP under control with meds.

I had started the morning with my usual well before 6 rollout to my routines after posting this ramble with some quiet moments to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift up several by name for comfort and healing. All seem to be holding with this post. We spoke with Helen and she seemed in much better spirits and she seems to think it was her phone which caused her to be discombobulated when we spoke with her Saturday afternoon, anyhow she seemed totally different on Sunday morning as we spoke with her on the way to church.

Bobby called a couple times to let us know they won the first 4 games in the tournament and was playing for the championship but lost by 4 runs in the last game. Gabe played great, both at bat and in the field and their record was much better than the Ray's who lost again yesterday, oh well. Dee called last evening to check on Nancy and we are hoping they can come down before we head up for a long weekend with them the first of August. After church and lunch we checked out the Airb&B that Dan and Carol are staying at with Neal and Danielle over the 4th of July when Bobby and family come. That should be a fun week with great eatin', games and activities with them and the grands.

Amy and family get back here late on Tuesday night and will stray until Friday or Saturday before heading back to hot Florida. We will have fun with the grands here before they go and I know Rocky will be happy to see them. He has been a good dog just a little hard headed at times as he likes to roam into the woods. Buddy Steve Nymark is coming up on the 12th for a couple weeks so we will have fun with him as well as eat together and play games at night. We played 4 rounds of hand, knee and foot and Nancy won on the last round so she is up one in wins. Today we head once again back down off the mountain to visit Helen and shop at Wal-Mart and Lowes as we get ready for the Amy and family, LATER

Sunday Morning June 9th

Well 3 weeks ago were on the road to the cabin from hot sunny Florida and a ton of things have happened since then. We've had the heat on several times both in the mornings and evenings but no a/c yet except for when the Ross Family stayed upstairs for one night. We've had gully washers a couple of times and even Nancy spent the night in the hospital in Elkin because of her blood pressure out of whack, anyhow that seems to be regulating some what and she seems to not be so anxious about it which really makes a difference.

I started Saturday morning with a well before 6 rollout mainly due to Nancy and Rocky snoring, at least Nancy only snores at night whereas Rocky does it all day and night. I did my routines of some quiet times after posting this ramble to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift up several by name. All seem well except Helen seemed a little confused yesterday evening when Nancy called to see how she was doing. That was the most I've ever seen her so confused and not knowing who we were. We stopped and visited with Gail Redmon whose husband George died over the winter, she seems to be adjusting now that she has a friend here in the mountains which is awesome. Everyone else is holding.

I piddled around in the gardens and yards transplanting more lettuce seedlings I had started from seeds as well as harvesting my first mess of lettuces for the salad bowl. It was beautiful to say the least. I did some hand watering of some of the seedlings then build a climbing fence for my cucumbers which are doing quite well in the new area of the bed along the dry gully in the backwoods yards. I noticed the deer were in the circle bed but not in the backwoods gardens, hopefully due to the new scare crow we installed. I put cages around the 3 cherry tomato plants in the circle drive and then sowed some marigold seeds in the front area of that garden. It was rather chilly to start the day but soon warmed up enough that Nancy hung a load of laundry in the bright sunshine.

We decided to take a golf cart ride to the top of the mountain for only our second time in 3 weeks and visited with Billy who was outside working his garden and flower beds. We chatted up for nearly  half hour before heading back down the mountain for a bite of lunch. We had started the gastric juices flowing with a large mountain breakfast of eggs, sausage, grits and toast and I added a tomato I had brought from Florida. I still have a few that are still ripening, but they are still juicy and delicious.

I sat and read for close to an hour on the back porch with a couple of 5 minute catnaps in between as the outside temps were so pleasant with a nice breeze despite the direct sunshine being hot. It was cool in the shade. Neighbor Tim did come and scrape the driveway using neighbor Gerald's tractor and he did a fine job, so I stayed out of his way and if Gerald wants me to learn on his new tractor he can show me when he is back after his knee replacement, anyhow that was about it for the day except we played a couple rounds of hand, knee and foot after supper and I even up the overall score, now with us being even after being down two games. The Ray's lost again to the Orioles at home and the Florida Panthers were up by 2 goals when I called it night.

Today is corporate worship day at Cornerstone and then lunch out with the Frankis Family. We need a little rain despite all of the rain when we first got here. The wind has really dried things out especially the gardens and flower beds, LATER

Saturday Morning June 8th

 Well Friday was another busy day that started with a well before 6 rollout to my usual morning routines that always begin after posting this ramble with some quiet moments to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift up several by name for comfort and healing. All seem to be holding with this post. I headed out after feeding Rocky the bull mastiff who at times is great company but other times he is like a hard headed kid. Now he does do one thing I like and that is pooping in the woods so I don't have to clean up his piles, but he hates anything that makes noises like golf carts, lawn mowers, vacuum cleaners and even my electric razor, oh well, plus he is the nosest animal ever with always sticking his nose into whatever your doing and if not careful he will either eat or carry off whatever your doing.

I headed over to Ann and Frank's cabin which is just through the woods to help with them planting some seeds and seedlings. He is on oxygen 24/7 and can barely function and she needs a knee replacement, so they are very limited in what they can do. We visited with them a couple days ago and I offered to dig up an area where they wanted sugar peas and blacked eyed peas sowed. I also brought them some zinnias seedlings and transplanted them into the ground as well as sowed an area with seeds. Both of them are into flowers and now mostly potted veggies and have several on their deck. We were the ones who helped them find this cabin and truly love them as neighbors which we only saw one time last week and learned of their infirmities. They are not one to ask for help or complain but once we learned of their issies they quickly accepted our assistance.

We loaded up garbage from them as well as our own and headed to Sparta to the landfill first, then the library after a stop at Alleghany Cares which is a thrift store to browse around remembering our dear friends Steve and Sheri who ran a thrift store for years as well as former neighbor Jodi, who Nancy and she visited several in the area in past years. I'm not a shopper for used items but found it very busy there and we have donated to this facility over the years. We then headed to Becca's for some bread and said hello to Matt the owner and ordered some bread for next Tuesday when the Ross Family get back from Colorado and will stay another 4 nights with us before heading back to Florida. We then headed to Food Lion for some items, one which was t-bone steaks on sale at 8.99 a pound. I grilled a couple and they were very tasty with a couple baked tatters loaded with butter, sour cream and jalapeno pepper on mine. Delicious to say the least. Nancy couldn't  finish hers so I have a nice piece for either steak and eggs for breakfast or on a sandwich for lunch.

After supper and the clean up I drug out the garden hose and gave everything a drink as it was hot and very windy during the days and we noticed some of the flowers were showing some wilt. We stayed outside until 8 and then headed in to watch the Ray's lose at home and Nancy with some Dr.Pol until shower time and then some reading a new book from the library which I picked up while in town, LATER

Friday Morning June 7th

 Well Thursday was an uneventful day with nice temps and a very brief rain shower which maybe lasted 5 minutes at the most, but the skies were cloudy with just a little sunshine at times. We stayed on the mountain except for a visit with neighbors Ann and Frank who now both are limited in what they can do physically so I did a small chore for them in helping with their gardening and will go back this morning and sow some seeds for them after filling their bed with wet soggy dirt yesterday.

I started the day with my usual well before 6 rollout to my routines that begin after posting this ramble with some quiet moments to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift up by name several for comfort and healing. All seem to be holding with this post. I headed out after a breakfast of oatmeal with fruits and nuts to check on the gardens for deer damage. They have stayed away from the veggies but have found some delight in Nancy's flower beds so I sprayed some insecticides on them which I hope leaves a nasty taste in their mouths if they attempt to munch on them again.

I piddled around in the gardens and then fired up the weed whacker and cleared out the areas down below the yard where the wine berries are located. I'm sure when the grands get here in July they will be picking them as the bushes are loaded this year. That wore me out and kept me busy until almost lunch time when we took the golf cart over to Ann and Franks and sat a spell catching up with them. His eye sight is slowly giving away and she needs a knee replacement, so I dumped a couple of bags of wet top soil into their raised bed but it was too wet to sow seeds so I'll go over and do that this morning before we run errands in town.

Well I piddled around in the gardens after lunch then sat on the back porch and finish a book by James Patterson. We ate leftover Zuppa soup for our supper and its was even better than the night before.We did fix up a scarecrow for the backwoods yards and put on a new shirt and a hat that was sitting in the basement which I never wore and was paw paws old Gravel Springs cowboy hat. It sure classed up the scarecrow and with the milk jug head under the hat he looked great. It received several comments on FB after Nancy posted the photo. After supper and the clean up, we settled into a game of hand, knee and foot and I finally rallied to beat Nancy with her still ahead in over all wins, now by just one win. We watched the college women's softball world series game and I believe Oklahoma beat Texas two straight for the title. I soon hit the shower and was in the horizontal lab mode by a little after 10, LATER

Thursday Morning June 6th

 Well Wednesday was rather cloudy with some early morning fog to start the day with temps a little warmer than the past weeks, but very comfortable to be outside working. We did get a brief afternoon shower but no gully washers thankfully. We still still haven' got our driveway scrapped but with the buckets of sand in the back of the truck its no problem getting up the steep driveway. Tim our neighbor at the foot of the drive was suppose to use Gerald's tractor and give me a learning lesson on how to use it but for some reason he is just too busy or has forgotten. We are managing without the drive way smoothed out, oh well.

I did my usual morning routines after a well before 6 rollout that begin with some quiet time after posting this ramble to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift up several by name for comfort and healing. All seem to be holding with this post. I ventured out to check on the gardens and flowers and while the deer stayed away from the garden veggies they did munch on the new transplanted flowers we purchased at Lowes as well as some of the perennial cone flowers. Nancy wasn't happy about that so I drug out an old scarecrow and placed it by that bed in hopes that maybe a deterrent. I did transplant some of the seed lettuces into the upper garden and now noticed where the beets are showing some colors as well.

It doesn't look as if the sweet tater I had stuck in water in going to produce any slips, so I'll give up on that project for this season and maybe try again in next year. Anyhow they are easier to buy since you need some space for them to grow. I did move up 8 tomato seedlings into larger pots so now I will have the 6 seedlings I bought, the 3 cherry ones from my Florida gardens that were volunteers and now 8 from seeds I had stored from a couple years back. I didn't mark what they were but I'm sure they are great tomato's if they make.

I'm still hoping the kale seeds germinate and give us the leafy greens to go along with lettuces. I need to sow some Swiss chard seeds today as I forgot about them giving us more leafy greens for the salad bowl. The squash plants as well as the cucumbers plants look good thus far in the new bed along the dry gully in the backwoods yard. I dug a golf cart load of silt from the gully to replenish a couple areas in the yard that had washed away. This dirt was so rich as it is from the run off down the mountain and collects in the gully. I'll use whats left for the gardens next fall.

I was able to get the 2 cycle weed eater working that Mike had given us a couple years back and worked a little around the wine berry patch down below. I'll use it again today for some areas that need mowing before harvesting the berries that are starting to turn and hopefully ripen in a couple weeks. I took a couple hours during the afternoon and sat on the porch reading during the rain shower. Oh, how I love the two porches on the cabin which are great for being outside but still under shelter especially during a rain.

Nancy prepared a huge pot of zuppa soup for our supper and its one it not our favorite soups. I had two bowels which I shouldn't of had, but with butter and crackers its just that tasty. We finished up some salad for lunch and now today I'll harvest some lettuces for the first time this summer for the salad bowl. I tuned into the Rays game in Miami while Nancy was on the phone with friend and neighbor Carol for two plus hours and then we watched the WCWS between Texas and Oklahoma. The Rays won again and then I headed in for a shower before the end of the softball game and the Sooners were ahead at that time, LATER

Wednesday Morning June 5th

Well Tuesday found us in Sparta during the morning for a quick trip to Walgreens for some new meds for Nancy and then the bug man came around 4'ish to do our ever other monthly spray both inside and outside against black ants that once invaded the cabin, other than that it was mostly a boring day on the mountain.

I started the day with my usual well before 6 rollout to my routines that begin with some quiet moments to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift up several by name for comfort and healing as well as for the folks in Israel. It's terrible what the UN is doing in condemning them what the terrorists did to innocent folks and the brainwashing by our higher learning educators is even worst. It just makes me ill to think America has turned against what is right and healthy and now promotes genocide of the Jews. Despicable people who adhere to this thinking.

Well I took Rocky on a walk around the property and noticed where a deer entered the garden and ate off some lettuces and stomped out a couple radish seedling, but other than that the gardens are progressing. I sowed more beet seeds as well as kale seeds in hope they make. The seedlings I transplanted into 4 packs are adding leaves and I will set them out today in the garden proper. Not much else going on as I have to wait until Rocky leaves to start my next big project, which is burning out the two stumps in the backwoods yard.

I fried up the trout that Caleb blessed us with and still have another mess frozen for another meal. It was delicious to say the least along with some sauteed yellow squash. After the clean up we headed out to walk around the yards and give both Nancy and Rocky some exercise. She is now on stronger meds for her BP plus some anxiety meds which hopefully helps. We did sit and watch a semi final of the women's softball game which Oklahoma won in the last inning after being behind at one time 5-2 against the Florida Gators. Tonight the final begins with Texas vs Oklahoma. The Ray's finally won in Miami as well at  9-5 and then it was a hot shower and some horizontal lab around 10:30. I almost forgot to mention Nancy won in the last event of hand, knee and foot so she holds a 2 game lead, LATER

Tuesday Morning June 4th

 Well Monday turned out to be a very nice day but most of it was spent down off the mountain as we were back to see the doctor about Nancy's BP. Hopefully she will get it regulated to where we can at least hike the mountain or have some fun as she has anxiety fits from time to time. We will be back in Sparta today for more meds from Walgreens, oh well.

I started the day with a well before 6 rollout to my routines that begin with some quiet moments to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift up several by name for comfort and healing. All seem to be holding. We did visit with Helen for about an hour while in Elkin. We learned they sold her brother Joe's beautiful place not far from her cabin for 450K. Its on nearly 18 acres with a beautiful  modular home, what a steal with that much land and the views are awesome, oh well.

We did some shopping at Wal-Mart while there picking up several items and then it was after 6 before we got back to the cabin and then close to 7 before we sat down to a supper of Brussel sprouts and sweet tater, all of which were delicious for a change. We will fry the trout up tonight as we were planning on it, but it was just too late for a huge meal. The doctors appointment wasn't until 3:45 and she was in there until nearly 5 before heading over to do an hours worth of shopping and then it was 30 minutes or so back to the cabin.

Rocky did just fine after being locked up for close to 5 hours. I was an hour late with his usual 5 o'clock feeding time but he survived and did just fine. He has no trouble eating here cleaning up his food immediately whereas at home he goes days without eating, oh well. Must be the exercise he gets running loose around the property and of course the cool mountain air. We tuned into the WCWS tournament and Texas edged out Stanford by one run after a costly error in the last inning and then it was shower time for me and then some horizontal lab. Going up and down the mountain seems to tire me out more than working around the cabin as I was ready for bed around 9:30, LATER

Monday Morning June 3rd

Well Sunday started out on the chilly side once again so we ha the fireplace on which takes out the chill in the cabin and then again last evening as the over cast skies were mainly present during the day. We got maybe 50 rain drops in the afternoon but that was it, despite the look of rain clouds in the area. It was a much better day for Nancy as well, as she stayed away from the BP cuff which gives are anxiety. She will contact her new doctor today to see about changing her medicines so she can regulate her BP.

I started the day with my well before 6 rollout to my morning routines that begin with some quiet times to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift several up by name for comfort and healing. All are holding with this post. We headed out around 9:30 for Cornerstone in Sparta and heard a good message from our local pastor whom we have known for over 25 years. There aren't many original members like us who started out in a school cafeteria and progressed to this facility, but pastor B is the real deal and still is in the business of preaching GOD's Word and there were many folks in attendance. It was great to be made and feel so welcome once again.

We decided to skip eating out as we want to try and drop a little weight we have accumulated especially around our tummy's which is another cause for high BP. We made a stop at Caleb's place on the way home and picked up a sack of fresh caught trout, already gutted and beheaded. I tried filleting them but I lost so much meat that I decided to prepared about half with the back bone in like I did when I was a kid. Nothing like the taste of fresh caught trout. There was a feller at the trout farm who could filet them and not lose any meat but I forgot how he did it. Anyhow many thanks to young Caleb for the treat.

We sat around and did some social media and then listened to our pastor at SRBC  give his sermon on You Tube then we got into a game of hand, knee and foot. Nancy was the big winner this time and now leads 4 to 3 in scores. We had leftover deer burgers for supper for lunch which held me the rest of the day except for some almonds and glass of vino around 5'ish. We took a walk around the property inspecting the flower beds and gardens and I did a little hoeing of the plants. The ground is still full with moisture from all the rain last week and the recently transplanted seedlings in 4 packs are looking good. I have more lettuces to transplant today into 4 packs.

Well we got into the WCWC (women's college world championship) fast pitch softball games on ESPN and watched two good games before calling it a night around 10:30 after a hot shower, LATER

Sunday Morning June 2nd

 Well the first day of June in the morning found us with the heat on here in the mountains of N.C. Temps in the 40's but plenty of blue skies and bright sunshine. It warmed as the day progressed until it became almost pleasant to be outside working and thats just what I did in the afternoon. I started the day with my usual well before 6 roll out to my routines that begin with some quiet time to honor my lord, JESUS, give thanks for another day and to lift up several by name for comfort and healing as well as the folks in Israel. All are holding as of this post except, Nancy  who still is having issues with maintaining a good BP. Its all over the place despite 3 scripts she is on. I guess we will be down off the mountain on Monday to see her doctor.

I headed out after a breakfast of oatmeal to check on the gardens and wow was it ever chilly. Nancy had the heat once again for most of the morning. Everything looked good and no deer damage although we saw one in the backwoods yard last evening before dark. It was a large doe and I scared her off into the woods. Hopefully she doesn't come back during the night and eat my garden which the deer are known to do.

I piddled around outside until lunch time doing some small chores and then after lunch I headed down the driveway to weed eat and clean out more ditches of debris as well as cut some clinging vines that are starting to infest those areas along the drainage ditch. That kept me busy for a couple hours. I was hoping Tim would appear and we could work on scrapping the driveway but I suppose that will happen after church this afternoon. He is back to working daily except for Sunday's as his truck is always gone.

Well we cleaned up the leftover rotisserie bird along with an ear of corn for our supper then settled into a long game of hand, knee and foot. I won on the last hand after being behind in the third round. Nancy headed for the shower after being upset the BP was still in the upper 180's despite taking her meds. At first I thought we were heading back to the ER because of the results, but she calmed down and relaxed and it started coming back down. I think part of her problem is anxiety about the issue, oh well.

I soon hit shower around 9'ish and then watched a little NHL before retiring around 10'ish. Hopefully today will be a better day for her as its church day then lunch out and our young buddy left me a note he had caught some trout and it was in the fridge at his place and to stop by for them after church. Caleb is now a fine young man serving his country in the National Guard and is stationed in Charlotte and comes back to his folks and his  place on the weekends. He is a hunter and fisherman as well as has a good head on his shoulders, LATER

Saturday Morning June 1st

 Well May is gone and now hopefully all these cold mornings for awhile. Its been unbelievable how cold the mornings are and some times during the day the temps have dropped throughout, causing Nancy to turn on the fake fireplace that gives off some heat. I started the day on Friday with a well before 6 rollout to my routines that begin with some quiet moments to honor my lord, Jesus, give thanks for another day and to lift up several by name. All seem to be holding and Nancy seems to be getting a little better with each passing day.

I headed out before breakfast too check on the gardens and all seem to be doing as well as can be expected with all of the gully washers last week end. I noticed more zinnias seedlings are popping up in a couple of the beds that got washed severely and I did transplant some radish seedlings as well that has got washed out. I usually don't transplant them but since they germinated and was showing a couple leaves I thought to give them a chance by transplanting them.

After a breakfast of an egg sandwich which is basically a fried egg on toast with mayo, pickles, onion and tomato I headed out to fire up the weed eater and trim up the property because I wanted to mow once the grass dried out from all the dew. Its been heavy every night and the grass love it. The yard actually looks rather nice from all the rain. While waiting for the grass to dry we headed out to the mailbox in the golf cart and stopped and visited with Grant and while there we met the new owners of the old Carl and Donna beautiful real log home up the steep drive from Grants. Bob and Mary are delightful and think much like we do as Believers and conservatives. It was great meeting them and hopefully will have a good relationship with them in years to come. Shirley is recovering from a heart attack a couple months ago so we never saw her.

We came home and had a bite of lunch then I fired up the riding mower and it worked wonderfully after getting a new drive belt thanks to our dear friend Jake who put it on in about 15 minutes. Jake is a master with most everything he touches. He and Katelyn are building their own house which will be ginormous on their 20 some acres of land. I spoke with neighbor Gerald and he wants our neighbor Tim to show me the ropes on using his new tractor for keeping the driveway in shape which hopefully we will scrap today and distribute much of the gravel washed down to the foot of the driveway last week and back up on the driveway. I tried to move some of it by hand but there is just too much for me too handle with a rake and shovel, oh well. I use to use his old tractor which now Jake owns and who offered to come and scrap it but since Gerald now trusts Tim and I to use his tractor it will be so much easier and much more convenient.

Well mowing the grasses in all of the yards took me 2 hours or so non stop but the place looks so beautiful and the smell of fresh cut grass is delicious. I transplanted some tomato seedlings I had started from old seeds that were a couple years old and then some more lettuce seedings from seeds into 4 packs. I'll have more in a day or so to transplant as well. My only loss was one pepper plant to a cut worm and of course some seeds from a couple of the flower beds.

I grilled delicious deer burgers for our supper and afterwards to took our first golf cart ride to the top of the mountain. It was our first look this summer and they too had some deep ruts from the wash out. We stopped and chatted briefly with Dave who bought Joe and Jettas place. He was with some friends out by the fire circle. We saw the for sale sign on Roddy and Kathy's place and then stopped and visited with Billy and Paula for a spell. They are having some health issues but are holding as we pray for them and several others daily. It was cooling off quickly so we headed back down the mountain to the cabin and Nancy had the fire place on again. I tuned into the Ray's game in Baltimore and while they led most of the game they were down 2 runs in the last innings so I hit the shower and then read until lights out around 10:30. We started putting and extra blanket on the bed at night and what difference with staying snug, LATER