Cold:

 

It suddenly turned cold (30 degrees) and I wonder about those who watched their homes float away are doing. I know other North Carolinians are still there for the victims of Helene but this cold weather is unusual this time of year. Cool yes but freezing not so usual. their have been blanket and coat drives locally but  they are still searching for live and dead people. 

Taylor:

 

This is Taylor who died 3 years ago today at the age of 11 y/o. We only had Taylor for 6 weeks and it was the best 6 weeks of his entire life. Taylors life was spent as an outdoor dog and he lived in a hole he dug in a fenced in back yard.  The story we got was that a woman had seen him living in his hole and rescued him, taking him to a local rescue. 

At the rescue because he was so old he was kept in a 8' X 10' closet with one window along with file cabinets and  items stored. Taylor was at least out of the elements and got some relief from his arthritis plus medical care, regular food and water. He was let out a couple times a day to go to the bathroom and get some fresh air and a little exercise. We had to make significant changes to our home so he could live with the family comfortably. As soon as those structural changes were made we drove to the rescue and adopted him that very day. 

As can be seen in the photo he settled right in and had it not been for a serious health issue he would have been with us much longer. One day he refused water and food and gave up on life. We taken him to our vet the day before as  he was not  acting just right and the vet ran tests and Xray's and told us to take him home and provide hospice care. 

We were grateful that he had 6 weeks of a family that loved and pampered him. He was a real sweetheart. I miss him and feel cheated that he was only with us for 6 weeks.. We had a lot more pampering and love to give him but he just wore out too soon. Lucy was his best friend and was devastated when he passed on. 

Rest in peace old buddy is I hope the last 6 weeks of your life made up for some of the hardships you endured along the way.

Sorgum Southern Style:

We went to a sorghum festival with our daughter and son in law. today. One of the really neat things about living in a small town is the fun things where people get together. Especially in the fall when the temperatures are cool and the sky blue. One difference I have noted  is when the nights get cool it is cold. In Colorado when it would get down to 20 degrees it was flannel shirt and vest time. That was because the humidity was always low but here it is cold at 41 degrees because of the higher humidity. 

It is hard to choose between all the fun festivals and get togethers. We did buy a bottle of sorghum and I'm looking forward to some fresh warm biscuits and sorghum on them. I just love living in the south and didn't realize how much I missed it. The day was complete with funnel cake and kettle corn.

Helene:

 It is truly heart warming to see the volunteers step up to help the victims of Helene in our state.  Local businesses are contributing as are the citizens. The stories are starting to surface of the heart break and heart warming stories and heroism that occurred..  

We were in a disaster when we lived in Colorado and we saw the generous nature of so many people. It was the third largest wildfire in Colorado history and we were evacuated for 15 days. The news covered it for a couple weeks and then moved on to other stories. It took many months/years to recover from the fire and those helping were no longer there. Same with this destruction, it will take a long time to recover and these people will need help and prayers for a long time. The immediate flood of help will leave and they will be left with  a lot to do. Keep that in mind as time goes on. 

Destruction From Hurricane:

Some cities and towns have been totally washed away. Over 160 deaths reported so far and others are still missing and some are still trying to get to towns and remote areas. 

Hurricane Helene:

 

We live on the western end of N.C. just 2 miles from Georgia and 10 miles from Tennessee. Photos are  just now starting to come in of all the destruction. Some towns and roads were wiped out and the death toll is 52 currently. Communications and travel are seriously disrupted

We watched the hurricane as it approached and it split in two parts - one going to the east of us and one to the west. Our county was spared compared to those east and west of us. No doubt there is flooding in our area but we are staying off the roads so we don't know about that. I have seen photos of houses where only the roof is above water. We got 13.5 inches of rain here and that is a huge amount for the mountains.

I have been through 8 hurricanes in my life and one wild fire. I have not seen any with this level of destruction. Please PRAY for the victims of this horrible disaster. I can tell you that when we went through the wildfire the Red Cross was a tremendous help. If you are inclined to help the Red Cross is a good place to go.

Getting Along:

Our country is deeply divided in many areas. I notice it on the social media platforms during the political times and I find it most alarming. I have had friends  unfriend me because of posts from conservative or left left leaning posts. They see one or the other posts and don't see the other. I like to make informed decisions and to do that you need to evaluate both sides. Sometimes reviewing both sides I see some truth that benefits everyone.  

I have a lot of friends on social media that come from childhood, military, my years of writing blogs for Mother Earth News, and people I have worked with or have met along the way of living. Each is special to me. From all persuasions, different positions and unique and special. I would not even consider unfriending any of them for their opinion but if I find any of their posts that show up on my timeline offense I just delete that from my timeline. 

I consider their friendship more valuable than an opinion. It would be a terrible world if we all had to agree with each other. We do need to get along and that includes differences of opinion. We need to be careful to not let others divide us as friendships need to have a priority that is higher than politics. 

Rain and More Rain:

Initially we were told to expect 8-10" of rain and the tropical depression has not even reached us yet. Hurricane Helene is still out in the Gulf and will work its way this way so this is ahead of the real bad weather. Our  rain gauge only measures up to 7" of rain and we are right at 7" now. The radar shows some real heavy rain coming later today. 

This area has not experienced this heavy rain in a long time. This is going to be a real bummer of a storm. 

Picnic

There is a nice park just 14 minutes drive from us and it is federal and well maintained.  It is on a nice lake and there is a fishing dock that you can fish from. I'm sure we will go back again as it was very quiet and peaceful. When Carol went grocery shopping this morning she picked up a Subway sandwich and this was the perfect spot to eat it. 

Our neighborhood

 When we moved from Colorado to NC, we knew we were going to a really neat neighborhood. When driving up the hill to enter the community there was a very tall and dead tree in the middle of the road. It was taken down a couple of months ago but the stump was left. Some very imaginative neighbors created a gnome home. We think it is awesome! What say you?

Caterpillar

 

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This is an interesting caterpillar - yellow and it has spikes which tells me that it is nothing to touch without getting stung. With all the insects we have here I need to keep reminding myself to be careful where I put my hand down. 

Spiders:

 We have these spiders who have a body about the size of a penny. We have several and they do not seem aggressive or mean. They build this intricate web and if we tear it down they just build it back again. I don't know what  type they are but as long as they catch mosquitoes I let them be. One builds its web on our golf cart and goes for a nice ride each day to get the mail. I think we may be developing a relationship with it. 

Flying Squirrel:

Was going to clean out the bird box and  saw this little face looking back at me. I thought it was a mouse but when I started to open the front it jumped out and flew to a tree. It was a flying squirrel and if you enlarge the photo you will see just how cute it is.  There is another one in the box so I quickly closed it up and left them be. 

Peach Pits:

 

I have just spent the last hour trying to get the seeds out of peach pits. Neither pliers, hammer nor anything else could crack them open. Whoever messaged me to just buy a tree from a nursery certainly is much smarter than I am.  THANK YOU!

Fruit Trees:

When we bought this property we discovered that it has both a cherry tree and apple tree. The cherry tree is flourishing but the apple tree needs work. I have been studying on Google how to care for these trees. It looks like it may take years to get them to produce but it has to start somewhere and there is no time like the present. 

I also want to start a peach tree from seed but that may also take some time and effort. Since I am in my 80's I may not benefit from a good harvest but someone after me may. I  also have blue berry bushes that need serious attention. They do produce well but could do better if properly maintained. 

Since I no longer have to shovel snow like I did in Colorado I should have the time to do right by these trees and bushes. 

Fence Is Up:

 

Got the fence up around the fireplace so when the woodstove gets hot it will protect the fur family. I had to drill holes in the hearth to  anchor it down so it would not move. What I initially thought woul take a hour actually took 4 hours. 

New Wood Stove:

 It is important to have a woodstove that fits the area to be heated. The above stove was to big for the area and therefore couldn't get fired up hot enough to keep the chimney from getting creosoted up. The one below is smaller but can be burned hotter and hopefully it will not creosote the chimney as badly. It is smaller but will burn more efficiently - or that is our hope.

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Heaven on Earth:

 

Some have never heard of boiled peanuts and some will think that is disgusting idea  Then there are others like myself that love boiled peanuts. We went shopping at a local orchard for apples, apple cider and fried small pies. On the way home we stopped in a little market and purchased some peaches and a bag of boiled peanuts. Georgia peaches are second to none when it comes to juicy and taste. 

When we got home, after putting our purchases away we went out to the front porch and sat in our rocking chairs and ate boiled peanuts. The sun was out and it was 68 degrees  and we sat and rocked eating boiled peanuts. Readers, let me tell you that was just about as close as a person can get to heaven here on earth. 

Boiled peanuts are like politics -  where everyone has an opinion but for me it was one of the major things I was looking forward to when we came back to the south. This morning sitting on the porch eating boiled peanuts with Carol was one of  the highlights of my week. It just doesn't get any better than that. Back in the south with boiled peanuts, grits, corn bread, hush puppies, field pea's - this is just plain good living. 

Donut Monday:

 Ended up  with less as I made them a little bigger..

Poppies'

 

Lake Chatuge:

 Our daughter and son in law have a membership in this boat rental company and took us and Carol's sister out on the lake today. The ladies went swimming in the middle of the lake on our boat ride. The ride was great and the day was sunny and comfortable. 

In the photo is Carols sister, Marg on the left,  daughter Sasha in the middle and Carol on the right. They said the water was wonderful. It was a fun day and the first time I have been on the water in years.

One Year Ago Today:

One year ago today I was making donuts in our cabin in Colorado. Never would it occur me that three weeks later I would be in the ER for a second time and then in the hospital shortly after that with sepsis. And now here we are living in N  Carolina. I could never have guessed that we would no longer be in our cabin in CO. Things can change fast and sometimes like it or not, you have to go with the change. As I look back things could have been much different with a worse outcome. I am thankful to be here in our cabin in NC today. 

Lucy's Birthday Tomorrow:

Lucy will be 6 years old tomorrow. In human years that is 45 years old. We will celebrate with Cherry chip cup cakes and yogurt. Her favorite. 
 

Weird:

 I found this on our security camera's May 1023 and posted it. Some said it was a spider but I have never see a spider with legs like this. Plus when I checked the camera it was laid down and that would take more weight than a spider. I have no explanation for this. 

Also, I had a motion detection light which you will see in the upper right corner that came on and that would take something more than a spider. 

Todays Task:

 We had a load of crush and run delivered and the dump truck driver could not turn around in our driveway to unload it. He backed down the drive to the road to turn around and as he got to the road he started sliding on the hill at the end of the driveway. 

He was at risk of turning the dump truck over and all he could do was dump the load in the ditch to keep from doing that. It is hard to get the tractor to it for the same reason he had. We will carefully work on it this morning while it is cool out. I will get it a little at a time.  

The Marvels Just Keep Coming:

 Today we had a Luna Moth on the deck. It was struggling so we carefully put it on the vegetation outside. They have the most marvelous insects in this state. That is excluding mosquitos and chiggers. 

North Carolina Has Interesting Insects and Flowers:

 

Butterfly Pea:

 

Carol saw this pretty flower in our yard so she took a photo and looked it up. I don't know if we will have more or not but it is ground cover. 

Finished:

 

Improvement:

 We enclosed under the deck to keep the fur family out from under the deck. All kinds of critters can go under the deck. First we framed it in, then the posts are painted, then the lattice work is put up and then the lattice work is painted. It has been hard since the weather has been hot and stifling. We can only do a little at a time due to the 90+ heat and high humidity. 

Fly It Proudly:

My son sent  us a flag that was flown in Iraq and we finally found a place where we can fly it properly. We bought a sturdy flag pole and mounted it on the front of the house and now proudly display it high up on our deck. God Bless America.....

Cones:

Only 5 more days and the cone can come off. Lucy will be super happy...she does not like wearing this cone but her ears are healing. 

 

Birds Educate Us:

 

If we are diligent and watch the birds there is much that we can learn for the birds. They have the same five senses we humans do. Birds can see more color than we humans and they can see ultraviolet light which we do not see. Some birds can work out solutions, and they have their own vocabulary so they can comminate. 

They build nests to raise their young, feed and care for them until they can go out on their own. After the young can take flight they teach them how to survive and then turn them loose. We humans can could benefit from that I think. Some parents tend to keep their young close and nurture them and protect them from harm to the point they remain dependent for long term. 

Or take the cowbird that lays its eggs in other birds nests for other birds to hatch and raise. The parent mother advocates her parental responsibility to others to raise her young. 

Or the smallest of all birds the hummingbird. It has a brain the size of an early pea and it can migrate thousands of miles and knows to stop at the same  patch of flowers or feeding stations year after year. Crows tend to eat baby birds so they build their nests under or near raptor nests for protection. 

Understanding birds can greatly benefit human life. We have and share many characteristics if we but observe the birds. 

Lattice Work:

 

The dogs like to go under the deck for unknown reasons. We also have critters like racoon and skunk that could find their way under the deck. That would not be a good place to be trapped in confined area so we are enclosing it. I have the framework up and installed so now all that needs be done is cut the lattice boards and screw them to the frame. Then a coat of stain and it will be one less hazard for our fur family. 

Lucy's Surgery:

Lucy had a growth on her ear that was surgically removed yesterday. Now she is bumping into things with her cone. The growth will be sent off to pathology to see what it is. We will have to wait until it is tested to see what it is. Hopefully it will be benign. 

Pests:

 "Did you know that the mountaintops of Western North Carolina are carpeted in temperate rainforests? Towering spruce-fir forests at high elevations receive over 60 inches of rainfall each year. That's enough precipitation that these regions are actually considered rainforests!"

As such it has all the pest's that come with it. Mosquito's which are so small that us older folk don't see them or hear them. Then there are the chiggers who can cause intense itching. We did have mosquito's in Colorado but they were large enough that you could see them and read the license plate on them. We did not have chiggers in Colorado. We are slowly learning to cope with these pests. 

New Counter Top:

 

Our old counter top was a worn butcher block and the sink was such that nothing could stand up in it. We had a new counter top - they are pretty cheap nowadays - installed with a sink with a flat bottom.  It took about two and a half hours and it lightens our kitchen up so much better. Carol is well pleased and hence so am I. 

It was a pretty cheap improvement and looks so much nicer. We almost have the house the way we want it and only a little more to go.