July 16, 2008

On the first day of our vacation, dear husband and I decided to drive off without the boys to scout out a lake. It was going to be a long trip and the boys wanted to stay home. It was a good decision. We were going to visit Dale Hollow Lake which is on the KY-TN border and a long way from home. We decided to take a longer route to avoid a few narrow, curvy roads. I still ended up getting carsick twice. It was beautiful country, but boy were we back in the sticks. I thought we lived in the country. The little town we were in did not have cell phone towers. It did not have cable television. It did not have any place to eat! We finally asked around and found a little restaurant and had a so-so cheeseburger. We visited a couple of marinas which I have to say were nice and then we started back home. This is where it gets good.

Many years ago after watching Sergeant York, we looked up Pall Mall on the road atlas. I had mentioned this to dear husband before we left as we were going to be near there. We hit the backroads and our first stop was the cemetery where Alvin C. York is buried. It is across the street from the church he attended. Then we drove to the post office/general store that was owned and operated by York and his sons. The clerk there told us that they had a self-guided tour that began with a movie and asked if we would like to watch it. We watched it in a little section of the general store that resembled a small chapel. We sat in pews and watched the movie.

After browsing in the general store, we left and walked over to the York home. The home is fully furnished and open free of charge to the public. York's son, Andy, is a park ranger and was there the day we visited. The home is beautiful. The dining room was decorated for Christmas. I wondered if they left everything the way it was after York's wife, Gracie, died. We walked through the home looking at all the rooms. There was a very old sun bonnet that belonged to York's mother. After we came back downstairs we talked a long while with York's son. There was a piano in the parlor, but it had a sign that read Do Not Touch. He asked if either of us played the piano, and I told him I did, but that I was rusty. He told me to sit down and play. There I was, sitting in Alvin and Gracie York's parlor, playing You've Got to Walk That Lonesome Valley! If I had thought, I would have played Give Me That Old Time Religion. That is the song that is featured throughout Sergeant York. We didn't visit the grist mill. We are saving that for when we visit again with the boys in the fall. Here are some pix from our trip.



Alvin and Gracie York Gravesite



Gracie York Memorial



Alvin York Memorial



A small flag left by someone



Post Office and General Store



Typewriter and Memorabilia



York Family Dining Room



Tank

You can read about the Sergeant York Foundation HERE.
Alvin York Teacher's Guide and 5th Grade Lesson Plans can be found HERE.
The Project Gutenberg EBook of Sergeant York And His People, by Sam Cowan

July 12, 2008

Joan of Arcadia is back on the air! The SciFi channel is airing first season episodes on Friday nights at 8 p.m. This is the show's old time slot. They aired the pilot last night. I have given up hope of the show ever being in production again. It only lasted two seasons before being canceled. Who knows? They may one day make a TV movie.

Oldest dear son and I saw two owls Thursday night. One was sitting on our fence and another was sitting on the neighbor's fence. They were calling to each other or to the mama owl. They were juveniles and very loud and noisy. They are barred owls or "hoot" owls. We have several hummingbirds now. Still, their numbers are down from last year. Many of the birds have found the "spa" and are using it to drink. I have yet to see one take a bath.




As you can see, Sweet Potato is alive and well. He hasn't changed a bit. I have tried in vain to fatten him up. Oldest dear son does not want to call him Sweet Potato. He thinks he needs a more masculine name. I told him he could call him "Brutus", but he would still be Sweet Potato. Sweet Potato had a digestive ailment that I won't discuss here to protect his privacy. I did some research on the internet and learned that Metamucil would sometimes help this problem, so I bought him a great big jar of Metamucil. I talk to the cat and naturally when I got home I went out and was telling him all about the Metamucil and how I hoped it would help him. Oldest dear son came out, heard me, and was mortified. Evidently, you are not supposed to say "Metamucil" out loud and in public. What if the neighbors heard!

May 15, 2008

We have a busy day here so I will just post a few pix.





I found this weed growing on the creek bank. Doesn't it look like a bouquet that a child has gathered? Actually, all those flowers were growing on one big stalk just as you see them in the pix.




Playing with the macro lens.





Rhododendrons. Another sign that spring is here.

May 13, 2008

This morning I want to write about all the activity going on in the backyard.

The chickadees are still in the bluebird nesting box, but were visited one morning this week by a bluebird! Mama Chickadee quickly ran off the intruder. I really wasn't expecting to see any more bluebirds this spring. I need to go buy another nesting box.

On Mother's Day, after the storm passed through, I took it upon myself to check on the Carolina wrens that are nesting in the basketball goal. I still wasn't sure if they were even in there. I had seen both male and female building the nest, but I hadn't seen any activity about the nest in a while. I thought it may have been a decoy nest. First, I tried looking from the ground, but I couldn't see anything. I climbed up on the picnic table and just as I was about to peek into the nest the mama flew out and almost flew right up my nose! She was mad as a wet hen! She flew up in a tree and scolded me over and over again. Dear husband was out working on the van and he said, "You had to do it, didn't you!"

Recently, the whole family was fortunate enough to see a mama robin feeding her fledgling. She only had one with her and I couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the rest of them. Mama robin was busy pulling up earthworms from the ground. The fledgling had a voracious appetite and spent most of the time with its mouth open. The baby robin's breast was red, but was covered in black spots. The robins at my Mom's house fledged without her ever getting to see them.

Since May 5th we have been having a song sparrow sit and peck on the kitchen window. He wakes me up almost every morning. At first, I thought he was seeing a reflection, but he pecks on the window at all hours of the day whether the sun is out or not and even when the shutters are closed. He will hop back and forth from the window to the roof of the pump house, taking time to grab a bite of suet and then back over to the window to peck, peck, peck. It's a good thing I like birds so well.

My last bird story for this week is about a little chickadee that oldest dear son was observing and called for me to come watch. Oldest dear son is also an avid bird watcher and it is so nice to have an extra pair of eyes on the look out for birding activity. We have a metal strainer on the roof for seeds. Originally, I bought it for a honey strainer, but it was too small. It has an oblong metal strainer in which we pour the seeds. Around the rim of the strainer are two sides which pull out for you to hang the strainer over the sink. We leave these out for the birds to use as a perch. On this day a little chickadee was trying to hold a seed between his feet and crack it open. He kept slipping and falling backwards, but he would not turn lose of the perch or the seed so he ended up hanging upside down! One second he would be upright trying to open the seed and the next second he would fall backwards and briefly hang before righting himself. It was like something you would see in a cartoon.

And finally, here is the turtle that oldest dear son called me out to see the day he was mowing grass. I think this little fellow has star quality. He seemed to be posing for me and didn't retreat into his shell.

May 12, 2008

Dear husband and I went fishing last Monday. I caught three large mouth bass and dear husband caught two. He had two to get away; one right at the boat. I reached for my camera when I should have reached for the net! It was a beautiful day. Foggy and cold first, but then sunny and warm. I looked like I was dressed for the antarctic instead of the lake. I had on long johns, jeans, and then dear husband's coveralls. I was also wearing thick mittens that fold back so your fingers can stick out when you fish. My feet got cold, but I didn't open my mouth. I knew if I did, dear husband would make me wear his boots! :-)

I saw several Great Blue Herons and a beaver! In case you are wondering, I caught all my fish on a Yum Wooly Hawgtail (Green Pumpkin). I kid you not...wooly hawgtail. Here are some pix from our trip.



Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam! I always sing this when I see a sunbeam.




Sometimes the fog rolls off the water like a big cloud when the sun comes up.



And sometimes it hovers over the water in wisps and curls.




We found this little waterfall on the bank in a little cove.



I found this on the bank when I had to get out of the boat to stretch my legs. The blossoms were fragrant. I brought one back to the boat with me.



Beautiful purple-lined clover growing on the bank.

May 9, 2008

Youngest dear son and I are wrapping up our homeschooling for the regular year. We have decided to do a little summer school this year to catch up on some things that we never seem to have time for during the regular school year. This week, dear son finished his English and math book. I love the fact that we finish textbooks. I attended public school and except for readers, I don't think I ever finished a book...maybe a spelling book.

Regular gas here is $3.70 a gallon now, and groceries are going up every time I go trade. I was just looking at a couple of homeschooling catalogs. I have a winter sale catalog and a spring sale catalog and I couldn't believe how much they have raised. I have been trying to stock up when I catch things on sale, but it never dawned on me to go ahead and buy our books for next year.


I wanted to show you this little stool my mom made and gave to me. The top is made of men's neckties.

I guess that's it for this morning. I need to get my day started. Toodles.

May 8, 2008

We came home in time from the graduation to watch the Kentucky Derby. It's always fun to see the hats! Dear husband and I both knew that Big Brown would win. We had watched him in the Florida Derby and he was a joy to behold. You could tell by watching just that one race that he loved to run and he loved to win. Too bad I'm not a bettin' woman.

In this year's Derby, we saw two riders get thrown from their mounts. One before the race and the winning jockey after the race. I was amazed that they could hold on and even ride standing up going full speed without falling and then get bucked off when the horses were just walking. I guess they both were caught off guard. Maybe it's common. I am not a horse person. My sister is. She has always owned horses. I am sort of afraid of them.

There was tragedy at this year's Derby, too. Eight Belles broke both front ankles and had to be put down at the track. I don't think I have ever seen this happen before. Eight Belles finished second.

Here are a couple more pix of the azaleas and our redbud.




I love how the redbud blossoms grow right on the tree trunk.

The mountains are full and green now. I have a few bearded irises getting ready to bloom. That will be it for a while, except for some daisies and lilies I have up on the hill. I need to buy some annuals to set out now that the danger of frost is over. I should have a handful of strawberries pretty soon. I can't wait.

May 4, 2008

May 2, 2008

I saw a beautiful eastern cottontail rabbit in the back yard yesterday morning. I have seen a few squirrels this spring, but not many and most of them were young. We have been watching a young mourning dove at the feeders. He or she is much smaller than the other doves and has more spots. We now have a brown thrasher coming to the feeders. He is such a big bully. He has to run all the birds off before he can eat. He does this by running at them headfirst. Sometimes, it takes him a while to scare them all off and he will not eat until they are gone. We are waiting for the showdown between him and the mockingbird that always fans out his wings at all the birds before he can eat. In the past week, we have had two different birds sit on the kitchen window ledge and look in. One was a juvenile titmouse. It was flapping its wings like baby birds do when they are waiting on a parent to feed them. I suspect it was seeing its reflection in the glass and thought a parent was there. The same thing happened with a song sparrow. Mom has baby robins now on the nest over the downspout of the gutter. I have been watching a robin in our front yard, but I can't find a nest.

The azalea bushes are blooming now and I hope to have pix soon. I already have tiny strawberries forming on the plants that I have in two large pots. They had to go in the carport for two days this week because of frost! The lilac was pretty this year despite the squirrel's efforts to plant walnuts in its roots. I saw a sapling growing there yesterday that I need to pull up. It is one of their favorite places to hide their stash of nuts and seeds.


A not so great pix of the lilac. The wind was blowing.




Another not so great pix of the little bush in the front yard. Does anyone know the name of this? It was given to me years ago and I don't remember the name. It has tiny white blossoms in the spring, and sometimes again later in the summer. I have even seen it blooming in the winter, but not as full as spring. It branches will bow and weep like a forsythia, but it is much smaller.

May 1, 2008

Today is my birthday. I am 47. I found this card from my dear husband when I got up this morning.


...who still knocks my socks off! Those are little cloth socks attached to the card.




I used to be a babe!

April 30, 2008

The Dogwood Arts Festival is held in Knoxville, Tennessee every spring. Several communities in the area have dogwood trails. You drive your car through, following the pink arrows painted on the road. The yards and sidewalks are full of dogwoods, red buds, crab apples, azaleas, forsythias, tulips, and daffodils, depending on what is blooming at the time.

One year, we drove down a particularly beautiful lane. We were surrounded by blooms and blossoms on every side. To make it even more special, many of the homes had antique cars sitting in the yards or on the curb. These are a few pix that I snapped that day. The fruit truck is my favorite. It was full of real fresh fruit.

April 27, 2008

Sweet Potato: Sweetest cat in the universe

April 26, 2008

Nature's toy



Every child's...



favorite flower.

Honeybee on dandelion

April 24, 2008

We saw this rainbow on the way home from Children's Hospital. Can you see it?

April 21, 2008

I took these pix on one of the Dogwood Trails in Knoxville. I have never seen so many tulips! These pix do not do it justice. It was windy and very hard to get a decent shot, but I just had to try.

April 10, 2008

I wanted to start my entry today by saying thanks to everyone who visits my blog and especially to those of you who comment. I love reading blogs. I try to leave comments, but my computer does not always cooperate. I just wanted to mention that here.

We are about to embark on a new adventure. Homeschooling year round. Dear son will be in the 8th grade next year and I am finding it hard to fit everything in that I want him to cover before I have to send him off to college. I know that once he starts college he will be too busy to do anything else. We will still stick to our usual schedule starting in July, taking all our breaks. Then when we get to our summer break, we will do a shorter day still taking breaks here and there. We will cover Shakespeare, art and music appreciation, science experiments that we didn't have time to do during the year, and dear son will continue to read good books. We are both looking forward to it.

I have one pix that I want to share with you today:

This is light from the window coming in on youngest dear son's bed. I just liked how it looked and grabbed the camera for a quick pix. Of course, the bed wasn't made, but I think that's what gives it such a wavy look.

April 9, 2008

Happy Spring! Most of these were taken in my yard. I tresspassed to take the rest. ;-) I hope you enjoy them.

Flowers and birds and warm breezes. I love spring!