I was looking out what will someday be my bedroom window when I saw this "tree" I have been told it is an azalea. I have been very fortunate to find so many "surprises" on my property

Just a few lilypad flowers in my friends pond

The town of Floyd is trying to build a park so last week they had a benefit concert with four bluegrass bands, the music was good but I think I have had my fill of blue grass for a while

It’s been a while since my last blogg but I have had a lot going on. Between work the cabin and keeping up with friends my days have been full.

First things first, we have been having a LOT of rain, A LOT!... but in a way this is a good thing. The work on the cabin has been great. There is paint on the drywall, the trim is almost done, they are working on the floors right now and the cabinets come in next week. Now I’m not holding my breath that this pace of work will continue but I am hopeful. The weather is supposed to be better next week, we will see if they come back.

I am discovering a disadvantage to living in the country; socializing with friends takes a lot of time. At the beach it takes at the most 15 minutes to get most of my friend’s homes and for the most part I could walk. At the beach having a morning cup of coffee with a friend could be spontaneous here almost everything has to be planed out. I am adjusting but I miss those unplanned morning coffees with friends.

One of these days, when the stars align just right I will be moving into a little 750sf cabin that I am having built. For the past few days I have been sick. The stay in the bed except to do what has to be done sick. The, if I still lived at the beach one of my boys would have had to feed the dogs and wait on me hand and foot, sick. Today I realized one of the disadvantages of a small house; there is no place to hide stuff. I had to wash cloths while I was sick but I did not fold them. They are piled on a bed in the back room. Dishes got put in the dishwasher that I seldom use. Thank goodness the new kitchen will have a dishwasher. The house looks cluttered, not very presentable. I am living in a small house but it is bigger than the cabin is. I can imagine what the cabin would look like after 2 days of me being sick. The moral of this story is that if someone is not family or a really good friend, they can’t come to my house if I’m sick. Period!!

Frost on a Japanese Maple

A friend and I were discussing how nice the weather had been and the planting of summer crops. I was telling her how bummed I was that I had not been able to plant anything. On the beach I would have already planted my tomatoes. In Currituck the farmers would have already planted sweet corn, so that it is ready for the 4^th of July. I wanted to plant something. Things are different here she informed me, she said that she never planted any summer plants until after her 20^th of May, when I asked her why she said because that is when the risk of frost is over. Early this morning, on the 19^th of May we had frost. You see my friend is a master gardener so I guess I should listen to the master gardener, I might learn something.

Ok boys and girls here goes, I don’t go around telling people that I like sci-fi and fantasy but I do. And while Star Trek was not my first sci-fi venture, I was reading Bradbury, Asimov and Norton and watching the Twilight Zone and Astro Boy before I ever watched Star Trek. When Star Trek originally aired my parents had control of the TV, so before it hit syndication I rarely got to watch it, when I was finally able to sit down and watch episode after episode (thanks Cathy for introducing me to the Trek world) I was hooked. While I can’t tell you the name of every episode and I don’t know all the minor characters I can tell you with in 5 seconds what the story line is. I think the Star Trek universe is awesome but for the most part I have not been impressed with the movies until today. Today I saw the new Star Trek movie and it was really good. I was totally impressed. I won’t go into detail about what happens in the movie because I don’t want to ruin it for anyone. The makers of this Star Trek movie came up with a great way to continue the franchise with out having to worry about continuity. I know that sounds negative but its not. I am looking forward to more of these movies. Go Trek.

Oh boy did I meet the right person. I met her last summer out by my mail box and we would talk to each other every once and a while, out by that mail box. We have been promising each other that we would have coffee together “sometime” but it never seemed to happen. Last week we finally exchanged e-mail addresses and yesterday we had coffee at her house. This woman is amazing, she is in her 70’s has chickens, honey bees and a green thumb to die for. She can use a chain saw and just learned how to use a back hoe. I don’t know what I have to offer in this friendship but in just those few hours we spent at her place I learned a lot.

I have been very fortunate in the people I have met here. I have met so many willing teachers, people that answer my questions no matter how “dumb” they might be. I can’t wait to put some of what I am learning to practice. Who knows in 20 years maybe I will be the teacher.

I sent the Arbor Day foundation a donation of $20 a while back. As a gift I was promised 10 trees. Last week I got my “trees”. I had to laugh at the twigs in the bag that counted as trees but c’est la vie, I put them in water when I got them, I just did not have time to plant them but yesterday I put them in pots. I don’t mind that I got twigs for trees after all what do you expect for $20 and it’s for a good cause. It will be interesting to see what happens.

They hung dry wall in the cabin this week. The dry wall gives me a real feel for how things are gonna be. The bath room is going to be TIGHT, TIGHT, TIGHT!

Welp I'm off to the property gotta do some weed eating.

Know how to tell when its gonna rain? Just ask me what day I'm scheduled to be off. It’s been a bit rainy today but that did not stop the dogs and me from taking a walk this morning. I think its funny how people think it’s so quiet in the country. When I take my walk my ears are filled with the sounds of the out doors. Birds, water and the wind along with the rustle of wild life is really quiet noisy. Noise or no there is something to be said for getting outside, I don’t care if you are in the county or the middle of a city, having the sky above your head is up lifting. It allows your soul to be free. Being outside can help clear the mind and walking can relive stress, I know it does for me. Its spring get out side and let your soul be free.