Number 3 is away from home for the first time

First day in their first home

The mountain,

They cut the top off of a mountain but not exactly the top and not exactly a mountain. What they actually did was cut trees and when they cut those trees they ruined my view. Well they didn't exactly ruin my view but they changed it and you know as humans we don't really like change that much. But I'm going to take exception to this I don't think it was a bad thing, I am watching the scene change. What was a hill, yes I am changing the mountain to a hill, full of trees as green as could be is now a barren wasteland. Well not exactly a barren wasteland more like a clean canvas. What started this spring as a grey barren area now has blotches of green and Orange.  I am watching as the view changes.  What will happen there?  I can see what looks like a flat area on the top of the wasteland with a road cut into the red clay leading up to it.  What will happen up there?  A house, the return of nature or a little of both.  We shall see.

Late spring 2016

The first cut of hay for the year, I never tire of this view. 

The girl dog will be 15 in September, she is a good dog, I love her dearly... 

 This is the start of the 2016 garden shots.  I have enjoyed this little flower garden over the past few years.  The plants in it come up on their own every year.  I did add the short red ones in the front, cant remember what they are called.

These two wanted to help unfortunately my ideal of help and theirs differ, hence they are on the outside of  the fence...

January wrap up

Boy this month has gone by so quick!!

January was pretty much normal,  The weather finally decided to turn cold, the first real snow of the season was on the 22-23.  I had to stay at work over night because the roads were a bit harry.  The folks further north had it much worse than we had it around hear, IE blizzard.

I had my normal January get together and the animals are doing great!!

Like I said a normal January.

Now if you were to look at the 2016 political shit, its been a real interesting January and not in a good way.....

Zeke

A year ago today my dog Zeke died,  he was a good dog and I have missed him BUT I know he had a good life.  I will always remember him fondly.  Dogs are such a comfort to us and I will always have one;  they are the companions to human kind, they are a pleasure and a grief,  their lives are so short and we know it but we treasure their presence any way.  I am thankful I had Zeke's companionship and I treasure my two dogs I have now, Trip and Bear.  The world is good and dog's are a big part of that goodness

2015

Another year has gone by and  my has it been uneventful for me personally;  the world on the other hand has had a crazy year with political unrest, the refugee crises in Europe and the middle east.  The climate has had its say also this year with a 4 year drought follow by El Nino, California and the west have been on a very scary roller-coaster ride.  One that effects the rest of the country.  We get a lot of our food from out west.  Here in the east we have had a very warm year.  Its December and we have had only a handful of cold days how are the trees, insects and animals going to react to this change in climate. 

There is good and bad in everything,  I have used very little wood so far this year and I am still getting lettuce, carrots and collards from the garden.

On reflection 2015 was not a good nor was it a bad year for me.  It started with the loss of my dog Zeke.  He was a good dog and I miss him very much.

My joints have been telling me that I am getting older another definite downer for the year.  I think that is why I got WAY behind on the yard work.  Its hard to go up and down the hill with knee that aren't happy.   Gotta address the knees this year, I HATE doctors!! 

Aside from the loss of Zeke and the "I'm getting older" feeling the year pretty much followed the same old same old.  Work, garden, friends, camping trip with friends and to the beach 3 times to see the boys.  I know that I have said that I like the same old same old but I guess I would prefer the same old with a little new for next year.  So what is there to do about it.

This year 2016 I am going to go to school to be a paramedic.  I have been volunteering with the Floyd County EMS as an EMT for the past 6 years and feel this would be a good thing to do.  It wont be easy and the lazy part of me does not want to do it but it will be good for my mind.  It will make me use the brain a bit more.

Body wise I guess I will just have to trudge on try and lose a little weight and watch what I eat.  Cut way back on sugar and wheat two big time inflammatory agents for me.

I need to clean out the house this year, I have way too much stuff.

It would be good to relocate the garden...... Hummmmm

Maybe go on an adventure.........

"Winter" morning

It is hard to believe that in just a few days it will be winter.  Where has the year gone.  I have heard that as you age time seems to go by quicker.  It seems like just a few weeks ago the garden was green and just last week the trees had leaves of color but now....  the official first day of winter is almost here and while the trees are barren the grass is green and the few things left in the garden are thriving. Lets face it the seasons seem to be changing,  where I am the winters seem to be getting milder and while that has its up sides nature is not a speed boat able to turn on a dime, its more like a giant tanker it needs a bit of leeway to change course.  I hope the fruit trees are the kind that have a large variance in cold days needed to produce fruit.

Well I am off to start the day looks like another nice one

First day of summer 2015

Today is the first day of summer I have the windows and doors open as I sit here at my computer with a cup of instant coffee, yes instant coffee I LOVE IT, enjoying the sounds of morning.  I have to work today but that’s not all bad, the weather guru’s say it’s going to be hot and muggy so I might as well be at work.  Tomorrow on the second day of summer I can cut the grass and weed the garden and when rest demands its place in my day I can enjoy my book.  Life is simple for me and I love it.

Its been a long time since my last post, what can I say life is good and I have been busy.  This is going to be an interesting return to blogging but heck hear goes!!!

Replacing the toilet fill valve

All I wanted to do was replace the toilet fill valve.  The old one had been broken for months.  How hard can it be to replace a fill valve?  WELL let me tell you…..

 First my toilet is in a little “cubby” so things are very tight that really should not have been a problem; just unscrew the old fill valve and screw in a new one.

 NO, NO that is not how things rolled, I could not get the old one off it was stuck and I could not get a plumbers wrench back there to unscrew it so I had to move the whole toilet.  A 30 minute job became a 2 hour job.   But it is done and I was able to paint behind the toilet and all is good.

I love fixing things; I get such a good feeling inside when I accomplish these simple little tasks.

View from Buffalo Mt

 the Buffalo from my house;

 my house from the Buffalo

 friends on top of the Buffalo

selfie of me on the Buffalo

Well I am still here, it was another busy summer and fall is here big time.  Some friends and I hiked the Buffalo today, most likely for the last time this year, and the colors were very nice. We had some bad weather come through last week so the colors were not a good as they could have been but none the less it was worth the hike.  

Where has the summer gone?  It is August already… what have I done this summer?  To tell the truth not much;  I have gardened, done a little camping and when ever possible enjoyed the company of friends.  I have spent much of my summer mulling around at home, avoiding the tumultuous news outside my little piece of paradise.  And the world news has been most disconcerting; emboli, the middle east, and Russian/Ukraine conflict   are just a few disturbances in the world “force”.  Political discord, drought and fracking related disturbances in the USA “force”.  Talk of pipelines in my local “force” aughhhhh  give me my little piece of land with grass to cut weeds to pull and bees to avoid.  I love to walk this small spot of land with the dogs every morning just to clear my brain.

 the garden in mid July

I very much enjoyed planting flowers this year

The view from the Buffalo 5-18-2014

I took another hike up the buffalo with some friends yesterday; the weather had cooled this past week so it was a very pleasant hike.  As you can see from these two photos things have changed quite a bit over the past 3 weeks.

I had hoped for a sunny day today but it is mostly cloudy with a bit of a breeze; no matter I still have to get the garden in.  I want that good food next winter!!

Buffalo Mountain, April 2014

What a beautiful day in the neighborhood!!  I spent the day scraping and priming the out side French doors, then a friend and I took a hike up the Buffalo.  We then came back to my place had a nice dinner and now its just me and its movie time.  I love spring!!!

 Its a little rocky on top of the Buffalo

Rock to the left, rock to the right

Things on the mountain are still in winter mode but from time to time we did see little touches of spring,

the end of March

First touch of spring

Today is the last day in March and what a nice day it seems to want to be. It’s a bit nippy outside but the air is crisp and has a clean morning smell.  It the weather gurus are correct it will be a nice day to work outside.

What can I say about March except that it was a long one.  It was turbulent month weather wise.  We were lucky in paradise we only had cold and rain with the occasional light snow unlike some of our northern neighbors who had record snow with the cold temps. The west with its warm temps and drought and as this month came to an end the mud slide in Washington State.  Politically it was no walk in the park either with the Russian conflict in the Ukraine setting the rest of the year up to be….. interesting.  Oh and lets not forget the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines MH370 right now that is turning into an X-File.   God I need to do some yard work!!!

How did I make it through this month of bad weather and bad news?  I enjoyed a good book, spent time with my friends and did a lot of mandatory over time at work.  I filled the space around me with as much good as I could.  I cant ignore the world outside in fact I believe it is important to be informed but to allow the negative in the world to rule my life would make me very unhappy and cynical.  I would rather look at the good and be happy and hopeful.   

Aww… April I have such hopes for you.

I need spring

When I was younger time seemed to take forever.  Days, weeks and months often passed at a snails pace until something came along that was enjoyable then time sped by.  Now that I am older time is flying.  There is no real difference in my perception of time a bad day passes just a fast as a slow day; as with every thing out there, there is an exception to my time passing thing, this winter.  This has been the longest winter I can remember. It has been wet and cold here in paradise.  There has been little sun; for the most part if the sun is out I am at work. 

Ohhh anyway spring has to get here sooner or later.   I have dreams of seeds and dirt.  I have dreams of fresh vegetables and fruit.  I have dreams of walks in the warm sun, mowing grass and bonfires.  I have dreams of being outside for hours and hours.  This cabin is so claustrophobic to me now.  I need sky and field,  I need fresh air, I need spring.

February 2014, a quick review

February in review;

What can I say about February other than the weather was cold, we had one really big snow and I had to work a lot; Oh and I was a bad girl in November and I had to spend a looooong 8 hours and 40 minutes in drivers school this past weekend.

I will say that I am looking forward to spring.  This has been a cold winter.  We have not had that many significant snow days here but we have had a lot of rain followed by very cold days.  The 60 + inches of snow that fell outside Philadelphia was rain for us.  California would gladly accept all the extra wet stuff we are getting.  In mid February we did get what can’t be called anything else but a record snow; there was over 20 inches of the white stuff on my deck.  We had been warned of snow levels around 8-12 inches and I had prepared for that by parking my car a ½ mile from home near the hard top road (VDOT tends to clear the hard top road fairly quick) I knew that my road was going to be one of the last to be cleared so my plan was park near the hard top and walk to the car when the road was clear and hence not miss any work.  As they say “the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray” I missed 2 days of work.  The snow started on Wednesday and I did not get out until Saturday afternoon.  I was not able to park up at my house until Tuesday.  I am looking forward to spring….just saying.

Other than work I have been keeping busy cutting and splitting wood.  Inside the house should be nice and warm again next winter.  It has been too cold and wet to get much done outside, and I do have a lot of projects that need to be done.  We had a big rain and wind event last week that loosened a piece of fascias covering and that has to be fixed.  The garden needs to be cleaned out, I need to clean out the shed, check the fences (I have a few that need to be tightened) you know; just a lot of stuff that is best done in better weather. When one owns a home there is maintenance to do. 

I’m off to walk the big boy, he is a young dog and even though he has almost 4 ½ acres to roam he still want me to walk with him and throw the ball.  He does not care what the temperature is out side. He keeps me moving; good dog!!

Winter weather in Floyd and the Outer Banks

The morning after the snow we weren't suppose to get.

and sunset on that same day.

January is almost gone spring will be here before I know it.  It has been a bit of a cold January.  We have had below zero nights and days that barely got out of the single digits.  The cold weather will hopefully be a good thing.  Maybe some of the bugs that are such a pain Japaneses beetles stink bugs and ticks to name just a few will be cut back this next summer.  Tonight is going to be a cold one down to about 8 or so if the weather guru's are right.  

I do feel a bit sorry for my kids at the beach.  They got a bit of snow yesterday also as can be seen by this photo.  Well maybe I don't feel too sorry for them that looks like fun......

A winter day in paradise

Winter is passing quietly here in paradise.  It seems like this winter has been wet compared to last year. We have had rain followed by cold temperatures.  It’s like old man winter has been just a little off, not sending the cold temperatures in time to meet the rain and thus rain and no snow.  Of course the ground just a few inches below the surface is frozen so all the rain is just running down to the branches and streams and out of the county. 

We need snow to refill our water table. Snow melts slowly and is able to soak into the ground; this then slowly makes its way to the cracks and crevices that we put our wells into so that we can draw out the good clean mountain water we enjoy.   I have been told that around here the water cycle is only about 20 years so what I am drinking now started its journey as rain or snow 20 or more years ago. 

It’s snowing right now; a little clipper is passing through and is promising to drop a ½ inch or so of the white stuff.  Spring is weeks and weeks away so any change to the dark silhouette of barren trees and brown fields that Mother Nature can give me is a welcome gift.

Its cold out there

It’s January 6^th and it is getting very cold out side.  This morning I went out side expecting frigid temperatures but I was surprised to find that I was not cold at all.  When I checked out the temp on line I found that is was 34 degrees, not bad at all.  Well let me tell you things have changed in the last 10 hours.  Right now it is 12 degrees and the wind has picked up.  I had hoped that the weather guru’s might be off a bit but I am putting that hope aside, it’s cold out side……

I was on the couch reading a book when I noticed the sky darken, I looked up at the Buffalo and saw a white haze crossing it, at first I thought it was fog but it wasn’t it was snow.  When I lived at the beach some times it would rain across the street but my house would be dry.  That is what happened with the snow.  It was snowing on the Buffalo but not at my house.

If the weather guru’s predictions continue to be true tomorrow will be very cold but starting Wednesday we should be back to normal temps so all should be good.  I am hoping the power stays on and that the pipes don’t freeze.  

I am hoping for a good Wednesday and Friday to come, some friends and I need to split some wood.  I have a good wood supply right now but too many days like this one and I might find myself needing more sooner rather than later; Burrrrrrr

Happy New Year

I should be at work today but I called in sick…. As I sit here and sip on my nice hot cup of coffee I am thinking of last year, 2013.  I can truly say it was uneventful.  I went to work, gardened and hung out with friends and family.  Nothing special… Well for me living here is special; I enjoy the “simple” life.  I like having an ideal of what it’s going to be like tomorrow.  I can amp life up from time to time with a short trip here or there knowing that I can retreat back to my little piece of paradise and the simple life at any time.

At this time in my life its nice to know that life is going to flow with the seasons.  Right now I am getting the inside of the house in order; going through closets, drawers, under beds and anywhere else I have stuck things getting rid of what ever I don’t use or need in an effort to de-clutter.  On warm winter days I will attempt to get the green house finished and cut wood this done in preparation for the seasons to come.  When spring comes I will plant my garden.  Summer I will tend the garden and fight the un-winnable grass wars.  In the fall I will harvest my summer toil in anticipation of the cold winter months.  Throughout the seasons I will enjoy time with friends my dogs and yes the cat.  I like the simple life.  I am comfortable with this; I am hoping to continue in this manner for many years to come.

Happy New Year