It’s been a busy month here in the mountains. I have been cutting grass, there is a lot of it, establishing a new raised bed garden, hauling dirt down a hill is not as easy as you might think, and working on a few building projects. I keep telling myself that it will be easier next year and I know it will but damn…….

I got this (used)

to cut this

this went

down there. There are only 5 beds next year there will be more..

some of my hard work.


This is one of the projects a dog "relief" area. My dogs are getting older and I want them to have a place to go pee when I'm not home.

How much oil has been put into the gulf thanks to this one spill? This is a little calculator I found.

How Much Oil Has Leaked Into the Gulf of Mexico? | The Rundown News Blog | PBS NewsHour | PBS

I just talked to my brother in Louisiana; things are a bit tough down there right now. He told me that work has really dried up. We got to talking about what is happening down in the gulf and he started to tell me about all that comes through Louisiana. It was an education, one that I feel needs to be shared so I found a simple leaflet that tells a lot about what is being effected by the gulf spill. This is just Louisiana, there are a total of 5 US states that boarder the gulf, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida are the other 4. we are not including the South American countries and Mexico.

A lot of people are directly affected and a lot more, we consumers in particular, are indirectly affected. This is a global catastrophe. This is going to cost ALL of us a lot. It is expensive in both monetary cost and ecological cost. There are over 6 billion people on this planet. We have no where else to go. We need to take care of the planet we have. We need to STOP the blame game and enact legislation that will forcibly change the way we treat the world. Money should not be the most important thing on this earth. It’s a bad time in the congress right now a lot of people are going to be out of a job, the tea party and other fanatics will see to that, so if you are going to lose your job anyway just do what is right. Change the laws to protect the earth and us.

Below is a simple fact sheet on Louisiana.

When I moved to Floyd County I wanted to contribute to the county so I joined EMS. This weekend I took the EVAC course thinking I was going to learn to drive an ambulance……

This is similar to what I drove.

I passed the driving test and feel confident that I passed the written but I can tell you right now I have no intention of driving a fire truck!!!!!

I woke up this morning and the Buffalo was gone

Now its back.

Today is the day my friend the master gardener says I can plant so its off to the garden. Looks like a good day to be outside!

Thought I would just post a few words today before I got into my yard work. No photos for a while. My Cannon camera started shooting pink photos turned out it was a CCD connector (what ever that is) that needed to be fixed and Cannon was doing it for free so I sent it to the shop instead of buying another. I want a better camera but I don't want to spend the money right now.

Things up here have been BUSY. I have been trying to get things in shape on the property. Just mowing the grass is a chore; I spent over three hours yesterday just weed eating the property. I have another hour of weed eating today. When the weed eating is done I have to do some mowing, I know that sounds back wards but there is more weed eating than mowing. It turns out to be more than a days work that as to be done every 10 days or so.

I am also going to clear out some barbwire "bushes" that I have been meaning to take care of. These are just big balls of wire that have formed big ball shapes and then have weeds and such growing through them. One has a nice rhubarb plant growing in the middle of it. I also HAVE to get the garden area done this week.

The weather has been so hot that I have not been able to get much done outside; I am a cold weather person. The next few days are going to be in the 60's so I should be able to get a lot done. Of course that is if I don't get distracted; I'm already going to be hiking up the Buffalo tomorrow with a friend but what is a person to do I have not seen her all winter and we want to get together!!

Well I will post again later and hopefully I will get some photos in.

I am sitting here with an upset belly and the chills. I am curled up on the couch under blankets with a small fire in the wood stove, watching movies and drinking hot tea. A friend sent her husband by with chicken noodle soup which was quite good. It has taken this stomach “flu” to slow me down. Spring has been a blur. Taking care of 4 ½ acres doesn’t seem that big a deal until you start. It is work that I love. Cutting grass on hillsides with a weed eater, building steps to the garden and to secret spots in the woods, building raised beds to garden in and having friends over to build a deck. Spring is wonderful here.

we went from this

to this....

I have GREAT friends!!

Every night on my way home from work I expect to run the deer gauntlet, I don’t expect to experience a Monty Python and the Holy Grail rabbit scene. (I warned you, but did you listen to me? Oh, no, you knew, didn't you? Oh, it's just a harmless little bunny, isn't it?) On my way home tonight every rabbit on the 40 miles of road I traveled played chicken with me. Those bunnies better stay off the road are they won’t be around to say Happy Easter. I did not hit any of them; no thanks to them!!

first day of spring

I had fully intended to blog on Saturday, it was the first day of spring and all but it was beautiful day and I kinda hung outside. As I am writing this now it is “snowing” well more like “flurrying”. When I look up at the Buffalo I can tell that is it is much colder there than here; the trees have a white coating of snow or ice on them. What a difference from just yesterday when it was cloudy but much warmer. Spring is a turbulent time. In just the past week we have had 60 degrees and sun, torrential rain and now cold with snow.

I have been working on the cabinets I had been talking about. I want to get a coat of stain on them this morning. I have never made cabinets before, I’m glad these were to have a “rustic” look because they do look “rustic”. I have mad 3 3foot cabinets so far. I get a little better at making them as I go along so if you take a good look you can tell that each new cabinet looks better than the last. I have 1 more small cabinet and 1 pantry cabinet left to make. I am saving the pantry for last; I want it to be really good. When the cabinets and book shelves are done I can bring the stuff in boxes down from the loft and finish the loft.

I need to be getting the garden in shape. With the weather being so nice I have wanted to plant but I knew better; at the beach you can plant around tax time here you don’t plant till after May 15^th. With the nice weather we had the past week or so I was itching to plant but today is reminding me that this is not the time for me to plant. Ahhh spring.

Spring is in the air and calf's are everywhere.

Everywhere I went today I saw these small guys next to their moms or frolicking in the fields. I fully expect a shoe to drop and there to be at least a few more cold days but for now I am enjoying the warm (upper 40's) weather.

It has been quite a while since I last posted on the blog but I have been busy. We have had quiet a winter up here in the mountains, lots of snow and now…. rain. I have been cleaning up from this year weather and getting ready for next. On good days I have been getting wood ready to split so I can be warm next year. I have been cutting paths in to the hill side so that it is easier to get to the wood. Like they say, wood warms you more than once. I spend every bit of time I can out side, this year there aint been much out side time. 4 ½ acres doesn’t seem like that much but it keeps me busy. There is always something that needs to be done; First thing this morning I was down clearing debris from where the little stream I have running through my property crosses a fence; this area backs up when we get a lot of rain. I also have a bunch of wood along the drive way that I need to get down to the wood pile. I roll the logs down the hill to the driveway where I put them in my trailer and take them to the wood pile. These logs are about 18 inches long and vary in width, a few have over shot the drive way and landed near the barn. When the weather gets better I am going to finish wiring the shed, plank the deck, spread a load of gravel, plant grass, you get the point, there’s a lot to do.

Of course the weather has been very stingy with good out door days so this past while I have also been doing stuff inside. Right now I am working on cabinets and book shelves. I keep putzn along with the loft, there is a bed up there but the floor is still plywood and I need to paint the drywall and then finish the trim.

Now it hasn’t all been work I did have a dinner party that was GREAT! I love having friends over. I am also reading a series of books by Terry Goodkind, he’s not Terry Brooks or Tolkien but I have been enjoying the books. I’m on the 8^th one now. For a little change of pace and to help my mom for a few days, I took a quick trip to the beach; the weather wasn’t that great but it was nice to see mom and the boys.

Well I’m off to bed, tomorrow I have to sand and stain the cabinets and start on the cabinet doors. I also have to clean every single dog blanket and floor covering; dogs, rain and red mud a mess do make!!!

I tried to catch some of the sparkle but I was not very successful

As we grow up many of us hear stories that deal with magic. Cinderella, Snow White, The Wizard of Oz and Shrek are just a few of those stories. We hear about magical places where the air is full of sparkling wonder. Humans have been telling stories of magic for most likely all of human time and this year I am realizing that the wonders that nature provides us are the basis for the magical wonders authors of the stories of magic weave for us.

This winter I have seen ice crystals float in the air on a clear sunny day sparkling as I walked through them. I have seen snow reflecting the color of the rainbow in the path of my Jeeps head lights. The other day I saw fields sparkle in the sun. It looked like someone sprinkled clear glitter over the fields.

The magic of nature is wonderful. It makes my soul feel happy and sometimes sad. Happy in the beauty and sad at the struggle all the parts, animal, vegetable an mineral must go though to survive.

Yesterday I was listneing to the Weather Channel and it seems that things aren't going too well in Vancouver Canada, home of the 2010 Winter Olympics; they are havening to truck in snow. Us here in southwestern Virginia on the other hand are in for 3-5 inches of snow and ice. On my way home from work last night I bought wheat & rye flour and will be spending the day baking bread because I don't think I will be getting out today!!!

I thought I would give this a try. Here are the dogs this morning in the snow.

It has been a nice day today. We had around 8-10 inches of snow last night and into today and I am loving it.
The dogs and I spent some time outside walking around the property, just taking in the view.
I shoveled the deck, twice so that Zeke would have a nice place to rest while I removed the snow from the Jeep.

I spent a good deal of the morning on the phone and plan on spending the rest of the afternoon and evening reading as I stay warm by the wood stove.
Stay warm all!!!

Sunday we had some big time rain by Monday all the snow we had gotten last December was finally gone and temperatures were in the 50’s. Today we have snow flurries with temperatures in the 30’s. The saying back at the beach was if you did not like the weather wait a minute and it will change, this saying seems to be the case around here for now. To be honest the snow flurries are very pretty, the snow is coming from the west and the sun is shinning in the east so the snow seems to be glowing. Tried to get a photo of this but it did not turn out. I want a better camera but its way down on the want/need list for now.

I have some happy kinfolk down in the Big Easy, the Saints are on there way to the Super Bowl. The family in PA are a bit disappointed they had hopes for the Eagles but we know how that went......

Just a taste of winter

and the view it gives me

The weather was so nice last weekend that it gave those who were looking for it a false hope for an early spring. Yesterday dashed those hopes. We got another taste of winter; we got a bit of an ice storm. I had to work yesterday and as luck would have it we were very slow and I was able to go home early which was a good thing because it took me more than 2 hours to get home, 45mins of that was spent going the last 3 ½ miles. A friend of mine had attempted to call me on my cell but I did not turn it on so I missed the message about not trying to get home. To be honest the major roads were fine up until I reached Dugspur that’s when the ice on the road began to become more obvious. By the time I got to Willis it was bad. The ride home became a white knuckle 4 wheel drive night time adventure that I don’t care to have again.

One thing good about this weather is that the ground is frozen so the dogs aren’t bringing in mud, annnnnd I cant roll logs down the hill annnnnd its too cold to work in the shed soooo I get to spent the day reading and not feeling guilty about it!!!!!

I got a birthday card from my #2 son yesterday. The card he sent me at Christmas came 2 week’s after he sent it, not through any fault of the US post office mind you; my son addressed it to “mom” and then put the wrong address on it. The post master looked at the address and noted that it was a non existent address then looked at the return address, noted where it came from, could think of only one person that was from that area, knew she was out of town for the winter so he sent the card to that persons daughter. The daughter called me and said she thought she had a card that belonged to me. This could only have happened in a small community.

The card I got yesterday was still addressed to “Mom” but it had the correct address this time.

We are having a bit of a January thaw here in Floyd County VA. I spent much of the morning and early afternoon cleaning the shed and rolling logs down my back hill. I had DZ tree removal come over and cut a bunch of trees that were either on the ground or about to be on the ground into fire wood size pieces that I then rolled down the hill (I will be rolling the wood for quiet a few days but it is the only way to get it down). I will then split them so that I will have fire wood for next year. It’s a lot of work but I can’t see buying a lot of wood when I have my own trees that need to be taken care of. I think when you factor in paying to cut the logs then rolling them down the hill, then splitting and stacking the wood it would have been more cost effective to have just paid for firewood but the trees are good fire wood and it would be a waste not to use them so I don’t mind burning a few calories.

After all that work I spent a little time on the deck enjoying the sun, a magazine and a glass of lemonade. Ahh feels like spring.