Early Summer

Florida friends, don't be too envious because we are feeling the heat here too. The heat wave that is roasting the country has not spared our little piece of heaven with temperatures reaching the low 90's for several days in a row. Fortunately, lower temperatures are on the horizon because as has been documented ad nauseam, I am no fan of extreme heat. However, the heat has not stopped us from going places, it has merely made it less comfortable. 

In this edition of Camera Crazy, I am happy to report excursions to new places and experiences. One thing I thought perhaps I might mention is that one thing about this adventure is, and I am speaking only of myself, it is easy to lose confidence. Pray tell, what does that mean? Well, for one thing, never having lived in a home with stairs before, the first year I was so timid navigating three levels on a daily basis. The other day it occurred to me that I am improving my step skills! So that is one thing and when I think of others I will dive deeper into the topic. 

For now, take a look at this strawberry!

It was the sweetest strawberry ever grown! Haha...just joking, but it was pretty tasty. Although I have gobs of flowers, the strawberry size is low. I am on a learning curve when it comes to this kind of thing.

I picked one the other day and it was not all that tasty, so either I was too early, or too late. The above plant has some flowers and fruit but it does not seem to be producing more flowers so we shall see what happens next. The larger tomato plant seems to be thriving.

There are plenty of cucumbers on the way, as well as peppers, or so I hope. At least it is trending in that direction. Caladiums are popping up in places that I forgot I planted them, and finally one of the day lilies bloomed!

Before we leave the yard a few other things of note to show you. I mentioned the stand Bruce was building for the kayak and how in the world did he join the pieces of wood etc. Carpenter skills in other words. Here is how he made the space for the next piece of wood. Using a circular saw he made al those cuts, removed the chunk and then used a chisel for fine tuning. 

Chisel action: 

A router was used to soften the edges. Please note the joint on the end of the wood.

I have not taken a photo of the completed project, but here is when he had only one post in. 

He's painted it, as well as the back steps, so more photos soon. 

The strawberry plant! 

Hydrangeas galore! They are not loving the extreme heat so hopefully they will hang on for a while longer.

Most of the time when we see the backyard rabbits they are munching the weeds. I have no idea what this one is munching. 

This is the first I have seen one on it's haunches! 

I could go on and on about how much we are loving having a yard, but now it is time for two field trips! Yes, I went on one with the pickleball ladies,

and the two of us went on one with our friends, Cobby and Diane.

Curious? Of course you are!! Let's go!

Each month one of the pb ladies dreams up a field trip and for this one we went to the farm of a Georgia poet named Byron Herbert Reece. Never heard of him? Now you have. None of us had heard of him either but now we all have too and are happy that we have. The farm has been restored with the buildings that once shaped their lives. One building housed tools:

The old barn:

with his writing desk in the loft.

I think it was in the barn that I spotted this poster.

Living off the land, as his family did, required lots of advance planning. The garden:

We heard the sound of the rushing water before we spotted the stream.

Wait a minute...is that a stream? A brook? A small river? What would you call it?

Seeing as how he was a poet, those too, are displayed in a beautiful way.

Sadly, he took his own life when he was 40 years old. Suffering from depression and a case of tuberculosis, apparently it was just too much for him to carry on. The society that I linked to above means to carry on his legacy as a poet of the land that shaped him. 

Would it even be a field trip for me if I did not spot any birds? Probably, but truthfully it definitely enhances a field trip. While I thought this was a new bird for me, apparently it is a Catbird.

That said, I am finding it difficult to confirm. Super cute whatever it is.

Following our visit to the farm, we went to a barbecue joint alongside the road.

Placing your order at the counter, they bring it out to you and in our case to the furthest picnic tables.

The common denominator of the group is pickleball and in a lot of cases, Florida, as so many either lived there, or still have a place there. Time in Mississippi had something to do with Tammy's tastes. 

That's right...grits and banana pudding! Her vehicle was so comfortable, large, and had the biggest screen any of us had ever seen.

Spending her working career as a highway patrol officer, Tammy had no problem with driving out of the way to take Janet to her home before we headed back to Murphy. Well, we were glad she did because the view from Robert and Janet's deck was pretty darn good.

Something else super cool at their home was this display downstairs. Now I am having trouble remembering if it was his father or uncle, but one of them had a nightclub where records were spun back in the day. Robert now has the collection and displayed a fraction of them on the wall.

A few days ago I realized that folks here think in terms of time rather than miles. To us, Robert and Janet live so far, as in about twenty plus miles from the court, but they think in terms of it taking only about thirty minutes to get to the pickleball courts. That is one of the big differences here, or so it seems. Living in the country, driving is the rule, not the exception.

For the record, Nancy delivered me to our front door and did a good job of it I might add!

So that was on last Friday, and Saturday after breakfast at the local Waffle King, Diane and Cobby took us on a driving trip. Here is when I should mention that the relentless rain had finally stopped. We went from one extreme unto another. I prefer the rain to the heat, but that's just me. Anyway, one of the beautiful happenings at this time of year are the presence of lilies by the score alongside highways. Stopping at the rest stop in Andrews never disappoints because there is usually some kind of beauty to be found there. 

The above is but a fraction of the lilies, some native, some planted.

Here are our Southern friends: Cobby is from Georgia and Diane is from Alabama , both of whom are teaching us more about Southern ways.

I was trying to remember if our family ever went on a drive in the country for entertainment and I think the answer is no. Too many people and too small of a vehicle might have been why, but then again, where would we have gone? Here there are lots of places that one might want to drive to or through, that is if one likes curves! Well the Barfields love curves and driving and it showed in their confident manner. Driving through the Nantahala Gorge, through Bryson City and on to Cherokee. Stopping at the visitor center,  Diane pointed out a lone elk.

The rest of the herd must have been hiding in the shade of the large trees in the area. Going one way leads one into the Great Smokey Mountain National Park and the other takes one onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. We took the later and were afforded some wonderful views.

We were riding in the back seat of their spiffy red Mercedes.

While it was still hot on the lower part of the Parkway,

the temperature dropped as we climbed higher and higher. In fact, by that time drivers had switched and Diane was behind the wheel, taking us up to the highest point on the BRP.

It was their that the Fir trees appeared.

Hardly any time after I took the photo above it began raining! But not for long. However, their plan was to drive us further, however the road was closed, so with no other choices, we turned around and headed back to Cherokee where we ate lunch here.

There is a wonderful river, the name of which escapes me, that runs through town where Diane put her feet in the water.

Again, here is where the confidence thing comes into play. Rocks and roots make me nervous, of which there were plenty of both!

On the other hand, I was okay walking through the bamboo forest.

It was then that my camera lens began acting strange, which in the end was not bad timing as most of the rest of our adventure we spent in the car going home. We are so grateful for our new friends. 

While I am typing in my nightgown, Bruce is mowing the cemetery again, with hopefully enough other volunteers to ease the load. The roof is being replaced on the Harshaw Chapel, the culmination of years of fund raising. 

I believe I have mentioned it before so I won't go into too many details, but suffice it to say, as to mowing the grass, winter cannot come soon enough! 

One would think it is about time to get the day going beginning with changing out of my nightgown and so I will. Lately field trips have been few and far between so I hope you enjoyed both of them thanks to the kindness of friends.  

Lots going on this week so keep an eye on this space for more adventures with the Pecks!

your friend,

Gail

p.s. Good grief, why I saved this for last is beyond me, but here is a photo that warms my heart!

Mr. Bill (my nickname for him) reading a bedtime story to Little Man (their nickname for Christian). Woo hoo!