The Blue Ridge Parkway

Today my husband and I took a ride on the parkway. We decided to go all the way out route 40 to reach it, but we turned on 860, a continuation of the 'Crooked Trail', also called shooting creek road. We like new roads, and this one was a find. Bob said the turns were so sharp that he was afraid we might run into ourselves!! He's a keeper, my guy!We spotted a Bobcat! It actually stopped and stared at us long enough for me to get my camera out, and then it went slowly into the woods...about the time I snapped this picture. The eyes on this cat freaked me out when I came home and downloaded them!

We also saw two deer standing on their hind legs, flailing their front legs at each other, much as two kids would do when having a slap fest! It was comical, and when I went to take the picture, my camera wouldn't work...dead batteries! UGH! We continued to Mabrey Mills, and purchased new batteries and I snapped this picture of the mill through the rhododendrons..I also snapped numerous pictures of the other Parkway flora..I'll attach a few..
Do yourself a favor, and take a ride on our Parkway..We sure live in a beautiful area!

ok...hays in...now this compost machine can work for another season!

Grandsons and Graveyards

He missed the whole walk!
I visit my grandson Caine at least once a week. I drive to Bedford and take care of him while his parents work. I like to get him out of the apartment and into the fresh air. I drag the stroller from the back porch, wipe it down and prop Caine up with blankets, strap him in (you'd think he was driving a race car with the harness thing in new strollers!) and bump down the steps. That usually puts him out. He likes the motion.
Today was cool enough to bring my dog Belle along. She loves to ride. I also took her walking with us and she was very well behaved, even when a white pit-bull-ish type dog flew off his back porch (to my complete surprise) and charged us full tilt! I grabbed the nearest stick, and Belle stood her ground...I think it stunned her,too...but the dog magically turned at the last minute and began running up and down the yard at the edge of the sidewalk! Apparently the yard had one of those electronic fences. Thought I'd need a change of undies, but Belle acted like she wanted to join him in the running game! I changed course and crossed the street, and praised Belle loudly proclaiming her to be a 'good dog'. Caine was unphased, and slept on.
We entered the cemetary on the side street as I always do, and I exhaled with the peaceful stretch before me. No cars, no dogs, just birds and souls at rest. We strolled on, and I began my usual reading of the stones, and Belle sniffed a million new smells. The headstones are fascinating. One was a huge cement tree trunk, with a masonic symbol on it. The childrens graves always tug at my heart strings. The newer ones have floral cartoon characters and hearts and balloons or stuffed animals on them, and the really old ones may display a lamb atop them. I guess the families feel better putting something there for the children.
I love grave yards, and think they are peaceful places, where I feel serene.
Usually..........
My friend and neighbor Becky took me to an old graveyard that was part of the setting for her book, "Patches on the Same Quilt", which was phenomenal, by the way, and there was a grave there of a little girl that made my hair stand on end. My whole left side constricted with pain, and I felt short of breathe, distressed and uncomfortable, when I stood near her grave. The child must have died of something to do with her heart, and she was not peaceful nor serene, and what bothered me was that I felt that. My friend Kim usually has those experiences, not me, so I am puzzled by the strong feelings, and I think I have to know more about the family and the child, and I know I have to go back there. Sometime.....
For now Caine and I will stroll in Bedford in the peaceful cemetary!

farm horses and kids

Ok...so I forgot how to blog...I couldn't get into my account because I couldn't remember my password..I finally got it, and now I have stuck ANOTHER post it note on my desk, with valuable information attached..Probably lose it before I have time to blog again..

I'll tell you, this getting old isn't for me...

While my cousins were here, they helped me hitch my 6 year old miniature, 'Endeavour'. He is learning to drive, but his hardest part is turning around to see the person behind him! Gee's, even my horses are nosy! At least he is accepting of the foreign contraption...I'm hoping to find time to work him and get him ready for cart by fall..in my spare time...yeah, right!

Well, we did need the rain, but could it maybe rain lightly for a few days instead of the torrents we've been getting! We finally got the driveway repaired, and todays rain washed lovely veins throughout! UGH!

We rode to the creek to see what was up, and to run Belle, our Aussie...We have new trees down across it and old ones seem to have vanished! Our little pond is brown and overflowing its banks, and we have lots of those 'seasonal' creeks all over the acreage! BUT...we have grass, and looks like lots of hay!

My grandsons visit last week (was it last week or the week before?)found me searching for a way to bathe him. He is a squirmy 2 month old, and I have metal sinks and porcelain ones in the bathrooms, and I was really afraid he'd bang his head, so I used my 'good 'ole Yankee' ingenuity and put him in a cooler, on the porch! Sure wish it had a beer label on it! He enjoyed it very much and grandma felt much better about the plastic sides!

I'm going to Bedford Tuesday to babysit Caine. My daughter has every fancy new thing for a baby, including the nicest bath tub..all soft and colorful...but I'll bet he doesn't like it any better than the cooler bath! I can't wait until he's a little older so I can take him to the creek!!

Happy Mother's Day to all!