Parkway Rhodies

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Bob and I love to travel about and see new places. With the economy so bad, we try to take day trips, so every Saturday we decide where to go, while we have breakfast out...

Our Saturday trip this week took us to Floyd, Virginia.

We followed the 'Crooked Road---Virginia's Music Trail', and wound up in this great little town.

( Go to: crookedroad.org )

There is a Country Store here with the best food, and on friday nights there is music , in fact the whole street packs up with people listening to music or playing the guitar or banjo or fiddle, etc.!!

Check out:Floydcountrystore.com

Hers Bob checking out the menu of 'Cafe del Sol'..

The sidewalks are made so you can sit and listen, or sit and play...

The many shops lining the streets are eclectic, and reminded me of Key West in Florida, Eureka Springs in Arkansas, Cape Cod in Massachusetts or even coastal Maine. Very artsy and almost hippie-ish with 'Winter Sun' clothing, tie dyed shirts and crafts of local people...

I had to take a picture of this little nook, I felt like I was in Key West again!!

Made me homesick for the Keys!

The reason we started this journey was to see the Rhodedendrons on the Parkway...

In the 4 years(well, almost) we have been here, we always miss seeing them in bloom!

I took alot of pictures of them, and there are white and pink ones...


We met some really nice folks in Floyd Virginia, and we are going to get back there for a Friday night music take-in...

The Blue Ridge Parkway leads to all sorts of wonderful places, and so does the Crooked Road, so take a little ride if your local, or a long ride if you aren't!

You won't be disappointed! Bring your camera!

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Making Tracks

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My Florida Keys friend, Donna, finally made it up this year. She comes and goes withing 12 hours,as a rule. She just comes up for a haircut, and a quick visit, and then she's off again!
I am used to her ways. This time she arrived mid-day on tuesday and stayed until about 9:30 this morning!
In that short time we made several salads and dressings, and coconut smoothies (from the coconuts she brought up)and had dinner with Bob last night!
Amazing! Donna is a 'raw vegan'. She eats nothing but raw fruits,vegetables, nuts and grains...organic only. It is quite interesting to me...Bob wanted to know if my horses got nervous when she came...
I didn't get it either..
Afraid she would strip their fields...Oh Bob..

Here's some mangoes, and key limes and papayas and a few oranges from the bounty she brought from the Keys. She also brought coconuts, and raw macadamia nuts and cashew and brazil nuts...Olives to die for (gee's they were good!)
And below is a picture of the elusive lady herself...
70 years young, works 24/7, lives alone in the Keys and drove up here in one straight shot, and drove to Raleigh-Durham to fly back to Lauderdale and will drive on to the Keys..
She called this a vacation! Maybe there is something to the way she eats....



This morning I ran the dogs after Donna left, making tracks for the airport....
and I decided to take some pictures of some of the tracks I found on the route I run through our property here in SW Virginia...
Can anyone identify these tracks??
I will put what I think they are, and if anyone reads this and thinks differently, please comment at the end of this blog...
Just hit comment and hit name url and put your name in..
Thanks!
Happy tracking!


raccoon and some kind of bird?

I have no idea!

Big cat???/Maybe the cougar?

?????????????Dog, maybe

Bird again, but what is the tiny one to the right? Tiny raccoon??


Sure is fun to see whats been around...

Well, Donna and critters are 'making tracks!'

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Tidy Cat Tomatoes and sunshine

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It's sunny today!!!!!!!!!I feel like a mole each time I go out, but I'm loving it!

I wanted to take full advantage of the sun shine, so I did laundry, all the bedding for three beds!

Other stuff too, but so happy to be able to hang laundry, I had to blog!

While out there, I noticed the cherry tomatoes I have growing in 'Tidy Cat' buckets are starting to have little tomoatoes!

No fancy internet tomatoe buckets for this Scottish lass! I have 5 cats, and with all that kitty litter we use those buckets for lots of things, and this use is really productive!

I put a plant out the bottom....and..a plant in the top!

Festive and bright yellow! So easy to water and work with hanging on the deck railing!

I also use old tires for my cucumbers and squashs, and they are really doing well!!

Happy sunshine....

Simple pleasures!

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"So NOT Southern!"

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I am so NOT Southern!

There are wonderful things here in the South, and lots of my favorite foods are 'Southern'. Things like, hog jowl bacon, grits and corn bread..Pinto beans, collards and fried pork rinds just to name a few...But I have found something I will not even try !
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This is my now gelding 'Red', on the left. He was a stallion until Tuesday.

The vet came out and 'gelded' him....



My neighbor, a real country boy, came and helped out, since Red is a bit of a handful. Even though he weighs only 125 lbs he can be really fiesty. Since my horse accident 2 years ago, I have a difficult time with my left wrist that was broken. I don't have the stregnth I used to have. My back also can be trouble since it, also, was broken . All in all, I needed a strong person to help hold Red while the vet got the drugs into the main juglar vein in his neck. This was the 2nd attempt by the vet, and Red remembered his scent when he came into the barn...I was glad Jay came over to help.

I was holding a lead , but I was trying not to watch as the vet sliced him open and removed the testicles, clamped the vein, etc. I don't like blood at all. The two 'country' boys were chatting away as the country vet worked, and when he got the testicles out, he said to Jay,

"Want em?"

Jay said, "Naw."

I said, "Whhaaatttt????"

The vet said, "Lot's of people eat 'em."

...I will never be that hungry!!

He asked if I wanted to give them to my dogs??

Again, "Whhaaaattt?"

One neighbor said her vet tossed them to her dogs, and they gobbled them up!

UGH!

Later my other neighbor remarked that I should have thrown them on the barn roof, for good luck!

Good luck for whom?

Not the horse, that's for sure!

I don't need any critters climbing the barn to get 'em', nor do I want buzzards up there!

I may say 'dang' and 'yonder' from time to time, but I guess I'll never really be a Southerner!




Wednesday I was a guest at 'Pen Women', a group of writers and artists that gather at a little 'coffee house' type place called "The Daily Grind" in Roanoke. My friend, fellow writer and neighbor who lives 'yonder' , Becky, had invited me and the group treated me to a lovely lunch. Our mutual friend 'Amy', pictured here with me, spoke to the group about her book ,"Crossroads at Brandy Station". Its a wonderful book she is trying to have published. It is written for the'middle grades' of kids, and I really hope it gets published. Its about the Civil war, and two young kids and how it affects their lives.


Amy, I am pulling for you girl, and your novel about the awful war between the North and the South...but honey,
"I will never be a Southerner" !!

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Celtic Women concert

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It has been a great weekend!!!

Friday night Bob took me to see 'Celtic Women' in concert at the Roanoke Civic Center! This was his birthday gift to me. He got the tickets back in December of last year, and I have been anxiously awaiting the date!
We made an evening of it stopping first to dine at 'Montano's International Restaurant' on Franklin Rd. SW...This was our first visit to Montano's, but not our last as the food was fabulous!
I had macadamia nut encrusted salmon, stuffed with herbs and cheeses...YUM! A glass of wine, fresh crusty bread with dipping oils, and a crisp salad...perfect!
Next we drove to the Civic Center, and while driving in line to turn in, I spotted the drummer for the 'Celtic Women' taking a brisk walk, so shy person I am, I opened the window of the Hummer and shouted out,
"Hey, aren't you the drummer?"
He smiled and winked and shook his head to affirm...
Bob said I thought it was Celtic WOMEN...
I said, the lead singers are 'Celtic Women'...
the back up singers are male and female, and the two drummers are definately male!
(I knew this from watching them in concert every time I find them on tv, usually PBS)
Check out you tube..
http://youtube.com/
In search put in Celtic Women...
Then click on any song you might like hearing!
The concert was spectacular, and my husband revealed that it was his first indoor concert! The Civic Center seating was very comfortable, as I had requested an outside seat, so Bob could stretch his leg out. We will keep an eye out for upcoming events...

Saturday we went to the Catholic church annual 'Junque' sale on Rte.122 up past West Lake, and then stopped at a few of the sales along the route. We went to Kroger's and had lunch ! Yes, the grocery store now has a great selection of foods for immediate consumption, including barbeque ribs and beans, which I had, and it was really good! We ate the entree with 2 sides and had a drink with it, for $5.99. They even have suishi ! There is a seating area, and it is cool and clean!
Then we did Goodwill, and the various stores along that strip mall had sidewalk sales, as did most West Lake stores on Saturday, and we went in the wicker store and found a new resin wicker-look swing, in green, complete with cushion and chains for less than anywhere we have checked, including on line!! It looks great replacing my lovely white real-wicker one that has just seen better days, sadly the tubing is very rusted and the wicker breaking in clumps..
so the new swing is weather resistant ( as much as possible ) and its a sage green! Love it..pictures will follow on another blog..

Our hummingbirds are back in full force, I got up close to these as I was changing out feeders..





This female seems to have gold 'glitter' all over her!
I think it was pollen. Bob put up a hummingbird feeding bar today, and pics of it will come on another blog as well!
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