Winding Down...or maybe it's just the "wind-up"

It's a busy weekend on the mountain.  Sandwiched between the Labor Day holiday and the weekend of the citywide yard sale,  several activities will keep Dogpatch residents on the move...or at least these residents.  The cool days signaling Autumn are delightful.  Last night a visit from his grandchildren gave Digger Dude, aka Ol' Excavator a good excuse to cook for a crowd.  He tried his luck at "Italian Beef", and the verdict from all his guests was Successful Acquittal of his mission.  It was yummy and it's always fun to sit around at the end of the day and predict the outcome of planned weekend events. 

In just a few minutes, Ol' Abner and I will head for the state park to check out the Hillbilly Chili Cook-Off.  It's an annual event that includes tasting multiple chili concoctions and a vote for the favorite.  Local vendors set of booths with free junk and places to gather for a conflab, and charitable organizations promote their causes and sell wares.  Later tonight, one of our favorite local bands will be playing at the square around the county courthouse.  It's just been too hot most of the summer for the Saturday night concerts, but tonight may just be perfect weather for a little outdoor entertainment.
 
Tomorrow we will go up the mountain for a cookout at the home of some part time "dogpatchers".  Several acquaintances and some really good friends will attend and the food will no doubt be great.  Ol' Abner says it will be next week sometime before he's ready to pull out his fishin' pole again.
 

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A Thread of Interest

My restlessness has morphed into the need to learn something new. I still have the unfulfilled need to travel, but it's been stretched to include an urge to learn. As the new school year begins for the younger generation and those who teach them, I wonder if I should consider returning to school. Maybe even an on-line class or two would feed my empty mind. Last week I returned to the local knitting group. I still haven't mastered the reading of a knitting pattern, but some progress can be flaunted. Making an oven mitt with a lot of coaching, followed by completion of a second all on my own, may not seem a huge accomplishment. Still I take pride in a tiny lesson learned. So many things to learn...so little time. I mustn't waste it! Perhaps I'll do some research on cars. Ol' Abner seems to think it's time to replace mine.

Rainy Days and Rainy Nights

Rains have cooled the mountains finally after a couple of weeks of 100+ temperatures. I hesitate to complain as I have listened to my friends in drought stricken Texas lament the heat and dryness over the spring and summer. The only time I enjoy a rain event is during a good night's sleep, but I've found myself praying for the rain to come to Texas this year. Cooler days have made outdoor time in Dogpatch more tolerable, but the humidity leaves the body soaked with sweat after a few minutes outside. The dog doesn't seem to mind and delights in our longer morning walks, although I can't say the same for the grazing deer. As we stroll down the street and she strains at the leash in an effort to greet the fellow four-leggers, they scatter in panic from their breakfast. I guess they spent the rainy night sleeping too.

Oh the Places We'll Go! NOT

This summer I seem to be suffering from a bit of unrest. We started the season by cancelling a trip so I could have a minor surgery, thinking the journey would only be postponed a few weeks. That destination hasn't yet been reached. Meanwhile unplanned travel has been necessary and I'm grateful that time and means allow for the trips. Still, I yearn for a chance to visit some of the places on my list.

I want to some day take the train across Canada during the summer and enjoy the views from the high windows of the passenger cars. A night at the Chateau Lake Louise would be a must on the journey. We enjoyed a delightful lunch there several years ago, and I knew I wanted to spend a little more time in the beautiful hotel on the turquoise lake. Ol' Abner listens to me sigh as we have seen the cost of the rail ride quadruple in price since my first suggestion that we plan for this vacation, but it isn't high on his wish list. Hmmm

A night or two in the Peabody Hotel in Memphis would be an easy weekend or mid-week outing for us. I want to go when it isn't so miserably hot in the river city so we can stroll down Beale Street and listen to the musicians. With a niece and nephew living there, we would have knowledgeable tour guides to steer us into the little places of local flavor. We did the tour of Graceland and loved seeing all the Elvis memorabilia many years ago, but I'm ready now for a bit of historic Memphis sans Elvis.

A few days in Nashville, Mobile, Savannah, or Fredericksburg might be a salve for my wanderlust. Ol' Abner says we live in the vacation destination for many people and doesn't feel the urgency to see the places I want to go. I keep dropping hints and sometimes make the overt request to his distracted ears, so far it's just not happening. Maybe I'll just plan a trip to London!

Driven

Mountain folk are a unique kind of driver. That old song I heard as a child, "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" comes to mind. As we round a mountain only to suddenly find ourselves behind a slow moving car or worse, a loaded log truck, I just cannot help but yearn for the long straight four lane highways in the plains. In the Ozarks, people take driving an automobile to a whole new art form. Creeping down a mountain riding the brake, then suddenly accelerating on the way up the hill where a passing lane is provided. Some are even courteous enough to move over to the "slower traffic" lane as they generate a burst of speed thought impossible from the look of the vehicle. Others will follow one of the slow moving cars to the beginning of the passing lane, then move to the fast lane only to drive just beside the poky one until seconds before the extra lane must merge back in. A speed of 55 mph is the normal limit on most state highways around Dogpatch. Local residents see no reason why one should indulge in pushing that limit. Cruising around the mountain at roughly 40 mph seems perfectly adequate for most. Sometimes a turn is preceded by a signal as the car is beginning it's turn, hand signals are alive and well around these mountains, but for most a turn just gradually happens. After all, everyone knows he's always lived down this road. I still haven't seen those six white horses though.

Flowers, Feeders and Varmits

Busy summer days can be satisfying. Geraniums are blooming profusely thanks to weekly fertilizer, daily watering and "deer stopper" sprayed around the perimeter. The purple salvia is attracting hummingbirds and the marigolds are prolifically insulting the deer. Flower season didn't begin well. Preparation of a flower bed for daffodils that bloomed while we were away was successful but disappointing as we returned to waning blooms bending over in the wind and rain. The orange day lilies that bloom just beside the steps down from the kitchen were devoured by the deer (and I don't mean dear ones!) who usually just nip off a bud here and there. This year, they ate them down to the ground. Some of them must have developed a taste for the "not deer friendly" plants.

A bird feeder just outside the front window attracted a proliferation of birds from tiny finches, tufted titmouse, cardinals, and small to large woodpeckers. At least until the squirrels discovered it. Ol' Abner made several passes daily to shoo them off until the arrival of his new air-rifle. Now he sneaks around the corner and drops them like rocks with one shot. He's still quite a marksman. Unfortunately they all scatter quickly when one is shot, but they must run into the woods without warning others of the danger. Another group shows up to indulge in the bounty within hours and the panic begins again. Downside of the project is the disappearance of most of the birds. I guess they've decided to move to feeders without so many hazards.

Sweet Summer

Loving the lazy summer days, and today was an especially good one. Ol' Abner has diabetes and it's been a struggle controlling his blood sugar and dealing with the side effects of the high side. Today he visited his medical practitioner for lab results and was pleasantly apprised of the success of insulin usage. We left the office feeling a sense of relief that the frightening trend has finally been slowed or maybe even reversed.

This evening we joined friends along with some of their visiting family for dinner to celebrate a birthday. The company was pleasant and we ended the visit at their home with a dessert of birthday cake. Ol' Abner indulged in a very small piece and noted a slightly elevated blood sugar level when he tested on our return home. He didn't seem to be feeling the awful effects usually resulting from ingestion of sugar. We know he cannot enjoy large quantities of his favorite sweets, but an occasional small serving probably will not cause serious repercussions.

An appointment was scheduled with a local podiatrist today to deal with his chronic ingrown toenails. High blood sugar previously precluded this intervention and he has suffered all summer with constant foot pain. Our hope is to resolve the toenail issue so he can enjoy his walks with the dog and wear his boots for a motorcycle ride.

Ah yes, summer is getting better all the time