The Mountain Thymes

I was just out watering the flower garden, Cliff was on the porch talking on the phone, when Maxine spotted the young deer on our property. This little beauty just watched us and walked around the front yard for about 10 minutes not far from the garden. (about 7:45 pm)

First pic is our front garden with new corner posts, daylilies, and some new flowers. For the past few nights some nocturnal creature is rooting the mulch, knocking the rocks from the wall, and digging under the driveway rocks. We're not sure if it's the black bear or just a raccoon. The young deer has been spotted in our yard and walking around in other yards. Dot, Nana, your son is cooking shrimp on the barbie. This is our long back porch where we spend most of our time when we're home.

We went tubing down the Toccoa River in GA this morning with our friends from the mountain. The excursion down the river takes about 2.5 hrs and is about 6 miles long. Cliff: The water was quite high and it resulted in several big dropoffs. I (Cliff) flipped over and went underwater a couple of times. Lots of fun, but quite rough at times. It was real great fun. These are not pics of us. These people knew what they were doing! This was new to us so when we heard the sound of the rapids, our lives passed before us. I kept getting my big behind stuck on the rocks and Cliff struggled to steer his tube and stay upright in the rapids. The water temp was actually refreshing because it's been 90 here....hot for June. All in all, we had a great day.

Most evenings since daylight is longer, Maxine enjoys settling on the porch in a chair positioned so she could view the whole length of the porch. The weather is so lovely we leave the french doors opened and we can see her. She has a quick entrance into the house if she smells something foreign in the air. Last night, I noticed her body language changed as she came in early, headed straight to the guest bedroom where she could look out the open window. As dusk settled, she jumped off the bed and hid in the laundry area. A few minutes later, I went into that room to close the window so we could put on the A/C and saw a beautiful deer standing in my garden. You could hear it walk through the leaves and onto the gravel road. It turned and came down our driveway toward the house. Probably looking for some tender, delicious flowers. Neighbors tell us deer like tulips, including the bulbs, my impatiens ......so that's where my new pink ones went! Guess they don't eat ger...

these tomatoes are not from my garden........yet a good country woman in the kitchen making tacos this is my whole garden...one tomato plant with two green tomatoes! waiting for the flowers to grow

My teacher friends in FL and my grandson in TN have asked us what do you do now that you are retired. Some mornings we sit out on the porch steps with our silly cat, a cup of high test java, watch the sunrise, and listen to the forest. It speaks volumes. In the spring the air is teeming with morning son gs echoing throughout the woods. The orchestra of cardinal voices delight us and bring peace and contentment as we begin our day. Last night as darkness fell, we saw our first fireflies this season. Retirement has allowed me to enjoy some of the things I've missed, like sunrises, savoring a cup of chai tea while reading a book .... actually reading a book without falling asleep. Teaching was so consuming and exhausting. It never left my mind.

We didn't know what time the reenactment was at this camp setting so didn't hang around. Meeks Park is a well-kept park with a stream running in back of this camp site and acres and acres of large oak and elm trees. The different clans set up booths with family name information and each clan wears its distinctive tartans. Until we moved here and attended the festival last year, we didn't realize the huge number of Scottish in the area. Will post a few more pictures....I think....will try.

This morning we drove to the Scottish Highlands Festival in Blairsville, GA, only about 18 miles from our house. We got there around 9:30 and while Cliff waited for the hot dog booth to open, we watched the sheep dog demonstration and some of the highland games. These guys are bruisers! The "hammer" throw originates from the Scots actually throwing a sledge hammer years ago. It was interesting to watch them position their feet and body, twirl, then grunt and heave for maximum distance. A few of the throws measured 80 feet! The dogs lay in waiting out in the fields just watching their sheep if the sheep are doing what they're suppose to be doing. As the sheep stray, the dogs herd them in a back and forth rhythm until they return to their place. The woman who was doing the demonstration said the dog does this instinctively and doesn't have to be given any commands.

hammer toss

M axine got so tired of waiting for me to publish, she needed to catch a few winks. there are so many boxes and directions to navigate, i feel like i'm in a maze......

hello...you are reading my first blog! this is a new challenge for me because anything to do with technology causes an instant mental block. it's already taken me over 8 hours just to do this first post! good thing i'm retired because at this rate i wouldn't be able to get to work on time. lauria has been encouraging me and has helped me get started.