The Mountain Thymes

Cement truck dumped concrete into the hopper which pumped it into large hoses. Workers fed the concrete into the forms and tamped the concrete to remove any air bubbles. It took two truck loads to fill the forms.  Wet concrete had to be leveled. Done for today.  Monday forms will be removed and concrete will need to set and dry for about two weeks.

Monday............ Weather has been cooperating.  Sunny and 58 by noon.  Cliff helped me write this because he spent so much time talking with the workmen and asking questions.  Living on the side of a mountain with uneven landscape meant several steps had to be built in the footers.The earth was near impossible to dig in. In order to keep the foundation level because of the rock, the steps were necessary. It is extremely difficult to make sure all 4 sides are level. Twenty-four inch wide frame to hold concrete for the footers.   Also steel rebar had to be installed in all 4 sides. Each form had to be level and at the proper height in reference to all the other forms. It looked extremely difficult, but the workmen were very versed at their jobs. Wednesday the cement truck parked up in the driveway and pumped the concrete into the forms. Rebar placed in soft concrete and left to set overnight. The vertical steel is used to secure...

BR-R-R-R...............coldest morning so far.  The red hand on our old round porch dial thermometer rested on 18 when I stepped out with my coffee this morning.  I've probably sacrificed the kitchen window box geranium with this freezing temperature.  During the day the potted plants bask in the mid-60 degree sunshine out on the porch returning to their window spots in the kitchen and dining room late afternoon as the sun slides down behind the mountain. A couple of nights ago when I removed the window box geranium from its stand, a small bird flew out from the thick leaves and flowers into the darkness to find a new place for the night.  Since then I've left the geranium in its place against the kitchen window covering the plants with dishtowels in hopes the bird will return.  November has been a bonus even though some nights dipped to mid 20's, most days return to a sunny mid-60 degrees temperature.  We pulled out all the Christmas decorations yesterda...

Anytime people relocate, get married, retire, or have a live changing event, new norms and traditions need to be established.  We cooked a bird the first year we were here.  With all of our children living hundreds of miles away from us, we tried to bring a family feeling to this lonely little house out in the woods. I baked pies.  Cliff cut butternut squash.  Our first Thanksgiving dinner here was quiet with a table full of food.  We had turkey, stuffing, baked potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, peas, pies, etc., which seemed to be devoured in minutes compared to the hours of preparation. From our dining room chairs we saw stacks of dirty pans, spills on the counter, gravy puddles in the burner wells and too many pies leftover to contribute to our future weight gain.  We did give thanks for all of our blessings..........for our wonderful adult children, for loving grandchildren, our little house in the peaceful woods, and for being able to retire as we did...

A couple of days ago I posted a few more pictures of the ground work when we got a text from our builder that upset Cliff which in turn upset me which caused me to quickly delete the post I had just published.  After sitting at his kitchen table and talking to our builder, Cliff and I both calmed down and the work continued.  Cliff cut trees to about 12' so Jamie could stack them. Cliff and Mike measured and squared the corners.  Fluorescent paint marks the ground where footers will be dug. Digging footers Jamie brought his 3-year old son to work with him today so I pulled out the wooden blocks and the box of hot wheels in case he wanted to play on the porch while his dad rumbled around in the track-hoe cutting trenches in the mountainside.  Suddenly it hit me.  Why would you want to play with a construction toy when you can help control the real thing? This took much longer than expected.  Along the east side of the foo...

We were still reveling in the early November warmth and sun until this morning. Each day was a bonus that brought such pleasant weather as we knew another cold front was due to come through anytime.  We haven't spotted deer in a good couple of weeks now since hunting season is upon us.  One of our Boulder Creek residents has been setting traps of deer corn and salt licks luring deer to an area where she and a friend wait to kill them for their Thanksgiving dinner.  There are no " no hunting " signs posted in our subdivision as all (except for this one) of the people residing here respect nature and enjoy the wildlife.  The two hunters avoid property where residents live here full time so are setting up on acreage that belongs to unaware out-of-state land owners.   The start of our 2-car garage.    Cliff and Mike measured and set posts for the corners yesterday afternoon.  More trees are marked and will be removed as soon as this rainy co...

The cold front passed through bringing a few 28 degree nights and 49 degree days.  The outer bands of hurricane Sandy blew fall decorations off the porch and brought down large dead oak branches.  After what she did to the entire eastern area, we have no complaints.  Families and friends in the east made it through without power loss or flooding.  Our comfortable sunny fall days returned with a temperature of 76 yesterday.  Cliff and I pulled weeds, limp frost-bitten morning glories and pepper plants still full of peppers, which I picked and will chop and freeze.  He wanted to till the clay once before the cold winter hardens the ground but had to maneuver around still existing broccoli, rosemary, and parsley, which will probably make it through the winter.  There are still another three stately oaks that I think need to come down on the south end of the garden that will give it the needed 6-8 hours of sun.  Taking the trees to the ground has been...