The Mountain Thymes

 Thirteen years ago on this date, I walked out of my fifth-grade classroom, turned the key to lock the door for the last time, and walked away with mixed emotions.  Twenty-two years of doing what I never thought I would do.  Teaching children and watching them transform was enriching.  As I walked away knowing that I would miss the children, I kicked up my heels and thought about never getting up with the five o'clock alarm or doing lessons plans again!  The next morning Cliff scooped up Maxine and put her in the front seat of the U-Haul.  I drove behind him for the next nine hours until we arrived at 79 Clay Durrett Rd in Murphy, NC, my sanctuary with nature's wild life and mighty oaks. Where did the time go?!  Started collard greens a few weeks ago at the dining room window. Since the huge oak tree finally shed its leaves, the plants get full sun.  Today I'll transplant them out in the kitchen garden and in the containers.  Earlier this fal...

 It's 7:30 a.m. and as dark as midnight!  And one of my older lady friends from pre-covid yoga classes texted me at 5:15 this morning!  This time of year I peacefully sleep until about six when I slowly return from a hibernating state feeling refreshed. Normally around 7 I can pull back all the winter drapes as the light begins to awaken my birds and the Carolina wren greets me with his good morning song.  This morning dark heavy-laden clouds opened up with an inch of rain in forty-five minutes.  The only saving grace is that the temperature is a balmy 54, not the cutting cold freeze that comes with winter temperatures.  It's been a crazy December with fluctuating temperatures.  Some afternoons I'm in short sleeve t-shirts and capris, doing yoga in the afternoon on my deck under the leafless trees.  Other days I'm in long jeans, sweatshirt, and cozy warm socks.  We're coming into the winter solstice, the darkest time of the year, a difficult...

 Low twenties damp and raw feeling when we got up this morning at six. The only reason I got moving was because the dentist was squeezing me in at eight o'clock.  Saturday morning, always on a weekend when an event calls for a dentist or a doctor, while flossing my crown popped off its post.  Luckily the crown dropped on the floor.  I placed it in a sandwich-size ziplock bag and put it where I could keep an eye on it and away from the trash.  That night we had to attend Cliff's Station 25 Christmas party.  Cliff and I wear masks everywhere we go.  That worked for covering the missing bottom front tooth until....... it was time to eat.  The members are pretty respectful of each other and sat either with their families or small groups all around the room.  I just kept eating so nobody could talk to me.............. Anyway, crown was cemented back on this morning.   Our December weather actually has been quite mild between cold fronts....

No good stories or pictures about our Thanksgiving Day with Mark and Jen because Mark didn't come.  He called the evening before to tell us he wasn't up to flying, not feeling quite right.  Jen still flew Thursday morning but after she picked up her rental, she checked into a hotel to recover from food poisoning she got after eating an airport turkey sandwich.  Friday morning she arrived around 10 with news that she had to fly back home in the afternoon because her mother's Parkinson's had progressed and she was in Hospice. Thursday Cliff and I boiled and mashed potatoes and two kinds of squash, red kubota and butternut.  I made a nice cranberry sauce from a new recipe that sounded delicious.  Friday the bone-in turkey breast hit the slow-cooker.  Jen made the crust-less pumpkin pie while we talked and even exchanged Christmas gifts.  At one o'clock we hugged, said our good-byes and she headed back to Atlanta.  Around three o'clock Cliff and I sat...

 Cliff and I decided to get away for a few days since we haven't been anywhere in about two years and he was feeling stronger during his six-week break from chemo.  We needed the calm we feel near the ocean and to eat seafood overlooking the salt marshes and ocean waves. This also was my birthday celebration, a drive to Beaufort, SC in lieu of baking my own birthday cake.  Usually when we crave the salt water, we head to Charleston but I needed a different adventure this time.  Beaufort is about a six-hour drive and Cliff wanted to see if he able to do it.  I drove the last hour when he needed a break.   Cliff enjoying fried flounder.  Can you find the vegetables? Hunting Island lighthouse.....................  We walked the beach.................... There was nobody around who could take a picture of us together. Tiny crab taking a chance exposing itself on the beach.  Luckily there were no seagulls flying over or sandpipers running aro...

 Trees have been beautiful this year, hanging on to their leaves and bursting with color.  The other day we both mentioned that one of these passing cold fronts woud change the looks of our forests.  As the  barometric pressure rapidly dropped today,  trees that held onto their colorful leaves began giving them up with each gust of wind tossing and twirling them to the ground.   Our walking path at Konehetee.  This tree is really golden.  These bushes are a brilliant red and full f birds. The mountain view we see when sitting out on Libby's wine porch. Cliff had his 4-week follow-up with our doctor today and a very good visit.  The doctor spent over an hour talking with him and listening to him.  Monday I called the doc to tell him that I haven't been on my RA Rx since mid-September when I had to stop the meds to gets the Moderna booster and two weeks later get the flu vaccine.  In those four weeks without the methotrexate, I f...

  Pictures don't do justice.............. This week our trees were brilliant reds and yellows, our peak week.   This is what we looked like last Sunday evening on Libby's porch after days and days of rainy dreary weather.  It was a breezy chilly evening but so nice to be back outside on her porch.  Five o'clock Sunday evening is wine time.  Once it's too cold to be outside, we gather in her living room.  Libby with her husband, Frank, in the rocking chair with the empty wine glass. No, he didn't drink too much. Frank has dementia.  So sad because he's a brilliant man. Thursday we joined Kathy and Dutch for a train ride on the Hiawasee Loop, a four-and-a-half hour trip. This guy had the right idea with his hood up and layered jackets. Now, the narrative.................. The train was almost as cold inside as the outside temperature.  When friends asked us to accompany them for the train ride, we agreed to go without researching the travel time or ...

 Our hummingbirds have migrated back to Central America.  The last female was spotted at the kitchen window feeder on October 9.  All the feeders have been soaked in a soapy solution with a little bleach, dried, and packed away for another five months until I pull them out around the middle of March.  With our night temperatures dropping and cold fronts bringing cooler fall weather, I hung a suet out on the back porch where I could see it from my recliner.  It didn't take long before my downy woodpecker returned and landed on the suet block.  You learn a lot from watching the forest animals.  Our chipmunk has been making more rounds on the porch looking for food to store.    Today we had two chipmunks pouching the seeds as fast as they could.  Squirrels sit and eat the seeds leaving the porch a mess with husks while chippy stores the seeds until his cheeks bulge, then scampers back to his hole.  This past spring I found little clump...

 Our mountain temperature was 36 degrees this morning at 6:30.  We actually had a sunrise this morning.   Such a welcomed sight and Cliff is beginning his good week.  I made us a nice hearty beef stew for lunch.  The sun was still shining!  After lunch we headed to Morganton, GA, about 24 miles from Murphy.  We've never been that direction but I wanted to visit Serenberry Vineyards for a wine tasting.  My designated driver took us over slow curving country roads with pastures and farms and rolling hills.  The drive was beautiful.  Now we have a new direction for our Sunday drives in the country.  And the sun was still shining. The vineyard has an outdoor patio and fire pit to relax by.  The ride was so peaceful and the people so relaxed and laid back.  This place is a keeper.   Brought in a few plants and covered a few because tonight is supposed to drop into the low 30's.  Some plants like the mustard ...