The Mountain Thymes

 There have been good days and challenging days and the days run into each other.  Some mornings I look at the full pill square to see what day it is.  I find the better days as those when I get up with the sun and stay with  a routine.  Lucky for me this time of year is my outside time.  This morning I walked to the garden at 6:45 and dug up the poor beets.  My beets did not get the eight hours of sun that they needed so are puny and sad.  If they were sold at the farmers markets as "baby " beets they would be in a class of their own.  Every year is different.  If perfection is your goal, then gardening is more of a challenge.  Luckily, I'm not a perfectionist.  This morning the beans needed to be picked again.  We have enough for three more meals but not enough to preserve.  My bean patch is only large enough for our weekly meal supply. Rogue flowers are popping up all over the garden but we're not seeing the hummin...

 Sometimes these hot heavy humid days with afternoon thunderstorms are rough on our bodies.  Of course Cliff has intestinal inflammation from the chemo destruction so some days his body aches too.  Last night my right knee didn't like me so I tossed and turned and he had a rough night.  We moved slowly this morning until Cliff suggested we drive to the Ocoee River and see if it was open to rafting again since the fire destroyed the Ranger's building months ago.  It was nice to see the rafts ride the rapids again.  We didn't stay as long as we usually do because it was 91 degrees and quite uncomfortable. We were almost home when Cliff's pager toned out a brush fire up the side of a mountain not far from us.  Conveniently, we were close to the station so I jumped into the brush truck with him and went lights and sirens to the scene.  Its been over three years since I responded to anything with him.  This volunteer climbed up the side of the mou...

 Family photo.............. up front......Ben and Olivia 2nd layer.....Sofia and Jim  3rd layer....Lauria,  Hayden,  Grant, Me, and Cliff now some of the crazy antics from their visit After doing some yoga, Olivia showed me her "pretzel" pose.  I did that once when I was in 5th grade and almost couldn't get out of it so never tried again.                                         Playing a round of SkyJo.  I was so glad they already knew how to play.  Cliff and I first played when we visited Bill and Boni in the Florida panhandle.We played Jenga, too.  One afternoon we swam in the hotel pool.  Weather was in the nineties and humid during their stay so very limited on outdoor activities.  Saturday morning we all went to the Blairsville, GA farmers market...

  This is my view from the kitchen window................... The tall tree stump on the left had recently been struck by lightning.  One morning I notice a large male Pileated woodpecker ripping the bark off in search of insects.  Our neighbor, Charlie, cut the tree down leaving a place for me to set a plant or put a bird house on or whatever else I come up with.  This morning while doing dishes I watched male and female Eastern bluebirds bathe.  When he splashed and submerged she stood guard then he did the same for her.  I laughed and enjoyed their playful splashing. Being home has been a little challenging for Cliff but I love it.  I really don't want too be running into town for errands or gas or prescriptions daily.  I'm content being outside with my plants, weeds, birds, and no drama, no traffic.  This year our bluebirds successfully hatched, fed, and fledged their offspring. We don't know how many babies the parents fed but for the pas...

 A few mornings ago when working in the lower garden, I heard baby bluebirds peeping and squeaking from one of the houses.  We weren't sure if there were any eggs babies.  Off and on during the day I would notice an adult sit on the roof or perch on a garden post before flying in.  This is the first year we've heard the babies.  Other years something always happened and the eggs didn't hatch.  Also, we're watching the geranium window box.  A couple days ago when there had been no sign of birds going in and out I pulled the box down, peeked in to see five eggs and carefully slide the box back on its shelf. Yesterday I slowly poured water into the edges of the box and frightened mother out.  So she's still sitting.  Wisteria full of bumblebees............. Tuesday Cliff began his new four-hour long chemo regimen with a pump attached for 48 hours that continued a second chemo. As the day went on he felt worse and spent the day restless, napping ...

 Each spring Mother Nature unfolds surprises for me. Some....disappointing such as a late frost that burns blooms waiting to open in the warming sun.  The past two years my wisteria buds and other plants were frost burned.  This year the wild azalea flowers are deep orange and blooming throughout the woods. This little one was a delightful surprise. From the back porch looking deep into the woods..................... The rose-breasted grosbeaks are here for awhile.  Bluebirds have been spotted going in and out of one of the two houses down by the garden.  Birds have been nesting building from the nesting balls placed in the trees.  I hope the female hummingbird builds nearby. Last Wednesday on the way to the Brasstown farmers market traffic stopped for a rogue cow wandering from her pasture. Around the homestead..................                      ...

 At the end of January I notice the Carolina wren flying to my outside garden shelves.  It was quite early to be building a nest in his cardboard box.  I figured he was confused.  We had some unusually warm days during winter so I thought maybe he was just claiming his territory....homesteading.  Throughout February and March he would show up with twigs and other nesting debris in his beak heading to the cardboard box.  During those days he built two tunnels in the box.  Then everything stopped. Then the geranium window box was set out in April but nothing happened in that box.  There had been no action in either property for weeks. This past week I put my canvas porch swing out for us to relax in.  Cliff had been out relaxing and I had a couple of afternoons to read and swing. There's a lovely breeze through the porch that gently sways us back and forth. Then this afternoon we noticed about every fifteen seconds the Carolina wren appeared wi...