Day 3: The beautiful place I live

I am so thankful that I get to wake up every morning and see a beautiful sunrise right out my front door.

And I get to see this right out my back door. Just awesomeness all around. I am so thankful that God chose to put me right here, in this place. I truly do love it here in my valley.

And right across the road is Pigeon Mt. And sometimes I get to see huge machines going through soybeans or corn, kicking up dust. There's always something going on out here. America at work!

I also get to see this beautiful mountain every day, in all it's glory right now. Lookout Mt. When our kids were little, my husband always told them that when they see this mountain, they were almost home. And if you make this picture bigger, you can just see Covenant College a little to the right of the middle. We could see this from our house just to the left. I would tell the kids it was a castle way up there on the mountain. I still call it the castle. My youngest graduated from Covenant 3 1/2 years ago. With bagpipes and all! The other day at the market, there was a group of young people with cameras that were on a field trip from the college, taking pictures of all the booths. I got to talk to them for awhile and they took lots of pictures of my booth. That was fun.

This is St. Elmo, Tn.We are right on the border of Tn. here and I go here several times a week. I love it there. When me and my husband get too old to farm, I want to live in St. Elmo. Just blocks and blocks of old houses. This is the 1885 restaurant on the corner. Named so because that's when St. Elmo was started. We've eaten here and they use local foods. It was really good. If anyone comes to Chattanooga, stop here to have lunch.

To the left of the restaurant is the Incline. It's that straight line going up the mountain. I have only ridden it one time. When my oldest daughter got a job at the Incline gift shop, she could ride it for free. I went with her the first day. It was really fun, but don't think I'd want to do it every day. She didn't work there but a few weeks. Where I took this picture, behind me, is Mr. T's pizza. It used to be a Kay's Castle ice cream shop when I first moved here. It still has the big ice cream cone on the roof. And to the right is the end of Lookout Mt. and Point Park. It's got a lot of Civil War plaques and statues and info there. Also a trail at the very end that goes all the way down to the Cravens House, which was a place that officers used during the war and I think it served as a hospital too? You can take a tour of it. It's a pretty place. Lots of history here. From this end of the mountain, you can see Signal Mt. and the Tn. River.

And here, in the shadow of the cloud, is Rock City. Can't hardly see it here.  This area is full of things to do and see. It's beautiful here.

If you ever get a chance to take a vacation, come here! You'll be glad you did. It's amazing. There's also the Tn. Aquarium and the river and Smokey Mts. aren't that far away either. It's all so much more beautiful in person!

I hope you enjoyed your little tour!

Day 2: My husband

This is my husband now, after almost 35 years of marriage. When I first met him, he had a little white streak in his red beard and kind of brownish hair. He had a black Harley. I always said he was my knight on a black stallion that came to rescue me. And he did.

This is what he does. All day and night. About 320 days a year. Sometimes more. I think that's why we've been married 35 years! Really. He doesn't drive for this company, but this is the only picture I have of a truck. He's been with the company he drives for now for 10 years. He got his million mile certificate and a ring. He's very proud of that accomplishment. Me too. It's  a hard life, being a truck driver. Also hard on the family. He started driving when our daughters were 13 and 11. Not a good time for him to leave.




This is where I met him. One night, 35 years ago this past June. When my life started. I had come up here with a friend, who was looking for a guy she'd met down in S. Ga. We ended up here at a party. We were all on the front porch when tiny rode up on his black Harley. I was sitting on the railing, (which is gone now) and we looked at each other and that was all it took. It was like we knew each other.

We stayed a few days and me and Tiny spent the whole time together. He had just bought a little tiny house on a hill. We went there. He took me up on Lookout Mt. and we say and watched the hang gliders all day and talked and talked.

I went back home to S. Ga. Waited awhile to call him. Then moved up here to Chattanooga, with all my wordly belongings in my little blue car.  Well, really, right outside Chatt. Been here ever since. And love it here. And I love my husband very much. And am so thankful that he loves me still. After all these years, he will be retiring next year. We'll see how much we love each other then!

November 1st. A month of being thankful.

Just another day at the office!












This month, I would like to name something I am thankful for every day. Since it is the month of Thanksgiving, it only seems appropriate.

So first, I'll start my thankful month off with my hens. I was without chickens for awhile this year. But it's really hard to not have any. I was having to buy eggs. And no one has eggs quite like mine. I guess because mine are on grass all day, pecking around eating all that goodness. The yolks are almost dark orange. And I have never found anyone else's eggs as good as my chicken's eggs. Ever.

So thank you, my girls! You work so hard. And Black Bart, the rooster. Haven't heard a crow out of the boy yet. I hope he starts soon! I miss hearing the crowing. I think he's just a little intimidated by all the girls!

The colors of Autumn, God's handwriting

 I took a walk out back behind the house this morning, with the dogs and goats. Didn't want to go all the way back to the ridge because it is deer season. Don't want to get shot! So these photos are from behind my house up on the goat hill, looking at the ridge. It's amazingly beautiful right now, all of a sudden.

                           Can you see a few goats? They kind of blend in to the landscape here.

 This is the hay fields behind the house. All brown now. So pretty with the vibrant colors of the trees and bushes.

 This little bare tree has some pretty red vines for decoration. So creative, nature.

My favorite goat, Sandy. I love this picture of her with all the pretty color behind her.

I hope everyone is seeing the beauty all around them. My mother put up a quote on her FB this morning: "Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting." Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Right now, this season, God's handwriting is everywhere we look. Please don't fail to see it.

Wasps and bees and bugs, oh my!

 Last week, I spilled a 5 gallon bucket of honey in the back of the Trooper. I got what I could all cleaned up. Or so I thought. Ever since, I have been taken over by every kind of bee and wasp around. They have covered the whole driveway, from the kitchen door all the way down the driveway. From the dripping honey. From the back of the car. Apparently, there is still about a gallon of honey, down in the hole under the carpet, where the tire tools are stored. That I haven't looked at yet. Because now, the bees and wasps are covering the whole back end of the car. I mean, literally covering it. From top to bottom and underneath. And inside.

So yesterday was market day. I could not even open the back door without hundreds of bees and wasps flying inside the car. It was really hard. Then, to top it all off, thousands of ladybugs too! And these are NOT the good lady bugs. Oh, and it's also Box Elder beetle time! Yippee! So I am being taken over by every kind of insect  right now.

I finally got the car loaded and headed down the road. With bees and wasps and lady bugs flying all around me. I rolled the windows down. Collard greens flying everywhere too! SO had to stop down the road, open the doors and starts swatting them to get out. I got some out.

Drove another few miles and did the same thing. Finally got to the market and I think there were 2 honey bees left. And some lady bugs. And when I got home, it was dark, so quickly unloaded everything and drove the car to the road and parked it there. I am going to have to take it to a detail car wash and get them to clean out the back, so this madness can stop finally. I love the honey bees and will gladly feed them. But the others, I can live without. I have to say though, that I have stood right in the middle of them all, and never once got stung. They were all too busy!

I cannot get enough of this maple tree! It's amazing. It's never been this beautiful. So I am constantly taking pictures of it.

Now, here is a GOOD insect. I love Praying Mantis'. I want them here. And she's a beauty. I got close and she followed my every move. She was a great model. Let me take lots of pictures.

I love this shot. Looking out at the garden, where I'd love her to live. And raise a huge family. And be happy. She's heading that way!

On the way to the market, I stopped at the new meat market, beside the bread store where I get day old bread for the critters. I walked in and introduced myself. Told them I have lamb. They are going to come out and look at the sheep! They buy from local farms and I would LOVE to be a source for them. In the future. Right now, I have 2 lambs sold for meat. I might sell them the last one, just to get my name up on the board. And on the cuts of meat. How exciting that would be! Way better than my name in lights on a marquee. It would get my name out there to the community. What a great opportunity for me! So I am just a bit excited about this!

Just wanted to thank each of you who have commented on the last post. It really means a lot to me to know what you think. Really.

Your opinions, please!

I am just wondering about my blog and if it's actually something that I need to keep doing. I know there are millions of farm blogs out there. And they all talk about the same things basically. But they are all different as well. So I am wondering if my blog is relevant at all.

I look at the stats and looking at my post about John Henry coming back home, that got 45 views. But not a single comment. And some don't have any views at all. Kind of strange to me.

So please let me know what you think about the posts on this blog and if they are helpful or not. I would LOVE to know. And I can take criticism too, IF it is done right. I don't like hurtful criticism. But I need to know if this is worthwhile.

I love my blog. It does help me to know when something happened or when a goat had kids or whatever. I can just look it up if I need to.  I love taking pictures. I am always looking for opportunities to take pictures. I almost always have my camera with me anymore.

So please, feel free to leave a comment about what you think about my blog. And thank you all so much for looking. And I do appreciate  ALL of my cyber friends who come here often.

Just an afterthought here: I know people are busy and they just come to check in or whatever. I realize that. I do the same thing. I have several favorite blogs I go to every day. I don't always comment on every post because I just don't have anything to say about it. So I know how that is. Just wanted to add this. And I am not trying to get compliments or anything like that. Just wanting to know what you all think about the posts mainly.

Insect invasion!

The past week has been crazy. When I spilled the 5 gallon bucket of honey in the back of my Trooper and on the driveway, we have nothing but bees and wasps out there for days, cleaning it all up for me. Which I am very happy they are doing this. BUT, there are Yellow Jackets too. And they are in my Trooper. Like I think I have them all out and I'm driving down the road, and here comes a bee flying up in my face! I think they may be making a hive underneath the back of the car. As soon as I drove in to the driveway and got out this afternoon, there they all were again. I don't know how long it will take them to clean up all this honey, but until then, we have to be really careful where we step. I am not in the least afraid of the honey bees. It's the wasps I don't like.

And NOW, if the bees and wasps weren't enough, the LADYBUGS are back! Whoopee! Ladybugs. All over the house, inside and out. And they STINK! And these are not the good kind of lady bugs. Nope. These are annoying, in your face insects. They get in the clothes, the furniture, all over the place. And on me.

So where is a nice hard killing freeze when ya need one?