The Old Road

As Josie and I were returning from the playdate on Friday, we were approaching the familiar bridge and I heard a train whistle! This was exciting because parts of the tracks were washed away back in September and this was the first train I'd seen since then. It was quite long and all the same sort of flatbed cars--probably, I guess, carrying materials for track rebuilding.

In my memory, it's never been a very busy section of track. A few trains a day and only freight trains. But I was told by Louise Freeman, who grew up on our farm, that when she was a girl, a passenger train ran back and forth between Hot Springs and Marshall.

And before the trains, of course, the same roadbed was the Drover's Road--the route between Greenville, South Carolina and Greenville, Tennessee. Wagons and stagecoaches traveled this rough thoroughfare, which in the fall was given over to herds of pigs, cattle, mules, and even turkeys.

And before that, the road was a trail, traveled by the Cherokee. So much history there along the river. I'm glad it's continuing.

 

Summer Green

 

Playdate at the Pond

Our friend Louise invited Josie to have a play date at their pond with her friend who lives next door. Louise has paddle boards, kayaks, floaties, and endless patience. A good time was had by all,

 

7:13 AM

 

A Happy Birthday to my Firstborn!

Ethan was and is a total delight. From a curly-haired, precocious kid to the witty and erudite adult that he is today, he has enriched our lives immeasurably.

And as he (like his mother) doesn't like pictures of himself, I'll use Josie's art instead.

Happy, Happy, E! See you soon!

 

Josie Stays Busy

I made a cat mask.

I gave Meema and me tattoos.  (They are not real.)

I made a bus pass for Meema. She wanted to go to an aquarium so that's what we did. 

I drew a bunch of fish pictures to show her. This is one.

There were  also these pillows with sea creatures on them.

Then we played restaurant. I got all my stuffies out of The Room and put them beside Meema. I was the restaurant person and Meema would hold up some of the stuffies and I would say How many, please? and she would do their voices and say Table for two, please.

This is Otter and Weasel at a table (stuffy Otter, not my dog.)

The restaurant was packed! So I took a break.

Time to do some art.

I made a mermaid. Then it rained and we went and sat on the porch. It was much cooler. 

Meema and Grumpy were giving Bob a haircut and I helped with some thinning scissors until it thundered very loud and I jumped up to run in the house and dropped the scissors and we think they fell under the porch because there is a big gap between some of the boards in the floor. There are no pictures of this event

 

Enjoying a Hot Summer Day

                                                                                      

Things I Don't Believe

                                                   

That Facebook "cares about me and my memories" . . .

That The Washington Post "misses" me since I cancelled my subscription . . .

That my medical provider is "excited to see me" according to their reminder text . . .

That Fox News is Fair and Balanced . . .

That God saved DJT from an assassin's bullet but let a bystander be killed  . .  .

That HR 1 "gives Americans a raise," per my spineless Representative Chuck Edwards . . .

That hard-working, tax-paying immigrants are destroying our country . . .

That folks on Medicaid can take up the slack caused by deporting farm workers . . .

That choosing Cabinet members based on looks and loyalty rather than expertise is a good idea . . .

***This is not a complete list.

This Old Bench

It's been on our front porch since there was a front porch. But it got its beginnings in the barn where we camped in '73 after buying the land.  

(Elizabeth and Sam's early days in OLD WOUNDS and their life in the barn are, of course, influenced by our experience.)

John cut a window in the eastern end of the barn and built a little shelf/table under it to give us a place to eat. This bench was made of an oak plank that was lying around the barn. John removed the nails that were in it and hammered them straight for reuse. 

He had just a few simple hand tools with him but was able to make nice mortise and tenons to secure the stretcher between the two legs.  

Various dogs have chewed on the little bench over the past half century. 

There was once a Magic Marker black bat on the seat, courtesy of Ethan. It's faded away but Josie has left her mark--a little puddle of glue and glitter.

Just an old bench and not much to look at but oh! the memories!

 

On Age

              

(from Reaperman by Terry Pratchett)

YOU ARE OLD AS YOU THINK YOU ARE.

"Huh! Yeah? Really? That's the kind of stupid thing people always say. They always say, My word, you're looking well. They say, There's life in the old dog yet. Many a good tune played on an old fiddle. That kind of stuff. It's all stupid. As if being old was some sort of thing you should be glad about! As if being philosophical about it will earn you marks! My head knows how to think young, but my knees aren't that good at it. Or my back. Or my teeth. Try telling my knees they're as old as they think they are and see what good it does you. Or them.

This and That

 

It Rained Like One Thing

. . . as Miss Birdie might say. 

Hard rain for about a half an hour. 1.7 inches

We were thrilled, even though our power and internet were knocked out for a while.

This towhee is dealing with wet feathers.

Hard to get things just right.

                                                                            

And more rain later in the day--with a bonus rainbow!

 

Oh, Deer!

Spotted from our dining room window last night. Such a pretty thing and just the color of Jenny. Eating my daylilies  then moving on to weeds. . .