Since my previous post was a little dark and heavy, I thought I'd write a little cheerier!!
Dash is 16 months old now and still has all his puppy energy, so I knew taking him with me to the farm would be great exercise, and it was. Unfortunately he either stayed in the house at my moms or in the truck when we attended funerals or visited the graveyard. Anytime we were at the house though, he was outside chasing birds or just running at full speed around and around the house. Acres of grass to roll around on and miles of mole trails to dig in... he was never so happy! In fact, he got so much exercise he's still asleep here under the table!!
Here you can see him watching as we attended to Dads grave. Of course he jumped out and joined us after only a few minutes, but he did listen and "stay" for a short while.
Check out my new magnetic signs. I bought them for my birthday!
I figure any kind of advertising is good advertising... even if I'm broke down on the side of the road or in a graveyard. As long as the impression I leave behind is one of acceptance and not criticism I'm doing alright!
I never can get enough of the farm where I grew up. I remember when my father and several others dragged this barn from Mr
Taylor's garden to our field. Chained to a raft of pine logs and hooked to about 4 tractors, they just drug it to where they wanted it and put it up on blocks. It still stands where they placed it almost 30 yrs later. In the foreground of the picture you can see part of the old grapevine. Nobody knows how old it is... It's been there too many years and
nobody's alive that can remember it being planted.
There were originally at least 6 Linden Trees planted around the house. Three remain today and how majestic they are. Towering twice as tall as a two story farmhouse which is around 80 to 90 ft in the air they've been a natural air conditioner all their life. Dad use to say, "If there ain't a breeze under these trees, there ain't a breeze anywhere", and he was right.
I'm not sure how old they are, but they've been there my entire life and they've always been huge.
The house I've know as Grandma Deans still sits where it always did, but belongs to a different family now. I remember all the firewood we would carry into that house each year and all the grass that had to be cut and all the tobacco we hung in those barns, but more memorable than those memories are picking up pecans out by the chicken house, or just sitting in Grandmas kitchen hearing her tell stories.
That kitchen..... in the winter you could sit there in your underwear it was so hot. Grandma kept that wood stove so stoked it would glow red on the sides, and she cooked on it too!! This is probably where I learned to love Potatoes n Cabbage. She always had some on when we'd stop in. Grandma died here. Took her last breath with the family all around.... and the candle went out.
Nowadays the new owners are building themselves a new home. They named the farm "The
Pryse". I'm not sure if it's their name or maybe they just can't spell, but it's theirs and their new home looks.... well, you decide. It's not done... maybe it'll get better after it's painted.
It's kind of
monstrous right now. Since they raise or board horses, maybe they're going for the whole "plantation" look. Who knows?
I took these pics while out for a drive with my Mom. After we had finished grooming Dads Grave we got home and decided we didn't want to cook our own lunch so I took her out. Tommy
Courtney's at the end of Wynn Rd. If you want comfort food without all the frills or even a friendly staff,
that's your place. The tables and the forks were clean... just don't look around too hard and when your eyes won't focus on
whatever's on that shelf..... just know they won't ever focus and look away. We finished our lunch and went for a drive. Taking all the side roads and driving until we had to turn around because we didn't have a boat, which is what we would have needed to continue. We ended up at my Uncle Georges home. In a wheelchair since I was 5 and always very opinionated, he's a character I need to
develop more if I plan to use him in my book.
Lets just say the conversation was intense, and know that he probably only gets Fox News on his TV. He's part of an older generation and a dying breed. Here he sits outside in his wheelchair beneath his POW flag with a rifle resting between his knees proclaiming G.W. Bush is an honest intelligent man. Need I say more?
I'm not positive what his dogs name is, but she was a cute little thing. 12 yrs old, a little deaf, (could be caused by the rifle) but sweet as could be. Obviously not jaded by
late night news while laying next to her
Master. She's spent her life chasing after and reportedly catching rabbits, squirrels, groundhogs and an
occasional fox.
We finished our visit and headed back to the farm.
That evening I was looking forward to a visit from my daughter and grandson, but it was not meant to be. Another event had been planned and their presence there was demanded more than their presence at Moms was required, so we ate our dinner and talked until we both started to fall asleep. Sat morning would mean me leaving to go pick up Steve who was returning from England and get back home to WV. It's always nice to get away from time to time, because it helps me appreciate where we live and what we have. It's even nicer when I see how others appreciate
Harpers Ferry.
Here's one of several painters who weathered a cold overcast
Sunday morning just to paint the Gap and all its beauty.
I watched this gentleman fill his canvas from bare to amazing in a matter of minutes. He's apparently painted before, because his brush never stopped. Maybe I should take up painting!! Writing seems to take the wind out of me.... maybe a brush would be more inspiration.... we'll see.
It's normal to see people take photos of or paint the Gap.
Harpers Ferry Gap is where the Shenandoah and the Potomac Rivers meet.
This is also where the United States Armory was in 1859 when John Brown and his raiders came here to raid that armory and disperse the guns they hoped to take, to slaves in the south, thus giving those slaves a means to free themselves. His raid unfortunately was unsuccessful and he was eventually hanged for treason. This act however, triggered the South to secede thus starting our Civil War.
This year is the 150
th anniversary of John Browns visit to
Chatham Ontario, where he went to obtain weapons and help, in order to carry out his raid on
Harpers Ferry.
I'll be attending and speaking at that anniversary event next week in
Chatham. I'll take plenty of pictures and make sure I post everything about the two day event. See y'all next week!!
Check out my new magnetic signs. I bought them for my birthday!
I figure any kind of advertising is good advertising... even if I'm broke down on the side of the road or in a graveyard. As long as the impression I leave behind is one of acceptance and not criticism I'm doing alright!
I never can get enough of the farm where I grew up. I remember when my father and several others dragged this barn from Mr Taylor's garden to our field. Chained to a raft of pine logs and hooked to about 4 tractors, they just drug it to where they wanted it and put it up on blocks. It still stands where they placed it almost 30 yrs later. In the foreground of the picture you can see part of the old grapevine. Nobody knows how old it is... It's been there too many years and nobody's alive that can remember it being planted.
There were originally at least 6 Linden Trees planted around the house. Three remain today and how majestic they are. Towering twice as tall as a two story farmhouse which is around 80 to 90 ft in the air they've been a natural air conditioner all their life. Dad use to say, "If there ain't a breeze under these trees, there ain't a breeze anywhere", and he was right.
I'm not sure how old they are, but they've been there my entire life and they've always been huge.
The house I've know as Grandma Deans still sits where it always did, but belongs to a different family now. I remember all the firewood we would carry into that house each year and all the grass that had to be cut and all the tobacco we hung in those barns, but more memorable than those memories are picking up pecans out by the chicken house, or just sitting in Grandmas kitchen hearing her tell stories.
That kitchen..... in the winter you could sit there in your underwear it was so hot. Grandma kept that wood stove so stoked it would glow red on the sides, and she cooked on it too!! This is probably where I learned to love Potatoes n Cabbage. She always had some on when we'd stop in. Grandma died here. Took her last breath with the family all around.... and the candle went out.
Nowadays the new owners are building themselves a new home. They named the farm "The Pryse". I'm not sure if it's their name or maybe they just can't spell, but it's theirs and their new home looks.... well, you decide. It's not done... maybe it'll get better after it's painted.
It's kind of monstrous right now. Since they raise or board horses, maybe they're going for the whole "plantation" look. Who knows?
I took these pics while out for a drive with my Mom. After we had finished grooming Dads Grave we got home and decided we didn't want to cook our own lunch so I took her out. Tommy Courtney's at the end of Wynn Rd. If you want comfort food without all the frills or even a friendly staff, that's your place. The tables and the forks were clean... just don't look around too hard and when your eyes won't focus on whatever's on that shelf..... just know they won't ever focus and look away. We finished our lunch and went for a drive. Taking all the side roads and driving until we had to turn around because we didn't have a boat, which is what we would have needed to continue. We ended up at my Uncle Georges home. In a wheelchair since I was 5 and always very opinionated, he's a character I need to develop more if I plan to use him in my book.
Lets just say the conversation was intense, and know that he probably only gets Fox News on his TV. He's part of an older generation and a dying breed. Here he sits outside in his wheelchair beneath his POW flag with a rifle resting between his knees proclaiming G.W. Bush is an honest intelligent man. Need I say more?
I'm not positive what his dogs name is, but she was a cute little thing. 12 yrs old, a little deaf, (could be caused by the rifle) but sweet as could be. Obviously not jaded by late night news while laying next to her Master. She's spent her life chasing after and reportedly catching rabbits, squirrels, groundhogs and an occasional fox.
We finished our visit and headed back to the farm.
That evening I was looking forward to a visit from my daughter and grandson, but it was not meant to be. Another event had been planned and their presence there was demanded more than their presence at Moms was required, so we ate our dinner and talked until we both started to fall asleep. Sat morning would mean me leaving to go pick up Steve who was returning from England and get back home to WV. It's always nice to get away from time to time, because it helps me appreciate where we live and what we have. It's even nicer when I see how others appreciate Harpers Ferry.
Here's one of several painters who weathered a cold overcast Sunday morning just to paint the Gap and all its beauty.
I watched this gentleman fill his canvas from bare to amazing in a matter of minutes. He's apparently painted before, because his brush never stopped. Maybe I should take up painting!! Writing seems to take the wind out of me.... maybe a brush would be more inspiration.... we'll see.
It's normal to see people take photos of or paint the Gap. Harpers Ferry Gap is where the Shenandoah and the Potomac Rivers meet.
This is also where the United States Armory was in 1859 when John Brown and his raiders came here to raid that armory and disperse the guns they hoped to take, to slaves in the south, thus giving those slaves a means to free themselves. His raid unfortunately was unsuccessful and he was eventually hanged for treason. This act however, triggered the South to secede thus starting our Civil War.
This year is the 150th anniversary of John Browns visit to Chatham Ontario, where he went to obtain weapons and help, in order to carry out his raid on Harpers Ferry.
I'll be attending and speaking at that anniversary event next week in Chatham. I'll take plenty of pictures and make sure I post everything about the two day event. See y'all next week!!
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1 comment:
I think we need to plan our own family reunion, it would do the relatives good, it would do us good.
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