The Confusing Smith Family

My great-grandparents on my father's side -- Asberry Charles Smith and Martha Haygood Smith, at their farm in Cherokee County, Georgia.  Probably taken in 1930's.

OK -- I know genealogy is a big yawn for some of you, so you might want to just skip this post.  Smiles.

I spent a couple of hours this morning working with this family, which has always been confusing.  We know who they all are, but proving it for DAR is a lot different from 'knowing'.  The problem here is that so many of the names in question -- William Smith, Elizabeth Smith -- are so common.  Asberry's parents were first cousins (please, no snickering about the inbred south here): Manson's father (William) and Sarah's mother (Elizabeth) were brother and sister.  Go back another generation or so and you have a father and son who both fought in the Revolution and are documented by DAR as such.  I have their wills.  

Sarah's father was Moses Asberry Waters, who is also documented by DAR.  I have three avenues here for filing a supplemental ancestor or two, but no listed DAR members come down from either William or Elizabeth, so I have to prove it.  Proving Manson is a son of William is easy enough, but proving that this William Smith and this Elizabeth Smith are the children mentioned in the will of their father, Charles, is documentation I just don't have at this moment. It seems that I remember seeing something official that mentions Manson and connects him to his wife's family and thus Moses, but I sure can't remember what that was.  And I have tons of documentation.  I'm still working to get it all on my database.

Now, it's fairly clear to me that Sarah named her son (Asberry Charles) after her father (Moses Asberry Waters) and for her and Manson's grandfather (Charles Smith).  Asberry is not that common a name, after all.  But I don't think the DAR will accept names as proof.  They're a fussy bunch, which is what makes them so darned good.

Actually, what I have is probably enough, but since it costs a good bit of money to file an application, I want to have lots of proof to go with it.  The DAR does not work on 'maybe' or 'possibly'.  It has to be proven. I've emailed a cousin who has tons of info on this family to see if she has anything in her files on any one of them. I don't care which one I file on -- happy to take the easiest way out and go for the others later.  Or, not at all.  I already have one on my mother's side and it would be fun to have one on my father's side as well, but more than one on each side?  Costs money and reeks of ego.  I may do it regardless.  Giggles.

I always leave this family with my head spinning.  Lots of Smith kids married lots of Waters kids, so the names are deeply intertwined.  For the moment, I think I have them straight in my head, but that's not likely to last for long!

Peaches and Fried Pies

I worked today, instead of tomorrow, at my boss' request, so now I have two days off before I have to return.  That's cool.  I have no plans other than whatever work on the windows and the siding I can manage.  I seriously need to make some chicken stock (to get rid of all the chicken bones in my freezer) but I can't see that happening anytime soon because to do it right, and I always do it right, requires all day simmering, which produces lots of heat and lots of steam.  Not a good plan during a week-long heat advisory, when one doesn't have air conditioning.

I have Borax strewn all around the interior perimeter walls of the house to kill whatever fleas remain.  The kitten had her flea drops almost four weeks ago, but as of last week I was still seeing a few here and there on her.  The vet said to vacuum daily for 30 days -- like that's going to happen!  Instead, I vacuumed once, then put Borax everywhere.  Life has become gritty, because even though it's only around the wall edges, I still walk there and then it gets on my bare feet and then I head for the nearest rug to get it off. And I don't even like to think where the kitten spreads it! I haven't seen anymore fleas on the kitten, so I'm tempted to vacuum it up, but it's probably best that I leave it.  Yuck!

Today at work -- or perhaps it first seeped into my consciousness last night, I'm really not sure -- I've been feeling a serious culinary pull to the little North Georgia mountain town of Ellijay, home of my favorite barbecue.  But, it's not the barbecue that's calling, it's a memory of some wonderful, ripe peaches I bought at a farm stand up there one summer after spending hours working on my trail section.  I was sweaty and filthy and hungry and thirsty and still a couple of hours from home when I passed this stand, went in and bought a basket of small but ripe peaches.  I practically inhaled them as I drove -- juice running down my face through the dirt, one after another.  Absolutely wonderful, and it's peach season, at least I hope it's the right time up there.  The same place -- at least I think it's the same place -- also has some wonderful fried fruit pies that are to die for and which I sampled on yet another trail maintenance trip.  That hard work makes you hungry!  At any rate -- I'm thinking that I need to drive up there on Saturday, stop at the Pig place for some barbecue (since I'm there, after all), then head further east for dessert and a bunch of peaches to bring home.  Sounds like a plan to me.

Sunday Mornin' Coming Down

Here it is only 8:30 am and my work for the day is essentially over.  Outside work, at any rate.  I wanted to turn the compost piles this morning and since the temp never got below about 74 overnight, I went out as early as I could see well enough, around 6:30.  Took about a hour and a half, all in all, and I must say that doing that kind of work makes me feel my age!

Oddly enough, it seems easier than it was back in Atlanta 15 years ago when I turned the compost piles weekly, so I guess that's a good thing, in a way.  On the other hand, turning the piles was generally the final chore every weekend, late Sunday afternoons, after two full days doing some kind of hard and physical work in the yard in the full, blazing summer sun and heat, so that is most likely why I remember the chore being so difficult.  :)

I was dismayed to see that the 'new' pile showed no signs of microbial activity at all, other than some ashy areas that were once green grass clippings.  It was really dry, so as I turned it I wet it down with gallon jugs of water brought from the house, about 6 in total.  One of these days I'm going to get a hose long enough to reach back there, but probably not any time soon.  The other one, the 'old' one, is looking great.  Moist, dark, full of bugs and even a few earthworms.  This one will definitely become compost by next spring and then I'll start another 'new' one.

And then, since I was in a turning frame of mind, I noticed that most of the buckwheat in the raised bed was starting to bloom, meaning it was time to turn it under.  This was not as easy an activity as I would have expected, although it might have gone better in that loose soil if I'd used a shovel rather than the fork.  I really didn't bury it all, but I'll go out in a week or so and turn it again, using the shovel, and that should take care of it.

So now we're back to using chicken wire to keep the cats out.  Tis a never-ending process around here, although most of them have learned that my yard is not a friendly environment for them.  I don't trust them, regardless.  Those old window weights do come in handy here and there!

While out in the back 40 I was attacked by biting insects.  Never saw them, but they were probably fleas, or flea beetles.  My bare ankles were good fodder for them, whatever they were, and I'm still itching even though I had a very necessary shower afterwards.  Red, swollen, ugly.  But, it'll go away.

I didn't get around to using the wire brush outside yet, but I did try it out some on the other window in this room yesterday.  I think it'll do a good job for me once I get started.  It made too much mess to use it inside -- white powder everywhere!  I already have white powder everywhere (Borax, for flea control) around the perimeters of every room, but this went everywhere!  I had much better luck on that window using a sanding block I bought yesterday.  I need to start on the primary window soon -- but need to buy some more stuff first, and I'm not going to have any more $$ until next Friday.  Insulation, wood filler, stuff like that there. I need to put insulation into the weight cavities before I can put the trim back on, and fill all the holes before I can start to put primer on.  I haven't even gotten around to paint color yet -- there are countless 'offwhite' colors available, so it's not as easy as it sounds.  I'll have to paint the new sashes when I get them, too,  before installing them.  They come pre-primed, but will need to be painted the same color as the wood trim of the window.  They have a protective coating on the glass that I can just peel off once the paint has dried, so no worries there.

Guess maybe it's time to think about more food.  I did all that work with about 6 oz of Kefir, some vitamins and a cup of coffee, and that ain't much.

She's At it Again!

The morning glory vines are history!  They were still blooming nicely, but:  I planted them to shade that south-facing window from the sun, but because the sun is so far north this time of year, the window doesn't get any sun; conversely, all that foliage was blocking cool night breezes, which I really need; lots of the inner leaves were dying and not all that pretty to look at; and it was blocking the light big-time, which I really didn't realize until it was gone. They were also high-maintenance (lots of watering) which I don't like.  So -- off to the compost pile!

Since I was in a destructive kind of mood, I dug into the basil and tomato plants and did a lot of cutting back and thinning, much needed.  That's all on top of the bin.  Yes, those are two down pillows atop the morning glories -- I need to turn both bins soon, and will put one pillow (with the casing cut open) on the bottom of each pile.  They still smell really, really bad.

I also used my scissors to trim all the bermuda and crab grasses that had been encroaching over the plastic for months now, and added that to the compost pile as well.  The stuff is really, really insidious. Notice how big the buckwheat is getting!

After I cleared out some of the masses of basil and tomato leaves, I found a surprise: nice hot peppers turning red.  Lots of green ones, too!

After that, and a good shower, I was off to run errands.  I finally got the drill chuck and bit and extension cord and proper primer to continue working on the side of the house.  Now, all I need is some cooler weather!  My main reason for this trip to Home Depot, however, was to order the replacement sash kit for 'the window'.  For some reason the window sales lady didn't understand, the base price of the unit came up lower than it did last time -- about $30 lower -- so we didn't argue with the computer.  I used my $99 rebate card from Energy Star (for the washer) to pay part of it, and that helped my bank account a bit, although it was still on the pricey side.  But, has to be done.  Now, I need to get more serious about getting that window ready -- finish sanding, filling holes, priming and painting.  If I'm able, and I'm not going to stress on it -- I'll get the other window sanded down and ready to prime and paint, too, and the windows in this room will be done. That will be oh, so nice.

For the rest of the day?  Right now I'm feeling very lazy, but I'll likely get the new drill bit outside later when it cools off, see if it really helps with the paint removal.

Win Some, Lose Some

I just finished watching the movie "Patton", with George C. Scott.  I know -- it's been around for a long time and it's even been in my Netflix instant watch queue for a long time, but I had not seen it until now.

It must be said that from the time I have sentient memory of the subject the name "Patton" was spoken by my father with the same reverence others might use with the word "God".  My dad served in the Pacific during WWII so never served under Patton.  After the war, he returned to civilian life in Cedartown for a couple of years but when I was around 6 (sometime before 2nd grade started in 1949, but after 1st grade was over) he decided to re-up and was assigned to Fort McPherson in Atlanta, which was and may well still be 3rd Army HQ.  Patton was no longer in command, of course, but the base HQ was a lovely, white building with stately columns that was called Patton Hall, so he certainly was not forgotten.  He was a hero to my dad, although I have no memories beyond the fact.  Because I was so young and impressionable, some of that hero-worship seeped into my blood and I still can't see the 3rd Army emblem patch without feeling stirred.  Dad served at Fort Mac a couple of times, and we lived on base both when I was maybe 8 and again when I was edging toward teenage-hood, so the 3rd Army was part of my youth in a big way.

Later, as a horse-crazy kid, Patton became a hero of mine when I saw the Disney movie "Miracle of the White Stallions" many years ago.  By the time I saw this, I had visited the Spanish Riding Academy in Vienna and seen the horses, although we weren't able to see them perform that day.  Coincidentally, I recently watched this movie again and realized that it was filmed a year or two after my visit, and the horses I was watching in the movie might well have been the ones I saw and petted.  Patton, of course, saved the stallions and liberated the mares from Czechoslovakia where they'd been sent for safekeeping during the war.  By doing this he saved not only an ancient institution, but may well have saved the breed from extinction.  In watching the Disney movie recently I learned that Patton had competed against the director of the Spanish Riding Academy as part of the U.S. Olympic Equestrian Team, so he was really a many-faceted man. 

After yesterday's post about success, I thought I'd mention a couple of less successful recent efforts.  With humor.  Since washing the down comforter worked so well, I thought I'd try washing my two down pillows using the same setting. They're 5-6 years old and in need of cleaning.  Well, let me tell you that you should never wash a down pillow labeled 'dry clean only'!  They washed just fine, but during the drying process (which still isn't over a couple of days later) the down core developed a really nasty, sour feather smell and guarantee you, it's not something you'd want to rest your head upon. These particular pillows have a stable down core of some kind that is supposed to stay in place in the middle of the pillow to avoid a flat spot.  This is apparently what's not drying and what's stinking up the place. I suspect they may eventually hit the compost pile, if that doesn't go away.

And -- yesterday morning I reaped a large harvest of San Marzano tomatoes and got one of my wild hairs, this time to dehydrate the tomatoes.  Remember, we have been in the midst of a heat wave, complete with daily heat advisories, and I don't have AC in this house.  Never mind.  I set my oven at 200 degrees, halved and seeded the tomatoes, put them on a rack and let them sit all day.  I think the oven had been going 11 or 12 hours when I finally turned it off, only to turn it back on this morning for an hour or so.  When I got home today, they weren't quite completely dehydrated and I'd learned my lesson about letting the oven run in hot weather.  I swear, more heat comes out of the vent of that thing than stays inside the oven.  Or, so it seems. I guess it'll be great in the winter. I tasted one of the tomatoes, found it OK, but then I began to wonder if they were safe since they'd been in the oven unheated all day, and were still a tiny bit moist, so I dumped the whole mess into the compost pile.

So -- win some, lose some.  I lost these two but they're minor.  I think I need to get a real Excalibur food dehydrator in order to preserve garden produce, particularly by next year when I should have more.  I could take advantage of all the lovely summer peaches we have here, too. And apples, and cherries, and maybe, even plum tomatoes.

Success!

I am nothing if not stubborn and determined, and there was no way I was not going to find this today!  Unfortunately, there is no milepost here, but my guess from the last one posted is about 61.75, which means it's almost exactly 10 miles from the point I enter the Trail at 51.75.  And I have to say that either the mile post signs along the trail are wrong, or the trail map is wrong, because the last sign post is here:

and while you can't read the fine print, this sign post reads 61.25 and once you pass the curve, you can see the arched state line sign in the distance.  The sign to the right is this one:

and while there isn't a mile point listed here, the trail map says the Esom Hill Trail head is at 60.07 miles.  Minor point, really, but something's wrong somewhere.  Is it 60.07, or 61.75?  I'm guessing the latter, because I know the maps of both trails are old and not overly accurate in places.  Maybe this is o ne of those places.  The good news is that there's a porta-potty here, in case I ever need one.  On hot days like this, all liquids find their way out just fine through the skin.

But, back to the Chief Ladiga and Gateway Park, which is really very nice.

The pavement has matching welcome signs.

and Trail signs....

And the park itself has a nice shelter, concrete benches, picnic tables and a good bike rack.

There's a road crossing not to far in the distance here, but I'd had enough exploration for one day.  I sat gratefully in the shade for about 10 minutes, with my Clif Bar and water, before heading home.  And by the way -- my sense that the the trail is all uphill from Cedartown is correct:  according to the trail map, elevation at the Martin Trailhead (which is after I get on the trail and a couple of uphill climbs later) is 808 and at Esom Hill, 910.  Not significant, but noticeable both ways.  I sure get home faster and easier than I get there, despite being tired.  And really, I'm not at all tired and am, in fact, fairly energized after about an hour of rest.  Safe to say at least 22 miles, probably 23-24 as I'm sure it's more than a mile from home to where I get on the Trail. Total of about 2.5 hours, including the rest stop.  Saw lots of other cyclists out today, which is really unusual and rather nice.

When I got home, I noticed this fella on a parsley stalk in my garden, along with a few relatives.  This is one of those times when I really love the internet:  with this photo I was able to identify this guy as a Black Swallowtail butterfly in-the-making.  This is one of my favorite butterflies, large and beautiful, so these guys are welcome to all the parsley they can eat.

On to the rest of my day, whatever it may bring. 

My Busy Day

My goodness, what a busy day!

We had a gully-washer of a rainstorm last night.  Here, it's pouring from a corner of my 6" gutters, and before it was over water covered an area from a couple of feet onto my lawn, across the sidewalk and curb and almost met the water on the opposite curb.  Fortunately, it drains quickly once the rain stops, but I did notice a high waterline on the lawn this morning.

I started this day out with a nice, long ride on the Silver Comet Trail.  Hadn't meant to go so far, but was determined to ride for at least 30 minutes before turning back.  Then, I noticed mile markers along the trail (don't know why I never noticed them before, but I didn't).  These are different from signs at road crossings and access roads, which always show mileage to the tenth of a mile.  I'd noticed one at 52 not too far from where I get on the trail, then saw more.  At the 30 minute stage I'd just seen another -- not sure which -- and thought I'd keep riding on to the next one, then the next one, and the next.  I saw 57, thought I'd try for 58 but apparently there isn't a sign for 58 and by the time I reached the next sign it was something like 58.75, so I thought what the heck, let's try for 59.  Then, I reached Shiloh Road and a little frisson moved all over me.  I knew where I was -- the little burg of Esom Hill which is my mom's ancestral home for many generations, and where generations of ancestors are buried at Shiloh Baptist Church.  That was mile 59.1, or something like that.  OK. The entire SC Trail is only supposed to be 60 miles, and I couldn't get that close without trying for the end even though I didn't have my camera with me and would really like a photo of the state line and the Chief Ladiga trail sign.  At the next road crossing the Trail continued, but the sign marker said 60.07.  I thought maybe my memory was wrong so I turned around to head home, where I checked the map and found that the state line is maybe 1/4 mile further on.  That's OK -- a goal for another day.

I also found, not for the first time, that the Trail headed west is a very slight uphill grade for most of its length, although it looks flat.  My legs were feeling the exercise before I turned back (can you say, jelly?) but once I turned around, I was immediately going faster with less effort, and I didn't rest or even get off the bike.  So, at least 16 miles on the trail, probably 18-19 total including the distance from home to the trail head, and I still had lots of energy afterward and I did it all at my old average cycling speed of 10mph.  Not fast, never was, but it's consistent. Never mind that I used to manage that average even when riding the Rockies and Sierras, not just a flat little trail. Next time, I'll take the camera, some water, and maybe a snack, and see how far into Alabama I can get.  It's a good thing I had lots of energy left,  because I had lots more planned for this day, such as....

Making some goat's milk yogurt.  I have some of the Redwood Hill brand left to use as a starter, and can't imagine that the process is any different with goat's milk than it is with cow's milk.  It takes several hours to set, so I won't know for awhile.

Yummy tomatoes, after the boiling water bath, before peeling.

Making some tomato sauce for the freezer.  I wasn't going to do it, but last night it was cool in the house after the rainstorm, so I took advantage of that to boil some water to loosen the skin on the tomatoes.  Anyway -- what is the point in planting San Marzano tomatoes, which are supposedly the finest sauce tomato in the universe -- if I'm not going to make sauce at least once?

A nice mess of fresh herbs from the garden -- basil, oregano, rosemary and parsley.

After easy peel removal they hit the food  processor to reach a nice rough consistency (I was taught years ago when I cooked at Mama Nina's Italian Restaurant in Yountville, CA that you need chunks of tomatoes in the sauce, not just smooth tomato sauce), they hit a pan already sizzling with chopped onions and garlic in olive oil.  A bunch of chopped fresh herbs hit the sauce along with a little pepper and some kosher salt, then I moved the pan to the simmer burner which I now love!  At its lowest setting it is perfect for all-day cooking of tomato sauce without burning or sticking to the bottom of the pan.  Gotta love that!  And even though it's still cooking, the house smells utterly wonderful when I come in from the outside, and it tastes great, too.  I just may have to find a way to use part of it for dinner tonight, rather than putting all of it into the freezer.

I didn't leave it on the chair long -- put it flat on the grass so it's easier to keep the lumps of down loosened up.  This thing is actually white -- I've had it for so long and never washed it that I guess I thought it was supposed to be off-white.  Giggles.  What can I say?

I also decided to wash my king-size down comforter (the new washer has a 'comforter' setting and is something that could not happen in even the largest center-agitator washer).  Worked like a charm and it's now drying out in the sun on the grass.  Hard part is getting the lumps of down broken up and loose again.

Where are you, little hummers????

And...I've had my back porch buzzed by a hummingbird a couple of times this week -- once when I was standing out there and it hovered eyeball-to-eyeball for awhile as if to say "OK dude, where's the food". So today I bought a cheap feeder, made some nectar and hung it up.  It'll probably take them a day or so to find it.

Gosh -- aside from running errands around town, I think that's about it, but the day is young.  I got my vitamin order from  Swanson's last night and immediately took three of the new whole food multi-vitamins with dinner.  I've always scoffed at people who take some supplement and say it's worked miracles right away -- it just doesn't seem possible to me, and I've certainly never had it happen to me personally -- but last night I had lots of energy, attacked the other window in this room so I can paint it when I paint the other, worked on the tomatoes, and the energy this morning and day has continued.  What else could it be?  The stuff is called 'Alive' by Nature's Way, and if this continues I'll sure be taking more of it. The customer reviews are great and it's just filled with good stuff.

Kinda hard to see now, but give it a few days.

The buckwheat is coming up this morning, and it happened literally overnight.  I've been covering the area at night, uncovering early in the morning.  Not a sign of it last night around 8pm when I covered it, but it was up and already yellow from lack of sun when I uncovered it early this morning.  Wonderful!  If it follows the pattern from the other bed, it'll keep coming up for several days before all is sprouted.  Life is good.

Construction -- as Opposed to Destruction

This stuff is truly dead, although given half a chance would probably come back.  I used the hand tool to scruff it up, get as much rotted stuff up as possible and stir up the soil to make it more amenable to seeding and amendments.

I've been fretting for weeks now over just how to handle the large area of black plastic in the back yard and have put off the decision as long as I could.  The question wasn't so much what to do with the soil underneath as it was how to handle the plastic.  I hate plastic.  I hate using it and even more, I hate putting it into landfill.  That part of me wanted to take all the plastic up in the large pieces so it could be re-used.  But, I really didn't need to build green manure in the whole thing, only the areas that will hold planting beds. The rest will be walkways.  To do this, I'd have to cut holes in the plastic.  I also knew that I didn't have enough seed to do the entire area, nor probably the energy to do it all at once.  This morning, I 'just did it', to borrow a phrase from Nike.  Measured and cut out the two 4x8 planting beds, scruffed out what dead grass I could get between a rake and the hand fork, then set about amending the soil and seeding the buckwheat. Also added two big buckets full of partially-decomposed organic matter to the compost bin, which is always good.

Obviously, I wasn't being very careful when I cut out the plastic to the rear!  I didn't notice how far off I was until it was too late, but that's OK.  Both areas are larger than the final will be, and I can make them nice and even when I build the beds.

After I raked out most of the dead vegetation, I seeded thickly with buckwheat (much higher than the recommended rate, on the theory that more is better and might as well use what I have), added cottonseed, blood and bone meals that I had leftover from spring, plus some Epsom Salts. Then, I topped it all off with about a half inch of topsoil.

Since all that loose soil would be too inviting for the neighborhood cats, and since the birds love that buckwheat seed, I covered both areas loosely with the plastic after I'd watered everything in nicely.  It takes 4 days for the buckwheat to sprout, and a few more to get it large enough to keep the cats away.  I'm not sure how conducive this plastic will be to germination, so will need to be careful.  Today is cloudy and very humid, so the sun isn't heating it up.  Hopefully, enough air can get underneath to keep it cool, and I can actually keep it uncovered during the day when I'm home, recover it at night and on the days I work.  I hope this works.

The plan for the walkway areas, as of the moment, anyway, is to use a different cover crop called Medic Mix, which I can plant as late as October for overwintering, and which supposedly will dissuade even the toughest grasses and broadleaf weeds from growing.  In the spring, I can just mow it down, then top it with cedar mulch.  In theory, anyway.

So -- that's been my day to this point.  Good exercise, good accomplishments.  I don't know what the rest of the day will bring and it's early now.

Morning Glory and Sweet Sassy

My morning glory vine has been blossoming for a few days now -- more and more each morning.  This is exactly what I envisioned when I sowed the seeds, and I do love it.

It's wild and unpredictable, kind of like me, I guess.

The buckwheat is sprouting, although not exactly evenly.  That's no doubt due to my method of covering the seeds, which clearly isn't a very good one.  I'll do better when I sow where the plastic is, if I ever decide just what to do there.  Somehow, I can't drum up much enthusiasm for the garden these days.

"Kitten" now has a name -- Sassy!  And a very fitting name it is, despite the sweetness shown here as she was napping in her favorite spot.  I hadn't been able to come up with a name I liked, so I just stopped trying and figured she'd name herself -- and she did.  Last night I was watching here walk into the house ahead of me and the thought came that she sure is a sassy little thing -- and it stuck.  She sasses me all the time.  She's understood what the word 'no' means for a couple of weeks now, but sometimes, like a defiant two-year-old human, she chooses not to obey.  It's clearly a choice -- I'll see her start to do something and say 'no', and she will stop for a moment, flick her ears and narrow her eyes in consternation, then do it anyway.  Other times, she'll choose to obey and turn away from what she's doing, but she will do it with lots of dirty looks and defiant sounds.  And when she plays with one of her tiny fuzzy mice, you'd think it was an African lioness strutting with a fresh kill.  Sassy, indeed.

I have opted against the bike this morning -- just don't feel up to it.  Not a lot of sleep, not a lot of energy.  Not quite sure what the day will bring, other than a trip for milk and, hopefully, eggs.  I heard a source for raw goat's milk and cow's milk on a local call-in radio show last week and wrote down the number.  I'd just been to Carlton Farms that day, but now that's gone and I need more.  Sure wish I knew how to solve the sleep issues -- the supplements I've been taking don't seem to help a lot.  Xanax helps, but I won't take that more than twice a week.  I've really become addicted to the Redwood Hill Farm Kefir, now that I've gotten used to it.  I add one of the flavored varieties to a morning smoothie with a peach and blueberries, and it's just wonderful.  I'm almost out, need to make another trip to Harry's for more.  Could do that today -- not sure when I'll have another chance until Tuesday.  Can I be without it for that long?

One of Those "Duh" Discoveries

 I've been hibernating during the heat -- not much to accomplish outside for various reasons, so I've stayed inside. Last Saturday, July 3, I went for a short ride on the Silver Comet Trail early in the morning, and found that to be just delightful, even though I was once again a little out of shape.  This past Sunday I did the same thing -- purely on impulse long before the sun cleared the trees -- and went a bit further.  Could have done more, but since I've been somewhat inactive I've gotten a bit lazy.  Sad but true.

I'm not sure quite when it occurred to me that I have four mornings every week that could begin this way and that I ought to take good advantage of that.  Duh!  The biggest factor in actually doing this, of course, is remembering to do it, but this morning it was right in the top of my mind and I headed out a little after 7am while the world was cool and quiet and peaceful.  I went a good bit further this morning and I felt so good out there that I used the time for some real training -- pushing the body for speed and higher gears -- and that felt great, too.  I haven't done that for awhile.  One of these days I want to attempt to ride the other direction, towards Rockmart, but need to get those hill-climbing muscles in shape first.  Since the westerly direction doesn't offer any serious hills, I decided to make the most of the ones it has and use higher gears, more muscle.  That worked, too.  And there are higher gears left to use.  I think this has gravitated to the top of my mind now, and I plan to be out there more and more often on these free mornings.  I was gone less than an hour this morning -- hardly a detriment to doing whatever else calls for this day or any other. And in all truth, there isn't much of anything that makes me feel quite so good as riding the bike, especially out in the quiet countryside.  Again, Duh!

 

I splashed through lots of shallow standing water from last night's rain, and since my bike hadn't had a good bath for a year or two, I gave it one when I got back home.  Got all the dust and gunk off, oiled the chain, and she looks much better now.  This bike is 14 years old -- one of my first purchases when I moved to Corvallis back in 1996, and although it's had a lot of miles, still looks fairly new.  Much on it is relatively new -- tires, seat, toe clips, rear carrier, handlebar grips -- but the basic bike is as I bought it.

We had one of those wonderful thunderstorms pass through last night around 7pm.  Wonderful, because there was no lightning, the thunder rumbled softly in the distance, but brought a wonderful, long, soaking rain for the parched greenery.  I sat out on the porch swing reading, watching the rain, and watching the kitten try and figure out what was happening.  She was by the screen watching a bird when it happened, eventually scrambled away, ears back.  She is SO much fun to watch -- everything is new and exciting to her.

Not sure what the rest of this day will bring, other than a trip to the library.  I'm about ready to take up the black plastic and go about seeding the buckwheat, but with a week of possible thunderstorms ahead, I may just wait awhile.  Otherwise, a heavy rain would wash the seeds away.  I think I'm going to have to top them with some topsoil, since I can't really (read: won't) dig the area first. I'm hoping the topsoil will at least keep the birds away, but it wouldn't help during a rainstorm, certainly.

Hope your day is a good one.