Autumn in the Mountains

Daddy took this one from the back porch.
This was taken from the corner of our property. You can see our house right in the middle.

October's Bright Blue Weather

O sun and skies and clouds of June
And flowers of June together,
Ye cannot rival for one hour
October's bright blue weather;

When loud the bumblebee makes haste,
Belated, thriftless vagrant,
And goldenrod is dying fast,
And lanes with grapes are fragrant;

When gentians roll their fringes tight,
To save them for the morning,
And chestnuts fall from satin burs
Without a sound of warning;

When on the ground red apples lie
In piles like jewels shining,
And redder still on old stone walls
Are leaves of woodbine twining;

When all the lovely wayside things
Their white-winged seeds are sowing,
And in the fields, still green and fair,
Late aftermaths are growing;

When springs run low, and on the brooks
In idle, golden freighting,
Bright leaves sink noiseless in the hush
Of woods, for winter waiting;

When comrades seek sweet country haunt
By twos and twos together,
And count like misers hour by hour
October's bright blue weather.

O sun and skies and flowers of June,
Count all your boasts together,
Love loveth best of all the year
October's bright blue weather.

~Helen Hunt Jackson

Working Outside

Thursday, Daddy, Jacob, and Pop pop cleaned up the woods near the road. They cleared the brush, thinned out the trees, and battled the yellow jackets. The woods look so much nicer now, and we can see the mountains on the other side! Thanks, men!

Meanwhile...

While the men were in the woods, we ladies were working in the herb and flower bed next to the back porch. We pulled up the dead plants, pruned the perennials, moved and trimmed both bushes, and planted yellow and purple pansies. We had a wonderful time doing it, too.
~Tricia Ann

Before

The lovely result

Asters and Rain

Last week, Pop pop and Maw maw came over and planted some beautiful white and purple Asters in front of the house. It really brightened up the yard! While they were planting, it began to rain.
~Tricia Ann

The mountains are so pretty on rainy days!

The finished product (taken the day after the rain)

11-22-06 Lord's Day

After church today, Tricia Ann and I picked on our intruments for a while. Then we all went on a walk around the pond, and Dad and I played "kick-back" for several hours. This evening we saw upwards of 11 deer; whereof, at least two were bucks. That was encouraging to our hunting efforts.

I MISS YOU, LOVETTS!

"Let us die like men!"

"Our God was my shield. His protecting care is an additional cause for gratitude."
---Stonewall Jackson

"I would have never surrendered the army if I had known how the South would have been treated."

"If I had had Stonewall Jackson with me, so far as I can see, I would have won the Battle of Gettysburg."

"Alabama soldiers, all I ask is that you keep up with the Texans!"

"I can only say that I am nothing more than a poor sinner, trusting in Christ alone for salvation"
--- General Robert E. Lee

"Never stand and take a charge...charge them too!"
---Nathan Bedford Forrest

"The Army of Northern Virginia was never defeated. It merely wore itself out whipping the enemy."
---General Jubal Early

"Go back and do your duty as I have done mine and all will be well! I had rather die than be whipped!"
--James Ewell Brown Stuart

Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving;
sing praise upon the harp unto our God: Who covereth the heaven with clouds,
who prepareth rain for the earth,
who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.

~Psalm 147: 7-8

Lean-To Construction

Last week's project was to add a Lean-To on the back of the shed. This will provide storage for garden tools and such, and possibly shelter a cow or two. Poppop came to help cement in the big posts. Then Grandaddy came and helped with the framing and roofing.

Jacob always manages to get "roof duty."

Gimli, our foreman, seems pleased with our progress.

Tricia Ann serenades us with her new mandolin!

Our lovely Grammie enjoying the lovely day.

How's the weather up there?

Friends Pay a Visit

A very dear family from our church spent the week with us recently. Below are some photos we took while they were here.


It's so much fun to have such talented (and goofy) friends!

How do you do that, Ted? You lost me way back there!

Trish tries to keep up with Ted on the guitar! It's no use!

Marcia and Trish take a break from cooking to sit and chat a while.

A Friendly Competition

Jammin' in our den! What fun!

The men put up a tree stand.

Two Buddies in a Basket

We discovered this pair of sillies in Banjo's basket on the deck this afternoon. Tricia Ann wonders what folks without animals do for entertainment!

~Trish

A Gimli Gate

Philip and Jacob constructed a gate at each of our two deck entrances. They very creatively used some leftover wood from our shed construction project. Now, Tricia Ann can let Gimli out on the deck without worrying that he'll run off and stampede the neighbor's cattle! Our dinner bell can also be seen in this photo. It came with the house. By the way, our neighbor's have a new Dinner Bell. That's what they named their newest baby calf!

Our Recent Trip to Tennessee

After an afternoon of putting up fence, we all gather together to sing psalms and read the Scriptures.

Caleb discovers a sneaky snake !

We visit a beautiful spot on the Duck River in Centerville, TN.

The girls sing some bluegrass hymns.

Ted accompanies the beautiful maidens.

Four tired lads.

Jacob and Liddy-Lou-Who

Jacob listens to Ted's wise counsel.

Kaliste sports the new Heritage fashion, a camoskirt, popularized by Laura and Claire.

Dueling Cowboys!