Mountain Mama's Point Of View

  We went out to dinner with some friends visiting the area. My mood was light and we had a wonderful time catching up with a couple we had not seen in over 20 years. We picked them up at the campground they were staying and off we went to one of our favorite eating establishments. The men chatted in the front and the women in the back seat. Isn't that always the way it works?  We talked about our dogs, of course. They have two and are equally enchanted with theirs. It was still early as we drove them back to their camper, so we went the long way in order to see most of Lake Chatuge. We were on one of the busy roads along the lake when tragedy occurred. Sometimes, when sitting in the back seat, I don't notice much outside, but we were pointing out things of interest. I saw it before HeWho drives did. The speed limit is 45 and traffic was moving along at that pace. I saw the dog on the passenger side of the road heading towards the road. A medium size black dog ran right into th

  Another stove story!! No worries, it is working as it should. This is about the stove top. Given the size of my tiny kitchen, there is very little counter space ... or cupoard space, for that matter. Anyhow, HeWho is a big fan of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, as well as ice cream and bologna sandwiches in the evening hours. He will use my stove as his prep space. While that is okay, the crumbs fall on the stove and an occasional smear of peanut butter will end up on a burner cover. He, of course, does not bother to clean up his mess. That would be shocking for me! To get all of the crumbs and whatever else has fallen, it requires taking the stove top apart, removing the burner covers and the grill to wipe up the leavings of HeWho doesn't notice such things. So, I decided I needed a stove cover. I priced them and decided I could make one and did not need to buy one. We have all manner of wood around here from various projects, so I measured the area and then went out to sear

  I've got grass! I hunted for a picture of this same area and could find none. I will try to rereate it with words .... See all that rock? It went all the way to the small porch that leads to the door that opens onto the screened porch. It was apparently used to park vehicles on. Every Spring, it purges more rock and I use the garden rake to move it away. Then I hopefully spread grass seed. This year I put too many bags to remember of topsoil down and then a heavy layer of grass seed. Finally, I have grass coming up! I do realize that I might have to repeat this again next Spring, but that should yield a thick carpet of grass that I can walk barefoot on! Here we go, I did find a picture of the rocky front yard! This area has changed so much to be barely recognizable, although the big rock is still there. Last year I planted a small packet of Hollyhock seed. For weeks I looked and looked to see if the seed had come up and saw nothing. As the hot summer turned to cooler fall days I

  One more try for the blanket flower. I have planted live plants and seed, hoping for it to spread. Every year it dies. Not sure why, in spite of all the gathering of tips and doing everything I read, I just can't seem to make it live. I plan to ignore this one and see what happens. The butterflies are happy to feed on this plant. The pontoon has been welded and all the holes gone. It looks like you could open it with a giant can opener! Still waiting for the engine check. The man is on vacation and should be back today. Of course, had the man with the seriously nagging wife had listened ...... Anyhow, the days seem to be flying by with garden chores taking up most of my time. Every morning is so nice and it is easy to be outside, but the afternoon sun will send me inside to rest. It has rained very afternoon for awhile and the rain passes quickly, leaving the outdoors hot and sultry. Now that the deck is done, HeWho has moved on to other projects. He spent an entire day packaging