Developing Youngsters

We so enjoyed talking and playing and eating with and reading to our grandchildren. And yes, we enjoyed talking with our son and his wife. All smiles just before lunchtime makes you just want to pinch some cheeks. 

He doesn't always smile but it is rare for him not to. He was so much more talkative and more understandable on this visit. They change so fast.

Lots of family resemblance in this crew. The newest one is also changing fast.

She was happy about her tartan dress. She is the social butterfly of the family, never met a stranger.

Big brother is often tired these days, working to help his dad load and unload trucks. You can see him growing in consideration of others and what is socially acceptable.

This boy just about galloped across Kansas by the time we ate lunch.

Big sister helps out with the cooking, seriously. She can make a full meal.

This one is all boy. I asked him how he got the scars. He replied with downturned eyes that he was being too rowdy.

The advantages of a large family are being thoroughly socialized, learning to share and help out, and loving to do things together.

The second-born is very detail oriented, as you will see momentarily.

6 out of 8 smiling and only one truly scowling, not bad.

Mamaw is all about those grandbabies.

He is showing it to me but with a bit of reticence. 

My son and I took the six oldest children for a walk across the street into the local cemetery. The lighting is not great, but you can definitely pick out the death as August 1810. That makes for a very old cemetery by East Tennessee standards, considering that James White's Fort was only built in 1786.

There were veterans of at least 3 wars (Civil, WWI, WWII (1)) in the cemetery and veterans from both sides of the War Between the States, from the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR),...

...and Confederate States of America (CSA).

A pretty dress doesn't mean that you can't play. She did get some tire rubber on her white tights, but mom and dad were too busy to notice when they all had to leave soon afterwards.

My wife and I gave the second-born son a woodburning set for his birthday. So, he made a little panel. I assume, though forgot to ask him, if he drew or traced the picture before he inscribed it.

The family all went off to prayer meeting, so my wife and I went to visit my older brother and his wife for few hours before heading home. It was a different kind of enjoyment, quieter and contemplative. We had a blessed day and good sleep afterwards.

1. I feel confident that there were probably others like the Revolution, War of 1812, and more modern wars, since the latest stone was August of 2024.

Two Frozen Head Waterfalls

 My brother and his wife are always very gracious and hospitable to allow us to stay at their house when we come to visit family.

The extended family was going to watch the football game together. My brother wanted to do a short enough hike to get back. Travel time to the trailhead is a major consideration. This commute was about an hour. The hike goes up a deep draw between two ridges. Cold drainage was chilling with a slight frigid breeze coming downstream at our faces. About halfway up off to the right is 12' Debord Falls.

The next picture I took accidentally, but I kept it because of the curious tree it captured. You wonder how some trees remain upright.

Right next to the falls was this odd Hemlock trunk. Unlike most Hemlocks of any size, this one is still alive. It appears to be plagued by shelf fungus, maybe, certainly overgrown with moss and algae in this moist environment. The woodpecker holes tell you that it was/is full of bugs. Still, it hangs on.

Pictures don't always suggest temperature, but my brother's clothing does.

The next falls was Emory Gap Falls, just barely visible atop the boulder field at left. I saw this couple and their dog, and I offered to take their picture. I am confident that they got a better picture than I did when they offered. I got up close to them so you could see their faces and the falls. I thought about saying something when she stepped back to take the picture, but it wasn't worth the bother.

Emory Gap Falls is 19' high. As with any Cumberland Plateau falls or creek, it barely flows unless there is a big rain event. The soil is shallow and has very little storage capacity which makes the high water higher and low water lower and more common.

The "cave" only goes about ten feet back, but there were several parallel fissures in this limestone, suggesting that there may be caves in the area.

Between the ice and the hornworts, I am reminded not only of the cold, but also of the fact that splash zones are a very unique and isolated micro-environment.

It had rained the day before, but evidently dried before the freeze, since the splash zone was the only place we saw ice cycles.

It was good to get out again and catch up with my brother. In the new year, I plan to reveal why I have not been blogging so much and hiking even less. Thank you to those who do read my entries. Having an audience pushes me to write better. Of course, you can't know what I write like without an audience, so you will have to take it on faith that this is better.

Leverage

All that I had to do was clamp it in place. Gravity did the rest.

I worked until dark one night, cleaned up the tools and headed to the house. When I came beyond the trees, here is what greeted me.

The warm glow of house and Moon on the hills and trees reminds me how thankful I am to call this home.

Never a Dull Moment

Most pictures of me show me playing. I was cutting up a storm-downed tree for a friend recently. I gave him my phone, saying, "I have very few pictures of me using a chainsaw even though I heated with wood for 38 years." You can tell by the first picture that the saw was cutting well by the size of chips flying and the abundance of sawdust on the trunk and ground. And well it should since Yellow Poplar is softer than most conifers (so called softwoods). I only glanced at him momentarily since one must pay attention while sawing.

I did sincerely hate to cut up such a straight, lumber worthy log, but he assured me that he could find no one to take it, probably being overwhelmed by the number of trees down after the storm.

I would cut nearly through one firewood length, then all the way through the next. This double wheel rolled down the hill without toppling. Then I cut it the rest of the way loose so that it could be handled to move curbside later hauling away.

I am also working on a workshop. A friend gave me 54 block to help complete a retaining wall. I noticed the bright white silk inside of one. Sure enough, this wicked little mother crawled out. I found one other smaller one. I took a picture and then crushed it. I don't usually crush spiders, but this kind is a different case. I do not want a population of these in my yard.

The local bike trail park has a new banner. Sticking its head above the trees on the peak of a hill that rises 250' above the surrounding terrain, the flag and eagle weathervane is visible from many places in town.

You would never guess what day it was for our office manager. I work with godly, helpful, considerate colleagues. It is the best work situation that I have ever been in.

With continuous watering, this fancy marigold has been blooming for 3 months.

I like keeping busy, but reading and studying are busy, too, right? Well, there will be time for that soon, I hope. Meantime, I need to keep safe, keep balance, and keep stirring. Supposedly, I am semi-retired, which is code name for busier than ever. I am thankful that God has afforded me health and strength to continue to, as I like to call it, "beat and bang."

Pinnacle Mountain Fire Tower

Morning light is so good for pictures. We arrived at about 8 AM

Decaying an old pine log with style and beauty.

Given the lack of vascular structure of the so-called upper plant life, how does the fungus differentiate between body and marginal colors?

I could not find what I deemed to be a reliable history of this tower. Obviously, the deck, steps, and roof had been replaced, but the broadness of the footprint and gauge of angle iron suggests to me that this was once a much taller than 40-foot tower. Anyone know?

The day was summer hazy, but the 360-degree view from Pinnacle Mountain was still impressive. I feel certain that we were seeing Mt. Mitchell, NC, but I imagine you could also see VA and KY on a clear day.

View towards Unicoi and Erwin, TN

View along Buffalo Mountain in the direction of Johnson City, TN

The trail that we walked was an easily graded 5.0 miles. I would have liked to come up the powerline clearing, since the parking lot was pretty much below it.

The definite joy of the hike was getting to know two new young guys and spending a half-day with my hiking partner. I so enjoy solid conversation about life and spiritual things with brothers in Christ.

The Pad

Warm humid days are good for getting wet and cool. I hung out at the periphery, cooling down with water on my legs, talking to the children, taking pictures, and surveying beautiful surroundings of trees and hills.

It was so hard to persuade Little L not to run. Thus is the enthusiasm of the young. Sister was calmer, but still all smiles.

Squirting each other and me when I got too close is always the most fun.

At first we had the run of the pad, but soon others trickled in. Little L made two friends, and all the children played well together.

E confided after an hour that she was cold, and Little L began to slow down and spend more time off the pad than on it, so I suggested that we head for the house. It was a fun, easy-going time, and we talked almost continuously before, during, afterwards. Oh, God, make me a godly influence before them.