Trip up the Parkway

We took a day trip up the parkway and headed to that ever popular Mabry Mill. There were quite a number of folks doing the same thing, even though the leaves were past their peak. Among these pics you can find one still that Barney didn't smash.

Jack-O-Lantern

Here is our Jack-O-Lantern for this year. I learned a little too late that you can prevent the mildew by putting Vasoline onthe inside of the pumpkin. Maybe next year...

Last One...

Here is the latest and the last of my Wii Tennis achievements. I actually lost a few points after winning a game against Sarah and Elisa (two computer players.)

Wii Sports--Tennis

And I am going higher still...

I thought it couldn't be done...

I somehow thought that 2000 was unreachable, but here I have broken it with this 2002. So what is the limit, if there is one? We shall see.

Oreo Cows

Here is a pic of an "oreo cow," or at least that's what the kids call them. We saw thesThey are actually "Belted Galloways, a rare breed of Scottish beef cattle that were introduced to the United States back in the 1950's."1 I have heard that they are quite expensivie. Please, no jokes about what kind of milk they produce.
1 http://www.fearrington.com/village/cows.asp
P.S. Sorry but in posting this, I became the 12,000th visitor.

Mountains

We went to visit a neighbor who lives somewhat in the mountains. She had this home built so that she could be closer to her family during retirement. It is lovely country up there.

Wii Sports--Tennis

Here is my latest and greatest achievement in Wii Tennis. I don't think any real person has ever made it to 2000, although one of the characters I play shows a 2000 score every time I play. It seems that if I beat a 2000, I should achieve a 2000. This is probably my best my score will ever be.

Another pumpkin

Here is the start of another pumpkin, since the first one didn't make it. Let's hope this one does make it.

A True Saying

I saw this message at a church (not mine) as I was driving by, "Stop, drop and roll will not work in hell." Most of the time these words of wisdom cause one to stop and think. I think for the Christian, it makes me think, "I should pray for my lost loved ones more regularly." And I should be bolder in speaking to them. For the non-Christian I would hope it would make him think that time is running short and that he should turn to Jesus.

A few more pics...

Here are some more pics of Eli. I think parents are letting their kids have cell phones much earlier these days.

We have one huge okra plant!!!

The Beginning of a Pumpkin

Here is the start of a pumpkin. You might see Linus and Snoopy in this patch before long.

Good Visit in Louisville

We had a good visit with Sarah, Ben and Eli in Louisville. Here are a couple of shots to get started. I'll post more later.

Mushroom

Here is a mushroom I found at the bottom of my yard today. I don't think I would try eating this one.

Okra

It is really amazing how much taller this one okra plant is above all the others. It is about as tall as I am.

Bugs

Well, I hate to "bug" you guys, but here are som more bug pics. One is of the cicada that we hear rattling in the trees, and the other is of two stinkbugs mating. You have to look closely because there is no contrast in the background.

New Post

Well, here I am on the 9th day of August and I notice I have no post for this month. So here I am getting busy and getting it done. What should I post? Of course, I should post about my grandson, Eli. I spend way too much time talking about the garden, and all kinds of bugs, so I know my readers get really bugged about that. I don't have any new pics, so I'll just post some older ones that maybe you haven't seen.

David's visit

We had a nice visit with David as he stopped in NC on his way home from France. We spent the last couple of days at the lake with him. We all had a very good time.

Segue

Here is a shot of an officer on a segue. This was taken at the Charlotte airport as we were taking David back for his trip home. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell you we had a nice long weekend with him in NC. I will post a pic of him next.

Flowers in the garden

Here is an open-and-shut case. The plant, Okra has a flower that blooms and apparently closes up when in the shade. The okra, (the good part that we eat) comes out from where the flower was. Most of you already knew this, but I am learning a lot.

Water-skiing

Normally I don't think I am someone who complains a whole lot. But I gave blood a week ago last Thursday and here is the way my arm looks and it feels as bad as it looks. The Red Cross staff recognized it as a hematoma as the lady had to jab around with the needle inside my arm in order to find the vein. I think it is slowly getting better, and I was not planning to do any waterskiing yesterday, but my brother-in-law encouraged me to give it a try since we were out in the boat and had all the necessary equipment. I surprised myself; I was able to get up the first try. I thought I was going to have more pain than I could stand, but I think it was good for me.

Half-ripe tomato

Have you ever seen a half-ripe tomato? Here are a couple of pics of one we grew in our garden. Half of the tomato is ripe and the other half is still green. This is one of our German Johnsons.

Digging Ditches

I suppose I could always resort to digging ditches since I have had a bit of experience with that this week. (Pat and I both had experience.) We had a bit of a
drainage problem, so we had to dig up the pipe that runs the water away from our house.

Here is a better shot of what could be a shark's tooth. My neighbor doesn't think it is one, and he is a real expert on the subject. He said if you can break it in your hand, its not one, and I think he did try for a bit, but I asked him not to break it anyway, even if its not real. What do you think?

Tomatoes

Here is the first German Johnson of the season. From the pic you can't really tell the true color of it. I think it will make a good sandwich though.

Tomatoes

I had my first tomato sandwich (of the season) the other day. It was made from the one pictured here, a beefstake hybrid.

Gardening

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Back to gardening now. Here is a shot of one day's harvest of cukes. Even though we have had dry weather, they don't taste bitter. It is unreal how fast these grow. Now if we could get our tomatoes to ripen this fast...