Summer Overview

Usually, when I add to this blog, I am hard-pressed to figure out what I have done with my time, but this time that is not the case.  I have been busy, busy, busy with summer activities...and they're not over yet, but it's been a fun time up here on the ridge.

Jim, Elyse, Lynn

The daughter of our friends, Chris and Curt, got married this summer.  Elyse and Shep have been an item for a long time, and finally decided to tie the knot.  I helped Chris with a shower early in the summer, and the wedding was held in Raleigh in Shep's grandparents' beautiful garden in early August.    It was a lovely event, and we were happy that we were part of it.








I had great plans for July 4.  Adam and Shanna and the girls were here and I planned to have Shanna's parents as well as some cousins from Alabama over for a cookout and fireworks.  There were going to be about 30 people in all.  But, as is sometimes the case, events conspired to thwart my well-laid plans. This summer has been very wet and cool.  It rained daily for weeks it seems, but the day before the celebration, the amount of rain that fell was just obscene!  Not only that, but the forecast for July 4 was for more of the same (a forecast that played out just as billed).  Even as big as my house is, I couldn't have 30 people in it with no opportunity for anyone to get outside.  Even the covered porches were wet and there was not a single dry chair anywhere.  So, I had to cancel the celebration.  I hated that because I was going to get to see cousins that I had not seen since they were small, and their toddler children.  Anyway, it turned out to be just Adam, Shanna, and the girls, and we had to forego the fireworks until later in the summer when there was actually some clear weather.  I'll bet many of you experienced the same thing.  The rain and cool weather have continued but we are now in a period of little precipitation.  I'm loving it!!!

Joe with Lynn and Jim

Our friend Joe (who lives in Virginia) came to the area for a short visit this summer.  His sister has a place in Brevard, so we met them for lunch one day and they came up here for dessert.  Joe and his wife Bev lived next door to us when we lived in Charlotte.  They were wonderful friends and we have kept in touch all these years.  Joe wasn't used to the cool mountains.  I had to get him a jacket!

Bob, Barbara, and Joe

Jon and Adam and their families were all together with us for a few days in July.  About the only time that we can all be together is during the youngest Riggsbees annual visit from Texas.  It is always fun and we spend a lot of time laughing.  Jon and Adam are like brothers everywhere, and Jim always eggs things on!  The cousins always have a good time together, and MiMi just loves the togetherness.

Adam, Shanna, Avery, and Gracie

Jon, Patti, Lauren, Katie, Jonathan

Nub's Babies

Last summer we had a bird couple build a nest on the ground under a bathroom window.  They hatched 3 babies, one of which had a very short tail.  When it became time for them to leave the nest and perfect the art of flying, the one with the short tail was identifiable as a "special needs" bird.  We named this little thing "Nub". The mama bird worked and worked with this fledgling and it finally got the hang of this very necessary skill.  This year another bird couple built a nest in one of the ferns that hangs on our front porch.  Imagine our excitement when we discovered that the female unit of this couple was Nub!!!  She and her mate built a beautiful nest and reared 4 little hatchlings, none of which had a short tail!

My garden this year has had mixed success.  The green beans have done very well (I have canned 30 quarts), as has the cabbage and pepper.  Squash was attacked by cut worms, and I lost 3 out of 6 plants.  Replacement plants decided to die on me, so I just decided to quit worrying about them.  Not sure what happened to the cukes, but I suspect that the rain and cool weather just didn't set the optimum growing condiditons.  I got some, but not enough to do anything with.  And the tomatoes, despite a great beginning, finally succumbed to blight.  I pulled green tomatoes and made relish, but I'd rather have been canning red ones.  I bought corn and creamed 40 quarts, and put up 40 pints of peas (also purchased).  My sister and I made 40 quarts of Brunswick stew, so I'm pretty well set for the winter.

Sparkle

One of the casualties of the long, wet summer was a little female raccoon.  She appeared on our porch one rainy afternoon, drenched and exhausted, trying to get enough bird seed to slack her hunger.  She was obviously heavily nursing, so we decided to give her some dog food.  She ate with a ravenous appetite, ignoring the frantic barking of the dog inside the house.  Daily we have put out food for her, but she has not brought her babies up to feed (though it is past time for them to be traveling with her), so we think that she may have lost them in one of the deluges that plagued the area.  Gracie and Avey were here when she came and the christened her "Sparkle".  I have been reducing the amount of food that I have been giving her to encourage her to do some foraging for herself, but just haven't had the heart to stop completely.  She is not scared of us and allows us to walk out on the porch while she is there. We don't want to domesticate her, but we are silly softies when it comes to living things in distress.  By the way, she isn't afraid of the dog, either, though we don't tempt fate by letting him out while she is in transit!

One of the best things this summer was a visit from my first cousin, Bill, and his family.  They live in the Dallas, TX area and I have not seen him since his wedding in 1999!  He is my first cousin, but is  about Jon's age.  We met him, Yvette, and their three boys in Charlotte at Jon's house, where we all enjoyed a cookout.  Bill and Yvette's boys are SO nice...polite, respectful, and just generally good kids.  They are about the same ages as Jon's three, so after a little circling around, they started playing together.  I wish we could have had longer with them!  One of the things Bill asked me was "Are we going to make "The Hillbilly Chronicles"?  So, yes, Bill.  Here you are!

Bill, Yvette, Joshua, Willie, David

The Crew at Jon's House

Still have a few more good times waiting for us this summer.  Jim's niece and her husband will come for a Labor Day weekend visit.  We will all have a cookout with my sister and her friends from Atlanta over the weekend; we are going to have a reunion with some colleagues of mine from Olympic High School in September, and, of course, the annual Big Chill with our college friends in October.  After that things slow down for the winter.  Only Susan wants to come when it snows!

Enjoy the slide into fall.  We love you!  I leave you with another Porch Portrait.