Room With a View

As this is our first summer on Copper Ridge, Tom and I are having fun watching what comes up around us. For the last week or so, the day lilies have been blooming on the bank across the road and all around our mailboxes.

There's a bit of crape myrtle (I think) mixed in with the lilies and the purple and orange really look pretty together. In this picture you can see the Carter's carport and a little bit of Charlie's house.

This is our view from the LaZboys....you can see why we seldom get up. We can watch the lilies, listen to the roosters, and every now and then a car goes by, just to liven things up.

We've enjoyed all the blooms this spring and summer, but I have to say, so far nothing beats these lilies. Of course, the fact that we can enjoy them with our feet propped us, is a big point in their favor.

Now and then we have to get up, either to let the dogs out, or to fetch another glass of sweet tea from the kitchen. And the side door and one of the kitchen windows overlook the porch and our little grape arbor which is just outside the fence. It looks like we might have some grapes.

When my family lived in Thomasville, PA, there was a large grape arbor in the backyard. The grapes were way over my head and I had to have Daddy cut them for me. It was a cool and shady place for most of the summer, but when the grapes started to ripen, it was a haven for bees. This was a large arbor and it produced a lot of grapes, far more than we could eat or give away, and I remember very well the "winey" odor that the grapes on the ground gave off. Every time I look at our little grape arbor, I'm reminded that I've come home again.

The Craley Clan

We had a little photo session this week to commemorate the Craley Clan's first summer as Virginians. They've spent the last two months getting to know the cows, the sheep, the chickens, the dogs, and even a few of the neighbors. Here the Craleys pose on Grandpa Peters's mower in our yard. At Grandma's house on the ridge, the family mostly posed on the low brick wall or in front of the evergreen tree. At this Grandma's house on the ridge, I think it's going to be on the mower and in front of the grapevine.

Alex, who turned 15 in April, had a minor run-in with the mower shortly after they got here. She was going down through the yard on her bike, had a problem with her brakes, and caught her finger on one of these nasty teeth. It was scary and painful at the time, but you can tell from her smile, it's all better now!

Mike, Nadja, Alex and Cait just sitting in the grass, smiling for the camera.

In front of our little grape vine are Alex, Nadja and Cait.

Our teenaged granddaughter -still can't quite believe that - Alex.

Cait is 12 so next January we'll have two teenagers. Ouch! I'm too young to have teenaged granddaughters! Tom on the other hand....well, he had a birthday this week, so now he's lots older than me!

Cait takes a turn posing with the mower.....

...and in front of the grapevine. Don't they look like they're enjoying their new home?!

What a Cutie

For those of you who don't visit Jennie's blog, here is Ella's nine month picture. She was born last September 19. I'll be heading up to PA on June 22, to see these babies again, and staying about a week. Yahoo!!

Forbes Photos

In a post last month I mentioned going to Bakersville, North Carolina, to meet Glora Belle Forbes Jamison and some of her family. Glora recently published a book on David Forbes, Sr., and some of his descendants. After a picnic lunch I posed with Sherwin, Melody (in front), Glora, and JoAnn. Sherwin is Glora's husband; Glora and JoAnn are sisters; and Melody is JoAnn's daughter. I'm a distant cousin!

After they returned home, Glora and Sherwin sent a CD to me with some of the pictures of our branch of the Forbes family which appear in her book. Above, Fanny Forbes is pictured with her son, Matney, and his family. Fanny is the sister of Simon Fannings Forbes, my great-grandfather.

This is Charlie Forbes, another son of Aunt Fanny Forbes, and a first cousin to my grandmother, Cynthia "Jennie" Forbes Penley.

And this is really why I'm doing this post....I just wanted everyone to see this wonderful picture of two of my Dad's second cousins. These girls are Pauline and Mae, the daughters of Charlie Forbes, and the granddaughters of Fanny Forbes. This one might have to be enlarged and framed. I love everything about it - their clothes, their expressions, their postures...it's just beautiful.

This is Gutridge or "Gutch" Forbes, the brother of Simon Fannings Forbes and of Fanny Forbes.

The photo above is very precious. When Tom and I visited this cemetery in 2007 the writing on Sallie's stone had all but vanished. I did a rubbing which came out pretty well, but I was astonished to see this picture of the stone when it was still in very good conditon. Sarah "Sallie" Garland married my great-great grandfather, Joseph Forbes, and they are the parents of Simon Fannings Forbes, Gutch and Fanny, all mentioned above, as well as several other children.

Sallie and Joseph are buried in a family cemetery outside of Buladean, North Carolina, along with my great-grandmother, Martisha Moffitt Forbes, and her father, Fields B. Moffitt.

I'm so grateful to Glora and Sherwin, not only for their hard work on the Forbes book, but for taking the time to send the CD to me.

Killin' Time

Tom had an early appointment with the doctor last week - so early that we were out of there before any of the shops in Gate City were open. I had several errands to do before I headed back up the mountain, so I decided to go to the Scott County Park to kill a little time. This park is about 5 minutes outside of Gate City. It has tennis courts, picnic shelters, walking trails....

... and a nine-hole golf course.

As far as I'm concerned, the best thing to do at the park is find yourself a comfortable seat and just look at the views.

There's something pretty to look at in every direction.....

....even if you just lean your head back and look up!

For you kids in Pennsylvania and Maryland, this picture will give you an idea of the size of the mountains down here. See the little houses? No? Well, look closer, because they're there.

And this picture I took because of the vibrant color. Isn't it beautiful? I have to find some of these to plant next year. So now you had a quick look at our county park. It's a great spot to kill a little time.

This Week on Copper Ridge

Tom turned 59 years old today and I believe it was a little rough on him. He usually takes birthdays in stride, but now the big 6-0 is looming just ahead, and it's making him thoughtful. I'm pretty sure I can guess what he's wishing in this picture - but I'm not telling.

A birthday in the mountains, with kids and grandkids, plenty to eat and lots of good music...well, maybe turning a year older isn't so bad after all.

In other news, the cows are in the backyard. Ron re-configured the electric fence so his little herd can get over into this section where the brush and the kudzu tend to go wild. We're glad to see them. Not only will they neaten things up down there, but they're just good company.

Some of them get pretty bold and come right up the hill behind our house. Look at all that kudzu. Eat up, my loveys, eat up!

Now this big fella could just stay over in the other pasture as far as I'm concerned. If you read the post about the old Ervin-Penley house down in the holler behind us, you've seen a close-up of our good buddy here. Ron told us that a couple of neighbors were trying to coax him across the road into the pasture with some other cows to...well....um...you know....and when Rick turned around with the feed bucket, this big boy bumped him about 10 feet straight up into the air.

This was taken from our side porch without using a zoom.

This one was zoomed, but not really a lot. In other words, these cows really are right behind the house! Thankfully they're down over the hill or Minnie would be barking herself into a frenzy. I don't think she's seen them yet. One did get over the fence somehow and was on our property, but luckily Mike shooed her back before she actually walked up into the yard. Jake would probably greet them like old friends, but truly, I believe Minnie would have a stroke.

While Nadja and I were watching the cows, we noticed that the big cactus around the birdhouse pole has begun to bloom. When I took this photo a couple of days ago, there were only a few blossoms, but it had dozens of buds. I believe I'll snap some more photos tomorrow.

And one final little bit of happiness this week. Our neighbor, Odas Qualls, has some beehives over at his daughter Rita's house (Rita is the wife of Rick who took the short flight courtesy of Mr. Bull). He "robbed" the hives one afternoon this week and brought us a jar of honey still warm from the sun. I had some the next morning with biscuits. Now, you can't beat neighbors like that, or a breakfast like this.

Clinch Mountain Music Fest 2009

This is the second year we've been able to go to the Clinch Mountain Music Fest and this year it fell on Tom's birthday. For this event the main street through Gate City, Jackson Street, is blocked off from the signal light to the courthouse, which is about 1 1/2 city blocks. A stage is set up, vendors line the street, and the whole day is given over to bluegrass music, good food, flat-footin' and people-watching. The Roan Mountain Hilltoppers took to the stage for the flat-footin' contest.A few of these folks above danced later on for the judges, but some of them were just dancing for fun. The lady in white in the middle is AnnaBell Hammonds who lives next to Aunt Monnie's house. She was our neighbor while we lived there and she taught us a few clogging steps.

The Craleys were here for the fun....in this pic Nadja and Alex goof for the camera, while Mike finishes his ice cream. Let's see....we ate a blooming onion, curly chips, hot dogs, sausage, pizza, ice cream, snow cones, and sodas. And then we came home for birthday cake! Groan!

Cait enjoys her French vanilla snow cone. I had root beer.

The Gate City Fire Department hoisted an enormous flag in front of the courthouse on its ladder truck.

One of Tom's birthday cards had a sticker, basically saying what a great guy he is - so naturally he wore it to the music fest - and collected quite a few birthday congratulations!

It's not often a person gets to sit in the middle of W. Jackson Street in a folding chair, so while one of the bands was doing their sound check, I seized the moment to look up and about. These are the "bubble" lights that line the Jackson and come on every night at dusk. It is one of the prettiest, old-fashioned things you'll ever see. I seem to remember these old lights from my childhood, but I can't say for sure just how long they've been here.

Like most small towns across America, Gate City has some nice architectural details. Here's just one.

Here's the courthouse where I spend a lot of time doing genealogical research. It's also where my mom and dad got their marriage license and where Tom and I got ours!

This is looking down the street toward the stage. The red and white tent in the middle is the Pickin' Tent where everybody is invited to bring their own instruments and play. We spent quite a bit of time in the pickin' tent last year and it was lots of fun.

We're still trying to find a home for Jake Angus McGee, the Great Pyrenees we took in from the farm next door, and so we took him along and handed out cards with our phone number. It just might pay off - Jake was a big hit with just about everybody, including these cute little twins.

The big old fella took it all in stride. We stopped off at the Scott County Humane Society booth and dropped off a card and the lady there seemed hopeful that they could find him a home. Cross your fingers!

Here is a video of the Roan Mountain Hilltoppers and some of the flat-footers and cloggers. If you listen closely, you should be able to hear the taps on the cloggers' shoes. AnnaBell is in this video. Her husband, Charles, is the man in the orange shirt. They are regulars at the Carter Fold, along with some of the other folks in this video. I have another video I'll post as well - it's just that they take so darned long to load.