Snow in June??

I knew it was cool this morning, but I couldn’t believe my eyes when I got to the firehouse near the creek. The roses appeared to be holding bits of snow. Snow in June? No way!

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Perhaps the firemen needed to get rid of foam. We’ve walked there for four years and never saw foam before.

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Grandson David had a day off, so we had lunch at Jukebox Junction on the way to the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a wonderful day to be in the mountains. The higher we drove, the cooler it became. A sign stated we were at the highest point on the whole parkway. There were many clouds, both white and rainy-gray, which made the scenery much more interesting than a view bleached by full sun. We stopped at many of the overlooks, getting out to soak up the silence and enjoy sprinkles from the sky.

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Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous is more “miss” than anything else with me. I almost missed the shot of son John $ falling out of the geriatric chair. He stretched out in the recliner I inherited from John’s godfather, who died at age 97. He didn’t know the chair was designed to boost an oldster into a standing position. In checking how far the chair would go, he almost fell out of it in slow motion. David and I were there to laugh with him.

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David was too groggy to finish his breakfast cereal. He missed eating it when it was fresh. A day later he took it out of the refrigerator, and half of it came up on his spoon. I should have watched to see if he broke it up in the bowl or just gnawed on it.

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John found two ticks on himself and another crawling on his desk. He missed the tiny one that attached itself firmly. I removed it with tweezers amid giggles and twitches. It was still moving when I took the photo. You can’t see its size, but we feel sure it was bigger than a deer tick that carries Lyme’s disease.

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A rabbit was grazing on our gravel when I went out to walk. He hadn’t moved as I advanced slowly toward him, so I fished out the camera and shot him. He hopped a few feet away and again seemed to be searching the gravel. I missed the point of his being there. With acres and acres of lawn and pasture surrounding him, why was he nosing about that arid area? Does anyone have an answer for that?

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Neighbors Shawn and Bob held their grandson only hours after he was born. Bob sent a photo that I wouldn’t have wanted to miss. I presume Shawn took it on his cell phone. She caught the mystery, awe, and wonder that surrounds the miracle of birth. It was a tender moment.

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For those who want details, the baby weighed 7 lb. 11 oz. He is named Picasso, to be shortened to Pico (Pee-co).

Naked as a Jay Bird

When I went out to get the mail at the end of the driveway, I saw neighbor Logan (7) racing a four-wheeled vehicle down the street. Bob told him to go one more time before putting it away. That was my signal to get out the camera.

Just then I saw Bob’s grandson Sufi toddling down their walkway. He was stark naked! He waved at me enthusiastically, and I waved back. Having just passed his second birthday, he was not at all concerned with his lack of clothes. What could be better than running around unhindered and waving at the neighbors? Bob’s dry humor came bubbling up, and he said, “This is the way we run around in the mountains.”

There was only one chance to get a photo, so I aimed carefully. In fact, I aimed two ways – toward Logan and away from Sufi. Logan roared past and careened straight down the steep driveway to the garage under the house. We all returned to our homes, and I was wearing a silly grin.

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Sufi was about here.

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Birthday Cake for Breakfast

Presented with choices for his birthday celebration, grandson David opted for an egg in the eye for breakfast, followed by birthday cake. John and I agreed it was the thing to do. By the time we sang happy birthday to him, his eyes were fully open. As you might guess, David is most definitely not a morning person.

John and I had already walked to the creek and showered before David got up. A few hours after our breakfast dessert, we went to Bogart’s, one of David’s favorite restaurants. He ordered one of their chicken sandwiches. It had fried chicken, barbecue sauce, cheese, lettuce, pickle, and tomato. It was so messy he had to wash his hands after eating. John had a grilled Portobello mushroom sandwich, and I had a chicken salad sandwich. On my wish list is a selective reading button. Foodies could choose to read this paragraph, and others wouldn’t have to see it.

We walked up and down Main Street, going in the shops David wanted to see. We like checking the old favorites and seeing the new stores coming in. John and I never do this by ourselves, only when someone is here with us. Waynesville is a tourist/arty town that has gift shops, antique stores, art galleries, a chocolate shop, and breweries on Main, along with restaurants, real estate agents, a dog bakery, cinema, cooking shop, and furniture stores. We made one purchase. John bought a can of old-fashioned scouring powder that he said would be perfect for cleaning the bathroom at the train club. Whoop-de-doo!

As we came back to the car, I told David to pose with it to show how close he parked to the curb. If someone told me to parallel park on a very busy, narrow street, I would have chosen to skip the window gazing. He did it easily. It reminded me of his mother. She failed the parking part of the driver’s test that had traffic cones as markers. She drove us straight to Smithtown, parallel parking perfectly on the main drag where cars were everywhere.

As you can see from the picture, the street was dry, and people were wandering around the town. It seems this is the first day without periods of heavy rain for almost a week. I’m not aware of any flooding in the town, despite the videos that have been shown on TV of spots in Western North Carolina. Flooding was very real, just not here. David had his Burger King shirt and hat in the car. He drove straight to work, and I rode home with John.

The end of the day is going to be as weird as the beginning. David and John are going to Tennessee tomorrow for a meeting at the train club. David hates getting up early. His solution? After working the late shift at the restaurant, he will come home and sleep in the mini-van. He said he will sleep buckled up, so there will be no need for John to wake him at 5:30 or 6 when he begins the long drive.

Happy Birthday, David!