DOG BITE!!

I was walking up my street and realized Angie’s dogs were loose in her yard. I stopped immediately and stood still with my side nearest them. The two dogs ran toward me, and one grabbed my arm and pulled backward. I think the woman who had let them loose is Angie’s sister. She has been warned that there is a leash law here and that she cannot let the dogs run loose. All she did was stand there and scream at the dogs until they went in the front door. She followed them and quickly shut the door. The dog has tried to bite me once before, but he didn’t break skin.

I immediately took a photo of my arm, then one with my arm and the house. Having missed a walk yesterday, I kept going. Soon Julie and dog Mickey came in sight. Julie commented that my hand was going to get cold, then she saw the damage. (I was exposing the wound to freezing air so that it wouldn’t ooze onto my clothes and get stuck.) She advised me to call animal control. As I came back, her husband Pat walked down his lawn and handed me a paper with the number to call. He has been menaced by both dogs who had crossed the road into his yard while he was doing yard work. He was told that the police won’t do anything until two incidents have been reported. Neighbor Bob stopped his truck when he saw Pat with me on the road, and both Bob and Jeff saw the bite. The dog had bitten Jeff before, but he didn’t report it. Pat insisted on walking me home, which was extreme but very comforting.

I called animal control and now cannot leave my phone unattended. The man took my name and number, saying an officer would call me. He advised me to seek medical attention.

Having called the proper authority, I washed my arm and sat down to write. Isn’t that what most bloggers would do?

Nice Nieces

All of my nieces are much more than nice. They are fantastic, but I liked the sound of the title. The ones I’m writing about today are two of the North Carolina nieces. Kathie and Julie dropped by to see me on their way home from “leaf peeping”. Leaf peepers are what you call people who travel to see fall foliage in the mountains. Julie took a selfie of us enjoying ourselves.

I checked the mirror to make sure I didn’t really have a double eyebrow.

We didn’t have much time, so we talked a mile a minute. It was a given that the scenery was gorgeous. I enjoyed hearing Julie exclaim over the lazy river they saw. (A lazy river is a manmade loop pool with a current just strong enough to move a tube or raft along.) Although the temperature was almost at the freezing point, people were outside enjoying the warm water and a nearby hot tub.

I wanted to know what was new in Kathie’s life, and I enjoyed her reply. It is absolutely fantastic to be a teacher, now that COVID restrictions have been lifted. She said, “We can see the students’ faces again! I told them before that the only thing we could read about their reactions were their eyebrows.”

I had read that communication was severely hampered by mask-wearing, and there was the proof from a hands-on (eyes-on) teacher.

An aside to daughter Lise: Kathie and Julie said they were very impressed at how very neat David and I have kept the house after you left.

A further comment to neighbors: Julie and Kathie exclaimed, “Wow! Look at this garage!! We have never seen it so good!”

Photos at the Train Club

John didn’t have many photos taken at the train club, especially ones with people in them. Most are like those below, pictures showing progress on track work. He loved working with the tracks, both laying out new ones and repairing old ones. If he were looking at these shots right now, he could tell you exactly where they were taken on that five-mile layout.

John was very reluctant to take pictures with his cell phone. He used to laugh and tell people he had a smart phone with a dumb user. He mastered the art of making a call, but often struggled to answer one. His fingers did not swipe well. When he began to bring home photos of track, I begged him to include some with people. I felt like I knew his friends because he talked about them, but I had no idea what they looked like. He tried, he really did. It never became easy for him.

Recently I picked up his phone, because grandson David and I now use it to play games when our phones are charging. Wondering when he last took a picture, I clicked on Photos. These are the only two he took that day. This one shows a friend behind the engine, sitting on a very comfortable seat.

The other shot includes the friend and David wearing a red shirt.

These two photos were taken the day John died. It does my heart good to know that he was thinking of people that day and perhaps was going to share the pictures with me.

Logan Then and Now

Neighbor Logan is very cooperative around my camera, something I really appreciate. After I saw a photo of him making a silly face, I asked for a new one yesterday. It’s very appropriate for October, with Halloween coming in a few weeks. It’s hard to believe we were laughing only seconds before. Logan knew where to find a Wordle app, and we had played game after game on the computer. He slowed down for me, because he is lightning fast.

He is 12 years old now, and here is the one when he was almost six.

I must ask him for a nice one next time, because he is a very good-looking young man now.

Road Art

I began walking, having my mind set on finding beautiful or unusual things. It wasn’t far from the front door that I noticed leaves beginning to turn red. Low mist sat on the mountain, making it look like a normal, rather flat neighborhood.

Near the firehouse were bits of road art. With a little imagination, I could see white cats on a gray road. Can you see the cats or something different?

The carving of a black bird has guarded a driveway for several months. Today I noticed fancy little growths in the bark, lichen perhaps? They were dark with white edgings.

Hurricane in the Mountains

For all the devastation hurricane Ian caused in Florida, the effects were not noticeable in the North Carolina mountains near Asheville. Were there dire warnings? Yes, indeed! The forecast was for heavy rain and high winds above 3,500 feet. I don’t know what happened on top of mountains, but at 2,600 feet there was nothing worth writing about. Rain fell gently during the night, and I never heard any wind.

I removed small items from the porches and deck and checked the garden for things that could cause damage if hurled about by high winds. I rewound hoses and unplugged fountain and waterfall. Shawn’s dahlias were moved inside for safety.

Here is what the sky looked like when the rain was due to begin.

I took a video of Jonathan Creek the day the storm was to hit and another the next day for comparison. It doesn’t matter which you look at; they are almost the same. Normally, after a good rainstorm, most of the rocks would be totally under water.

Creek before hurricane

Creek after hurricane

The final statement about this hurricane came from the rain gauge that my brother installed a few weeks ago. It read ¼ inch.

I continue to pray for all those whose lives were disrupted by hurricane Ian and the families of all who died. May God bless you and help you cope with all that is happening to you.

Lump!

I had a busy week and couldn’t properly worry about having found a lump under my skin. What I did worry about was whether it was normal and just something I’d never felt before. How foolish I’d feel if everyone had a bump like it! The doctor had an appointment open a week later, and she was very reassuring. She explained there are three little bones at the end of the sternum. She thinks arthritis is active there, adding bone for the fun of it I presume. I am going to be upset if growing bone offsets weight loss. Now that would not be fair at all!

The bus ride was interesting. After I was on board, we picked up a young fellow and dropped him off at the community college. I saw the area where son John $ and grandson David played disc golf, and then we wound our way all through the hilly campus. The driver said the young man rides several times a week. We are so blessed to have this service available to us.

When the Frost is on the Punkin

“When the Frost is on the Punkin” is the first line of a poem by James Whitcomb Riley, and it came to mind when I walked past Connie and Charles’ autumn display. I saw frost on the mulch, NOT the pumpkins. To my surprise, I saw the white blush on the photo. Too often I take a picture and find what I wanted to show does not appear at all. The temperature was 35F (1.67C) when I went out to walk. We had a frost, not a hard freeze, so the plants have not keeled over yet.

Slumber Party

I had an unexpectedly exhilarating weekend. Neighbor Shawn and I had a slumber party! She was taking care of grandchildren in a nearby town when her son Logan tested positive for COVID at home. She needed to be home for the weekend, yet she couldn’t risk exposure because she was going back to the grandchildren three days later. The fun solution was for her to spend the night at my house. We did what most preteen girls would do – talked into the wee hours with laughter and giggles.

The camera wanted to record many things, but I shoved it back in my pocket. It would have been an invasion of privacy to show Shawn and Bob visiting six feet apart on my porch. Bob had been taking care of Logan and had to keep his distance. They needed time to catch up on all that had been happening.

Shawn said to keep it simple when I asked what she would like for breakfast. I was up first and threw together a cinnamon coffeecake. It certainly looked thrown together, because I accidentally jiggled the oven shelf when I pulled it out to check it. Ours fell flatter than a pancake. We, along with David, picked at the mess anyway. The smaller one for Bob and Logan looked a bit nicer.

When Shawn took a simple dinner across the street for Logan and Bob, she brought back beautiful dahlias from her garden. I let the camera out to record that. Rather cold temperatures are in the forecast, and Shawn said we should enjoy the flowers while they looked good.

When we went out for a walk, Bob and Logan were outside. We walked separately to the end of the street, stopping to talk to neighbors who were decorating their drive. I asked if I could take a photo, and they insisted Shawn and I should be the ones with the pumpkins and flowers.

Near the stop sign, we chatted with Lisa and Harmony while Logan ran on one side of the fence and dog Rosie on the other. Ever on the move, Logan ran among the trees at Cindy’s house. The camera delighted in watching that.

Shawn spoke of the pumpkin farm nearby, and we planned an impromptu field trip. Every year the farmer displays pumpkins lined up behind price signs and leaves a locked box for people to pay on the honor system. I could have kicked myself for not taking a picture of Lisa, Harmony, and Shawn picking out pumpkins.

I missed another opportunity the other day when Lisa and Rosie walked to the creek.. It’s a tradition to have a photo of people who go there with me. When we got back to our area, I asked them to pose. This is my consolation prize.

Muscadine Grapes

I believe it was childhood friend Tom who spoke of muscadine grapes. He saw them while hunting, if memory serves me correctly. People talked about muscadine jelly and wine, although I don’t think I ever had any. When I saw them in the supermarket, curiosity made me buy a pint. I tried one before offering them to David. I’m not sure he will want a second one, so it is up to me to finish them.

There were two or three seeds in each grape, easy enough to separate in the mouth and get rid of. I began with a whole grape and chewed endlessly on the skin. The consistency was something like rubber gloves. Learning by doing, I cut the next one in half and scooped the pulp out with my teeth. By concentrating, I could discern a faint flavor of grape. Was it worth it? I don’t think so.

Has anyone else ever eaten a muscadine grape?