Cataloochee

Grandson David drove visiting blogger Kim and me into the Cataloochee Valley, a tiny part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This is our national park with the most visitors every year. On the way, we stopped at an overlook with a sweeping view of the area.

Driving on, we went toward the end of the valley and found people staring and photographing the herd of elk. David and Kim joined in.

These are the animals they were looking at, grazing in the field.

We crossed the road to go through a house built in 1903, one left there after all the residents were moved when the park took over the land. I didn’t take a picture of the house this time, but I did take one of the cold house as Kim stood at the entrance. To keep things cool, the residents lowered food into the stream through an opening in the floor.

While we were looking at the cold house, the elk were moving through the valley. Behind the single elk, you can see the graveled area where David’s car was parked. We had crossed the stream on that footbridge and now were cut off. Park rules are to keep well away from the animals. Although they look as peaceful as grazing cows, they are wild animals and unpredictable. For the most part, the elk pay no attention to vehicles on this road. The truck was traveling from the end of the valley back to the entrance.

On the right side of this video, you can briefly see the white house on the hill where we had been. At this point, we had waited quite a while before crossing the bridge and standing on the road.

On the way out of the valley, we stopped to look at a bear-proof garbage bin. David put his hand in the pocket on top and pushed a bar forward to release the catch. He explained that bears cannot turn their paws over to reach into that protected area.

We were thrilled to have watched the elk for a long time, up close.

Kim and the Guinea Fowl

Visiting blogger Kim and I have walked to the creek four days in a row. Today Kim noticed movement and heard clucking noises near the flag pole at the fire station. She identified the guinea fowl. I had never seen any that close. I don’t know which of us had a camera aimed at the birds first. Kim got the best still photo while I was taking video clips. Kim hasn’t posted her photo yet, but her blog is here.

The birds wanted to get away from us and melted through the bushes into the parking lot.

We followed them as they scurried away, just on this side of the creek.

Blogger Blast

Blogger Kim and Dave drove from Texas to my mountains to visit, and I am having a blast. It is fantastic to have time to spend with them, as they and their dogs stay at an RV park just down the road. Kim’s blog is here.

Two days in a row Kim and I walked to the creek. I haven’t done that since last May, just before sciatica hit me. Oh! To have a favorite blogger to talk with while walking was marvelous! I remembered to take a photo.

Kim took me to the RV park and gave me the grand tour of their motor home. I enjoyed seeing how they can store so much in small spaces. The dogs, Whiskey and Brandy, were welcoming, and Dave agreed that I could take their photo.

Kim had seen a picture of friend Brit’s and grandson David’s colorful leaf arrangements on the kitchen counter. I told her she could pick up leaves on the way home and create another work of art. They missed the peak of the leaf season, but there are still beautiful things to celebrate.

David Meets Cowboy

One of the cashiers called grandson David over to meet Cowboy and his pet squirrel. The celebrity shops at the supermarket where David works, so many of the staff had already met him. This is the same character that daughter Lise and I met in the waiting room of a doctor’s office. He always encourages people to have their picture taken with the pet squirrel on their shoulder. I thought David did well with his selfies.

Logan’s Halloween

I knew neighbor Logan was going trick or treating in town, so I put aside the candy I bought for him. He came over to visit for a short while the day after Halloween. I was totally surprised to find that they had remote learning that day. The students got their assignments via computer or telephone and had all day to do the work. Logan finished before he came over. His take on it was the teachers didn’t want to deal with kids that had had too much candy the night before. I should explain that whenever I quote Logan, I have to fill in the blanks. He speaks quickly and softly, so my hearing aids don’t always deliver every word.

I enjoyed hearing about his going around to homes to get candy. One story really amused me. The home owner was in an upstairs window. He had a pipe going from his window to the mailbox. As children came by, he told them to say trick or treat, and then he’d put a bunch of candy in the pipe for them. Isn’t that a novel thing to do?

When Logan went home, I asked if he wanted to take all the candy home or only some of it. He opted to take four pieces. Marvelous restraint!! He knows I’ll keep it all for him and give him a piece whenever he comes over. Don’t worry about grandson David. He and I have our own cache.

Not knowing Logan would take so little candy, I gave him a plastic bag to put it in. He agreed to let me take a quick photo of him. Somehow this lacked the drama of treats delivered by a pipe.

I hurried taking the photo and missed one important part – Logan’s feet. He was barefooted! It was after dark, and I’m pretty sure the temperature was below freezing. He said his feet are tough, and I believe that!

Huge Leaf

After publishing a photo of autumn leaves, I have one more to show off. This time I added a quarter to give you an idea of the size. I’m following the advice of a great photographer whose blog I follow on WordPress, linked here.

I left the leaf on the counter, and friend Brit noticed it as soon as she walked in the kitchen. I gave the background, and she picked it up and put it on like a hat. If only I’d had my camera in my hand and not in my pocket! She had a busy day ahead and rushed off.

I held grandson David hostage while he quickly ate his dinner before going to work. I asked him to wear the leaf hat so that I could get a photo of it. He was sweet to humor me. I can see now that it would have looked much more appropriate on Brit’s head, because it looks like the mobcap of a Colonial woman.

It Wasn’t a Contest

Our autumn leaves put on a wonderful show every year, but this year my enjoyment was greatly enhanced by friend Brit and grandson David. Brit displayed her finds on the kitchen counter for us to enjoy, a handful at a time. David joined in, adding his favorites. One set grew for a couple of days, and I took a photo of the collage. We enjoyed it for a while before one of us erased the show and started another.

Two weeks later I stopped to pet CAT on my morning walk, and I saw lots of big leaves in her yard. I picked up one to take home. Its size was impressive compared to the earlier ones. All the leaves wanted to be chosen, but only four made the cut. I don’t have an artistic eye like Brit or attention to detail like David, but I was going to show off my fallen giants quietly on the counter. I figured they’d walk by and notice the new display, even if they didn’t comment on it. That’s when the camera took over. She said, “It has to be impressive, and it has to be recorded.”

I’m sure it was Cam’s idea to make a sign for the display, and she put the words in my head. The Post-it note says:

I won the SIZE contest.

Favorite Relatives

All my relatives are favorites, but they are most favorite when they are visiting me. John’s sister Barbara and Thom were here for a night, between visiting his brother in the middle of this state and one of their children in Maryland. It was wonderful to see them and catch up on their news. We talked a lot the evening they arrived, and we continued as we walked to the stop sign the next morning. I forgot to take a photo of us there; it was much easier to remember to take pictures at the creek. Thom did the honors with a selfie at the house.

I loved the roundup of news. Here are the brackets. Their youngest grandchild is three years old and has an amazing vocabulary. The oldest has a job in California, but she lives and works remotely in Manhattan. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was COASTing along.

As Barbara and Thom left here, they were heading to see two of four grandsons playing soccer in Maryland. They would have time to be together after the games, and the trip home to Long Island the next day would be a familiar one. Knowing them, they will hit the ground running. We didn’t have a lot of time together here, but we made the most of it. I enjoyed every minute.

After they left, David and I had a good laugh about the beginning of my day. Right now the easiest way to accommodate guests is for them to stay in my room, and I sleep in David’s room. I must have been reaching to shut off the alarm when I felt myself slipping off the lower bunk. On the way down, I told myself not to make a noise, and I didn’t scream. I didn’t even groan, but I did land with a thud. I looked toward David’s bed and didn’t see any movement, so I thought I was the only one who knew I’d fallen out of bed. David’s story? He heard a thump, raised his head, asked softly if I was OK, and after no response from me, put his head down again. He saw me moving and knew I was fine. Without hearing aids, I thought the room had been totally quiet. Just now, to satisfy my curiosity, I measured the distance from the top of the mattress to the floor. It was only 18 inches. I DO know better than to fall out of my bed. The fall there would be 33 inches.

Colder Weather

I read the roof across the street and knew we’d had a hard frost. My houseplants had been safely inside for days, so I could just enjoy the brisk air.

I had not read the street with its evidence that Logan and his nephews, Sufi and Pico, had left their marks. In the past, I envied Linda’s posts on street art in her area. There were drawings of professional quality (see here). I’m so happy we have some art of our own now.

Even though I feel the dog should be holding onto her fur, she has been shedding everywhere lately. I picked up one little tuft and knew right where it belonged. I had seen photos of model trains in John’s magazines, and Kacey’s fur was perfect as steam engine smoke on a table lamp.

Proud?

Arlene, a dear blog friend in Manila, the Philippines, has a post titled, “What are you most proud of in your life?” Her response to this question was full of wisdom, and you can read it here.

I laughed at the first thing that came to my mind – being the organist at church for 25 years. It had nothing to do with my musicianship. I was proud of the fact that I was never, ever late for a service. As I wrote in a comment, we had two services most Sundays plus special ones for Lent, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. I estimated that I was proud of being prompt over 2,850 times.