The End of January

The month is winding down, and the day is winding down, and MeeMaw and I are grateful that we have heat and light and food and the night together. This snowstorm wasn't as destructive as the last one (the snow was not quite as heavy or wet), but we got somewhere between a foot and a foot-and-a-half here at Possum Cough. We kept our power - God be praised - and we've plenty of food and books and old movies, so it's been a peaceful, happy weekend.

Church was canceled this morning; the entire northern part of Sullivan County was shut down and the Bloomingdale area (where our congregation meets) was impassable. John called me last night and made the decision early, so that folks would know. We don't know if we'll be able to make it to work in the morning or not - we'll cross that particular snowy bridge when we come to it. Personally, I feel that a three-day weekend would be an utter tragedy. Yes, indeedy.

MeeMaw is doing well. She's puttering in the kitchen right now, preparing our chicken fried steak for supper. She's also baking me a loaf of bread and a pecan pie, sweet wifely woman that she is. Purrl is sitting next to me, gazing out the glass door at the birds in the snow, and Bonnie is in the kitchen with MeeMaw, praying for a crumb or a scrap to fall to earth. Butternut is packed into a sleeping hostile little yellow lump in the middle bedroom, dreaming of an endless line of ankles and a new set of titanium teeth.

The first night of the storm (Friday), Bonnie and I had another adventure. The snow was coming down very hard, and naturally the red dog needed to go outside. MeeMaw was taking a nap on the couch, so we were stealthy while I bundled up, and off we went, down across the front pasture to the road and then into Mr. D's pasture across the road.

The entire time, Bonnie was skittish and jumpy and distracted. She "did her business" and then turned to go back to the house, the very picture of determination. Right about that time, I heard her growl, very low and rumbly. I stopped, she stopped. Then I realized that the growl wasn't coming from her. It was coming from the impenetrable shadows at the edge of the woods on the other side of Mr. D's fenceline. Bonnie was pointing with her body, tail straight out in back and puffed up to three times its normal size, her head low and her lips pulled back from her teeth.

Then the mountain lion screamed.

Bonnie bolted, trying to pull me towards the road. I yanked on her leash and began backing up, keeping my eyes on the treeline, talking to Bonnie in a low voice. After a few steps, I heard the creature running in the snow-covered leaves. Bonnie yanked on her leash very hard and I did what every good Southern boy does when faced with a monster: I fell down on my back in the snow. I had the very distinct thought, "Well, this is it. This is how it ends for me."

Bonnie was trying to pull me to my feet, and she was growling and yelping in fear. I jumped up and pulled out the only weapon I was carrying: a foldable tree saw MeeMaw got me some time ago. I keep it in my coat pocket when I walk Bonnie because it is a very wicked weapon and can lay anyone or anything open to the bone with one swipe. I highly recommend you fellows get one...they're perfectly legal and perfectly lethal. Anyway, I pulled out the saw and began backing up again. Bonnie was growling and trying to pull me away, and I noticed that she wasn't looking in the same direction she had been earlier. The mountain lion screamed again, and all the adrenaline in my body slammed into my heart. The thing had run down the fenceline while I was scrambling around on the ground and now was somewhere near the trees. Somewhere between us and Possum Cough.

"It's hunting us, girl," I told Bonnie. Her eyes carried a distinct response. "No ****, old man."

We made our way via a wide, circuitous route to the road, me holding Bonnie close and brandishing my saw blade. Once we hit the road, we took off in a dead run. And while we were running, Ernie's dogs and the Kegley's dogs down in the holler were going absolutely insane. We made it back to the house and found MeeMaw napping on the couch. There was no way I was going to wake her up and present this little narrative to her, so I waited until later after she awoke and was less likely to be horrified by what had happened.

My plan didn't work. MeeMaw was horrified anyway. But later that night, after midnight, Bonnie wanted to go out again. This time, Mr. Remington went along with us, eager to meet Mr. Mountain Lion. I didn't get to make the introductions this time. But I'm going to alert all our neighbors and the county extension agent just in case.
This Friday, our wood burning stove is slated to be delivered. We're looking so very, very forward to this event. Even if it turns into summer the next day, at least we'll know we're prepared for next winter in a big way. We're also having the back yard fenced in, as soon as the snow allows the young feller and his crew to begin setting posts. Bonnie will love being able to romp at will, and I will love not having to accompany her on every single nocturnal urination and defecation and perambulation. I have to get my chain saw fired up and drop one tree and one old stump before Darren and his crew show up for the fence installation. Firewood for next year. I'll also have to build a woodshed of some sort so that we can have good seasoned wood near the house. The tasks keep multiplying but it's a joyful thing. The only thing that would make it even more joyful would be if I had a couple of strong young men living nearby who could help me in my frail golden years as I try to eke out an existence for their saintly mother here on the wild frontier of Southwest Virginia.
I don't know if Jason and Karen got to meet him or not, but I do remember that Joshi-O met our friend, Mr. Paul, at church. He's the older gentleman who had a brain aneurism....walks with a cane and has a bit of a speech impediment nowadays? He was in my office Friday to get blood work done, and wasn't looking well at all. He's had a lot of health problems lately. Anyway, Ginger from church called MeeMaw a little while ago and said that Mr. Paul was admitted to Holston Valley Hospital at 3 am today with what looks like cardiac problems. Please pray for him. He and his wife Bernice are two of the finest people we know. Humble servants, both of them. Paul used to be a master carpenter, building bookshelves and furniture, etc. (many of the furnishings at our church building were fashioned by him), and he's a formidable musician. He's been a bluegrass picker for decades and used to play at all the churches and dances in this area. Bernice takes care of him full time, and she also takes care of their elderly neighbor full time. Very special folks, those two.

We put out sunflower seed for the cardinals today, and they are enjoying it with great gusto. Very fat redbirds, too! They must have their winter plumage on, or thermal underwear, or something. I can't get a shot of them...they're very skittish in the snow. Perhaps they're aware of what attractive targets they make for all the creatures, red in tooth and claw, that populate our little farm.

MeeMaw snapped this while I was napping yesterday. Did she tell y'all about Bonnie sticking her muzzle down my throat while I was napping and snoring? We theorize that she thought a badger was down in a hole, growling in the throes of rabies, and the red dog was trying to protect the family. Let me assure you that coming out of pleasant dream to find one's self staring into the copper-colored eyes of a curious dog is rather unsettling. And then realizing that the red dog's eyes are so close to one's own because the dog's snout is touching one's uvula is, well, extry revolting.

Last night, the moon was out and the snow was slowing down a bit, so Bonnie and I went for a long, long walk. No mountain lions, but I did see what I think was a mule deer. He came out of the treeline over by the spring and stopped long enough for me to get a good look. His head was enormous, like a horse or a donkey, and he was massive and dark. Ran like crazy down the middle of the road toward the spring and disappeared down there somewhere.

As Bonnie and I were coming back up the steep curve in the road, I heard something down in the pasture by the old stock pond. A bunch of coyotes were watering, and I must have startled them. The wind was with us and Bonnie didn't even detect their presence until they were disappearing into the woods. Very pretty to watch, their running from the presence of one of Adam's sons. Like wraiths. Silent, wheeling, ethereal.


We're already starting to make tentative (and I emphasize that word, loved ones) plans about things for this spring at the Cough. Blueberry bushes, fruit trees, a shade tree or two, and some chickens. I'd really like to start a beehive, too, but we'll see. Being snowbound makes one antsy to start doing things.





Rest well, loved ones.

~ PeePaw

8:00 p.m. Sunday

Hello, kids!

It's Sunday night and it's cool and raining outside. It was kinda weird weather all day. The temperatures weren't as cold as they have been and the sky looked like a summer sky when it's about to storm. There were reports of expected high winds but thankfully, they never came. The fallen bird tree in the front yard is a reminder that we don't want anything like that again for quite some time. The only tree that would ever fall on our house is the huge pine tree at the corner and we figure the only thing that would uproot that thing is a tornado and thankfully, those are rare here. I do think there must be some sort of a fault around Nickelsville (which is about 10 miles from here) because apparently, there was a very mild tremor last year. We never felt it but it was in the paper and our co-workers knew all about it.

We've had a nice weekend. After I got home from work, Peeps and I went to Meadowview Convention Center to the Farm Expo. You might recall that we went last year and it was nice. We got to meet our county extension agent at taht time and also watched people do turkey calls. They were going to have a hog calling contest yesterday and I tried to convince Peepaw to enter, but he declined. He can do a mean hog call....you'll have to get him to do it for you sometime. We walked over to the little petting zoo where there were chickens, turkeys, puppies, lambs, and a tiny little donkey. And then we saw this -

You can't see it from this angle, but she had a red circle painted around one of her eyes. There were little bowls of paint and children were brushing it on their hands and then "painting" the horse. It was very cute but I sort of felt bad for the little horse. But I imagine the nice, warm bath that she undoubtedly got after the show was worth it.

We wandered around a little longer and then decided to leave. Last year, we stopped at almost every booth and signed up for "free" stuff and in doing so, you could grab a free pen or magnet, etc. Well, what we didn't think about was the fact that we would get bombarded with phone calls for months afterwards from people wanting to install new windows or sweep our chimney - you get the idea. So after we left, we drove to a new (to us) little restaurant that we had heard about. Peepaw's co-workers had all told him about this place that is kind of out in the country. It's between Gate City and Kingsport and is called White's Farmhouse Restaurant. It was very quaint and had good country cooking. The surprising feature of this place was the two huge crystal chandeliers hanging inside. Although they didn't really fit the decor, they were so pretty and really lit that place up. I couldn't quit staring at them. They have daily specials and Peepaw wanted fried chicken livers and I got meat loaf. After we placed our order, the waitress came back to the table and very apologetically explained that they had run out of chicken livers. (can you imagine??) They must be REALLY good. So his alternate choice was a flat iron steak. The sides all sounded so good...mashed potatoes, fried okra, green beans, pinto beans, broccoli and cheese casserole, etc. When we ate (and it was very good), Peepaw went to pay the cashier (who was also our waitress). She told him that she was not going to charge him for the steak since he had originally ordered chicken livers so his steak dinner with all the fixins was only $7.99 as opposed to the $10 it would have cost, which is pretty inexpensive for a steak. And it was a pretty good sized piece of meat. We decided then and there that we'll definitely go back for breakfast one day soon.

We're listening to Elton John's album, Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy. Peepaw said it's one of his very favorites and he thought of it tonight because we had recently seen an episode of Andy Griffith that had Goober in it. When Peeps was about 13 years old, he was visiting his Aunt Carolyn during the summer and was helping to hoe her garden. He would go in the house to cool off and listen to that particular Elton John album on his 8 track player. When he was finished, they went out to eat at a restaurant that George Lindsay (Goober) owned in Little Rock. Afterwards, he went to Baskin Robbins for the first time and got a Daiquiri Ice cone. He said he felt so grown up that day. The first time I got ice cream at Baskin Robbins, I was persuaded by my brother, David, to get licorice. It was so ugly...all dark gray. Plus I didn't like licorice candy at all but if David wanted me to do it, I did. It was so good. It turned my mouth all black and the customers in there stared at me but I didn't really care. I've only had it once again since then and that was in Beaumont, Texas. I was in high school and the local Baskin Robbins brought back licorice for a limited time and I couldn't wait to try it again. I figured it wouldn't taste as good as I remembered but you know what? It was even better. I sure wish they would offer it again because there are a lot more weird flavors of ice cream nowadays than licorice.

We're looking forward to a pretty calm week and hope that each of you has a calm, happy week, too. We love you all very much.

Mom

1-12-10 - brrrrrrrrr

Bonnie eating snow -

Y'all, it is SO cold here. Actually, I think it made it up to around 30 today but yesterday morning, it was 5 degrees. 5. When I walked outside to get in the car, I had a cloud of frost around me. It was surreal but still beautiful and exhilirating.

I have the kerosene heater lit this evening and it is quite cozy and warm. Our heat pump has been running so much the past few weeks although we keep it set on around 64 or 65 when we're here and down to 62 at night or when we're gone. So having this little heater has been great but it will be even better when we get our woodburning stove. It's scheduled to be installed around the first week of February. There was a huge rush on buying those because of the power outages around here so the store where we bought it is swamped right now.

Peepaw just came in from work. His co-workers had a belated birthday celebration for him today. They had fried chicken and all the fixins' (per his request) and a big birthday cake with the "over the hill" theme on it. They led him into the kitchen at work and had a wheelchair sitting at the head of the table with his name on it, along with a "tinkle" pad for him to sit on and underneath that, they had placed big bubble wrap so when he sat down, well, you get the picture. It was all very cute and very thoughtful of them to make his 50th birthday so special.

I hope each and every one of you is doing great....I miss my kids and my grandbabies. You are always in my thoughts and prayers. Hug each other for me and be very careful in all you do.

Until next time, all my love,

Mom

9:48 p.m. update

The "birthday" Peeps with his new chainsaw.

Bonnie is wanting to shake hands in the above photo. We're trying to teach her a few tricks but also some obedience. She's a quick learner but we have to be very disciplined about teaching her. She is especially fond of Purrl and will actually put Purrl's head in her mouth! She never bites down or closes her mouth - it's just a fun game to her and Purrl doesn't seem to mind one bit. However, once in a while, Purrl will watch Bonnie walk past her and for some reason unknown to us, she slaps her in the face! It's as though she's telling Bonnie that the mere sight of her at that particular time annoys her, so she smacks her. It's very cute.

I'm off to bed for now...I love you!

Mom a.k.a. Meemaw

a very important day (1-3-10)

It's Peepaw's birthday and he's 50 years old today!

I think he would say he's had a good day...I fixed one of his favorite breakfasts of steak and eggs and for supper, we're having roast chicken, twice baked potatoes, and corn on the cob. I got him a chainsaw (which is a necessity here) and he's anxious to use it. I imagine the first order of business will be to cut up the old bird tree that fell a few weeks ago. It will make great firewood. I also got him some safety goggles because I sure don't want a stray hunk of wood hitting him in the eye/face. I think chainsaws can be intimidating to use but I know Peeps will be very careful.

While we were driving home from church today, we started asking each other if we remembered certain foods from our childhood. We love doing that because we almost always know what the other one is talking about. Food is such a common bond for families and some of my strongest memories revolve around food or meals. I have always loved to read and one of my favorite things to do was to read the entire box while eating a bowl of cereal every morning. One of my favorites was a cereal that my mother liked...it was Skinner's brand Raisin Bran. The box was cardboard, of course, but it was covered in a wax paper. This was my favorite box because on the back, there was an ad for birthstone rings and it had every month with its coordinating stone underneath it. I would stare and stare at those stones the whole time I was eating. I was always glad that my birthstone was pink.

We also talked about 7-up at great length. When I was a little girl, you could take a 6 pack of empty soda bottles to the grocery store and turn them in for a cash redemption...you had to pay a little extra when buying soft drinks as a deposit for the glass bottles. Anyway, after Mother and I turned the used bottles back in, we would head for the soft drink aisle. (actually, we just referred to all soft drinks as Coke.....(pretend you are visiting someone)...your hostess would say, "Come in, can I get you a Coke? We have Coca Cola, Dr. Pepper, Nehi, root beer, Orange Crush, etc." I digress ...we would head back to pick out our "cokes" and back then, you could just get an empty carton and pick and choose whatever you wanted. We always got 7-up in case one of us got sick and they were so good. The bottles were heavy and dark green and I would always want to pour it over ice, like on t.v. It was so fizzy that it would tickle my nose when I drank it and it was MUCH better than Sprite...not as sweet. Peeps remembers them the same exact way. He, too, read the cereal boxes when he ate his cereal. There were also toys in many of the cereals back then and I was always wishing for a whistle. I used to want a whistle from wherever we went, sort of like you boys wanted a new comic book or baseball cards. Oscar Meyer used to put a red whistle in their packages of hot dogs once in a while - now that was a huge deal to me and I would beg my mother to let me have one. And this wasn't your ordinary whistle...it had a neat shape and a very shrill whistle. After much pleading, she did let me have one - I wish I had kept it.

It's very, very cold at Possum Cough. I think it was about 9 degrees this morning. We're leaving a tiny stream of water running from the faucets at night so we don't have burst pipes. I have to say I do sleep better when it's cold because then I can pile on the covers and be toasty and warm.

Please say a prayer for our pastor, John. His father may only have a few days left to live. He has a multitude of health problems and he's in kidney failure and unresponsive to anyone at this time. John lost his mother around 8-10 years ago so he's understandably having a hard time. He said the worst part is that his dad is so far away in Missouri and he can't be there with him. They did go for a visit at Thanksgiving and his dad was able to communicate at that time so that does give him some comfort.

I will go see about Peepaw's birthday supper. I love you all very much and hope you have a wonderful, safe week.

Mom

Mom