Trees And Birds

No, the birds are not in the trees.  The trees are on the fence again.  Maybe you remember this tree from last year (HERE)

Well, another part of the tree fell over the same spot in the fence.  

This is on rented land but we have to keep up the fence.  A neighbor drove by and said he would take the wood but he didn't offer to help get it off the fence.  There was a lot of cutting and eventually a tractor was involved. 

But Joe got it done as usual.  

Now there are just 2 trunks left to fall.  

On the bird front, my bird box that had the camera has birds but  no camera.  Ants had gotten into it and I gave the replacement bird house away at Christmas.  But I can open the side and hold my phone over the nest for a picture.  Not sure how many are there.  They are tree swallows.  

And a surprise find inside one of my grapevine balls.  

A mockingbird nest with 3 eggs!  So, if a bird in the hand beats 2 in the bush, what does 3 in a ball get?

The Channels

Joe wanted to do something different than usual on Sunday.  So, instead of walking around here, we drove and hour and a half to walk around somewhere else.  I had seen something about The Channels in Saltville and thought it sounded interesting. 

It was purchased by the Virginia Department of Forestry in 2008, so it is a relatively new attraction.  There are only 10 parking spots, violators will be ticketed and towed.  There were 12 parked cars and another waiting when we arrived and another pulled in right after us.  Joe was pretty put out.  He thought that no one would bother to drive 30 minutes up a very winding road in the middle of no where to go on a hike.  I had already read that you needed to get there early to get a spot so I was not surprised by the number of cars there.  And since we were already there, I didn't mind waiting to see if a spot opened up.  It turned out we only had to wait about 30 minutes.  Then off we went.  The trail was 3 1/2 miles up hill the whole way.  

I enjoyed spotting wildflowers like these fire pinks, 

Mountain laurel, 

rhododendron, 

galax, 

goat's beard, 

blue eyed grass, 

And wild azalea.                                                                                                                                             

Finally, at the top there was a lookout tower.  Unfortunately, it was closed to the public.  

But there was a rock outcropping that had a beautiful view.  

I had eaten my lunch in the parking lot while we waited, but Joe packed his up the mountain and ate here.  

Then it was just a few hundred yards to The Channels.  

It doesn't look like much from the top.  

But it is amazing from the bottom.  

Joe said it would be a good spot for a Gunsmoke episode.   He said he could just hear Chester getting lost and calling out, "Mr. Dillon, Mr. Dillion."

I, on the other hand, thought about True Grit when Joe said he would take my picture.  I took off  my hat and my sunglasses immediately flew off and down into a hole.  I just thought about the snake pit.  Luckily, there was a stick near by that I was able to use to fish my glasses closer so I could reach them.  And there was no snake. 

We explored all of the nooks and crannies for about half an hour.  It was fascinating.  

Then it was 3 1/2 miles back down the mountain.  

It was a very enjoyable 4 hour hike.  We had no idea this was nearly in our backyard.  

 

Plein Air

My mother had been invited to have her farm with an historic mill, be a part of the first Montgomery Museum of Art and History Plein Air event.  She didn't get to see it.  But my sister Ann worked hard to make it happen since it was something Mama had wanted. 

Today was the event's finale where the artists entered their paintings in a competition and offered them for sale if they wanted.   Since this was the first year, only 18 people had signed up.  There were multiple historic locations to chose from.  Three artists chose our location. 

The artwork trickled in throughout the day.  

I bought this oil painting of Mill Creek.  

Linda bought this one of Mill Creek barn. 

And Ann, who had stayed on site for 2 days and had met the artists, bought the one of Bennett's Mill.  When I left the event, these were the only three paintings to have sold.  Maybe if they do it next year, more artists will see how lucrative this location can be.   

 

Friday Fun

The summer babysitter had a doctor appointment so I got to keep Sadie and Allie today.  

It seems like every meal now they want it to be a tea party.  I had some old snack sets which I traded out for one of mama's.  These have been working out great so far.   Sadie also likes to pick out a special knick knack to decorate the table.  Today she picked out a turtle. 

Allie picked out a bunny.  

I had a craft project ready.  I had these two posts that I thought would make cool garden totems.  Before lunch they painted on the primer.  Then, after lunch the color.  It was hot and they didn't finish.  Just more crafting for next time.  

And of course we rode Clyde.  Sadie hugs him and says he is the best pony.  (which he is)

Allie rode around by herself but didn't want to trot today.  Which is fine, she really needs to work of steering.  

Her confidence around him has exploded.  She feeds him leaves and hugs him too.  He really is the best pony, even if he is a little lazy.  

We also picked flowers, played Booby-trap and the memory game, played feather ball (something I had picked up at the thrift store), had baked spaghetti and went for a walk.  It was a busy day.

If A Tree Falls

Joe went to clean out the cattle guard yesterday. It was full of leaves, gravel and dirt from the winter. But since it has been so dry, it was like concrete. That is until our 4 inches of rain. That softened it up enough to work with. 

Joe had gone down in the truck. I came a little later with the 4 wheeler.  You may be wondering what all of this has to do with trees.  Well, Joe took the 4 wheeler back to check the cows and I went out with the truck to turn around and come back. 

That is when I found this dead oak tree blocking the driveway.  So I had to back back up the driveway, find Joe and tell him he now needed to get the chainsaw. 

It was steep and dangerous. 

But Joe has a lot of experience with fallen trees. 

At least there wasn’t a fence to fix afterwards.