Mount Rogers 2025

Virginia and Mike have taken the girls to Dollywood for a few day.  That left me and Joe with some free time today.  So after lunch we headed to Mt Rogers for a little hike. 

Joe has been talking about wanting to hike the Appalachian Trail for a couple of years now.  I am pushing for him to do it next year.  First off, he is going to have to get a larger back pack.  But since this was just a short 9 mile hike, he was only carrying our 2 water bottles and two rain ponchos.  

It started raining as soon as we paid the parking fee but stopped as soon as we parked.  

It stayed cloudy and we had a very slight drizzle once.  

The clouds kept the temperature from getting too extreme.  It made for very nice hiking weather. 

We saw lots of ponies but only 2 foals.  I have heard that bears may be getting them.  

Joe said the wild ponies were tamer than Hugo.  

Even with the late start, we still managed to make it to the top, 

at the highest point in Virginia!

This was the second foal we saw.  

The views are spectacular.  

We even saw the long horn cattle that graze there.  

Joe might have to start going on more practice hikes and get some professional gear.  Next year will be big...

 

Scenery

I have hung out with Joe a little bit this week, mostly opening gates and helping shuffle cattle around.  My mind is always wandering during these tasks and I end up taking pictures of things that catch my eye. 

I have always like this view especially with a few clouds in the sky.  

We checked on the cattle that were across the creek in the Asian longhorn tick infested field. The ticks had started coming off and the cattle were beginning to behave more normally and actually standing in the shade. 

Joe is starting to get the fall calves we weaned onto eating grain.  They are getting better about coming to the trough at feeding time. 

We had to walk to the top of the hill to sort out a couple of more calves out of a different group. You might not be able to tell but the fence wires were crossed. A couple of steeples had pulled out. 

After a trip back down the hill to the barn to get a hammer and steeples, Joe came back up the hill to fix the problem. 

I waited and took more pictures. 

Lastly, Joe had tried to move the cattle back to the house side of the creek. About 6 cow/calf pairs stayed behind. After a couple of days waiting for them to decide to cross, Joe put on his waders to herd them over. 

I waited on this side of the creek and took pictures. 

This was my favorite.  I loved the lighting. Joe liked the picture because he said that was a good brangus heifer. 

It has been a good season so far with enough rain to keep everything grown well.  It is easier to have a more positive outlook when things are so green.  I feel blessed to live on such a picturesque farm. 

Surprise Mail

I made a sell on EBay a couple of weeks ago. 

It was a book from my aunts’ estate. I don’t know why they had it. But when I chose it I thought it was interesting because my children were young at the time and it seemed like something they might like to look at. I actually don’t remember ever reading it to them. Since there was no sentimental significance I put it on EBay. Today I received a thank you letter. 

If you can’t read it it says,

Dear Kay,

I’m most appreciative of the superb packaging and sending of , Pictures By Young Americans. I am the 7 year old “Doris” in the collection. I’m now in my 80’s. 

Thank you for your trouble in expediting the delivery. 

D. Alicia Winslow

As you can see, I’m still drawing and painting. 

Can it be that I have found another equestrian, 

animal lover,

and scientist?  I am not sure I really understand the political cartoon though but 3 out of 4 ain’t bad.  I might have to write her back for more information and clarification about it all.  Maybe I will gain a pen pal.  You just never know what might be important to someone else.

 

And…They’re Gone

Remember back on July 2nd we had 4 tree swallow babies. 

I ended up not putting the Birdfy camera back in the nesting box because I had found an ant nest in it. 

Apparently, ants are not particularly good for electronic devices and it had stopped working.  I think it is still under warranty so I need to make a call about that. 

Anyway, there has been a lot of activity at the bird house the last few days. 

There were definitely four still on Friday. 

But Saturday looked like only three. 

Today I checked and they were gone! After seeing the first batch of six all die I was trying to not get my hopes up too much.  I’m glad I could witness this success. 

No Power Again

A couple of days ago we woke up to yet another power outage. When Joe called it in he was told it was only us. So he went looking for the problem. 

Another tree had fallen across the power line and hit the fence. After the power company fixed the line it was our turn to clear the road and fix the fence. 

Joe did the sawing and I did the stacking. 

The fence was stretched pretty badly.  After tightening it to the post as much as he could, Joe took the rest of the slack out by bending the wire. 

The technique made an interesting pattern. 

Any anyone looking and the staples in the post might wonder what was going on there. 

It’s a never ending battle. 

 

And Now For Something Completely Different - Math

Joe hedged some of our cattle out in the feedlot that should be sold in October.  Hedging is good if the price drops, but disappointing with the price is going up.  And the cattle market is going crazy up right now.  So, just for fun, Joe was wanting to get a guesstimate of what we might make in October.  I wanted to figure it as our futures plus basis which is live price minus current futures.  Joe wanted to figure it as live price minus current futures plus our futures.  This is how arguments start.   Now the question is, are these two equations equal? 

I had to get pen and paper and flash back to high school algebra.

  p- (y-x) = p -y -(-x) = p -y + x.  

YES!  We were both arguing the right answer. 

 

Two More Rides

Yesterday I managed another good ride on Hugo. 

I need to he him in better shape if I ever want to get him out on a trail ride. 

It has been so hot and humid lately that it has been difficult getting motivated to ride.  But I am always glad I did afterwards. And Hugo really appreciates his cool shower afterwards. 

It has been a little bit since I rode Otoelene last. But we had a nice ride in the barn today.  It wasn’t too bad with a little air stirring through the open doors.  It is very difficult getting a picture of Otoelene with her ears forward because she always has one or both back at me listening.  I like the listening better than the forward attention. Even with Hugo watching from one end Otoelene still was listening. 

 Draper was hanging out at the other end. And Joe was with that little orange dot of a tractor working on the driveway.  Otoelene was still listening.  It was a very good ride. 

A Better Day

I got to keep Sadie and Allie overnight this weekend.   The activity that was up first,

Picking flowers.

Sadie ended up with a huge bouquet.

She needed three vases to arrange them all.

Allie, on the other hand, was satisfied with a more manageable number. 

Then it was to the craft room.  Allie glued gems onto a heart.

And Sadie sewed sequin on to hers.

Then it was time to feed the dogs.  Allie was even brave enough to pet Maggie this time.  

Getting ready for church Sunday morning required painting finger and toenails. Sadie chose teal and sparkly pink.

Allie picked red and teal.

Then instead of picking more flowers like Sadie wanted to, I suggested taking pictures on them.  I really like this one of the cone flowers that Sadie took.

Allie got a good one of the gravel.  It sort of looks like an evil smiley face.

Because it was so hot and we don’t have air conditioning, I set up the pool for them on the deck.  This was great fun until nap time for Allie.  Sadie got to watch Unicorn Academy. Virginia and Mike came over for dinner and then took them home.  But they did make me happy by begging to stay another night.