Diaries

Thanks to Rick for alerting me to my mistake in yesterday’s post. I referred to a female bounding off in the woods but failed to include the word deer. Oh well, I always depended on Bob to catch my posting goofs.

Another inch and half of rain over night. We’re up to about six inches so far. We get a break from the rain today but more coming in tonight. Hopefully James will play catch up today and mow my lawn.

Almost five inches of rain since Wednesday. I was up and out early to the gym then a grocery store stop on the way home. Playtime with the dog and a quick shower then back out the door to the gym to work 10:30 to 3:30. It poured buckets off and on all day.

The sun has come out while I was on the way home. But, more rain and storms on the way tonight and this weekend. Flood watches and warnings are up for counties from here to Winston with rivers and small streams coming out of their banks.

I stopped by the library this afternoon on the way home to pick up a book. As I was pulling out of the parking lot to head down the short road back to the main road a female deer went bounding back into the woods. She was right out in the open in the meadow across from the library.

I hilled up the potatoes this morning and had planned to water the garden real good. However, a tropical depression is supposedly heading our way bringing a lot of rain. I watered the pots on the porch but left the garden and the other plants to get the rainfall.

I worked at the bookstore this afternoon. We had brief shower about an hour ago in town but it has not rained here.

Joyce picked me up about 9:30 to get on the Blue Ridge Parkway off highway 21 to spend the day doing trash pickup. She has BRP volunteer signs on her car. As we cruised along the parkway with her flashers on we looked for assorted bottles, cans, paper wrappers, etc. that people threw out their car window or blew out of the back of pickup trucks and landed along the side of the rode. We stopped at overlooks and picnic spots to police those areas. I took a long handled gripper and wore yard gloves. It was too hot for long pants but I put Deet on my socks and legs and lots of sun screen on my shoulders and neck since it was the first time I’ve worn a sleeveless shirt this year.

It was a beautiful day to be outside enjoying mother nature’s bounty of wild flowers, mountain laurel, and other assorted plants and trees. Temperatures were in the low 80’s with lots of the sunshine and an occasional breeze. This was my first time helping Joyce as part of the Friends of the Blue Ridge group. We covered roughly ten miles or so of the Parkway and filled up four or five trash bags. We ate our packed lunch at one of the overlooks. After a stop at one of the ranger stations so she could talk over some things with the park service ranger we dropped the trash off at the district office I was back home about 3:30.

We have a beautiful day; 80’s and sunny with 10 to 15 mph winds. I started the morning outside watering and fertilizing the garden and the potted and bedding plants.  I finished up with that project and sat on the porch for awhile enjoying the nice weather.

Mid-morning I needed something from the downstairs. While I was down there I  decided to go ahead and vacuum, dust, and clean that bathroom.

After lunch I drove into town to get a book on hold at the library and let Colin go along for a ride. Our newspaper delivery is weird. No paper at the house today but the stand at the post office had papers. I think the person that delivers the papers up here to the home delivery person must drop off a paper at the library and fill the stand at the post office. Those two places always have a paper even if I don’t get one. Wish we could find a reliable carrier up here.

I was at the gym by 7:45 to get my workout in and back home for a shower then back to the gym to work from 10:30 to 3:30.

Windy today with some clouds earlier but it’s 80’s degrees. We may still a stray thunderstorm later this evening.