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Posted on Saturday, June 02, 2012
Daisy Roughed Up
The weather was cooler this weekend, so I spent most of the day mowing
and bush hogging. Later, I decided to take Daisy for a run before dark.
I loaded her in the Mule and we went down the road and across the creek.
I let her out and took the usual ride around the hay fields. Daisy
didn't return to the Mule, so I made another lap around the field. She
didn't come back. I rode around calling and honking the horn but
nothing. After about 45 minutes, I decided to return to the house. I
started back and when I turned onto the highway, I saw Nancy and Steve
working in their yard. I stopped to talk with them and after about 15
minutes, we saw Daisy running on the other side of the road. I drove the
Mule to her, but she would not come to me or get in the Mule. Steve saw
I was having trouble with her, so he used his Mule and we chased Daisy
back to our house. She still would not come to me and she went on up the
hill behind the house and continued to run crazy. I thanked Steve for
his help and I kept calling for Daisy. No luck, she had taken off and
was no where around. I went inside the house and was surfing the
internet about an hour later, when I noticed Daisy was near the front
porch. I went out and tried to call her to me. I could see she was
bleeding but couldn't tell how bad she was hurt. We walked to the barn
and I was able to get her to jump in the back of the Mule. I put a leash
around her neck and walked her to the back of the house. I used the
water hose to spray Daisy and wash most of the blood off. I could tell
she was cut a few places, but not seriously. The top of her head, both
sides of her neck and a few other minor places were bleeding, but the
cuts were not deep.
I
figured that Daisy jumped on something that was wild and it chewed on
her a little bit before she let go of it. I had seen this happen once
before with a ground hog. Daisy only held onto it for about 5 seconds
before she decided to let it go. Whatever she happened to get a hold of
this time, it wasn't as easy to let go, I guess.
Posted on Friday, June 08, 2012
TVA Project Work
Steve Riddle called me early this morning and he was saying there were
guys across the road from his house unloading equipment. I thanked him
for informing me and I headed down there in the Mule. It was a crew
working for the TVA and they had unloaded a track hoe. I talked to a guy
working for them and he told me they were going to replace a metal
culvert that would give them better access to our hay field. He said
they were going to dig out the old tile, put in a new metal tile, cover
it with gravel and then burn the pile of trees and debris that I had
left from a couple of years ago. I asked if that was all and he said
they would be in there again when they strung the wires across from
hilltop to hilltop, but other than that, nothing else. OK, that was
great. I stopped and told Steve what I had found out. I then returned to
the house and picked up Julie, Kyle and Linda to go and see what the TVA
crew was doing.
He
had already dug out the old metal tile and replaced it with a new one,
leveled the dirt and was headed to the pile of limbs to get them ready
to burn. We pulled close to where he was working and let Julie and Kyle
watch as "Bob the Builder" pulled the limbs and stumps out, shook the
dirt off and piled them in a new pile. TVA wanted the pile moved farther
away from the existing power lines before they burnt it. We returned to
the house and Linda took Stacey, Julie and Kyle to the Methodist store
in town. They came back with a toy train set and put it together on the
rug in the living room. After lunch, we went back to see how the TVA
crew was doing on the brush pile. The pile was nearly gone and they said
they would bury the ashes and big rocks the next day. They also told me
that we could ride up their gravel road on the top of the hill. You can
see the notch they have cut in the trees at the top of the hill.
We
went back to the farm and filled the Mule with diesel fuel and then
drove up the highway to Garrett Creek and took the road over to Little
Renoux Creek and drove south for about 5 miles till we found the gravel
road that TVA had constructed. We rode up the hill on a mildly steep
winding road until we reached the top, then the road stretched out right
across the ridge top. We stopped in a two lane area they had built for
passing and took a picture looking both directions.
There
was another section of road and then the end at the top of our hill
above the hayfield where TVA was burning the brush. The houses to the
left of the picture belong to Nancy & Steve Riddle and Karen & Carl
Black. The bare spot on the hillside across the valley is where another
set of power poles will be located.
The
wires will stretch all the way across the valley to where we were
standing.
After
we had checked out the view and the road, we headed back to the farm. We
stopped at Salem Park and let Julie and Kyle play on the play sets for a
little while.
When
we drove in the driveway of our farm, Pauline and Brent had arrived.
Julie and Kyle were happy to see them when we went inside.
Posted on Saturday, June 09, 2012
Donnie Wakeboards
Pauline and Brent had invited Pauline's brother, Donnie Hack, that lives
near Louisville to go boating. He drove to the farm and arrived about 9
AM. Brent and I were at the pole barn putting the new vinyl numbers on
the boat and when we went back to the house Donnie was there. We had a
problem though, Julie needed some medicine to help her breathe, but
Pauline and Brent had left it in Smith's Grove at their house. Pauline
made a few calls and had the doctor call in another prescription at
Capp's Pharmacy for them to pick up on the way to the lake. Problem
solved and we were ready to go. Kyle rode with Linda and I, Donnie,
Julie and Stacey rode with Pauline and Brent. We launched the boat and
headed out on the lake, anchored in our favorite cove and proceeded to
get wet to cool off. After over an hour of swimming I rustled the crew
into the boat and we headed towards Sunset Dock. Pauline and Donnie
spent part of the trip catching up on each other's lives.
When
we reached Jolly Cove, about half way to Sunset, I pulled the boat into
the cove and Donnie began getting ready to wake board. Brent hooked up a
ski rope and tossed it in the water while Donnie adjusted the bindings
on the wake board.
Julie
and Kyle were eager to see what was going to happen, so they were
standing as close as possible. I don't think either remembered ever
seeing anyone towed behind the boat.
Donnie
popped right out of the water as soon as I hit the throttle and the boat
began moving forward. He made some cuts back and forth to get the feel
of the board and get acquainted with how it handled. After a few minutes
he was moving back and forth across the wakes and doing good. When
Donnie was done, Brent went on one ski for a little while. Then Stacey
took a turn trying to knee board but she was needing to practice.
Brent
talked Julie into trying to knee board. I pulled them real slow and
Brent talked to Julie during the entire attempt. The first try was scary
to Julie, but on the second try, Julie was able to crawl up on the board
and get to a kneeling position. Everyone in the boat was cheering loud
enough that when Julie returned to the boat, she said she could hear us.
We
then headed to Sunset Dock, tied the boat to their pier and went inside
the restaurant. We were seated, ordered our food, then some of our party
went to the Ship's Store to look at their merchandise while the food was
being prepared. The waitress did a nice job and when she brought our
orders, everything was correct. We ate, ordered a couple desserts and
split those, then paid the bill and we left. Pauline and Donnie rode in
the front of the boat while Brent drove and Linda and I lounged in the
back seat on the way back towards the State Park. We stopped again and,
those that wanted, took another dip in the lake before we took the boat
out of the water at 6 PM.
We
sprayed the boat with Pledge and wiped it down with towels to remove the
water spots. Then we tied the road cover on the boat and towed it back
to the farm. Linda called for pizza and we played a game of Euchre until
Brent drove the 56 Chevy to town with Pauline and Donnie riding along to
pick up the pizza. After we ate, Donnie decided to go back to Louisville
and he left our house around 9 PM.
Posted on Thursday, June 14, 2012
Friends At The Lake
We had made plans with some of our friends from IN several months ago
about meeting them at Dale Hollow Lake, so we had mowed all the grass
yesterday and were eager to go to the lake. Stacey and Linda packed
small coolers with drinks and stuff for sandwiches. We carried the stuff
out to the Mule and drove to the pole barn. After pulling the truck and
boat out of the barn, we transferred the stuff into the back of the
truck and headed to town. I filled the boat's gas tank and drove to the
State Park. We stopped in front of the Visitor's Center and readied the
boat. Stacey and Linda climbed in and I drove to the edge of the water
and backed the boat trailer into the lake. Linda started the boat and
backed it off the trailer. She circled in the dock area until I parked
the truck and trailer, then she pulled to the dock and picked me up at
9:45 AM. We left the marina and drove the boat into TN. The lake was
flat with hardly any other boats in sight. We found a small cove close
to Ashburn Creek and anchored. We had a couple of hours before our
friends would arrive from IN. We swam and lounged on the boat, then
fixed our sandwiches and ate around noon. We took another dip in the
water, then pulled up the anchor and went to the Ashburn area where we
were to meet Lana and Frank Dial. We anchored there and went swimming.
Frank drove their new boat into the cove and dropped their anchor.
Bonnie and Donnie Cox were riding along too. They were all staying at
their cabin near Byrdstown. We talked and laughed for an hour or so,
then pulled up our anchors and ran the boats to Pusley Creek.
We
stopped and went swimming the rest of the afternoon while talking and
laughing. We made plans to meet them again on Saturday when Pauline and
Brent are with us. Then we said see you next time and boated back to the
State Park Dock. At the marina, I drove the boat close to the dock, then
stepped out and Linda took the controls. Once again, she circled the
boat in the dock area while I pulled the truck and trailer down to the
water's edge. Linda slowly drove the boat on the trailer, I hooked it
and winched it the rest of the way on the trailer. At 6:15 PM we pulled
to the top of the ramp, stowed our equipment and transferred stuff to
the back of the pickup truck. We drove home and put the truck and boat
in the barn.
Posted on Friday, June 15, 2012
Exile In Concert
Stacey, Linda and I picked up Jason just before 5 PM and headed to
Glasgow to hear the band Exile
play in concert at the Plaza
Theatre. We stopped and ate at Zaxby's before going to the Court
House Square to park the car.
I
went to the 'will call' window and picked up the 4 tickets, then we
entered the lobby of the theatre and waited a few minutes until they let
everyone go on in to their seats. We walked down the aisle to row "E"
and sat down in the center seats. Jason was happy with the seats once
again. Pretty soon, the rest of the seats began filling up. Several
people from Burkesville came by and said 'hello' while we waited for the
warm up band to begin playing. After a few announcements, "Emma and the
Heartsets" came on the stage and began playing at 7:30 PM.
Two
of the group were from England and spoke with heavy British accents. The
lead singer was a woman with a strange set of gestures that she made
during her performance. Her voice was good, but she was hard to watch.
They played about a half hour and left the stage as the crowd gave them
a polite round of applause. A short break followed while the instruments
were replaced, an announcement was made about upcoming concerts, then
"Exile" took the stage. Exile sounded much better! I had forgotten how
many #1 hits they had. They played a lot of them, then sang a few
religious songs.
They
did a medley of #1 songs they had written that other people and groups
had sang. Then Exile played their biggest hit song and we thought the
concert was over. They played two more songs, then left the stage. The
crowd roared their approval and of course Exile returned to the stage.
The band performed a medley of songs that lasted another 20 minutes,
then said "good night" and walked off to a standing ovation. It was
10:15 PM and Exile had put on a great show. They had the crowd standing
and singing along several times during their hit filled performance. We
left the theatre and walked about a half block to the car, then drove
back towards Burkesville. We dropped off Jason at his house, then went
on to the farm. We parked the HHR in the garage at 11 PM.
Posted on Saturday, June 16, 2012
Rain On The Lake
Pauline and Brent came over early with their kids. Right before they arrived, Stacey came out of the bedroom with her swimsuit on and I asked her if she had checked the radar. She said no, so I told her to look outside, that it was raining. The radar on the computer looked like it was just a small shower that would be over in less than an hour. Brent said we were going to the lake anyway, rain or shine. OK, we did our usual routine of fixing sandwiches and packing coolers and by the time we went to the pole barn the rain had stopped. The sky was clearing and it looked promising. I towed the boat to town and filled the tank with gas while Brent bought cookies and ice. I sent him back to the farm to pick up the bow cover for the boat and told him we would go on to the lake. We drove towards the lake and the closer we got to the water the more it was raining. When I pulled the boat in front of the Visitor's Center the rain was really coming down hard. When Brent arrived, we had to dump water off the road cover that had accumulated in the depressions in the front and back of the boat. It was lightly sprinkling rain as we finally uncovered the boat and launched. We put the bow cover on and the bimini top up to keep dry. Julie, Kyle and Pauline went under the bow cover and rode there as we went across the lake. Oddly enough, we were not the only people out on the lake. We anchored in a cove and everyone except Pauline went swimming. The water felt like bath water when we dove off the boat. It sprinkled rain off and on for over an hour while we played in the water. As the sky cleared a little we pulled up anchor and went to the dock area at Star Point where we found Bonnie, Donnie, Lana and Frank sitting in their boat in their covered slip. We pulled in the next slip and talked with them for an hour or so. Julie and Kyle ran around the dock wearing their life jackets. Eventually, the weather cleared and both our boats left the slips and headed over past Hendrick's Creek to a small cove that not many people knew about. There wasn't anyone in there, so we pulled in and anchored, then we went swimming. Around 5 PM we left the cove and ran the boats over to the Eagle's Cove area where we found Susie and Gary Mader lounging on their pontoon boat. We all drifted and talked for a half hour before we said bye to everyone and boated away. We stopped and swam a little more before taking the boat off the lake, covering it and then towing back to the farm. A short time after returning the boat to the barn, letting the dogs out and changing out of our swimsuits, Brent drove us to Albany for pizza. Once back at the farm, everyone went to bed before 9 PM.
Posted on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Julie's 5th Birthday
Stacey and I attended the Event's Committee meeting, then returned to
the farm. Linda was ready to go to Smith's Grove for Julie's birthday
party, so we all loaded into the HHR and headed towards Bowling Green.
After a short stop at General Food Service, we drove to Pauline and
Brent's house. They were busy getting things ready for the party when we
arrived. Linda and Brent began working on setting up a inflatable water
slide while Pauline and I went to the baby sitter's house to pickup
Julie and Kyle. The kids were surprised to see me there to pick them up
and jumped up and down, then gave me hugs. A ride back to the house
lasted about 3 minutes. Julie was excited to see the stuff for her
party. Kyle and her went inside and put on their swimsuits, then came
back outside and began playing in the kids' pool, on the Slip-n-Slide
and also tried the inflatable slide. Grandma Dorothy arrived while Linda
and Brent were still working trying to get the air blower to completely
inflate the slide. It never happened, but Kyle had fun on it anyway.
Julie went through a few times but was a little too heavy.
Pauline
had made sloppy joe's for sandwiches and she carried that stuff outside
and we made sandwiches and had chips and drinks. After eating, the kids
went swimming a little bit longer and then we battled with squirt guns
and water balloons. The kids dried off and changed into clothes when we
went inside for cake and ice cream. Pauline put 5 candles on the cake,
then lit the candles.
Julie
had help from Kyle blowing out the candles, then we ate cake and ice
cream quickly. It was then time for Julie to open birthday presents.
Linda
had thought about Kyle feeling left out and she brought one present for
him. It was a small set of tractors that he opened and he was then
content to play with those.
After
Julie had opened all her surprises, she played with Pauline and Brent
and her new toys.
We
stayed and watched both kids play for a while, then we asked if they
wanted to go home with us, they did. We loaded their clothes and stuff
in the back of the HHR, piled in and rode over to the farm. Pauline and
Brent had asked earlier that we take the kids home with us, I guess they
were planning on painting a room the next day. About halfway back to the
farm, the kids went to sleep and when I parked in the garage, Linda and
I carried them inside and put them to bed.
Posted on Sunday, June 24, 2012
Weekend At The Lake
It's nothing but hot and dry at the farm, so my plan was a weekend at
the lake. We packed the coolers, took the towels and headed to the lake
with the boat behind the truck. Pauline and Brent were following in
their Traverse. Linda went to the store at the dock and rented a covered
slip while we launched the boat, then picked her up and headed out on
the lake. We stopped near Ashburn Creek and took a dip to cool down for
a while. Then we tossed out the ropes and began pulling people on the
knee boards. Julie and Brent went first. Julie was able to get right up
and ride sitting up.
Next
was Kyle. It was the first time he had ever been pulled and Brent talked
him through it. He was able to ride sitting up for a little while. While
Brent was in the water, he asked Pauline to join him and she did.
Pauline was able to get right up into the sitting position and ride for
a long way.
The
plan was to go to Sunset Dock Restaurant for lunch, so we rode south to
the dock and tied up the boat. We went inside and ordered. After
ordering we went to the dock store to look around and kill time while
the food was prepared. We didn't kill enough time. We went back to the
table and waited...and waited...and waited. We were talking about just
leaving. We were supposed to be at a surprise birthday party at 6 PM and
time was getting short for us to get back to the State Park Dock, tie up
the boat, go back to the farm, change clothes, and get to the party.
Finally our food arrived. The waitress blamed the delay on the "potato
skins". I guess they had to grow the potatoes, then bake them, then deep
fry and add cheese and bacon bits. It would have been better had she
came back and told us those were not available. Oh well, the food was
decent. We sped back towards the State Park and then I pulled into a
cove and we took another swim in the lake water. We climbed back in the
boat and drove to the dock. We unloaded the things we needed to take
home and the kids. The women and kids went to the car while Brent and I
tied the boat to the slip and put the covers on.
We
all rode back to the farm in the Traverse. I sliced the ham for the
party. We took showers and changed clothes, then went to the birthday
party for Dave Neff at American Street Rod Garage. Dave was surprised by
everyone being at the garage when Dennis called him and asked him hurry
in to fix his car. They had a pitch in dinner and a big cake. Around
8:30 PM, the kids were getting tired and so were we, so we said our good
byes and headed home.
Sunday morning Stacey fixed sausage while the
biscuits baked and Linda cooked some eggs. We ate and headed to the lake
a little after 8 AM in their Traverse. We parked and walked down the
ramp to the slip where the boat was tied. We uncovered the boat, dropped
a fresh bag of ice in the cooler and away we went. Nothing special to do
this time, swimming and playing in the water with the kids were the only
items on our agenda. We ran over to Pusley Creek and dropped the anchor
for a while. Just before lunch time. We moved out to the middle of a
large area between Hendrick's Creek and Willow Grove. We didn't anchor,
just drifted while we ate lunch. With the air temperature hitting 90
plus degrees, it was nice to be in the middle of the lake with a breeze
blowing while we were out of the water. After lunch we eased over to
Willow Grove and tied the boat to their dock, then went inside the dock
store. Pauline did some shopping while a few of us ate frozen fruit
bars. She picked out a swim suit and a cover up, then Brent paid before
we left the store, we hopped back in the boat and went across the lake.
We parked in a cove and played in the water until the kids were tired
and needed a nap. After everyone was back in the boat, we took a slow
ride. Kyle was soon asleep. We rode for a while, then checked out
Sulphur Creek Resort and a few other places. Julie never did go to
sleep. About an hour later we anchored again and went swimming. Kyle
finally woke and jumped in the water too. Everyone decided we had enough
sun, so we went to the State Dock and I dropped Pauline and Brent off
near the Dock Store. They walked up the ramp to the Traverse. Pauline
drove it to take Brent to the truck and trailer in the upper parking
lot. I idled the boat around the boat slips and to the boat ramp where
Brent backed the truck and trailer to the water's edge. I drove the boat
on the trailer and he pulled the boat out of the water. We found a shady
spot and tied down the boat and road cover, then drove back to the farm.
We put the boat in the barn and went to the house. Linda fixed us supper
before Pauline and Brent left with their kids to go to their house.
Posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Mid-Week Cruise
I used the JD riding mower on Tuesday to knock down the grass stems
around the house. It is so hot and dry, that is all that needed mowing.
Since we are getting a break from mowing, we decided to go to the lake
again. We left the house early and put the boat in at the State Park.
Stacey drove us out of the dock area and towards the dam. We stopped for
a swim and then continued towards the dam area. Stacey was enjoying
driving the boat since there were hardly any other boats running around
on the lake. It was a few minutes after 11 AM when we drove past the
people swimming at Pleasant Grove Recreation Area.
Stacey
stopped the boat in the center of the lake between the dam and Pleasant
Grove. Linda pulled out the stuff we had brought for sandwiches and we
had lunch while floating with the breeze. As soon as lunch was over, we
took a dip to cool off before we rode back towards the State Park.
We
rode into Mitchell Creek to see if there had been any changes to the
little dock store. They were still just selling sub sandwiches and
frozen pizzas that they heated up and served. We continued the run back
to the State Park area, stopping at Willow Grove Marina to purchase some
cold treats. We moved away from the marina and out of the idle zone,
then stopped to eat the frozen strawberry bars on the back of the boat.
We washed the sticky drippings off of us and the swim platform when we
had finished. We went on past the State Park Marina and in Illwill Creek
to Wisdom Marina. We tied up at the store's dock and went inside. After
looking around a few minutes, we checked the business hours at the
restaurant before leaving. The restaurant is open Mon - Thur at 8 AM
till 8 PM, Fri & Sat 8 AM - 9 PM and Sunday 9 AM till 2 PM. We stopped
out in the middle of the lake and swam a bit before taking the boat out
around 5 PM. I pulled the truck and boat to the top of the ramp and into
the shade, then wiped the boat down with Pledge and a damp towel as
Stacey and Linda stowed the gear. After towing it back to the farm, we
parked the truck and boat in the pole barn, ready for the next trip.
Posted on Thursday, June 28, 2012
New Car
Linda and I had been looking for a new car for a couple of months, but
hadn't found one that had the miles per gallon that we wanted for the
price we wanted to pay. I had received an email from GM stating that
there were some extra employee price discounts available on Chevy
Malibu's. I checked the GM web site and the Malibu is rated at 33 MPG on
the highway. Later, I stopped at Alex
Montgomery, our local Chevy dealer and asked about the prices and
discounts on the different Malibu models. The 2013 Malibu only had a
$500 discount, but the 2012 had quite a bit more. I returned home and
Linda and I discussed the price difference and decided to see what
options we could get on a 2012
Malibu. A few days later, I returned to the dealership and talked to
Terry Riley about finding a 2012 car for us. I told Terry what features
and options we wanted and he did a search on the computer network to
find us a car. The first car he found was being used like a demo and had
too many miles on it, but Terry found another car with the exact options
I had asked him to find and no mileage. I left the dealership and went
to talk with Linda. We agreed we should buy the car, so she called and
told Terry to get the car for us. That was Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday
we went to the lake while Terry sent a driver to Georgia to pick up the
car. Thursday morning, I called and Terrry said the car was ready for us
to pick up. We stopped by the bank, then went on to the car lot. Terry
had the new Malibu setting in the show room all shined up and looking
great. We signed the paperwork and waited for Terry to fill the tank
with gas before making a picture of us with the new Malibu.
We
sat in the car and activated the OnStar service, then thanked Terry for
the expert attention he had gave us during our car purchase. Terry
expressed his thanks for us giving Alex Montgomery our business. We
drove away in the new car and took a short ride to press the buttons and
try out most of the features. We returned to the dealership, picked up
the HHR and took it back to the farm. A little later, I drove the new
Malibu to the Farm House Restaurant for lunch near Byrdstown, TN. After
eating lunch, Linda drove back to the farm and we slowly parked the new
car in the garage. It fit!
