Let's see.  What has been going on Up and Down the Gravel. The company is
all gone.  Things have seemed quite quiet in some ways, but life continues.

Uncle Jim is driving his own car again.  It has been awhile, and there have
been several issues, but hopefully they are resolved, at least for a bit.  Hattie
had a letter in the mailbox today address from G'ma Opal (though I suspect
Uncle Jim had a hand in delivering it...I recognize his handwriting.)  In the
envelope was a homemade card that Hattie had given to G'ma a number of
years ago.  Uncle Jim is thoughtful like that.  It is now safely filed away in
our Special Letter's File.

Mike and Debby are on a whirlwind tour of their various kids houses so that
they can celebrate Christmas with each of them and then be back here to
celebrate it with us.

Papa Bob's sawmill is on the bunk.  He has spent several days working to
repair it.  The last I heard he said something about their being gas in the
oil...or oil in the gas.  Anyway, he may need to take the engine to a shop
at Poplar Bluff.  That reminds me, tonight I learned from him the difference
between a motor and an engine.  A motor is electric, and an engine runs on some
type of fuel.

Tyler is building a hay feeding lean-to on the back of our shed.  The hardest
part of building anything is getting it squared up.  One of The Rattlesnake Boys
was helping us build our woodshed years ago and to square it up he said,
"3+4=5".  That was his hillbilly way of putting the Pythagorean Theorem to
good use.

Kent and I have sometimes spent days trying to get a building square.  I am sure
we almost divorced over squaring up our barn.  Anyway, between the three
of us, Kent, Tyler, and me, we were able to get the new hay-feeding lean-to
close enough to square to work.

Our friend, Doug, gave me a good line this past week.  He said, "Laurie, if
you ever want to get out of doing something, just say, 'I'm so sorry, but my
avacados will be ripe between 8 and 8:15 tomorrow night.'"  It is so funny
because it is so true.  Avacados are not ripe, not ripe, not ripe, ripe ( for about
15 minutes and perfect to work up), and then too ripe, too ripe, too ripe.

One more funny.  During deer season Bill, Stacey, and the kids were here.
Wilbur was looking at the deer mounts on our wall.  We were talking about
them, and he said, "Deer dead?"  "Yes, Wilbur the deer are dead."  "Deer
died on the cross?"  "No, Wilbur, not on the cross!"

Fernnook is more than just this 40 acres that has our home on it.  It is a
community that has been here for generations.  And, if we expand it
just a bit, it can take in a large swath of Hwy K.

There is a family that lives in a hollow a few miles from us.  They
have 3 brothers (grown men) who used to be called, "The Rattlesnake
Boys."  Their nickname explains it all.  You don't want to mess (even
yet) with them.  They have always been plenty friendly with us, but
cross them, and you will live to regret it.  That hollow, at the base
of Spencer Mountain, is filled with all 3 of their families, plus some
of their other relatives.

Heartbreakingly, on Thanksgiving night, three of the kids (all cousins) of
the Rattlesnake Boys were in a car wreck.  Two of the young men were
killed.

Kent has always done the funerals for this family.  Traditionally they
have been done in the family hollow, and the bodies have either been
cremated or buried on their property.  This time though, the 2 funerals
were at the funeral home, with just the graveside service for one of the
boys at their homeplace.

Funerals are one of the places where the interconnectedness of small towns
and their surrounding communities are made obvious.

The Rattlesnake Boys mother's brother's wife is one of the grand-daughters
of John and Lucy Emmons and it is the old Emmon's property that we now
call Fernnook Farm.  She, The Rattlesnake Boys mother's brother's wife
still owns part of the property across the road from us.

It is that kind of connection that makes this feel so much like home.

The past few weeks have zoomed by up and down the gravel.

That is partly because there have been lots of vehicles traveling up
and down the gravel.

First there was deer season.  That brought Bill and Stacey and the kids for a
weekend.  Bill got a deer, and he and Stacey processed it.  Then towards the
end of deer season, Bill and Stacey and the kids came back for a weekend
and brought their friend Justin.  This was Justin's first time hunting and
he got a nice buck early Saturday morning.  Bill, Justin, and Stacey took
care of that deer.

As an aside, Stacey made some nice salamini from the ground deer meat
that they took home.  She made us some spaghetti with it and it is yummy.

As Bill, Stacey, and Justin were leaving, the cousins began to arrive.  First
Bobby and family, then Annie and family (and Becky).  A few days later
Kinsey and family came.  Then in the middle of the week the Martin side
headed back to St. Louis, and the rest of Mike and Debby's kids came. 

Meanwhile we headed up to St. Louis for the Harding Thanksgiving and to
help move Opa and Oma's furniture into storage while their apartment is
being renovated due to the sprinkler set-off that Oma did a few weeks ago.

I was sure she would get Turkey-Of-The-Year at the Harding Thanksgiving
party, but the honor went instead to Bill and Stacey for the Great Gift-card
Mix-up.

After the Harding Thanksgiving, Bill and Stacey and kids (and Kent and I)
all headed back to Fernnook to spend time with the Florida/Atlanta crew.

Of course thrown into the mix are all the relatives that live here.  Lots of
games and talk and laughter...and a few five year old girl dramas.  There
are too many of them that want to be boss (I guess they are following the
traditional Fleetwood motto..."If I can't be boss, I won't be there.")

Uncle Jim had a rough week health wise, but a dose of antibiotics is starting
to help him.  Tandy and Hattie have also been rather sick with colds.

The thing that is so amazing to me is that with all of the cooking that we
did this past week, and it was truly massive amounts that we made, I still
have to make dinner again tomorrow.  We always get hungry again...so
weird!

"The Almighty Maker of all mankind
Has granted him wondrously once more to be
What before he was, with feathers appareled
Though fire clasp him close in its grip.

So each blessed soul through somber death
After his life-days of sore distress
Gains life everlasting, knowing God's grace
In bliss never-ending; and ever thereafter
Resides in glory as reward for his works.
The traits of this bird clearly betoken
Christ's chosen thanes, how on earth they thrill
By the Father's grace with a gleaming joy
In this perilous time, and attain thereafter
Bliss on high in the heavenly home."

The Phoenix from An Anthology of Old English Poetry

Years ago we did a skit for the youth at church.  In it, a person crawled on their
belly slowly and painfully across a wide space.  They were supposedly stranded
in a desert and every so often would just whisper the word, "Water!"   Finally
they made it to the cup of water that was their goal.  When they got there, they
signed deeply and then reached into their pocked and pulled out a comb.  They
stuck the comb in the cup of water and began combing down their hair.  This
caused a gasp of surprise from the audience.

Water is so precious and so necessary to us, yet we take it for granted until it goes
missing.

Wednesday night our water went missing.  It was running at 3:30, then Kent, Tyler,
and I went out into the deer woods.  When we returned at 5:30 or so, there was not
water.  Then we went to eat at Joel and Natalie's home.  When we returned at 7:30,
the water was running again.  Yeah!

But, before we went to bed, it quit running again and it stayed that way this time.
It is never convenient when these hassles happen, but it was especially not convenient
at this time.  We were expecting company over the weekend, and I had to do tons of
cooking for the SGRC Thanksgiving Dinner.  Plus we have a bull that is limping and
we needed to tend to him....and a calf that needs a nose ring put in.  There really
wasn't time to go finding the missing water.

But, water is so necessary that we had to find it.  So, we called Papa and he came over
and we put our heads together and had a joint hope that it wasn't the pump.  I am
glad to say that it was not the pump, but instead was a small pipe leading to the
pressure switch that had gotten filled with gunk.  Papa and Beth went and picked
up the parts we needed from town, and Kent scrunched into the well house and fixed
it.  What joy, what felicity it was when the water again gushed from the faucets and
we could flush the toilets!

As for the bull, we gave him the shots he needs, but were unable to pull up the foot
to examine it.  The calf is still ringless. 

The next day Kent said, "I am sore from the bull."  I replied, "I think you are sore from
scrunching in the well house."  After a pause Kent said, "Scrunching is really hard for
me."

Oh, and no, we didn't bring home any deer from the deer woods.  But, the season still
has several more days before it ends, so there is yet hope....and there is water!

Today is Mama's birthday.  What a companion and friend she was to Papa,
her children, and her grandchildren.  Just yesterday I was at a friend's house
and she had Osage Oranges on display.  I told her the story of when dad
tricked mom by putting an Osage Orange in the toilet and then staying
in the bathroom moaning and groaning while mom was worrying like
crazy listening to him.  Finally he let her in and showed her the thing
he had "passed".  She about fainted.  Then she about killed him.  She
was so delightfully gullible!  I miss her every day.

My mother-in-law, Oma, had a birthday a few weeks ago.  At 87 she is still a
hoot.  She was dusting up high in the apartment she and Opa have at the Senior
Citizen Complex they live in.  Somehow either the dust she stirred up or the
duster itself set off the sprinkler in the kitchen area.  It didn't sprinkle.  It
absolutely poured out.  And it kept pouring for 18 minutes.  Opa was playing
volleyball in the pool downstairs and was blissfully unaware of what was
transpiring up in his apartment.  Maintenance raced up but couldn't figure out
how to shut off the sprinkler.  They finally had to call the fire department for help.

Now Opa and Oma have to stay in a little room in the assisted living section
while their apartment is repaired.  And...the lady downstairs had to be moved
out also while hers is repaired.

As my new friend Tatyana says, "You know, Laurie, life is life!"

Today Kent and I toodled over to Mammoth Springs, Arkansas to
visit a friend from church and her husband.  Deryl and Sybil recently
moved to Mammoth from Mississippi, and they have just finished building
a beautiful home on the banks of the Spring River.

Sybil made the most delicious stew for our lunch and rounded it out perfectly
with bread and a salad.

I asked her for the recipe and she was happy to send me the web link for
it. Wow!  I don't think I have ever attempted to cook something as complicated
as this recipe looks.  I am very impressed.  I am also determined to wow my
family and friends with this recipe sometime...not sure when, but sometime.

In case you want to attempt it for yourself, the link to the stew, which is called
Daube Nicoise is here.

Later the gang came for dinner and Mike broke a tooth.  He didn't chomp
down on anything, it just happened.  Poor guy!  That'll mean a trip to our
favorite dentist.

We had such a dry end of summer and autumn that we haven't seen many
mushrooms.  Well, part of that is the fact that I haven't had a chance to
go hunting them.  But, mostly it is from the dry weather.  Yesterday though,
on a walk to our house, Kathleen, Colyn, and Peeta found some puffballs
and gave them to me as a surprise.  Tonight I sauteed them in olive oil and
butter.  Kathleen ate them and thought they tasted like mashed potatoes.
That's odd!  Colyn and Peeta wouldn't even take a bite, but the rest of us
enjoyed them.  Wild 'shrooms are so yummy.

Such a lot going on up and down the gravel this week.  Uncle Ken came for a
short visit, so there was lots of visiting back and forth and eating together.  We
all traveled up to the Big City for Uncle Bill's funeral on Thursday.  It was
such a hard day.  Cousin Sandy is so tired.  She has borne a great deal these
past many years.

Then we came home to prepare quickly for Fernnook Deer Camp.  Bill and Stacey
brought down her parent's camper and set it up in the back yard.  We kept the kids
inside with us.  The first night, even with an electric heater, the inside of the camper
was in the forties.  Under their electric blanket, Bill and Stacey managed, but their
faces were cold.  The second night was warmer outside and they said the camper was
cozy.

Bill went out in Fernnook hunting on Saturday morning, came in to warm up after
several hours, and went back out again.  He shot his deer mid-day and then he and
Stacey (honor badge to Stacey for being the Pioneer Woman of Fernnook) worked
it up.

Hattie also bagged a nick buck, which her hunting buddy, Ryan, put in the freezer
for us.  Below is an old picture of Hattie gearing up for deer season.

Meanwhile the corral is finished, and the two cows to be fed out are securely
penned up in the barn yard lot.  Finally!

At Fernnook Lodge, Mike and Deb are furiously working on laying tile, and more
tile, and more tile.  They are planning on having a big Thanksgiving Day at the
Lodge, even though it is not yet ready for them to move in.  Their kids and grandkids
will start arriving a week from today.

Last Saturday Tandy and I took a flying trip to Pacific to attend Judy Martin's
(my sister's mother-in-law) 80th birthday party.  Judy's daughter surprised her
with a special recipe book that all the attendees contributed to.  It is something
I will treasure, and one reason for that is because Tandy put in two handwritten
recipes.  One is for popcorn and the other for a recipe she made up and that has
no title.  They are so sweet.

Becky and I were a little emotional because we were remembering being with mom
at Judy's 70th birthday party.  It was a small luncheon and mom and I had gone to
St. Louis to attend the funeral of her Aunt Mary.  Becky met us at the funeral and
invited us to the luncheon.  We had such a lovely time together that day, and it was
just weeks after that that we found out mom's cancer had reappeared.  We miss her so.
Her own birthday is in just two days.

On a totally different note, I have been readying The Fascinating Insect World
by J. Henri Fabre.  It has incredible observations by Fabre of various, you know,
insects.  I like insects, mostly, but I do not like the Praying Mantis.  I always
felt that they were very creepy critters, and Fabre has proved my point.  A Lady
Mantis will slowly devour her male Mantis paramour...even, as Fabre says, as
they are in the act.  The male will not loosen its grip on the female until
she has devoured (slowly) his head, neck, and chest.  I know that it is interesting
information like this that keeps my gentle readers happy.

"Everybody deserves a noon time!" Uncle Jim said very emphatically
in rebuttal to Papa Bob's claim that it would be fine if the United States
were all on one time zone, like in China."

Anytime one or more pot-bellied gnomes get together, the conversation
is sure to be wide-ranging.  Tonight it flowed from child prodigies to
angstroms, and from time-zones and daylight savings time to the
omniscient God of the universe.

Uncle Jim also wants to know where is all the time he has saved year
in and year out during daylight savings time.  Perhaps it is in the
Daylight Savings Bank.

That reminded me of one of the funniest little articles I ever read in the
Mayberry Times.

Last night there was g-nocchi soup for the pot-bellied g-nomes.  Tonight
we made do with tacos.

I also practiced shooting today with a 22 to train my body to not expect a
kick when I shoot with a shotgun during gun season.   I have a good trainer,
and I hit the target!

Uncle Bill died yesterday morning.  He was next younger to Papa Bob (my dad).
We had many great vacations with Uncle Bill and Aunt Wanda and our cousins
to the Lake of the Ozarks, New Jersey, and Fernnook (of course) during my
growing-up years.

We also had fall picnics to Babler State Park where we would cook chili and
deer meat and run through the woods and fields.  It didn't matter how cold
it was...a fall picnic was tradition.

Weekends weren't complete without a trip between our two families.  We lived
in the city (of Florissant) and Uncle Bill and family lived in the country (of
Harvester).  Harvester is more city than Florissant now, I think.

The picture above was taken in July of 2008.  It was the day we moved The Bathroom
from Papa's house to G'ma Opal's house.

Uncle Bill was greatly loved and will be greatly missed.

This is the reason that the blog has been on hold for a few weeks.

We had to get this nose ring out and this is a crazy cow.   He would
not be caught by any of our usual methods.

So, all of our time and energy has gone into building this....we had to
catch that cow, even if it meant spending a month building a pen and
loading ramp.

So that we could get the cow penned up and remove the nose ring.

Happy to report that it worked.  We built the pen and loading chute that
we should have built 20 years ago.

Well, Kent and Tyler built it, with help from Joel when he could make
time.

I did some major sweating over the design though, and helped a bit
here and there.  Oh, and Papa sawed some of the lumber for us.

Last year's October was a halcyon period for Kent and me.  This October
was tedious.  Now to enjoy November.

I wanted to use this picture, because it shows G'ma Opal in a dress,
and the story I want to tell is about G'ma Opal and a dress.  But, when
I looked closer at the picture, I had to giggle.  She does have on a
dress, but she also has on sweat pants. 

The Dress Story happened many, many years ago in Fernnook.
G'ma Opal wasn't a grandma yet; she was just a mommy.  She took
one or two of her little boys by the hand and they all walked down
Over The Hill to The Creek.  They went fishing and caught some
fish for dinner.  On the way home it started to rain.  That was a
big problem.  G'ma was wearing a rayon dress, and if you know
much about material, you know that rayon shrinks when it gets
wet.  It not only shrinks, it really shrinks!

Her dress was down past her knees when she started Up the Hill, but
it was far above her knees when she finally reached home.

A few days ago, in retelling this story to Debby (my SIL), Debby told
me her own rayon story.  She was coming home from school and had
on a rayon dress.  It started raining.  The problem was that this was in
the days of shorter dresses.  Her dress started off somewhere above her
knees and ended....too high to explain in polite company.  Her friend
was watching from the window of her home as Debby walked as fast
as possible toward her own home.  She said that she and her family got
quite a chuckle over Debby and the Rayon Dress.

From the mouth of Uncle Jim.  "'Possums are our friends."  Hard to believe
he actually said this...but he did.

Apparently possums kill ticks.   According to this article they may kill up to
5000 a year, and since ticks spread Lyme's Disease, 'possums are good.

Kent will not be convinced of this.  Maybe because the little guys have caused
so much damage to Fernnook Farm in other ways...and, they will persist in
eating the cat's food.  Just a couple of nights ago, I heard a slight crunching
noise on the porch and when I opened up the door, there was a big possum
enjoying a nice snack.  I shooed him/her away and brought the food inside.

Of course, there was the time that G'ma Opal asked the boys to catch her
a 'possum, because she was in the mood for Possum and Sweet Potatoes.
That is a tale worth remembering.

Yesterday the spider lily was bravely facing the chill October nights.
Today it is jazzing up the living room.  One of the grandkids, one who
looked suspiciously like Peeta, couldn't resist picking it.  That kid!
Gotta love him!

And, in more grandkid news, Kathleen followed two days ago in the
footsteps of Elsie.  Several months ago Elsie was happily cutting paper
in her room when she decided to give herself a haircut...a very severe
haircut.  It was drastic and quite disturbing to her mom and dad (and a
shock to all that saw her.)  Welllll, Tuesday Kathleen cut her hair,
and Natalie said, "I feel like I have triplets now.  Kathleen, Colyn,
and Peeta look so much alike!"

Every autumn I am surprised when my spider lily pops up out of
nowhere.  I always seem to remember it coming up earlier, and when
September passes and it hasn't appeared, I figure it is gone forever.

Then one morning, when I walk outside, there it is.  It is gallantly facing
the cooler days and nights like a soldier standing staunchly on his post.
What a brave little flower.  And it is aptly named, don't you think?

The leaves lay swirled
On the ground
Beneath the sweetgum tree,
Like a carelessly dropped
Spanish shawl

I haven't seen any hummingbirds for a few days now.  I am not going to take down
the feeders for a week or so...but I think we are at the end of this season.  I will miss
my friends, but I look forward to moving the wind chimes back to their place of
prominence on the porch.  I love to listen to them in the fall and winter just as much
as I love to watch the hummingbirds at the feeders in the spring and summer.

In my spare time, those few seconds that I can snatch out of my very full day,
I have been working with my plants.  I started several basil plants, and I am trying
to root several of each of the scented geraniums that I have.  Scented geraniums
are my newest fetish.  Really it is an old fetish that is being rehashed.  We grew
scented geraniums in the greenhouse that I worked in while I was at Mizzou.  I
loved them then, but I forgot about them until last summer when we were at the
Ozark Folk Center with Opa and Oma in Mountain View Arkansas.  That is a
place worth visiting.  And on top of the wonderful people, the fun music, and the
old ways that they are preserving, they had scented geraniums.  So this summer, I
just had to get me some.  They have been a thing of joy for me, and I want to try
to keep some for next year.  I am hoping to add more scents to my collection
next summer.  Now I have Lime Scented, Nutmeg Scented (which I think smells
like sage), and Orange Scented (which is my favorite of the three.)

One of the treasures I found at the garage sales Stacey, Natalie and I went to
was a crock pot.  I already have three crock pots, and I use them all very
regularly, but I wanted one to make soap in.  I have the lard; I have the
lye; I have dried lavender, but I had no extra crock pot to make the soap in,
so when I saw one for two dollars, I snatched it up.  Now we can see how long
it takes me to actually make the soap...or if I ever do make it.

I have also been collecting seeds from my cypress vines just in case they don't
reseed on their own next year.  Today I took a needle and thread and hung
sever cayenne peppers up to dry.  I want to collect their seed also.  After
running my fingers down to tie a knot in the thread and licking my finger to
help tie the knot, I had a burst of heat in my mouth.  It caught me off guard!
I will remember that the next time I am stringing up cayenne pepper.

It has been so busy Up and Down the Gravel that I haven't had time to sit and
write about it.

The past three weeks were really filled with car problems and hay problems. 

Hattie's car had some major issues.  It wouldn't idle, but instead, it would die
every time the brake was pressed.  As providence would have it, our most trusted
and talented mechanic was at the beginning of a two week vacation the day it first
acted up.  The mechanic shop we took it to diagnosed it first as a mass airflow sensor,
then as a fuel pump problem, and then again as a mass airflow sensor.  After more
than two weeks and many phone calls and trips to Doniphan and the Bluff for
the car, we finally had it towed to our regular mechanic, who was off vacation.
He had it diagnosed and fixed within a day.  The actual culprit was the map sensor.

Whew.  So glad to be on this side of that problem.

The hay problems are exacerbated this year because it has been so very dry.  We
have had to start feeding hay and that means that we will go through more than
usual.  To top it off, we were quite low on hay to begin with.  We have some hay
from Papa's field, and were able to buy one load from the Baker outfit.  But
we still needed a lot more.  Tyler helped us to find some  that was north of Cape
Girardeau and Kent took an afternoon and evening to go pick up a load.  Then he
found some from a local farmer, Mr. Beal.  That is enough to get us through
much of the fall and winter.  It also helps that Joel finished fencing in his 3 acre
field.  Also, Kent bought a protein block for them.  The combination of all this has
made life a happier thing for the cows.  The bellowing has stopped.

Bill and Stacey and kids came for a flying visit from the Big City this past
weekend.  On Saturday we divided and conquered.  Stacey, Natalie, and I took
the girls and went to garage sales.  Kent and Bill kept the boys.  Jenn wasn't able
to go with us because she had a fall at work on Friday, and on top of that she
was feeling quite icky from the pregnancy. 

We girls found treasures and had a nice time, but at the last place we visited, we
left the air running because the little girls were too tired to get out of the van again. 
There was a lot to look at and when we got back in the van to leave, the battery had
gone down, and we had to have the van jumped.   We were at the home of a former
neighbor, Paul Smith, and she called her daughter's boyfriend and he came and gave
us a jump. 

Later in the evening we had a deck party at Papa Bob's house.  The kids always
love to go there.  Wilbur especially loved following Papa around and saying,
"Papa Bob...Papa Bob."  There is something about that name that is really
fun for kids to say.

Papa Bob went to the Big City to take Beth to a doctor visit last week.  While
there he saw Becky and gang (Anne and Trenten and Wyatt were in town too)
and Billy and gang.  They all went to Old St. Charles and wandered around the
riverfront and Katy Trail. 

While they were together Anne asked Papa what his favorite number was.  He,
off the top of his head, said, "Five."  Then she said, "No, what is your REAL
favorite number?"  He is really pretty clever and he caught on and said, "My
real favorite number is 17!"  They are expecting in June and that was her way
of letting us know. 

Mike and Debby are working furiously on the house.  They should start laying
tile this week.  They are hoping to eat Thanksgiving Dinner at Fernnook Lodge
this year.  All of their kids and their families will be here. 

We did get a short but lovely rain today.  I went and sat on the porch and just
drank in the smell of the cool rain hitting the warm earth.  The leaves were
floating down and the wind was blowing.  It was really, really nice.

Seasons

"Wyrd is mightiest, winter is coldest,
Spring is frostiest, longest cold;
Summer is sunniest, sun is hottest,
Autumn most glorious giving to man
The fruits of the year that God brings forth."

From: Cotton MS. Maxims
which is contained in--
an anthology of Old English Poety
translated by Charles W. Kennedy

Up and Down the Gravel

Through the years, a lot of things have been built down at Papa's workshop
and then hauled somewhere down the gravel.

There were 2 or 3 goathouses that were built back in the days when we
had our goats.  Pa's tractor pulled them down to our place where they
served our goats well.

Hattie's playhouse was built by Pa at his workshop and then pulled on skids
to our house.  It was the only thing she wanted for her birthday when she was
about 5 or 6.  Her grandparents on both sides and Kent and I bought the materials
and Pa built it.  That playhouse has provided a lot of fun for Hattie, her friends
and cousins, the grandkids, and many other little people that have spent time at
Fernnook Farm.

One of the oddest things to be built at Pa's and hauled down the gravel was
a bathroom for G'ma Opal.  In the summer of 2008 brother Mike built a
neat bathroom for G'ma.  Her other one was getting a saggy floor and was
quite a traipse for a 97 year old to get to during the middle of the night. 
Mike built it, cousin Alan did some work down at G'ma's house to get things
ready on that end, and the whole family was involved in moving it.  Granted,
some were only involved to the point of shaking their heads and saying,
"This'll never work!"

But, as cousin Kenny has recorded on video, with great patience and several
false starts, that bathroom was moved and connected to the side of G'ma's
bedroom and and served The General well for the last 8 months of her life.

This past week, Uncle Jim needed his back steps rebuilt so that a water heater
could be moved up them.  So, once again, he and Pa repaired to the workshop,
built the steps and then Kent and I helped to move them down the gravel to
Uncle Jim's place.  I haven't heard the rest of the story...that is whether or not
the water heater actually got put in place. 

For us, it was a cow week.  Mostly we have been working on finding and getting
hay.  It is so dry in Mayberry this year.  Usually we don't have to feed hay until
December or even January.  But the cows are hungry and need it now.  When
hauling one large load of hay, Kent hit a small deer.  He just could not get
the truck and trailer with all that heavy hay to stop in time.  That is the second
deer accident for us this year. 

Iin other news: Bill's family went to a Pig Pickin' at their church yesterday. 
Elsie was especially excited to play with her friend, Elena, there.  I texted Bill
today and asked him how it went.  He elaborated with one word, "Good."  Not
even an exclamation point or an emoji.

Joel is slowly getting his field fenced in.  He has been working lots of hours at
his job and hasn't had a lot of free time to put towards the fence.  He is also getting
a telescope as a gift for working at B & S for 15 years.

Jenn won third place in a quilt show.  She put lots of time and effort into the quilt,
and it shows!  It is really stunning.

Cypress Vines and the Girls of Fernnook

Both Mom and G'ma Opal had cypress vines.  Mom's was at the south end
of her porch.  G'ma's was on the east side of her sleeping porch.  Cypress
vines have lacy leaves and beautifully delicate red flowers.

Last year I bought a packet of cypress vine seeds thinking that they would
look stunning on a white trellis that is beside our shed.  I didn't get around
to planting them, though.

But this year, fairly late in the season, I ran out and planted those seeds.  I
wasn't sure if they would come up, being over a year old, and, sure 'nuff
most of them didn't.  However, after a bit three hardy little plants did poke
up out of the ground.  They took weeks to begin to grow beyond an inch
or two, but when they decided to make their move...it was stupendous.
The above picture was from a few weeks ago.  They are now an absolute
curtain of vine and flowers.

Cypress vines are just an annual, at least in the growing zone that Fernnook
is in, but they often regrow from the seeds that drop.  Both Mom's and
G'ma Opal's vines reseeded themselves for years, though neither one is there
anymore.

Every time I see my vine, I think happy thoughts of those two Fernnook
Girls.

Uncle Jim sent me a picture of them which includes three other Fernnook
Girls; Debby, Tandy and me (and Becky...who may someday be a part-time
Fernnookian).  I hope this picture uploads correctly.  It was taken in
2000.

Up and Down the Gravel

It has been a busy week up and down the gravel.  Sunday evening I was talking
with Joel on the phone and the noise level in his house rose drastically.  Joel
paused for a second and then said, "I've got to go.  There's a snake in the house."

Sure enough, a small ring-necked prairie snake was in the boys bedroom.  It was
taken outside after being duly admired and held by various little people.   Colyn
told me later that, "...the snake just slithered into our room (he wiggled his little
body while talking) yes, he just slithered in while we were sleeping."

Wilbur had his 2 year old birthday last Saturday.  He is an amazing little man.  Don't
tell him so, but I think he is destined to be an engineer.

We didn't have a snake, but we did have a mouse in the house this week.  I saw
him scurrying when I was walking in the dark down the hallway.  I promptly
yelled at Kent and he jumped out of bed and we got the little guy cornered.
Kent was wielding a broom, but he escaped under the piano.

I set out all the traps around the piano, but alas, morning came and no mouse
was in them.  The next night I was reading on the couch, and I heard my
little friend making little mousy noises.  When I got up to check on him he
scooted under the couch, and I couldn't find him.  I didn't get Kent up that
time because it was truly the middle of the night and I didn't want to wake him.

In the early morning though, when I went into the bathroom, there sat the mouse
on the bathmat.  It was a little guy.  I looked at him for awhile, and when I couldn't
think of any better plan I bravely threw a towel over him and ran and got Kent.  He
(brave man that he is) scooped the mouse up in the towel and took him outside and
disposed of him.

I do not like mice.

But I do like yellow garden spiders and I just happen to have a big egg sac
from one  outside the door to nowhere.













I read that the eggs (between 400 and 1200) hatch in the fall, but don't leave
the egg sac until the spring.  I would love to catch them when they come out.
I don't mean catch them to keep them; I just mean catch the event happening.

I heard that cousin Terry from the Big City was here this week, but, sadly, I didn't
get to see him.  He was here mainly to visit relatives from the other side of
his family.  Those that did see him (Uncle Jim and Papa) enjoyed their visit with
him.

Jenn (daughter-in-law 3) was in the hospital last night from dehydration.  She
is expecting in April, and the morning sickness got a bit out of control.

Mae Greenwood, who lives just off the gravel a bit, was also in the hospital
with pneumonia.  She had a severe case of it and was in ICU for 12 days.  But,
yesterday when we visited with her, she was looking quite perky.  You can't
keep a farm woman down for long.

Uncle Jim finally bought a new water heater today.  He has had his fair share
of cold showers this month.  But, hopefully, tomorrow he will get this new
one installed.  The installation is a bit dependent on getting the stairs to his back
door repaired so that they don't break under the weight of the water heater
being carried up them.  Uncle Jim didn't realize that repairing his stairs
would include sawing up the wood on Pa's sawmill.  It has been quite the
project.  Uncle Jim would rather someone else do the project while he watches.
I am only reporting what he told me! (Correction to the original--Uncle Jim
didn't take too many cold showers after all.  He had hot water...at least as
long as he lit the water heater several times per day.  Hopefully now he
will have hot water without the hassle.)

Meanwhile, we have a young steer with a nose-weaner in it.  It is a smart steer
and refuses to let us corner him so that we can remove the weaner.  Kent is
working on plan C now.  If that doesn't work, this guy may grow into a full grown
steer with a nose-weaner.  That would be bad...very, very bad.

Finally, I still have a few hummers visiting on their way south.  But it will
only be a short time until I clean the feeders out for the last time this year and
pack them away.

I will miss the little guys.  But autumn is here, and while it is here, it is my
favorite time of year.

Old Days Up and Down the Gravel

Excerpt from a letter written by G'ma Opal to Kent, Joel, and me on
Sat. Oct. 19, 1985  1:30 P.M.

(She had just gotten back from a visit to South Carolina where we were
living at the time.  I will put ellipsis to indicate the parts that I am not copying.
I did add some capital letters and periods and altered the spelling in a few
places.)

How are my youngun's? ....We got back home to my house just about this time 
one week ago today.  Everything was O.K. even the cats had been fed regularly.
The drive was full of cars and trucks.  Bill & Wanda with his new truck.  John
& Lucille with their truck.  Jim's car and my old car so when we pulled in we
had a full house.

I made the trip back fine but woke up Monday morning with a stiff neck with
lots of pain.  I stayed on the bed most of the day as it hurt too bad to move.  But
I got better as the week went by.  I'm O.K. now except I still can't turn my 
head to the left.  I guess I just looked at the beautiful mountains too much.  Ha Ha.

We came through the mountains on the Blue Ridge Skyway.  Boy was it "breath-
takingly" beautiful.  Don't know any news only Frank Simon had to have heart
surgery.  He had a double by pass.  The dr's say he is doing fine.  Lucille went back 
with Jim last week. She is still up there.  Frank has to have his momie take care
of him.  Ha.

And our St. Louis Cards won now tonite.  They are starting the World Series "whoopie."

"Well," here it is 3 days later.  You've heard of "slow."  That's me.  The Cards have
already won 2 games.  So its just a matter of time till they are World Champions.

....I want to thank you for my nice visit at your house.

If you were not so "far" away it would be better but the good Lord has been good
to us.

We can be together in our mind and hearts.

So you take care of each other and if the Lord wills I'll see you in December.

May God bless and keep you all the days of  your life.

Lots of love
Opal Faye Grandma-

(P.S.) I got your card
Thank you.
  Thank you-
I still lack 4 days being 3/4 of a century.

What a wonderful Grandma she was.  I so enjoyed my years, later on, of living
down the gravel from her.  I would dearly love to drop in to her place for a game
of cards tonight.

Up and Down the Gravel

Things were very busy with traveling and company during the summer months.
And, now it seem as though there isn't very much happening Up and Down the
Gravel.

Yet, after a little contemplation, there is some news to report.

Tomorrow Sister-In-Law Debby's sister, Patty, and her three grown children,
Sarah, Matthew, and Josh are coming for a several day visit.  I've been told
an apple cobbler will be on the menu for dinner.

Oldest Granddaughter, Kathleen, who is really quite an expert on bugs of all
shapes and sizes, and who really quite adores most of them, got two nasty
caterpillar stings in the last week.

One was from a saddleback caterpillar and the other was from an io moth caterpillar.
Both were totally accidental.  One she touched when climbing a dirt pile and the other
when climbing a tree.

































That reminds me...there is a smallish praying mantis living on our front porch.
Much as I like yellow garden spiders, I dislike praying mantis.  Ever since one
began following me around when we lived in St. Peters, I have been totally creeped
out by them.

Youngest Granddaughter, Opal, not to be outdone in the pain category by Kathleen,
was burnt on the hand by a hair straightener.  (Not exactly on the gravel...but all
grandkid stories count as news for this blog.)  And, kudos are in order for Daughter-
In-Law Stacey for winning a coloring contest at the St. Charles Library.

Tyler and Jenn are moving to Ripley County.  Technically Jenn has moved, but Tyler
has to finish out the month working in St. Francois County.  They will be living in town
for awhile so they can get their bearings on where to live permanently.  It will be GOOD
to have them here!

Uncle Jim sent me a photo (it is really good) that is intended to be "fodder for the blog."
I am saving it for when I have an inspired moment of writing.

Fernnook Lodge is coming along.  Work on leveling the floors is progressing slowly
but surely.  Debby suggested tearing the lodge down and starting over, but somehow
she couldn't convince Mike that this was the best option at this point in the project.

The newest family member is Bella.  She belongs to Joel and Natalie.  She can't
quite fill Max's footprints yet, but as a Great Dane-Labrador mix she certainly
hopes to someday.

Lastly, I weeped me a little weep today because I came across a letter that G'ma Opal sent
to me in 1985 when we were living in South Carolina.  It was the original version of
Up and Down the Gravel.  She filled me in on all the doings here in Fern Nook.  I miss
her and mom so very much.

Things are quiet around this feeder right now.

It's not because all the hummers are gone.  We still have quite
a number of them at the other feeders.  I suspect they are mostly
migrators at this time, but some may be from the Fernnook batch.

This pretty feeder, which was a birthday gift from Uncle Jim a few
years ago, is our favorite.  It hangs outside of the livingroom
window, and when we eat dinner, rather than watching TV,
we watch the Hummershow.

However, last year in late August, and this year as well, a
bully took over, and now the show has died down to one,
and only one, performer.

Last year we tried switching feeders, and then we tried
leaving this spot empty, and we tried other tricks, but nothing
worked to get rid of the bully.  So, we just put up with him,
and are thankful he doesn't muscle his way in until late in the season.

I suspect he is not a native Fernookian but is instead a migrant.
Obviously he learned his mean ways in another time and place.

Yesterday a yellow garden spider took up residence in my kitchen
window.  That was convenient since I like yellow garden spiders
muchly.  All I had to do to see him (her actually, the males are not
so spectacular and I know it is a female because this spider is truly
spectacular) was to glance out the window.

Of course, if I wanted to watch her do her imitation of a spider on a
trampoline, I had to go outside and gently touch or blow on her.  If
you have never watched a yellow garden spider do her bouncy thing,
you have missed one of the little joys of life.

This morning when I stepped out on the porch, I heard a whirring noise.
It sounded as though there was a large insect caught in Miss Yellow
Garden Spider's web.  Indeed, there was something large caught, but it
wasn't an insect.  It was one of my hummingbirds.  The bird was hanging
by one wing and could not flutter loose.  Miss Spider was scooted off to
the side, I think she recognized that this meal was too big for her to handle.

A quick swipe through the web freed the hummer, but I am afraid that I
frightened Miss Spider away.  Maybe she will come back if I place some
curds and whey on the railing for her.

From the Fernnook Times:

(Paraphrased)

A 2007 Supreme Court Ruling on automobile emissions has
an endangerment finding that will affect other sectors of
the economy, including agriculture.

The bottom line is that a fee or tax of $175 per dairy cow,
$87.50 per beef animal, and $20 per hog could be assessed
to the farmers and ranchers. (Apparently this will not
affect those with less than 25 dairy cows, 50 beef cattle,
or 200 hogs). As these producers are forced out of business,
one wonders where the food will come from.

Is it yet time to say that our court system and legislature
are run amuck?

Life is always busy, but Spring has got to be the busiest
of all. How can it help but be with all the life that is
bursting out around us.

True conversation (which has nothing at all to do with the
above sentences.)

Laurie: I am not stubborn.

Dad: Laurie, as Mom always said, "Arguing with you is like
arguing with a road sign."

Laurie: Do you mean Mom always said that about me, or G'ma Opal
always said that about me?

Dad: Neither. My Mom always said that about me. But, it applies
to you as well!

Laurie: Humpfh!!

And so, I offer another of G'ma Opal's witticisms. "Arguing with
you is like arguing with a road sign."

I love Psalm 19 with its emphasis on both general and
particular revelation.

Verses 1-6 have been on my mind lately, especially during
the night time hours. This is the time of year when it
is almost painful to go to bed.

The soft velvety air is pierced by the flashes from the
fireflies. The frogs (sorry Uncle Jim) are raucous. The
crickets keep time as best they can with the frogs. Our
whippoorwill wakes us up at all hours of the night and
early morning. The full moon, or the half-moon, or the
sliver of a moon lends its magic to the whole.

Truly:

"The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech no language
Where their voice is not heard.
Their line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world."

We birthday partied yesterday again. This time for Kent.
Cousin Mary, who was promised a game of High Five for coming,
came in the morning to give her regrets. She found out that
Blue had a dr. appointment at the same time as the party, but
she was kind enough to drop off lettuce and onions from her
garden. Everyone else was there. Uncle Jim, Aunt Jenny,
Papa, Tandy, and Stacey and the kids.

Kent, of course, requested quiche.

The Menu:

Quiche Lorraine (but with ham instead of bacon, and with
mushrooms added in)
Crustless Spinach Quiche
Roasted Veggies (a hodge podge)
Green Beans
Hot Dogs (for the kids who might not like quiche)
Campbell Peaches (from the freezer)
Salad (from Cousin Mary)
Hot Bread
Three Layer Cherry Cobbler (really a glorified pie, with
cherries from Aunt Jenny's tree)
Vanilla Ice Cream

It took me from lunch to dinner to cook it all, but it was
delicioso.

Do Whippoorwills, the ones which are whipporrwilling at 5 AM,
ever stop to breathe? Kent, Billy, Tyler, and I would like
to know.

Up and Down the Gravel:

Uncle Jim has had some interesting adventures with birds lately.
A month or so ago a little bird keep hopping closer and closer to
him and finally hopped onto his head. He was thrilled.

But...the other day a little bird did the same thing. It kept
eying him from a little distance and then hopped onto his head.
This time, though, it began to dig in his hair with its little
feet. I don't know if it was trying to nest or possibly trying
to get some material for nesting. I do know this, according to
Uncle Jim, it hurt! He finally shooed it away and yet, within
a few minutes, it hopped right back again. He tried to slowly
reach his hand up and catch it, but he spooked the little guy
and it flew away. But it stayed within an easy hop of him and,
as soon as Jim stood still, right back it came again.

Tyler started drinking coffee. Now, that may seem like a strange
item to note, however, the way it happened was interesting.

I started to drink coffee to get me through college all-night
study sessions. Kent got to liking the brew when he was driving
a bus for the Hope youth group home from Wisconsin and, as was
normal for any trip to and from WI, the bus broke down. As he
was waiting for the bus to be repaired, he had a cup of coffee,
and that was it, he was a full-fledged coffee drinker. Billy
started to drink it last summer during his internship. Work
was slow sometimes and the coffee kept him awake and going.

Tyler is different. No circumstances of the moment could drive
him to such a step. He is much more deliberate. Months ago
he told us, "I am going to start drinking coffee, black, on
the 20th of April." And he did. Why, you may wonder, did he
choose the 20th of April 2009 to start drinking coffee? The
answer is very obvious, at least to him. April 20 was the first
day of Turkey Season. A man needs a little pick-me-up if he is
going to hit the woods in the wee hours of the morning for three
weeks straight.

It's been a rough year for turkeys, in case you were wondering.
Tyler said the other day, "I love turkey hunting, Mom, but I
wish I'd get my turkey so I could stop."

Hattie reminds me of me. The other day she said, "Mom, there are
two words that I just love that I don't think people use often
enough. They are 'latter' and 'vexed'. Aren't those two words
just delicious?" I guess I never thought of "latter" as being
so delicious, but I can quite see her point on "vexed".

I forgot to mention that the New Fern Nook calendar,
compliments of Uncle Jim, is posted below...that is
at the bottom of the whole page.

Life in Fern Nook is busy. The hummers help to keep it so.
First there was one; he sat on the Mock Orange bush and
looked in the kitchen window waiting to be noticed so we
would drag a feeder out of the shed and fill it. In a day
or two the one turned into three. Then the group grew to
five; and they have now become seven. There will be more.
It takes awhile for them to all make the long journey.

The little guys are extremely entertaining. Of course the
bullies keep the show at top billing. Even when there were
just three, a bully rose to the top. Because of that, we
hiked out to the shed to pull out, dust off, and fill feeder
number two. That helped for a day or two. But with the
increase in numbers comes an increase in bullies.

We now have what I affectionately have named The Bully and
The Bully Indeed. The Bully guards the feeder on the left
(as you look out the door to the porch). He will keep five
other birds from eating. As any approach he will buzz at
them and shoo them away. Why all five can't gang up on him
at one time is beyond me. But he is just The Bully because
every so often he lets down his guard and you will see the
five able to swoop in for a little sugar water.

The Bully Indeed weaves quite another little drama. He acts
nonchalant, but beware, his guard is never down. Usually he
sits on the drain pipe. Sometimes he perches on the vine that
covers our bell. Occasionally he will even fly into the
Tulip Poplar that is 30 or 40 feet away. But he never rests.
His back might be turned to his feeder, but nothing escapes
his notice. At the slightest whim of interest from another
bird he is on the attack. No bird, ever, gets to feed from
him feeder but himself.

Sometimes I think I should go knock him over the head to
let the others have their share. I guess it would be nice
and sweet if they all got along; but it wouldn't be nearly
so entertaining, and it wouldn't be nearly so hummingbirdish.

Max is on duty these days. He will not leave the baby geese
and duck when they are in sight. His inbred herd instincts
keep them from wandering out of range.

It is loud on the farm these days. When we lay our heads
on our sweet pillows at night there are crickets, bullfrogs
(which are just now starting up, but haven't yet reached levels
that drive Uncle Jim bonkers), whippoorwills, distant dogs,
and coyotes. When I get up and sit on the couch with the
window open behind me waiting for the coffee to brew there
are dozens of birds calling, twittering, and tweeting. There
is also the loud buzz of the hummers as they zip around. Added
to that is the crowing of Joel's rooster, which we can hear even
though it is a field away.

I know these are sounds that can drive a person from the city
to distraction...but they are life and breath to us. They are
part of God's common grace to mankind and we love it. Add to
that sauteed zucchini, mushrooms, and onion, and once again we
say, copying the old puritan, "All this and heaven too!"
Amazing.

Up and Down the Gravel:

It is not that there is a lack of goings on in Fern Nook...
but some of the oomph is lacking right now. So many things
I think to write about make me tear up and I do not want this
to be a place of sorrow.

The list of items and events that bring on the sadness is
amazing. The other day I was down in Dad's basement putting
something away and I saw a jar of G'ma Opal's pickles. I was
glad to be alone, so that I could be back under control before
I went upstairs sometime later.

Today I was dusting our family picture from 2000, and seeing
Mom brought the sorrow all over again. I really, really miss
those two.

However, life at Fern Nook has been full. We have been playing
musical garden with Aunt Jenny's tiller. Uncle Jim is the
official keeper of the tiller, and we all ask his permission to
use it. Joel has the biggest garden, I think. He'll probably
keep me busy freezing and cooking all his produce.

Joel has been hatching out all kinds of critters. He has a baby
duck and four geese right now. He brings them down in a bucket
and then lets them out to wander the yard. Max, his German
Shepherd, lives up to his name and shepherds the little birds.
It is fun to watch them cuddle up to such a huge monster of a
dog.

Billy graduates in a couple of weeks, that is if he survives his
senior EE project. It is much more involved than the senior
Comp. Eng. project he did last year. He has been gone from home
a lot this semester. We all miss him. Tyler is having withdrawl
symptoms I think. Really he has been having some sort of hive
thing going on. We can't pinpoint the reason for the hives,
but he is on a short dose of steroids to clear them up.

Tyler is also busy with school, work, and most important of all,
Turkey Hunting. He said the other day, "Mom, I love turkey
hunting, but I wish I'd get my turkey so I could stop hunting
and get some sleep." The gobbling has been scarce this year.

We have Iris, Columbine, Johnny Jump-Ups, and Clematis in bloom.
In a day or two my peonies will start opening up. We have three
early bird Hummers that have arrived. I imagine it will be a week
or two before the whole passel gets here. The other day we had
two Cattle Egrets by our little pond. Nearly every year we see
them for a day or two. They are snow white and look a little
bit like a heron. And most delightful of all, tonight I heard
a Whipporwill for the first time this year, though Joel told me
he'd already been hearing them.

The full burst of spring is here, and I want to hug it so it won't
fly by so fast.

Dad, Joel, Tyler, Jenn, and Hattie-cakes went to the river today.
Hattie went swimming. Kinsey has nothing on her now.

Last Saturday, when the Martins were down, we spent the day at
Cave Springs. We have been going there all our lives.
G'ma Opal loved Cave Springs. She wanted to go every spring
to collect watercress from the fresh, cold water.

Dad gathered some cress, and he cut a few wild onions, and we
added them to our hotdogs. Hotdogs are good with watercress
and wild onion. I was reminded of the year I borrowed an
Irish Cookbook from the library and read about the Irish adding
anything green they could to their diet. They (at a certain
point in history) were short of veggies and would add cress
to their potato soup when they could. Aha, thought I, I can
do that. So I gathered the greens, went home, and made the soup.
The watercress really didn't affect the flavor much at all, but
all the kids turned up their noses at the green color.

This last Saturday turned out to be a sparkly day. The sun was
warm and bright, there was just a hint of a breeze, the fire
added to the fun, the water was cold (just ask Kinsey who went
all the way in...yes in the spring water and yes in April). The
cave was damp and echoey, just as a cave should be, the hiking was
fun, and the napping in the sun and getting a wee bit of a tan
was delightful. A good day.

Straight from the Fernnook Times (AKA The Prospect News)
last week:

"Both candidates for Naylor Alderman in the North and
South Wards were running unopposed for their seats.
Barbara Bell received 10 votes in the North Ward and
Barney Hornocks took in 14 in the South Ward.

All results from this election are unofficial until
they are certified by Ripley County Clerk Becky York
on Thursday, April 9."

(That one sent Sister Becky into a laughing fit. She is
not always used to our country ways....I think it was
the fact that an unopposed candidate garnering 10 votes
could still have an unofficial count.)

Also from the Fernnook Times this week is an ad. See if
you can figure this one out.

"For Sale
Catfish
Pond
You Seine,
By the pound
or by the pond."