Summertime

With the return of summer we go back to enjoying our favorite sport - watching the sunsets.

Hit the Decks

While we were in Michigan the carpenter was busy at our house. All of the decking is in. The deck was finished before we left but he made the curved railing on the bridge. We now also have a front porch to sit on and the screened porch, sans screens.



These interior shots are of the screened porch. The first one is from our bedroom and the second through the living room.

The wild rhododendron are in bloom. This is the only big one we have on our property.

Weekend Visitor

Brother Bill came for a visit last weekend. He was at a conference in Johnson City, TN - just north of Asheville - so came down Friday afternoon. After lunch we went out to the house and had our first cocktail hour on the deck.
Saturday we met Bobbie and David for lunch in Saluda. After lunch we went to Pearson's Falls then back up to our house for dinner.

On the Road Again

Here we are, back at the hotel. This time we stayed at a LaQuinta just north of Cincinnati. Harvey was so stressed from the ride that he wouldn't get out of bed for supper so I brought his puppy food to him.

By the next morning they were more comfortable and played awhile after breakfast before heading home.

New Boat

No, we didn't get a new boat but it looks like we did! We got a new canopy & frame that folds down when you're not using it. And check out the new bench seats across the back! They're made with rich Corinthian vinyl. It's like a floating lounge. See how proud Cap'n Bob is?

For Father's Day I went all out and took Robert to the best place in town - Talley's.

Back to Nature

We have a little chipmunk friend, Chippy, up at the cabin. We have been feeding him for years. He lives underneath the guest suite (anyone who has ever slept in that room can verify that) and he has us trained to give him nuts on a little stump by the deck. Whenever we arrive at the cabin there's Chippy sitting on the stump barking for nuts. This time I brought him walnuts and almonds. We fed him for a few days then he appeared with a friend. Then he appeared with 2 baby chipmunks. Then he appeared with 4 baby chipmunks. Next thing we knew, it was Chipmunkpalooza! There were chipmunks running around everywhere! They were chasing each other up & down trees and doing back flips on the deck. The babies were running up the screens on the screen porch and the cats were sniffing their bellies. They were trying to come in the porch! So - we had to put an end to the freeloading chipmunks. Chippy wasn't happy and spent a lot of time barking on his stump but we ignored him. We couldn't make eye contact with him. He kept bringing his babies out trying to make it look like they were starving but we didn't buy it. We have to find a way to evict the whole family. We're hoping that they'll give up and move on (over to my mother's house) while we're gone.

This is a very large, ugly bug I saw down by the dock. It looked almost prehistoric. I couldn't tell if those were wings on it's back or what. If anyone out there can identify this bug please let me know what it is. It was scary. It was so big I could see it from up at the cabin.

Royal Oak

These pictures of Royal Oak were supposed to be with the last blog entry but disappeared somehow.