Well, quite a day! Started out hot and humid, a course; couple a pretty fair thundershowers passed over late yesterday, on toward evenin'. Checked in with my old chum, over Tennessee, talked over progess and glitches on the book, wished him a happy forth and set about cleanin' up for the local picnic, up at Pine Grove. Got out the horse clippers, cleaned them up with some turpentine and a toothbrush, run 'em over my beard and around the mustache, filled up the tub and give a fair scrub. No clean jeans, but I did have some fresh undercloths and a clean shirt; fresh might be closer to truth, as it was recently washed but few'd consider it "clean". Greased up my boots and finished just as the owners come by, give me a lift; this bein' their first endeavor, make the event.
It's always nice, see everyone; the young folks don't come much and now, even the old guard's thinnin' out some, but 30 or 40 we were, most all the old settler families, represented. Visited with old Frank, askin' questions about the place over here, where I've been camped, since I come up, '02, I think it was. Most a his kin, aunts, uncles, gramma and folks, homestead all over this piece and the neighbors, back in 1917. I was wonderin' if he might remember an old well, I come across outback.
Anyway, we had a nice time tradin' stories and talkin' about his uncle, first came, 1915; just possible he'd had a disagreement with the authorities, back in Texas. But he filed and passed muster, on a piece over here, then, fall a '16, went back and gathered up his kin, some horses, 75 head of cows, loaded up a wagon and arrived back, forth of July, 1917; that'd be 95 years ago, today.
Well, 'bout that time, it started to cloud up and thunder, that's today, now, so we shook hands and set about findin' our rides; I reckin' 'bout everyone headin' home for a nap; sleep off the meal and the always, too sweet, red, white and blue deserts.
The owners here, seemed real pleased and glad they'd come and dropped me back off at the barn, probably three or four o'clock, with a fresh pot a beans they'd taken that somehow survived the feast. I threw a flake for the boys and yup, I took a nap.
Nice day; hope yours was too!
Best,
poss
I'm not much of a get together person, but when you can talk to someone like that, it'd make the event a very nice time indeed. Lots of great history there! I hope there's a well on the land that could work with a little maneuvering ... what a nice situation that would be.
ReplyDeleteWe had straight-line winds here yesterday. I just stood at the big window and watched the storm (I probably should've hidden) ... wind so strong it bent the trees in half and such a loud roaring and lightening, and then the snapping of the trees who couldn't take the pounding anymore, walls and walls of rain. Many trees down ... missed the steel roof on the cabin by inches and privy too ... that made me feel blessed .. don't want to mess up my roof or privy! A big maple section did crush my new shed though ... I guess I've gone this long without a shed, I really suppose I won't miss it too much since I've only had it a week. LOL! If the new shed hadn't of been there, my metal cabin roof would have taken the hit from the maple! Good can sure come out of bad sometimes. Maybe it can be salvaged with some work. More big storms coming tomorrow. We've had some real gully washers.
It's a good day .. my roof is safe, my privy isn't smashed, and the electric is back on. I'd say we fared pretty well. Those big 200-year-old white pines can smash a cabin flat, like the last bad straight-line winds here on July 4, 1999.
I wish we had your thinner humidity ... today, I'd like to see some wide-open spaces and air you didn't have to swim in and breathe. Every area has it's good and bad points though ... I'll concentrate on the good.
Blessings,
Peaceful