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The tree next to this rock is my favorite tree in our yard. I can’t recall ever seeing one before we moved here, but I think I have finally discovered its name – Lynn Tree. It is a rhododendron of the large variety. It has lovely white blooms that are larger and less neatly formed than a magnolia. Its branches twist and turn like my favorite plant the mountain laurel. This tree is absolutely gorgeous. Because of an old fence, I have never been able to get close to it, but now that they have made the new road, I ‘ll be able to get a closer look.
My dad took me out for my birthday this weekend. We took the girls into the city to a Halloween party at the Borders Bookstore and to play in the mall playground. I got to do a little shopping with gift money for clothes that I have desperately needed. It was a nice trip. The girls really enjoy the attention of their grandparents. But, it was at his house that I tasted Lynn Tree honey and connected it to my tree. This honey is the best I’ve ever tasted. It is almost clear, being a light lemony yellow color. If you could bottle the smell of magnolia and make it perfectly palatable, you would have Lynn honey. Apparently, it is very hard to find as there aren’t many of these trees left in the mountains for whatever reason. My dad who is an environmental engineer, confirmed that my tree was a Lynn. I haven’t been able to find anything about it on the internet.
I was also excited when I went to the calender and found that the end of my 40 Day Commitment ended on my 31st birthday. It has been a different spiritual experience for me. I am sleeping better. I’m off caffeine, at least for the time being. I am learning how to be still.
The mind is energy. Regluate it.
– Yogi Bhajan
This lesson has been reiterated to me in so many ways over the last weeks. What is life, if we aren’t living it currently? If we are always in the past or the future?
I was happy to be led to a new online journal of Appalachian literature – Still: Literature of the Mountain South. It is edited by mountain writers, Silas House, Jason Howard, and Marianne Worthington. It is free to read. I loved all of their reasoning behind their naming it Still, but this one, again, brought my lesson to the forefront of my day.
To be a writer is to learn how to be still.
Take a moment and do some reading here. I’m celebrating this journal.
I’m excited that at the end of this week will be my favorite holiday – Halloween! I can’t wait to write about it.
For more Wordless Wednesday visit here.
Autumn is our season for hiking. It is something the four of us can’t get enough of this time of year. Today, was the first cool day of the season with no humidity. We decided to celebrate with a hike to Bad Branch Falls. The falls is a nature preserve in Letcher County, Kentucky and rests on the state’s second highest mountain – Pine Mountain. The hike is short, but of moderate difficulty. However, we were able to make it with the girls just fine. I’ve been making this hike regularly since childhood.
I think I’ll let our pictures do most of the narrating. Despite the fact that I was battling bad batteries and trying to take pictures quickly, the beauty speaks for itself.
Much of the trail is tunneled in mountain laurel – my favorite flowering plant.
Ivy stops to watch the rushing water coming off the mountain after two days of hard rain.
The water is unbelievably clear and safe to play in, but I’ve always wondered if it is safe to drink. It’s tempting.
There is magic in these hills. Without man’s intervention, nature provided the perfect seat for a rest.
The reward! There was more water than I have ever seen coming off that mountain. The sky rained every last bit of humidity left from summer over the last two days.
There are hidden spots all over these mountains like this. The kind that make you stop and be in the moment. Place yourself within the bigger picture. Meditate.
Join me on Wednesday for Wordless Wednesday and my best shot of the falls . 🙂
For more Wordless Wednesday visit here.
Meet our new flock. They are little cuties.
I believe they are some kind of bantam. We aren’t sure. Chickens around here seem to be just what they are – chickens. One thing I do know is that this bunch is much tamer than the last. They are still only babies and have been petted since hatching. This makes me hopeful that we might eventually be able to free range these. That gives you the healthiest eggs and the chickens a more natural diet.
We have moved the coop from the previous location of the massacre of the last flock to right outside our bedroom window. We are hoping to avoid a repeat massacre,offering the new flock a little more protection. The coop sat next to the woods before which left them vulnerable I believe. John dug a trench for the run and filled it in with dirt. The two of us tied wire around the bottom about an inch between each tie to try to reinforce the chicken wire. It was pretty obvious the last undoing of our flock was done by a possum because of the total destruction, waste, and nastiness of it.
There is nothing like a home grown egg. Chickens that feast on clover and quality feed, bugs, and treats from the table give the darkest yolks that are so full of flavor. You don’t have to worry about serving them runny either, though I’ve never been much to worry about that. Another plus are the shells are so much stronger. You can definitely tell that the factory farmed poultry are not healthy animals by their egg shells and yolks.
Right now, we have two baby hens and two baby roosters. Then, there’s Roy, our left over rooster from the last flock. He runs free and is scared to death of John, but will sit on the porch with our dog. 🙂 So, we are rooster heavy, but we’ve decided to expand the flock to at least six hens. I won’t count out the possibility of one of the baby roosters ending up on the table when it is grown.
I rocked Ivy to sleep this evening and heard Roy crowing his head off. Then, in this viable attempt a little voice screeched what I believe to be his first cocka-doodle-doo. It was sweet. I know I shouldn’t get attached. It’s not healthy. 🙂
This is another thing that has inspired my homesteading mind of late. This little structure sits right inside the trees in the backyard and inside a fence that the previous dwellers on this property used to keep pet foxes.
Here’s another view from farther back. I dare not try to drag it out of the woods because it is almost a guarantee there would be a copperhead nest under it. Yet, it sits there sturdy and unused, slowly becoming a part of the woods. See, I’m thinking goats. A goat family. I’m thinking this would be a perfect house for them. John laughs at me and says that’s a project for next spring.
We’ve had wonderful weather this weekend. It’s been reminiscent of autumns past and autmun to come. I got to spend some time at Wiley’s Last Resort for MARS Fest. It was a family friendly event, so the girls got to go too. I spent quite a bit of time there as a kid as it was the home of a good friend then. The house he lived in has burnt down and it has changed a lot, but it is just as much a lovely place. I am happy that I got to share it with the girls.
Here is a video tour of the place.
The girls loved it. Ivy roamed and I followed. Deladis played in the sand. We enjoyed looking at art and hearing some pretty good music, but mostly the air and the mountain. Pine Mountain, where the resort is located, is the second highest mountain in Kentucky. It rests in Letcher County closest to the countyseat of Whitesburg where I grew up. The highest mountain in Kentucky, Black Mountain, can be seen from Pine Mountain. It rests in Harlan County.
A while ago, the state allowed a coal company to begin a strip mining job on top of Black Mountain. I got to see the results of that while I visited the resort this weekend. Looking out over the landscape I couldn’t help but turn my head at the barren top of Black Mountain. Sure it will be reclaimed in some form or fashion, but forever changed. I couldn’t for the life of me imagine how a state can allow for a landmark like its tallest mountain to be stripped, essentially knocked off.
Kentuckians for the Commonwealth is an activist group that produced this video. I like the perspectives in this series of videos they have made and posted. I do very much believe, however, that the solutions to the issues like coal that face the Appalachian people will have to be found within the mountain people. We are a stubborn sort and often resistent to change. That quality serves us well at times and hinders us at others. It is very unlikely that we will listen to folks from outside of our area when they are trying to tell us our problems and how to fix them, even if they are other Kentuckians.
I pray that we will take back our culture and stop trying to blend in with mainstream America. I hope that we will remember the battles of our ancestors and how they were nearly enslaved to the industry once it was allowed in. I wish that we would open our eyes and realize what our assets are, and learn to utilize them, before more tragedies like Black Mountain take place. Because, like it or not, coal is not a renewable resource. It will run out. Then, what? A middle ground needs to be found, and a nation wide change in priorities has to take place.
I hope if you are a Kentucky resident or live nearby, that you will take the time to visit the mountains of eastern Kentucky. We have so much to offer. I think we also have so much to show that will teach you about the path our country has taken, and how cultures are being lost everyday.
I enjoyed my time on the mountain. It was time to just be. I think of all the men and women who are worrying, and can’t just be because they work in the coal industry and their jobs are on the line. They wonder what will happen to them if the coal industry leaves the mountains. I think it is time to start creating the answers to those questions.