covington outdoors

Saying Goodbye

2011-05-29T15:08:00.003-04:00

It has been almost a month that I had to say goodbye to my baby dog. Seamus had been with me for fifteen years but he lived to be almost seventeen and a half years old. He was a great border collie that was just a part of the family. He began his life with us as my mother's dog.

I remember the day she called me to say that she thought she had found a dog. She wanted me to check him out so we went to the Atlanta Humane Society the next day. Seamus sat at the back of the kennel when we approached but he immediately began waging his tail and walking towards the front when he saw my mother. You could tell that he had remembered her from the day before. Needless to say, she adopted him and we took him home. She had about two years with him before we had to say goodbye to her and he began his life with me.

In his earlier years, his job was to wake me up every morning. He was faithful with that chore and insured that I did not go back to sleep. He would just sit at the side of the bed and just stare until I began to get up. If I didn't get up, he would then begin to nose me until I was up and out of the bed. Seamus also loved to play hide and seek. He would stay put and then I would go and hide. I would call his name and then the game would begin. He would seek me and eventually find me. What amazed me about him, was he would always check the previous place you would have hidden. He would play that game for hours.

As he matured and slowed down, he would still sit with me and watch the world go by. The cats that we had, slowly began to watch over him and keep him company. Toward the end Boodle, one of our newer cats, would be constantly at his side when he was out. Boodle would make sure that Seamus was safe and sound.

Now that he is gone. I still go around the house from time to time expecting to see him. Leon our current oldest cat also is missing him. Leon will walk the house crying looking for company. He always had his friend around to sleep with if we were not there. Leon on occasion has taken it upon himself to sleep in Seamus's bed. I will miss you old friend and even though I will eventually get another border collie to fill up the empty place in my heart. There will always be a place in my heart for you.

Several years ago, I wrote a song for Seamus when I thought we were going to have to put him down. Luckily for me, Seamus lived five years longer. Below is the video that I created using the song that I wrote.

Syrup Experiment: the conclusion

2011-02-26T09:26:00.000-05:00

My husband ended his experiment about two weeks ago. It has gotten to0 warm to tap the maple trees. They have begun to start to bud. I understand that once the budding begins the sap's taste is not good for syrup. So what have we learned from this experiment?

It can be done in the South when the temperatures are just right. This means lows below freezing and the highs in the forties or fifties. It is a very time consuming process. For the ten gallon of syrup we would collect at a time, it took over ten hours to boil it down. You just can't put the syrup on a heat source and leave it. You have to continue adding more sap and making sure that it doesn't boil down too far where it will burn.

While it is a lot of work, is it worth it? My husband says yes! He was able to get out in the woods during the cold winter. It gave us both exercise by walking up and down the hills collecting the sap. The maple trees we found and tapped were not just off the road. Many of the trees were over a half a mile in to the woods. The buckets, filled with the sap, were very heavy adding more benefit. We were able to produce something from scratch and take pride in this.

Having said all of that, it is not any cheaper making your own syrup? I now have an appreciation on why maple syrup is so expensive in the stores. We used propane as a heat source this year which proved to be very expensive. When you put the dollars that we spent along with the time needed to produce the syrup it was probably more expensive than buying it from the store.

What if anything will we do differently next year? We are looking at having someone locally make us an evaporator pan. (This is the pan that you put on a heat source to boil down the syrup. It is usually not deep and has more surface space directly in contact with the heat source.) This year we used a turkey roasting pan, and a variety of pans to boil the syrup. We are also looking at making a fire pit where we can use fire wood as a heat source. We live in the woods and have access to over 200 acres of woods on top of that. The availability of free fire wood is much cheaper than propane.

We have a year to make these improvements. We will have something to look forward to after the deer season next year. Until then, we will be able to enjoy and share the syrup we made this year.

Role Reversal

2011-01-26T16:33:00.000-05:00

When my dog, Seamus, was young he would gently guide the various cats we had around. He would let the first cat he ever knew, Mistletoe even sleep with him. He has always been surrounded by cats but in the last few months he has had three cats in his life.

As he has gotten rather old and senile, the cats have taken to herding him and watching over him. He can’t tell when he goes out (in a fenced in yard) that it is time to come in. Often, he will stand at the back door wanting in but even when you open the door he doesn’t have a sense that it is open. Only his cat friends are there to let him know that it is time to come in. They will cut in front of him, nuzzle there face into his face and at times walk under him to get his attention.

This role reversal reminds me of people and especially leaders. At times, we need to know when to follow and when to lead. Just because you are a leader either by position or by your talent there are times that you don’t know where to go or have the skills or knowledge to lead the way. You must be humble enough to know when to lead and when to follow and not let your ego get in the way. It’s amazing to me that by watching animals interact we can learn a little on how we should act. The next time I am leading, I hope I take the time and self reflection to look around and realize that I might not be the person at the time to lead. I also hope, that in reverse that if I’m following and I do have the belief that I can better lead than the person that is that I have the strength to step out in lead.

The Maple Syrup Experiment

2011-01-14T16:32:00.002-05:00

My husband has always been interested in how they make maple syrup. Over the last few months, he has studied how they do it up north and the type of maple trees that can be used.

During the hunting season, he identified several trees that could be tapped to gather the maple sap. The type of trees that he discovered that grow here in Georgia was a cousin of the northern sugar maple. The tree's name is Florida Maple aka Acer barbatum. It grows naturally in Georgia.

For Christmas all he wanted was the equipment to gather and make maple syrup. He was able to find a place up in Wisconsin that sells used taps and buckets. The taps are what are driven into the trunk of the tree to extract the sap. This can only be done when the high temperatures are in the 4o's and the lows are 32 or below.

Two weeks ago the conditions were just right to gather the sap so he went down to the woods and inserted the taps into the trees and attached the metal buckets to collect the sap. He was expecting that it would take several weeks to gather enough sap to make it worthwhile to boil down and make syrup. To his surprise within less than a week he had over 12 gallons of sap ready to be processed. (This meant that we had maple sap in our freezer, refrigerator and our spare refrigerator.) Since he worked most of the week, he had to go down into the woods in the dark to check his maple buckets. He said it was hard work carrying 5 gallon buckets out of the woods in the dark with only a flashlight.

Last Sunday, he decided he had enough to begin the boiling down process. He had bought lids to go on pint glass jars that I had bought years ago thinking I would can. He also bought a kit to help him in the canning process. He began the slow processes by using my turkey roasting pan on the grill and slowly adding sap to the pan as it evaporated the water from the sap. He was at this all day on Sunday for about eight hours. He still had more sap to boil down which he did on Monday.

It took longer than usual to boil down the contents on Monday because of a snow/ice storm that hit the Atlanta area. As the quantity began to get reduced he started to boil some of the sap inside the house on the stove. The one problem was that it build steam up into the house so he had to open up the doors and windows to let the steam out. The positive out of this process was that the whole house smelled like maple syrup, mmm...

Finally, around four o'clock that afternoon, he was ready to add the syrup into the hot Ball jars to store them for future use. (You have to boil the jars to sterilize them and get the ready to seal the lids.) The final product yielded a little less than three-quarters of a quart. The sap is mostly water so it takes approximately 40 times the amount of sap to produce syrup.

Was this experiment a success? I think so for several reasons. My husband was able to actually make syrup. It was a little thinner than what you can buy in the store but that could have been because we should have let it boil down a little longer. It was good tasting syrup. It was another thing that you can say that I made myself like they used to do back in the days of old.

It was not a success if we were looking to save money. The time it took to gather the sap, boil it down and bottle it took probably a total of almost two days of time. The yield was not very great. When many people heard what my husband was doing they asked if they could have some. There really wasn't much to share on what was the final product. The verdict is still out if this will be something he will do next year. For this year, he is going to try one more time and see if he can make it any easier on himself. Time will only tell if this will become a hobby or just an experiment

New Year's Day

2010-12-31T15:05:00.000-05:00

Well it's New Year's eve and I have been reminiscing a lot over the last few weeks. Growing up, we had a few traditions that really took hold of my heart. In reflection today, I noticed that all of these traditions had to deal with food and having patience. My sister and I were not allowed to drink soda/coke /pop (depending where you live) that often nor were we allowed to eat junk food. We always thought our parents were unfair when all of our friends were allowed these goodies.

Instead, we were only allowed these drinks or foods on very specially occasions. We were given cokes on Christmas eve when we had chili with our dinners. (I think these stemmed from when our paternal grandparents would share Christmas with us. The only other time we were allowed a coke or soda was when we had to go and stay at my mom's office. My mother was a professor at Emory and occasionally either because we were sick or there was no one to watch us we were taken to her office to sit while she taught class and given a coke in a glass bottle.

We were given junk food especially chips and dip only on New Year's eve. My family would eat a New Year's eve dinner and then after 9:00 p.m. the junk food would be placed on the coffee table in front of the college football game that was on the t.v.

Though out the year, I would crave chips, dip and cokes but knew that I could not partake until that special occasion. What this taught me was patience and the enjoyment of waiting and anticipating something that was oh, so good. I would not trade that experience for the world since it kept me healthy and made those occasions truly special to me. Why else would I long for those days and think of the occasions when partaking those special foods and drink today? I hope your New Year is a happy and blessed one. I also hope that you have childhood traditions that you can pass down to someone else or share with a sibling like I can.

The Truth of the Matter

2010-12-26T11:18:00.001-05:00

The Truth of the Matter by Andrew Klavan

Charlie West is a seventeen-year-old who is on the run for his life. He is being sought by two groups who want him on their side, the terrorists who want to take control of America and those who want to preserve the freedom and Constitution of the United States. Charlie can not remember the last year of his life. The only thing he can remember is that he needs to find a "Mr. Waterman" who will hopeful help him remember his life.

This book is the third book in the series and I had not read the previous titles. Although it took me awhile to understand what was going on, Mr. Klavan gave the information that you needed by flashbacks and reflections by the main character, Charlie. The story moves fairly fast after the first few chapters and has a lot of intrigue keeping me wanting to turn the pages to find the conclusion. I will have to wait until the next installment to find out if Charlie ever gets back home. The reflections that Charlie goes through not only helps the reader who has not read the previous titles understand the storyline but it also showed how one can understand ones motives upon reflecting upon ones experiences. I would recommend this title and series to any young man looking for adventure.

Note: I received a free copy of this book through Thomas Nelson's BookSneeze program. I am obligated to write an honest review of the material.

Keeping the tradition alive

2010-12-14T15:27:00.002-05:00

As being a female hunter, I am one of the groups that is a fast growing segment in this old tradition. I think women hunt for different reasons than men. Most often we hunt to share an experience with the men in our lives. This year, I was able to see many daughters and wives get their first deer. As I have written before, I hunt for the experience of being outside and the variety of things that I can observe. Harvesting a deer is a side benefit that I get which feeds my family and friends. Many people I know are always asking me for some venison.

This year, I was able to see my first pair of bucks sparing in the woods. They were young bucks but it was fun to watch them for twenty minutes or so. I was also lucky enough to see woodpeckers mate. I have never seen that before and it was very interesting to see.

Finally, I was able to harvest a nice six point buck. I was very proud to take this buck because I had wanted to place a stand in this part of the woods where I have seen deer move through over the years. I hunted for a little over a week before seeing this guy. I did see a bigger dear a week or so before but could not get a shot. The deer came right up the hill in front of my stand and was watching me. The six pointer walked to the right of my stand and walked down the hill. I had a split second to decide to harvest him and after missing him the first time was able to take him the second time I tried. There are few weeks left in the season but I don't have any hope in getting anything else. I will have to wait eleven months until I can't get back into the woods to sit in the cool weather. I hope I can see more women out there next year.

2010-08-05T15:10:00.000-04:00

Well our family has grown by two. We have two new cats, Boodle (Kitten Kaboodle) and Boots. These two have been hanging around our property for the past four months but it wasn't until about a month ago that they came close to the house. I was calling Leon, our Bombay cat, when Boots came bounding up to the back door. It was obvious that he was not getting anything to eat other than what he could catch. It was also obvious that he was at just about a year old. A few days later, his litter mate, Boodle began to come close to the back door. Boodle would disappear for a few days and then show back up. Paul and I suspected that someone had taken him in so we were cautious of feeding him. After a few weeks it became obvious to us that they were not being taken care of by anyone so we began to talk about adopting them.

Now most people will tell you that dogs and cats do not get along. This is especially said about Border Collies. Seamus, as I have posted before, is sixteen years old and has become crotchety. I was hesitant about adopting two cats but I had hopes that he would accept them. It was rough the first few days because the cats especially Boodle loved to go up and greet Seamus. They have come to an agreement about space issues. When Seamus goes out Boots and Boodle both go up and say hello to him. They have begun to watch him when he goes out and make sure he doesn't wander away. It is similar to Leon's role in Seamus's life. (See My Brother's Keeper)

I look forward to many stories and fun times with our new editions.

Doing Your Own Thing

2010-08-01T14:54:00.000-04:00

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

Someone posted this video and it is rather funny, if you attend a comtemporary church. One of the comments when this was posted was that my church is a "cookie cutter". I actually disagree while we do follow the same format as this video points out, I think that every institution has to have a plan in order to accomplish anything and for us, humans to feel secure.

Most of us, myself included, like to know what to expect when we go places. How often at Eastridge do we mix things up and change things around. Whether it's putting the offering at the end of the service or in the middle of the service. If something is working for someone else and what you are doing is not working, why not try out the way that is successful for someone else.

Having grown up in the Catholic Church, there is some comfort knowing that a service is the same every time. You have a tradition and feeling secure. I do appreciate an organization that is not afraid to change and mix things up but at the same time if you are constantly changing there is no direction for your follower. Just a few cent from me. What do you think?

The Gift

2010-07-29T14:51:00.000-04:00

I recently had a birthday and a great friend gave me a wonderful gift. I was so excited that I wanted to tell everyone about the wonderful gift. The hitch, my friend did not want me to tell everyone about the gift because that person did not pay for the gift. They had gotten the gift for free.

I was always told that the gift is a great one if it comes from the heart. I remember growing up and knowing that my grandmother would spend many minutes selecting the right card to send to me. She would always send a dollar bill with the card. When I was in college, I specifically remember going with my cousin to the New York Plantetarium and my grandmother giving each of us a five dollar bill. It wasn't a whole lot of money even back then but it meant the world to me. My grandmother was on a very fixed income and probably could have used those ten dollars but thought of us first.

In the bible, it says "Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up." Romans 15 2-3 Jesus also gave us the second greatest commandment, "Love your neighbor as yourself" Matthew 22: 34 (NIV). My friend was following both of these scriptures. He was thinking of me when he gave me those flowers. He knew I would love to receive them and that it would make my day. He could have just left the flowers and decided not to take it upon himself to bring them to me. (It would have been easier just to ignore them.) Instead, he made the effort to remember to bring them to me.

I hope I live up to my friend and my grandmother's examples of following Jesus's commandment. I try to think of others and what would build them up. However, sometimes it is easier to just think of myself and fulfilling my desires and needs. Although, I have to say that when I do follow Jesus's commandment I get a far greater reward and satisfaction then I ever do just fulfilling my desires and needs.

Nature or Nuture

2010-07-27T14:49:00.001-04:00

Most people don't know this but I received my degree in psychology. Back while I was getting my degree, one of the questions that would come up time to time was does our environment or how we are made up determine who we are? I have pondered that question from time to time because I am a twin. Many studies have been performed to answer this question with twins. Often they are performed on twins that were separated by birth. That is not the case with my sister and I, we lived in the same household and shared a room together until we were about seven. We were in the same classroom for kindergarten but had separate classrooms from first grade. In fact, in the fourth grade because of circumstances we were in different grades.

I have often looked at my sister and myself and asked the question, is it how we were treated and the environment we grew up in or was it the way God created us. I personally think that question can not be answered in a all or nothing answer. I think that both how we were raised or our environment and who are because of how we were created co-influence us.

Case in point, my sister and I were raised by the same parents and were under the same rules. My mom believed that part of our differences came from the fact that my sister was released from the hospital only after a few days, while I was in there for almost a week. Part of that time, I was the only baby in the nursery on Mother's day weekend. My mom believed that during my first days here on earth, I was held and talked to by many hospital personnel as well as my parents. My sister on the other hand, went home to new parents who were a little afraid to touch her and didn't quite know what to do. She believed that I was more connected and self assured because of the first few days of my life.

I, on the other hand, believe that it is partly how I was created along with my interaction with my environment has made me who I am. I remember distinctly a time when my sister and I were around seven years old and were at the doctor's office for our annual check-up. When the doctor came in to give us our shots he asked, "who is first?". My sister pushed me up to Dr. Burnett and said her. It was this incident plus many others that my sister made me the leader of us in many situations. I believe because of her pushing me, it is why I have become a leader today. It was not something that was naturally in me but over the years after leading her, I began to feel comfortable about leading others. I began taking on the role without it being pushed on me. I believed while even though the environment, in this case my sister, influenced my becoming a leader. I also think that I was created with the desire to help people which was God created. (For more information about this, please see my previous post on this.) What do you think, are we who we are because of our environment or is it because of the way God made us?

Where Is God? by John Townsend

2010-01-31T15:46:00.004-05:00

I just finished my first book that I am reviewing though BookSneeze.com. Thomas Nelson provided the book for me for free to review.

Where Is God written by Dr. John Townsend addresses that question that many of us feel when life gets tough. Dr. Townsend uses personal accounts and scripture that illustrate his points. He starts off with looking at the type of problems people have that begin them asking the question. According to Dr. Townsend these can be relational, functional, health issues or catastrophes. The rest of the book address personal growth and the journey to that growth.

Dr. Townsend begins to look at God himself and that God desires us to feel love and be able to love. He address who is God and the different roles that God uses to interact with us personally. These interactions vary from God suffering alongside us to connecting us with others. He finally ends the book with how to develop that personal relationship with God. He gives different ways to develop the relationship and addresses the process of faith. My favorite chapter was "Expect the Good". Dr. Townsend talks about that we should expect good from God and that will change our attitude about our situation.

At the time that I read this book, I was not going through any crises. I however, was able to identify with times in my life that I have had difficulty and had questioned where was God. I recommend this book to anyone who is experiencing hard times and even those who are not. I learned more about God and ways to continue to grow my faith.

Senility

2010-01-16T09:56:00.002-05:00

I have never really dealt with senility. My grandmother was inflicted with Alzheimer's disease but I did not really deal with her. My latest experience is with my dear sixteen year old dog. He has begun exhibiting behavior over the last six months. He wonders around at night and since he is also starting to lose his eyesight he bumps into things. I knew he couldn't see to well but I didn't realize the extent he was leaving his mark. His nose as he bumps into the walls at night are leaving black marks. All of our walls are marked up with the black marks of his nose.

He doesn't hear that well either and so trying to get him in from outside is a challenge. In the dark, it is not so bad. I can flip the outside light on and off (kind of like the disco era) and this will get his attention. If it is day light, he can hear a high whistle but can not decide where the noise is originating from. Although we get frustrated with him, how can you stay mad when it is just a part of life. We all get older and have afflictions that we have to deal with it. The alternative is not having him around and to me that would be much sadder. I know the day is closer today than yesterday that I will be loosing my companion. As long as he is not suffering, I plan on having him around as long as the good Lord is willing.

The Music of my life

2010-01-02T14:42:00.003-05:00

I have recently discovered Pandora Radio. Actually, I should clarify, I have known about this Internet radio but have recently begun using it.

When I search the "stations" to find music to listen to, I have discovered a pattern. I really like two basic types of music. I like singer/songwriter and folk music. A few of the "stations" that have become my favorite so far are Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Mary Black, John Denver, Third Day and Hillsong. I have discovered many songs that were very influential in my love of music and writing.

Growing up music was very important in our house. I remember my sister and I listening to an album of the balalaika and the soundtrack of Roger & Hammerstein's Cinderella. We would listen to Cinderella, sing and reenact the songs. I began writing music in my early teens and I know that John Denver's music had a great impact on my style of songwriting.

Mary Black and Mary Chapin-Carpenter both were my favorites in the late 1980's. I was fortunate to hear Mary Black in Ireland before she even had any records here in America. I was lucky to hear Mary Chapin-Carpenter many times for free in Atlanta as she was beginning her career. Both of these women are more folksy but have experimented with rock and other genres of music. What is the music has influenced you?

Here is one of the first songs that I fell in love from Mary Black.

Leadership and Deer Hunting: the Relationship

2009-12-24T14:41:00.003-05:00

I am one who likes to deer hunt. Many people have the idea that people who hunt enjoy the harvesting of the animal. Many folks who hunt actually enjoy the time out in the woods watching the relationship between the variety of things in nature.

In the past year, I have continued to study leadership. I strongly believe that there is a big difference between leadership and management. There are many things that leaders must possess in order to be successful. Some of these things, I believe are God-given and others are a learned behavior. This past year while deer hunting, I discovered that there are many things that hunting which can teach me about leadership.

One of the biggest things I need to learn to be a better leader is to reflect. I have been working on this in one aspect of my life which is my time with God. I set aside time each morning to read my bible and then to have a quiet prayer time to reflect about what is going on in my life and what God is speaking to me through his Word. I still need to find time at work to reflect daily on what is going on in regards to my work life. Deer hunting is a great way to learn how to reflect. You spend many hours alone in the woods where you can reflect about your life and your success and failures in the woods. Another aspect of reflecting with deer hunting is thinking about what you could have done differently to be more successful every time.

Deer hunting, for me, is a great way to remember that every action has a consequence. This year I saw the biggest buck I have seen in the woods while hunting. I first saw a doe come down the hill from some thick brush. A few minutes later, the biggest buck I ever saw came down the hill following her. I drew my gun in my excitement and shot. The buck ran off and to my dismay, I did not bring the buck down. In reflecting on this situation, I learned several things. One is that I should have waited a few minutes later to insure I had a good shot. A second thing, was that because I was so excited, I didn’t think of the consequences by not making sure I had a good shot and lost the buck of a lifetime.

For me the best thing that I can do to become a better leader is to examine myself in my strengths and weakness. (Knowing that always using your strengths can turn them into a weakness.) I try to examine myself in all aspects of my life and learn or hone skills that I think I need to improve as a leader. Deer hunting while a hobby of mine gives me an opportunity to improve my leadership skills.

Young Adult Literature

2009-12-05T16:47:00.006-05:00

I have been reading a lot of YA books lately. One of the main reasons is that we are trying to get a book blog for our Teen Page at work. I have noticed that I pretty much gravitate to the moral issue type of books. These pretty much tend to be written in the first person. They lend themselves to great book talks or mini blogs, I think.

One thing that seems to be really taking off more so in Teen (YA) literature is the video blog or review. They range from being publisher initiated to response or teen created. Here a few that I have found and really like.

Patience with the lost or escaped....

2009-11-15T11:08:00.007-05:00

Paul and I were on vacation last week. Because Leon (the cat) had fractured his foot two weeks before so we decided to take him with us camping. This meant the whole family (Paul, me, Seamus and Leon) were camping together. Leon in the early part of the week was still getting used to his soft "cast" and hobbled around. At the end of the week he was still hobbling but was keeping a secret. He really could maneuver on all four legs and was really pretty much back to normal.

On Wednesday late morning, Paul had just arrived after a morning out sitting in a tree. Seamus the senile and slow dog wanted to go out. That is when the unthinkable happened. I opened up the door for Seamus and before I knew it Leon was running fast out the door headed for the thick woods. Now Leon is Paul's baby and well truth be told Seamus is mine. I felt really bad and began praying that we could find the cat and I could redeem myself.

After much searching on Paul and another friend's part, they found Leon under an abandoned shack. (I had already packed to go home figuring if the cat wasn't found I would not be welcomed.) I went to the back of the shack, sat down in the mud and softly began to call Leon's name out. After several minutes, I saw a black face emerge from under the shack and the cat slowly walked up to me. Needless to say, I grabbed him real tight and within the hour he was headed back home to spend the remaining rest of the week alone.

In reflecting on this drama this past week, a thought kept popping up in my mind. Often I think the Lord is like I was in patiently waiting on my "lost/escaped" cat. He softly (and sometime loudly) calls us to come to him. It is often because we ignore that voice that we become scared like the cat not knowing what will transpire being alone.

The Quiet Place

2009-11-04T10:57:00.006-05:00

For those who do not spend a lot of time in the woods, you are missing out on such an experience! At least once a year, I try to get out into the woods before dawn. This year so far, I have been fortunate to experience three times. So what do I experience?

Last week while sitting up a tree, I saw two granddaddy long legs procreate. You know that they must procreate but have you ever thought on how they do it? I certainly never have. I can share with you that it is a delicate dance that they do and then they just join together.

I also was fortunate to experience a squirrel climb past me on the back side of the tree while I was sitting on the front side. He climbed up past me above my head and began picking out acorns. Eating them while sitting on a branch and dropping the shells on my head. Now how many people have experienced that?

For me, getting out and sitting quietly in nature reminds me that I am not the world. I am part of an intricate world that interacts from the smallest to the largest. It amazes my how my Creator created everything around me and each thing has a purpose here on earth, including me.

If you ever have a chance to get out in the woods and sit still, please take the opportunity. You see so much more than when hiking or walking out in nature. You really see how the things in this world our dependent on each other.

Cultivating a Relationship

2009-10-23T12:45:00.005-04:00

This is a plant that Paul has had since 1976. He has watered it, taken it outside during the Spring and Summer and has fertilized it every year. All of that care plus trimming it from year to year has kept this plant vibrant for decades.

The relationships that are in our life are just like Paul's relationship with this plant. We must spend time with the folks that we are in a relationship. I know that if I don't spend time with the people in my life, I don't learn what they are about nor do I grow with them. When my twin sister was overseas in the early 90's, we hardly were in contact with each other for a year or more at a time. I didn't know what made her tick at the time nor the trials and tribulations that she was encountering during that period of time. Today, I make an effort to try and talk to her at least once every other week. Sometimes, I am wrapped up in my life and I have to make a conscience effort to pick up the phone to see what is up in her life.

At the same time, if I want to have a relationship with Christ, I must make the effort to spend time with him. Whether it be spending time talking to him in prayer or spending time reading the bible and listening to what he has to say to me. These are things that I need to do to grow my relationship with him. Cultivating relationships take time and are a big investment. The example of the plant shows to me that with that investment, you can have a long and growing relationship for years to come.

An Impact on my life

2009-10-10T13:15:00.008-04:00

With the passing of Coach Maloof last week, the St. Pius community remembered his impact on the school. Coach Maloof has been credited for giving the school a sense of community. Coach Maloof always said do your best with your God given talents.

This has made me reflect on how St. Pius impacted my life. Of course the first impact, was when I was entering high school. I wanted to go to Marist but my mom told me that if I attended Marist, I would not be able to do any extra curricular activities. I decided to attend St. Pius.

So how did St. Pius impact my life? It was there that I accepted Christ. At Pius, I learned that I could be myself and be accepted for myself. Two specific situations stand out for me. The first is being offered marijuana and turning it down. The folks that offered it to me did not make fun of me but instead treated me just the same and never asked me again. The second situation was when a classmate offered me a copy of a test that he and I were supposed to take as a make-up. (We were both sick the day of the actual test.) I told him no and then wrestled what to do with the information. I eventually told the teacher and even though the entire class was punished. I was respected for my decision to stand up for what was right.

I have always said that God has led me down a path that has made me the Christian I am today. My walk with Christ began at St. Pius and the lessons that I learned have kept me on that path. Where else would you study the Old Testament for an entire quarter and have a final to retell the basic stories with only key words to guide you. That class gave me the foundation for my bible reading that I currently enjoy.

So thank you God for giving me St. Pius as a foundation to my faith.

Watchful Keeper

2009-09-30T10:35:00.006-04:00

These are my "boys". We have had our border collie, Seamus, for 14 years. He is now quickly approaching 16 years. Leon, our black cat, is three years old. Leon has taken over the role of watching over Seamus. Whenever Seamus is out, Leon is not very far away from him.

Last night, I let Seamus out when I arrived home but forgot to close the gate. Needless to say, he escaped and walked over to our neighbor's house for a visit. Leon after a few minutes wanted out and I thought nothing of it. A few minutes later, I went out looking for Seamus and could not find either of them. Knowing those two as I do, I began heading to the woods leading to our neighbor's house. I first spotted Leon who was running down hill after something. It of course was Seamus who he was keeping close track over.

It reminded me that while God gives us free will to make decisions and lead our own life, he is always there watching over us. We only need to turn to his word to ensure that we continue down the right path. Of course we have to choose to follow God's word. Like Seamus, only had to follow Leon to lead him home.

Fall

2009-09-26T14:29:00.008-04:00

Fall to me is a mixture of comings and goings, good and bad. The good is that it is football and deer season. I have been following College football since I was about seven years old. You did not live in my household without watching football. I was lucky, I loved the game as opposed to my dear sweet twin sister who did not. We grew up on Big 10 football. We were born in Iowa University hospital and our mom also went to Penn State. I also loved to play the game (tackle version only!) and played until I got to be about 13 years old.

Deer season is still relatively new to me. I have only been hunting the last 17 years or so. In my current household, you better love the outdoors. We camp most of October and November. There is nothing like the whole family spending time together.

The bad of the season, for me, is all the deaths that have occurred in October and November. I lost the most important women in my life, my mom and grandmother in December and November. Paul lost his dad in December.

Although the bad can be painful, we can not fully appreciate the good times without the bad ones. If everything was rosy all the time, I would not appreciate the times I have with my family and husband. Some of my favorite memories in the fall are watching football with my husband before or after a hunt. The beauty of the woods reminds me of God's hand in all that is in my life. I am glad Fall is here and it is my favorite time of the year, good and bad together.

God is Truly Amazing!

2009-09-14T20:37:00.006-04:00

On August 31, 2009 my brother-in-law Phil was in the hospital running a fever from the chemo treatment and was getting dialysis. A week later he was still in the hospital and all of his body had begun shutting down. The Friday before Labor Day the doctor came in and pretty much said to the family that Phil would probably not make it. They had done all they could for him. On the following Tuesday, he was sent to a hospice with little hope except the prayers from around the world that were going up on his behalf.

God truly worked a miracle! On the following Friday, Phil was up walking with a walker and was talking with everyone. On Saturday, he was allowed to leave the hospice for a time (2nd time in two days) to go home and spend some quality time with his family. He watched college football with his little brother.

Yesterday, my husband and I went to Phil's in-laws and spent time with him and the family. We even were able to continue the more recent tradition of going out to dinner with Phil, his wife and son. Phil shared last night an experience he had a few days before he went into the hospital. One evening he was laying in bed and began praying to God to heal him. He remembers vividly a voice saying to him something in Greek. (He has a degree in classic languages) He looked up the words when he woke up and it translated to "do not fear". It could have only been the Lord speaking to him telling him to not fear in the situation he was in.

Who knows what God has planned for Phil's life and nobody really knows how long we have here on earth. I do know that I will appreciate the time I have with my wonderful brother in-law. I also know that God answers prayers and in my opinion he has worked a miracle. God is truly amazing.

The Season Begins

2009-09-12T14:10:00.006-04:00

Today is the beginning of the deer season here in Georgia. Actually it is the beginning of the Archery season. I am not one who bow hunts although I did buy myself a bow when I received my Masters degree. During the summer it is just to hot to practice and then when it cools off it is either gun season or too windy.

The deer around the house have gotten there winter coats. They are no longer red in color. Mama doe lost one of her babies and has been more protective of her remaining off spring. The Fall is quickly approaching and I just love it when the cooler weather arrives. It also means the beginnng of college football which started last week.

Tonight I will be tapping both the Auburn and the Georgia game. As I write this short entry the Iowa Hawkeyes are beating the Iowa State Cyclones. It is nice to know that things are cyclical and even when things don't go right there is always a "do" over. I am glad that God gives me a do over everytime I ask for it. But just like everything in life I must try and learn from my mistakes. If mama deer doesn't learn from her mistake, she could loose her last offspring. If Auburn and Georgia do not make adjustments in a game thus learning from their mistakes they could easily loose there games.

Servant's Heart

2009-08-23T12:25:00.012-04:00

I have known for a long time that I was called to serve people. My first memory was when I was five years old. Around Thanksgiving, my kindergarten class from Decatur 1st Baptist had our first "craft" lesson. We used scrap material to cut and make pictures. The body of the "man" was made from an old sheet from my bed. I assembled my "master" piece proudly and showed my kindergarten teacher and mom. They both asked "What is it?" I proudly said "this dinner is for someone who is sick". Even back then I loved to help people and thought of others.

I have kept that piece of art work for forty years. It reminds me of the beginning of my walk with my Lord. I know that I was called from that tender age to be a servant to His people. My heart always sings when I am able to help someone and let them know that they are loved even if I don't know them personally.

My journey has been a long one and not without it's ups and downs. That twisted path has made me the person I am today. As I read in a book I've been reading, every one's journey is their own and often it is in God's time that we move forward and not ours. Often we need to experience things good and bad to deepen our relationship with him. I am glad that I have a tangible part of my beginning journey to remind me where I've been. At this point in my journey, I have learned that I am serving people but ultimately I am called to serve my Lord Jesus. It is that service that brings my heart joy and a song in my heart.

Cooking with a Passion

2009-08-15T14:40:00.005-04:00

Any one who knows me has the knowledge that I love to cook. I began cooking when I was about nine helping my mom cook dinner. By the time I was thirteen I was preparing whole meals for my family when my mom was away. She spend most of 1975-76 away as part of the "Peanut Brigade".

I actually got my love of cooking from my mom which is kind of ironic. By the time I was thirteen, she actually hated to cook. She had been cooking since she was thirteen and just didn't enjoy cooking any longer. I remember on Saturday afternoons, when I was seven or eight watching Julia Child and a few other cooking shows on PBS with my mother. Of course, back in the day we only had four stations to choose from and our family only had two televison sets all black and white. We were forced to watch whatever our parents wanted to watch most of the time.

Although at the time I felt like I was being tortured by watching these cooking shows instead of a cartoon show or a comedy, I guess it began my love of cooking. Now a days with the advent of cable and the internet, there are so many sources to look for inspiration. I love to watching cooking shows, try new reciepes and improvise on the ones I like.

My husband, Paul, has tried to loose weight since I have known him but has had a hard time as many of us do. He has now discovered the secret for himself. It is salads. He does not snack but has a huge salad for dinner. I smoke turkey breasts or venison roasts every couple of weekends to give him something to put on the salads. I try to mix up the veggies we include on the salad so it doesn't become to boring. To this date he has lost almost forty pounds.

Earlier this week I watched an episode of Grill It with Bobby Flay. In this episode, he had a guest cook who did a grilled strawberry shortcake. Bobby had a corn salad with a green onion vineratte. I tried both last night and they were delicious. It never ceases to amaze me what you can cook on a grill. Grilling gives a whole another flavor to many fruits and vegetables.

Vampire Deer

2009-08-13T09:01:00.004-04:00

Although not likely to be seen in Covington Georgia, but maybe? I mean they are taping the Vampire Diaries t.v show for the CW network. There really are vampire deer in this world. They can be seen in China as the Chinese water deer.

Last year, according to an article in Deer and Deer Hunting Magazine, someone brought a deer with fangs in to a local taxidermist in Wisconsin. It is believed to be unusual but not unheard of to have a deer with fangs in North America. The "fangs" are actually maxillary canine teeth and seems to be a throwback to prehistoric times. The fangs were used to stab prediators or their prey in addition to their antlers. The article goes on to point out that this phenomenon is more prevelant than most think. The "fangs" just can not be seen on live deer that often since they rarely protrude past the gumline. Now I have something to look for when I'm in the woods this fall!

In Him

2009-08-09T11:58:00.004-04:00

A couple weeks ago things at worked really started changing at work. It began with the Assistant Branch Manager asking for a new position. For her it was a great move. For us left at the branch, it is was the beginning of significant changes. A few days later the Access Service manager was transferred to another location. For her, it was move she had asked for many months ago. Again a good move for her, but for the branch had another big change. The final change is temporary. The Branch Manager had scheduled a three week vacation that coincided with all of these changes.

What does it have to do with me, you might ask. Well for the next few weeks, I am the only "management" person left in the building. This means that I am currently doing my job plus big chunks of four other people. My first thought was this isn't fair! I can't do it! Here goes my stress level. Notice all of the first thoughts were on ME.

As I was reading through my Church's reading plan. We were reading the book of John. Specifically, the week of all of the big changes, I was reading John 18-20. It hit me as I was reflecting at lunch that Christ had been through greater changes than I had. He gave HIS life for me and my sins so I could be reborn. I began to have a shift change about my attitude... it's not about me but about Jesus and his people.

Today as I listened to Scott's message about being "in" Jesus, another thought came to me. The more that I read His word and pray to him daily, the less my stress level and the more I am aware that I am called to do his work. It is my hope that through this situation where eyes are upon me from my co-workers that I am the light of Christ shining out to them. If I focus inwardly towards myself, I can easily have an attitude of self pity or frustration. Instead I choose to be in a relationship with Christ on a minute by minute basis. My hope and goal is to look upward and towards Christ each time I find myself thinking about myself and how hard it is going. "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26 NIV

Twitter

2009-07-31T16:40:00.007-04:00

I've begun exploring Twitter more over the last month or so. I can see advantages over Facebook using Twitter for certain reasons. I was not able to go to the American Libraries Annual Conference this year. But through Twitter, I felt like I was almost there. You could hashtag using #ALA2009 and see what everyone was doing. One breakout session actually placed a link from Twitter and the whole program was video taped with Tweets at the same time.

Today I participated in my first Twibes. This is an application that pulls all the tweets together of people who have joined a certain group. In my case, I joined Chief Tyler Florence's experimental cooking class called Twitterlicous. You have to first join Twibes and of course have a Twitter account. He posts the recipes the day before after the group votes on what he will be cooking earlier in the week.

Today he cooked Baja Fish tacos. There were some glitches with Twibes but we forded on using either Tweetchat or just a Twitter search engine with the hashtag #twitlish.
It was an interesting experience and I hope I can join another class sometime soon. (I am making the tacos tonight for dinner.)

I began thinking about how I as a Librarian can use this concept to teach the public about some of our resources. I can see converting my Business Research class to a Twibes format. If I can ink out sometime at work, I might have to experiment. The question is would there be an audience for this type of format. Tyler Florence seems to have found his audience with over a thousand members.

What a week

2009-07-26T16:12:00.005-04:00

I had a busy week this week. It was our Vacation Bible School which we call "Go Orange". Here is a video wrap-up.

I helped out four days and then worked Thursday night. On Friday, I went to a retirement party for a woman who has worked at my library system for 22 years. She has been a librarian for close to forty years. When I called my husband to tell him I was running late that evening, he answered this is Who? I don't have a wife, I haven't seen her in days! Although I know he was kidding, I know that I need to make sure that I spend time with the person I have chosen to spend the rest of my life with. It was a good week but I need to make sure that I make the time to spend with him. He is the most important person in my life beside my Lord and Savior.

Twins

2009-07-19T13:44:00.005-04:00

Since I am a twin, I am always interested in news about twins. There must be something in the water because I know so many people having twins recently. I read an interesting article in the Spring from Deer and Deer Hunting magazine about twin deer. There have been many studies in humans and a few on deer about the effect of fraternal twins when they are of different sexes.

This article pointed out that they suspect that the testosterone from the male twin affects the female twin. Usually in these circumstances, the female twin is more masculine and is more likely to be sterile. In humans, the female is usually more of a tom boy. I find this study/s very interesting and wonder what else the two sexes impact while in the womb.

Adventures with Paul

2009-07-01T14:18:00.004-04:00

Well Sunday I was going to spend a quiet day at home just relaxing. Paul had asked me to go to the woods with him. I must confess that I didn't really want to go... Knowing however that I would not have another day off with my beloved for a few weeks, I seized the moment. Carpe Diem!

Boy was I rewarded! We walked in the hot woods. Paul began to gather and eat blackberries on the way. Once we got to where we were going, we both heard a bleating and crashing coming towards us. Paul yelled, "Amanda, a deer!". I looked back behind me and there was a fawn in front of me. I began taking pictures and then I remembered the camera had a video. Below is the results. After the fawn took off, Paul shared with me that he was bleating back to the fawn and had taken his white hanky off and moved it like a deer's tail. I can't wait for our next adventure!

Fishing

2009-06-18T10:42:00.004-04:00

So my husband and I went fishing a few weeks ago. We were rather surprised by the sign a the entrance to the Charlie Elliot Wildlife Mangement area stating that live bait is now allowed. I can say that I have never fished with live bait other than worms. The DNR did not consider live bait. Mainly what they were against was minnows and other smaller fish. I guess we will have to try live bait so I can experience something new.

She's back

2009-06-08T15:03:00.004-04:00

Since we have been in our house for 12 years, we suspect that we have the same deer year after year. This year, we believe we have proof. Here is a picture of a deer we saw last year. She has warts on her left ear. Just before I began writing this post, I stood up and walked to the window. To my surprise, she was right under my window. I scared her so bad that she went running to the side yard and jumped this fence.

Paul has seen a couple of deer in the back yard munching on our grass. We are sure that they have their eye on our wonderful garden. We have tomatoes, peppers, yellow squash and green beans. We will have to wait and see if they get what they want. We do have an eight foot fence to keep them away.

A new day

2009-06-06T16:49:00.002-04:00

Well for the last few days, I have been trying to move into the 21st century. I upgraded my Internet service from dial-up to DSL. That took about an hour to come up but I need to upgrade my protection software. Upgrading took several hours and once I was able to get the old desktop running at a faster speed... I thought I was ready to establish a wireless network.

Of course, things didn't really go as plan. I thought I would just plug in the Ethernet cable into the new router and it would work. It didn't work because I selected the wrong type. I then thought I need to bridge my DSL router. I found out after 4 hours. Yes, I said 4 hours to figure out that I didn't not need to bridge the router. It took several calls to Earthlink support and chats to undo what I did and then work through setting up the wireless network. I did it though. I am not intimately familiar with the workings of the DSL modem and wirless router. Now for my next day off, I plan to play and maybe go fishing.

Adventures with Paul

2009-05-25T12:55:00.005-04:00

If you have been reading this blog for awhile, you have seen that Paul and I have had a few adventures. I woke up this morning and planned to do some massive grilling. I am going to grill a five pound turkey breast, some venison steaks and meatloaf. (Yes, I said meatloaf!).

When I got up, Paul asked if I wanted to take a ride to the lease and just ride around. I am always willing and ready. We headed off and looked at the tornado damage that was just a few miles away from the house. We then headed to the lease. Paul wanted to go to Buck Track, the lease that we are losing at the end of the week. It also had sustained a great deal off tornado damage. As we drove down the logging road, I was amazed at the amount of damage I saw.

We got to the end of the line, actually Paul said the road was not clear just over the hill. Paul decided that he would just turn around... and that's where the trouble began. We were in the newer truck in four wheel low. He backed up and then tried to go forward. The truck just spun it's wheels. Paul tried a few more time to no avail. Paul said "Well I don't have my come along so I hope we can get out of here." He had me get in the driver's side while he rocked the truck from the back. We tried that for awhile and then decided to use some logs. That didn't work so then we began to pick up rocks and throwing it in the hole at the front back tire to give some traction. We worked for another five minutes while I prayed and dreaded the long walk to a phone. We finally got the truck to move forward and we were out of the hole. I continued to pray until we got to the county road. Next time I might just hesitate when Paul says lets go for a drive.....

Smokies Day 3

2009-05-16T20:28:00.003-04:00

We drove the Tremont Road which is always one of our favorites. It has a self driving tour about old logging days. Since we have been going there over the last 14 years, we usually just look for wild life and plants. We pulled over about midway and got out to look at the Little River. Paul decided to take a "souvenir". It was a small river rock. I had to share the story of the time when I was in Ireland and I took several rocks to give to staff members. It was not until I went back several years later that I discovered it was illegeal to remove those rocks.

After driving down the Tremont road we headed to Cades Cove around 10:00 a.m. On Wednesdays and Saturdays only bicycles are allowed on the loop road before 10:00 a.m. As we went through the first half of the loop we saw a bear jam. A bear was up a tree sleeping. Everyone was out taking pictures but we decided to skip since we have gotten better pictures.

We drove around the loop road once and then decided to head down the Rich Mountain road. This is a unimproved road that winds around the mountain. We took a few picures showing one of the churches. (This is the scenery that you see often on calendars showing the Smoky Mountains). When finishing the road, we tried to find the sink hole that a co-worker of mine had told me about. We headed down the main trail for about a 1/4 of a mile but didn't find the trail that headed off. We came back and I got several great pictures of wildflowers.

After a leisurly dinner and rest, we went back to the Cove. The same bear that was up in the tree earlier that morning was still in the tree. It was using a branch as a pillow. How cute? Well our trip was over but we surely enjoyed the time together and the beautiful scenery. Until next time.....

Smokies Day 2- The North Carolina Road Trip

2009-05-13T10:00:00.001-04:00

We began the day planning on going to Cades Cove but after getting gas and coffee, we decided to drive to Oconaluftee Mountain farm. We began the long journey and along the way saw a turkey on the side of the road. I actually first thought that it was log or stone. As we approached, I realized it was a turkey. Paul decided to turn around so I could get a picture pretty close. I got real close as you can see by the picture.

We continued and visited the Visitor center and the farm. Today they had several fourth grade classes learning how things were done in the "old" days. It was neat to see a blacksmith, the children washing dishes the "old" fasion way and the cookfires they made. After the farm we decided that we would drive up to Balsam Mountain.

We took the Blue Ridge Parkway and drove farther up the mountains. As we got higher the woods looked more like early Spring instead of mid-Spring. We stopped along the way quite a bit to take pictures of a variety of wild flowers. I was seeing a white flowering tree and kept asking what kind of tree it was. Paul as a forestry major decided to stop and take his tree book out to see what the tree was. We found out that it was a Downy Serviceberry tree. A picture of it is posted here.

This evening we saw another big bear. We think it was a male because there were no cubs with it. Paul saw it up in the woods because another truck had stopped. The bear got to within 12-15 feet on both side of the car. I actually thought for a minute that the bear might come in to my side window. It was a nice ending of a great day with my husband, the talented one.

UPDATE: The tree with the little bell flowers is a Carolina Silverbell. Paul wanted to make sure that no one would think that HE misidentified a tree.

Smokies Day 1

2009-05-12T08:06:00.011-04:00

We arrived in Townsend mid afternoon and relaxed in our hotel room. We decided to take a drive to the Park. This year is the 75Th year the park was established. We took the loop road and immediately saw some big gobblers. One of them had a 12 inch long beard. As we drove around the loop road, Paul kept on looking for wildlife and occasionally almost ran of the road. We visited the Visitor's Center and looked around. Paul bought our Calendars for next year. We finally saw some deer as we approached Hyatt road. One was a small button buck. The deer are starting to grow their antlers back. We came upon a jam and quickly discovered it was a "bear jam". We continued around since we couldn't see the bear by the time we got up to the spot.

As we continued on from the Visitors Center, we decided to try Parson's Branch Road. I wanted to take a picture of an Iris. It was pretty and purple. Paul stayed in the car while I took the picture. When I got finished, he was driving down the road slowly, butt hole! I walked to the car, luckily he stayed put this time. We continued on as far as we could go. The road was closed again due to storm damage. Will we ever get to go down Parsons Branch Road? Every time we come up to the Smokies it is closed due to storm damage. Last year, we didn't make it and the road was open.

As we were leaving Parson's Branch Road, Paul saw a bear. It was a pretty big bear near the creek in a lot of brush. We were able to watch it eat for awhile but we couldn't get any pictures. We tried but all that came out as a black blob. As continued around the loop road and getting near the end, we were passing by Sparks Lane when I looked back up the hill on Sparks Lane. I saw a HUGE bear. Paul quickly backed up (luckily there was no one right behind us...) and went down the Lane.

The big black bear crossed the road and then a few minutes later a cub, no two cubs, wait no three cubs followed momma bear. The momma bear got on to her two hind legs and looked up the bank to see if there was any danger. She shepherded her cubs up the bank. We were able to get one decent picture of the cubs crossing the road. The momma bear was the biggest bear I have ever seen and it was the closest I have ever gotten to a bear. We shot a few other shot of the momma bear but they were blurry since I used the sunset setting and didn't realize that I had to keep the camera absolutely still.

We finished the rest of the loop road without any other fun encounters. We were both really hungry at that point and were ready to get back to get a Subway sandwich. We were behind a car at the stop sign near the camp store. I was muttering that they needed to just go ahead and turn there was no one coming. I turned to the left when we got up to the stop sign and then noticed that there was a deer about 3 feet away from our car. So that was what they were looking at instead of driving.

Tigger

2009-05-09T14:13:00.003-04:00

We lost Tigger earlier this week. She lived with us eight years. Although she is gone, she will always live in our hearts. We first met Tigger when Seamus wandered off with another dog at the deer camp. Tigger just wandered up and began to roll onto her back showing off her stomach for petting.

We decided to keep her but were not going home immediately. When we went hunting we stuck her in our trailer. (We were using it for storage.) She did not like being left alone so she proceeded to climb the curtains. When we got back, the trailer was trashed! She also tore up the hose from the dryer when we kept her in the laundry room.

Although she was trying the first few months, she became a loving part of our family. She loved to take baths with me. Whenever I was in the bathroom, she would holler to be let in the room. She would love to put her paws on the side of the tub and watch the water flow into the tub. When I finished, she always wanted me to get her a little wet.

One of the last memories I have of her was the Sunday before she became sick. She was in the kitty pan using it. Leon decided he had to go at the same time but did not realize that Tigger was already in there. He began to go inside the litter pan when Tigger realized it and tried to get out. When I got there she was half out and Leon was trying to vacate the laundry room. I really miss my girl and know eventually it will get easier.

Ghost in Covington

2009-04-28T11:53:00.002-04:00

Recently the TAPS crew was in Atlanta and Covington looking for ghosts. In Covington they went to Gaithers Plantation to see if ghosts resided in the old house that is on the property. You need to watch the show Ghost Hunters to see whether they did or not. You could also follow this link to watch it online.

Hey, wake up!

2009-04-25T11:31:00.000-04:00

My boys, Seamus (the border collie) and Leon (Bombay) are very impatient when it comes to getting outside early in the morning. It usually starts with Seamus coming into the bedroom and sitting by the side of the bed. He uses those piercing border collie eyes to will me up. If I do sense him trying to get me up, I often will ignore him. I still want to sleep a few more minutes.

When I don't get up, Leon then will jump off the bed and join his big brother. The two of them will pace in and out of the bedroom trying to wake me up. If that doesn't work, they then will stand in front of the door. Leon is usually in the lead with Seamus right behind them. If that doesn't get me up, then Leon will begin jumping up and down of of the bed.

This reminds me when my sister and I were probably seven years old. On the weekend, my dad would fix either pancakes or French toast for us. My parents like any hard working couple, liked to sleep in until 9:00 a.m. on the weekend. My sister and I like any kids wanted to get up and eat early in the day. After waiting a long time, we would begin getting hungry. One day we decided to remedy the situation ourselves. We gathered up all our marbles and began pitching them through their closed bedroom door. After all of the marbles were rolled under their door, they still did not stir. We then decided that we needed to retrieve the marbles to start over. We used a coat hanger to push under the bedroom door to fish the marbles back out. Years latter my mom shared that my parents were indeed awake and tried to keep from laughing out loud. They just wanted a few more minutes of sleep.

Where are the Turkeys?

2009-04-20T10:59:00.001-04:00

It is mid-April and I have not heard or seen a wild turkey. Have all of the tornadoes and Spring storms driven them deep in to the woods? I know that wet seasons have a tendency to keep the young turkeys from surviving before hatched. Maybe the growing coyote population has cut deeply into the turkey population.

Oh where, oh where have the turkeys gone? I just miss hearing the kee keeing, the gobbling in the early morning. I hope before the end of May I will hear or see a wild turkey. What about you, have you seen or heard one?

Spring is Here!

2009-03-29T12:16:00.002-04:00

After weeks of snow, tornadoes and rain, Spring is finally here. Last week when I was at work, a person came up and asked me what tree was blooming that was of a lilac color. I being the Librarian that I am tried to look at tree books and the Internet to answer the lady's question. Unfortunately for the woman, I couldn't find the answer. I thought maybe Wisteria, even though it was not a tree. When Paul and I were coming back from church, I was mentioning the lady's question. As we drove up the driveway, I noticed our redbud tree. There was the answer, to bad I didn't notice or think of it earlier.

Today while we were eating breakfast, I noticed a chickadee making a hole in one of the deer targets. Apparently, the bird is planning to make the deer target home for it's new arrivals. I guess we won't be able to shoot arrows for awhile until the baby birds are born and leave.

If only it would be nice and sunny so I can go fishing......

The Fury of Mother Nature

2009-02-28T12:02:00.007-05:00

A little over a week ago several tornadoes touched down several miles from us. The closest one was less than a mile south of our house. The one that touched us personally was about 10 miles southeast of us. It wrecked havoc where we hunt. It apparently touched down in the Wildlife Management area and then set down again in the middle of the land we lease. Here are a few pictures that were taken last Sunday.

We hope to go back tomorrow so I can see the damage first hand. However, they are forecasting snow so we will have to see....

Third Day Revelation Tour Widget

2009-02-13T16:07:00.001-05:00

Winter Blues

2009-01-31T11:42:00.004-05:00

It has been cold here and we might get some snow on Tuesday. Seamus loves the cold weather and we have to watch him staying out to long. We haven't seen many deer but we know they are here! We have been feeding them with deer chow and it disappears over night. The pig birds (mourning doves) have been pigging out during the day on the seed.

The cats especially Leon has been tentative about going outside. He sticks his head out, feels the cold air and just stops. I have to push my foot on his butt to get him to move in or out.

Senility - I am not looking forward to it!

2009-01-14T10:54:00.003-05:00

As I have posted previously, my dog is 15 years old. He has begun to become more senile each week. He has gone from eating my socks, which he retrieves from the very back of my night stand. Lately, I have noticed that his eye sight is starting to fail him. In the dark of night, he used to be able to see me. Now however, he will bump into me without seeing me. He is using his nose a lot more to check out his surroundings instead of using his eyes.

Seamus has also been wanting to spend a lot of time outside. He consistently whines to go out. He will lay down and go to sleep even when it is below freezing. I have to constantly be aware where he is so he does not freeze to death. I know we all if we are lucky enough to live to old age, all have this possibility to become senile. I love Seamus to death. I just seem to get frustrated more often with him. May he live another year.

Good Eats

2008-12-24T10:12:00.004-05:00

I have not been updating my blog as often as I usually do. I do have an excuse... I have been writing for the blog at work. (See my blog role). I also have become addicted to Facebook.

Today I would like to talk about the benefits of venison. My husband has been a successful hunter for over thirty years. I am just coming into my own. Venison is a low fat and healthy meat to eat. I especially like it because it goes back to our roots and the deer is "free range". There is nothing like being able to know that you can provide for yourself and your family.

I read an article from the January issue of "Deer and Deer Hunting" called Venison: The World's Healthiest Red Meat by Dr. Phillip Bishop. In the article, he explains that venison has the lowest number of calories at 186 for 4 ounces of Venison. It is lower than Chicken breast, Veal cutlet, Pork shoulder and Ground beef. Venison has a fat content of 6.6 gm of fat, 82.7 mg of cholesterol and 29.3 gm of protein. Venison is also rich in vitamin B-2 and B-6.

Often people talk about venison as being gamy. There are several reasons why venison can taste different. The first reason is that it is a wild meat and has not been given growth hormones and other feeds. The deer had eaten naturally from the woods it come from. If there are farms and agriculture in the area, the deer will eat corn, etc. If there is no agriculture in the area, the deer will eat what vegetation around. It may eat acorns, Kudzu, grass etc. what ever it can find- even tomatoes!

Another reason, venison can taste different, is how it is harvested. If the shot is not placed well, the deer will run a ways. The longer it runs, the more blood and adrenaline is found in the meat. The last reason is how the deer is processed. To have good meat, you must cool the carcass as quick as possible. According to Dr.Bishop's article, you should get the meat temperature below 40 degrees as quick as possible. You also want to rinse the inside of the carcass to clean it out free of bacteria.

When cooking venison, you can use it in any recipe that you would use normally use beef. You do need to remember that it is a lean meat and will need to add a little of fat. (I often will add a little olive oil to add a healthy fat.) Remember that you do not want to over cook venison, it needs to be cooked slow or fast and not for very long. If you want to learn more about the healthy benefits of venison, check out Dr. Bishop's article.

Not Proud to be an Auburn Tiger

2008-12-05T15:58:00.006-05:00

Image by Getty Images via DaylifeFor those who know me, I am not a very ranting person. I have to take a different take with the Auburn football situation. I can not sit back and watch what is happening with SEC football, especially Auburn, without speaking out about it.

I have always been proud to say that I am an Auburn graduate until yesterday. I understand and do not feel bad for Tommy Tuberville with the amount of money he will receive under his forced resignation. I am disappointed that Auburn seems to be giving the message that a bump in the road and a poor decision can have dire consequences.

Tommy has led Auburn for 10 years and had a winning season until this year. Yes, Auburn lost to Georgia and Alabama and had it's worse year in a long time. Have we come to a time that unless you win your rival games and do not have a winning season that you are out of job?

This season Fulmer and Groom lost their jobs for the same reason. Is Mark Richt a year away from losing his job? Tommy Tuberville and Mark Richt seemed to be coaches that are raising men as well as bringing money into the University they are employed. To me, I think that how a person treats others and their examples are more important than that "big" win. I could understand if Tuberville and Auburn had two bad years with the last year not an improvement over the previous. Auburn does not have a prayer of having a good football team for a long time. What decent man/coach would want to lead the program? You will be a loss away before your out of a job.

In the future, I will not be yelling War Eagle so loudly. Yes, I am embarrassed of the University. I was blessed to go to Auburn and learn many things both academically and morally. I just wonder what the current student body is learning.

On a final note, I can't believe I am saying this.... Go Bama! I want them to beat Florida and play for the National Championship. That's saying a lot from a die hard Tiger fan. Let's hope for a better year.

Times Have Changed

2008-11-30T13:01:00.006-05:00

Over a decade ago when I started hunting, the belief was that spike bucks were inferior bucks. The standard practice was to harvest spiked bucks because genetically they could alter the herd negatively. In the August issue of Deer and Deer Hunting, an article discussed the new research in regards to spike bucks. New research indicates that spike bucks are not genetically inferior, in fact, environmental factors cause bucks to grow spikes in their early years. The article pointed out that poor nutrition and the mom’s nurturing habits impact the young males ability to produce testosterone. When there is little to eat, the deer’s body first concentrates on making the buck body bigger to survive the first winter. If the buck succeeds in this early enough in the summer, the buck’s body will begin to make testosterone which intern will produce antlers.

The yearling buck that only grows spikes, does not indicate future antler growth. The article pointed to a study that showed in a controlled situation, three bucks in later years actually grew very big racks. So if you haven’t heard of the new research, next time you are in the woods and see that spike buck, think twice about harvesting it. If you pass it up, you might be producing that trophy buck in the years to come.

The End of a Season

2008-11-23T12:19:00.002-05:00

I have not posted in awhile because of vacations. It has been a successful year as far as deer hunting. Paul has gotten two nice big bucks. I was lucky enough to get a five pointer and a nice eight pointer. The five pointer was chasing two does. It ran around my stand for several moments until the bigger doe lead the buck to right in front of my stand. I bleated and the buck stopped. I shot and it ran off to the right of the stand. It just stood there and looked at me. I thought, "Did I miss?" I shot again and he ran off. I found him and to me he was a trophy.

Last Saturday, I saw a small spike buck with only one spike. It fed to the left of my stand. I had seen the deer a couple of times before. I looked over to the right and far off I saw a deer. I couldn't see how big the deer was at that time. I watched the smaller buck feed for a little while and then saw a nice buck farther up the hill. I saw that he was legal and saw that I could get a shot. As I looked at it, I noticed that there were some branches in the way. I waited a little longer and then I saw that I had a shot and took it. I was rewarded with a nice eight pointer. That ended the season for both Paul and I. It was very cold yesterday, so I was thankful that I had limited out.

War Eagle! A good day for football.

2008-11-08T20:19:00.002-05:00

Image via WikipediaI am celebrating tonight that Auburn finally won a game! It has been a very good football day. Even though Auburn played what I call a mamsy pamsy team, they did win. Georgia squeaked it out over Kentucky. It was nice that they bounced back from their lost to Florida. An even better win was the one point win that Iowa had over Penn State. Iowa is the place where I was born. I don't remember it much but I still support Iowa football. I just had to post my delightful day.

Changing Leaves

2008-11-05T10:12:00.007-05:00

It visually looks like fall around Covington. The leaves are finally changing to add colors. Last week it looked like summer but this week it does look like fall.
Of course, this week the temperatures are not cooperating. It has been warm all week.

This morning I was blessed to see a young buck (a four pointer) chasing a doe around our back door. What a treat! It makes me look forward to next week when Paul and I will be again back in the woods. Enjoy these pictures that Paul took on Monday.

A relaxing week!

2008-11-02T14:00:00.006-05:00

Paul and I have been in the woods for the past week. It was a very relaxing trip. It still looks like summer out there with all of the leaves still on the trees. We both had a successful week as far as hunting. Paul harvested a nice 10 point buck and I harvested a 5 point buck. Mine looked puny next to Paul's but I was proud.

Yesterday afternoon, I sat in the woods looking for another big buck. I didn't see any deer but I was able to watch the woods. I saw a racoon climb a tree. It climbed about 25 feet up the tree and perched itself on a tree limb. It was interesting watching the racoon. It placed its legs on either side of the tree limb and just hung there. It's tail it used to balance on the limb. It ate many leaves off the tree limb above it. I had never seen that behavior before.

The picture above is of me and my second buck ever. The house in the background was constructed before 1865. (Yes, I said 1865). The guys have been staying in the house during hunting season for the last 30 years or so. I have heard stories of snakes in the house and other creatures.

The best story, is our friend Mike had killed a deer one day and didn't want to leave it outside. (For some reason he didn't take it to the cooler.) He drug it into the house and into his bedroom that he shared with our other friend Scott. Mike didn't want to leave it on the floor and he didn't have anything to put it on. So what did he do? He placed in on Scott's blanket in Scott's bed!! Of course Scott slept in the lower bunk so it was a little easier to get to... It has been over 12 years ago and I still occasionally hear them rib each other about the buck in the bed story.

A beautiful trip

2008-10-19T15:07:00.006-04:00

We are back from a weekend in the woods. Friday was a day with the guys. Paul and his friends grilled pork butts for the rest of the guys at a meet and greet night. You can tell it was a meal with men and no women. There was the pork butts, potatoes, and then lots and lots of desert. The day was rather damp, even though they said that it was just going to sprinkle. It poured down rain for over five hours.

Saturday, I went out at first light. I was fortunate to see three does. At first all I saw was back to the left of my stand. Then about twenty minutes later, I saw three does in the same area. I have hunted the same place for over three years. I never noticed that there is a dip on that side of the stand. I went out Saturday afternoon and saw three does again. I also saw a racoon that climbed down a tree and then crossed the creek.

Sunday, I again saw more does. I saw a total of four deer. The first deer I couldn't tell if it was a buck or doe. All I saw was a back and couldn't see the head. I can't wait until next weekend. I will be starting my week long weekend. The picture above is a deer from our back yard.

A beautiful use for wood

2008-10-16T11:06:00.002-04:00

Since I have known my husband, I have always been amazed at how raw wood can be made beautiful. My husband made all of our wooden furniture in our house. He made our bed, night stands, coffee table and kitchen table. We have a friend, Richard, who also can make beautiful things out of wood. This pepper mill is one of the many things he has made. This particular pepper mill was made from a tree that had fallen down in the woods were we hunt. I think it was one of the most beautiful pieces of wood and craftsmanship I have seen in a long time. I will try and create some pictures of the beautiful things Paul has created.

The Experience

2008-10-04T12:53:00.002-04:00

Many people think that just because you hunt that you want to kill everything you see. I like to hunt but for me and most hunters it is the experience that counts. There is nothing like being out in the woods and experiencing the interaction of all of the critters. Where else can you experience the interaction of a coon walking with it’s baby. While you are watching it, you notice that it is beginning to glance backwards. When you look back you see a deer coming down the hill. I would never have noticed the deer if it had not been for that coon.

Hunting, at least for me, is the excuse to get out in the woods. I also like to know that I have the ability to provide meat for my family. Many people think that hunters hunt for the “big” rack. That hunt satisfies the need of every human to compete with others. Every one of us desires to out do others. If you say that you don’t you are lying. Just like all activities, hunting can be obsessed by some and can be disliked by others. My philosophy is to try everything once to be able to judge it on its own merits. If you have not been out in the woods being completely still and quiet don’t knock it. For me, it is a great time for reflection. We all need reflection to lessen the stress in our lives and think upon what we are doing. I invite you to try the outdoors. If not by picking up a gun try hunting with a camera. There is nothing like it!

Fall, Fall, Fall !!

2008-09-20T10:14:00.002-04:00

Image via WikipediaMonday is the beginning of the fall season. Here in Georgia it is beginning to feel more like fall. The lows are in the upper 50's. Football is going strong. ESPN game day is on the loveliest village on the plain also known as Auburn, Alabama. Fall to me is not only cooler weather, college football but also homecoming.

Where do I feel at home? My home of twelve years is Covington. Where else can I sit on my front porch drink tea and listen to the squirrels gathering nuts, the birds singing their last summer songs and hear the cows from a distant pasture. Auburn is also another place that is home. Just seeing the pictures from the loveliest village makes me want to make the two and half hour trip. Instead, I have to watch it from the t.v. Just a few more weeks and deer season will begin. Then I will be spending a lot of time experience the great outdoors. There is nothing better but just sitting outside in the woods watching the world around you. The interaction of the different species is nothing like it.

Best Surprise

2008-09-11T11:02:00.002-04:00

Paul and I were sitting down to dinner on Monday night. As we were beginning to eat Paul said "Hey look at the buck out there!" I said, "Yea right." You see we have two buck deer targets outside in our backyard. I was sure that he was pulling my leg. That wasn't the case! Out in our backyard was a six point buck. It was a pretty good size. It began to browse around the yard and then a few minutes later a second buck appeared. It was also a nice six point buck. This is a first for us. We have lived here twelve years and have never seen a buck in the backyard. I can't wait to experience the next visit of our two boys.

The Family that Walks Together

2008-09-05T13:49:00.003-04:00

Tigger our oldest cat has always walked along with Seamus and me. Since Leon has joined the family, as posted before, he has become his brother's keeper. Now when I get home from work, Seamus wants a walk. I am glad that he still wants to remain active but after a long day, I would rather just sit. I, however, will get up and take him for a walk. Now when we walk, it is Seamus, Tigger and Leon. The four of us walk together in a single file line.

Leon has started doing something I have never seen a cat do. When Seamus pees, Leon comes up behind him and tries to bury the scent. It is rather comically to watch this black cat walk behind the dog scratching after he goes.

Fall is Here!!

2008-08-31T14:25:00.002-04:00

Image by jimmywayne22 via Flickr Labor day is tomorrow and Fall is here. College football started yesterday. Both Auburn and Georgia both won. I even (cringe...) rooted for Alabama last night over Clemson. This afternoon Paul and I saw a new doe. Her fur is starting to turn to the winter brown. Her red summer coat was barely visual with the winter coat growth. I can't wait for cooler weather now. If only I could go fishing. I hope to go sometime this week.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

2008-08-27T12:40:00.004-04:00

Image via Wikipedia I am tired of all of this rain! I know that we need it for our drought but heck I'm off and I want to go outside. O.K. I know I'm whining a little. But late this morning, I saw some sun and blue skies before it got cloudy and began to rain again.

I have been off for six days and yes, I have rested up but this outdoor girl needs to get outside. I have to go back to work tomorrow and I'm not off again until Sunday. What is it supposed to do but rain again! I just want to go fishing for a few hours. Oh well, I guess it's back to playing my variety of instruments, playing on the Wii and surfing the net.

You Know your from Newton County!

2008-08-23T09:37:00.001-04:00

Image via Wikipedia I just joined Facebook. Many people at my work have joined and I thought I would see what it is about. I can keep up with my co-workers, old schools, the younger generation of my family and my church. I joined several groups but my favorite so far is "You Know your from Newton County."
Here is their list that is listed on the group's page:
It's simple really...

You know you're from Newton County, GA when:

1.You consider El Charro fine dining. (Edited thanks to Josh Whittington!)

2. Football games, homecoming, prom, and weddings can end up at the Waffle House.

3. You know that the bypass, Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd, and Eagle Dr are all the same road.

4. The Wal-Mart parking lot isn't a place to park you car in, but the social event of the weekend.

5. All roads lead to the square.

6. Jim Stalvey holds a monopoly over the Covington/Social Circle restaurant business.

7. You've caught yourself at some point in your life going to Legion Park when there was nothing else to do.

8. You go to Stonecrest mall, even though you know it's pretty crappy.

9. The closest Starbucks is over 10 minutes from your house.

10. The Newton vs. Eastside football game is the highlight of fall semester.

11. The "It" girls truly think all that makeup is good for them.

12. We know the significance of the Dukes of Hazard.

13. And In the Heat of the Night.

14. The General Lee has a celebrated day on the square at least once a year.

15. You used to see the fireworks display in Newton Plaza before it got banned.

16. You remember when Chick-fil-a was first built and still treat it like Mecca.

17. Will a Burger King ever NOT burn down?

18. You've been to Maime's Kitchen for biscuits. And liked them.

19. Conyers is your idea of a metropolis. If you want anything "good" you have to travel 10 mintues.

20. The little movie theater that is now inhabited by Stevi B's used to rock your world.

21. Hunan's is a scary place. And still really tasty.

22. When Belk's moved to Conyers you realized you'd have to make do with Goody's now. And you do.

23. Girls are the last to know about trends...like the fact that Uggs were out of style before they hit Covington. So were really big highlights.

24. Oxford College is not in England. It's near Cousins Middle School.

25.You know the best night to commit a crime is when Eastside and Newton play each other in football or basketball, because everybody in town goes to watch, and all the cops in Newton County are there to prevent gang fights from breaking out. (Jared Eakins)

26. Seriously, El Charro pretty much brightens your world.

27. You're the only person around who knows where and how to get to/has heard of Mansfield or Newborn. (Dallas Hollaway)

28. Dozier: The name says it all. You've had her AT LEAST once. (Dallas Hollaway)

29.Fresh Air Barbecue

30. You're the only town in the area that holds a barbecue at the local park for Sherman's Last Burning.

31. After attending said barbecue, 31 people turn out to have salmonella poisoning from pulled pork sandwiches. And it shows on on Channel 2 News.

32. Your proud that at least your not one of the lost children of Rockdale County. (Marshall Mason)

Feel free to add more..

Time alas!!

2008-08-22T14:19:00.004-04:00

Image via Wikipedia I have been working real hard the last two months! I am off for the next six days and plan on just chilling out. The weather however is not cooperating. It is very cloudy and windy. We are expecting thirty-five mile gusts today and tomorrow. This is not the ideal weather to go fishing, which is what I was hoping to do. It wouldn't be that bad if we were actually going to see any rain out of all this. Of course, tropical storm Fay is to blame for this lovely weather. I'll try and post later this weekend with hopefully a more lively post.

Road Lobsters

2008-08-21T10:52:00.003-04:00

I have been seeing quite a few road lobsters over the last few weeks. They are getting closer and closer to our house. You might be asking what is a road lobster. That is what many from the country calls an armadillo. They have been migrating from Texas over the last thirty years.

I remember when I was in the second grade my first report was on armadillos. I remember at that time that they were only found in the west. They were known for eating ants and insects. I have seen the road lobsters slowly making their way towards Covington. I first saw them in South Georgia, and then Monticello. I have seen many on the road within a few miles from our house. I can only hope that they will not show up on our property but I'm afraid that they will be showing up any day now.

Adventures with Paul

2008-08-13T18:07:00.002-04:00

Well I have been working so much I haven't had an opportunity to spend time with Paul. We were both off on Sunday so I suggested a drive to the woods. I wish I had a camera that would have captured this adventure!! Paul had a stand way back in the woods that needed some repair to it. He suggested that we drive down to the stand.

Well, what we didn't anticipate was that the old logging road leading to the stand had that much weeds etc that had grown. The dog fennel had grown to at least six feet. As we approached the old logging road you couldn't see anything ahead of you except the dog fennel for what seemed like forever. We went about five feet when I noticed a smaller tree down. I offered to get out, twist it and remove it. Paul insisted in getting out and with his hand saw to cut it. After that was accomplished, he got back in to the truck. Now I must tell about this truck. It is an 1988 Iszu 4x4 purple truck that has dents all over it. Paul then backed up and veered to the left. I thought that the road went straight but Paul insisted that he knew where it was. As he went to the left, we went over a log. The problem was we were stuck. I thought for sure that we would be walking for miles until we could get a cell tower to call our friend to come pick us up.

Paul had another plan... he went back to his truck tool box and pulled out a come along. Thank God for his bag of tricks. It took us only about fifteen minutes and a nice size sweet gum tree. Of course after we got unstuck, we had to repeat the trip at least three times to open up the trail. I can't wait for two weeks from now when I am off to see what our next adventure will be!!

Flight of the Bumble bee

2008-08-11T12:55:00.000-04:00

Image via WikipediaOver the weekend I picked our garden. We had green beans, tomatoes, yellow squash, green bell peppers and hot peppers. For the first time in over twelve years I saw bumble bees in the garden. I wonder if it is because we put the squash inside the fence. If you are new to my blog, I live on six acres in Covington Georgia. We have deer who regularly come to our back yard. After our first year of gardening we had to erect a eight foot fence around the entire garden to keep the deer from eating the fruits of our labors. We had kept the squash and tomatoes out for the last 10 years since the deer had never been interested in them. Last year they ate the squash.

I saw at least 10 bees and I am excited not only is our yield up this year but it speaks well in Covington that the bees are back. There have been a lot of disease and other factors that have been depleting the bee population in Georgia. Getting back to the deer, Paul has had to put a fence around the upside down tomatoes. The deer have been steadily eating the tomato bushes. If they don't watch out they will be food for someone else....

Go Orange!

2008-08-09T12:24:00.002-04:00

No this is not a post about ugh Tennessee or even my beloved Auburn. Several weeks ago I volunteered at my church during Vacation Bible School. The E-town people made a video of the experience. I am going to share it with you. My church is blessed with many talented people from musicians, to video producers, to actors and script writers. The total experience was one of people coming together to show the love of Christ to the children of church and to realize that it takes the entire church serving each other with God's help to show the world. I hope you enjoy the video.

Mosaic

2008-08-06T11:04:00.002-04:00

Image via WikipediaI have been listening to Amy Grant's book "Mosaic: Pieces of My Life." I have been a fan of Amy Grants since the early 80's. When I first became a Amy made her first trip to Auburn on a concert tour. I saw her and Michael W. Smith in the concert. I was a new in my faith and had been writing songs for a little over four years.

The book is a snap shot of her life interspersed with the lyrics of her songs. She also tells a little bit about the stories that inspired many of her songs. The first chapter is a reflection that we are always looking to find out who we are. We really never know who that is since through encounters and life lived we are constantly changing. I really could relate to many of her reflections and am glad to get a glimpse of her life. We are all trying to be the best we can be and live the life that we were meant to live but we are all human and fall. The best thing that we can do is ask forgiveness and try to move on and succeed again.

Survey Survey

2008-08-02T10:04:00.002-04:00

Last night I answered the phone and it was an automated phone call. It was a survey for the City of Covington. The survey went like this..... Are you a resident of the city of Covington? No. Do you have natural gas? No. The questions continued asking if I knew what I needed to do if there was a gas link, did I know how to contact the city of Covington? Did I not say that I did not live in the city of Covington and that I do not use natural gas. By the end of the phone call, I was laughing hysterically. Maybe it was because I was tired but who ever devised the phone survey did not anticipate those that did not live in Covington nor had a totally electric household.

The best session I went to at ALA

2008-07-31T20:23:00.001-04:00

Are You in the Game? Harnessing Millennial Learning Strategies to Market Your Library

From: LLAMA_ALA, 2 weeks ago

Are You in the Game? Harnessing Millennial Learning Strategies to Market Your Library

view presentation (tags: library marketing prms ala2008)

ALA Annual Program sponsored by PRMS of LAMA. Speakers: Tammy Allgood, Arizona State University and Marisa Duarte, Fresno Public Library.

SlideShare Link

Christian Music Moving Up

2008-07-29T09:00:00.002-04:00

Today is a great day in Christian music. Third Day a local Christian music band will be appearing on the Jay Leno show tonight. The band began in North Atlanta. I have been a fan of theirs over four years. They have been around a lot longer than that. Their new much anticipated album, Revelation is due out this week. I have loved all of their songs on their previous albums. Many times they have gotten me through some rough times. Mack Powell has an outstanding and very unique voice. I can't wait until I can buy the new album. It is available for a brief time to download for free until the album is released on Tuesday.

Living in a Small Town

2008-07-27T16:33:00.000-04:00

I love living in a small town. Last week we took Seamus to the vet. Dr. Krueger is a Georgia graduate so when we take the pets to the vet, we always talk about the Georgia vs. Auburn game. Paul mentioned before we visited that we ought to make a wager. I told Dr. Krueger about the proposal. If Georgia wins we would be pay double and if Auburn won he would give us a visit free. He was very agreeable to the bet. I however, was a little weary. I am not sure if Auburn get beat Georgia this year! I guess in the fall we shall see.

Living in a small town is great. I love that people remember you and all about you. Having grown up in the city where people just pass you by without saying anything. Of course, I learned at Auburn through "Hey day" to always to say hey. I love to be at work and call everyone by their name. It always amazes people.

Big Bang Theory

2008-07-25T12:37:00.002-04:00

Image via WikipediaI have been hooked over the last T.V. season with the "Big Bang Theory". It stars Johnny Galecki who was famous playing on the Rosanne show. It also stars Kaley Cuoco who was on "8 Simple Rules". The new breakout actor in this show is Jim Parsons. The shows premise is this beautiful women who lives across the hall from two geeks. The geeks have two other friends that all work together for the same company. The interaction between the characters are classic. There are references to Star Trek and other geeky things. If you are a geek or have known geeks, you should be able to relate to this show. Jim Parsons has really broken out in this show and his comedic timing is great. I can't wait until the end of September when this show returns. I have almost all of the episodes recorded on my dvr.

Deer Chasing Dogs

2008-07-18T10:24:00.002-04:00

Image via WikipediaI observed the most bizarre thing a few days ago. Our neighbors dog, Pretzel, was running down the street and a young deer was following him. I first thought that since I was driving down the street that they were both running away from me. I slowly approached our house and noticed the deer chase Pretzel up to his front porch. The dog stayed their a few seconds than turned around and chased the deer to the edge of the woods. I have never seen anything like that. I wonder if they were playing with each other?

I want to check you for ticks

2008-07-13T13:18:00.000-04:00

Now that I have your attention, this is not an outdoor post. I have always enjoyed the lyrics of music. Brad Paisley is one of my favorite artists who writes picturesque lyrics. His songs always plant a video in my head. Often his songs lead my thoughts one way and then he throws in a word or two that makes you stop and go what?! His latest CD is 5th Gear. The a single from the CD is "I Want to Check You for Ticks". It is the story of a boy going in to a bar, seeing a beautiful girl and wanting to take her away from the bar (" you press that bottle to your lips, I wish I was your beer".) The chorus goes " I'd like to see you out in the moonlight. I'd like to kiss you way back in the sticks, I'd like to walk you through a field of wildflowers and I'd like to check you for ticks."

On most of his songs the lyrics take a front seat to the music. The music actually complements or helps create a theme as you listen. For example, his song "Online". The video for Online won a CMT music video music award a couple of months ago. His use of a marching band compliments the picture he paints with his lyrics. The character talks about going to Hollywood only once with his highschool marching band.

One of my other favorite songs from 5th Gear is Mr. Policeman. The character in this song just wants to drive fast. As he talks about driving, he sees a policeman. He taunts the policeman with the lyric, "Hey, Hey Mr. Policeman I bet I can run faster than you can. With your big pot belly and your cowboy boots, a hundred bucks says you won't shoot. I know these woods like the back of my hand, catch me if you can." As the song goes on the guitar strums get more urgent and urgent. You can almost feel yourself wanting to press your foot to the floor to get away from Mr. Policeman. As I said Brad Paisley is one of my favorite artists and I dare you to check out his latest. His earlier works such as Mud on the Tires and Time Well Wasted are great too!

So Much for a watch cat or she is regulated to the outdoors!

2008-07-10T10:09:00.002-04:00

Image via WikipediaWell Tigger had been keeping the pet deer from our tomatoes. Unfortunately, Tigger stayed inside on Tuesday. I never thought that she really was the only reason for the deer not eating the tomatoes but she is the watch cat! My pet deer ate about a quarter of the tomato plants on the deck! I think that she would be on the deck if she really wanted something. Maybe when the muscadines start to fall we will see.

On Wednesday, I had too put the cat out twice in order to keep her out. I put her out the first time but then I had to come back inside to get something. When I came back in, Tigger took off for the great indoors. I was able to get her back outside and she kept the pet deer from eating any more tomatoes.

Let me introduce you to our new pet

2008-07-06T12:18:00.005-04:00

I was going to post about something else but, our new pet showed up. We have a doe who has been hanging out in our yard. I thought that she was just coming into the back yard to feast on our lush foilage. Today around 11:30 a.m. I was finishing breakfast after church and grocery shopping. The doe was in the back yard snacking. I went to our sun room just to look around and was I surprised! The doe has decided to lay down under the cool trees in the back yard. I guess we have a new pet!

On another front, our garden is really growing. We ate our first fruits from the garden last night. We ate our first tomato. The beans are about ready to be picked and the first squash was picked on the 4th. I plan to grill out ribs and corn. I also will be cooking squash and onions.

Happy 4th!!

2008-07-04T09:16:00.005-04:00

It is the 4th of July and a great time to review what all our ancestors have done to insure we live in a free society. It is more important today then any other to be thankful for the freedom that we enjoy. As far as a celebration, I saw some great fireworks last week at Disneyland. Here are some photos that I took. There were some that were a box and some that showed mickey's face. Of course, the first time I heard them I thought we were being invaded. The sound was so loud and so big, it kept me on the edge until I realized it was fireworks.

Dinner Oh Expensive Dinner!

2008-07-03T10:20:00.005-04:00

Last week we went to a recommended restaurant in Anaheim. It was called the White House. The food was prepared by two chiefs that have won the top California chief award. My food was rather good. I had a vegetarian ravioli. My colleagues had a surf and turf that they said was a special for the night where they would substitute the shrimp for prawn. Gary saw that the surf and turf was listed in the menu for about $35. Another colleague asked for the tuna appetizer but instead received the dinner portion. Gary's dinner cost him $70. I thought he was going to have a cow. Here are picture for both of their dinners. The service was not that great. We had to ask for a drink menu several times. The waiter was confusing when getting our orders which is why I think we didn't get what we ordered. The waiter never came by to ask us how things were. If in cheap restaurants that I have been to in Covington have had better service.

Flying Coast to Coast

2008-06-30T13:58:00.004-04:00

Well, I got back from Anaheim California last night around 9:00 p.m. My plane was supposed to get it in at 8:11 p.m. I will get back to that story in a minute. I now understand what my colleagues from ELI IV(Executive Leadership Institute) went through last year. With the time change and trying to be coherent when attending classes/conference.

I was amazed flying from Atlanta to California that I was able to watch T.V. Delta airlines has computers at each of the seats on their 747s. I was actually able to watch Days of Our Lives.
It was actually in real time. How weird is that?!! I never would have imagined.

The trip back to Atlanta was good to begin with. We made great time and were at the Georgia/Alabama line at 7:00 p.m. with that time we should have been there early. But alas, a big thunderstorm hit the Atlanta area. It closed down the airport for awhile. The pilot kept on coming on the PA saying that we were in a holding pattern but a decision would have to be made if we were to be diverted. I had visions that I was going to have to call Paul (who had already worked a twelve hour day) and tell him that I was in another city. The pilot kept telling us that it probably would be Knoxville. I figured that if we did go to Knoxville that I would just tell Paul that I really wanted to go to the Smokies and that this was the only way to do it.

I am very glad to be back in Covington! I know that I would never want to live in California. I'll post later about the escapades.

Best of the Best

2008-06-28T11:43:00.002-04:00

Image via WikipediaCongratulations to General Hospital for their win of the best Soap Opera at the Daytime Emmy Awards!! I whole heartily agree with the award. General Hospital's writing is at an all time high. They are able to mix not only drama but humor. The "Oh, my gosh!! I need to watch this tomorrow!" thoughts at the end of most episodes, keep me glued to my DVR. The humor that the writers are currently adding is beyond my imagination. Whether it is the Alexis and Jerry storyline, the Max and Dianne or Maxie and Spinelli. The unusual pairings are giving a lot of possibilities! Last week when Max was holding the ring that Sonny bought for Kate. Dianne happened to show up and saw Max holding the ring and just assumed... It was hilarious when she thought he was asking her to marry him. I have never laughed so hard while watching a soap. Keep it up GH!!

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Watch Cat??

2008-06-25T10:48:00.002-04:00

Image via WikipediaI posted a few weeks ago about planting our garden. Within a few weeks, the beans, squash and tomatoes will be ready to picked and eaten. The beans, squash and peppers are in the main garden which is surrounded by an nine foot wired fence. The tomatoes, on the other hand, are on our back deck. As the summer continues, Georgia's historic drought continues. The wild animals are starting to feel the consequences. A couple days ago, Paul and I found several deer in our back yard. We saw our first buck in several years!!

As the deer are also looking for things to eat. They are visiting our property where things are watered as much as possible and able. The tomatoes on our porch are in danger of being eaten!! Last year was the first time that the deer ate the tomatoes. This year since the tomatoes are on the back porch they are probably more endangered.

From the sky, no make that across the grass... comes super cat. Tigger, our oldest cat, has taken to sleeping on the railing next to the tomatoes. It is rather comical to watch the deer approach close to the tomatoes and then spot the cat. The deer will back out and get back to the middle of the yard. I guess we have our new watch cat. Who would have known??

Work, Work Work

2008-06-24T10:27:00.005-04:00

I haven't posted in a while because I have been working hard. This past Friday, my library system had a lock-in for teens. There were several lessons that I learned from the experience. I participated in a lock-in four years ago. The first thing I learned was that I am getting to old to stay up all night on purpose! I am still recovering from having stayed up all night and this is three days after said event. The second thing I learned (I kind of already knew this..), teens today are a lot different than teens four years ago. Teens today are very plugged in. They always have a cell phone, ipod or MP3 player glued to their ear. It was very hard to get them to leave there gadgets alone for several hours. The third thing I learned is that (yes, Eli Neiburger) it is all about the game and not the console. The teens were excited about having Wii at the lock-in but most were disappointed that we didn't have Mario Smash Brothers or other games instead of just having Wii sports.

The second big work thing is that tomorrow morning I leave for California. I am attending two conferences while in Anaheim. Urban Libraries Council is conducting a Foresight 2020 looking at the future of libraries. The second conference is the American Library Association's annual conference. I am looking forward to seeing all of those folks that I went through ELI last year with. I hope to post at least once while I am in California. Oh, well I need to go finish packing.

Summer is here

2008-06-15T14:43:00.004-04:00

Paul and I are always ready to go fishing. In fact when we went to the grocery store on Friday, we had forgotten that we had half of our fishing gear was in the back seat of the truck. We didn't have enough room for all our groceries.

Later that day, we hooked up the boat and went fishing. We had an o.k. day. I caught
one bass and Paul caught two. It was a little windy and we had gone to a new pond. It was enjoyable. I am staying low this weekend since next weekend is the library's teen lock-in. I am getting a little old to be staying up all night. I hope it will be successful. I am responsible for the registration desk and the wii hour. We hope to have four kids at a time playing tennis in an elimination round.

Public Behavior

2008-06-04T10:32:00.005-04:00

Image via WikipediaI work where I come in contact with a lot of people. It never ceases to amaze me some of their behaviors. Having worked in the security field for five years, I would think that I would have seen everything. As I have previously said I work for a public library. Last year, we had someone who apparently was either mad at us or just was darn lazy! They used a $200 reference book as a napkin. They had eaten a shrimp dinner and then wiped their hands on the pages of that book. They also hid the dinner container on the very top shelves where we didn't find it for several days. We could smell it but couldn't locate it.

We hand out visitor tickets to people who want to use the Internet that do not have a library card. I always ask, "Have you used the Internet here before?" So often they will reply in a I know how you stupid, " Yes, I know how to sign up." They will take the ticket and then wander the floor looking for an unoccupied computer. Depending on my mood or how busy we are, I will track after them trying to get them to go to the sign up station.

Many of the folks we come in contact on a regular basis have mental issues. We probably are not the most compassionate towards them as we should. We usually nickname them until we find out their real names. One such gentleman is the 666 man. The Internet sign up station has a big display board on the wall to announce who's turn is up. For at least a year, he would come up to the reference desk in a loud voice asking, "What would happen if it goes to 666?". The display board starts with number 100 and then continues adding as people sign up. He continued that until one day we did get past 666. It took us several times to explain to him that nothing happened.

Another character that we have nicknamed "Twirler". This gentleman wears a Tina Turner wig and skirt. As he approaches people, he will twirl in front of them to try to get them to notice him. Such is life in a public library.

Commuting We will Go!

2008-05-31T12:19:00.003-04:00

Image by Hidden Peanuts via FlickrI don't think I have ever shared that I live about 40 miles away from where I work. That's 80 miles a day that I drive for about 2 -2.5 hours a day. That's a lot of time out on the road and with gas prices rising like they are.... I am a lot more thoughtful about just jumping in the car. Paul and I figured out last weekend that we spend about $500 a month in gas.

With all that time on the road, I have observed some very bizarre behavior out on the road. I think the most dangerous was a man on the cell phone while trying to manipulate his GPS unit. He barely was holding a lane leaning from right to left. I have seen people eat, put on makeup, reading, texting etc. Thursday night, I even saw a guy in a pickup truck watching a DVD while driving!! Like you can really watch a movie and keep your eyes on the road. The next thing I wouldn't be surprised to see is someone surfing the net while driving. No wonder there are so many accidents around Atlanta.

Ticks, Ticks, Ticks

2008-05-29T10:52:00.003-04:00

Image via WikipediaWe had a great Memorial Day weekend. We were able to go fishing Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Paul caught a total of seven fish and I caught three. Sunday we used the boat, the other days we went bank fishing. Unfortunately, Saturday we walked through the woods to get to a little inlet to fish. I ended up with four tick bites. They kind of look like Lyme disease. I am keeping an eye out over the next days to see if they are in fact Lyme disease.

Our cats are also dealing with ticks. Each of them have had a few ticks on their butt holes. They don't like us trying to pry them off. In fact, Leon will run once you even get close to his butt. I guess it seems that with it being wetter this year than last year them seem to be more numerous than the last few years. I hope that my redness around the bites are just an allergic reaction to the tick saliva than Lyme disease. I guess only time will tell.

Hummingbirds Galore

2008-05-25T16:42:00.004-04:00

Image via WikipediaTwo weeks ago, we saw our first ruby breasted hummingbird. We have been feeding them for over ten years. It never ceases to amaze us that they know where to come back. Ten years ago we heard that you could put a feeder out to attract them. This is what we did. Ever since, they show up on their own each year. We usually see them sometime in early May. They will hover around where the feeders are hung. We have one on the front porch and one on the back porch. It is fun to watch them. There are often many a fight over the nectar.

In Covington, every spring they hold the Hummingbird festival. It celebrates these amazing birds. There are of course lots of arts and crafts for sale also. There is usually a demonstration on how to band these birds to keep a record of them.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2008-05-22T10:02:00.003-04:00

I've been working a lot of days over the last few weeks. I haven't had a whole lot of time to post. Paul, on the other hand, has been very busy. Last weekend he prepared the garden for the year. We have tomatoes, bush and pole beans, yellow squash, green and red peppers. This year we are growing tomatoes two different ways. We are putting them in the big garden instead of big buckets. We are also trying to grow upside down tomatoes. The poles have been placed around the beans and of course a big fence around to keep the deer out.

Speaking of deer, yesterday, I saw a momma deer. She looks about two to three weeks away from dropping her baby. She was feeding in the back yard. She got as close as foot away from the house. I am real excited to know that we will have another generation born on our property. I just hope they will survive without the local dogs and coyotes getting the fawns.

Happy Birthday

2008-05-07T10:25:00.003-04:00

Image via WikipediaMay 8th is mine and my twin sister's birthday. I wanted to shout out to her and tell her happy birthday. Having grown up as a twin is a unique experience. You have come into the world with a person and live your lives together. We also share a birthday with Melissa Gilbert. She was also born the same day as my sister and me.
I hope that we all have a great birthday and a great year to come.!

Congrats Michael!

2008-05-02T12:59:00.003-04:00

Image via WikipediaMichael W. Smith was honored at the 39th annual Dove awards late in April. Michael was Amy Grant's keyboard player early on in her career. I remember seeing Amy first when I was at Auburn. She came to give two sold out shows with Michael. Shortly after that Michael decided to begin on his own.

Michael is considered the grandfather of modern Christian music. He deserves to be given a lifetime achievement award. I still can hear his earlier songs and they are just as powerful as the first time I ever heard them. "Friends" was a song that meant a great deal to me in college. As people graduated and when on to continue their lives, I would play that song and remember that through it all we will remain friends always. I know that even though I don't see these people often, there is a deeper connection that will always be there and they would be there for me if needed.

Learning Technology with Teens

2008-04-28T14:15:00.009-04:00

Last year, the library conducted a survey of adults over 55 about their knowledge of our services and programs. Can you guess what one of the top areas was? If you said technology, you were right.
With the help of the Senior Advisory board, we created an inter-generational program called "Tech Talk: Exploring 21st century technologies with teens". Two of the Senior Advisory board members specifically mentioned that seniors are on fixed incomes and wanted to learn about and how to use new technologies. Often they hesitate in purchasing new technologies unless they know if it will make their life easier or more enjoyable. This program pairs up teens with older adults to explore and learn about new technology.

Members of the Teen Advisory Board volunteered to be trained and to share their knowledge about a variety of technologies. The two hour training involved exploring learning styles, how to communicate technology concepts and included a demonstration between an older adult and the trainer. The training was an eye opener for not only the teens but also the trainer (me!).

I was not aware of the different types of cell phones that are currently available, the teens straightened me out about about them. The older adult in the training asked "what is an iPod or an MP3 player and is there any difference?" The teens explained that the difference was the software used to play audio files. The older adult said "Oh, they are similar to a Walkman." The teens then asked " What's a Walkman?" I replied, " Oh, they played audio cassettes." To which the teens replied, "What's an audio cassette?"

The program was held a few weeks ago and was attended by four older adults. These adults were interested in how to use a digital camera, what is an iPod, and how to download audio books. The adults not only learned about the technology they were originally interested in, but also about additional technologies as they talked with their teens.

The older adults expressed their appreciation and were generally impressed with the teens knowledge and ability to show them how to use the various technologies. One adult even brought in her own camera to be shown how to use it. Another person had been wanting to download audio books from the libraries website but didn't understand how or what equipment she would need. She was very proud at the end of the program and was headed off to the store to buy an MP3 player that would allow her to play audio books.

The survey and the Tech Talk program was my leadership challenge project for the Urban Libraries Council's Executive Leadership Institute. I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to participate and grow as a leader and hopefully in a small way impact library service to older adults. There have been two other staff members who have participated in this program previously. Their leadership challenge project continues in the form of Library Take-Out.

Pets and Things that Grow

2008-04-27T12:19:00.002-04:00

Image via Wikipedia
Well it is close to the beginning of the month and that means giving the animals their medicine. This year the ticks have been pretty bad on the cats' butt. Each of them have had a variety of ticks attach to their behinds. We give them flea medicine that controls the fleas but doesn't address the tick issue. I am not aware of anything that will protect them from those mean ticks.

Paul yesterday decided to create buckets to grow upside down tomatoes. They are planted in bright orange Home Depot buckets. He created a stand that they hang from attached to the back porch. Lets home that they produce some tomatoes. I love to eat tomatoes and I look forward to being able to just go outside the back door and pick one off the vine.

I did get my wii and have been playing with it. I am so sore. Each of the games target different muscle sets. I hope that by playing the games and my new diet will enable me to lose a little weight. I am not terrible overweight but my clothes are not really fitting me. (They are a little to tight.)

Wii Fever

2008-04-24T10:18:00.003-04:00

Image by steveyb via FlickrWell I have joined the Wii fever. I suggested at my work to look at buying a few for programming. It is a great way to get people into the library. I have seen articles where it has been used for Seniors to be able to be a little active where they haven't been for years. The Wii console comes with one remote, one nunchuck, and four games. The games include: bowling, tennis, boxing and baseball. I originally thought that I just needed to buy the game console and that was it. In doing research, I have discovered that the Wii eats batteries. You should invest in charging stations and rechargeable batteries. You also need to buy additional remotes and nunchuncks for each additional person that would like to play. Our assistant director is excited about the Wii fit. It is an accessory of the Wii console and also needs batteries. There are third parties that have created charging stations for each of the accessories that all need additional batteries.

I just bought a Wii for my birthday that is coming up. I hope to get it sometime today. For work, we have additional questions such as do the projectors that we already own to show movies work with the Wii. If not, we need to budget in money for a projector. What we originally thought would only cost $400 for two systems, we are now looking at a little over $1,000 to set us up for Wii programming. I think the money will be worth it in the long run but with a limited budget, we may need to make some hard decisions.

Turkey, Turkey

2008-04-20T13:41:00.003-04:00

Image via WikipediaWell Paul was supposed to be in Kansas today hunting turkeys. His trip was canceled at the last minute. I know he was disappointed, but it is nice to have him home. A co-worker shared this story about turkeys attacking postmen. The suspect that they were attacking the postman because of the red, white and blue on the truck and uniforms. I guess maybe we should switch from wearing cameo to red, white and blue, what do you think?

On another topic... I won an all expense paid trip to Disneyland for a conference in June. I have to foot the bill up front but then they will pay me back. I am kind of nervous about traveling there by myself but I'm sure I will have fun and learn a lot. I will be able to see and hang out with my ELI buddies. They are the ones that encouraged me to send the email that won me the paid trip. I will leave on a Wednesday in June and come back that following Sunday.

Covington- Hollywood of the South

2008-04-06T13:05:00.006-04:00

Image from Wikipedia
Covington considers itself the Hollywood of the south. It all began with the Dukes of Hazard in the mid 1970's. All though they only taped the first few episodes here in Covington, it did get the town noticed. Other television shows taped here were "In the Heat of the Night" and "I'll Fly Away". Many film have been filmed over the years here. Some of these include "My Cousin Vinny" and "Remember the Titan's".

This past week we again were the filming scene for a new Tyler Perry film "The Family That Preys Together". An old established restaurant here in Covington was one of the places selected. The film stars Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodward. This restaurant is the Town House Café. The film has closed down Washington street from Emory street to the square. Driving by today, they still had the police barriers up and around. To read more check out the Rockdale Citizen.

Cold and Rainy

2008-04-04T10:09:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, we got up at 5:15 a.m. and got into the woods. By 7:00 a.m. it was drizzly rain as we set up to see a turkey. By 7:30 a.m. the rain was beginning to really pick up. By 8:30 we decided to give it up and head back. It began to thunder in the distance and we figured the rain was going to pick up.

We decided to go to the shack and change clothes. It felt good to get into dry clothes. By 9:00 a.m. we decided to head to Monticello to see if the Tillman house was open. This is a great old establishment in Monticello that serves Southern style cafeteria style lunches. Of course we were to early for lunch, but they also serve breakfast. The prices begin at $2.50 for an egg, biscuit and your choice of meat. (bacon, sausage or ham) I had the western omelet which is eggs, tomatoes, cheese, bacon, sausage and ham. This comes with your choice of biscuits, Texas toast, or toast. You also get your choice of grits or hash browns. This was all for the low price of $4.50.

The establishment as I said is a fixture in the town. While we were there there were several locals hanging out talking. We overheard them discuss politics, how to inoculate the cows etc. On the walls are old implements used for farming, pictures and a platinum record of Trisha Yearwood. She is a native of Monticello. They are very proud of her success.

What have I been doing on vacation

2008-04-02T12:53:00.007-04:00

O.k., today is day three of my vacation. Monday night, Paul and I went to the woods to roost a turkey. Unfortunately for me, we got back late and I woofed down dinner. It made me sick so I didn't go turkey hunting. Paul and one of his hunting buddies went back to where we roosted a turkey but did not have any success.

Tuesday afternoon, we went fishing. It has been cold so the water temperature was very cold. The clouds had lifted by 3:30 p.m. but alas, the fishing was not great. I caught a little bream but nothing else.

Today, we got up at 5:30 a.m.! That's earlier than I get up to go to work. (Am I crazy or what!) We hooted a couple of times and heard a turkey way back in the woods. We began to walk and as we got closer we discovered that there were two gobblers. Paul got so excited he wanted to walk faster. Just like a little boy on Christmas morning. We continued to walk deeper into the woods, but alas they went over the ridge following the several hens we heard. Oh well, maybe tomorrow!

I got back home to take a shower. Leon decided to come in while I showered. After finishing washing, I opened the shower curtain. Leon came bounding over and landed in the bathtub. He was soaked by the time he climbed back out.