3 Things To Stop Me In My Tracks At Arabia Mountain

In my last post I told you that three things stopped me in my tracks at the end of our walk at Arabia Mountain.  It is possible that I might be the only one that would be excited over these things, there were lots of other people on the trail and I didn't see anyone else stop to look at them.  Beauty is right THERE and most folks just pass it right by...

On the trail, there are some bridges.  Beside one of the bridges there was a persimmon tree with the ripe fruit dropping onto the wooden bridge rail.  As we walked past, I looked over and...

the apricot color of this fruit was a very good match to the spots on this butterfly.  Sometimes colors that are similar really catch my eye.  I think this is a Spicebush swallowtail but as always, I could be wrong!  Whatever it is, I loved seeing it.


I have done a post before when I told you about seeing a bush with the very colorful seeds.  It is a bush that is wonderfully named  "hearts a busting".  When I spotted it beside the trail, I let out a whoop of excitement.  I promise you that I did.  Yes, I know they are just seeds but wow, they are beautiful.

Oh dear, mine are out of focus.  You know Richard can get closer and has a steadier hand...

These colors are beautiful.  This is a native bush, by the way. It can also be called strawberry bush but I prefer "hearts a busting". 

Okay then, that leaves me one more thing. Now, this is not a native but I always like to see it blooming at this time of year.  I spy with my little eye something red...

Surprise! They are surprise lilies! (Some call them "bare naked ladies" but I prefer surprise lilies myself.)  Someone would have planted these here long ago and I am grateful for this spot of color.

So, you are thinking...these three things: a butterfly, some seeds and a red flower on a spindly stalk made you stop in your tracks. Well, yes.  I only wish others could have noticed them too!

So much to see in nature! Get out there and enjoy it. Tell me what you see, something that makes you happy and gives you joy.

A Walk At Arabia Mountain

If you look at these photos, you might think we are in the North Georgia mountains.  We are not, this is actually just a few miles from a shopping mall which is just next to a very busy interstate highway.  This is on one of the trails at Arabia Mountain! You see, we don't just walk UP the mountain, we walk on as many trails as we can. (Once again, I will tell you that Arabia Mountain is really a monadnock, but hey, it is easier to call it a mountain!)

September has been so very hot.  This one morning that we hiked was a bit cooler due to it being overcast and it was such a welcome relief to have a nice long hike on the trails.  We walked for three hours that day.  Then, it began to heat up, so we headed home. What did we see that day?

                                Yellow Daisies!

                         Eastern Boxed Turtle

An old grave with the headstone of granite. I am guessing it would have been locally quarried from Arabia Mountain.  Also, I love the red leaf hanging on the fence. See it, just there at the back? I am thinking it is a sassafras leaf. Can't tell you how happy I am to identify it! I hope I am right! Do you see it? The Sassafras has THREE different leaves, that is the baseball mitt shaped one   three lobed one.  (Sorry, I said baseball mitt shaped one but as you can see it is the three lobed one!)

See the back of the headstone?  Notice that the bottom has been left a bit unfinished. Do you see the pattern of the rock? That is why this rock was quarried in this area, it is in buildings all over the country.

The lake that you come upon as you walk this trail is a special treat!  

At the very end of the walk, we saw not one, not two but THREE things that stopped me in my tracks!  I will have to tell you all about that in a future post, my friends!

Hope you are all doing well.  I have been a bit under the weather this week, but things are looking up!  

And just to make myself feel better, this a photo of me from England.  This should make you giggle!

"Chas" from Chas & Dave Has Died...Charles Hodges

Chas and Dave...you might have noticed their names on my blog before. How much I love them and their musical talents!  Today, Charles "Chas" Hodges has died.  He had been going through cancer treatments for some time now. (His death was attributed to pneumonia. Chas's family wanted to emphasize this since his cancer was under control. They felt Chas would want those suffering with cancer to know this, that it was pneumonia that was the cause of his death.) 

 When our son was a baby, my English in-laws sent us " Chas & Dave's Jamboree Bag #3". It  had so many songs on it!  They included old songs from the music halls in England but with Chas & Dave's own kind of style.  There was a Knees Up Side, a Rock and Roll side, Waltz side, and an Old Time Boogie side.  I wonder how much this influenced our youngster in his love of music.    How much we enjoyed this in the car as we traveled! It was almost always what our C. would ask for.  We would all sing along joyfully with them.

Of course, Chas and Dave were also songwriters! You all must know by now how much I admire songwriters. Some of their biggest hits: "Ain't No Pleasing You", "Rabbit", "Snooker Loopy" and do you remember the song that was used for London Heathrow Airport "Coming Home"- that was written by Chas & Dave.

One of the songs that they wrote,  "Mustn't Grumble" is one of my favorites.  Listen to the words!   Once again, the combination of music and words combined perfectly together is simply a marvel to me.  Bloomin' marvelous, Chas! Thank you. 

Hey!  Why not give you more of that album?  Okay then,  here is the Old Time Boogie Side.  We need to hear more music like this. Sing along if you like, I am sure that would be a nice way to honor Chas. 

Let Love Be Genuine, Live Peaceably With All

   All photos from the Monastery in Conyers, Georgia.

What Signal Would You Send? / London Pubs!

Hey! Remember me telling you that our son writes for  the Beer Connoisseur Magazine?  On their Instagram recently, they had something that made me laugh.  It said, " If you ever see me drinking a Bud Lite Lime, I have been kidnapped and am trying to signal you."  That made me think...  what would you say?


If you ever see me ___________________,   I have been kidnapped and am trying to signal you. 



As for myself, it could be a number of things.  Perhaps, I could say if you see me even HOLDING a cigarette that could be a huge clue that something is clearly wrong with the universe.  (Never smoked and have been anti-smoking since I was a kid.  Ask my aunts and uncles!)

The Fall issue of the Beer Connoisseur is out now.  Christopher wrote an article about the pubs that he visited when he was in London this summer.  You may read a part of that article just here. (You can't read all of it unless you are a paid subscriber to the magazine.)  Still, it will be worth your while to read his writing,  even if you can't read all of it!

Now, don't forget to tell me...how could you signal family and friends if you were in danger.  What would you do that would be so out of character that your loved ones would instantly know that you were sending a clear sign that you were in distress? Of course, hoping that you are never in distress, my friends! It is just something that I thought might be amusing for you to think about. We all need a laugh these days, right? 

It's Yellow Daisy time!  This is the time of year when the beautiful yellow daisies are blooming at Stone Mountain, Arabia Mountain and Panola Mountain. They seemed to bloom earlier this year, so get out there quickly to see them if you are in the Atlanta area!

Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter was our 39th President of the United States of America.  He was from Georgia, which I hope you know!  You might not know this...my Dad met him on a plane years ago, and Jimmy Carter made a point to walk down the aisles of the plane and to shake hands with all those aboard. Since then, I have heard that others have witnessed this. So, does that mean that he does this on every single flight he has flown? That's Jimmy for you!

  What has he been doing these past years?  Why, still teaching Sunday school at the Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, GA.   Oh, and even though he went through treatment for brain cancer last year, he and his wife, Rosalyn, still work very hard building houses for Habitat for Humanity.  You might not agree with his politics, you must agree that he has to be one of the busiest ex-presidents that we have ever had.  You may read more about Jimmy Carter just 
here.

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Remember on my last post about the Rockdale Art Farm?  The Special Issue Permit was approved!  It will still have to be approved by the Board of Commissioners but I hope that that will be just a formality and that I will be able to tell you more in the weeks to come.  Thanks for all your well wishes.

Thinking of all those on the North Carolina coast tonight.  The pictures from there look scary. (This is a photo from the pier in Eastbourne, England.)  They don't think we will get much rain here in Georgia. It was hot today, my car said 100 degrees when I left work at the end of the day. HOT. Ready for autumn and cooler temperatures. 
Take care.

RAF- Rockdale Art Farm!

When someone says the letters R-A F, I hope that reminds you of the Royal Air Force in Britain. Being married to a Brit you might think that is why I always think of things from England but no, it is because I have read so much about World War II that I know about the RAF and have such a high regard for them.  If you don't know about the RAF and the Battle of Britain, please look it up and you will understand my meaning. The Battle of Britain Memorial Society is a good place to start, you may find it just here.  It is an amazing site to visit, please look at it!  After reading this, I hope you will also want to bow your head in remembrance at the sound of the letters...R.A.F! They quite simply saved the world. 

Mike at his blog "A Bit About Britain" had an amazing write up about the Battle of Britain...you may find it just  here.
(Go and read this.  You will be glad you did.)

Rockdale Art Farm here in Rockdale County can also be shortened to RAF.  Isn't it an exciting thing! A while back on one of our walks at Panola Mountain State Park, Richard and I spoke to one of the fellow walkers on the trail...he stopped and told us that he had plans to open a community arts center, but since it would be adjacent to the park, it would be connected with the natural world.  Would we be interested in getting involved with this arts center?  Would we!  Where do we sign up?
Not that we are important or anything, not wealthy or have great prestige...we are just people who love the outdoors and are  quite happy to share that love with others! I know that they plan to have a pollinator garden there and oh my goodness...that would be perfect for my husband! Why he is just the best gardener around, you should see all the bees and butterflies out my window as I type this! (Not to mention all the great photos that he can take.) Okay then, Kay, you are thinking...what can you do? Well, I can talk!  Oh my yes, I can tell others about this place and hopefully, the word will spread!

One thing though, the Rockdale Art Farm must have approval from Rockdale County first!
  Tomorrow evening, there will be a Rockdale Art Farm Rally at a local coffee shop which is just across the street from the Planning Commission meeting.   Then, we will walk across the street and hopefully will receive the support needed to convince the Board of Commissioners to issue the Special Use Permit so that the Rockdale Art Farm will get the go-ahead.  If so, then it should open in the spring of 2019.   (This will be voted upon on October 9th...which is just around the corner now!) 

(Note: Awake Coffee Co.  at 862 North Main Street on Sept. 13th,  from 5:30PM to 6:45PM.
The Planning Commission Public Hearing is at 7:00PM and is  across the street, on the corner of Main St. and Milstead Ave. at the Assembly Hall at 901 Main Street-this used to be the location of the Baptist church many years ago!)


Richard and I were able to go on a tour with Joe Eifrid (the nice man that I told you about earlier, the one that we met on our walk at Panola Moutain State Park.) and it is a lovely site. Thanks, Joe!  We met artists who had painted just a few pictures and they were truly amazing.  One had painted a view of an old house that was across the street and another had painted some scenes of a few old trucks that had been at the back of the property. My, that doesn't sound very exciting does it? But that is just the fault of my writing, those TRUCKS were jaw dropping, the colors that the artist could see in them!  And the old white house with the bushes curling around it, shaded in the old oak trees ...so pretty.  Why, you could just hear the bees buzzing!

                                Part of the Trail at Panola Moutain, near the RAF (we could see those old trucks through the trees that are on the property...never dreamed I would recognize them in a painting!)


Now, no one will ever ask me to do reviews of paintings, I am sure! Still, I hope that you can see a bit of what I am trying to tell you here.  I am sure that you will wish Joe the best of luck in trying to get this done.  We all have high hopes!  

UPDATE:  The Board approved the Special Use Permit!  It passed 4-1.  Now, it goes to the Board of Commissioners.  There really should be no reason that they will turn it down so... I hope to be able to tell you more about the RAF, the Rockdale Art Farm in future weeks!  Look out for my news! Thanks for all your well wishes, fellow art and nature lovers.

I Want To Break Free!

The baggage handlers at London Heathrow did a tribute to Freddie Mercury yesterday on what would have been his 72nd birthday. (He once worked as a baggage handler at Heathrow.)

Now I know why it takes so long for me to get my bags! Just kidding...I hope. 

They can't get their hands on this one of mine! I have shown you this before, it is my carry-on which was a high school graduation gift from 1975.  Hope you all have a golden day!

Christopher- "The Babe" and A Great Writer

Hey!  Remember me telling y'all that our one and only son writes for a living? Don't you want to read something by him? (Please say yes!)
Christopher just wrote a piece about the manager of the Yankees being suspended from this past Friday night's baseball game.  You may read all about it just...here!

C. has been writing about basketball for some time now, on not one but two websites!  They are: Soaring Down South and also, 94 Feet Report.   You may find them here  and also here!  The website that I told you about in that first paragraph is about professional baseball. Have I mentioned my fondness for that game before? Might have, just a time or two!  (I "watch" the Braves with my Dad as I speak with him on the phone, we turn the sound down and discuss it as we watch it together.)

Now even if you don't care for sports and even if you don't know one thing about it, I wish you would read his writing.  I think he is very good! Of course, I am his Mom and you might naturally think I would think so, but I truly believe that he has a way with words.

By the way, you have to be quick to read these on-line pieces! I just clicked on the first link that I gave you (which is the sportsprovider.com) and he has written another piece about the LA Clippers!

  Years ago, when C. was about 11, he played a basketball game and was fouled in the last minute.  The game was tied and if he made the two foul points, his team would win the game.  Did he make those shots?  Of course he did!  Afterwards, his coach came up to him, spoke a few words and then, walked away.  Later, I asked him what the coach had said to him.   His reply? "You're the Babe". 
For anyone who does not know, Babe Ruth was just a fantastic baseball player, you can look him up. He held the record for most home runs until it was broken by the great Hank Aaron (pictured to the left of C. above.).  When someone calls you "the Babe", that is a high compliment in any sport!

Christopher, this is especially meaningful to me.  You will always be "the Babe" to me, in more ways than one!

P.S.  I don't want anyone reading this to get the wrong idea about our son.  C. is not just interested in sports, he is very interested in a great number of things.  When he visits England, he tries his best to get to London and visit the fantastic art museums and galleries there.  He is also a great guitarist and songwriter and is very knowledgeable about music. So, if any of you know of anyone who has a website about art or music that needs a writer...

  Not forgetting that he majored in FILM at Georgia State University, so he can also be a film critic! Just saying!