I am truly shocked that I have not posted in TWO WEEKS. That does not even seem possible! Every day I have wanted to post, but every day has been consumed with things to take care of and I never made it to the blog. Then I would feel like it just wouldn’t be enough to drop in and post one photo. So much has happened. Consider this the catch-up post!
My right elbow has continued to give me major grief. The pain is intense at times. As much as I love the new Guild guitar, I have vowed not to pick it up again. I know I can sell it for a handsome price, but we may keep it for a studio guitar. That said, it’s always fun to shop for something new! I found a beautiful, and beautiful-sounding 2005 Martin 000c-16rgte.
To show you guitar sizes. My new guitar is an AS size. Smaller than the dreadnaught size of the Guild. More slender in the center. Overall, a more comfortable guitar for my body size. Lesson learned.
Stay tuned for garden photos and more. Jason and I have been working on our respective family histories and we have had fun touring a few cemeteries. We have spread mulch, planted and reworked some areas of “Lynnwood.” Our cats, both at my apartment and at his house, entertain us all the time! In fact, Mars asked to be in my header photo today. I have lots to share. Just cannot seem to get here, but here’s to doing better!
In honor of Flag Day, June 14, I would like to say HAPPY FLAG DAY! (It is also my firstborn’s birthday.) I thought I’d take this opportunity to share some vintage photos I found recently of school children showing off their United States flags. Oh, if only names and date and location had been written on the backs of these!
I am thinking these photos are from the early 1910s, based on their clothing and the fact that the flag with 48 stars was adopted in 1912. There are so many of you who are more knowledgeable at this stuff, please feel free to offer any thoughts about these photos!
Seems like I will always have a connection to pine trees. Some of you already know I grew up on the sandy soil of Moore County, North Carolina, where pine trees are king! Okay, not everyone likes them. They produce tar or sap. And pine cones. And pine needles. I hated my Saturdays in the yard picking up pinecones. My daddy would drive his little tractor around and either my sister or I (we alternated Saturdays) would stand on the back and ride around with him. He’d stop the tractor in various spots throughout our large yard and we would have to jump down and pick up all the pinecones in that area and put them in the little hitched-up trailer he was pulling. Those were the days.
These days, I miss that. I did love the pine trees in our yard. I used to enjoy picking at the bark and looking at the sap. I had heard growing up that you could chew the sap like chewing gum, though I never did. You can use the needles to make a healing tea. I used the trees as a way to balance myself when doing hand stands in the yard. We had the huge beautiful pinecones that people actually purchase now for crafts and decorations. We sat in the yard and braided pine straw. You can weave pine straw to make a basket. I have fond memories of pine trees, minus having to work on Saturdays! I do wonder though if that work made me love being outside like I do. Thank you, Daddy.
I guess I cannot get away from pine trees. My garden with Jason.
Pine trees were a part of colonial history for the Scots in North Carolina, who worked around them and made a business of them. The Piedmont Scots added pine products (tar for ships) to what was put on the Cape Fear river and sent to Wilmington. I love this bit of history from Learn NC.
“…pitch and tar rendered from the sap of pine trees and used to protect the hulls and rigging of wooden ships.”
And this:
“The native longleaf pines allowed crops to be planted without the backbreaking work of first removing all trees. Settlers removed a ring of bark from the pines, killing the trees; this caused needles to fall and sunlight to reach crops.”
And oh do I descend from a long line of Scots! The McNeills, Gilchrists, McKays, and Campbells to start with. The Hastys were from North Ireland, having migrated down from the lowlands of Scotland. On my mom’s side the Scots were all highlanders, many from the Outer Hebrides.
Me and my sister in front of the house we grew up in.Mama (hennypennylane.blogspot.com) in front of the Monte Carlo, at our old house. She recently wrote about this room on the end of the house. And you can see the pines behind her.My daddy the way he looked when I was 5.
Here are a few recent garden photos.
The jasmine climbs the trellis. I like to take thrifted pretty curtain rods and stand them in the ground. Cute!Blooms on the tomatoes! Yay!Lily in bloom!Lots of pretty purple in this spot.The garden is growing!A pretty geranium that was on clearance and was nearly dead. It has come back to life!A new delivery of mulch! Yay!
This North Carolina girl really loves living close to downtown Durham! Durham is rich in history, including tobacco history. One of my favorite places is the American Tobacco Campus. Even the Duke family who did so much to establish Duke University had a hand in the booming tobacco industry. That’s such a paradox now! Tobacco is out of style for most folks these days, for good reason, but the huge brick buildings, trimmed inside with rustic old beams (what a cool industrial look!) are a sight to behold now that they are being restored and turned into hip new places. I love the tobacco industry’s old landmarks.
Jason and I were there over the weekend. We walked until my Fitbit hit 5000+ steps. We ate at Mellow Mushroom where they have great GF pizza. We took lots of pictures. We sat and talked. I hope you enjoy the photos!
Lucky Strike tower off in the distance.The moon rises behind two humongous mushrooms.Didn’t know Jason was taking this photo of me! The water runs from one end of this place to the other, over large rocks. The babbling sounds of the water add a great ambience!An enormous chess set with Bull Durham and tobacco-themed pieces.
Me and my sweetie!North Carolina Public Radio studio on the American Tobacco Campus.
Happy Winds-day, as Pooh likes to say! It feels good to get a chance to sit down and catch up here, and I look forward to catching up on all of your posts too, my blog friends. I have been busy gardening and playing guitar, as usual, including another recent jam with friends. There is something about playing in a small familiar group that is very nerve-racking to me! (Or nerve-wracking. I’ve seen both. But I digress.) The point being made is that, for me at least, it is often harder to do something so personal in front of very close friends than it is to do in front of a group of strangers. Playing is very personal. It is very exposing. Anyway, I am grateful for the group of friends I have who share this experience with me.
Then there is my garden. Oh, be still my heart, little places are coming alive in Lynnwood! I will share the most recent photos of the one fenced-in haven I have. I am very afraid the tomatoes won’t get enough sun to produce fruit. They get, I think, about 4 hours of direct sun and then dappled light. We shall see. Jason and I are currently outlining new areas that get even more sun. Next year, or maybe later this season, we will have vegetables there. For now, we experiment with my one fenced-in spot. Meanwhile, the deer still visit and eat what they like where they can get to it.
The plant with the dainty white blooms is Euphorbia “Breathless White”
I fell in love with the bright purple pot and the trailing coleus.The garden is taking shape.I love this little kitty face that guards the garden gate.
I like unusual items to use for edging. This cement brick was found earlier in the year at the Scrap Exchange.
