Groundbreaking...

            This weekend we met with Darlene Salmon to take pictures of our "lot" on which our new home is to be built.  Joe and Melanie, Ashley, Patrick and I attended.

This is the retention pond behind our land.  It is down right now as the area is very dry.  Tomorrow is going to get to 28 degrees at night, but right now it is sunny and 70!




And these are the homes to the right.  I believe the woman in the first house (on right in pic) is "Brenda" but I will need to re-meet her personally soon to get better acquainted.

The very first piece of equipment that mowed the lot. 

There will be more equipment by 21st Dec at latest. 

And this is Darlene and Ashley, finding bits of the earth for our "lot" box. 

The "lot" box! Nifty!!

Thanks everyone!

.  We hope and trust our new home will be a sweet and safe haven for us all. 

Halloween and Orbs

Joe and Melanie went to St. Augustine, Florida around the time of Halloween.  They hoped for a bit of history and got more than they bargained for when they snapped this photo in the cemetery with their digital camera.  What a great, and scary, picture of a "ghost" traveling around in an orb.  Nifty!  And a bit scary!  This is the enlarged orb from the top of the photo.   

Parkside West

Florida's Family Welcome...and a Couple of Noted Oddities

We are here in Florida.  Seems so strange.  Caren and Roger, Joe, Melanie and Ashley, James and Christine and the boys have been so welcoming and we are grateful for them.  Ashley is doing fantastically and is beyond thrilled we are here too. 

Florida is flat so many houses are built on mounds with drainage lakes and canals designed to help manage the impact of hurricanes, tropical storms and tropical depressions.  None so far for us.  We have been in 20-30 mph winds, but even "on the hill" in NC we experienced 45-60 mph winds occasionally.  So, we are taking it all in stride at this point. 

There are small oddities here...to us.  For example, there are "fake" birds as exterior decor in some ponds.   This picture is the one at the Walmart Neighborhood Market in Melbourne.  Can you tell which birds are real and which are "fake"?





Another odd observation is that two gas stations on the same corner will have dramatically different pricing.  If you saw a station advertising their gas for $2.69 a gallon and the opposite one is priced at $2.78, which would you choose?  To me, if they have 87 octane at each, it is a no brainer.  Here I come, $2.69 gas station!


Swimming seems to be confined mainly to the ocean (very nice), swimming pools and springs.  The ponds are more likely to have water amoebas, or amoeba Naegleria fowleri, in the sediments which can enter your body through your nose and, in rare cases, kill you if you don't recognize the severe headache or stiff neck symptoms in time.  Early antibiotics evidently stop these amoebas in their tracks!  We do need to get Skipper a vaccination for this.  He is NOT allowed in the water at this point.

Flinching...a common body language oddity especially among the senior citizens.  Many older people flinch when they see dogs as they evidently fear being toppled or lovingly licked!  These flinching people can also be found cowarding at the ends of grocery aisles - preparing themselves for the onslaught of a runaway shopping cart or a crazy cart driver.  Fraility seems to be the root of this common issue in Florida.  Do I see this oddity in my future?  I hope not as I love animals and shopping!

Perhaps one of the most interesting oddities to those of us who still have cellphone area code 828 is that the area code for this part of Florida (maybe all of Florida for all I know) is 321.  Like in 3-2-1 blastoff !!!  Good going, Space Coast!

Farewell to Fairwinds

Our major possessions are now in Orlando at the ABF facility in storage.  The crew that packed up the truck for us was great.  The four of them packed the trailer tight, securely, and with amazing strength.   It was sad seeing the ABF truck move down Nesbitt Drive.  Wish this pic was better but the afternoon sun was reflecting off my cellphone.  Oh, well.


We slept on the boat two nights before we left (no furniture in the house!) and had the cats with us.  Kitty Karen somehow foresaw our move and she planted herself on the boat even before we moved to it.  Callie, however, had to be put on the boat to sleep with us and she did sleep like a baby each night in the boat.  When we woke up one morning we saw this magnificent cobweb near the boat:


Our farewells were sad, but cherished.  Pat and I mustered our grit, er determination, as we just didn't want to shed tears anymore.  We look at this change as a grand adventure and realize that God has placed this change upon our hearts for good reason.  We will eventually learn why it has become so important for us to move away.  In His own good time, we will realize His intent, we are sure, and we will continue to do good works always.

We thank Joe Nesbitt and Karen Curtis for inviting us to live next to them on this farm.  We have been truly blessed to have built and lived at Fairwinds.  It is one of the most beautiful places on earth to us.

We thank Joe and his wife Jean for their kindnesses and friendship.  Joe and Pat are close, very close, and love each other very much. 

We thank Dianne Simpson for pushing us so much to get the packing done - when we were pooped, she prodded us on.  She was and is an amazing woman.  She is my best friend and I miss her dearly every day.  As she says, when you know you can see each other any day, you don't always need to; but when you know you can't, it is so sad.  The distance separating all of us is about 10 hours or 600 miles.  A side note:  Dianne gave us the Avatar DVD before we moved.  So thrilled!  Finally got to see it...think we are the last persons on earth to see it!  Now I really want it to come out again in 3D at the movies. 

I didn't get to say goodbye to Chuck Carland, but saw him before the actual moving day.  Chuck is forever on the phone but never fails to throw up his hand in a friendly and warm greeting.  A good man.  By the way, the picture to the left is our dog Skipper and Chuck's dog Sugar on one of their final rounds of the property!

Ruth Woodard has not been up to speed since we left.  She has had surgery and is slowly getting better.  I so wish I was there to spend some time with her, but I do call her regularly to check in!

Uncle Tom Evans can hardly wait till we get to Virginia to further work on his move to Florida.  He will be living with us and we are all looking forward to that day.

Leia, Steve and Nathan Cator and Kayla Barlett are still living in Enka but we will see them from time to time and the internet makes being close, even when far away, more possible than I could have ever imagined.  We miss them. 

We miss Kolby who is at ASU, and his mom Alicia.  Kolby is attaining his certification in scuba diving at  AppState through the PADI Open Water Diver course and will be taking the final test in a cold, cold quarry.  Here we are in Florida with warm water.  What is wrong with this picture?  I'm sure he will ace the course despite the cold.  Alicia will be coming down to Florida in the last couple of weeks in October - in time for Halloween.

We love our NC friends and family.  We miss you dearly.

So, our life's journey has taken a sharp turn, but our life together continues to be a rich blessing.

I will be moving the blog on to our Florida "Following Seas" part of the saga.  We have been here about a month now and are getting our footing and finding our way around better.  Each day is filled with new happenings and thanks to Joe, Melanie and Ashley, and Caren and Roger we are homeless temporarily but well loved as we go from one place to another.  Thanks everyone in NC for all your caring; and thanks everyone in FL for your love.

See you on the blog again soon.  Love you all, Donna and Patrick

PS:  A special thanks to Candy Whitt, our realtor for her fine work with us.  And well wishes to Caleb in his new home, our forever cherished "Fairwinds."

The Essence of Ruth Woodard

"We cannot tell the exact moment a friendship is formed; as in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindnesses, there is at last one that makes the heart run over.” Author Unknown

Ruth, Patrick and I have become very good friends. She calls me Donna. She still calls my husband "Mr. Cator." Patrick and I both love her dearly and cherish our personal friendship.

Ruth reflects the very heart and spirit of Western North Carolina to me. She is hard working, independent and strong in both resolve and affection. With her husband Walter she raised a large family of five children. For more than 40 years Ruth and Walter together worked this farm, and an earlier farm, for BF and Emily Nesbitt and their family.

She still lives on this fine land in her home filled with many collections gathered over her 70+ years. Walter presented his dear wife with cherished cuckoo clocks throughout their long life together. Her home is immaculate, cheery and welcoming with its sweet sounds of chimes, birds, and cuckoos. Thanks to the Nesbitt family, her home on the Nesbitt farm will always be hers until she crosses over to God's homeland. Ruth's home feels loving and safe. She is kind woman, a good woman. I respect her. I will miss seeing her greatly...but will talk with her often.

We have had many cats here and now Ruth has several cats. She wanted none. Her husband had his cat Jasper, and now she does, and they have become close companions. Three cats who took up residence in the Nesbitt barn, roamed to our house and hers. I kept one, Buddy Boy (formerly known as Charlie) who I would call and he would come. I would say “kiss” and he would tip his forehead for me to kiss him. Soooo cute; soooo sweet; soooo missed. After three years of many evening hours spent with this very intelligent cat, I adored him! He now has a new home with a barn in South Carolina and has his choice of living in the house and/or barn.  He is living with Karen Curtis, who once owned him. I am so relieved. The loss of Buddy Boy has resulted in many tears for me. There is nothing I could do to keep him.  We are moving where there are many small lots but no acreage and no barn and we still have 4 house cats and a house dog! Ruth has the other two barn cats, Wilma and Simon. Wilma is skittery, but appreciates the care provided her by Ruth. Simon is now best buddies with Jasper. Ruth and Wilma have one other cat that hangs out with Wilma a lot, one with white paws who is named Boo-Boo.  So interesting that Ruth calls this cat Boo-Boo as we have a cat named Callie Boo-Boo that we normally just call Callie.  Ruth and I now have cats with the same name!  Good.  Ruth enjoys her cats!

She had by-pass surgery sometime back and I tease her by saying, "Is your heart still beating?"  She always smiles.  When we are in agreement on some issue, she will laugh and say "Well, ain't that the truth!"  Special words with special meaning for us both.  Nice. 

Life is so transitional. Two years ago I was content; now we are in packing upheaval, to say the least. This unexpected journey through life has brought Ruth and I closer together. She is there for me and has been a good friend to me, in good and bad times.  I have been able to count on her, as has she been able to count on Patrick and me, as well as her family, the Nesbitts, and Chuck Carland who operates the dairy.  With all the losses I have endured in recent times, I can now much more fully relate to her loss of Walter and understand on a much deeper level the impact the loss of my mother to cancer had on my father many years ago.   She has helped me to deal with loss and grief and I thank her.  And, yes, we help each other to be upbeat on our individual life journeys!  I believe in lots of sharing and laughing as does she...it grounds our mutual trust and contentment with one another.

She has always been important to the Nesbitt family. Now she has become and always will be important to us.  Thank you, Ruth, for being you, for being a very good friend and for your love.

Butterflies and Birds

I just did some weeding.  Weeds are so easy to pull after a good rainstorm.  So Skipper and I strolled and pulled, and laid the pulled weeds on the ground where we will mow them into pieces to fertilize the earth.  As we strolled, the birds were chirping and singing and butterflies and bees abounded.  A hummingbird went to the red caps on the ladder we use to access the roof when needed.  Quickly he/she realized this was not an edible red plant and sped off to find the begonias, passionate in their redness, and attractive to this hummingbird.  Starlings are often here in droves and sometimes in little numbers only...such as three or four at a time.  This wee visit of Starlings is the order of today's afternoon.  An early rising owl could be heard hooting from high in a tree.  A woodpecker tapped a tree and then tried to peck the gutter.  Bad move...went back to the tree.  We have had yellow birds, bluebirds, bluejays, orioles, robins, a white bird with a ring around its neck (can't remember the color of the ring feathers but this was a very friendly bird.)  Had a peacock on the roof one time, to the delight of our grandchildren.  We missed it as we were in Virginia visiting Uncle Tom.  There are birds that have music in their sounds, as well as the crows that "caw" and the buzzards and hawks that cruise the skies.  Robins come early.  Canadian Geese fly over late in the season.  Often I am mesmerized by how much the birds on this mountain sound like the birds on our boat when we are at the coast.  When here, bird sounds make me think of the coast; when at the coast, I am sure bird sounds will have me thinking of here.

Not to be outdone by the birds, butterflies abound - and the white ones we find love to flit and drink from any purplish-colored plants.  The multicolored butterflies seem to enjoy any flower.  The bees tend to mass around flowing shrubs on a regular basis, but do not sting.  Good.

And Praying Mantis have taken up residence in our front yard gardens for several years now.  Ruth Woodard, our dear neighbor, told us they are a protected species.  We now go out of our way to provide them the best care we can, even when they clamp down upon our fingers ready to fight!  Did you know that mantis molt?  We just learned this recently when we found a molted skin.  Ruth showed us their winter eggs and we are careful not to disturb them ever.  Each Mantis is a mighty warrior who looks us straight in the eyes...and we yield!

Nature is a blessing here at Fairwinds.  Protect the plantlife and the wildlife. Be lifted in spirit by their sweet sounds.

PS:  See the webpage that has the story of this praying mantis picture:
http://collabowiki.wikispaces.com/Cool+Science+Pics!

Lightning Bugs and Fireworks Light Up Our Summer Sky

Several things enjoyed on America's 4th of Julys:

1)  Our 3 acres are covered  with glittering, flickering lightning bugs, by the thousands.  This glowing in the dark spectacular begins in June and lasts into or beyond July.  Many are in the front yard and gardens and thousands blink on and off and on again in the back acres.

2)  We watch fireworks from our house or our sidewalk and even through our bedroom windows upstairs as we enjoy HDTV fireworks in Washington, DC!  We watch fireworks sparkle  in the distance from Fletcher, and the South from Hendersonville, and the North from, I guess, Lake Julian in Skyland.   We hear their sounds lightly in the distance. We see them reach for the sky, twinkle in myriads of colors, and spectacularly fizzle to the ground.  Amazing.

3)  Seeing the bioluminescence of the many, many lightning bugs and the sparkles and arrays of the fireworks at the same time is truly breathtaking and moving.

Patriotic and spectacular views.  We, as Americans,  must never compromise or give up our freedoms and our constitution...and always let the few fireflies we capture fly free too.

                                                                                   Photo from: http://serenityknitters.blogspot.com/

Seeds from Thomas Jefferson's Monticello Estate

Thomas Jefferson's estate, Monticello in Virginia, includes shrubbery exactly like the three smaller bushes along the porch rail in this picture.  Exactly!?  Yes, they were raised from the seed of Jefferson's shrubs.  The seed was found during a visit while roaming the grounds, scooped up, planted and "OOO EEE OOO-AH-AH TING TANG WALLA-WALLA BING-BANG," new offspring in NC from Monticello.

  Thank you dear Thomas and BF for raising these shrubs.  

All things "cow"

When we moved to Mills River we knew we were moving to a cherished farmland and dairy area of Western North Carolina. They even make cheese in Mills River! This has always been the town to live in. When people ask, "Where do you live" and you tell them, "Mills River" they brighten and elaborate on what a great area to live in!

Many people said we would be collecting farm memorabilia, such as all things "cow" but we just never did. When I saw this wallpaper border for the workhorse area of the house (laundry area, lavatory, deep sink, etc.) it became our first "cow" memorabilia.

Gladly welcomed! Moo!

June Gardens

June gardens and views - Slideshow

Huge Office!

Our office is a major room for us.  We do volunteer work here, create, invest, write, play games, ebay, craigslist, etc., etc.  A very important place where we spend many hours with breathtaking views out every window.  Nice.  

Gracie's on the roof again!

Our Gracie Girl cat is a jumper.  She jumps up on the roof of our first floor by leaping from the porch rail to the garage roof and then to the house roof.  Gracie then proceeds to "secure the premises" by scouting out any stray invaders to the house - such as bugs or starlings or other birds on the roof that just might slip through the screen and get in the house (little likelihood of that, Gracie).  She is very good at this security position.  Gracie does on occasion eat a bug or two while "on duty" but she has never eaten a bird on the roof - yet.  Notice the cows in the pasture.    They must think she is "Superwoman Cat" - leaps tall buildings in a single bound.

Gracie is the epitome of grace, agility and flexibility.  She loves the other other cats and all the people who live here and visit.   She has always been on this farm with us. She is a joy to watch, even when on the roof.

Fields of Gold

We have been aplenty with golden blooms this year.  Fields of Gold...Buttercups.  This is the breathtaking view from the backyard looking towards the property across the road at the end of the three acres.  As a child, and even as a playful adult, I would hold a buttercup under my chin to show everyone that I  liked butter,

and I do.  

Although I do not have a photo of the flood plain in the far distance down the driveway, those fields are also bathed in yellow.  Spring.

Buttercups and daisies,

Oh, the pretty flowers;

Coming ere the Springtime,

To tell of sunny hours.”

Mary Howitt

Underground utilities

Look at that wide stripe!  Through our upstairs office window we can easily see the strip protecting newly planted grass covering the path dug for underground utilities.  It is amazing to live in the country and have no overhead wires around the house.  The power, phone and DSL should never be lost!  Occasionally we still need to "reboot" DirecTV, but it is wonderful having so many channels on this hill overlooking the flood plain in the far distance.  Never a worry about flooding either.  Can it get any better?  Why would we want to move to Florida and its hurricanes and tornados and 4pm daily thunderstorms.  Only one answer...family, family we love and want to be near to.  We will miss the security of our underground wiring and Dr. Joe and Jean.   Thanks to Dr. Joe next door for arranging for the underground service.  Nifty!

Grammy's Kitchen

Clean, white, large.  That's this kitchen.  It is often filled with people - young and old.  Many  gatherings have been held here with the serving of meals both sit-down and buffet style, with people making ice cream sundaes along the counters, by serving cups of coffee and tall glasses of fresh brewed iced tea plus the bonus of my husband's breadmaking, the results of which are scrumptious to eat and wonderful to smell as it bakes.  A happy place for us and for many friends and family members.    And for yours....

Let the light pour in, and it does.  Thank you, Lord.

Oak leaves, Pollen, Pat's office

We had the builders remove the wall between the two bedrooms on the second floor of the house.  This allowed for one huge office.  Pat's desk is shown here.  Neat.  See the oak leaves through the window?  The pollen is a curse of Western North Carolina for about three weeks, and then the beauty makes us forget all the sneezing!

Redbud Tree

Often wonder why they call it Redbud, when it is really more majenta?  This is a nice time with this tree as the new leaves are breaking free and the redbuds are still very much adorning the limbs.

Notice the young cows in the background.  Love to see the animals here on the farm.  They are well taken care of by Chuck who was raised a farmer and loves being a farmer.  Even his stepsons who are at NC State are aiming to become farmers upon graduation.  They work here a lot.  Nice young men.

Azalea and Spirea

Spring is truly here when the Azaleas pop!  Although we have just finished (I think) Blackberry Winter's cooler blast of air reminding all of us to cherish warmth as winter will come again.

Ashley's Stepping Stones

   

Over the years here, Ashley painted 5 stepping stones - her landscape artwork. 

Four are pictured. 

Her mom is going to place these in her garden. 

So glad these have a new loving home for Ashley to enjoy for years to come. 

Thanks, Alicia!

Sweet Woodruff and a Climber

We used to live in a shady area and when we were building here, we brought a couple of plant rootings to place in our new yard.  This is a sunny yard of 2.95 acres, so I sought out the perfect place for my shade-loving sprouts.  After 8 years, they are still thriving - Sweet Woodruff is the ground cover and I don't know the name of the climber, but it has white and green leaves, is non-invasive, and is a great accent to these mature trees.  I am glad I brought them! 

Sunrise

Sunrise Easter 2010 over the flood plain of the French Broad River.  This is a typical view from our side porch and master suite on the first floor of the house and from the office/bedroom areas on the second floor.  Begins each day with new wonder!

"On Easter Day the veil between time and eternity thins to gossamer."   Douglas Horton

Weigela is an early blooming shrub located in our transfer or perennial garden in the back acreage.   These are so nice to cut and display indoors while having a vast number of blossoms on the shrub outside to brighten up the outdoors Spring with pink!

A friend of mine grew these years ago and she would bring them to the office and display with Forsythia and opened Pussy Willows.    Lovely.

I have never tried to propagate a new Weigela shrub, but I understand it is quite easy to root from a fresh cutting.  Trim off the lower leaves, dip in rooting compound, and start rooting in moist peat moss.  Roots should start in a couple of weeks.

 Worth a try one day to share with others or locate in a new place on the land.

Musical Home

My father was musical,  but my mom was not.  I took after Mom!  Imagine the joy of having talented grandchildren filling our home with the songs of many decades as well as classical music.  They sing, they play trombones, keyboards and violins...plus an occasional harmonica tune!  They play CDs, iTunes, you name it.  They bring their musical friends and play concerts in our living room!!  Oh, and, of course, they play WII Rock Band and sing along with American Idol.  Whatever!!  It is all fun to us.  Thank you dear grandchildren.  May this home always be blessed with music of the heart and soul, of the past and present, and of the talents of its owners and visitors. 

Home in winter....

                                Fairwinds - serene, safe, warm.

Dog cousins...

Oh, to have Spring again and to frolic in the grass as did Kolo and Skipper, "cousins" who love their time together on the three acres.

Looking from the side porch is the faraway restored Holloman farmhouse.  It has several horses, couple of dogs, and kids from time to time.  We can hear the merriment when they do a bonfire and many of the family members attend.  In this wintery scene the sky breathes blue for a bit, before the next snowfall.  The gardens are warmed by coats of snow.  Still.  Nice.  Breathtaking.

December's Storm

The December and January snows have been beautiful, but difficult as the snow just never seems to end.  Say Good-bye to us, El Nino!  We need sun and Spring to come soon. 

This is the view from our house to one of the grazing pastures of the farm.  So white...so cold.  So lovely.