Auburn Football - this never gets old

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Some Photos

Me in my cowgirl hat and me in my Barn Crew cap.

Sunshine, a Welsh x American Flaxen Chestnut 2 year old Pony
April, a Registered Quarter Horse 8 year old Palomino
The Barn where I "muck the stalls"
The Pasture where we pick up manure to reduce parasites

 

 

And lastly, my living room and my hewn log cabin in the North Georgia Mountains.

Christmas Card

I sent my Blog site info to many people on my Christmas Card list, so I should update somewhat as I can, before people start wondering why I haven't posted anything in a long time. Actually, the reason is because a) I've been busy being "Barn Crew" and b) I'm so happy being busy that I just haven't thought about posting. I shall try to be better at it, as I may have a larger audience as soon as my Christmas Cards are read.  Below is the major part of the Christmas letter I sent, minus personal information.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Christmas has always been a time for remembering, not just what Christ means for us individually and collectively, but also for remembering Christmases past with the joy and anticipation of reading the Christmas story and knowing that once again, we celebrate the Birth of Christ our Savior and King.

In early 2011, I downsized and moved from North Georgia to Daphne, AL. Casey the Wonder Dog died of cancer in September 2011. In May of 2012, I moved to Murfreesboro, TN. I was in Baltimore, MD for my niece's wedding at the end of June 2012, when my Dad was hospitalized and died of a heart attack. Before he died, Dad told me to “hike the Appalachian Trail,” so with the help of cortisone shots in my knees, I made arrangements to hike the Northern half of the AT beginning in May of this year. My 'half a thru hike' turned into 41.6 miles from Dahlgren Backpack Campsite, MD to US Hwy 30 at Caledonia St Pk, PA as my knees could no longer take the pounding on the rocky trail. My brother, Dave, picked me up at Burgundy Lane B&B in Waynesboro, PA and brought me back to Mom's. As it turned out, timing is everything; shortly after returning to Mom's, I got a call from dear friends in North Georgia asking me if I would like to rent their mountain log cabin. The answer was a happy “yes” and I moved in July. I live in a hewn log cabin with a full-length screened porch at the end of a dirt road in the North Georgia mountains and I love it. My friends own a horse and pony and I am the volunteer 'barn crew' learning horse care which includes feeding as well as keeping the stalls and paddock clean. I get to wear cowgirl boots and a cowgirl hat but mostly I wear a cap that says “Barn Crew Carol” and mucking boots. I even have my own manure rake. Dad's advice to hike the AT taught me that when opportunity and talent coincide, happiness results. I had opportunity to hike the AT, but I didn't have talent to be a long distance hiker. I have both opportunity and talent to be “Barn Crew Carol.” I can truthfully state that I am happier than I have been in many years.

As 2013 turns into 2014, my prayer for you is that you will recognize the areas in your life where opportunity and talent coincide. May you find joy and happiness throughout the coming year.

Birthday #69

Today I turned 69 years old. I had a fantastic day. First, my daughter sent me a happy birthday text message.  Then after we fed the horse and pony, I spent the day with my neighbors  (BFFs).  We drove to Harrah's in Cherokee NC and stopped for lunch on the way at River's End Restaurant at Nantahala Outdoor Center in Wesser NC. I shared a Greek Pizza.  Then we drove on to Harrah's and spent a couple hours at the slot machines.  I "won" some money and walked out losing only $13.35.  And I have a voucher for next time.  When we got back, we went to Blue Jeans' Restaurant in Blue Ridge GA and shared a Greek Salad and appetizers, including fried pickles.

Mom called to wish me a happy birthday.  My son called and later called back and we had a nice long conversation.  The Toyota dealership where I bought my car called to wish me a happy birthday.  My daughter in law and granddaughters texted me birthday wishes. A dear friend who lives in Mom's building called to extend birthday wishes. And then my niece called and sang Happy Birthday and I spoke with my brother who has a 65th birthday later this month. 

My neighbors gave me my own manure fork which I got to use this morning. 

I also got a "neighing" coffee mug from them and a "barn crew" cap.  My daughter (& family) and brother (& wife) sent cards.  Mom (& Dad - RIP) had already sent me three cards and a monetery gift.  

I had a really wonderful day!  

I've ended it by watching "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel."  

"Sometimes when things don't work out as you expect them to, what happens instead is the Good Stuff." 

I'm living the Good Stuff.

How I've been spending my time

I have not been keeping up with my blog. Since moving to North Georgia, I've been wonderfully distracted by life and the living of it.  I've made new friends, got involved at Church, worked on moving in and buying a few items of furniture and helping out with the horse and in the pasture.  It's so peaceful here. I love it!

Princess April

Moving Princess April's manure

Removing rocks from the other half of the pasture so Princess April won't trip when she's moved there. 

The peaceful mountain cabin. 

Why the censorship of certain books about the Appalachian Trail?

In response to a comment by someone about a book entitled "Black Heart on the Appalachian Trail" ... no review was given, this person just didn't like hearing about bad things that can happen on the AT and didn't want anyone else to read the book.  [Turns out the book is a NOVEL and not even factual.]

I wrote: I don't think anyone harmed Geraldine Largay. I think she did what many of us "of a certain age" are prone to do --- let a schedule dictate our lives and rush to meet our deadline, throwing caution to the wind ---

However, the book referenced apparently strikes at the core of the "Mystic Order of the Appalachian Trail" from the brief description [depressing, something 'like this' might happen to Geraldine] and IM(not so)HO should be part of the whole of a hiker's preparation for hiking the Trail, even if it is fiction, as the author of the book clearly notes. A person - male or female - makes decisions in life based on as much Information as she or he can gather - denying a person information, even if it's a "What If" novel, could prove detrimental --- whether we're talking about Whitewater Kayaking which has drowning hazards or Rock Climbing which as falling hazards or Mountain Bike riding in places with grizzly bears and panthers or Canoeing in places where there are alligators --- few would want anyone to go on those adventures not knowing the dangers and learning how to prepare for them --- WHY is it so different when it comes to the Appalachian Trail??   WHAT IF scenarios are often used in preparation for real life, so what's so inherently 'wrong' about reading a novel with a What If story that has an unhappy ending?

An Editorial Aside:

Bill Bryson's fictional and questionable satire work, "A Walk in the Woods." gave the readers a mythical and inaccurate version of Thru Hiking the Appalachian Trail and of the Southern Appalachian Trail States and her people.  It's about as accurate as the novel in question, yet it is available at bookstores in the "Hiking" or "Appalachian Trail" sections and Mr Bryson has been a speaker at a number of venues, from stores that sell hiking equipment to AT hiking clubs and events.  [Some may question my dislike for the Southernphobe Mr Bryson ... in the South, we despise people who mock our disabled and elderly mothers and grandmothers as he did of Mrs. Mull's mother.  If ever there was a book not to read or a person not to support with your American dollars, it is Mr Bryson.] 

Few are frightened out of Whitewater Kayaking, Rock Climbing, Mountain Bike Riding or Canoeing after reading stories of drownings, broken necks, maulings or other injuries or deaths In these activities --- so why the fear that one or a dozen stories which include harrowing experiences or deaths on the Appalachian Trail will deter anyone?

When I watch the made for TV movies about fictionalized real life adventures that "nearly went wrong and could have ended in death but didn't" it does not invoke fear of embarking on a similar adventure. When I read accounts of people who overcome the harrowing odds during an adventure (books about K2 come to mind), it doesn't preclude my risking my life on a similar experience. But I do learn something from those Adventure Books -- they are beneficial. And denying me knowledge of them, be they a string of facts, a woven story, or a fictionalized tale, were I to plan such a Trek, such an exciting Once in a Lifetime Adventure, would be tantamount to blind folding me and telling me to cross 8 lanes of Interstate at rush hour.

Other sports do not get the censorship given to the AT - and most hiking in general - WHY the censorship of a novel about the Appalachian Trail just because someone doesn't like the way it ends?

Another Editorial Aside:

When I responded to the remark about "Black Heart on the Appalachian Trail" I was unaware that it was JUST A NOVEL and not a factual account.  It was a 'what if' tale that apparently has some very accurate descriptions of various places along the Appalachian Trail and the reader got caught up in it ... which is fine.  But to try to censor others from reading it?  Let's censor all the books with unhappy endings or endings which don't suit our fancy of the moment.  ~~ A little sarcasm to end this post.

PS ... I never have read "Lady Chatterley's Lover" ... it was censored when I was in High School.  Maybe I should see if I can find it online and read it.  Or maybe even buy a copy when I buy "Black Heart on the Appalachian Trail."

A lost hiker on the Appalachian Trail in Maine

In my previous posts about the dangers of the Appalachian Trail, I have tried to educate the reader to understand that being informed is healthier than blithely thinking that hiking is just "putting one foot in front of the other."  It is NOT that simplistic.  

From the article: If not for white blazes on granite, a hiker could clamber off the trail on the way up. On the way down, a missed step could mean a snapped ankle or something worse, like a tumble off the narrow trail.

Please read the entire article.  And pray for the SAR teams and the volunteer searchers and the Rangers and all the others --- because finding a dead body is not easy on any of them.  And those who think that "well, she died doing what she loved" need to reconsider that thought --- sincerely reconsider that thought. 

Morning Sentinel, August 4, 2013: On the Trail, many trials, for hikers and searchers alike

My conjecture is that it was raining, the rocks were slick, Geraldine was slower than she had planned and was hurrying, she did get to the Carrabassett River, it was high, she slipped on the rocks and her body will be found downstream.  I hope and pray that I'm wrong, but after reading the story, from my experience on the AT, even though it was 'only 41.6 miles,' this is the scenario that comes to mind.

"Saint Anthony, Saint Anthony, Please come 'round, there's someone lost who must be found."