We love this picture.  I know I’ve shown it to you before, but I can’t help myself.  

 

I think Momma was 94 in this picture, making cheese biscuits at Betsy’s house.  She always made them for Christmas. One year, I suggested using the food processor to grate the cheese, but she liked doing it the way she always did it.    

 

Today would be Momma’s 100th birthday.

 

If you’d like to make Momma’s cheese biscuits, just go to the recipe section of this website.  It’s there under cheese, along with this picture.  ;)

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMA!!!

 

 

 

This is a great time of year for Tree Identification.  

 

You can’t always go by the leaves;  bark, silhouettes, and other characteristics help to identify trees in winter.

 

This is an American Beech.  Look at the bark, and you can see that it looks a little like camouflage fabric.  The other cool identifier is that in our cold hardiness zone, they don’t drop their leaves, even though they are deciduous trees.  They hold on to their leaves until the new leaf buds push them off in the spring.  

 

So when you’re out for a walk or drive, notice the trees in the woods with brown leaves and camo bark:  American Beech.

 

 

HAPPY DECEMBER!!!

 

The same day that I posted an article about my favorite Holly tree, we were chatting with a neighbor.  He is on the well committee, and told us that he learned from an old timer here that the best place to dig a well is close to a holly tree.

 

Not sure WHY, but apparently it works, because that is one of the criteria that Cherokee Well Drilling uses when looking for well sites.  I thought it was kinda interesting, and thought you would too.  

 

Now you know where to start digging your well.  ;)

 

 

HAPPY DECEMBER!!!

 

A very dear friend of ours had a birthday last week.  She turned 100!!!

 

She was a childhood friend of Momma’s;  they met in the second grade, and were friends for almost ninety years.  She played the piano for years, and she volunteered at the shelter in Norfolk until she was 94 years old.  She loved cats, and usually had one or more.  She doesn’t live by herself anymore, so pets aren’t really an option for her.  

 

So one of her very thoughtful friends got her this Perfect Pet cat for her birthday.  It came with its own bed, collar, and kitty brush.   It doesn’t need feeding or a litter box, but it does purr (as long as the batteries hold out.) 

 

How sweet is that?  When I find out, I’ll let you know its name.

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SUE!!!

 

 

 

Not all the trees have dropped their leaves.  Here is a gorgeous Holly tree with lots of green leaves and berries.  It’s my favorite holly tree;  and I get to see it every time we walk the loop.  

 

This time of year it is extra pretty, and it makes me smile every time.

 

 

HAPPY DECEMBER!!!

 

Remember those beautiful Hickory trees?  It was just a couple weeks ago that they were golden against the blue sky.  Well, the sky is still blue, but the leaves are on the ground.

 

Looks like winter will soon be upon us.  Another beautiful season in the mountains.  

 

 

HAPPY DECEMBER!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Look at our beautiful winter sky.  

 

It’s that time of year when I run out of gardening things to talk about.

 

I’ll try to think of something, but please forgive me if I can’t come up with something every day.  

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

This is my parsley.  It is about 16 inches across.  I had a few Black Swallowtail caterpillars nearby on my carrots, but they didn’t get into the parsley.  So we still have parsley, just no carrot leaves.  

 

That’s ok.  Everybody has to eat something.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Fall isn’t completely over here.  Most of the Maple trees, Dogwoods, Sycamores, and Gingkos have dropped their leaves, but the Oaks are still hanging onto theirs.  You can see a few on the mountainsides.  The reddest ones are Red Oaks, and the browner ones are Chestnut and White Oaks.  I love them all.

 

I hope your Fall is still beautiful, wherever you are.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

I know you’ve seen this before, but I think it is still the best for today.

 

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!