Welcome to our family blog to keep you updated on all the happenings around the Walker cottage and "farm". Even though we live in a rural section of the Tennessee Mountains life is far from boring as you will see.

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

OCTOBER WALKER NEWSLETTER


Hello!


Frosty mornings have arrived here in the Tennessee Mountains and soon all the leaves will change color. It is the weather for jackets and sweaters; also boots as we've had some more rainy days. I've picked the last of the garden tomatoes- even the green ones before the frost hit- to ripen on my kitchen windowsill and brought all the house plants indoors.  One day I harvested a big batch of lemon mint that I dried and use for tea.


My daughter loves autumn- personally I'll take spring any day when everything comes alive instead of dying.  As the temperature drops I have more increased bone pain, which slows me down more than I like. I do enjoy seeing and smelling the wood smoke curling up in the air and sitting beside a warm crackling fire in the wood stove when the weather is bad.


As the squirrels race around storing nuts for winter (and eating my bird seed) I too am trying to scurry around and get outdoor chores completed before it gets too cold. I've been transplanting raspberries, mums, ferns & hostas and doing some last minute outdoor painting a hunter green color on my clothesline poles, backyard swing, and backyard pots. That way I'll still have some green showing when everything is gone. One week I went around cutting sprouts growing on the trees- that should have been done months ago (just don't tell anyone)- and picking up branches all around the house to tidy things up. I even went over to Dwight's apartment in town one morning and weeded out the small space beside his door that nothing had been done to since he moved in and to me was a terrible eyesore (after all he is my son) putting in iris, lilies, mums- that I got from my flower beds- and daffodil bulbs that will come up and bloom all own their own. When I told Dwight what I was going to do, he smiled and shook his head at me. I'm sure Dwight has some hidden "green thumb" genes somewhere inherited like his sister and mother, who go crazy over plants. What a mother won't do- ha!


This past Sunday, Dana was able to make it to church finally for the homecoming after not being at church for over three months. Since his last mini stroke, Dana's oxygen stays low, it is harder for him to get around, and he has had a couple of seizures again. Then to make life interesting, his insurance decided not to pay for his increased prescription of insulin. Can you imagine??? So we were busy on the phone with the pharmacists, who gave us four boxes of insulin to tide us over while he and the doctor dithered around with the insurance company. Thankfully after a week they agreed to pay for Dana’s insulin. It should be outlawed that an insurance company can up and quit paying for something a person needs to live without warning. Such is life!


Then I had a scary experience heading to town one rainy morning. I had a wreck- something that never had happened to me before in almost 60 years. My vehicle went into a skid around a curve on a side road. Thankfully no one was coming, I missed a pole at the last minute my vehicle flipped around, I skidded backwards over a ditch, and landed on a wire fence that kept me from flipping over while I prayed and hung on. I had to climb out and over the passenger’s side to get out. The cop said it was a bad morning as another girl on a curve completely flipped her car down an embankment. I called Dwight, who was able to pull the Durango out with his pickup. I was quite shaken. Dwight told me to go back home and he would pick up whatever I needed in town. I was very thankful to pull back into my own driveway again in one piece. The next couple of days I had to increase my pain meds. Needless to say I’m avoiding that side road, whose curves are bad for wrecks, and driving extra slow when it rains.


The next week I took Dana down another very curvy road to see a specialist. The very next day when I went into town at the first stop a fellow told me I had a flat tire. To my shock the tire that had slid into the bank/fence was completely flat and sitting on the rim.  So I called Dwight again and was able to air the tire up enough to get me to the shop. Like the fellows thought mud had gotten in-between the rim and tire causing a slow leak. I had noticed that morning that my blinkers weren’t working so asked Dwight to check them for me as well. Lo and behold if not only my blinkers, but the brake light was out. The guys spent a couple of hours trying to run down what was causing the problem while I kept tabs on Dana via the phone. I left with all the lights working feeling quite grateful that on the day before the Lord had watched over me when I drove long distance keeping my tire aired up and the lights working. I’m so thankful to have a Heavenly Father watching over me!  What would we do without the Lord???


Oh yes, Dawn and her family came up for quick visit one weekend and along with Dwight and our two neighbors, with two chain saws going full steam and our log splitter three large trees and a smaller one was cut down, split up, and stacked in one day to clear space for the new chicken yard! Everyone was busy as bees- even the grand-kids. Six-year-old Katie Dawn helped me in the kitchen, gather eggs from the chickens, and run water and snacks to everyone else busy with the trees. What fun having the little Miss beside me for the day.


And did I tell you about sweet Princess (the only chick that survived from the batch of chicks hatched out this year) that I was sure was a hen, has turned into a rooster? Life stays crazy here on the farm. Well I need to close and get this out in the mail before another month goes by.


dorcas

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