Forest Fire

This summer started with a forest fire near our area. The blaze in the Holly Shelter Game Land area was started recently from a lightning strike and has been burning mostly uncontrolled until this past weekend. On the way home today I noticed that the smoke plume had become very pronounced instead of just looking like just a haze covering the land. I grabbed the camera and headed back out on my bike to take a few pictures.

Holly Shelter Fire

What looks like a cloud is actually the smoke from the fire. I’m wondering if it was caused by a particular wind pattern, or if it’s something from what the firefighters are doing.

Closer View of the Smoke

Crazy Cat

Zuni sent me this earlier…

For some reason our crazy cat, Cali, decided to climb onto a fence near our house & jump onto the roof our house. She seems quite content up there…which is good, as I do not have a ladder to get her down, nor am I calling the Fire Dept to come & get her down.

[Our] friends that rescued [jModule] from a tree to get said cat, currently live in [Africa]. I’m not sure where their ladder is. We should have offered to keep it in storage for them while they are overseas!

I hope I was able to give you a laugh for the day!

Walking the Roof

Taking it all in

In an Emergency

Today Zuni sent me an instant message:

[I had] to chuckle. As CE was waiting for her snack, said, I can call 9-1-1. Where’s the 9?” MD shows her on the phone–CE then says, “Where’s the 1? You call 9-1-1 for an emergency. That’s what my teacher says.” She knows what to call–but not how to call it!! Hope I never need her to call due to an emergency!

Thanksgiving in Myrtle Beach

For the Thanksgiving holiday this year we went down to Myrtle Beach with Zuni’s family. They stayed in a condo nearby, while we took the camper to Pirate Land.

Pirate Land

We arrived at the campground at about 2:00 in the afternoon and soon had the camper set up. When everything was set up we went over to the condo for the afternoon.

Camp Site

Thanksgiving morning the girls really wanted to swim in one of the pools. Although they were willing to brave the outdoor “lazy river,” I said we would go to the indoor pool since it was heated. It turned out to be a good choice. They had a lot of fun swimming and jumping in. They even made a new friend.

She’s Wearing “Gobbles”

The Indoor Pool

Enjoying all Kinds of Weather

Last weekend we were still watching the water drain away. The heavy rains pushed in by tropical storm Nicole had brought more rain to our area than we had seen for a while. On a positive note, it ended the drought we were going through. Not so positive was the flooding that closed a lot of roads in our area.

We did try to get out and enjoy stomping in puddles. Other than on Tuesday when it was too windy, we put on boots and got our umbrellas and headed out.

Fancy Umbrellas

Happy Cat

Sometimes the cat picks a sleeping spot and none of use can quite understand her train of thought. The best I can think of is that it’s in the middle of the activity in the house — without actually getting in the way, for the most part. She finds a way to make it comfortable.

Very Relaxed Cat

Trip to Tryon Palace

For her birthday, Zuni wanted to go on a day trip as a family. She picked Tryon palace since we had never been there and the gardens were supposed to be in bloom. It turned out to be a great day to visit, the sun was out and the temperature cool, but not cold.

Tryon Palace

Girls in the Gate

In the Gate House

We purchased the garden pass, so we spent most of our time walking the paths. The girls really enjoyed exploring the more formal gardens with their walls and bricked paths. Zuni took a lot of pictures of the flowers.

Going into the Gardens

Sharing secrets

The garden pass also included the Kitchen Office, where the servants used to be quartered and most of the cooking for the Governor was done. We had almost a private tour of the office, kitchen, laundry, and bedrooms. Probably the most interesting part was talking to the guide in the kitchen. She was cooking lunch in the wood fireplace, an actual sausage and rice dish that would have been cooked back in the 18th century. She told us about what the people would eat, and how the servants at the mansion were better fed, and better educated, than most of the town folk. A lot of the people of that time wanted to have their sons and daughters hired by the governor.

Winter Snow

This past weekend we had an unexpected snow storm. It came after the storm that hit Washington DC and took a more southerly route, covering Alabama, Georga, and even Florida, beforing moving up the coast and gifting us with snow. It arrived Friday night as we were finishing dinner.

Snowing Friday Night

The next morning the yard was covered with a nice white blanket. I was surprised how much snow we got. My guess was that it was around 4 or 5 inches, but there were places that were 7 inches deep.

The Back Yard

The pets were almost as excited as the girls. The cat wasn’t sure at first, but her curiosity overcame her hesitation. The dog was already running and jumping around.

Cat in the Shed

The girls went outside as soon as they could get dressed after breakfast. We played in the snow for a while, building snowmen, throwing snowballs, and making snow angels. First MD went inside to warm up, and eventually CE got cold too. So as one was going in the other was coming out. Meanwhile Zuni was going around and taking pictures of the snow.

Looking Down our Street

Before everyone went in, our neighbor came over from across the street. She and her sister had told the girls that they would help make a snowman, and so they made a little one in the front yard.

We Enjoyed the Snow

What if He’s Fired

Yesterday, out of the blue, MD asked, “what if Daddy were fired?” Then she went on to wonder what would happen if both my brother and I were fired. “I hope they don’t get fired.”

Not to worry, CE had the solution, “If Daddy gets fired, a fire truck will come, and he’ll be saved.”

Christmas Cat

Soon after our cat adopted us we decided she was going to be an outside pet. We’ve managed to keep her out there, and she has a nice warm and cozy bed in the shed (when she’s not sleeping in the childs seat on the back of the bicycle). She does manage to sneak in at times, usually when we’re trying to come inside.

Christmas Cat

She got a new colar this Christmas, but promptly licked it and caused the top to fray some. But even if it’s not as pretty as when we first put it on, the little bell still helps us find her now.