Lovely Fall walks

October 21, 2015 Ruth

1058 Old Country Club Road

Roanoke, VA 24017

Hello on this lovely sunny warm fall afternoon! Go outdoors!!!!

Terra Firma

Randal and I are babysitting Max the dog for a few days. My sister and her husband are off to Philly to visit my nephew so we have Max. Max and I went off for a walk on the Hanging Rock Greenway this morning. http://www.traillink.com/trail/hanging-rock-battlefield-trail.aspx “Trail description: A simple 1.7 mile cinder trail, winds along the edges of Mason Creek. This rails to trails form allows for quiet solitude from the traffic. Many walkers here in the afternoons. Look for falling rock, historical markers and many wildflowers and wild berries” http://www.roanokeoutside.com/hanging-rock-battlefield-trail and if you go the right time of day, you can visit the beer brewery http://parkwaybrewing.com/ . We visited in 2014 with our friends Sheila and David http://www.mydoramac.com/sheila-and-david-come-to-visit-2/ . It’s an easy walk that follows Kessler Mill Rd with enough greenery that you is quite lovely.

Bottom Creek Gorge

It has been years since I’ve been to Bottom Creek Gorge. http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/virginia/placesweprotect/bottom-creek-gorge.xml

This past Monday my friend and former colleague, Joesephine went there for a hike. It was a perfect fall day that had started off cold (hat gloves scarves jackets…) but had us peeling off most layers by the end. It’s part of the Nature Conservancy and if you go note that dogs aren’t allowed even on a leash. If you visit in the afternoon AmRhein’s Wine Cellars Winery is just down the road from the entrance. Years ago Randal and I hiked the gorge and then went off to the winery and it was a lovely day. http://www.amrheinshop.us/?page_id=271

The many days of rain that had wreaked havoc on our land clearing made for a lovely waterfall. You can hike down to the creek but we just stayed on the trail where I took this photo of the falls.

Joesephine!

If you visit the Westlake branch of the Franklin County Public Library system ask Joesephine for a book suggestions or answers to your baffling computer questions.

It was a picture perfect day.

Nature in our back yard! This little creature came to visit the other day and seems to enjoy the tree leaves on the ground level branches and the sprouted bird seeds. This morning I saw him/her heading under the fence to the golf card storage area next door. I know they can destroy gardens in no time flat, but they are sort of cute.

Roanoke, USA, Virginia 24012

To all of those who are Senior Citizens or who like me is just about to become one

October 11, 2015 Ruth

1058 Old Country Club Rd NW

Hi All,

I’ll be 65 tomorrow and finally eligible for all those senior discounts that begin at 65 to say nothing of having had to pick a Medicare policy. I remember my 75 year old mother saying that looking in the mirror surprised her because an “old lady” looked back and she didn’t feel old. And I read somewhere on the Internet that most people feel themselves 20 years younger than their chronological age. Personally I think that starts in your 50s when you are beginning to sort of be old, but you definitely don’t feel it. I don’t feel old most days but some days I think about only having 25 or 30 more years and how fast that will fly by. And then I think about Global Warming and wonder if the world will be here in 20 or 30 years. Good Grief. In the meantime I walked my almost 3 miles daily walk this morning and then went biking on the Greenway with Edwina, my 75 year old neighbor.

http://advancedstyle.blogspot.com/ is a wonderful site dedicated to older folks who celebrate age. Many make me look like a “spring chicken” as they are in their late 80s or 90s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RajtWLrjOeI&index=2&list=PL8Qi0JP_TNHrLNtytSOJknSuwO5jPcZ2j is a wonderful video posted recently on their cite.

So Happy Birthday to me!

Terra Firma

Roanoke, VA, Virginia 24012

Dean and Bevaria come to visit

October 9, 2015 Ruth

1058 Old Country Club Road

Roanoke is north of Florida which puts us on the path our friends have been taking from where they are to where they are going in Florida. In September cruising pals Linda and Michael stopped by for a few days and this week cruising pals Dean and Bevaria stayed with us. We met Dean in China when he visited Seahorse Marine checking on his boat during the time we were there while ours was being built. Dean helped us move DoraMac from Hong Kong to the Philippines and during the voyage took time to share his knowledge of how to change from autopilot to hand steering, a good thing that prevented us from running down a fishing boat. But what I remember most is the shopping expedition Dean and I made to Gongbei while we were all in China. Gongbei, which at the time was (and may still be) the knock-off capital of the world is a 45 minute drive from the boat yard. There are hundreds of shops so it was a great place to stock up on gifts especially lovely shawls and handbags. We were in one shop looking at some handbags to bring home for gifts when the shop attendant motioned for us to come closer, hit a secret button opening what looked like a wall of shelves, and motioned us into the room behind. We entered; another button was pressed and we were enclosed in a room with even more handbags. All I could think was, thank goodness Dean was a retired FBI agent so if we end up in a drama here, he can get us out. But all that happened was shopping and then we exited the secret room. Memories of China!

The weather has put us behind schedule on land clearing. But it could have been worse. Roanoke was spared though the poor folks in South Carolina were not. Dean and Bevaria brought the good weather of Maine with then for their visit so we made a trek up to “the land.”

Bevaria, Randal and Dean standing up by the bolder on the left. The bolder is now named “Frog Bolder” because there was a small frog hiding in a hole just near it and it sort of looks like a frog from certain angles. Some trees are gone but we still have 100 acres full. About half of the clearing has been done but the weather has made a mess of the schedule.