Summer is Almost Over

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Being a life long (almost) Florida resident statements like summer is almost over once the 4th of July passes always evoked an eye roll from me. Florida summer tends to end in December.

Now that we spend summers in the wonderful North Carolina mountains, I can identify with the summer is almost over sentiment. In fact, I will go as far as to say, the year is almost over and it is not just flying, it is racing!

In June our daughter flew up for a short visit just before Father’s day. We picked her up at the Asheville airport and decided to maximize her visit time by abandoning the boring Interstate-40 and exploring The Blue Ridge Parkway. We would drive from Asheville all the way to Cherokee, NC. But first we stopped at Publix supermarket to get a box of their fried chicken. My husband loves it.

We had loaded some bag chairs into the truck in anticipation of an adventure.

While we were eating and relaxing, we watched a van arrive and a family spilled out, eager to explore. The children and teens headed for a small rock face and scrambled up, Oh the memories of our children’s excitement to escape the car and climb. I did experience a very small twinge of worry for the climbers but brushed it aside.

The drive from the airport usually take around an hour and a half. This day, with all of our lollygagging the trip took 5 hours and it was worth every minute.

One morning after her return to Florida, our daughter texted me that our security camera captured a bear on our back porch. The image was fuzzy but when we checked my husband’s game camera there he was. We marveled at his balance as he stole seeds from the bird feeder. He visited two more times until we got smart and began bringing in our feeders at night.

Last week the daughter of a cousin stopped by to spend a couple of nights with us. Last year she set out on her dream of traveling across America, living in her car and supporting her adventure as a delivery person for Door Dash. She was very happy to have a whole bedroom to herself as well as a shower anytime she wanted. She did work the supper hours while she was with us.

One morning the three of us drove up to our favorite place, Wayah Bald. She loves the outdoors and we hoped she would enjoy it as much as we do. The elevation is around a mile high and the air there is fresh and usually cooler. The famous Appalachian Trail runs through the bald and we were excited to see a truck parked near the path with a sign reading, Trail Magic. We spent several enjoyable minutes talking with the generous family.

The Hungry Hiker explains Trail Magic:

What is Trail Magic? Trail Magic is when someone does something really nice for you, unexpectedly, out on the trail, usually without expecting anything in return. Trail Magic can come from someone you know or most of the time, a complete stranger. We call people who provide Trail Magic, Trail Angels.

Trail Magic can come in many forms: a ride into town or back to the trail, food, cold soda, snacks, water caches, a place to stay in town, care packages sent to a town stop on trail, a cooler full of chopped fruit, lawn chairs in the shade, etc.

A few days later, the daughter of another cousin came to visit. She is a lovely person to spend time with chatting on the porch. On the final day of her stay we had lunch together at the Clayton Cafe, Clayton Georgia. It was my first time there and I will be going back! If you are ever driving up into the North Carolina mountains on highway 441, consider stopping there. It has everything including a wine tasting area! I love small towns.

Yes, the summer is moving quickly by. Next week we have more cousins arriving! I think this will call for another visit to The Clayton Cafe.

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2021 goal is continue touse my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media. You can visit Real Life Books and Media You Tube Channel if you would like to view some of the mini-videos I have created for our church, Gateway Community in Titusville, Fl.

Tags: Appalachian Trail, Bears, Christian bloggers, End of summer, Enjoying family, Porch life, Trail Magic, Wayah Bald