In preparation for a barn raising

We spent most of the weekend working outside, in between the storms, relocating many of our shrubs, bushes, and plants in preparation for our next project. Work like that makes me feel more connected to grandmaw Barton. She was always working in her yard. She could make anything grow and was always giving us cuttings or potted things for us that she split from other bushes so we could take them home and kill them. A few things survived though, but only until my brother, Bobby, decided that they were in his way when he mowed, so he cut them down or mowed over them before they had much of a chance. We moved 3 yellow rose bushes, 2 pink rose bushes, some weigelas, scotch brooms, crape myrtles, and a bunch of irises. We really didn't want to move things when they were blooming, but we didn't have much of a choice. So, I hope everything survives, but I expect they will look a bit worn for a while.Some friends from Virginia will be coming down in a couple of weeks to help us. I am liking it to an old-fashioned barn raising. I am more excited about them visiting than I am our new project. I hope we have some time to get out and play a bit and not spend a long weekend just working. We rode around today after our work was done, just taking in the beautiful afternoon we had. It didn't take long to end up at a park that we like to go to that has a great lookout point, picnic areas, and trails. We got out to take a walk along a trail, but the heavy rains we had yesterday made them very muddy, so we decided to go back another day. I think we will take our friends out there for an afternoon when they come down.The park is called Panther Creek. It reminded me of a park that we used to go to when I was a kid. It was called Uncle Tom's Park. We went mainly for the huge spring-fed pool that they had. On a hot day, it was great. The water was as cold as ice, but after you were in it for a few minutes, it was just fine. It sloped off so you could walk in where there was just a few inches of water and by the time you got to the slide, you were in over your head. I remember finding the spot where the water would come in. It was a trough just wide enough to get your feet in. We would walk through it and the water was the coldest right there. Your feet would turn blue, but we didn't really care. It was so fun. We could then run across to the other side of the pool where the water would go out. It was almost warm there so you could thaw your feet out a bit. I also loved getting a coke, in the paper cup with Coke on the side, full of ice. One time mom got me a huge spiral sucker as big as my head. I started into it right away, but after a while, I realized that if I tried to finish it, I would never make it back into the pool. I think I tried to wrap it back up to take home, only to find out that you can't wrap a licked-on sucker in napkins. Oh well, I had more time in the pool.

I found this picture online. I also found out that the park is not operating as it did when we were kids. The pool is no longer open, but you can camp there.

I am sure we also took a picnic lunch or used a charcoal grill to cook some hotdogs. The only other time we went to a picnic shelter or cooked out anywhere but home, was when granddaddy and grandmaw Edge took us. Since they moved around a lot for the church, they always had a new place to show us. One of those picnics was at a park that had paddle boats. Grandmaw Edge was wearing a green and black plaid dress so, she wouldn't get in the paddle boat. I remember seeing her on the shore, carrying a red metal picnic basket. They had that basket for years and I always remembered that park when I saw it. She just waited at the picnic pavilion for us and had lunch ready when we got out of the lake. It was the first time I had been in a paddle boat and I don't think I did it again until just a few years ago. The second time was not nearly as fun as I remembered. Paddle boats are a lot of work.

This was a family picnic just before I was born, so I guess technically I was there. It was something we did often with granddaddy and grandmaw Edge. I love that they used pyrex, real plates, and silverware. I wish I had a picture with that picnic basket in it.

As we drove through Panther Creek, we rolled down the windows and you could smell the grills and a few fire pits with people cooking burgers and hot dogs. Smells like that take you back so quickly. We had already had a little lunch, corn dogs actually, but I was tempted to jump out and take a hot dog from somebody's grill. We saw a few turkeys and kept our eyes out for deer, but didn't see any this time. We also got out at the top of the park, where they have a lookout, giving you views of the lake. It is always so beautiful and I want to go riding on a boat sometime and go out to one of the islands you see peppered throughout the lake.