Greyton Beach in August

Here's some advice if you're planning a pleasant, warm holiday to Greyton Beach on the Florida Panhandle - don't do it in August, especially during a heatwave. It was stifling hot and very humid. But I must say, we enjoyed the beach, the sea, the sailing, the marine animals and most of all, relatives to enjoy it with. Our three families shared 2 large campsites quite comfortably and we had a prime spot on the shore of Western Lake - only a 1/4 mile's walk or ride to the beach, or 1/8 mile paddle in the canoe across the lake. Thanks to G bringing their catamaran, we also enjoyed sailing - on the lake and in the ocean. The sailing was wonderful. With strong winds whipping us along it seemed like we were just skimming the top of the clear blue-green water. C especially loved that. In addition, we had 2 canoes, one kayak, and our bicycles.

Having air conditioning made all the difference!

Marine life included jellyfish, regular fish, shark, stingray, dolphin, flying fish, manatee, crab, sea cucumbers and other small creatures. Birdlife included gulls and terns of all sorts, osprey, storks, herons, ducks, pelicans and many others. Some land animals included rats around camp, raccoon, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, lizards - no alligators, although there were warnings around - and dogs.

On Thursday we all drove up to Ponce de Leon springs where the water stays a constant 68' F - Brrrr. Immediately refreshing and breathtaking - and a nice change from the week "at sea".

At some high point near the springs

Having air conditioning sure helped us both day and night - I don't want to say too much about the luxury of it, since the rest of the family were in stifling tents!! It seems unfair! They were real troopers - though somehow I don't think we'll be planning another trip down there in August any time soon. October seems to be the best time of year for great weather. We'll have to book next Fall break to have a holiday there and be comfortable! Kom ons maak 'n plan, julle!

Cherohala Skyway bike ride

Well, the folk are still waiting for a report of S's biking weekend riding the Cherohala Skyway so here is a brief summary. I'm sure S would have many more interesting details of the actual ride. This photo was taken at the end of day one.

On Friday, August 24, we drove up toTellico Plains with our caravan and set up camp at the local KOA for convenience sake. The campground is quite nice, especially if you get a spot by the trees, and the Tellico River, like we did. After setting up camp, we drove the length of the Skyway to stash water in various "hot spots" for the next days' rides. The plan was to ride a full 82 miles two days in a row in preparation for their trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway the next month.

The following morning, bright and early, friend M (with son D), joined us at camp and M and S soon set off up the road on their bikes - maybe around 7:30am. The Cherohala includes a long steep climb of 31 miles to the high point of over 5000 ft (the total elevation climbed that day was about 10 000 ft.) The guys then rode down the other side to a point and returned up and over for a total of 82 miles. The day was hot and the guys had underestimated their need for fuel so it was a grueling day for them. The kids and I met them about half way with some food and extra water which helped them over the hump, so to speak.

As for me and the kids, we played in the Tellico River on both days, rode the bikes around camp and generally just hung out.

Awww, isn't this sweet?

 They also had fun sliding down a long water slide the camp people had set up on the side of a hill.

When the guys got back that evening, they were ready for a good rest, shower and a big meal of pasta. At this point they realised that doing 80 or more miles a day for 5 or 6 days was going to be tough. That night all 5 of us slept in the caravan and the next morning they were off again. This time another friend, F, had driven over and joined them at the bottom to do it all again. Actually, M and S decided to only ride to the high point and back (total 62 miles), instead of the 82. Their friend did the full 82 since he hadn't gone the day before. Fortunately the weather was a little kinder, not so hot and muggy, plus they were able to gauge their fuel needs better and were in a lot better shape on their return than the day before.

So that is the story of the biking weekend. They were glad they did it as it gave them a good feel for what it would be like doing the Parkway in only 6 days.....

Next week I'll give a little overview of our holiday on the coast in early August.

Alumni and Family visits

Last week, as I mentioned before, S's folk came up from Florida for the Alumni weekend and to visit. We enjoyed having them and as usual, the time was too short. They are so kind about babysitting for us and we had some time to "date", and to shop and do errands. They're both doing well and Mom is getting around well after her fall in July where she broke both her left knee cap and wrist.

On Sabbath afternoon we were treated to a hammer dulcimer concert, then an organ eveningsong with Sietze de Vries on the organ. He also gave a full concert the previous Tuesday night. He is from Holland (married a South African), and is an absolutely stunning organist. His improvisations are very creative and beautiful. His favourite form is the fugue. His playing takes one back to Bach or Buxtehude's time when most organists improvised a lot of the time. I was lucky enough to be able to attend the improvisation masterclass he gave on Thursday evening and got some good ideas.

We've had some beautiful weather including getting some good rains last week. The fall colours are still gorgeous - I think our peak will be later than usual this year. We've spent several hours this week digging in the garden, C and I. Mostly just for fun, but also to find Japanese Beetle grubs to feed to the birds. Might as well do something useful with them because when I catch the beetles in the summer, they go straight into a jar with petrol. C digs around and then rakes everything smooth again. We also came across a large toad buried in the ground. Fortunately I wasn't using much force when I hit him. We buried him again close to the flowering quince where we had found one last year and hopefully he'll get over the shock soon. We also uncovered a pupa of a moth and other interesting critters.

The other day C was out rather a long time and when I went to find her, she was closely studying a large preying mantis. We fed it a grub and watched as he gnawed on it. (I actually felt sorry for the grub as he didn't bother to kill it first!) Since we are studying about insects anyway, we took this opportunity to looks at its mandibles, compound eyes, pulps and antennae etc. Thankfully he was large and we didn't need a magnifying glass. He was at least 4 1/2 to 5 inches (9 or 10cm) long. C now says her favourite thing is gardening "more than language, more than math or anything!" Well, helloohh!

I didn't get pictures of the garden critters this time but in the summer we found a rabbit's nest in the dog's pen of all places! It was well camoflaged and had 3 little nestlings in it. We took photos so I'm including a few of those here. (In case you're wondering, the dog was kept elsewhere during the time it took for them to leave the nest.)

Their little eyes aren't even open yet

Only a day or two later they're ready to leave the nest 

The mother kept them covered with grass (here we've uncovered them for the picture)

Our other news this week is that we might be getting a "real" piano on Sunday! Saw it advertised a couple Sunday's ago at the flea market. Maybe we'll have a pic for you next time. C is so excited because not only are we getting this piano but she is going to be able to have the electric one in her room! Joy of joys!

And last but not least, a big Happy Birthday for Aunty K on the 31st! We love you and miss you and wish we had been there to share the fun and of course, the cake :-)!

Days off School

For three days this week it has been our Fall break so I'll take this opportunity to show you some of C's work this past quarter. Many times in lesson planning I find we don't move quite as fast as I think we will. I wonder if classroom teachers have that problem - I don't remember having it before. Maybe having one in a class makes a difference in that we have more distractions, stallings, chores and other things to do before, during and after class! Probably had more cooperation too!

In English Language we're working from two grade one books, using one of them just once a week for variation. We're learning to punctuate sentences, compose stories using words from a word bank, alphabetize words etc. She now says Language is her favourite subject and even did some today on an "off" day. Included is a recent spelling test.

Next is Maths. We've completed Right Start Level B as of a couple weeks ago (has been working on it for 9 months), and now I think we'll just "tread water" for a few weeks before jumping into Level C (2nd grade). We need to review some strategies/algorythms and help her learn to THINK. Overall she is doing very well in Maths but gets frustrated and mad quickly. When she has a good day, it's a GREAT day. One extreme to the next.

And here are just a few other examples of stuff we're in the middle of. I don't have photos yet of her Ancient History class work, or science - that'll be for another blog. Some of our other classes are mostly oral, or on the computer, so nothing to "show".

 In cello, we're on Theme from Witches' Dance by Paganini.

S took this whole week off work again. He began painting - but the rain and the threat of rain prevented him from painting more than just the well house at this point. On Thursday he and C went downtown and among other things, visited the Hunter Museum of Fine Art, which C enjoyed, I hear. I had other work to do so they had a nice "date day". C loved it.

We've had some rain the past few days and our "greens" are thriving. We picked spinach, Swiss chard and curly kale today, as well as ochra, carrots and some tomatoes. The carrots all look like multi-legged goblins - yes, the soil is not sandy enough. Next year I'll dig a trench and fill it with a sand mixture.

Heard the cataract ops went well! G and J are down in Florida for the weekend, visiting M's folk and family. S's parents will be up here next week for Alumni w/e. Maybe we'll have a photo or two of them for next time.

Happy Sabbath!

More Field Trips

We had two field trips this week which kept us busy. On Tuesday we went with friends to the Creative Discovery Museum for several fun hours. The 'travelling' exhibit was again on disabilities: "Kids like Me, Kids like You". The girls, C and A, enjoyed buzzing around on the wheelchairs and walking around wearing goggles to simulate blindness etc. Downstairs, we had an art class using colored chalk on black paper, making designs like Indian women do. The girls dug for dinosaurs and got really close to a large tarantula and corn snake. Unfortunately, C remembered the face painting table and this is the result:

The auditorium science show was about bubbles and the girls each got to be in one.

Our other field trip was on Thursday to the Ocoee River Farm where we did the usual hayride, petting farm (calves, goats, sheep), picking out a pumpkin, and 3 mazes - two large corn mazes and one shorter soybean one - bet you've never been in one of those! It was a chilly, breezy but sunny day and we were glad we brought long sleeved stuff.

Here is C enjoying the warm tire rim and some lovely sunshine.

The hayride took us over the hills and dales to a pumpkin patch.

The kids all picked out the "perfect" pumpkin and here it is!

After doing all the mazes, we were ready for a rest. And let's just say we were both ready for bed EARLY last night. Fresh air, sunshine and lots of exercise will do it every time.

S had most of the week off and seemed to accomplish quite a few maintenance jobs around the house which was nice. Right now he's outside finding more Messier objects in the clear night sky. Temps the past 2 nights have been in the mid to high 40's (around 5 - 7 for you Centigrade people) so we're finally getting cool. Tomorrow C plays cello for an assisted living center. Here she is a couple weeks ago on October 2 waiting to perform with her group.

 We hope the cataract surgeries went well, Dad. I'm sure we'll hear from you soon.
Have a blessed Sabbath and new week. Next week I plan to scan in some of C's school work. Totsiens for now.

Music news and more

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to sing some early music in the All Saint's Chapel at the University of the South at Sewanee, with our King's Quire group. The accoustics were amazing - such fun to listen to the long delay. S taped it from near the back and the sound mixed very well. Pretty soon you'll have to book us way in advance as our fame spreads....:-) Will let you know when, ha ha.

After a picnic supper outside in the beautiful moonlighted evening, we headed for home, with strains of Tallis and Byrd still in our ears.

On the way to Monteagle we hiked the Fiery Gizzard Trail nearby. This is one of the most lovely and well-kept secrets of east Tennessee. Most of the trail on the short 1 mile loop goes along the creek. Waterfalls and swimming holes abound.

On Tuesday night C got to play in her cello "choir" for the EDGE, (for educational excellence), award ceremony for AWSpalding. Three groups in total, played: the more advanced elementary orchestra, the beginner's orchestra and lastly, the little cello choir. They all sounded very good. The new string teacher, Rhonda Burnham, has done a wonderful job in the six weeks she's been teaching, building on the solid foundation laid by the previous teacher, Chris Chandler.

Tuesday we also had our bi-weekly history class. This week it was about Ancient Egypt. At the end of class they even got to make "mummies" with their dolls and toilet paper. Our Keepers club continued on the theme of Birds and we made bird seed cakes with a mixture of seed, corn syrup, gelatin, flour and water. So far the birds seem to be enjoying it - so do the squirrels. I've noticed the squirrels don't have the same smorgasbord of acorns and other goodies they usually have at this time of year. The acorns, for example, are very small. So I guess we shouldn't begrudge a few little sunflower seeds now and then. Caridee, our coon hound/beagle mix, thinks differently though - she loves to tree them.
Too bad they're such good tree hoppers - it's confounding to a hound!

Here is C in her Keepers of the Home uniform shirt.

Raewyn visited us again this week and we got to see the rest of her photos. She was planning on hanggliding that afternoon. Hope the weather was suitable.

C has had some croup this week and a wheeziness. We're hoping some Vicks Vapo rub and a humidifier will help ease the symptoms. Can't tell whether it's plain croup or larangitis, which some relatives had lately....her voice hasn't disappeared entirely though!

This photo is from our holiday to Florida 2 months ago. What?! Can't be that long!
Til later......