Johnson's Journal Jotter

Mary, Mary....quite contrary....

How does your garden grow? Again, here are photos. (Lazy, aren't I?)

There was about a month or more where we had very little rain - nice not to have too many weeds, but am thankful for our hose to the well water.

Spinach and beets coming along nicely. The net is for the ---- deer, snorken' beasties!

Zucchini is surviving.

So is the yellow squash.

A teeny tomato hitching a ride, it seems.

Everything's growing well.

Even the glads.

These glads are so pretty.

Blackberries! Me thinks we might have to "net" them as well!

Another kind of zucchini.

A little bit of everything is growing on this hill.

Our nice little garden. Cucumbers in the foreground.

Some growth is happening. (Compare with picture one)

The kids area is starting to bear fruit.

Getting rather large.

We're starting to eat the spinach now.

Something is starting to eat my tomatoes! Do deer eat green tomatoes and spit out some of the skin and the top leaves? Not a trace of anything else was left and I DID see some very suspicious deer hoofprints around those plants! Dang - we have to do something!!

I'm keeping very quiet about this beautiful cantaloupe.

Is this a watermelon?

Funny shaped peppers.

Again, the deer have about decimated this ocra patch. This is the day before the dastardly deed!

Something yummy.

Our schizophrenic hydrangea - here it's blue....

and here mauve. In another place it was also pink last year.

A climbing rose.

A rose by any other name.....is still a rose.


Catching the morning sun.

I'm glad to say our garden is doing much better this year than last....Maybe because it rained SO MUCH last year that we couldn't get out in it to DO anything!

McKee Picnic is come round again!

Seems like it was only yesterday that we had our 2010 McKee Foods picnic. Well, here it is again. It was a lovely, hot day - and no rain! Here are pictures to tell the story.

C's favorite "ride" - the giant swing.

A boat hits the water!

This is what they look like, but different colors.

About to go on the alpine something or other. Not my cup of tea. A looks positively terrified but still managing a smile!

This is a new theme - though an old ride on the same tracks. Instead of a haunted house, it's now something about gadgets/technology.

Those ski lift things.

A large thunderhead forming - but it didn't bother us here so all was well.

What fun in the cooling off area. The kids love it - and so do the adults - we have an excuse to cool off under the cool mist sprays.

They both got pretty wet.

Ferris wheel fun. They were on seat number 8.

Again, we had a really nice time. Thank you McKee Foods for a lovely picnic!

Another Hiwassee trip

Well, here are some photos of the beginning and end of the trip down the Hiwassee! I gave my camera to a friend to keep and didn't see her again until the end! It was wonderful floating down the river on a perfectly splendid Sabbath afternoon. Slowly gliding past farms, cottages, fields of corn, cows grazing, kids playing, others floating, glider planes and white fluffy clouds above; clear water with rocks and fish below; is a wonderful way to spend a hot summery day. The water was refreshing and clean(ish), - you know! - heavenly!

Afterward we had a picnic supper and got to bed rather late - going on 10, I think it was!!

Many of us brought floaties this time, rather than all canoes.

These are the ones we brought - the yellow/blue ones have a little see-through window at the top end to look through at the fish and crawdads below!

At the end we hauled our vehicles back to the top end to collect the top vehicles and have our picnic at Gee Creek campground.

Trying to pack all the stuff into fewer vehicles.

This is at the lower end.


Let's eat!! And yay, no flies this year!

Every time we go on this little excursion, I wish we could do it more often. Seems like we only get to it about once a year, though. That HAS to change!!!

A new orchestra

We decided to let C try out for the Chattanooga Youth Philharmonic Orchestra this year and she made it, yay! She's in first stand in the cello section so has a big responsibility there! Here are a few pics of a 2-day summer workshop they had, to familiarize the kids with the music before rehearsals start in earnest in the fall.

Wrapping things up at the end of the second day.

Announcement time

Be sure to put all your stands and chairs away.

C is really excited about being in the philharmonic this year. I'm sure she'll enjoy it. No doubt there'll be updates down the road on this venture. Ta-ta for now.