Another Day, Another Outing!

A perfect fall day led us back to Morrow Mountain Friday. We are so fortunate to have a state park of this caliber in such close proximity. And this day, Judy and I discovered some new trails to explore in addition to seeing the fall leaves at their peak.





The view from the mountaintop is hard to beat.








The camera can't quite capture the perspective, but here we're on the Three Rivers Trail, looking down from a high hill. If the trees were totally bare this spot would offer a terrific view of the spot on Lake Tillery where the Yadkin, Uwharrie, and Pee Dee Rivers join their waters.

I'm not wild about holly, in general, but these were the greenest, healthiest looking holly leaves I've seen.

These maple leaves are just as pretty on the ground as on the trees.

Judy spotted these unusual maple leaves on the mountaintop.

Ken is a tree hugger. Maybe you knew that.

Judy, on the other hand, is a tree leaner.The Quarry Trail was another that was new to us. Much of the slate used in constructing buildings and walls in the park was quarried here in the 1930's. I liked the way the sun caught these leaves as we gazed up from the depths of the quarry.

As you observe the slant of the metamorphic slate below, look close to the center for the anole (lizard). We saw at least four of these lizards crawling on the sun-warmed slate face. The anole's greatest trick is changing color. We have lots of them on the Farm Life School campus, but I've never succeeded in photographing one before.

Plenty more slate where that came from. Did I mention that JUDY spotted a black rat snake slithering into its whole at the quarry? This means that our last THREE snake sightings have been hers, not mine! Got that, Debi?

These persimmons must be reluctant to drop to the ground. Can't blame 'em. This was at the Kron House, a historic house within the park.
We thought this looked like a great tree for climbing.

I've been looking for a good place to try out my black-and-white photography. Here's the Kron House.

Dr. Kron's office.
End of the trail.

Happy Trails!

Celebrate Veterans Day 2008

ATTEN--HUT! Tuesday, November 11 will be Veteran's Day. So. . . think seriously about doing one or more of the following:

• Fly your flag!


• Call a veteran you want to thank!


• Attend a Veterans Day memorial event!


• Visit a monument or Armed Forces museum


• Read books, articles, or other accounts of American history that focus on the bravery and sacrifice of Americans in uniform over two and a half centuries.
  
• Play patriotic music!


• Pray for the men and women who continue to serve faithfully, many in harm's way.
  
• IF YOU'RE A TEACHER, PARENT, OR GRANDPARENT. . . help educate young people about the meaning of this holiday. It was originally Armistice Day, signalling the end of World War I. Now it has been broadened to honor our soldiers in all wars.
  

My father, Marvin E. Loyd, was 5 years old when World War I ended in 1919. Camp Gordon in Atlanta covered many square miles around his home and his family's Sunrise Dairy helped supply the troops. Soldiers walked the road in front of his house all day, every day. Sometimes they'd toss him a penny. He still has his collection of over 100 of those Indian head pennies. One of Daddy's earliest and most vivid memories is from that first Armistice Day. He recalls his father walking him up the road to his grandparents house (see Mystery at the Loyd Homeplace). As they approached he saw his Grandma and Grandpa Loyd pouring free cups of apple cider from pitchers for all the passing soldiers, most of whom were on horseback.

Two decades later, Daddy would be called to serve his country in World War II. Now, 63 years later, he still sees participating in that epic struggle as a defining moment in his life. My Veterans Day posts are dedicated to Daddy, other members of "The Greatest Generation," and the hundreds of thousands who are serving even today.

Daddy was the only veteran at his World War II Air Force reunion who could still wear his dress uniform jacket.

Below, Daddy with Bert Lok, who has organized seven of these reunions over the last decade and a half. In the war, Daddy was a flight chief in charge of four P-47 Thunderbolts and Lok was one of his crew chiefs. They went through thick and thin together and in their stressful situations tempers could flare. Daddy's flight members, in a play on the phrase "load, lock, and commence firing," came up with own version: "Loyd, Lok, and start firing!" These two are still as close as brothers.

Wicked Wabbit is one of two P-47 Thunderbolts housed at the Tennessee Aviation Museum. Both are flown frequently (there are only four or five in the whole U.S. that are air-worthy) by pilots Neal Melton (founder of the museum) and John Shoffner. These are two great guys who appreciate what our veterans have done.

Below, some of Daddy's closest wartime buddies from the "Orange Tails" fighter group.

Judy and I were privileged to attend the last reunion at Sevierville, Tennessee along with Mama and Daddy, my brother Buddy, and my sister Caryn. This photo is from the closing banquet, a very moving occasion.

As they said in the war, "Keep 'em flyin'!" And do something to make this year's Veterans Day memorable.

Typical Wednesday? I don't think so.

To answer the question: "No, it was not a typical Wednesday."
But it was a good Wednesday. It started in Fayetteville. I know that seems to contradict the "good," but we really had a good time in Fed-ville. We don't often go there unless we have to, and that was the case. But once our business was done, we:

• Walked a downtown park in the historic section.
• Enjoyed a marvelous meal at the Hardware Store Cafe on Hay Street (anyone see a pattern in our dining establishments?)
• Got some bargains at Big Lots.
• I drove Judy past Ray's daddy's house, where I visited recently.
• Got even more bargains at Aldi's Grocery, one of Judy's favorite places (that Moore County doesn't have!)
• Got lime for our garden, plumbing supplies for our sink, and lucked into Chrysanthemums marked down to ONE DOLLAR a hanging basket at Lowe's.
• Got gas for $2.24, then saw it for $2.45 back in Moore County.

Pretty satisfying trip.

Returning home at nearly 5:00, I told Judy I wanted us to go for a walk over at Pinehurst #8 Golf Course to see the wetlands and check out the fall wildlife. We can only go near dusk so as not to disturb golfers, and there may not be many days left that are warm enough to enjoy evening walks. I had already decided to take one night off from church, so we didn't have to hurry home. The pictures below summarize our findings.

Before we even left the yard I tried out the camera's nighttime setting on two of my favorite trees: a dogwood and maple in our field that I dug up in the woods and planted years ago.

This is the pond that was once part of Pinehurst's "water works." Home to all kinds of wildlife.

The colors we witnessed out in the marshy areas were brilliant even at dusk.

It pays to know what poison oak looks like even in the fall. Lovely but deadly! Well, I suppose I'm exaggerating.

Zooming and having the camera set for longer nighttime exposure resulting in some unavoidably fuzzy pictures, but the beauty came through.

Now, for the excitement. Debi might have told me to entitle this post "Yes, Being a Snake Magnet is Grounds for Divorce." It seems that the more Debi chastises me for my affinity for these wiggly reptiles, the more they are attracted to me. We saw not one, not two, but THREE "boogers" before we finished our walk. One was dead, the others a bit sluggish. We were quite surprised to see any even though the afternoon had been warm.

In the fading light, we wouldn't have even seen this rascal if he/she hadn't been on a white cement golf path. By the way, Debi, Judy spotted it first, and she was as cool as a cucumber.

I was convinced it was a cottonmouth water moccasin, but I'm not so sure now. I broke off a four foot branch and riled him up a bit from a "safe" distance. Judy is SO patient with me! He/she put on quite a good show, coiling, striking, assuming a threatening position. I tried to get a video, but the light failed. Judy even threw a couple of sticks at it, but it wouldn't perform again at that point.

That's not the whole story. The picture below shows (as Judy theorizes) Snake #1 may have had dinner plans for Snake #2. Snake #2 was definitely a non-poisonous, harmless water snake. Snakes do eat smaller snakes, and that may have been what was about to happen when we came along. Good theory.

At that point we were just glad to get back to our car without any more encounters with a live snake (we did see one that a golf cart had apparently crushed). Snakes and dark don't go together very well, even for the Snake Man.

Judy got organized for Harris Teeter's Triple Coupons, we played our favorite card game, Five Crowns (I know, you've never heard of it), and watched episode four of a five-part British thriller. It's called The Final Enemy, and is a bio-tech nightmare about when Britain basically becomes a surveillance society and personal privacy is a thing of the past. The show has been part of PBS's Contemporary Mysteries on Masterpiece Theater.

Typical Wednesday? Not around here!

Sharing "Mystery at the Loyd Homeplace"

Once again I've had an opportunity to read my book, Mystery at the Loyd Homeplace, and this may have been my favorite occasion yet. I was invited to share it with dear friends Ike and Carla in their home, and we broke the reading into two sessions, Monday and Tuesday afternoons. Their little dog Muffin was also a part of the attentive audience. Naturally, Ike and Carla were a little more interested and informed about the historical and genealogical aspects of the book. It was quite different from reading it in a school setting, as much as I enjoyed that. We were able to stop frequently and discuss certain happenings. They had a piano right there in their comfortable living room, so I was able to play "The Circuit-Ridin' Preacher" and a couple of Civil War era songs. Judy joined us on day 2 of the reading and took a picture of me, Ike, and Carla with the Loyd "treasure." Carla is so intrigued by the book, she intends to lead an expedition of her own to the old Loyd homeplace next time she's in Atlanta. I'll be exploring that soon myself, plus delving into some old public records at the DeKalb County Courthouse. I'll let you know what turns up.

Ah, the Joy of NOT Voting Early!

Here it is, at last, Election Day 2008. Tomorrow, we should find the airways clear of the attack ads and recriminations that have marked this election year. I won't miss the ads, but I must admit I've been an election night junkie all the way back to 1960, when, at just seven years of age, I stayed up until returns showed that John Kennedy had edged out Richard Nixon in a very close election. My brother Buddy and I even did mock elections with little slips of paper with each state's electoral votes on them. That was way before the Red State/Blue State thing, which the media has helped to perpetrate. Polling was much less prevalent, and less reliable as well. In every presidential election since, I've stayed up as late as necessary to determine the winner--except in 2000, when I would have had to go several days with no sleep before the Supreme Court threw out Al Gore's last chance.

As a teacher, I always tried to educate my students about the electoral process, and we had fun holding our own mock elections with electoral votes, as well as keeping track of periodic secret ballot votes on a class graph. You must realize that this included the elections of 1976, '80, '84, '88, '92, '96, '00, and '04. Usually the results reflected Moore County's political demographics, but even those have changed a lot in 30+ years. I am proud to say that I never gave students a clue who I was supporting, even if asked directly.

I missed getting to do the mock elections with a class this year, but not enough to come out of retirement! In fact, this was the first year in decades that Judy and I got to go to the polls together. I held off on voting early, wanting to know as much about all the candidates as I could (sometimes learning more than I wanted!). I also suspected, once state-wide early voting totals exceeded 2 million, that voting day lines might actually be SHORTER than usual.

We vote at Taylortown precinct, not even a mile from our house. What was my (our) delight to walk in the gym and see ONE lady ahead of us! That's right--ONE! We were finished in FIVE MINUTES, after anticipating a long wait, and even taking along reading materials. I inquired to one of the poll workers about turnout. I was voter number 50 today in a precinct with about 650 registered voters. But a whopping 450 had voted early! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, early voters! That means only 150 more voters need to show up ALL DAY at Taylortown to have 100% participation. Truly unprecedented!

Well, I'll be up late tonight, but not for celebrations or hoopla. I think it's part of my love of history, and being part of democracy in action, history as it unfolds. But for the first time since I voted as an 18 year old, I can sleep in tomorrow!

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Just an explanatory note about the new picture that greets you on my blog. This is me, my father, and my brother in front of the T-28 I was privileged to fly in at Daddy's last Air Force reunion. I will be posting more than once about Veterans Day, which is next Tuesday. Please keep in mind our servicemen, both living and dead, active or retired, and honor them in some suitable way. Just by putting on that uniform they say they are willing to sacrifice for US!

Filling in Last Week's Gaps

I focused on getting in all of my Halloween posts last week and postponed some other significant events. I am going to include some Halloween photos here, but also wanted to touch on my visit to school Thursday. First, though, I must go all the way back to Wednesday.

After a wonderful luncheon of soups and cheese toast with Amanda and Judy, I headed off for a visit with former student Spencer and his tutor Doris. They had invited me to spend some time helping Spencer get familiar with his new microscope. They were so welcoming, and presented me with homemade cookies and apple juice. Spencer also gave me a sweet handwritten note and a specially chosen gift. We explored several slides and Spencer quickly grasped the finer points of his new tool. I also shared with them a favorite website of mine, Dennis Kunkel Microscopy, which is an education website for children, but believe me-- it's FUN for adults, too. My three favorite segments are Zoom In!, Zoomify, and Most Wanted Bugs. Go there, you won't be sorry! Here are some teasers.

Thursday led me back to school for a Nature Trail slideshow presentation followed by a nice fall Nature Walk. Mr. Jackson and Mrs. Cameron's 2nd graders were attentive and enthusiastic as we saw everything from Old Man Poplar and Jack-Will-and Tom, to Big Rock, The Black Lagoon, and The Graveyard of the Pines.

Below, these students try a new feature of the trail, Walking the Log, as they try to balance their way along about 75 feet of a fallen pine.


It takes true courage to visit the Black Lagoon on the day before Halloween. I invited the students to meet me back there at midnight. No takers (as far as I know).


Friday Judy and I headed to Chapel Hill for a routine appointment. We enjoyed the fall leaves all the way up there and on the way home made it to the General Store Cafe in Pittsboro in time for a late lunch. Judy had spinach enchiladas and I had the Pittsburrito (not to be confused with politburo). Everything was delicious. In my previous post about the General Store I did not include the mosaic snake that adorns the men's room. Here it is. I don't know what adorns the ladies' room.

By the time we got home it was only an hour or two until we expected trick-or-treaters. I made minimal preparations, hanging Old Baldy on a recently vacated plant hanger.

I moved our chiminea to the front yard and lit a roaring fire, but it wasn't too impressive in broad daylight.

Our first two arrivals were Emma and Jessie. Emma was the Wicked Witch of the West. Note how SCARY she is.

Jessie was Dorothy and little Toto is in her basket. She didn't scare me--much.

Once we saw they were harmless, Judy and I approached for a group shot.

Our third and final guest of the evening was Davis the Pirate. We love to have Davis visit us to play with our toys, eat bananas, and in general give us grandparenting practice. I was a pirate one Halloween as a boy, and I just wish my costume had been as authentic as Davis's. He also inherited some pirate garb from Chipper, my dear old classroom mascot.
Saturday included biking all over Pinehurst and Sunday was Homecoming at Beulah Hill Baptist. Seeing Gail was one highlight, and having Judy bring her persimmon pudding and persimmon-date bread was another. In late afternoon we walked the Pinehurst Greenway until nearly dark. It was a great weekend but Mondays now hold no fear for me. Bring it on!

Next Holiday Up

Now that Halloween is past, some people are thinking ahead to Thanksgiving. Others may recall that Veterans Day intervenes on November 11. But how many of you realize that TODAY, November 1, is actually All Saints Day?

With all the attention given to Halloween in our culture, few people are aware that Halloween is a contraction for Hallows Evening. The following day is sometimes known as Allhallowmas (mass), All Hallows Day, or All Saints Day among western Christian religions, although most simply ignore it nowadays. It originally was a day in honor of all Christians who have gone on to heaven. Wikipedia goes into much more detail if you're interested--click here. It's emphasized and practiced in a variety of ways. In fact, I was surprised to learn that November 2 is also a church holiday, All Souls Day. Don't expect any big festivals or celebrations, but in your own way you may want to celebrate your own Christian faith today, as well as giving thanks for your Christian friends and family.

I'm not one who's against the observance of Halloween, which has a lot of wonderful memories for me. But since it's the eve of a true Christian holiday (in the same sense as Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve precede the actual holidays), maybe it's time we gave due recognition to All Saints Day, at least in our own private ways. That could mean reflecting on childhood Sunday School teachers, church or community leaders who influenced our faith, and certainly our own family that planted and cultivated seeds of faith.

So, Happy All Saints Day!

I'll close out with another common Christian phrase that for some reason atheists have no problem with--

GOODBYE! This comes from GOD BE WITH YE, which explains why it is historically spelled with the mysterious final "e". Now you know, so be careful to part from your atheist friends with "so long, it's been good to know you," or "farewell," or "lots of luck." Better yet, tell them why they might want to get acquainted with God so they could say "goodbye" free of hypocrisy!

Now, as Gandalf the Wizard said in The Hobbit, "Goodbye, and really goodbye." Of course, J.R.R. Tolkien, the author, was a Christian!