SFL Nature Trail Makeover: Day 2

As our story of the Nature Trail "makeover"

continues, expect to be amazed at the changes

that are taking place.

Our entrance is now a six-foot wide path
of level, cushioned hardwood chips.

One of the areas of the worst erosion is now being
filled, smoothed, and covered.  This will add to your
safety and comfort while touring the trail, either with
your family, by yourself, or perhaps with a class.

This portion was completed on Day 1 and is where
today's work will begin.

You can see the Cat's tread marks everywhere,
but all evidence of its presence will be erased later.

While the crew carry on with their task, I have my own
project for today.  When the electric company cleared
vines and brush under their power line, much of it was
unfortunately tossed into our stream.  If beavers had built
a dam, I might have been more understanding.  But I
felt no obligation to leave this man-made dam, and set to
work clearing out the blockade that was restricting the flow.

This is a handy little connector or shortcut, which could
be useful if you wanted to shorten your hike, or get to
a specific location on the trail with fewer steps.

This tangle of cat-brier (greenbriar or smilax), grapevines,
and privet (hedgebush) are the enemies I'll be wrestling
out of the stream to liberate its waters.

I promised to explain the "Y." Now Y do you think
I call it the "Y"?

How does the "Y" look from this angle?

Or this angle?  Those three pictures were taken from
the three points on different parts of the "Y."  And
now I hope you know Y I call it the "Y."  My students
have always enjoyed creating our own names for trees
and special locations on the trail.  So, make plans now
to visit the "Y."  Maybe I'll see you there.

From the bridge, you can see the now-completed
spur of the trail that leads to it.

A frisky neighborhood pup was glad to have some
human companionship, probably because there had
been no students around all week.

The hardwood chips are now down from the trail
entrance to this fork.  Go left to go to the stream,
go right to go under Old Man Poplar and take
"the High Road."

The men are repairing the heavy erosion just beneath
our famed Jack, Will, and Tom, the three poplar trees
emerging from one trunk.

Things are connecting up nicely, and no glitches.
By late afternoon on Good Friday, the Makeover of
the Nature Trail was complete.

I invite you to visit the trail soon and enjoy the
wonders of springtime as they unfold.

The lowly Cranefly Orchid awaits you.

You'll know it by its single leaf, green on top,
purple underneath.

Keep your eyes open and you'll spy the dainty
wildflower known as Green and Gold.

Shortly, I'll share a Virtual Video Tour  of the
reborn nature trail.  And soon, the dogwoods, wild
ginger, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, and other wonders of
springtime will greet you as well.

From the Vernal Video Vault

Here are six videos featuring the grandchildren.

Don't feel guilty if you're one of my very busy

friends who don't have time for these (gainfully

employed or some such impediment).  The family

viewers will more than make up for it.

(25 sec.) Hunter vigorously propels his

trike -- no pedaling, thank you.

(15 sec.) Bri creates her own excitement

and Hunter is thrilled to join in.

(26 sec.) Bri demonstrates Tar Heel Duck

take the waterfall plunge.  Then her other

rubber duckie shows how to do flips.

(27 sec.) I intended to follow Bri around the house 

as she biked.  To be honest, I couldn't quite keep

up.  She's always one room ahead of me.  Plus,

somewhere along the way is Hunter on his horse.

( 1 min. 15 sec.) Claire and Evan have fun 

floating boats and ducks at the stream.

(26 sec.) Evan sends his video greetings to Hunter:

"Riding horsie, Hunter."

(2 min.) Evan shows how a gourmet chef operates.

What's this about March Madness?

We have our own brand of March Madness

around the Loyd place.  Here are some pictorial

portrayals of the variety of fun currently happening.

"Is this cute enough, Grandma?"

"By the Power of Grayskull!"
(for Mommy)

It's a known fact that word games require "brain food."

Grandma's indoor Easter egg hunt is a big hit.

The trick is to think like an Easter Bunny.

Grandma has a full lap at the computer.
Yes . . . Grandma.

All the kids still adore the Jacquie Lawson Alpine
Village Advent Calendar-- and it's 3 months since
Christmas.  A thoughtful gift from a dear friend!

Ev-man learned everything he knows about making
muffins from Grandma.

Hunter is trying to find out what makes
this pop-up egg tick.  Or chirp.

Bri likes to add a difficulty factor to her puzzles.

"Grandpa, is this the 'Bridge to Nowhere'?"

Nope, it was the bridge to adventure.
And this is the bridge that rubber duckies float under.

This little stream is flowing at just the right pace for us.

When ducks or boats plunge over the last waterfall
we retrieve them and do it all over again.

"Grandma, I'm taking the water's temperature."

With two swingers like these, the swing set becomes
a rollicking, reeling adventure playground.

This trike is too tough to pedal on this terrain, but
Hunter persistently propels it down to the field.

It stands to reason that Amanda's children would
invent a game like "Shopping Cart Sweepstakes."

Bri and Hunter also enjoy the stream.  Including
sinking ships and prodding marooned ducks with
sticks to get them going again.

"Can you still see me, Grandpa?"

This yard-sale horsie swing is becoming
more popular.  It needs to be relocated soon,
because its massive limb is dead.  Recipe
for disaster!

Boy on horse, girl on bike.  Who has the right-of-way?
This will be a question for their insurance adjuster.

"Grandpa, you can get this buggy rolling
anytime now, okay?"

"Grandma, you're horsie got littler."

"Well Mommy, I'm in traffic right now and can't
talk.  Let me pull over."

Hunter creates his own Christmas train.
He's the master of the mouse.
"Grandma, I think you need me to clean up
your hard drive.  This thing is slow."

Nothing slow about these

kids.  And my next post will

offer video proof!

From Zero to Sixty in Record Time!

Well, I must say it's been a fast 60 years.

That's a lot of birthday cakes, my friends!

Here is one of the most unusual ever, courtesy

of Amanda, Brianna, and Hunter.  Judy had

earlier made me a caramel cake that we shared

with the family last Sunday.

Actually, I'm getting ahead of myself.  Before 

we could dig in, Hunter helped me extinguish

the six candles.  Thanks, big guy!  Look at

those cheeks-- he's a pro!

Here's my "Happy Birthday" video.

Hunter gives it his approval.

So does Bri.  And she asked for seconds!

It's finger-lickin' good.

I also got to see Claire and Evan on my 

birthday, but unfortunately, I had left my

camera at home.  When we joined them

and other celebrants at The Thai Orchid,

they presented me with these very touching

notes, dictated to Mom-- Jennifer.

Just before dinner they had sent me the 

cutest video version of Happy Birthday to

You.  Plus Evan's heart-melting "I love you,

Grandpa."  I have watched that video on my

Facebook page numerous times already and

you can find it there if you like.

Evan's Note

Claire's Note

Some of my birthday cards really quacked

me up.  Gail assured me these ducks are

singing.  I'll take her word for it.

This one from Joy and Jamie made its point clear.

At least if I'm ON my rocker, I can't be OFF my rocker.

Or can I?

I'm thankful for every one of my sixty birthdays.

By the time you get to your sixtieth, you are more

aware of your mortality, and the certainty of being

more than half-way through life makes each birthday

more precious.  I'm shooting for 100, but there are

no guarantees, so I'll continue to try to make the 

most of each day.  I do that by cherishing my 

family and friends and by seeking to follow 

the Lord's will for me.

Thank you to the countless friends who gave 

me birthday greetings in any form or fashion.  

It included relatives, former students and their 

parents, former colleagues, church family,

Camp Cherokee pals, and others I've 

met along the path.

In closing, I have a very old photo to share.

This year wasn't the first time my cake had

six candles on it.  This is from my sixth birthday,

in 1959.

Left to right: Doug Burns, Lance Mashburn (seated),
my brother Buddy (Ellis, standing), me, cousin Terry
Loyd, and sister Caryn Loyd (Cole)-- 10 months old.

Well, as I said, it was a great birthday.  No time to rest on my laurels.  I don't have a bucket list, but I have plenty of interests and activities to fill my remaining time, whether it be long or short.  There are places to go, books to read, and friends and family to love!

Speedy Delivery: by Hunter

I don't know if Hunter is preparing for a career in pizza delivery or curbside garbage pickup, but if speed is the key to success, he'll make a fortune.  Observe:

He and Bri are bringing that brand of energy to our house tomorrow.  YES!

Cool Friends at Cool Springs

March is off to a great start.  First, a weekend trip to Atlanta for a fun and enjoyable family reunion.  It was also an 85th birthday party for my Aunt Frances, my father's "baby sister."  Within 48 hours of our return home, we hosted all four grandchildren.  Just being out of town had made it seem like we'd been apart forever!  But we made up for lost time.

Wednesday morning I made the pleasant 25 minute drive to the historic Glendon area of Moore County to share time with friends at Cool Springs Methodist Church.

For the second month in a row, the "cool" senior citizens of Cool Springs invited me to be their guest.  Last month, I spoke for the better part of an hour about my book, "Mystery at the Loyd Homeplace." I showed them my powerpoint show of family history and Atlanta Civil War history.  They had great questions and interaction, and invited me to return in March to share more as well as lead an old-fashioned singalong.  I was delighted to return for two of my favorite activities.

Well, make that three.  A wonderful covered-dish lunch was included!

My dear friend Jeanette, a long-time volunteer at Moore Regional Hospital, first invited me to speak to her senior citizens group after reading my book last fall.  Jeanette and her husband Cy are wonderful friends.  I see them each week when I play the piano at the hospital's outpatient lobby.

I'm wearing my Stone Mountain Civil War shirt.
Jeanette is wearing her St. Patrick's Day attire (her
shamrock socks don't show).  And you'll never see
her without her trademark flower in her hair (albeit,
a different flower every time)!

 A cold windy day kept attendance down somewhat, but I had a great time with these young-at-heart seniors.  Their nonogenarian secretary gave me the most amazing review as she recounted in her February minutes every detail of what I had shared.  Most significant to me was her mention of the importance of passing history and family heritage along to a younger generation.

I used the self-timer to sneak into one more picture.  My singalong included such songs as "Daisy, Daisy," "For Me and My Gal," "Alley Cat," and "Oh, You Beautiful Doll." Then I moved from my keyboard to their honky-tonk piano to play the medley I'll perform at this weekend's Old Time Fiddlers Convention at North Moore High School.  This will be the fifth year I've participated since my retirement.  Then I moved back to my keyboard to close today's program with two big band requests: "In the Mood" and "Chattanooga Choo-choo," two Glenn Miller golden oldies.

The group's president joked that I might as well just come back every month.  I laughed, too, but I did agree to come back sometime in the future.  Did I mention that homemade chili and chicken and dumplings?