Dogwood Acres OnLine: DOGWOOD ACRES WEEKLY 06/23/08

DOGWOOD ACRES, 06/23/08, ELANE CRUM

Hello friends. Saturday afternoon was just hot enough to hit the swimming hole. The girls changed into their swim suits and Rick got one of his pups, (the one he calls Pete) loaded in the pickup and we took off for Swan Creek. Just about the time we got there a big storm from the North came rolling in with wind, thunder and lightning. So much for our swim, we just turned around and went home. Rick had a Wall-Eye to clean from his night at the fishin' hole and while he was cleaning it Christie called and asked us to bring supper and come over.

Brother Jim just had a birthday and it was a good excuse for the family to get together and eat. Bill was grilling chicken to go with his Orzo and shrimp salad; Rick and I fried a couple of Wall-Eye so we all ate well. The kids were happy to get together with cousins and that helped them get over the disappointment of a swimming trip that did not work out.

I took the back roads home one evening last week, going 176 to Round Mtn. Rd and crossing Bull Creek at the Goodnight Hollow Slab. There must have been twenty cars at the slab with lots of kids swimming off the side. As I cautiously eased onto the concrete bridge assuming they would make room for me to cross, I was not so sure they would. Parents seem not to notice or care, I'm not sure which.

After finally making the crossing, I stopped at Meadows Cemetery where I found Kenny Bilyeu, who had just climbed down from the attic of the old school house. He is making plans to put a new roof on one side and was checking it out. When it was built 102 years ago, they did things a little differently, including making such a steep pitch that he said it will be hard to stand on it.

While Kenny and I were visiting, Rocky Raub came by on his way home from work. I had not seen Rocky for years and years, but do remember when he was a little boy. His daddy, Alvie Raub, was one of my dad's best friends and our families used to visit a lot. Rock said he had broke his ankle and been off work for nine weeks. It was his first day back on the job and he said that ankle was swollen up and "throbbing like a Robin's caboosky". He was anxious to get on home and take his work boots off.

Rick has switched his fishing hours around, doing a little bit of daylight fishing now. I went by the fishing hole Thursday evening and got there in time to see him pull in his first Wall-Eye for the night. He had just come from Forsyth Hardware and had a new ladder to stand on. Can you imagine standing on a ladder and fishing for eight hours straight? I can't, but then, neither could I sit in the seat of a truck and drive for ten hours at a time like he used to.

I enjoyed meeting James and Linda Orick from up around Oldfield who were fishing there beside him. Linda writes the High Lonesome news column for The Douglas County Times, which I always look forward to reading. James works just up the road from us at Delmina Woods so I suppose he is also adding bear wrangler to his list of outdoorsman talents.

Saturday morning Rick and I went to coffee at Chuck and Pam Taylor's. They truly do live in the middle of the woods and see more bears than I would want to see near my house. We missed their recent appearance on KY3, when they were interviewed about the black bears that roam at will on their property. Pam said they have a nice blackberry patch on the pondbank, but will only get berries if the bears don't get them first.

Sister Christie is looking forward to blackberry time and Rick suggested I go with her and pick a gallon in memory of Daddy. Christie shared Daddy's passion for blackberry picking but I am allergic to chiggers and use that as a good reason to stay away. We did discuss what she should do if a bear approaches the berry patch. There was various opinions but my thought would be to stay very near the car with a door left open and ready for a quick dive.

I met Linda Matthews Groves and Barbara Craig Wiland at McFarlain's for lunch on Monday. We passed up the fried green tomatoes for crunchy green salads, but really the visiting was more important than food. It has been 41 years

since we graduated from Forsyth High School, so we had a lot to catch up on. Melvin and Barbara are spending a few weeks in their motor home at Treasure Lake. When not here, they travel around the country doing volunteer work for MAPS, working on construction projects with churches and ministry institutions.

Sure hated to hear about the vandalism at Helphrey Cemetery over the weekend. What kind of mind must a person have to do such a thing? I hope they catch the culprits and give them what they deserve.

The late Sunday night rain and wind really rattled a few windows. Anita Biggs said they had hail big as half-dollars at their house. I have not heard if they found any damage when daylight came. The week's forecast looks pretty rainy, surely it will clear up for Aunt Reba's auction on Saturday. It starts at 9:06 a.m. and there will be a lot of good stuff, including old collectible dishes and tools. Maybe we will see some of you there. Bye for now.