Grandfather Mtn & Gem Mining

In early May some in our homeschool group took a trip to the mountains of North Carolina. We made it a camping trip which was 'interesting'. And only 'interesting' because of the conditions of the campground. I've never been to a group campsite before but from that experience, I don't plan on repeating it anytime soon. I much prefer the individual sites with a little privacy and room.

We did enjoy each other's company though and the activities were a blast. We hiked a trail at Grandfather Mountain and below you will see a bunch of the kids making the adults nervous by hanging out close to the 'edges'.

This trail leads you to a lookout where you can see the grandfather. It's due to the mountain looking like an old man's face as if he's lying on his back.

Too bad I didn't seem to get a picture of it. It was a windy day but thankfully not too windy. We were able to go out on the hanging bridge. That'll scare the pants off anyone who has a problem with heights as you travel across a bridge one mile high. I just didn't look down. And I'm embarrassed to admit that I crouched as I walked across. I didn't want any part of my body above the railings. You know, in case some strong gust of wind came along, picked me up and threw me off. You think about things like that when you're up there.

On a different day we made it to a gem mine. You just can't visit the mountains of NC without hitting a gem mine. The boys were enthralled finding their 'treasure'! I can see the lure of this cheap pastime. Well, it's cheap if you don't actually do anything with your stones. LOL I found a nice hunk of ruby but I didn't have it cut. Maybe for my 25th wedding anniversary or something?

You can tell here who was pretty intense. Tigger didn't let up until every last scrap of sand was sifted through. I helped Pooh make it through his bucket. He did a lot better than I thought he would. And once he started finding some gems, he was happy.
You can see the flow of water was coming along at a nice clip. It kept our work area clean so we could see what we were looking for.

Naked Trees Are Beautiful Too

Just some shots of the trees we saw on our walk...

January Snow Storm

This was our best sledding experience yet! Lots of good snow and deep enough you didn't start to hit grass after a few tries.

Big brother giving a helping hand. He's holding the sled for Tigger so it doesn't go down without him.

This was just too cute! They both got down the hill and they are working together to get themselves and their sled and board back up. You see how they are both all wrapped up and covered in white stuff? It was sleeting while we were there and soooo cold!!!

Dad is giving the snowboard a go. Whoops!

Some friends met us at the school and showed us how it's really done! LOL He has a real snowboard complete with the necessary footwear.

We ended up at the school both Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday, our friends brought their kayak! Isn't that hysterical?!? I even went down in it. It was fun! Hey! Whatever works is what you use. We even saw some people bring a camp air mattress and some others had inflatable pool equipment--they all worked really well.

Pooh's turn in the kayak.

Tigger on his snowboard.

He ended up with a load of ice in his face and was crying. Somehow that prevented him from being able to move so the King went down to rescue him with a little towel. Kids are so funny! This would be the same child who flips around and gets hurt all the time but a little ice in his face and the world has come undone! LOL

And the look of pure joy as he whizzes by me in the kayak.

Don't forget that just rolling down a snowy hill can be just as much fun. No need for fancy equipment! (Looking at the photo again I'm thinking "Please don't eat that!")

If the weather keeps up like the forecasters are expecting, you can expect to see more winter weather fun on this blog!!!

Winter Ice

You know, I kinda like freezing rain. As long as it doesn't make us lose power. We haven't really had any yet this year, but I remember years past when we've had 'ice storms' and despite the devastation to trees and power, it is beautiful. Especially, the next day when the beginnings of sunshine starts to make the whole world glitter.

These photos are more of the beauty of snow melting. My greenhouse is warm enough that water is constantly dripping off the roof onto my hanging planters. Here are a few creations:

This one formed down the entire chain length from roof to pot.

The next two photos are of a machine behind the school where we went sledding. I really don't know what the machine is but it has water running through it and it formed the longest icicles I've seen in a long time.


No matter what form water takes, it is beautiful. It's nice to live in a place where we get so much variety to explore. Next up, wintry mix coming this weekend. I can't wait to see what form that all takes!

Winter Bird Photos

They are just soooo cute!!! I filled my feeder, loaded up my suet cage and threw some seed on top of the snow. Then I sat at our picnic table and just waited. Within a couple of minutes they came to feed. This is as close as I've come to a towhee. The other one is a junco.

Don't they look like they are having a little conversation? Probably something like "Back off, buddy. This stuff is mine!" The white-throated sparrows are pretty spunky. They tend to chase other birds off, even other sparrows.

The view above my picnic table. Currently, we only have pines as mature trees.

Quite the charmer!

Ever seen a mockingbird's butt? You have now! He flew onto a wire above me and I just had to take the shot. At least you get a better idea of how his tail feathers look. (I was just hoping there wouldn't be a 'drop' mid-picture.)

Next up: Sledding photos and some shots of icicles.

Homeschool Day at Biltmore

We took this trip the beginning of October. You get a FABULOUS deal when you go on homeschool day! I had a dinky camera the day we went but I don't think there's any way to show in just pictures just how immense, beautiful and cool this place is anyway. I will definitely be heading back there some day--if nothing else than to just enjoy the gardens.

Creating a coat of arms. (part of the special homeschool activities of the day)

Trying on period hats.

Having fun sitting on an old tractor at the farm (where they made some ice cream and had samples!)

The Kitchen Gardens--an area I'd love to return to in 'season'.

Can't remember if this was bocce or cricket. Anyway, they had some nice outside activities as well.

At the ponds. Mom is praying that Tigger doesn't fall in.

A side view of the house. Also, you can see the little tents set up with different activities for the kids. There were table etiquette rules, writing skills demonstrated, period toys, etc.

Holding his first baby chick at the farm.

Tigger running with some of the chickens. They had so many different kinds that were very funny looking.

Wanna go now? I thought so. :D

Boo Hoo

(Edited to add: I just heard a crash in the kitchen. Guess who is helping with the dishes? The King just broke a ceramic spoon. Tigger feels so much better about himself now. LOL)

I'm in mourning. My wonderful digital camera through which you may have enjoyed many a blog post (I know I enjoyed blogging them.) hit a rock and ended up in a stream yesterday. Can I just say, "Waaaaaaaahhhhhhhh"? I bought it on Amazon in the spring for $110. I looked last night and another seller (not Amazon itself) is selling them for $277!!! The same camera! Another "Waaaaahhhh".

How did it happen? Well, it was ultimately my fault. I made the choice to allow my little Tigger to take a picture with it. Most of the time when he asks to take a picture I tell him 'No'. This time I thought 'I'm right here. He's wearing the wrist strap. What could go wrong?' Frankly, I don't know how he did it. One minute he had it in his hand, the next it was sailing right by me into the stream. I should have known better.


The boy is like his father, poor thing. When The King and I were engaged, his friends warned me what a klutz he was. I thought they were exaggerating. Hah! They weren't. Two sets of glasses, plates and a couple of souvenirs from France later and I knew they were right. And that's just what I remember! (I love you, Honey! ;D)

Tigger was very upset himself. He even said later when we saw some pretty berries on a bush, "Too bad we can't take a picture of them." He was also horribly offended when I told him I just couldn't let him use my cameras anymore. I explained that this is something he inherited from Dad (Genes are wonderful things aren't they? Heavy sarcasm!) and that until he had better control over himself and his movements, he wouldn't be able to touch them again. (From experience, I'm thinking he won't be ready till he's like, ya know, 35.) I told him that I wasn't really upset with him, I was upset about his camera. He did feel really bad!


I had some wonderful nature things to share too! We had left Pooh at Art and went to a local Bog Garden to look for mushrooms. It's been wet here in the Southeast lately and I thought it would be a good time to see them. We found lots! I was even taking pictures of different bushes with some gorgeous berries on them. I wanted to label them if I could. We found TWO snakeskins in the stream! Tigger was so excited. We fished them out and he was taking a picture of me holding the second one (on a stick) when the fateful event occurred. (Another "Waaaaahhhh". Every time I think about it I want to cry!)

The camera lens wouldn't retract. All the windows were fogged up. The King opened it all up last night and is letting it dry. We'll see what happens. I'm not even sure if I managed to salvage the little card thingy with the pictures on it. I took it out right away hoping it would dry and be ok.

Here is the one I'm looking at if I have to buy a new one. Here is my old one. Opinions are welcomed. I'm a novice photographer, but I've found that I love it. I love snapping photos and hoping for that one that really captures joy and/or beauty. I love the zoom features so I can catch the details of the flowers and plants that I photo. What I really want? That one on the commercials with Ashton Kutcher (spelling?). I know, I'm a sucker for advertising, but MAN! that camera is awesome!

Tigger and I moved on in our walk after the event. We had fun when we found some Touch-Me-Nots beside the path. Some of the seed pods were ready. We touched, they popped and I screamed. Every time. LOL We found some pieces of bread that another lady had left and fed them to the ducks. We saw a chipmunk. By the time we got home, he (at least) was over it. I, on the other hand, am wearing black today.

Waaaaahhhhhh!

(Photos in this post are from ones already loaded into my computer.)

West Virginia Camping-Part 3

One of the days, the boys and I took off to Beckeley. Pooh wanted to see some kind of museum. That's his thing. I looked and found an Exhibition Coal Mine right in Beckeley. We were able to go on an underground tour of the mine.

Here the boys are on the little train cars that you ride into the mine. You stay on these the whole time and there are little places the guide will stop and show you interesting memorabilia. They are wearing jackets because it's always about 58F in the mine. Pretty chilly for a summer day.

Here's our guide. He was a coal miner for 39 years. One of the ladies in another car asked him if he had health problems. He gave an emphatic yes! He has a bad knee and lung issues. He said he figured if he stopped moving he'd die so he keeps moving.

We saw a 1 ton car that was used in this mine and a 2 ton car that was for show. Tigger really enjoyed when the guide showed us the various forms of lighting the miners used over the years. One of them almost seems like magic. You have to do a little movement with your hand, you hear a loud POP! and the light comes on. He gave a lot of little facts that showed how the 'company' owned you when you mined. You shopped at the 'company' store. You were given 'company' money. Most of the old timey miners never had real money, just company money. It's very sad.

Although, the same type of thing can happen nowadays, just in a different form. Enron anyone? Greed, pure and simple.


Another cool thing is the old buildings they had around the mine. They had the Superintendent's house and Schoolroom. All you Charlotte Mason lovers would die at the old books they had in there. Mostly books from the late 1800's and early 1900's.

There was also an older homestead. Here are the boys in the one room school house built in the 1830's. They are using feather pens to write their names. The tour guide told them how the kids had to do all their lessons with these feather pens. Tedious work! The liquid is made from Elderberries which I thought was interesting. That's the main ingredient in Sambucol--a product many take during the winter to boost their immune system.

After one try, Tigger managed to get all three wooden pieces moving at the same time on the little whirligig they had there! Determined and talented!! :D

In the house, she told them to go upstairs and look at the floor. Bear skin rug!

And, finally, don't they look like they've worked in a coal mine all day? LOL

Never a serious picture in this family.

By the way, if I were to recommend a time to go, it would be fall. The leaves would be beautiful and according to our coal mine guide, it's less wet in the fall. The mine was very wet and drippy. I think there was a part he couldn't take us to in there because of the water puddles.

And that's it for the West Virginia trip! Hope you enjoyed touring with us!