Our front yard was flat and grassy, with a giant oak tree.
Under the tree, a concrete sidewalk extended straight from the street to the covered front porch which was a step up from the sidewalk and bordered in red brick.
The porch floor was made from polished, red stone pavers of different geometric shapes held together by concrete between the pavers.
The straight sidewalk was replaced in later years after a driveway and carport were added.
A new sidewalk was laid that went straight from the driveway and then took a 90-degree left turn to the porch.
But the tree remained undisturbed.
On the right side of our house, a grassy hill sloped down extending beyond the back of the house to a flat area where Dad grew a garden.
As a youngster, I used to roll down that hill, just for the fun of rolling.
Sometimes I'd camp out, by myself in a sleeping bag on that hill, stargazing and looking for space ships and hoping I'd meet extraterrestrials who would bring peace or take me away.
On the left side, the hill sloped down to the back of the house where there was a first-flat area, before the garden-flat area.
On that left hill, there was a 3-foot high, 2-foot diameter, cement cylinder with a cement top.
That was the well.
Sometimes the electric pump for the well would break or the power would go out.
Our neighbors, the Younts, would let us have some of their city water until Mom and Dad got the pump working again or until the power came back on.
A swing set stood on that first-flat area.
Sometimes I'd pretend the swing set was my ship; I was the pirate.
Other times I was a princess.
It wasn't a swing set with individual swings.
Instead, it held a wooden-slat porch swing.
Beyond that first-flat area, the hill picked up again and sloped downward about 12 feet to the other flat area where the small garden with lots of weeds grew.
Beyond the weedy garden lay the horse pasture which grew grass and trees and weeds, including jimson weed.
A creek flowed through the back half of the pasture.
It was big enough that it had a swimming hole.
Sometimes us kids would catch crawdads, and then let them go.
We'd make bowls out of the sparse gray clay.
Most of the creek soil was red mud and sand and rocks.
After the clay dried, we'd paint the bowls purple with polkberry juice.
Sometimes Marie and I pretended to be Cherokee or Apache with our ponies on which we rode bareback.
We gave the ponies baths in the creek.
Beyond the creek were woods, still in the pasture.
That's where I smoked my first cigarette when I was in 6th grade, but I never picked it up as a habit.
It's also where I experienced my first French kiss, in 6th grade, with Mark, who was a year older than me.
In our neighbors' yards us kids, boys and girls, played pick-up football and rolly bat.
We played American football, not soccer.
I was a fast runner and a good tackler.
I always aimed for the ankles when I tackled.
And I could put a good spin on a football for a decent spiral.
We didn't wear any protective equipment.
Rolly bat didn't involve running or tackling.
A batter faced a pitcher, and everyone else stood wherever they chose in the outfield.
The batter hit the softball, and if the ball was caught before it hit the ground that outfielder became the batter.
If the ball hit the ground, outfielders would go for it.
The outfielder who got to it first would roll the ball aiming to tap the bat which the batter had laid flat on the ground.
If the batter didn't hit the ball very far, the batter could call "pin," or something like that, which let the batter stand the bat upright, with the head of the thick end on the ground while the batter held the end of the handle head to keep the bat upright.
It was harder to roll and tap a pin bat than a flat bat.
If the roller was too far from the bat for a roll to reach the bat, she could relay the ball by choosing someone to toss the ball to.
And then that person would roll the ball to try to tap the bat.
If the relay receiver didn't catch the ball, the play was dead.
If a roller or their receiver tapped the bat with the ball, the roller became the batter.
We played tag, hide-and-seek, and sardines all over the neighborhood.
In hide-and-seek everyone hid except for one person, who was the seeker.
There was a home base, and if a hider tagged home before the seeker tagged the hider or the base, the hider didn't have to help the seeker.
When a seeker tagged the base before the hider or tagged the hider, the hider had to help the seeker.
Since I was of small stature, I could hide in small places.
In sardines one person hid and everyone else was a seeker.
When a seeker found the hider, the seeker hid with the initial hider.
Eventually hiders were all squished in the hiding place, like sardines in a tin.
I can't recall what happened once the last seeker found the sardines.
There were 20 or so of us kids.
Adults did not supervise.
But sometimes they joined in on rolly bat.
July 25, 2018
July 11, 2018
Riding the Ararat
One of my writing projects is writing my riding. I started a blog just for that purpose, A Bike and Its Girl: Adventures with Olivia.
I also opened a private Twitter account to post each ride. That way I have a quick reference log, sometimes with pictures. It's a real hassle to transfer pictures from my phone to my computer and then to my blog. Much easier to link to a Twitter update for the pictures. The links, hyperlinked at the end of this post, link to either my private or public Twitter account.
Below is a copy and paste of my most recent post from Adventures with Olivia.
***
Trying to recall what year I first rode the greenway in Mt. Airy. My mind wonders, 2014? 2015? Did I even own Olivia in 2014? I'll have to ask next time at the bike shop and see if they have the date I purchased Olivia.
The first time I rode that greenway, it was divided into three separate segments. Ten to twelve months later I debated with myself whether or not I wanted to hassle with driving to three different locations to ride each section. The "give-it-a-go" side won. When I arrived at my parking destination, I discovered that the three sections had been connected to form one continuous, approximately seven-mile, greenway. I was delighted! This week, while reading some Mt. Airy greenway history, I learned that the three sections were connected in 2016. So I'm guessing I first rode the three segments in 2015. I have no idea how many times I've ridden the Ararat since then. A lot.
I enjoy this greenway because, for one thing, it's mostly flat. There is one very short, steep hill and a few other slight inclines. And it's paved. So it's an easy ride, which I often need due to polyradiculitis. And Mt. Airy is typically cooler than where I live in Winston-Salem. Even a couple degrees helps when it's in the 90s.
I enjoy the Ararat River which parallels most of the winding greenway. Two great blue herons reside there. I don't know if it's the same herons year after year, but looks like it to me. I guess I've seen them on 90% of my rides. When they fly, they look like a pterodactyl, or at least pictures of what scientists believe pterodactyls looked like.
I see groundhogs almost every time I ride there. They make me chuckle, the way they scurry-waddle. More than once a groundhog and I have spooked one another because we don't hear or see each other until we're right beside ourselves.
I always count it a good ride when I see a groundhog or eight, and/or a heron or two. I've also seen deer and snakes, and of course squirrels. And there are lots of songbirds at the northern end, including red-winged black birds. The songbirds often fly along with me as I zoom on Olivia. Makes me feel like Snow White.
This year I noticed the greenway sign reads "Granite City Greenway." I hadn't noticed that before. I wondered, Why is it called Granite City?
I've since learned that Granite City is a nickname for Mt. Airy which is home to the world's largest open face granite quarry known as North Carolina Granite Corporation.. I don't know anything really about quarries, so I don't know what "open face" means. Next time I drive out Pine Street as I'm going to Meadows of Dan, Virginia, I'll take a left onto Granite Quarry Trail which is where the quarry is located and see what I can see.
After the three greenway segments were connected in 2016,Mt. Airy's greenway system was named Granite City Greenway. However, the segments will also retain their original names of Emily B. Taylor Greenway, named after a late former Mt. Airy mayor and commissioner; and Ararat Greenway, named for the river the greenway follows.
Mt. Airy also bears the nickname "Mayberry." The late actor Andy Griffith was born and raised in Mt. Airy. He starred as Sherriff Taylor in a TV series based in the fictitious town of Mayberry, North Carolina, which many say is based on the town of Mt. Airy. In the show, reference is made to the fictitious town of Mt. Pilot. The real town of Pilot Mountain is only 11 miles from Mt. Airy. The show also references Siler City and Raleigh, both of which are actual cities in North Carolina.
Needless to say, Mt. Airy is home to many things Mayberry.
*~*
~*~
Below are links to some of my rides on the Granite City Greenway, which I have affectionately renamed Groundhog Greenway. I plan to add to the list as I make my way along the Ararat.
July 6, 2018:
July 2, 2018:
June 21, 2018:
June 16, 2018:
June 14, 2018:
Monday, May 14, 2018:
May 8, 2018:
March 16, 2018:
December 18, 2017:
August 17, 2017:
I also opened a private Twitter account to post each ride. That way I have a quick reference log, sometimes with pictures. It's a real hassle to transfer pictures from my phone to my computer and then to my blog. Much easier to link to a Twitter update for the pictures. The links, hyperlinked at the end of this post, link to either my private or public Twitter account.
Below is a copy and paste of my most recent post from Adventures with Olivia.
***
Trying to recall what year I first rode the greenway in Mt. Airy. My mind wonders, 2014? 2015? Did I even own Olivia in 2014? I'll have to ask next time at the bike shop and see if they have the date I purchased Olivia.
The first time I rode that greenway, it was divided into three separate segments. Ten to twelve months later I debated with myself whether or not I wanted to hassle with driving to three different locations to ride each section. The "give-it-a-go" side won. When I arrived at my parking destination, I discovered that the three sections had been connected to form one continuous, approximately seven-mile, greenway. I was delighted! This week, while reading some Mt. Airy greenway history, I learned that the three sections were connected in 2016. So I'm guessing I first rode the three segments in 2015. I have no idea how many times I've ridden the Ararat since then. A lot.
I enjoy this greenway because, for one thing, it's mostly flat. There is one very short, steep hill and a few other slight inclines. And it's paved. So it's an easy ride, which I often need due to polyradiculitis. And Mt. Airy is typically cooler than where I live in Winston-Salem. Even a couple degrees helps when it's in the 90s.
I enjoy the Ararat River which parallels most of the winding greenway. Two great blue herons reside there. I don't know if it's the same herons year after year, but looks like it to me. I guess I've seen them on 90% of my rides. When they fly, they look like a pterodactyl, or at least pictures of what scientists believe pterodactyls looked like.
I see groundhogs almost every time I ride there. They make me chuckle, the way they scurry-waddle. More than once a groundhog and I have spooked one another because we don't hear or see each other until we're right beside ourselves.
I always count it a good ride when I see a groundhog or eight, and/or a heron or two. I've also seen deer and snakes, and of course squirrels. And there are lots of songbirds at the northern end, including red-winged black birds. The songbirds often fly along with me as I zoom on Olivia. Makes me feel like Snow White.
This year I noticed the greenway sign reads "Granite City Greenway." I hadn't noticed that before. I wondered, Why is it called Granite City?
I've since learned that Granite City is a nickname for Mt. Airy which is home to the world's largest open face granite quarry known as North Carolina Granite Corporation.. I don't know anything really about quarries, so I don't know what "open face" means. Next time I drive out Pine Street as I'm going to Meadows of Dan, Virginia, I'll take a left onto Granite Quarry Trail which is where the quarry is located and see what I can see.
After the three greenway segments were connected in 2016,Mt. Airy's greenway system was named Granite City Greenway. However, the segments will also retain their original names of Emily B. Taylor Greenway, named after a late former Mt. Airy mayor and commissioner; and Ararat Greenway, named for the river the greenway follows.
Mt. Airy also bears the nickname "Mayberry." The late actor Andy Griffith was born and raised in Mt. Airy. He starred as Sherriff Taylor in a TV series based in the fictitious town of Mayberry, North Carolina, which many say is based on the town of Mt. Airy. In the show, reference is made to the fictitious town of Mt. Pilot. The real town of Pilot Mountain is only 11 miles from Mt. Airy. The show also references Siler City and Raleigh, both of which are actual cities in North Carolina.
Needless to say, Mt. Airy is home to many things Mayberry.
*~*
 |
| Riding the Ararat, 8/17/17 |
 |
| Riding the Ararat, 6/14/18 |
 |
| Riding the Ararat, 8/17/17 |
 |
| Riding the Ararat, 6/14/18 |
 |
| Riding the Ararat, 8/17/17 |
~*~
Below are links to some of my rides on the Granite City Greenway, which I have affectionately renamed Groundhog Greenway. I plan to add to the list as I make my way along the Ararat.
July 6, 2018:
14 mi. Solo. Mt. Airy Greenway.
4 groundhogs, multiple sightings. At least 1 of the teens.
Both herons.
Rainy drizzles. 75 degrees. Nice!
Met Lewis at AutoCave.
Thanked them for greenway magic, waters in the coolers, especially since I forgot mine.
4 groundhogs, multiple sightings. At least 1 of the teens.
Both herons.
Rainy drizzles. 75 degrees. Nice!
Met Lewis at AutoCave.
Thanked them for greenway magic, waters in the coolers, especially since I forgot mine.
July 2, 2018:
18.9 mi. Solo.
Mt. Airy Greenway, aka Granite City GW, aka Groundhog GW.
Northern sections 4x.
Tough ride today. Weak. Fatigued. Prolly have 2 up prednisone tomorrow.
5 groundhogs, incl the 2 teenagers.
1 heron 2x.
They brought me smiles.
Mt. Airy Greenway, aka Granite City GW, aka Groundhog GW.
Northern sections 4x.
Tough ride today. Weak. Fatigued. Prolly have 2 up prednisone tomorrow.
5 groundhogs, incl the 2 teenagers.
1 heron 2x.
They brought me smiles.
June 21, 2018:
20.5 mi. Solo. Mt.Airy Greenway.
6 groundhogs, including those 2 teens.
Also saw 1 dead groundhog. :(
Lots of songbirds. Flew along with me.
Both herons! Yay!
Green snake. Saw it 2x, going 1 way & then the other. We spooked each other 1st time. Also spook with 1 groundhog.
I inquired about the snake. It was a rough green snake.
6 groundhogs, including those 2 teens.
Also saw 1 dead groundhog. :(
Lots of songbirds. Flew along with me.
Both herons! Yay!
Green snake. Saw it 2x, going 1 way & then the other. We spooked each other 1st time. Also spook with 1 groundhog.
I inquired about the snake. It was a rough green snake.
June 16, 2018:
16.7 mi. Mt. Airy/Granite City Greenway. Solo.
Riverside Pk. -> VFW -> Riverside Pk.
Part of northern leg 4x.
1 heron.
5 groundhogs. 2 of them were the same teens I saw Thurs.
Birds were quite active.
Think I'll rename it Groundhog Greenway.
Riverside Pk. -> VFW -> Riverside Pk.
Part of northern leg 4x.
1 heron.
5 groundhogs. 2 of them were the same teens I saw Thurs.
Birds were quite active.
Think I'll rename it Groundhog Greenway.
June 14, 2018:
Delightful ride. today.
21.5 mi. Solo. Mt. Airy GW, parts of it 4x, + ride thru VFW Memorial Pk.
Tweet pics linked. I also saw a greenway sign that calls it Granite City Greenway? I'll have to recheck that. Saw police escort a man w/a 6-pack of beer away from the hammock garden.
Also saw 5 groundhogs: 1 sow & piglet, 2 teens, & 1 young adult
One of the resident herons.
Lovely lilies...Creek grasses...Creek humans...
21.5 mi. Solo. Mt. Airy GW, parts of it 4x, + ride thru VFW Memorial Pk.
Tweet pics linked. I also saw a greenway sign that calls it Granite City Greenway? I'll have to recheck that. Saw police escort a man w/a 6-pack of beer away from the hammock garden.
Also saw 5 groundhogs: 1 sow & piglet, 2 teens, & 1 young adult
One of the resident herons.
Lovely lilies...Creek grasses...Creek humans...
Monday, May 14, 2018:
Monday ride, Mt. Airy Greenway.
Saw 7 groundhogs. A record! They always make me chuckle. 2 were li'l pigs w/Mom. Pic is of groundhog hiding pipe or den.
Saw the 2 resident herons. 1 in graceful flight over Ararat River.
Saw 7 groundhogs. A record! They always make me chuckle. 2 were li'l pigs w/Mom. Pic is of groundhog hiding pipe or den.
Saw the 2 resident herons. 1 in graceful flight over Ararat River.
May 8, 2018:
Water & hammocks, a little greenway magic.
Yet more magical are...
two young groundhogs playing chase,
swallowtails in flight,
Mom pushing teenage son in his wheelchair,
Dad helping young daughter to balance on 2 wheels.
Good things I see while cycling.
Yet more magical are...
two young groundhogs playing chase,
swallowtails in flight,
Mom pushing teenage son in his wheelchair,
Dad helping young daughter to balance on 2 wheels.
Good things I see while cycling.
March 16, 2018:
After 1 month break, I'm back in the saddle.
Greenway welcomed me with 8 deer a-runnin' & a donkey.
Stay away vertigo.
Greenway welcomed me with 8 deer a-runnin' & a donkey.
Stay away vertigo.
December 18, 2017:
Sweet freedom! Wheeee...
Cycling is life. Life is cycling.
Hay-rolls a' resting along Ararat River. Mt. Airy Greenway.
Cycling is life. Life is cycling.
Hay-rolls a' resting along Ararat River. Mt. Airy Greenway.
August 17, 2017:
Lovely day on the Mt. Airy Greenway.
Next stop - Blue Ridge Pkwy.
Next stop - Blue Ridge Pkwy.
July 10, 2018
Whirled Peas
I've been avoiding writing again.
Is it avoiding? I don't think so. What it is is not having the energy to get words from my feelings to my head to my fingers to the keyboard to the screen. Nor having the energy to pen by hand, if desired.
I thought yesterday something like... Your pressure is self imposed. You have started different writing projects and do none. Why? Why do you do that? Even if you were well, you wouldn't have the time for all those different projects. Maybe writing isn't as necessary as it used to be for you?
But I do want to do the projects, don't I?
I want to write to discover my beliefs, my purpose, my wisdom. I want to write to create flow on a page, or a screen as is the case. I want to write the questions into fluid form, and perhaps write into the answers.
It boils down to, I want to discover me and value me and know me. To know thyself.
I'd love to have energy and time to read books and books and books. To paint and to draw and to play with clay. To form. To flow. To ride the river of thought and dreams and imaginations, which aren't just dreams and imaginations, but are a reality somewhere, in some dimension.
I'd love to have energy and strength to clean my home and organize the oh-so-many paper stacks and the shelves and the closets and the thirty-plus packed boxes draped with sheets and stacked behind the living room sofa.
I wish I had energy and strength to garden and preserve the bounty. To volunteer at a food pantry, or with Hospice, or with the disabled & bicycles.
I wish I had energy and strength to cook and invite friends over for a meal and cards or talk or board games.
I wish I had energy for friends.
I wish had energy and strength and finances to travel. To see with my own eyes the wonders of Iceland, our Great Lakes, the Everglades of Florida, the redwoods and sequoias, Australia, the plains of Africa, the tribes of the Amazon, the Orient.
I wish unicorns and gnomes and elves and fairies were real.
I wish people would treat one another and our planet with kindness.
I wish the world would have peace.
Is it avoiding? I don't think so. What it is is not having the energy to get words from my feelings to my head to my fingers to the keyboard to the screen. Nor having the energy to pen by hand, if desired.
I thought yesterday something like... Your pressure is self imposed. You have started different writing projects and do none. Why? Why do you do that? Even if you were well, you wouldn't have the time for all those different projects. Maybe writing isn't as necessary as it used to be for you?
But I do want to do the projects, don't I?
I want to write to discover my beliefs, my purpose, my wisdom. I want to write to create flow on a page, or a screen as is the case. I want to write the questions into fluid form, and perhaps write into the answers.
It boils down to, I want to discover me and value me and know me. To know thyself.
I'd love to have energy and time to read books and books and books. To paint and to draw and to play with clay. To form. To flow. To ride the river of thought and dreams and imaginations, which aren't just dreams and imaginations, but are a reality somewhere, in some dimension.
I'd love to have energy and strength to clean my home and organize the oh-so-many paper stacks and the shelves and the closets and the thirty-plus packed boxes draped with sheets and stacked behind the living room sofa.
I wish I had energy and strength to garden and preserve the bounty. To volunteer at a food pantry, or with Hospice, or with the disabled & bicycles.
I wish I had energy and strength to cook and invite friends over for a meal and cards or talk or board games.
I wish I had energy for friends.
I wish had energy and strength and finances to travel. To see with my own eyes the wonders of Iceland, our Great Lakes, the Everglades of Florida, the redwoods and sequoias, Australia, the plains of Africa, the tribes of the Amazon, the Orient.
I wish unicorns and gnomes and elves and fairies were real.
I wish people would treat one another and our planet with kindness.
I wish the world would have peace.