Honoring My Mother

Peonies were Mother's favorite flower
 

This is my 24th post to my blog, "Memories Captured With A Camera". I created my blog to full-fill a class project this term in my Social Medial Class at South Hills School of Business and Technology.

I would like to honor my mother by sharing just a few of my memories of her.

My mother's name was Lillian. She was a single parent. She taught school. We lived on the farm where she was raised but in a different home than she grew up in. She was one of thirteen children.



Mother, Mary, Cat, Nephew Eddie

Mother at Coney Island
 

Every spring, we would plant a big garden filled with tomatoes, potatoes, corn, green beans, watermelon, and so much more. She taught me how to furrow out a long row so that it was straight and the right depth for the vegetable we were planting.

I loved canned yellow peaches during the winter. We would share taking skins off the hot peaches after they were removed from hot water and then placing the peach halves into quart jars.  Yellow canned peaches looked beautiful on the shelves with other canned vegetables.

As fall approached, it was apple butter making time.  In the early morning, we would start peeling apples. Making apple butter turned out to be an all-day process, lasting well into the evening hours. We would take turns stirring the apple butter in a large kettle over a fire built near the garden's edge. I loved the taste of cinnamon in the apple butter. Mother was generous with the cinnamon when she dropped it into the bubbling apple butter.

Thank you for letting me share some of my fond memories of my mother.  I would love to hear about memories you shared with your mother. Please click on comments and share if you would like to.

Friendships Are Like Beautiful Flowers

Pansies at Longwood Gardens
 

How are friendships like beautiful flowers?

Friends bring joy into our lives with their smiles and hugs. They care about what's important to us and always listen. 

Friends will encourage you to take vacation time. You will come back home feeling refreshed, and, hopefully, with lots of camera memories to enjoy over the years to come.

Beautiful flowers can remind us of an old saying, "Stop and smell the roses". This saying can mean different things to people, but to me, it means, slow down and enjoy being with people you love and enjoy things around you.  Beautiful flowers leave imprints on our mind and heart, just like friends do.

Longwood Gardens

Longwood Gardens

Today, I had a memorable lunch with two dear friends. There was lots of sharing and catching up. My two friends have a great sense of humor and tell amazing and touching stories.

It's well into the evening, and I am still thinking about my two friends at lunch today.
 
We gain courage and strength when we listen to our friends' stories.

                                      Friendships make us stronger.

I would love to hear stories about your friends. You can share by clicking on comments below.



A Hike To Charlies Bunion In The Smoky Mountains

 

This story is written by Larry Bunge

 

Appalachian Trail

Every now and then you get the chance of sharing some of the hikes you enjoy with your sons. In the Fall of 2015 my youngest son, Mark, had nine days off, so we took off heading South. My oldest son, Eric, was able to drive up from South Carolina and join us for the first three of those days.


Charlies Bunion Rock/Smoky Mountains
 

Our third hike during those days was to Charlies Bunion. A nice little hike of about three miles on the Appalachian Trail to the intersection shown in the first picture and then continuing another two miles to the overlook named Charlies Bunion.

Larry, Eric, Mark
 

Eric and Mark on top of the bunion

 

It made for a nice day- the hike - the view - and just being able to get together with my sons.

 

 

 

A Ride Down The Okefenokee Swamp

Moving through the swamp

As nine of us sat in a metal motorboat that moved steadily through the green swampy water, we listened to a young tour guide talk about the beauty of the Okefenokee Swamp, while she steered our boat through the water. She talked about swimming with the alligators like it was a stroll in the park.



Keep a safe distance from me!

Beautiful birds playing in the water

The ride was uneventful but my eyes were always watching for the dreaded alligator and there were quite a few along the way. Some had just their eyes above the water and sometimes you could see a thin ridge of their back and tail just above the water, too.

Some guarded the muddy banks unafraid. Alligators are territorial. I kept thinking--why would she swim in the same water they were in?

The boat ride was slow but steady. Gradually, we cleared the thick bush-lined swamp and entered into a wide water-way filled with lily pads, all kinds of flowers, birds, and, yes, more alligators. They seemed to be everywhere.

Our trip back took us down the same water path we had come up. We saw turtles lying on fallen tree branches along the water and many other sights common only to this environment.

Welcome back!

When we arrived back at the dock, we found these two waiting for us. While sunning themselves on the concrete, they guard both directions.  The tour guide said they are there every day. All of us carefully got off the boat and skirted around these two.

I can honestly say that I was never so glad to get back on land again and back into my car.

Secrets Kept By The Gnarled Trees of St. Augustine

What secrets do these trees know that cause them to bend and twist in so many directions?

I feel sad when I look at these trees because their journey in life looks like it was affected by horrible sights and sounds. Could these trees grow this way? I lean the other way since they are located in St. Augustine, FL, where these trees saw many battles where many lives were lost.

I asked the storekeeper of a small shop, in the old part of St. Augustine, what his opinion was about all the talk about ghosts. He said there is a graveyard beneath the old part of St. Augustine. If you listen during the early hours of the morning, when everything is quiet, you can hear the strangest sounds. To be honest, I was not brave enough to stay and find out.


After dark, there are ghost rides that take people to where ghosts hang out around graveyards. I wanted to go on one of these rides but they started too late. If you want shivers to go up your spine, click on this link:   Ghosts and graveyards

A New Journey for Mary

It's official!

Happy Day for Mary

On August 29, I will start school as a full-time student in the Administrative Professional program at South Hills School of Business & Technology.

Today, all new students for Fall 2016 were inspired by different speakers on how attending school will be life-changing and the hard work that will be required. I was included in this new group of students.

I saw one of my former coworkers who will be starting in the Engineering Technology program. It was wonderful to see her again.  There's a good chance I will see her each day as we pass in the hallway. We might get to take a course together.

This is a journey I never planned, but the opportunity came my way, and I want to take advantage of it.  I have always loved school since I was a child.

My thanks to all of you who helped me embark on this new journey.