A Change of Seasons - Kenny coming home.

82 years young, independent and strong, running a farm on her own, riding horses with a daughter in Colorado. One month later - a stroke, a stomach tube, a move from the farm to a nursing home and suddenly now she is 82 years old. There was no easing into it, no edging, it was analogous to the ball dropping in Time Square on New Year's Eve. There was no grace granted to prepare, our sensibilities were numbed as we went through the motions.

She is our mother, known loving as Kenny and now she is 85 years weak and lonesome. There is this idea that one finds companionship and comfort when surrounded by their peers but we sense something totally different here. As peculiar as it may sound, we see Kenny amongst many, yet very lonely. Is that a distancing created intentionally or is it part of the aging process? Regardless the answer it is difficult to watch.

In a few short weeks there will be a changing of the guards. On November 1st we bring Kenny back home to her 50 acres, 4 horses, 2 dogs and a cat. We will be her ceremonial guards but it will be more than that because we are her daughters. Upholding past traditions we will also learn to perform new duties, more akin to being a mother to our mother.

This is not a fortuitous move we are making, quite the contrary. For over a year we have held deliberate conversation, fantasized, envisioned and prayed over the myriad of possibilities of our decision only to be blurred by so many "what ifs". Our spirits will directly dictate the beauty or perhaps the unwholesomeness of our decision. Imperative are the qualities of patience, understanding and love which we pray will supersede all other emotions.

There is a change on the horizon, a change of seasons for five of us and although we enter into it with great aspirations they are shadowed by our trepidations. Time will show us the wisdom (or not) of our decision but until then we will take all the prayer we can get.

REAL ESTATE - Harrisonburg's Newest Industry

Last night, a group of us went to the new Forbes Center for a musical production and we all continue to be impressed with the facility, although the musical was a little weird. As we left the theater, I couldn't help thinking of what this area looked like in the past. Buffalo Wild Wings was Doc's Tea Room and the parking deck is on the location of the Daly Shoe Factory. It all made me remember the other industrial giants who once called Harrisonburg home.



The Water Street parking deck was the site of our police station when I was a kid but before that, it was a tannery. The Metro building on Broad Street was a pants factory and Sancar Flats once held scores of employees making underwear. In recent years, we lost the Kawneer plant (Lowes) and Dunham Bush was replaced by Harrisonburg Crossing. It seems that the only production left in town involves poultry or ice. I guess we need to find a new industry to keep our economy going.



Geezer Business



That's right, it is the economic engine for our town and this one won't move to China. It is time to think of the Grey Panthers as a business and concentrate more efforts in attracting them to town.



Think about it. They have money and spend it, they don't take jobs, suck up public assistance resources or have kids in school. They are generally good citizens who take care of their property, pay their bills and have a positive economic impact on the community. We already have the attractions in place: beautiful scenery, activities of JMU, cheap public golf, lots of retirement homes, all you can eat buffets and a brand new hospital. The only downside is that they are sometimes pretty cranky and can be a traffic hazard but other than that it is a "match made in heaven."



Jim

The 5 and Dime - Can you identify these guys?

While working "Kenny Duty" this little fella came running out from under a bush when the

lawn mower blew cut grass in his face. An adolescent I would guess as he did much more running on the ground than flying.

To my (untrained) eye I thought he looked lost and was perhaps trying to find his way to the beach not the Appalachian Region. Can you identify this guy for me please?

I could also use some help to identify this guy. He was also found around Clifton Forge, Va.

Our BIG Garden - Tear Down

The time has arrived to begin disassembling the garden in preparation for Winter. This is rather a bittersweet time as it signals the end of the growing season; the last of longer, lighter days and the finish of backyard BBQ's.

For some folks the advent of Fall and Winter is very bleak and discomforting. Many become despondent and even inconsolable but those are feelings I cannot fathom. The brilliant azure sky, flame colored leaves and white billowy clouds make for a stunning picture alone. Now couple that with the clear, crisp air and cooler temperatures and it becomes evident that my spirit has lifted to heavenly heights.

The aromas wafting from a soup pot warming on the stove and the sight of a crackling wood fire lit in a cozy room elicits a comforting joy not found during the humid, summer months. At long last it is acceptable to shut your door at 5pm when darkness arrives. Essentially it is now permissible to relax by the fire and enjoy a great book or sip wine with friends. We can now indulge ourselves in life's sweetest, greatest pleasures.

My excitement is elevated during this time of year to overflowing and I pine to console others with my appetite for the season. As I have repeated numerous times in the past, the four seasons we experience is truly a gift. About the time the chill of Winter is all you can tolerate, a glance in the dormant garden will show some plants waking up under the cover of mulch, looking out as if to be inquiring whether it is safe to come out yet. And then before you realize it - Spring has sprung!!

REAL ESTATE - Long Term Investing

Last week I sold my boat and delivered it to the new owner in Winchester. Conveniently for me, my daughter and her family live nearby so I arranged to meet them for lunch and spend some quality time with my sweet little granddaughter. Over our lunch, my daughter asked if I got a good price for the boat and I told her that I have owned 5 of them and made a profit on every one. She was amazed but I told her that the secret is in the timing. I always buy a boat in winter and sell it in the summer and this method has worked for 13 years.



This same plan also works for real estate, buy when the market is down and sell when prices rise. Today's market is probably the best buying opportunity since The Great Depression and the bold investors in that market made fortunes. The truth is that our area is growing and sooner or later, that growth translates to housing demands which will raise prices. We have tried to make wise purchases of rental property and hold on to it until we need to cash in our chips for some other objective but, over the long term, values keep rising.



For 35 years, we have bought, sold and rented property and the income from those ventures will help us through our golden years. For that same 35 years, we have invested in stocks and funds. Over that span of time, we gave our money to 5 different brokers and they all lost money, our money. So you can understand why I have become one of those geezers who tell young folks to buy real estate and hold on, because it is the best investment of all.



Jim

Our BIG Garden

This has been an incredibly hot, dry summer with June posing our biggest danger for our growing season due to the drought. Just about the time our infantile plants were beginning to mature the heavens closed shop for the month as if to say "Only the strong survive."

Now I profess that saying wholeheartedly especially when it comes to my over zealous gardening abilities or lack thereof. At the first signs of Spring, Carolyn and I are enthusiastic in tilling the soil, laying off rows and sowing our seeds. Even QGG rises to the occasion and feigns excitement at the opportunity to break in her new garden gloves. The thoughts of dirt actually mussing her gloves however is secretly horrifying to her. She doesn't fool us though as Carolyn and I realized last year that she was an actress in her other life and a darn good one we now know!!!

As foretold every year, June gave way to July and then July defected to August and we did harvest some amazing veggies even if the quantity was diminished. We ate Poona Kheera cucumbers from India; Tonda DiParigi carrots, a 19th century Parisian heirloom; Crapaudine beets, thought to be one of the oldest varieties dating back 1,000 years; Dragon Tongue beans, a Dutch heirloom and Kamo Kamo squash, an heirloom pumpkin of the Maori people of New Zealand. Of course I have only named a few varieties of veggies. Remember the name of our garden, "The BIG Garden" so I cannot possibly recite the entire list of seeds stashed in that plot of soil.

I think it is fair to say we admired our work so much so that we were never disappointed with our produce. We were able to snatch enough from the rabbits to feed us and share with others. In fact the garden crew is beginning to feel like a green bean about now due to the heavy production. So life as a farmer turned out fairly well, or it did until about the first of August.

If you recall QCC was never any good at getting her hands dirty or at sweating so she only ate the produce that was delivered to her door or that I cooked and served her. What a Katherine Hepburn!!

Now Carolyn is a different story. She launched into this project with great passion even desiring to locate another vacant lot whereby we could plant more than our 26 kinds of seeds and not only will she sweat and get her hands dirty - she will get everything dirty. I filled with great angst at this zeal because I know Carolyn and could foresee the future. My uneasiness was heightened when my dependable sister jumped ship with the garden this year. She could also see into the future and thus acted with some intelligence. Oh woe is me, I was now in serious

trouble and still I allowed it to happen. I might liken it to a deer in the headlights scene.

(Now we have moved into the future....) and Carolyn, true to form has behaved like a hummingbird, flying from place to place and landing nowhere. She actually would say to me, "I can't come to the garden tonight because I am going out to dinner with so and so" or "I can't come to the garden tonight because I am getting a massage." Can you just imagine the dumbfounded look on my face while my eyes were rolling back into where my brain use to reside and I would shake violently. Once speech was possible again my retort was, "Well I could go to dinner or get a massage too if I DIDN'T have to work in the garden tonight." Need I say more. Then in August the real shoe dropped as Carolyn injured her knee and became disabled so she tells me, at least for gardening duty. As a result, I can be found in our BIG garden, stooped over, a lone soldier, harvesting in 90+ degree weather. After which I trim, wash and prepare the produce only to deliver them (and eggs I might add) in the wee hours of the morning at the doors of QGG and Carolyn.

Can I tell you "I am OVER this garden." Truth be known I have cut a hole in the fence in hopes I can entice the rabbits back in. In fact I am searching the internet now looking for garden eating bugs and bores because "I AM OVER THIS GARDEN!!!". Do you hear what I am saying garden (non) helpers??

The 5 and Dime - Yet another BBQ

A young Army soldier home from the war, a microbiologist, a truck driver, a mother, an Espiscopal Priest, a physician, an insurance agent and the roster continues. Far-reaching in vocations within this one gathering, offering a gamut of incongruities.

Hailing from Missouri, Maryland and just over the county line depicts only a minor portion of the eclectic group who attended the August 2010 BBQ.

With June weather in August; a slightly, waning moon; gentle, subdued breezes and the soft, flickering of lightning bugs, we converged to share a meal, meet new friends and greet old ones.

Unlike the vocations and locations, the variety of instruments was reduced comprising only 2 banjos, 1 fiddle, 2 guitars and a bass and all of a sudden the diversity was lessened.

Steve and Mark were our grill masters, determining the effectiveness of a remarkable smoker that Mark had constructed. In tow, from Missouri to Virignia, he and his wife, Christine delivered this outstanding gift to Steve. The meat was succulent, the group was complete and the night flat-out gorgeous.

Oldfriends; Steve and Mark, new friends; Christine and me, feelings spoken and those unspoken, in retrospect it appeared a common thread weaves us all together. I proclaim it is conceivable that amongst the myriad of differences we all succumb to the same end - love and acceptance and at long last the chasm exists no longer!!!