Pansy Time

The fall season means a lot of different things to different people.Pumpkins are everywhere. Hay rides, leaves changing color, foot ball games, bon fires, and even deer hunting. For me, fall means time to plant the pansies. The beautiful annuals that can't stand the Arkansas heat. They do well in the winter, and I love to see them blooming in the snow.  I usually don't plant annuals-after all, they're only good for one season. That all changed when my mom told me that they were my great-grandma's favorite flower. I started planting them as a way to remember her. It wasn't long before I started taking some to my mom to plant too.  Little by little stories would come out, and it gave me a glimpse of the short,                                                                                       German woman that could never

pronounce my name correctly. To her, I was Kaddie. I loved hearing those stories and learning about the past. Now, I realize that Mom looked forward to telling me those stories as much as I loved hearing them. It gave her a chance to talk about someone she loved and missed. I know Grandma ironed sheets and boxer shorts (sorry hubs, I didn't inherit that gene) and that she loved pizza and beer (that gene  I got). She also loved to listen to music as she cleaned house, going to movies, and reading stories. My name wasn't the only English word she had problems saying. Pistachio always came out sounding like piss-cry-tony. I remember that her accent was very heavy-and by the time I arrived she had been in the states a long, long time. She smelled of roses and watched Lawrence Welk. I was forced to watch it so many times, I remember words to the parting song. "Good night, sleep tight, and pleasant dreams to you. Here's a wish and a prayer that your dreams come true...."

Vacation day two Ruby Falls, Rock City Garden

Boy, day two was a busy day. We headed out early and went to Ruby Falls. Ruby was the wife of the man that discovered that part of the cave. The falls are in a large room carved out by water that took millions of years to create. The waterfall is over one hundred feet.

Then down the road a little ways is Rock City Gardens. If you ever get to go there, don't go on a hot day. Wear very comfortable shoes. Charge the camera and plan to spend the day.

Then we went on to The Tail of the Dragon, but that's another tale.

Coon Dog Cemetery ... Vacation day one

On our first day of vacation, we headed out before the sun came out. I can't tell you what time we left, but I know we were in Devall's Bluff (home of Craig's BBQ) long before the restaurant opened. We traveled just outside of Memphis and down south. Our first stop was a cemetery just outside of Tuscumbia, AL.
The Coon Dog Cemetery. The only one of its kind in the world. I don't know what I was expecting, but certainly not what I saw. The graves were immaculate. Decorated with flags, flowers, and coins. Yes, coins like the military. A penny on the grave if you knew the deceased. A nickel or dime if you fought along side of him and a quarter if you there when he died. There was even a leash or two on top of the marker.  The granite markers proudly displayed the name of the dog, the birth date, time of death and even championships won or words about the dog.
It was some time during this visit, I really missed my dogs. I know they aren't champions or coon dogs but they're very important to me-like all these dogs  were special to someone too. There's Troop, Ranger, Sally Ann, Roscoe-I wish I could remember all 85 names but the one that really hit me was the grave that read "Dixie". That's when the water works started. A kind man might have put his arms around his wife, but Dwight just kept taking pictures and got as far away as possible-the shower didn't last long. My dog sitter sent a picture of my babies playing and every thing was good with the world again.
Then we hit the road to lay our heads down in Scottsboro, AL. A total of a little over 560 miles behind us that day.