Good grief! What has gotten into Granpappy???

Beetle, you have to do something to keep him in check. I draw the line at the porch swing. He just can't have everything he wants! That swing provides a quiet place to reflect, and extra seating for our friends. Just because Granpappy does not sit on it doesn't mean that it has no use and that it is his for the taking. Granpappy is just going to have to find something else of interest to tinker around with.

And another thing, what is wrong with the still he has hidden in the woods?

That dang Granpappy. Maybe a visit from Jilly will make him forget all about this nonsense.

Aw, Beetle, you have your hands full watching after Granpappy. We will have to help you out more. The old guy is just getting to far out of hand. Remember, he loves muffins, especially blueberry and his blackberries on cereal. I will just have to make sure I bake him a batch of muffins every day and keep blackberries on hand for him. That will keep him occupied most of the day, along with chatting with Jilly. Then you can restore the tire swing. We will not let him touch the porch swing.

I gathered up a bunch of old machine parts that were lying out behind the barn and hid them up on the hills by Granpappy's shed. Once he finds one he will keep looking for more. This will give him things to build another still with. That should keep him happy and out of your hair, Beetle. You are so good to him...no wonder Granpappy likes you so much.

Ooops! Granpappy likes your rotary machine so much it looks like he is trying to build one for himself.

Debbie, I bet Granpappy would like more of your potato salad for supper, along with some baked beans. I am going to be busy huntin' up some more junk pieces for Granpappy to find. Then I am going blackberry picking.

Sure, Phyllis. Let's drag the leftovers out of the fridge and make up a nice plate for Granpappy. I will warm up those beans for him right now.

If you have extra blackberries after feeding Granpappy, how about a blackberry-peach crumble? We can make one up in a jiffy with canned peaches and a buttery, brown sugar and oatmeal topping. Served warm out of the oven with a scoop of vanilla ice cream will make a really nice dessert.

We can all enjoy it out on the front porch later tonight. We can get some fresh coffee made and the tea kettle to whistling. It will be a nice evening if anyone wants to come on down for a snack and some good conversation.

Who's joining us tonight?

Granpappy is unavailable at the moment

Every night now at least one little tree frog sleeps on my patio railing, so I put a little house up there for them.

This is Frog Cottage (on my gardening table):


and this is Fergie Frog in her backyard of the cottage:

snoozing away for the night.

Oh dear.....Granpappy may have had a few too many beans......

Cute little froggie! How nice that you put a charming house out for the frogs, Phyllis. I hope you get even more visitors now with the great accomodations you've provided.

Rain is coming down this afternoon. We are in for another wet couple of days. Seems that every week we have a stretch of rain for a few days. The sun-loving flowers are not doing quite as well as they should be because of it.

How's everyone doing on the front porch today?

Big fire behind my place today. It started about 4:00. Fire trucks got here fast and firefighters had it under control in about four hours. It burned the whole top of my little mountain and came down the hill to about 100 yards from my patio.

We had some scary moments and I had my emergency bag packed and sitting by the front door.

I was going to call you all over to roast some hot dogs, but it was so so hot out there.

Hey... Is that Granpappy hauling tubing away from the fire? Naw, he's heading toward it. Must be wantin' to make use of the fire in his next batch. Hope his corn for the squeezins isn't popcorn - won't get much mash outta that.

Wow, Phyllis. Glad you are ok. We will just have to roast those hotdogs another time.

I feel bad for your mountain getting burned up....

Dang Phyllis !

Thank God you and your home didn't get burnt up !!

Now that it's over I would like to put your mind on something else...

How do you make red gravy ?