We met our dear friends from Texas, Doris and Betty, for lunch at a small restaurant out in the countryside halfway between us and Knoxville. It was a short visit but better than none!

Sam at 4 months. He's a big pup and is Blackie's best friend.

Our friend Lisa brought this to our church picnic. I submitted this picture to the paper's "Send Us Your Best Shot" which was printed in the paper. So far I've had 7 pictures printed in the paper. The pie was delicious!

We went to Jonesborough, TN to listen to a storyteller. Jonesborough is Tennessee's oldest town, and about 30 minutes west of here.

What a cutie!

Jerry having a conversation with a cow at the local fair.

On the top of Roan Mountain is the Appalachian Trail. We walked a few feet in each direction so we could say we walked the Appalachian Trail!

If only the rhododendrons in the foreground were in bloom, it would be beautiful.

Barbara, Jerry, and Blackie on the deck at the rhododendron gardens on Roan Mountain.

How would you like to buy this property? I've never seen kudzu for sale before.

The cows and cow pasture next to our house on the east side.

"Hey, Sam, bring back Mom's watering can!"

This watering can is toast, but it made a good teething toy for a growing puppy. He carried it off somewhere and we haven't seen it since.

Bumblebees love sedum; fortunately they ignore me.

We have 3 hummingbird feeders on the front porch. This was their favorite.

Look at his color!

I love that side turn!

The rebuilding of Weir Dam in Elizabethton.

Complete with fish ladder.

This is said to be a former glacier. The formation occurred during the last ice age and has been dated to be as old as 350 million years. The formation covers 15 acres and is said to have a stream that still runs beneath the field. At night the rocks really did have a blue glow to them.

Look closely to the left of the flag and you'll see the double rainbow. This was taken from our front yard. The pot of gold must be in our neighbor's barn!

It's apple butter time at our church again. It has to be stirred constantly or it will burn. It takes about 8 hours from start to finish.

It's apple butter time again. I had a broken rib so I didn't help much, but after the kettle was empty, I managed to get a spoonful to taste. That's a sling moved to my back.

Barbara is holding Dooley while friends pack up our dear friend Martha's belongings. Martha and Dooley moved to California to be closer to family.

Between Hampton and Mountain City.

This is another drive-by shooting (with the camera, of course!).

Suba's Restaurant in Mountain City, TN (about 30 miles east of here) is where we ate. It had delicious food.

This is how the dining room was decorated.

The Ladies' Room in this restaurant was beautiful so I took a picture of the sink and tile. We checked out the men's room and it wasn't decorated at all!

Pretty fancy for a rustic restaurant, huh?

Next we went to the Mountain City Visitor Center which houses the Johnson County Museum. We were really impressed with it.

This is the back view of the Museum and Visitor Center. The front had a porch on it.

Nice set-up; fortunately I'm not so old to remember using it!

I seemed to have had a thing with bathrooms that day. This one had a horse theme.

In the center of the picture is a tiny bit of Watauga Lake.

Returning from Mountain City. There is a sliver of Watauga Lake on the left.

A little too close up, but here we are!

This is by the swimming area on Watauga Lake.

The horse pasture across the street on our west side.

Taken from our front yard.

I think some of the prettiest trees are right at home.

These trees line the driveway.

A glorious fall day with a stream of sunlight through the valley to the north of us.

I like the way the shadows cast light across the mountain and pasture below.

Our neighbors' tobacco barn.

I love Mark's horses.

We've always wondered when this area would give way and it finally did. The Highway Department chopped it up and hauled it away.

As I was taking a picture of the rockslide, a gentleman came along in his covered wagon. He offered me a ride!

I told him I had my dog with me and he said, "that's okay, there's steps in the back. He can come too!"

He called his wife on his cell phone to bring him a package and I thought, "oh great. What's she going to think?" I introduced myself and asked her if she'd take our picture!

Watching the Smiths (our neighbors) harvest tobacco.

Something caught fire in our neighborhood. A fire truck tried to get to it from the direction of that little cabin but couldn't. They went out to the main road and managed to get to it on that side to put out the fire.

This little finch flew into our guest room window and ended up on our porch with a bloody beak. I brought him (her?) in and offered a capful of water to drink and to cleanse his beak.

I put the little bird back on the porch, but he couldn't fly yet, so he got this little hospital room. I covered the entire box with a lingerie netting bag. After about an hour, he climbed on the bag, so I tried the porch again. He's back with his buddies now.

A group of us from our church went to Boone, NC to help with Operation Christmas Child. Our jobs were to go through the shoe boxes and make certain the gifts were appropriate. It was a very rewarding experience. The shoe boxes go to needy children all around the world.

This is a double rainbow, with the pot of gold at our neighbor's front door. Unfortunately, the second rainbow is very faint in the picture.

I just thought this was a pretty home, horse, and pasture in Mountain City.