Category Archives: Rural Life in Mendota

Daily adventures in a rural farming community.

Up On The Hill In Mendota

I took my camera out today and decided to take you to the Mendota Cemetery. Over a century ago, the Hamilton family donated this land as a cemetery for our community. I love this place. My father died when I was barely 16, and I found peace walking up the hill to visit with him. When I got my driver’s license, it was one of the first places I visited…on foot. I could not wait to show him my license. The Mendota Cemetery sits on a hill, and as you top the hill you’re greeted by a magnificant tree. I can see mother and daddy’s graves in this picture.

Old boxwoods planted generations ago…

A restful place.

The road goes in a circle. The grass is tall today, because we have been receiving so much rain.

Ahh…there’s our mountain in the horizon. Are you a mountain person or a water person? I’m a mountain person. I never feel safe unless Clinch Mountain is at my back.

Here’s my car, Cracker, recovering from her dog bite which you can learn about here. (A dog actually bit my car and pulled the back fender out before she was two weeks old. Crazy.)

And look at this…James Stickley. James was in the Virginia Infantry for the Confederate States of America. He survived that war, and it looks like he lived to be about 80. The Civil War…what I was taught to call “the late unpleasantness” by a teacher in the little school at the bottom of this hill.

Maintaining this cemetery is important. It’s a cemetery that continues to serve the families in the Mendota area with our time-honored practice of never charging a family in need. It’s not just a Southern thing. It’s a Mendota thing. It’s a Poor Valley thing…an Appalachian thing. We respect our heritage and those who rest in this quiet place on the hill.

Planting Seeds of Optimism

I have gone crazy planting seeds today. I planted another 9 rows of green beans putting us up to 20 rows. About half are bush beans and the other half are half runners. I hope I planted enough for the bugs, the weeds, my friends and me.

I also planted corn. Lots of corn. Let’s say another 15 rows of corn, which, if it germinates and the deer, the crows and the raccoons leave it alone, will all come in at the same time. That should be interesting. If it does germinate, you can bet there will be an electric fence surrounding it this year.

Here’s what I planted both my green beans and corn with–and probably why I have so many rows. It was so easy rolling this along!

Mike gave my rows which were not quite straight the stink eye, but who cares? There is a round attachment that you swap out for different seeds. I noticed there was one for chard. Who in their right might would want so much chard that they needed this seeder? Chard seeds are tiny — same with radish seeds which is also in the picture below. Someone lost his or her mind when they invented the chard and radish wheel.

I saw a similar garden seeder in Lehman’s for $54.95. Mine is better. It was a gift from Paul Baker.

On another front…the bees arrive on May 26. They arrive by mail. Will Patsy ever be surprised!

Cracker

I’ve got a new car. My 2008 Prius had 60,000 miles . I’d never liked the color (Cherry Red) nor did I like the light cloth interior which showed dirt. When we were at the Toyota dealership buying Mike’s truck, I started investigating the trade-in value of a 2008 Prius, since I’d read that used cars were in demand.

So… I got a fair price based on what I’d seen on Auto Trader, and now I do not have to consider the new tires I was needing nor the 60,000 mile service. I really like this car. I’m calling her “Cracker” for obvious reasons. Here’s Mike washing Cracker for the first time. Probably the last time.

I liked the interior which isn’t leather or fabric. It had a fancy name, but I’m calling it “Pleather” since you know it’s plastic based. Supposed to hold up better than leather, but that’s something that I’ll find out in years to come. It’s black.

This new Prius has the same kind of rear camera my old Prius had, but this one also has a navigation system. Works just like my Tom Tom GPS which I’ll probably put in my garage sale! It’s also got the Bluetooth thing going on and all kinds of aps. I’ll learn about those later.

One change with this car is that I’m not going to eat in it. I think it’ll stay much cleaner, and I recall reading in a Weight Watchers magazine that eating in the car is sort of like mindless pleasure. It’s gone and you’re left with crumbs, trash, and pounds! Here’s the trunk. Not too large, but big enough for me. I keep a cooler in my car and Walmart insulated bags so that I can get groceries and go somewhere else afterwards if I need to. Remember…I’m 18 miles from a grocery store.

And the pleasant surprise when Miss Cracker made her first trip to Mendota, she posted her MPG for the trip. It was 54.5. This compared to 48/49 MPG with the 2008 Prius. That made me happy.

Hope you are having a wonderful Mother’s Day!

Cleaning the Back Porch

Now here is a riveting title to a post…”Cleaning the Back Porch!”

This afternoon I came home from work, and I was energized, but there wasn’t really anything I wanted to do inside the house. So, I went outside. The back porch sure needed attention. Here’s what it looked like. After winter, does your pack porch look neglected? Mine sure did. It was a repository for stuff, and there was pollen everywhere. Yuck.

Shoes left out, old rugs, board (another project I’m going to work on), and good grief..there is an old rooster doorstop that I’ve been walking by daily and haven’t noticed. Nastiness! And what is it with the grill cover on the swing in the picture below? It’s been there for a month. This could turn into an “I hate my husband post” if I think about that grill cover lying there so long. He is so lucky to be married to someone who is perfect.

I threw everything off the porch and got out my old Windex bottle. I’ve had this for years. I use a product called Squeegee Off which is a concentrated window cleaning liquid. I put about 1/4 of the Squeegee Off in the old Windex bottle and then fill with water. Add this to my hose and I have instant window/porch furniture/etc. cleaner!!

After spraying the porch, I also cleaned the plastic adirondack chairs and put them on the porch. I made a little sitting area. I added one of the trees off the patio that I got at Lowe’s for $2 at Christmas. They went from my mantle at Christmas, to a pot on the patio during the winter months, and now they are stylin’ on the porch. Use what you have.

“Use what you have.” That’s my mother talking! Mother…what are you doing inserting comments in my blog???? Happy Mother’s Day to my lovely mother who has been gone almost ten years. Her voice still remains a part of my life.

Here’s the chair I was talking about before Mom interrupted….

Those chickens really brightened up with the window cleaning solution. Here’s a picture of the porch all washed and clean. I took the grill cover and threw it in the washing machine with vinegar. Drug out last year’s pillows and put on the swing. I’d had the ferns hanging on the pergola so they could absorb rain today. They are back up now.

Whew…I feel better with this porch being clean. Here’s something else I did today. Pulled out my cousin Randy’s old boots that I’ve had for about 7 years. I use them for hen and chicks. I’ve got to add more dirt but I stuck a few “hens and chicks” in. These will look really cute in about a month. I’ll show them to you then.

If I Love You Enough…Will You

If I love you enough, will you let me…

eat your babies? You smell so good…

I love you so much. Seriously.

And you know I would never lie. Just look at this face.

It’s So Green In Mendota

I was in South Carolina over the weekend, and when I returned home, I kept thinking “it’s so green in Virginia!” Mendota really shows off in the spring. Just look at my yard and garden!

Here’s the meadow behind the house where my enthusiastic husband has planted 11 rows of beans.

That’s ELEVEN…as in TEN PLUS ONE…or TWENTY MINUS 9! And there’s many more beans to be planted. What in the world am I going to do with all these beans? And…just let me say, he does not pick or can green beans and barely eats them, but oh how he loves to plant them.

And may I show you my potatoes yet again? I’m excited about how well they are doing in the raised beds. These are planted with the no planning, no worries, no hills…no problems method of just sticking potatoes in the dirt with your hand. And….if you live in Bristol, Virginia… thank you for your garbage…now my compost…although I could do without the occasional plastic lid.

Here they were a week ago…I am kind of bragging at this point.

And if you want a few chives with your potato…thanks to the Schanzenbach ladies for giving me chives many years ago. They are still performing. Everywhere.

Chives in Mendota

Or if you prefer onions…I bought my onion sets from my friend Dewanna at Enterprise Nursery in Gate City.

And here’s some other performers. Lupine is so pretty, and it’s a perennial. Notice the pink flower starting to peek out? There are two planted near the guesthouse….hope to add more this year. Yay to Phil McCroskey’s Horticulture Class at John Battle High School!

It’s raining, and I’m anxious to be outside working in the yard planting more flowers and veggies.

Thank you for reading RiverCliff Cottage.

I Did Not See Them!

Do you folks who live in town notice these? I’m not talking about the birdhouse or the shrubs or the hose thing.

I was planting flowers and weeding this bed last week (see the weeds tossed over in the grass?), and I took a “before” picture. It was only then that I realized this would never be a Better Homes & Garden look — because I have not one but two satellite dishes. I am so used to these that I don’t even see them.

I used to have three, but we’ve removed one. We’ve kept the Hughes Net since it was $600 to install, and even though we hate Hughes Net, we want to make sure that IGo–our local internet provider operating on a shoestring, stays in business. Here’s an old post about my internet..it’s got a picture of the old fire tower in Mendota –that’s where my internet comes from.

If you live in West Virginia or Virginia, you know what others say—outsiders call them our “state flower”. They can just kiss my….state flower. Ha ha…what did you think I would say?

Luckie’s New Ride

The big news of the day comes from Luckie Beaule. Wow! As in Bow Wow! She has a new ride…a new set of wheels!

There is a person at the Toyota dealership in Bristol who walks each new buyer through all of the things that the new automobile features. The only thing I was interested in was in how to fold the back seat down so that the doggies could ride. Seriously who cares about blue tooth when you live so far out that your phone doesn’t work most of the time?

Here’s a full view of our Luckie in her new chariot.

Our old Ford F150 was getting unreliable. It was time for a change. We’re all happy! Even the cherry tree is weeping with joy.

Tomorrow is a big day here at our hobby farm. We’re planting green beans. Mike bought three different kinds, but it’s the half runners that I’m looking forward to growing. Last year, it was 100 degrees when the beans arrived, and I just let them die. I hope this year is different, and I get a good crop.

And…in case you’re interested, here’s an updated photo, taken today, of my yukon gold potatoes (planted with no planning, no hilling and no problems).

A Big Decision

I have a “thing” for linens…particularly bedding. I’ve been thinking and looking and looking and thinking about this…

The duvet cover is $129 plus tax. The euro shams are $39.50 plus tax. Two shams and the duvet cover are what I want. I want them for the master bedroom for AFTER I paint it and redo the hardwood. So I might not even be able to use them this year. Will I be regretting that I didn’t buy them because there is nothing I like as well? Or will I regret buying them?

Should I do it?

Told You So?

Here’s the first starts of my Yukon Gold potatoes. This was actually taken a few days ago and more are up now, but this is the picture I’ve got to work with tonight.

Tater Head Rules! My no hills, no plans, no problems method of planting (see here) potatoes is working!

Those are not weeds you see coming up in the bed. I’m going to have potatoes!!