Things to do in Rowan County that doesn't involve Kim Davis

I am certain most of you have heard of Kim Davis and Rowan county at this point. As so often the case when Kentucky is the focus of the news, old stereotypes have been brought up, Mrs. Davis hasn't done a lot to improve Kentucky's image with the rest of the world. But Kim Davis isn't Rowan county. I have mentioned this area a time or two on the blog. Morehead, and Rowan county is a delightful place, snuggled into the hills, a place where you can experience world class hiking, mountain biking and fishing, in a charming small town environment.

Sheltowee Trace National Recreation Trail stretches 307 miles from Burnt Mill Bridge Trail Head in Tennessee to Rowan County. A portion of the trail runs through downtown Morehead. The trail, which bares the name pioneer Daniel Boone was given by Chief Blackfish passes through 4 recreational parks,  Daniel Boone National Forest, Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, Natural Bridge State Resort Park, and two large recreation lakes, Cave Run Lake and Laurel Lake.


Cave Run Lake, a 8,270-acre reservoir lake in the Daniel Boone National Forest bills itself as the Muskie Fishing Capital of the World. The largest muskie caught in Kentucky was caught at Cave Run. Numerous hiking trails, a large man made beach area expansive playground makes Cave Run a big hit with locals. The lake also makes for a very nice spot to watch meteor showers.

Morehead Arts and Eats Fest, over 60 vendors line main street on Saturday, September 19 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. This is the prefect event to pick up unique, one-of-a-kind arts and crafts for the upcoming holidays. The food vendors are second to none, you can usually find one or two local Amish and Mennonite families selling dried apple pies, apple butter and fresh bread. 

Cave Run Storytelling Festival, September 25-26, 2015
Large tents dot the shore line of Cave Run Lake, deep in the heart of Daniel Boone National Forest. A prefect setting for the countries best storytellers. For the past 17 years this festival has strives to keep the Appalachian tradition of storytelling alive. 

Why we don't free range

Weather to free range or not is a greatly debated issue in the chicken world. Its something that everyone who owns chickens has to work out for themselves. What works best for their property and their needs.

Before we purchased our first chickens we did a lot of research and we discussed the logistics of raising chickens. We had a large building that had sat neglected for several years, we knew this would be a perfect chicken coop. But it wasn’t “close” to our house. If we are standing on our porch we can see the coop, but a decent size yard and a huge garden plot would be between us and the chickens. This meant if a predator attacked we may not be able to make it in time to save our flock. Would a predator attack? Yes. Our neighbors “free range” their dogs, and apparently our property is part of their “range”. We also have coyotes and cougars in this area, that would welcome the handy meal that a slow moving chicken would make.

While we live on several acres the house and the coop are in close proximity to a busy road. Cars do

not stop for slow moving chickens fulfilling their dream of crossing the road. Ultimately their safety is our responsibility and the best way to keep them safe is to keep them contained.

If we free range we would never have any guarantee that they would stay on our property. Our neighbors may fail at their duty to keep their animals on their property, but we refuse to be like those neighbors. I recently had a friend on Facebook complaining because his neighbors had asked him to keep his chickens on his property. He couldn’t seem to understand that some do not want chickens tearing up their property and pooping on their porch. Our animals are our responsibility and it's our duty to keep them on our property.

To allow greater access to vegetation we have built 3 mobile runs out of PVC and chicken wire. These contraptions are easy enough for 1 person to pull them around the yard by hand. These are not used for winter quarters, for winter all chickens must report back to the main coop, but it makes a great summer home.

I just cannot in good conscious let my little feathered breakfast makers roam free, it would be to heart breaking to lose one to traffic or a predator. Not that accidents don't sometimes happen. Not long after we bought our first chickens a relative and his grandson came up for a visit for the summer. The teenage boy would sneak into the coop at night. At one point he let two chickens out. We found feathers scattered across the yard in the morning. The coop door now has a lock on it. Earlier this summer, just after the Wanderers aunt moved into the place close to the coop we had a rooster escape. Her St. Barnard tried to "help us" catch the runaway rooster. Thankfully we caught the rooster before Big Mo. I have never felt more like Rocky Balboa than that moment chasing a chicken around the yard, I am ready to fight Apollo Creed.

Kentucky is Strange.

Early Native American settlers in Kentucky knew this place was odd, they have various stories and legends to illustrate their claims. If you have lived in Kentucky you know it to be true. We are a weird state full of quirky, unusual people. The following is just a sample of things that make Kentucky weird.

1. Two of the most haunted places on earth, according to the folks that track that sort of thing,

are located in Kentucky. Waverly Hills Sanatorium, and Bobby Mackey’s Music World. Since I have a whole post dedicated to Waverly Hills I won’t dwell on it here. Bobby Mackey’s is a nightclub in the northern Kentucky town of Wilder. There is a plethora of urban legends about this club, from suicides to murder, bootleggers and old school gangsters. Some even claim it is a portal to hell. Bobby Mackey himself has tried to link at least one of the alleged hauntings to the murder of Pearl Bryan. The 22 year old Indiana native was found decapitated a few miles from the club. Her head was never recovered. No hard evidence exists to link her 1896 with the site of Bobby Mackey’s.

2. We are the site of, to my knowledge, the only incident of a UFO hitting a train. The first I heard about it was in the book Weird Kentucky, if its in a book it must be true...right? Here is the deal, no one is dispute that a train suffered extensive damage that night. According to official reports from CSX debris fell off a hillside and damaged the train. They have an official report on the matter. NUFORC, the UFO reporting people also have a file on this. I will let you decide for yourself which version of events you believe.

3. Sometimes meat just falls from the sky. On March 3, 1876 Mrs. Allen Crouch was in the yard

A preserved sample located
in the Arthur Byrd Cabinet, Transylvania University

making soap in the rural Olympia community, when suddenly out of a clear sky meat began to fall. The shower was contained to a relatively small 100-by-50-yard area near the couples. Samples of the flesh were sent to various labs which confirmed it to be lung and muscular tissue from a horse. What caused this is still up for debate, but most agree that engorged vultures vomited up their meal.

4. Kentucky is home to the only town built inside a meteor crater. Middlesboro, at town of around 10,000 people sits in the Cumberland Gap, where Daniel Boone and early settlers ventured into the state. Although settlers had been in the area since the late 1700’s and the town was officially founded in 1886 it wasn’t until 1962 that the U. S. Geological Survey identified it as an impact crater from a meteor some 300 million years ago.

5. We have blue people. Devotees of a certain college team may claim to bleed blue, and Paul Karason dosed himself with enough colloidal silver to turn himself blue but only the Blue Fugates of Troublesome Creek can claim to be naturally blue. Martin Fugate settled in a rural area of Perry county known as Troublesome creek. He met and married a local girl named Elizabeth Smith. Little did the pair know that they both carried recessive genes for methemoglobinemia. They had high levels of methemoglobin in their bodies resulting in a blue appearance. In the 1860’s that a hematologist that the University of Kentucky heard about the “Blue people” and traveled into the mountains to investigate things for himself. He was able to successfully treat them with methylene blue clearing up their blue complexions.

6. We elect dogs to political offices. You may have heard that Lucy Lou, the Border Collie mayor of Rabbit Hash will announce her candidacy for President Labor Day weekend. I am personally a little apprehensive of having another Kentuckian as president. Remember the

whole civil war was fought between two native Kentuckians. Lucy Lou is one in a long line of Dog mayors of Rabbit Hash the tradition dating back to the late 1990's. The tiny community on the banks of the Ohio river is home to 315 people and one amazing old country store.

Festivals You Don't Want to Miss

We are quickly approaching fall in the Bluegrass state, and fall means 1 thing...FESTIVALS.

I love fall festivals, the sights, the smells, the funnel cake! Most of Kentucky's 120 counties hold festivals, allowing an intrepid traveler to see the diversity of the Bluegrass state. Here are a few festivals I am looking forward to this fall.

Kentucky Bourbon Festival, Bardstown Ky

SEPTEMBER 15-20, 2015

https://www.kybourbonfestival.com/

Kentucky is known as the birthplace of Bourbon, and Bardstown is the Bourbon Capital of the World. Its true, they have trademarked it. Over 6 days, Bardstown and 12 Kentucky bourbon

distilleries will provide you and I with demonstrations on the craft of barrel making, mixology lessons, taste testings, a historical tour and ghost walk. Rounding out the festivities is a good old fashion bootleggers train robbery. Don’t feel bad about handing your money over to the robbers, all donations collected go to Crusade for Children charity.

Poppy Mountain Bluegrass Festival, Morehead Ky

September 11-19, 2015

http://poppymountainbluegrass.com/

Over 100 bands and 20,000 people flock to this little 1400 acre plot of land outside Morehead

Kentucky every September to listen to the best bluegrass has to offer. Country artists are not excluded, but this is, and will always be a bluegrass celebration. This year country artists John Anderson, Tracy Lawrence and local boys Sundy Best join Bluegrass greats like Dan Tyminski and Blue Highway. Bring a tent, camper or RV, to best experience this event you should settle in for the weekend.

World Chicken Festival, London Ky

September 24-27, 2015

http://chickenfestival.com/

KFC, Kentucky Fried Chicken got its start here in the Bluegrass state. The World Chicken Festival pays homage to Col. Harlan Sanders and the origins of the KFC brand. You will find

the standard festival activities, music, carnivals, arts and crafts. The real gem of this festival is the world's largest chicken fryer. This skillet is huge measuring 10 feet, 6 inches in diameter; 8 inches deep; 8 foot handle; and weighs 700 pounds total. You will want to snag a piece of fresh fried chicken from this world famous skillet.

Kentucky Apple Festival, Paintsville Ky

October 2nd & 3rd, 2015

kyapplefest.org

Unlike a lot of other festivals all of the food booths are local organizations. Many of them get the

bulk of their yearly funding from sales during the Apple Festival. Free concerts Friday and Saturday at the main stage, and clogging near Paint Creek. Lets not forget to mention 3 large tents filled with local artisans selling their creations.


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6 Natural Wonders Worth Taking a Dip In

A few evenings ago while perusing Reddit.com I stumbled across a picture of a location so breathtaking it gained an instant place on my "must visit" list. After a bit of location research I realized, much to my disappointment, that I have missed several chances to visit this hidden gem. Its one of 6 Waterholes you must visit.

Location 1. Cummins Falls, Cookeville, Tn

I first learned of this location from friends who live in the area. It was hot and sticky, typical summer

tnstateparks.com

conditions in the southland. They had sneaked off to their favorite local swimming hole to cool off. The 75-foot cascading waterfall is Tennessee's 8th largest waterfall. The plunge pool at the base of the fall is the ideal spot to cool off after you make the 1.5 mile trek to the gorge and falls.  

Location 2. Big Rock at Cherokee Park, Louisville, Ky

geocaching.com

Louisville, the largest city in the Bluegrass State is home to some 760,000 people and is most famous for the Kentucky Derby and Heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali. Cherokee Park is an oasis in a otherwise bustling city.  The 409 acre park was designed in 1891 and holds the distinction of being the 69th most visited municipal park in the US. Big Rock is quite literally a big flat top rock sitting in Beargrass creek. The boulder slows the creek, allowing for a perfect spot for wading, while the rocks flat top makes a picturesque picnic area. 

Location 3. George Rogers Clark Park, Springfield, Oh

by Cadcam

Several years ago I attended The Fair at New Boston in Springfield Ohio. I went as a spectator but I met up with a friend who does Revolutionary War reenacting. While touring the fairgrounds I received a call from my mother, who gave me the news that one of my uncles had died. Seeing I was upset my friend grabbed my hand and lead me through a 300-year-old beech-maple forest to a bench beside a very gentle waterfall. The was were Shawnee women and children hid during the Battle of Piqua. The stream empties into Hosterman Lake a tributary To Mad River. No motorized boats are allowed on the 9.2 acre lake making it a perfect spot for swimming, canoeing and kayaking. We saw people doing all three the day I was there.

Location 4.  Meadow Run Natural Waterslide, Ohiopyle State Park, Pa

Ohiopyle State Park is nature's waterpark, between the 35-foot Cucumber Falls and the 100 foot long corkscrewing Meadow Run waterslide. Shaded by Eastern hemlock and Mountain Laurel the slide ends in a 3 foot deep dunk pool. Warning, you may want to wear sturdy denim cut offs to protect your tushy from the rough sandstone.

Location 5. Tallulah Gorge, Tallulah Falls, Georgia

Roadtrippers

Ignore the fact that this area was used a filming location for Deliverance. It is a beautiful area that deserves a visit! This is one of the few places on earth were you can see Persistent Trillium, this  herbaceous perennial had delicate three petal white blossoms. Tallulah Dome a unique geological formation was made during the creation of Pangaea, when the earth's crust double folded. After you spend the morning exploring take plunge down the 17 foot Bridal Veil sliding rock, one of 6 waterfalls that make up Tallulah Falls

Location 6. Devil's Bathtub, Devil's Fork Loop Trail, Va

Would you take a dip in the Devil's Bathtub? Located 1.5 miles into a grueling 7 mile looping trail the Devil's Bathtub is a pool of blue-green water at the end of a sandstone luge. Steep sandstone sides

cmpros.com

and a dense old-growth hemlock and rhododendron canopy makes this an ideal spot to cool off in the hot Virginia summers. Not interested in the Devil's Bathtub? Walk a little further on the hiking trail and you will find a 50-foot waterfall at the mouth of Corder Hollow. Be careful, and be alert. It is very easy to become disoriented or lost on this trial. 

Secret Identities

Last week the secret lives of 32 million Ashley Madison users was brought to the light. Marriages have been ruined, reputations tarnished, and the Duggar's are even more embattled than ever before. By now those of

you who are interested have already searched the list. I hope none of you found your significant others on the list. Yes I ran both mine and the Wanderers names through the list, neither of us had accounts. If I had found his information on the list it would have been okay, its nothing we can't work through. But this post isn't about Ashley Madison double lives.

Several years ago a guy worked his way into our group of friends. Over the course of several years we all started noticing flaws in his life story. He would tell stories about how he grew up in one state, but his brothers, ex wife, and other assorted family claimed it wasn't true. He claimed to be Native American, but knew very little of the culture and language. Again his family, including his children claimed this was false. He insisted on being called by his "Native" name. His family had never heard of this name, and it wasn't the name they called him. His hometown, where his family lives is 400 miles away, it appears that when he moved here he started over, complete with new history. Recently his legal woes has landed him in jail and we don't know if we will ever know who he is really.

This is not an isolated incident. A family I am friends with and share a hobby with have assumed names on Facebook and within the hobby. The husband, who isn't on Facebook and doesn't participate in the hobby is the only one that isn't using a fake name. I am sure they have many reasons for wanting to keep parts of their lives private and secret.

 Many celebrities under stage names. A dear friend of mine is an author, she writes exclusively under a pseudonym event thought her writing ties in directly with her occupation.

The Wanderer and I are basically using assumednames. We have attempted to keep our real identities separate from this little space on the web. We have done this for a variety of non nefarious                                                                                           reasons.

Saving and Preserving Historic buildings.

I love the Gilmore Girls. Recently I have been thinking about the episode right after Lorelei bought the Dragonfly. She is feuding with Taylor about renovations the building needs. She wants to tear down the porch and replace it. The porch isn't original to the building, but Taylor doesn't care and makes a statement about how we won't have historic things if we tear them down when they are only a few years old. Yes I am going somewhere with this ramble. A feud is taking place in the next county over from the Wandering Wonderful Homestead. A year ago a historic 86 year old church that has been a landmark of this town was purchases with the intent on being made into the towns new library. The board paid over 470,000 for the building and lot. That may not be a lot of money where some of you come from (I watch house hunters) but here in the hills of Appalachia that is an astonishing amount of money. The board didn't see fit to have a building inspection before plunking down nearly half a million in tax payer and coal severance money. Always get an inspection, always. They are now behind schedule and have realized that the beautiful brick building will not work for their intended goals. Their plan now? Raze the build, and build a new, similar structure on the lot. Many people are outraged by this, you can watch the board meeting here and here and see the original idea for the library here The building is eligible for a place on the historic registry. 


 I love old buildings, on my travels I always seek out historic buildings that are available for tours, I love the creak of hard wood floors and banisters shined by a hundred years of hands. I love the worn charm of history. People around the state have been buying up historic buildings and converting them into works of beauty. Dr. John Pellegrini bought the old Whitesburg post office and plans to convert the space into a art gallery. Whitesburg is already home to the world famous Appal Shop, a non-profit multi-disciplinary arts and education center. 

Morehead State University's Folk Art Center is housed in a beautiful old store front that was

generously donated by  Lovena and William Richardson when they closed their business. 

Breaking up is hard to do...

This has been a roller coaster few weeks for relationships. Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert have called it quits amid cheating allegations. Country music power couple Reba Mcentire and Narvel Blackstock are divorcing. Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog have ended their romantic relationship. The last one was probably most shocking of all. If a pig and a frog can't make it work what chance does the rest of us have?

Relationships are hard work. Mr. Wanderer and I have had a share of rough patches, we have broken up a
few times. There have been times we didn't think we could work things out, didn't think we wanted to try. But fate and love keep pulling us back together. He isn't the same person 13 year old me fell in love with, and I am not the same person he fell in love with. But that is okay. We have grown up, and at times grown apart. Even in our worst moments he has always been the man I wanted to grow old with. I have dated a lot during our break ups. The grass isn't any greener on the other side of the fence.

When he is away I miss the little things, sharing a sink and mirror while getting ready in the morning. He is tall enough to see into the mirror over my head. I miss waking up to him, falling asleep with him. I miss walks to the chicken coop holding his hand.

And that's love, or at least as close to love as I have ever gotten.

The Ouija Files

A good friend of mine and I have been discussing ghosts and the paranormal for some time. We attended a ghost hunt put on during a Civil War reenactment last year. A few weeks ago he took the plunge a built a

Ouija board. This man doesn't do anything half way, so when he said he was working on a board I new it was going to be something special. 

A few nights later me and a few others met at his house and settled in for an evening of Ouija. Nothing scary happened, no demonic possession. But whatever was in control of the planchette did know that I had a poem written by my grandmother and a picture of my great great grandmother in my wallet. No one in the room could have known that, nor could that have guessed my great great grandmothers name, it isn't a very common name. 

I believe I have mentioned the poem here on the blog before. It was written for me by my grandmother and we found it with her things after she passed away. None of my friends know I blog, my sister, who is also a blogger doesn't know about this little space of the web I call my own. 

Is it real? Who knows. We do plan on using it more, and seeing what, if any, results we get. I will be sure to keep you informed of any Ouija excitement that may happen. 

Waverly Hills...

Confession time. I love all things dark and spooky. I live for a good ghost story. Once upon a time I ran a pretty successful Paranormal message board. I wouldn't make house calls and kick a ghost out for you, but I would put you in touch with experts in your area that could and would. 
Tonight will be a special night. Tonight I will cross a haunted location from my bucket list. Waverly Hills Sanatorium has long been touted as one of the most haunted places in the United States, possibly the world. 


It was opened in 1910 to treat the tuberculosis epidemic. It originally started as a 2 story, 40 bed center and by 1924 it had grown to 5 stories and 400 beds. Urban Legend claims that 63,000 died at Waverly. The former medical director puts the actual number closer to 8,500-9,000. 


In 1962 a year after the tuberculosis center closed its doors the building reopened as a geriatric center. The geriatric center would be closed by the state in 1982 due to patient neglect. 

Ghost Adventures, Ghost Hunters, Most Haunted, all have filmed episodes in Waverly Hills, all obtaining various amounts of evidence to prove a haunting. 

Is it really haunted? Are ghosts real? Will we see or hear anything paranormal? 

The Serial Killer Next Door.

At any given moment there are between 35-50 serial killers active in the US. This is a conservative estimate made by former FBI Criminal Profiler and author John Douglas. Douglas has worked on many high profile cases. Have you read the books Red Dragon or Silence of the Lambs (or watched the movies)? The character of Jack Crawford is based directly on Douglas.


Why is this important? Because serial killers can strike anywhere. Starting in November of 2014 women started disappearing in and around Chillicothe, Ohio.  by June of 2015 6 women in all had disappeared, the bodies of 4 of them had been recovered. Slowly word started slipping out, a Serial Killer may be preying on young women.When police arrived they made a shocking discovery. In his car was a list of names, phone numbers and addresses of 10 other women in the area. His trunk was a serial killers tool kit, hatchets, shovels, knives, sledgehammers, handcuffs. He could very well be the person who murdered those women in Ohio, investigators are currently working to find a link between him and disappearances in Illinois, Kentucky and Nevada.
Ladies, be safe. 


On July 18, 2015 an escort in West Virginia's capital city of Charleston meet a man on Backpage.com. The John asked her "Live or Die?" before he began choking her. The escort managed to grab his gun and fired one shot over her shoulder, striking and killing him. 

Elsewhere, or Not?

I initially had a completely different post scheduled to go live this morning. But the world of Facebook intervened. 
A couple days ago my news feed was in a frenzy over a blog post someone had found, shared and re-shared. Plans where made, adventures planned. All of my friends wanted, needed to find this place of legend and terror. The killjoy in me knew I had to get to the bottom of this and it didn't take me long. I didn't have to drive half way across the state, dig through my impressive collection of books on Kentucky history, or even venture to the library.

Elsewhere, Ky according to the story, is a ghost town in Calloway county where a school teacher poisoned all of her students, and many years later the town was abandoned. If you venture into the old school house you may never come back. I love a good ghost story, love abandoned buildings, and discovering lost things. This story had a little bit of everything. Its no wonder why all of my friends forwarded links to the story. Some wanted me to verify its existence, other wanted me to help plan the trip there. 

A quick google search lead me to the original story, posted May 15, 2015 on Reddit.com titled Elsewhere, KY. Go read it, it a hell of a good story. The subreddit it was posted to is for original horror stories. So while this story is a work of fiction, there are very real places of mystery and legend. I hope this story has inspired people to hike off the beaten path, and look for legends and mysteries in their own back yard. They exist. While this story is fiction there are according to Ghost Towns, 5 ghost towns in the state of Kentucky that still have buildings. Numerous other ghost towns now sit under various Kentucky lakes. 

Randomness

1. Every single piece of plastic ever made, still exists today.

2. The Nazis considered Native Americans part of the Aryan Race. (pretty sure we are not)

3. Diamonds are not forever. Under very high heat they turn into graphite, the stuff in pencils.

4. The man who founded Alcoholics Anonymous, demanded alcohol during his last few days of life.

5. GPS is owned & controlled by the US government and can be switched off at any time.

6. The average adult in Switzerland has a net worth of $513,000 US.

7. 2 F16 pilots went on a suicide mission to take down flight 93 on 9/11, but the passengers ended up bringing the plane down.

8. Harvard offers free tuition if your family makes under $65,000 per year.

9. There is a "Gospel of Judas" not found in the Bible that says that Judas was the only one of Jesus's disciples that fully understood Jesus teachings. And he turned Jesus over to the Romans because Jesus asked him to.

10. In 80% of rapes the victim knows the attacker, and he exploits the trust or rapport.

11. One third of Leprosy cases in the US come from contact, direct or indirect, with an Armadillo.

12. You are more likely to die as a drug dealer in Chicago than a death row inmate in Texas.

13. During his time as a Congressman and then later as a US President, John F Kennedy donated all of his salary to charity.

14. The Vatican has its own radio and TV stations, money, stamps, and phone company.
15. The mortality rate of a black mamba bite is almost 100%.

16. One of Bolivia's oldest silver mines has killed over 8 million men in the last 500 years and is known as, "The mountain that eats men". It's still mined with pickaxe and shovels today.

17. 2% of people have armpits that never smell due to an unusual genetic variable.

18. One third of the world's adult population smokes.

19. Mankind has left 96 bags of feces, urine, and vomit on the moon.

20. There is a coast to coast hiking trail that stretches from Delaware to California. American Discovery Trail

How can I help?

When disaster strikes human compassion kicks in, closets and cupboards are emptied. We all want to do our part to help those in desperate need. Most organizations who offer disaster relief will publish guidelines on what to donate. The Red Cross wants money, and your blood. Local charities will have varying guidelines for what to donate. I personally believe donating on a small community level is often better than donating to a big charity. While the Red Cross is helping with the local flood, the bulk of the charity work is being done by local organizations. A local homemaker society is feeding hundreds of people a day, local fire departments have set up shower stations, and our local Johnson County Long-Term Recovery Group has been working hard to ensure the needs of everyone has been met. Check with your local charities to see what the need is, and how you can help meet that need. Here is a list of some of the items, outside of the commonly donated clothes, water, and food, that local charities have found themselves in need of during this most recent disaster.

Laundry detergent
Large adult diapers

Child size Diapers

Feminine hygiene products (probably bone of the least donated items)

Towels

Razors

Plastic totes

Bug spray (especially important during water disasters)

Garbage cans

Heavy duty Garbage bags

Shovels

Wheelbarrows

Extension cords

Brooms

mops

Bleach

Paper plates/cups/utensils

Money

East Kentucky is blessed with an over abundance of talented musicians. The local boys who make up country music duo Sundy Best hosted a free concert that drew thousands of people and raised $50,000 to help flood victims. 

A lesson in starting over

I live in a magical place where neighbors help neighbors. A place where when disaster strikes whole communities pull together. A land where communities and cities dig out from the rubble and rebuild bigger and better.

The weekend of July 11th I took my oldest niece on a whirlwind road trip, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. It was raining when we left. Flood warnings followed us across the state of West Virginia. When we crossed the line into Maryland we hit prefect weather that would stay with us throughout the weekend. Sometime after Midnight Monday morning we crossed back into West Virginia and ran headlong into another awful storm.

I pulled into my driveway sometime after 6am and went straight to sleep. I slept through a monster storm.

When I awoke we were getting the first few reports of people and homes being washed away in my county, near the where my mother lives.  Slowly my facebook newsfeed filled up with pictures, and stories of devastation. Twenty mobile homes were swept down stream from a trailer court. 150 homes in all where flooded or washed away in the storm. It took the flash flood 3 minutes to wash over the bank and fill homes to the roof line with murky, muddy water. My the paternal aunt and grandfather of my nieces lost everything as their homes were located near the creek. They made it out alive, but four others would not be so lucky. One was a wheelchair bound boy with cerebral palsy, whose mother watch helpless has the water pulled him from her grasp. Another was an grandmother and grandson. The grandson had already pulled several other family members to safety, he was fighting the flood water with his grandmother on his back and a young boy under his arm. The boy was found alive in a tree.

International news outlets have picked up this story. A German foreign exchanged student shared with us a news clipped from his local papers report on this flood.

Everyone is doing their part to restore order, dig out and rebuild. Neighbors helping neighbors, communities rebuilding. One local Sheriff's Deputy has even started carrying pet food in his car so he can find pets displaced by the flood and reunite them with their owners. No one carries the burden alone.

Chicken Explosion

At the start of spring we had somewhere around 14 chickens. I counted our flock today and we have 50 birds. Most will go into the freezer. We have added 3 PVC mobile runs to our set up. These are super easy to make, and very easy to move. A single person can easily move one of these runs around the yard. We still have 2 brooders full of baby chicks in the kitchen. Very exciting times here on the homestead.

 We have added some Ameraucanas and Cochin's to our flock. Some of the new chicks came from an egg swap with a neighbor who also raises chickens. The white and black spotted chicken is one of our mutts, a Australorp/Tetra mix.

This is the garden. We got a late start on the garden this year. We had to run an electric fence around the perimeter to keep the neighbors HUGE St. Barnard out. This is not as big as the garden we grew last year. Part of this was because we were a month late getting the garden planted, and partly because we were overwhelmed last year trying to can and freeze everything.

This cute little bunny likes to hang out in our backyard near were we have planted our asparagus bed, and a few Hillbilly Tomatoes.

Chirp, Chirp

Chirp. Thats the sound you hear when you open our front door. Our quaint little home in the hills has been over ran by chicks. As many of you know we several weeks ago we set up an incubator and filled it with eggs from our hens. Thursday the 23, we started seeing our first pip, just a few ours after our first pip we hatched out our very first chick. This is a sweet moment for us, when we bought our chickens last spring I had a little experience with chickens, and the Wanderer had no experience. In a years time we have grown and learned so much about chickens, and now we have hatched off our very first. Does this make us chicken grandparents?

 Later in the evening another hatched out. The second one is bigger than the first, and more yellow-white in color. With the exception of the Silkie eggs, the chicks hatching out in the incubator are mutts. Can chickens be mutts? Our rooster is a big Australorp and our hens are Golden Comets, Tetras and Barred Rocks. We have a breeding pair of Silkies and they live in a separate coop and run from bigger chickens. The picture to the left is of our second hatchling, resting after breaking free of its shell. 



We also bought more chicks today. We have been wanting Ameraucana chickens for some time now, and we finally found a few chicks. By a few I mean 10. In the course of the day our flock has nearly doubled in size. I really don't know what we will do with so many chickens. I hadn't planned on buying 10, but was excitement got the better of me and I ended up buying way more than I needed. 

Today will be an interesting day as the rest of the eggs hatch out. We have a second batch in an incubator that will hatch out in about a week. So many chicks! 

The second chick, working its way out.