It's a grey, overcast day in western Kentucky. The air is a wee bit cooler than last week but still almost eighty degrees. The humidity is so high that it is hard to tell whether or not it might be raining. The other evening I thought it was raining but it wasn't. The next morning the humidity transitioned into a downpour. Back home in Montana they are having the first snow. I don't think we'll see snow here. At least, we're hoping that we won't. As much as my family loves Montana we do skip out in September before the snow flies. My parents are just not snow people. They seem to like snow well enough because we often stay places where it snows. They're just not into skiing or snowshoeing. One time last April we were traveling from Boise, ID toward home in northwestern Montana. There was a line of very bad storms. To avoid the storms Mom and Dad decided to stay in the Hemingway-Boulder wilderness near Sun Valley, ID. It was snowing. But they figured that was better than getting blown away. Our camper trailer home, Nitsitapiisinni, is always nice and warm no matter how cold it gets outside, but I don't think it's made for spending any long time in snow. Besides, snow makes my feet and butt cold, and I'm getting too old for that. I'll be fourteen in December.
Oh. Guess I didn't introduce myself. My name is Atilla . . . . Atilla the Honey. My human mom gave me that name because she says I conqueror the world with my sweetness. Okay. Make the jokes now and let's get it over. You can call me 'Tilla. That's what my human family usually does. I'm a Yorkie. I'm the last of three - two Pom brothers and myself - who lives the nomadic life with our human parents. I don't mind being an only-dog but we all miss Cubby and Teddy. I'm okay with being carried around the campground, but Teddy always loved to prance along ahead of Mom and Dad like a big black mountain dog. He wasn't any bigger than me, but you'd never know to watch him. Cubby liked to stay in the trailer but he loved it when we traveled and would sit on Dad's lap acting like he was driving. He just wasn't much for the outdoors.
In any case, here we are in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. Hopkinsville is the birth and burial place of Edgar Casey, and only five miles from Kelly, KY which was invaded by aliens in 1955. On a more prestigious note, Hopkinsville is also home to award winning author, Bell Hooks, and journalist, Ted Poston (1906-1974). Both are black Americans. Ms. Hooks is an author, feminist and social activist who was inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame in 2018. Mr Poston was a celebrated journalist who wrote for the New York Post and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 1949. We have lots of family here in the east. Our new house in western Kentucky is pretty close to being in the middle. It also just happens to be in the same town as one of Mom's new grand-daughters and really close to the other. That makes her happy.
The sun hasn't really come out today. It lightens the sky occasionally but, for the most part, it is like twilight. The tops of the tall oaks, sycamore, ash and sugar maples are swaying in the breeze. The ground is very rocky with large, flat shelves of limestone. Many of them are almost worn smooth. This is typical of the geology of southern Christian County. That's why there are so many caves including the nearby world famous Mammoth Cave, which is the world's longest cave. The land slopes down from the western boundary of the property to a low lying grove. That's where you find the sycamores. The trees are large and the only vegetation under them is English ivy, common violet down where there's more water, and a few grasses that most humans call weeds. There are some shrubs as well, near the house. We have Corral Berry (Indian Currant) and some other shrubs Mom and Dad have yet to identify. We also have some large tree-size Juniper. Most of our time is spent around evergreen trees like Hemlock, Cedar, Ponderosa Pine, Douglas Fir, and White Pine. Out west Mom and Dad can tell the elevation by the trees. It is quite a bit different having all of these deciduous trees around us, but they are beautiful.
We are actually in a large town, but you'd never know it looking around. There's over an acre of woods inside the fence and more outside. You have to look hard to see another house unless you're standing at the front door. Actually, if you're outside you have to look carefully to see the house. People drive right by looking for us. We have a room that Mom and Dad call the sun room and a deck that goes half the way around the house. Since it's been so hot, we spend a lot of time in the sun room looking at the woods through the big windows. We're not accustomed to this heat and humidity. I like to go out occasionally, do my business and find a nice big flat rock to sit on and enjoy outside. I'm old and tired, but, like Mom and Dad, I still like being outside. I'm happy just sitting here enjoying the nature around me. I don't have to move. Despite the heat and humidity, the smells and gentle breeze through the trees are all I need. I can sense life around me and that makes me happy.
Oh, my! The skies just opened and it is pouring. Time to head inside.
This is a wee bit different than our home in Glacier. There we live in our twenty foot camper trailer and the Hemlock and Cedar forest canopy is so heavy that it can be raining for almost an hour before the ground gets wet. When Mom and Dad had to do campground rounds in the rain they would stand up against a giant Cedar to do paperwork so that they didn't get the paper wet. Here the canopy is pretty heavy, but the rain passes easily to the ground. Still these wonderful trees do make it more gentle under their protection. Mom and Dad say that the Kentucky forest looks much greener this year. They were told that western Kentucky has had a lot of rain. It is almost the end of September and there are almost no signs of leaves changing colors.
Wow, what a storm. We can see the wind really blowing the trees along the edge of the woods about a hundred yards south of our house. Nevertheless it is almost calm in the middle of our woods. It is like our trees have created a haven for us and a refuge for birds and animals. The big trees shade us from the hot sun and shelter us from the wind. They come together to make a conclave of peace and serenity. We have all sorts of birds. There are Nuthatches, Black-capped Chickadees, Purple Finches, Downy Woodpecker, Hummingbirds and a variety of Wrens. Besides dogs who have come to visit, there is a squirrel named Chester, who visits frequently. He's rather pudgy and quite shy. He likes to sit in one of the white ash trees that is next to the house and look in the window. We've seen deer on the other side of the fence. We have a salt lick for them. In Montana you don't dare feed the deer because it makes them dependent and they are likely to die during the winter. Here there is very little cold and snow so there is always food for them.
Well, the storm has passed and the sun has come out for the first time today. The leaves shimmer in the breeze making the water on them sparkle. Chester and a couple of his friends are chasing around the woods. The birds are back out in force and fighting over the sunflower feeder. The humidity is so high - 93% - that it is steamy outside. Don't know about Mom or Dad, but I'm staying inside and going to cuddle up for a nap with my buddy, George.
Have a great evening! I'll talk to you later.
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| George and me. |
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