The hooting is cool with me. I would just like to know (inquiring
minds want to know) why it’s hooting in the middle of the summer. According to
the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the Great Horned Owl’s (the hoot owl)
time to stake territory and lay eggs is January. If this hoot owl up on the
mountain is hooting just because it feels like it then more power to it. I hope
it’s hooting because it’s happy!

We were jogging last Saturday night (7-9-11) between 8 and 9 in
the evening, and it began hooting away. It was such a treat. It reminded me of
when Josh, my daddy coonhound, had his last romp up on the mountain. It was
July 4, 2006. There were fireworks all around us that evening, and the hoot owl
up there must have been a little “ticked off” because when we passed it by, it
began an eerie “Ooo, ooo, ahh, ahh,” screech that led into its familiar “hoot”
that I could indentify. For about two seconds there it almost scared the “bee-jitters”
out of me, but I quickly collected myself without losing any bodily functions.
LOL

My absolute favorite time to hear this owl hoot is on a crisp,
chilly, autumn evening. When it happens this coming fall, I will let you all
know. Until then, keep up with those summer hoots hoot owl!

Happy 49th Birthday to my sister, Karen. She is a fine, Christian lady, and I am so proud of her. She is a mother who truly loves and wants the best for her children. She is also a fun, giving, and love-showering grandmother. I have yet to see a child that Karen could not win over. Her way with children is a true gift from God.

Karen and her grandson, Orrin

Ammon and Carter are crazy about their Aunt Karen. They love spending time with her because she is so entertaining, and she treats them like they were her own (children or grandchildren). I also feel blessed to have such a loving, supportive, and giving sister such as her. Like I’ve told her before, I will never know life without her, and I am so glad God saw it fit that I have her as my big sister. Happy Birthday, Karen! We love you!

Carter recently in Reykjavik, Iceland

Carter Moment :
Thursday June 30, 2011

The moment had started with Ammon saying, “There’s a gorilla
up there in the tree!” . She was pointing up into our largest Black Walnut
Tree. As you all may know the Black Walnut tree has awesome shade in the
summer, and we had been playing outside in the bright sunshine. I have been
trying very hard to calm these silly, scary moments (the gorilla…which they are
afraid of) with a soft voice and explanations.

Shady Black Walnut Trees

I said, “You two. There is no gorilla up in this tree. It
only has birds, squirrels, and right now some June bugs.” We got closer to the trunk
of the tree, and I pointed up. “See nothing but beautiful, green leaves. It’s a
good tree.” Ammon came closer and started patting the tree with her hand.
Carter came closer as well, and they both acted like they wanted to hug the
tree, so I continued with, “Let’s all hug it, and thank you, God, for such a
wonderful tree!” Ammon gave it a hug, and so did Carter; however, while
hugging, Carter placed his cheek up against the trunk and scratched himself.
Carter drew back, wiped his cheek, and said, to the tree, “Hey, don’t you do
that!” I immediately turned the other way, laughed then looked back at Carter.
I then stated in a fatherly tone, “I think the tree is telling you, ‘Carter be
careful with me’.” Carter looked at me with a puzzled look. “Okay!”, I
interjected, “ let’s go in for some nice, cold apple juice!” Ammon and I
started back toward the house, and as I looked back I could see Carter pointing
his finger up to the tree and heard him saying one more time, “Tree, don’t you
do that!” What a boy!

This came in time for the 4th of July Holiday. It’s a suggestion for traveling from a personal perspective. I hope you all enjoy it.

Cruising: All inclusive with some cool fellow travelers!

http://www.advocate.com/Society/Modern_Families/Open_Seas_and_Open_Minds/

For emails: havensideals@yahoo.com

A couple of things

First, I had an awesome yearly physical exam Monday. For 2011
my weight is down, my blood pressure is normal, no aches or pains, and I feel
great. Praise the Lord!

The second thing is that I might not write for a day or two.
The summer mini-mester at UTC finishes this week, and I am grading the last
assignments, the final exam, and posting grades. Please pray that it all goes
smoothly. I am looking forward to blogging again ASAP. You all have a great
Tuesday!

I saw them on Friday. I thought I had seen them Wednesday, but I wasn’t too sure. On a
blackberry leaf near our barn, there sat some wonderful and entertaining….dum,
dum, dum….JUNE BUGS!

Oh,
my goodness, I have spoken about childhood memories, but I truly think my first
summer memory is of chasing june bugs, and yes, I did fly them on string. The
string is sewing thread because the little fellers cannot be weighed down. Now,
PETA, don’t get upset! No june bug of mine has ever suffered a severed leg nor
been mistreated. They have all been set free. Okay, one didn’t make it. What
happened? Well, I was 10 years old, and my sister and I had a pet chicken. Her
name was Woots. She was awesome. The summer Woots was a year old we spent a day
playing with our june bugs. At one point during the day, I was flying my june
bug, and it stopped. I bent down to show Woots, and I said, “What do you think,
Woots?” With a snap, snap, gobble my june bug was gone. Woots had eaten it. All
that was left was a micro-loop where a june bug leg had been bound. It was a sad
a situation, but there was a happy hen.

Okay, our june bugs are not in the open yard yet. I do
intend to buy some thread, catch some, and let Carter and Ammon experience the

tradition. If you’ve never done it, you should. It’s pretty cool.

Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square is such a cool place in London. I like it
better than Picadilly Circus (pale in comparison to New York’s Time Square). Atop
his pedestal on his sentinel-perched monument, Admiral Horatio Nelson of Great
Britain looks over this awesome thoroughfare in the heart of London not too far
from Parliament and Westminster Abbey. Although the admiral was mortally
wounded in the naval Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) off the coast of
Spain during the Napoleonic Wars, the Brits won the battle and helped turn the
naval advantages to the Brits. To many of us, the lions at the base of the
monument are more intriguing than Admiral Nelson.

In both 1985 and 2007, I had problems climbing up to the
lions. In 1985, it had rained all day, the stones were slippery, and I was
wearing khakis and penny loafers! After a wet-week of trying again in 2007, I
finally made it, but it wasn’t too satisfying. However, now it was May 2011,
and I had to prove to Carter and Ammon that I could do it: Public humiliation
or not! I did it, and it was personal triumph! LOL ( you all are thinking “What a dits-o!”)

I did it for Ammon & Carter! (and for myself) Haven at Trafalgar Square

Sean, Carter, Ammon, & Haven at Trafalgar Square

We also found a great restaurant near Trafalgar Square in
2007: a Tex-mex restaurant call the Texas Embassy. It is where the Republic of
Texas had its embassy in London when it was its own “country” 1836-1846. We ate
there twice this trip, and we highly recommend it.

The sound was a week earlier than what I am use to: the symphony
of the katydids! On Monday evening, I stayed outside late with the wonderful
light we are blessed with in the summer. I had mowed, pulled weeds, and took a
quick, refreshing dip in the swimming pool before getting ready for bed. As I was drying
off beside the pool, I heard a familiar “katy-did” up on the mountain behind
our house. I couldn’t believe it! Thirty minutes later I took our dachshunds,
Buddy and Sophie, outside for their pre-slumber jaunt, and I heard a symphony of
katydids. Like the whippoorwills, the music of the katydids brings back so many
childhood memories. We had air conditioning, but our household enjoyed open
windows and fans during cooler, summer evenings. I cannot count the nights I
was lulled to sleep to the musical masterpieces of the katydids. Now, like I
said about the color of dogwood tree’s flower petals predicting the type of
winter/snows for the next year, in a bygone era, there were predictions that katydids announced that it would be 10 weeks before the first, pre-fall frost; we will see! ;o)

Loch Ness

Hey
I didn’t catch up on Saturday. LOL . We had a great day at sea on Saturday. It’s a little cool, but so it is this time of year in the British Isles. On Sunday we made our visit to Edinburgh, Scotland. It is so beautiful and unique, but it is often gloomy. The first time I was ever there it was in 2007 in August with Sean, and we had one sunny day out of 5! I love Edinburgh Castle. The most famous resident was probably Mary Queen of Scots, but she mostly lived in the castle, Holyrood a mile down the hill from Edinburgh Castle. The whole day was breezy and cool, but we enjoyed the city.

Edinburgh Castle

Monday we were in the Scottish Highlands. In a previous blog from April, I mentioned the Cherokee encoding for the love of nature. The Scottish part of me has that encoding of mountains. My family members such as the Alexanders, the Wimpys, and the Browns were immigrants who had come from Scotland and settled in the Virginia mountains and the North Georgia mountains. Oral history from our family says the Alexanders came from Scotland during the 1600s. As we traveled through the Scottish Highlands around Loch Ness on Monday, I felt as though I was “home”. We had a lovely time, and I know I want to go back and spend lots of time there and hopefully Carter and Ammon will feel as I do and learn about their Scottish heritage as well.

Tuesday has been spent in the Shetland Islands. We are ported at Lerwick, and we got to see some Shetland ponies today. However, we were told not to pet them. Ammon and Carter enjoyed seeing them none the less. Hoping all is well in your worlds today and God bless you all. Chat soon. Haven