June is a time lots of people take vacations. I came back to Minnesota early this spring on business and planned on heading right back to Tennessee to relax a bit longer. Right back turned into eleven weeks. So, a few days into June I was heading south again.
A lot had changed. The winter wheat harvest was complete and the corn crop had tasseled, silked and was way over my head. I fertilized the lawn before I left. The June rains had made use of the nitrogen in the fertilizer and my neighbor John had been mowing the grass almost weekly. I had to weed whip the dog run to knock back 2’ of Switchgrass before letting the dogs in. They found an Armadillo carcass in the yard so they were entertained. I was standing in sandals cutting grass so the dogs wouldn’t find any snakes. I figured I would shred a copperhead with the weed whacker before he could strike me.
Not having to deal with farm chores allows me to sleep late every morning. I kind of like it. I had a number of small projects to do around the cabin. Enough to stay busy but not get exhausted. We planned to spend the nice days on the river and rest up on the other ones.
Sundays are the same routine. Go to church and stop for groceries at the Piggly Wiggly on the way home. The first week was VBS at Big Rock Baptist Church. They had the assembly hall decorated with lights and posters, the staff had matching t-shirts and there were three inflatable bounce houses outside for the Sunday night kick-off. The kids got up and sang while dancing to songs, VBS is a big exciting thing in Tennessee. They had a record of over 160 attend the Wednesday evening session this year. Church is never boring in Tennessee.
I went in to the Sirloin Stockade one evening for steak. Not much beats a buffet with ribeye. The nice kids working the counter gave me the senior discount with-out even asking. One great thing about the youth in Tennessee, is how friendly and helpful they are. Everyone is “ma’am” or “sir” and they will take time to stop to carry on a pleasant conversation with anyone.
In the evening I sit on the porch and watch the sun set in the western sky, with a dog on each side of me. I look out over the trees to the Tennessee River and soak in the beauty. The crescent moon is hanging in the horizon with three planets lined up. They say they are Venus, Jupiter and Mercury. I see fireflies rising into the night sky like sparks from a camp fire. I doze off and the dogs are sound asleep on the cushion beside me.
I think about coming through Tennessee as a child in the mid 1960’s with my parents. Never dreamed I would live down here someday. I remembered the Appalachian Mountains, Civil War battle sites, stories about Daniel Boone, and other explorers who lived down here two centuries ago. Wondered about how rugged the wilderness was back then. Imagined what the Cherokee, Chickasaw and Shawnee Indians life was like in those days.
It is summer in Tennessee, every day hit 85 degrees. Air conditioning is a wonderful thing. Had to be unbearable in a teepee or a log cabin in the old days. But I enjoy it now. And being in the boat on the river on a hot day is much more bearable than almost anywhere else. The cool river breeze and a Bimini boat top make it a perfect day. As I head back, I experience the one certain shock. Gas was $3.35 when we left Tennessee, $3.85 back here in Minnesota.
