Introduction
Greetings, dear reader. Thanks for stopping by. I trust that you are well. Around these parts, we are into our second rainy day. Temperatures have been seasonably mild or warm since January 23rd, when our eight days of winter ended. (The 1/23/2024 article describes those eight days.)
This article remembers a hike on House Mountain and target practice at the homeplace. It's included under three topic sections: family (119th entry), heritage (100th entry), and hiking (62nd entry).
Visiting the homeplace three days ago on Wednesday, 2/7/2024, inspired me to write. I didn't take any photographs, but I found all to be in sufficient order. The sunny and seasonably warm weather made for an enjoyable trip. I got to wondering what I had done without publishing any articles about it in Februaries gone by. I recalled at least two memorable experiences, about which I'd not written before now. Here they are!
78th House Mountain Hike on 2/6/2011
Thirteen years ago, on 2/6/2011, I was 50, turning 51 in July. Our niece, the daughter of my wife's younger sister, was 23. On House Mountain, it was her eighth hike with me. It was my 78th hike. I reckon that before or after the hike, I called my lifelong friend, Steve, to wish him a happy 51st birthday.
Back then, I wish I had published a timely article about the hike. The only article that I published in February 2011 was Norris Dam State Park Hike on 2/26/2011 (published 2-27-2011). It is about one of my two solo hikes at the park that month.
On 2/6/2011, my hiking log indicates that three of us hiked together. We hiked up the west trail in 28 minutes to reach the west bluff. Next, we hiked across the ridge, heading east, to the middle bluffs and then to the east bluff. We must have hiked down and out on the east trail. The weather was sunny. The temperature was about 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
The following photograph, the only one that was taken, shows our niece and me standing at the lower middle bluff. The view looks north. The sun was setting to the west, of course.
That's a lovely view! Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and I are quite proud of our niece, who is now 36 years young and doing very well. She and I still enjoy exchanging witticisms, to the chagrin of other family members.
You may be thinking, “Who was the third person? He or she must have taken the photograph!” The third person was Dr. Antonov! He and I had met the month before on 1/2/2011, while we were both hiking on House Mountain. Dr. Antonov and I had hiked House Mountain together on the Sunday afternoon of 1/30/2011. So, this hike was his second with me (or mine with him). Dr. Antonov's home country is Bulgaria. He's a few years older than me. At the time, he was living and working in the Knoxville, Tennessee, area.
Dr. Antonov, my Bulgarian friend, has doctorate degrees in philosophy and nuclear physics. He is brilliantly eccentric. On House Mountain, he and I either hiked together or met each other, while hiking separately, on eleven total occasions.
Dr. Antonov and I last met, while hiking House Mountain, on Sunday afternoon, 12/3/2017. That was my 141st hike on House Mountain and my fifth hike there, since my near-death experience on 3/29/2016. (The article I’m Still Alive - Why? (published 8/26/2016) bemoans that day, which still lives in infamy.)
On 12/3/2017, Dr. Antonov and I met on the ridge trail. I was heading west as he was hiking east. I remember the location well. Dr. Antonov had not known about the accident that almost killed me. I encapsulated the news. We talked. I agreed to his request to examine me. The ridge top examination by this outstanding doctor of philosophy and nuclear physics concluded that it would take about ten years of ongoing recovery before I wouldn't notice much difference.
That examination formed the paradigm for my ongoing recovery. Different medical doctors had already predicted certain limitations that I would have. By God's grace and my determination, I have overcome their preconceived limitations! This coming March 29th will mark the eighth year of my ongoing recovery. The muscle groups around my surgically repaired left shoulder, right knee, and right foot still need fine-tuning. I feel and move around almost as well as I did before the accident. I hope in another couple of years I won't notice much difference, especially in my right footstep. I want both feet to feel the same while walking or hiking!
Sadly, I've lost contact with Dr. Antonov. He may have returned to Bulgaria. I will always be grateful for his ridgeline examination! More precise than any medical doctor, his prognosis framed the patience that I still need as I continue to recover. Lord willing, I will know in a couple more years how fully I have recovered.
Target Practice at the Homeplace on 2/7/2015
As the Website Archive shows, I didn't publish any articles in 2015. I could have and should have. Life, such as it was, must have been quite hectic. I may have temporarily lost interest in writing.
Stepping back nine years ago, I was 54, turning 55 (the double nickel) in July. The date was Saturday, 2/7/2015. My 1995 Nissan pickup and I traveled to the homeplace. My youngest brother and I cleared some brush, and we cleared out around a cherry tree, which was still standing at the time. My brother even climbed up that tree!
After we cleared the brush, I fired 50 practice rounds, target shooting, with my Ruger .380 handgun. (The information is in my target shooting log, which I started on 12/31/2010.) I don't think that I had my FNP 40-caliber pistol with me. The 4/13/2019 article explains how that Ruger was replaced. The 1/1/2011 article describes the New Year's Eve shooting, which started my target shooting log.
On that Saturday, I took the following photograph at 5:51 PM, as the sun was setting. The location is the southeast corner of the property. The view looks east.
I have a good truck now, the 2006 Frontier. I miss that 1995 Nissan. He died while saving my life on 3/29/2016, when the uninsured 18-year-old failed to yield to my right-of-way. The image shows that I had not yet taken down the target, which is visible to the right. A fishpond, which is still stocked, is behind my truck.
My youngest brother had to leave before I started target practicing. Later, I joined his family and him for supper at the Golden Dairy. It was a good day for family and heritage.
Conclusion
The Wednesday trip to the homeplace inspired the recollection of a couple of memories from Februaries gone by. I wish that I had published timely articles about both back then. I have done so now.
As I close, my next-to-youngest brother, nine years younger than me, was born in February. Earlier today, he and I enjoyed a good long phone conversation. He is doing as well as he can. My “adoptive brother-in-law,” Mike, passed away 17 years ago in February. The short story from 8/5/2023 and the 10/26/2023 article include loving words about and conversation with Mike.
As daylight fades to dusk, I'll close. It's almost suppertime. By the way, I heard recently that if you cook a raw, unpeeled potato with soup beans, the potato draws out what causes gas from eating the soup beans. You throw away the potato afterward and by no means eat it. I may have to try that, unless my “long-suffering” wife decides to do so. I know how to cook soup beans.
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