Powered by the Wind

When we travel west from Alabama, the first big change I notice is the wind. Across the plains and prairies, there is a constant breeze. There are weeks here when there is not enough wind to tinkle my wind chimes.

I've always loved the old windmills, and wish we had enough wind to make one profitable here.

We had not driven out west since 2005, when we drove all the way to Disney in Southern California with our son's family. Then, we were amazed at the new wind turbines in Southern California. Now, they seem to stretch all the way across Oklahoma and Texas.

There are hundreds of them on ridges that stretch for miles and miles.

I'm told the wind turbines produce clean and renewable energy, although they are expensive to install.

An example of the old and new existing together. Beautiful!

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Amish in Stantonville, Tennessee

Last week, my sis and her hub went with us to the Amish community near Stantonville, Tennessee. It was a beautiful day, and we love driving to new places and finding new treasures. We enjoy these mini-trips we take together, where we giggle a lot and get caught up on everything. Also, the squirrels ate all our tomatoes, so we needed to find some to buy. You know the food you are buying is fresh when they bring it from the field while you are standing there waiting for it. Here is part of what we brought home, and it was all delicious. Stantonville is located in McNairy County, Tennessee, northwest of Shiloh National Military Park.

Holy Smoke Pie

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Out of the Dirt: Bragg-ing

Like every reader, I have my favorite writers. There have been so many that have stirred my emotions and made me a part of their world, and I'm thankful for that. The one is love the best, the one I cherish , is Rick Bragg. Yesterday, Rick was in our area. We were privileged to see a newly released documentary about his life called Out of the Dirt . Afterwards, he talked to us about family and roots. His first book, All over but the Shoutin' , was recommended to me years ago. Very early in the book, I was thinking, "Who is this? He is writing about me, about my family." I have never actually met anyone in the book, but they are all my neighbors and kinfolks. His other books are just as well-written. In his book, Writing for the Soul , Christian author Jerry Jenkins had this to say about Rick Bragg: I read other writers and strive to be like them. I read others, like Rick Bragg, the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist, and simply surrender, knowing I will ...

Faith, Folklore, and Friends

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