Knox starring as Forrest Gump

One of my favorite movies is Forrest Gump. 

I love the part where Forrest decides that since he was a gillizoniare that he would cut the grass for free!  It is just sweet inicense watching him on that Snapper lawnmower going back and forth cutting grass.  He is so content and who can forget the great posture!

For the past week or so I have been watching that scene over and over.

The only thing different is that instead of Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump it has been Knox as Forrest Gump!

Knox found Poppa's old Comet 30 Snapper lawnmower.  He spent a whole day getting it so it would run again.  He was covered in grease and oil but he got that lawnmower to run!

He has been riding all over the farm cutting all the grass he can--even the grass we don't cut that often.  When he's not cutting grass, he's riding around pulling the cart with a special hook that he made. 

This lawnmower has become his own 4-wheeler!  It's not as fast and a whole lot noiseier!!

When I was in the hardware store the other day, Steve asked what did Knox do to get into trouble.  I was not sure what he was talking about.  He said, "I saw you had him cutting grass in this awlful heat.  And then had him raking up the grass clippings!"

I quickly let him and everybody else know that Knox was out there doing the grass cutting and raking ALL on his own!

And it was HOT!!  90-something degrees with 100-something heat index!

He was all excited about what he was doing and didn't even wait to come in when I told him it was too hot to be out here!

As I watched him, you could see Forrest Gump...

...not to fast, but determined to finished and content with himself!

Isn't summer grand!!

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Wordless Wednesday...My Ax Men

My Hubby found his Poppa's old two man cross-cut saw the other day.  Knox wanted to see how to use it...

They were getting the hang of it...

I don't think the blade is suppose to bend that way...

But do you really think you are ready for this one...

Wordless Wednesday: Broiler Greetings

This is our greeting we get every afternoon when its time to move the broilers...

Day 4: Southeastern Old Threshers Reunion

Day 4 of the Southeastern Old Threshers Reunion at Denton Farm Park starts a little different than the other days.  It's Sunday, which means service in the chapel.  The first sound of the morning is the ringing of the chapel bell signaling the start of Sunday services.

We start to go but the church is packed and the only thing to do is stand outside in the sun.  We decide to head back to the campsite where we can still hear the sermon and start breakfast.

After breakfast I decided to walk around.

My first stop was the place where Knox has spent most of his time this week...

the Grist Mill.

This is his favorite place!  He has even drawn up plans to build his own grist mill at home!

He helps Mr. Johnson by sweeping and swatting flies!

Knox just loves being in there and watching the corn become corn meal.

I came in to not only take pictures but to buy enough corn meal to have until next year.  (I'll post a recipe for fresh corn meal later.)

After leaving the Grist Mill, I headed to the woods to check out the antique dealers.  One can find some great things with these dealers.  They bring their wares, set up under tents for anyone to look over and buy as much as their hearts content!

I found some cool stuff...

An apple press that you use to make apple cider with.

These are feed sacks.  There were tons of them!  There were even enough to make clothes for the whole family...

This vendor used part of an old Airstream on a trailer that was their camper!  You just never know what you are going to see when you come to Denton...

After the Parade of Power, Hubby went to get some ice for the cooler and Hamp wanted to ride.  When they came back, this is what I saw...

That sums up Day 4!

One more day and the 2011 Southeastern Thresher's Reunion will be history.  As much as we look forward to coming to Denton every year, it seems like it will never get here.  Once we finally get here, the days just fly by!  It's hard to believe that tomorrow we have to start getting everything ready to head back home and there will only be one more day to fellowship with old friends, to soak up the smells, the sounds, and the carefree atmosphere at the Denton Farm Park. 

The cicadas are taking over the noisy, methodical beats of the engines as Day 4 comes to a close as I wish we had 4 more days...

Day 3: Southeastern Old Threshers Reunion

Day 3 started with Bobby Franklin letting us know that it was the start of another day of the Southeastern Old Threshers Reunion at Denton Farm Park.  As we got up getting breakfast ready, so did the sounds of the Old Threshers Reunion reviving up for a new day...engines popping, steam engines being fired up, and people getting their walking shoes in high gear.

This is the morning of the kids petal tractor pull!

This is what Knox looked forward to more than anything else at the show.  But he now weighs too much so he couldn't pull.  Hamp was ok with weight but his leg can't reach the petals.  That meant that this would be the first year in 8 years that we didn't have a child in the petal tractor pull.

We did have friends whose kids were in it. So we headed to watch Silas and Sheldon petal!

They were both in different weight groups.  Sheldon in the upper end of his weight group and Silas in the lower end of his.

I didn't get a great picture, but you can see the petal tractor is hooked up to a shed that has weight in it.  As the kids petal down the track, the weight moves up the ramp causing the shed to be heavier and heavier to pull.

This year Sheldon came in first place in his weight class while Silas was second.

The cool thing was that all the first place winners got to put their name in to be drawn for a new petal tractor!  Sheldon didn't win the petal tractor but he got a really cool trophy.  Hamp really liked it!

It got hotter as the day went on and we caught our neighbor JB cooling it under the trees behind the grist mill after lunch.

He said he was resting but we know we heard him snoring!!

Today was the day I headed to the General Store to get a bottled Coke with hoop cheese and crackers!  This is the best treat!  The General Store is a classic store that would have been in every small town.

It has a post office that is open during the Southeastern Old Threshers Reunion.  It is run by the US Post Office. 

Each year they have a new cancellation stamp that some folks collect each year by mailing themselves a post card from the Reunion.

I just love going in the General Store.  It reminds me of being a little girl and going with my Daddy to the local store and getting a Coke.  You just can't beat the atmosphere here...

Hubby joined in a new contest at the Old Threshers Reunion...the wrench throw.  Now this is not a little wrench, but a 30 pound wrench!  He did pretty good but alas was not good enough.  But he did have fun...

Day 3 ended with the graceful, powerful horse pull.  Even though there is some type of pull (lawnmower, antique tractor, or modified tractors), I really enjoy watching the big work horse teams pull the sled.

These horses are big, beautiful and just plain old powerful!!

They pull a sled that is sometimes double their weight.  They have to pull in unison to have a successful pull.  This is just something you have to watch to truly appreciate...

As the music hall closes down for the night, the cicadas and crickets take over the Old Threshers Reunion daily sounds letting us know that Day 3 is coming to a close.  Tomorrow comes quickly....

Wordless Wednesday...Frozen Boy

The alarm on the new refrigerator went off the other day.  When I went to investigate, this is what I found...

Day 2:Southeastern Old Threshers Reunion

Day 2 of the Southeastern Old Threshers Reunion found us waking up with all our blankets on us.  The night before was a cool one causing us to wake up in the middle of the night looking for more covers.  It was a refreshing morning to wake up to a nice cool breeze in July!

It was the sound of steam engines being fired up and the voice of Bobby Franklin, the announcer for the Threshers Reunion, that told us that Day 2 had started.

Once we ate and cleaned up from breakfast, Hubby was off to the annual auction.  Every year at the Southeastern Old Threshers Reunion at Denton Farm Park in Denton, North Carolina, United Country Auctions takes in items to be auctioned one day during the Reunion.  We have gotten some really great items (click here to read about one of them) so we always try to take it in.

This year Hubby and I found that there were a large number of corn shellers to be auctioned.  He looked them over and thought he would just see what they would go for and maybe try to get one.  It wasn't going to be the end of the world if we didn't get it.

Later on in the day I got a call.  This is what we are bringing home...

An International Corn Sheller...

and two motors for parts.

While Hubby was at the auction, Hamp and I headed to the craft barn.  Here is where numerous artisans have booths where you can watch them create and buy their wares.

Hamp was fascinated by the carvers.

He wasn't too sure about the Cat with the Fish.

But he really did like the camel!

I really like the double eagle.  The man was craving these eagles out of one piece of walnut.  He told us that this was his third year working on this piece.  He works on it only at the Old Threshers Reunion and that he would have it finished by the end of the show this year.

Hamp and I walked around some and found some more really neat stuff...

a Mason jar on a glass candle stick..."Redneck Wine Glass".

Pixie Sticks that you put in the ground that can hold your drinks and snacks.

These were some really cool creations made from different types of glassware.  They were so neat!  I just wish that guy hadn't got in the picture.  I told two pictures and he was in both!

This is just a drop in the bucket of the craft vendors at this years Southeastern Old Threshers Reunion!  Hamp and I getting even get to half of them today...but there is always tomorrow...

As the day started to wind down, the crickets and cicadas took over the sounds of the day. We got ourselves and the boys washed up and settled down for another restful night in Denton.  Tomorrow holds more adventures...

Day 1: Southeastern Old Threshers Reunion

The onset of July means only one thing at our house...

It's time for the

Southeastern Old Threshers Reunion

and our annual pilgrimage to Denton, North Carolina.

Well, after much packing and working, we made it to Denton!!

We usually like to get there a day before the show starts but we got here about 10:00 am the first day of the show!  Better late than never!!

We pulled in and there was our first friendly face Keith to get all our equipment registered and tagged.  While Hubby and the boys chatted with Keith and the girls at the back gate, I went to pay our camping fee.  Karen got us all taken care of and I went back down, got my arm bands from the girls manning the back gate and off to our camping spot we went!

The crowd wasn't too bad so we were able to get to our camping spot really easily.  When we got there Silas, Sheldon, and Tanner were looking for us!  As soon as Knox and Hamp got out, the boys were playing on the tractors just as if they had seen each other everyday.

Hubby and I greeted the neighbors, Ray, R.C., Kathy, Elaine, and Norman.  After all the hugs and laughs we started unpacking and setting up our abode for the week!  Of course Norman had to tell us after we got the tent staked down that we needed to move it a few inches up the hill, then a few inches down the hill...he can never make up his mind!

When we get set up its like we have never left!

Knox headed to the grist mill as soon as Silas, Sheldon, and Tanner left.  Mr. Johnson was waiting on him.  Knox spends most of his time in the grist mill helping and playing with Layton in the upstairs of the mill.

Friends are stopping by greeting us and catching up with what we've been up to this past year.

The pace is slower here...because its July and its too dare hot to get in a hurry!!

But our camp site is in the shade...and the fans are a welcomed relief from the heat.

As the sun starts getting low, Hubby and I put Hamp on the tractor and we ride around.  Hubby wants to check out the book and parts vendors that are here this week.  I want to see the antique and craft vendors throughout the park.

While we are making our way through the acres of tractors, we spot an interesting site...

The sign says..."First Riding Lawnmower".

It's a bicycle with the front wheel replaced with a pushing reel mower.  This is the type of things you find all over during the Threshers Reunion!  People show not only their American ingenuity, but their sense of humor!

Another thing you will see is demonstrations on how things were done in the "good old days"....

One of these is soap making.  This was usually done during a hog killing time.  The fat from the hog was cooked down, lye was added,...

 and soap was made...

These samples are free for you to take home but I decided to pass this time.

Just across from the soap making we noticed a young man starting an small engine.  The engine was to a Maytag washing machine.  This was a high class washing machine in its time but most of us would DIE if we had to use this type of washing today!

Remember there is NO spin cycle!  That's what the rollers are for...

While we were watching the young man wash, I heard an old man say, "And that's what we called the Good Ole Days!"  I guess it's all a matter of perspective...

As we settled down for the night, the sounds of engines thumbing and steam whistling were quieted by the sounds of the cicadas and crickets.  Day one of the Southeastern Old Threshers Reunion is in the history books....