Millcreek Forge and Blacksmith Shop

 This is what Mary Farrell of Westmoore Pottery had to say about her neighbor, Jerry Darnell of Millcreek Forge:

"Mill Creek Forge, located just a short walk down a path through the woods from Westmoore Pottery, is the workplace of blacksmith Jerry Darnell. Jerry won't brag about himself but other blacksmiths tell me that he is consistently rated one of the five best blacksmiths in the country today. Mill Creek Forge's specialty is 18th century style blacksmithing. Since he is semi-retired, Jerry's hours are somewhat irregular, but you can often catch him working on Mondays through Saturdays from 10-4.  His very fine ironwork is well worth a visit."  


I decided to take Mary's advice and visit the shop when I was in Moore County last week.  And I agree, it is well worth a visit.

The shop.

Erik Farrell (right) visiting with Jerry Darnell in the shop.

Tools of the trade.

The fire.

Wares for sale.

Mary enjoying the black smith shop.

My friend, Mary Todd, enjoyed the visit too, and I think you would as well.

The Sun and Skin Cancer

Don't turn yourself into "bacon" by too much sun.

As a teenager I spent entirely too much time in the sun, and those were the days before sunscreen.  We would lather ourselves in baby oil that had been browned with a few drops of iodine.  With my fair skin and freckles, I tried in vain to get a really good tan.  More freckles--but no tan.  And then I spent an entire summer working in tropical Africa under the hot sun-- no hat and no sunscreen..  Now I am paying the price. 

Five biopsies of suspicious lesions.

Yesterday I had biopsies of five very small suspicious lesion.  Over the last ten years I have had a number of squamous cell skin cancers (but no melanomas) that have been treated successfully with Mohs surgery.  I have an excellent doctor, Dr. Rob Clark, at the Cary Skin Center and I go in regularly for a skin check.  I suspect that some of these biopsies will require Mohs surgery.

Now I avoid the sun as much as possible, and when outdoors I wear my Tilley hat and I use sunscreen EVERY day.  

In the sun wearing my Tilley hat sailing with David Campbell in Cape Breton.

Don't get baked like a "turkey".  Wear sunscreen.

I couldn't resist getting copies of these two cartoons that were posted as I checked out of the Cary Skin Center.

Our Chinese Snowball Bush & Global Warming

Snowball bush, Viburnum macrocephalum. (Photo by brighterblooms.com)

The Chinese snowball bush has huge rounded white hydrangea-like blooms and usually blooms in the spring although the flowers last for months.  Two years ago we planted one, and the first spring it was full of blossoms.  This past spring it did not bloom at all.  In late summer and early fall it produced lots of buds.

Buds of Chinese snowball bush.

I noticed the last few weeks these buds are opening and producing blossoms here in the middle of fall.  It has been unusually warm this fall and that probably explains why this plant is confused.  Although I did read that if a plant is in full sun it may bloom throughout the year.  Our plant gets plenty of sun.

Yesterday they were calling for possible freezing temperature during the night, so I brought in a couple of the most developed flowering heads.  In the warm temperature of the house, the remaining buds will likely open. 

Snowball bush producing flowers in the fall.

Flowers in a vase, forcing buds to open in house.

This is truly a spectacular bush in the spring, and I hope the remaining buds won't get nipped during the winter.  This screwy weather is confusing my plants.

My Treehouse in Autumn

Tree house in back yard on hill behind maple tree.

Tree house from front.

As a child I always wanted a tree house, but I never had one until about ten years ago when we built one on the hill in our back yard.  The eight by eight foot house is not really in a tree, but it is on stilts and sits among the trees.  Later we added an eight by eight foot screen porch.  There are steep steps leading to the screen porch at the front.

Steep steps leading to screen porch.

At the back I have a door that is almost at ground level where I enter the tree house.  The grands usually climb up the steep steps.

Back door to tree house.

The screen porch is a great place to read especially in the fall of the year.

Rear view of screen porch.

Hammock chair, great place for reading.

Small door from tree house to porch with view of garage beyond.

In the winter, the sofa or bed in the tree house is a cozy place for reading.  When the grandchildren were younger, we would sometimes sleep up there.  Most of the grandchildren are too old now to enjoy the tree house, but after all it is MY tree house, and I still enjoy it.

Sofa or bed.

The sofa will fold down and make a double bed.

There is a nice view out the window over the trees and beyond the roof of the house below.

View out over the trees.

A tree house is nice for the young or the young at heart.

Among My Fav-o-rite Things: Vintage Items at Chatfield

I enjoyed spending a few days in Cleveland County last week in our little Chatfield house.  We have much of the living and dining area furnished in vintage mid-century. Here are some things I like there:

1940s buffet.

1950s hatbox, 1940s teapot, and old microscope in bookcase. The early red tv not sure what vintage, my three-year-old granddaughter Grace, said: "I like your new microwave."

1950s chair with bark cloth cushion.  I like the "blonde" furniture of the 50s.

1950s candle holders.

Okay, I know these aren't vintage, but I like my red crocs.