I still haven’t heard about my conservation easement, but I am still assuming things are fine.
I went up to Maddie’s performance at Lord Botetourt and it was great to chat with Cathy but it was pretty cold. My new jacket is excellent but my feet got a little cold after four hours (3-9). Radford High School won many awards and I was especially glad Cypress Beach won best drum major. Maddie was glad I could come and that is the important thing.
I went to Gyorgyi’s friend Bonnie’s reading on Thursday at VT and it was fine. Then Gyorgyi and I went and had coffee. I had been psyched about my new book project, this about protecting the land (starting with my Canadian Rockies experience, then moving to my Neversink experience then finishing with my Reese Hollow easement). Gyorgyi didn’t think much of it, but I think it is worth applying for a grant for. I won’t be able to apply for a professional leave until the fall of 2015 when I will be 64. I hope to be retired by then but I guess it is still worth considering.
I talked with Gyorgyi about driving up to Alaska this summer and she said she would consider it. I would much rather go with another person and Gyorgyi is a good traveler.
I hand sanded the sill which had two round stains on it and I got rid of them but then I used the electric sander to even the whole sill out and now it looks a little uneven. I think it will look fine with polyurethane on it.
My gout flareup on Thursday night (I couldn’t move my left ankle without intense pain) has calmed down with 20 mg of prednisone for the past two days and Rob will put me back on the Allopurinol soon and address the anemia in a different way.
I did my bike and some yoga and weights this morning and I hope my ankle doesn’t flare up. I am supposed to walk with Rob and Peggy later this afternoon, then I would like to go play golf. Golf may be too much.

My stomach gave me fits on Friday and Saturday but I after Rob told me to stop the colchicine, my stomach was okay on Sunday.
I had the students out to my place at lunch time and after some cheese and bread and salsa and chips, we took a walk down to the orchard and that was quite nice. I think they were all impressed but I don’t think any of them would want to live there.
I played golf in the afternoon on Sunday and I broke 50, after several rounds at 50 or above. I shot a 46 and I could have shot a 42 with some good putting.
In the evening I walked with Rob and he was able to see Noah and he was very glad about that.
This morning I did my yoga and weights, rode the bike, and cleaned up the house from my students’ visit.

My trip last weekend to Accomac was a successful although I must admit that Sandy can be a little overbearing. Ken was fine and we went bike riding, walking and chatting together, although we weren’t able to fish because the wind was up too high. On the way out I stopped to ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway right off I-64 and I did that on the way back also. I had stomach problems on the way there after taking the colchisine but on the way back the half dosage Rob recommended didn’t cause any problems.
The easement will be voted on next week but I don’t expect any problems at this point. I got the final appraisal figure and the loss will be 115 K, 5 K more than the draft. I hope that will translate into a bigger tax credit. I should know by the middle of November or so.
I am sure my blood level is still low because I am very tired and today my stomach doesn’t feel well. Still, I took a nice walk with Rob on the trail and we were back talking about everything. Raechel got an 1820 on her SATs with a 680 in writing. I told Rob that I couldn’t take much credit since I only worked with her once. Good luck to her.
I e-mailed Kate about my health and also sent her the heat in the office essay which she thought was quite funny.
I have finished with the new equity line and my total (after finishing the easement) should be about 109K. However, I am now paying 4 percent on the 68k mortgage money, quite an improvement from the 7 and a half I was paying.
I hope I am feeling better tomorrow.

Mark Burnette came out yesterday and he took the two hardshell kayaks, along with the broken cargo box. Now I have more space in the tractor barn and he also helped me trimming the road to the orchard. I paid him 100 since he is really low on cash. We may go down to Charlotte again to kayak if a warm day comes up.
The easement moves along and the forester, Mike Skinner, came out, and he was very nice, knowing Gyorgyi and Lisa Norris. He should be back this week and he thinks the timber is okay in spots, but that the money figure should be fine. Josh Gibson sent me a revised copy of the deal with a few minor changes which I approved. VOF will be out to do their baseline study soon so I would imagine that they are pretty sure they will accept my proposal.
Rob and I went to the VT-Clemson game and it was an awful game on an awful night. We both had a good time anyway.
My greenhouse garden is doing okay, especially the peas, but the lettuce seems hesitant to grow much. We’ll see.
The student who came in late and used foul language hasn’t apologized yet so I may have to contact the Dean of Students tomorrow so they can talk to him before I let him back in class.
I am still tired but I guess I have to wait a few more weeks for my blood level to get back up.
I went to Maddie’s game on Friday and had a nice chat with Cathy. Status quo. I am planning to go to the Wake Forest competition.

Another catch up blog since I have been so busy and a little tired due to my low blood level. Major happenings since my last entry include clearing the road to the orchard of a large Virginia pine that fell across it. I decided to use the tractor and it worked well even though the tree was about ten foot up in the air. I did get a couple of branches snapping back at me but nothing hit me.
My teaching is going well in three classes but one of my 200 classes is causing me problems. I had two chatty students at the start and now I have separated them, and students are coming late and that has to stop. One cursed me today when I sent him out of class and I want an apology before he reenters the class. The other three classes are going quite well.
I have the forester and the appraiser coming out tomorrow morning and that means I should be able to have the increased equity line by next week. I will pay off the 68K mortgage and I will have no mortgage and 96K on my equity line. By the time I get finished paying for the easement, the line will be over 100K, but that is no problem.
I went to Chilhowie on Saturday to see the Radford High marching band and they looked pretty good. I will seem Cathy, Lou and Maddie tomorrow at the Friday game.
I did send in a poem to the Appalachian anthology and I did send in an abstract for the CEA conference. I heard from Floyd County Moonshine that they will be using my poem about the copperheads.
I will be heading up to see Ken and Sandy in two weeks and that should be fun.

It has been a long time and a lot has happened. The biggest events concern my health. Two Wednesdays ago I went for bloodwork and when Rob finally gave me the results the real concern was that I was a pint of blood low. Rob had me in on the following Wednesday to verify the tests and they confirmed that I was low on blood but the actual figure was two pints. This would explain my tiredness over the summer and on Sunday, Rob convinced me, after talking to his partner Chris, that I should have a CAT scan immediately. I set one up for Monday afternoon and Sunday evening and Monday morning were terrifying. I felt so scared and I was on the verge of tears when I went in to get the test. The technician in charge, a woman named Anne, was fabulous and she calmed me down and I left feeling much better. At a little after 4 Rob called and the results were negative and I was elated, giddy with joy. I must have thanked the earth hundreds of times that evening and the next day. Rob thinks the blood loss is from the allopurinol and has switched me to Uloric. I hope this solves the problem.
Teaching is going well and my easement is moving along. VOF votes shortly and that should be positive. It looks like I will spend closer to 7k rather than 8k. I should get more tax credits also and that will help on the money I will lose when I sell.
I have sent Don Devine a check for $1300 and that ends my relationship with the gorge. I am relieved that is over.
My greenhouse is going well and I have two trays of peas planted and two trays of lettuce, with three trays of strawberries. I should have a pretty good fall garden with one tray of peas up over four inches.
The solar batteries are checked and the power is doing fine, though I will have to start using the generator more as I get less sun.
I had Blue Ridge Propane out to service the vent free and I have a lot of propane left.
I have to call Stellar One to get the refinancing of the equity line going. The appraiser has disappeared.
Mark Burnette and I went down to the U.S. National Whitewater Center and had a lot of fun. I flipped three times on the first run and I was cold and scared but I tried again and made it all the way to the last wave before flipping. It was much more difficult than when I ran it before. Mark made it on this third try and I did the same so we were very happy on the drive back. My hands didn’t hurt too much and my belly wasn’t in much pain. I’d like to go back.

My belly is feeling pretty good even though I hiked with Rob this morning, rode five miles on my bike, and played an excellent round of golf (44). I cut the grass this morning and many places needed cutting so it was a good idea. It was good just to start to lawn tractor. I fixed the road with the farm tractor yesterday and the road is much better. I rode on the new river trail yesterday near Allisonia and it was very pleasant. I did about 8 miles.
I approved the deed for the easement but I e-mailed Janice that I wanted Jim’s approval before we go forward. I should get that tomorrow.
I love the cooler weather and I think cutting down on one of the blood pressure drugs is helping my tired feeling. I don’t have my results back from Rob but I should get them tomorrow. They should be okay. If I can feel more energy I may try and do some volunteer work for the food bank. I am scared to commit right now.
I am hoping to refinance my equity line to 120K from 60K. That would allow me to pay off my mortgage at 7 and ½ percent and start paying 4%. The danger is that the equity line can change its rate and that would cause me problems if it went above 7 and ½, though I think I have at least 4 years before that would happen. It is a little risky but if I can do it I will.