Author: Lisa -Southern Patches

Hello everyone, my name is Lisa I am a southern girl born and raised in East Tennessee. I love discovering new places and things to do. I have a lot of favorites, shopping, traveling, knitting and photography are all at the top of my list. I am married with my fur babies my only children. This blog is actually named after my beloved basset hound Patches. She passed away a few years ago but will always have a huge part of my heart. Come with me and we will explore some wonderful places and discover some really fun things. Are you ready?

Fireflies In The Great Smoky Mountains

Every state has fireflies. We always called them lightening bugs when I was growing up. I don’t think I heard them called fireflies until I was probably an adult. You know those little insects from the beetle family that come out when summer comes and they have a little light that flickers on and off. For me and my brother Joe it wasn’t officially summer until we saw the first flicker of a lightening bug. Of course we had to collect them and see who could get the most. But we always let them go. Our hands always smelled yucky after catching them!!!

Fireflies are found in all the U.S. States, but not all of the species glow. Fireflies that glow are found in the eastern United States, if you live in the West, in states like Washington, Oregon and California you probably won’t see fireflies or you won’t notice them because they don’t light up.

Firefly tourism? who would have ever thought? But it has become a huge business. Starting around the end of may to the first week of June of every year, the fireflies start a courtship. It begins with a few electric lights in the woods and as the night wears on the lights from the fireflies blink in unison. I have never seen it but I have heard it is really something to see. This is a mating or courtship ritual for the fireflies. Eventually during the night hundreds of thousands of fireflies will be blinking their “love lights” off and on.

Each year people from all over the world travel to the Smoky Mountains National Park to see this. Visitors actually have to win a lottery just for the privilege of watching this show. During this time The National Park Service in the Smoky Mountains estimate about 1200 people a night are brought to the trails at the Elkmont Campground. They take a trolly up to the trail to witness this amazing sight.

This year out of Coronavirus related caution, the National Park Service canceled the event. They closed the campground area and barricaded the road that leads to it.

It’s not only in Tennessee. This has become quite a business that now brings in about 200,000 visitors annually. Pennsylvania has the Pennsylvania Firefly Festival. It was canceled this year as well. There is a Firefly Festival in Dover Delaware. It has also been canceled. Is this good or bad? Bad for tourism I know but what about the fireflies?

Photo courtesy of Cleveland.com.

Photo courtesy of Farmersalmanac.com

Photo courtesy of YouTube.com

I know that many people will be disappointed, and it is devastation to tourism. I am a tourism person. I know what this means, but listen: Before one of these beetles goes into the mating ritual it spends a year or two as a larva burrowing through the dirt, this is why they smell so bad when you catch them in your hands. People tramping through the woods to see the firefly show are often oblivious to this. They are squishing these beetles who may never have a chance to glow and mate, etc. Also lights from flashlights and car beams can interfere with the mating ritual of these little light glowing beetles. AHHHH privacy to glow as they want, mate as they want. There may be a baby boom next year, no people or lights to interfere. Who or what could ask for more?

Just my thoughts.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!

Weekends

What a wonderful quiet weekend, just what I needed after a busy work week. I did some knitting and reading. I watched the Elton John movie, Rocket Man. I liked it pretty well. But Bohemian Rhapsody is still my favorite right now. If you haven’t seen, Bohemian Rhapsody you must watch it.

It is hot hot hot!! in East Tennessee with the temps in the high 80″s and of course the humidity is through the roof. My hair can attest to that.

I know I sound like a broken record when I say what a busy week I had and how crazy work was but it was and it was. That is all I will say about work. On Saturday I did the regular grocery shopping and then delivered some supplies to my mother in law at the assisted living village. We still haven’t been able to visit her and I know how hard it is for her not to see anyone other than the other residents.

I had big plans on Saturday to paint a couple of rocking chairs that I have. My friend Lorie got them for me for my Birthday last year and I haven’t gotten them painted. I want to paint them black to match the railing on my deck. They are currently stowed away in the basement. I am getting them out this week and I will paint them this weekend. I saw some adorable patriotic cushions at Walmart that will be perfect for them.

So that is about all that my weekend was about. How about you what did you do over the weekend? Have a wonderful week.

Always remember,

Love your day your way!!!

Strawberry Moon

Hello friends

I know I have been MIA for awhile. I have been very busy with work. I guess that is a good thing or I would simply curl up in a ball in my closet and bawl my eyes out over everything going on in our world right now. I know that things will be better I know this world and our people have the ability to be better. As a whole we can do this but it must start with each of us. Never forget.

I am having a weekend off and I am really enjoying it. I took pictures last night of the Strawberry Moon. The weather yesterday was a bit unpredictable. The sun came out and then the rain came and then sun again. I had no idea what it was going to be like by 9:30 PM last night.

I got off work and grabbed a pizza on the way home for me and Mark. I will have to say yesterday was one of the most stressful days I have ever had at work in all my years at my job. It was just a series of things that kept getting worse as the day wore on. Not anything major like an accident or anything like that but just CRAZY!!! issues that had to be handled and it seemed like each issue grew and grew and grew before it was taken care of. You know what I mean right?

I wasn’t even sure if I would be able to set up the tripod and camera and even attempt to take any pictures. But I did. Being at home with the family has a way of calming me and like I told you awhile back I am trying to leave work at work. Yesterday was really a challenge on that.

So back to the Strawberry Moon. Several parts of the country were able to see a partial penumbral eclipse, this is when part of the moon moves through the Earth’s outer shadow. This makes a part of the moon seem dimmer. The Strawberry Moon eclipse will be visible above Asia, Australia, Europe, and Africa. So though here in the US we did now see this event the moon was to appear maybe a little darker or reddish than it normally does when full. I was excited to see it.

June’s moon is called the Strawberry Moon because it comes during strawberry season. Also it is known as the final spring full moon, The Honeymoon, because so many people get married in June. Native Americans also refer to it as the Flower Moon, Hot Moon, Hoe Moon, and Planting Moon.

Around 9:00 I had my camera and tripod set up to move out onto the deck as soon as I could see the moon. The clouds wonderfully parted and around 9:30 I glanced up and there it was!!! It was gorgeous. I jumped out of the chair and grabbed the tripod, the camera was already mounted, and ran out onto the deck. I positioned the camera but for a few minutes I just had to stare at the moon it was so beautiful. I took many many pictures. I stayed out for about an hour or so and during that time the moon changed seemingly in color and depth. There was a slight breeze blowing and it was beautiful, romantic and hopeful. I hope you enjoy these pictures:

What Day is This?

Happy Tuesday,

If you live in the U.S. you are probably thinking this is Monday because yesterday was Memorial Day so there was a three day weekend. Well for some of you I suppose. I am usually off every weekend but because we are just opening back up after quarantine and the closing of non essential businesses, I have worked the last two weekends. It usually works out that either me or my husband have to work on most holidays so we don’t always celebrate them when they happen. We will make it up. That’s not the real reason for Memorial Day anyway.

This was taken in Madisonville TN at the Flag Memorial Site.

Let us not forget the true meaning of Memorial Day. Memorial Day, observed the last Monday in May, honors the men and women who died in service to their country.

To say that life has been a little crazy around here would be an understatement. It seems as though I barely get home and to bed and it is time to do it all over again. When I do have a day off it is usually filled with grocery shopping, getting supplies for my mother in law, laundry etc etc. You know the drill. My house now looks pre quarantine, my shrubs look shaggy, ahhhh the time I spent in quarantine was not bad just the reason for it was bad.

I try to do something fun when I am at home to take my mind off of work and things. And you know what that is? I knit. knitting always makes me relaxed unless it is a really complicated knitting pattern, which I do not do if I am trying to relax. I usually carry a ball of yarn and knitting needles with me at all times. I can knit while I am waiting in line at the drive through at the bank, which can take a really long time now since that is the only way to do your banking. The lobby inside of most banks are still closed. I knit while waiting on take out. I knit on my lunch break at work. Just those few minutes of pushing a knitting needle through the yarn and making stitches is just so soothing.

I love these colors and the yarn is so squishy soft. I can’t wait to see the finished scarf.

I usually do a really simple scarf pattern or a dish cloth pattern that requires almost no thinking or even looking at the knitting. I have a lot of these that I have knitted and I am thinking about signing up for a craft fair in the fall where I will set up a small booth and sell my wares. We shall see.

I have made so many of these wash cloths, dish cloths whatever you want to use them for. They are made with 100% cotton yarn and they are the best for washing your face or your dishes if that’s what you want them for. This one is only half finished I will show you what it looks like when It is finished.

I finally got my hair done today. As soon as the Salon that I go to opened up I called for an appointment. So did several other hundred maybe a thousand people, who knows. Anyway it took me almost three weeks to get in!!! I may or may not have used that L’Oreal Root Touch Up to get me through. It’s good stuff, enough said. I was starting to look a little like Grace Slick from Jefferson Starship. But you know? when I got to the Salon I decided I kinda liked my long hair and I found myself saying, ” only cut abut an inch”. I think I will keep it this length. Ask me how this is going in another month and we will see. My grandma Rose had long hair that she could sit on. She kept it wrapped up tightly in a ball on top of her head. I don’t ever remember seeing it down but my older brothers and sisters say that she let them brush it from time to time.

I hope you are doing well and being safe and enjoying you and your loved ones. Mark had a Vanderbilt appointment via Zoom and blood work at our local hospital. It really beat the long four hour drive to Nashville. All looked great and the kidney is still going strong. Molly still has an ear problem that we just can’t seem to clear up. Poor girl it seems like I am constantly looking at her ears. She is such a gentle soul. If you missed my post about my magnificent Molly you can read it here.

Some wonderful news I am having lunch with my sisters tomorrow. I haven’t seen them in almost two and a half months. We are having Sister Lunch. I did a blog about this and if you missed it check it out here. I can’t wait to see my sisters and solve all the world’s problems.

Have a wonderful week!!!

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!