Robinson

photo by Faith

Faith and the kids went to Uncle Max's and Aunt Anne's for a week. Other cousins were there too.

photo Patience

Cousin Hannah

photo Patience

On the way home, they stopped by Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park.

photo Patience, a good shot

The view from the tower. Cousin Clark, Mercy, Courage, Honor. Silhouettes look over the edge, ignoring the fog-laced hills.

When a child grows up in the mountains, as long as the child lives the mountains will cast a spell.

photo Faith

Mercy, Honor, Courage, Justice, Patience, cousin Clark.

photo Patience

Faith took five children to Clarksburg for a street festival sponsored by local churches. The Donut Man was there. We have a couple of his videos for kids. Here, Courage checks out a ride.

photo Patience

The Donut Man did a second show just for our crew, because they were told the wrong schedule, and showed up just as the first show ended. This is another performer, who gave the kids some of his CDs.

photo Patience

Grace

photo Patience

Courage gets a lift in the parachute ride.

In 1972, US House of Representatives Majority Leader Hale Boggs and Alaska representative Nick Begich were traveling in a plane over Alaska. Neither the plane nor the men have ever been found.

Beginning this month, the North Carolina Board of Governors will require all students enrolled at any public college or university in North Carolina to have health insurance. Students who do not have it are required to buy a state selected policy.

The policy costs students $744 per year, and the State of North Carolina will not be paying into the policy. Students without insurance will be required to pay the entire cost.

This mandated policy covers up to $500 toward each elective abortion. Every student who pays into the policy will be paying for abortions for other students.

We shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.

Paul, to his friends in Corinth

Monday, August 2.

This is my brother Marshall, in his study. We all went to his house Sunday, on the Clay/Nicholas line, near Widen. First we went to his church for morning worship, then to his home. He has a nice study, nice books.

Justice and Honor with cousin Clark.

Abraham, 2.

William.

Busy kitchen.

On the way out, stopped by the road to talk to cousin Tim and his friend Pam, and his daughter Sophie. They were headed to Marshall's house.

Pam took a photo of all the Robinsons.

This is what the sky looked like just before the flying saucer appeared.

Kids got in some swimming at a neighbor's pool recently.

photo Patience

Faith met the midwife at the home of Wendy and James and their boys. Wendy and the boys were there.

For some reason Patience didn't click a shot of Jennifer, the midwife.

photo Patience

Jennifer the midwife said the baby is doing well. Faith took the kids to Bee Run on the way home.

Thursday night, July 22.

Found this tiny snake at the home where I'm working, in Burnt House. Took it to Jim Meads, in Glenville, the local snake expert. It's a garter snake.

Found this spider in our yard. Is it a black widow? Whether it is or not, it is now deceased.

Found this bug when getting gas at Rich gas station. It's a rhinoceros beetle. That's a quarter beside it, and my hand.

Honor let it go.

Saw this at work, in Burnt House. I'd like to have a wallpaper with these all over it.

photo Patience

Kids went with Faith to the local library Wednesday.

On the way home from Clarksburg Tuesday evening.

After church Sunday, when I tried to open the van door . . .

Sunday morning, July 18.

Got a puppy Friday.

Patience with the pup; an apple ripening on a tree.

The concrete plant was busy Saturday; a big pour at the college.

I got leftovers from the last truck, about three yards. Justice helped finish this time, at the rental house in Glenville.

Mercy and Courage watch from the upper deck.

Took this a couple of weeks ago.

After VBS Sunday evening, our friend Dave (at the window) treated the Robinsons to ice cream. His daughters Brianna (r) and Megan are in with our crowd.

Wilson's Crossing was different. It's always different. My kids weren't there; they went to VBS.

Dave and Ed dropped by early. Good fellowship. Harvey has been working for Ed, an arrangement that developed because they both crossed paths with us here at Wilson's. That's working well for both of them.

Later in the evening I engaged some friends and strangers on the street, and we ended up with a fantastic guitarist, Gerald, shown here playing his electric guitar. He is in town working on the new college dorm. He's a Christian who attends church in Alderson. Brandon is on the acoustic guitar at right. He's having a rough time in his life right now, down and out. Channel, from Honduras, on the left, drops by every week. After dark, when everyone was gone, we sat on the steps and I got to describe Jesus to him. A good evening, even if we did miss some of the regulars.

This morning while Faith made waffles, four-year old Courage told her about Vacation Bible School at Anchor last night.

"We talked about how God made us. He made the first man out of the dust; and then we pretended to go to sleep and snore. Then Mr. Lance made a funny noise, and God made the woman out of a ribbon."

Democrat Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois:

"We need more help from Washington to protect against job cuts and health care cuts. If we don't do that, we're following Herbert Hoover economics."

Please. Give me Hoover economics.

Saturday, July 10.

Took this picture this morning at 5:30 am, as I was leaving the hollow to do some concrete prep at our house in Glenville. Nothing exceptional, but if you look closely in the middle of the photo, where the land meets the sky . . .

. . . good sized buck, going over the ridge in the meadow.

One more shot of the eastern sky before the sun was up.

Tuesday, July 6.

The runway for the airplanes that will be landing and taking off at the mouth of our hollow, across the river. They have made it much wider in the last couple of weeks.

The first pier for the bridge that will carry traffic to lower Cedar Creek, and to the airport. This photo was taken from the south side of the river; that's Route 5 in the background. The shadow of the crane is falling on the pier.

Vacation Bible School was at Cox's Mills last week. Mercy, Honor and Justice are singing; Grace is wandering around checking things out.

Grace checks out the Good Samaritan as she helps the man who got beat up on the road.

photo Justice

Wilson's Crossing, last night. I wasn't expecting anyone to show up on a holiday Monday, but Brian came; Shannon and her two boys came; Diana and her granddaughter came; Ed came.

Brian is teaching Justice to play guitar.

Monday, June 28.

My photo horse, in the morning fog last week.

Picked up this blacksnake coming home. Honor wanted to hold it. It measured 62 inches long. Five feet, two inches.

photo Courage!!

I got 3 1/2 yards of leftover concrete Saturday. At the Glenville house. That is a lot of concrete. Will make a nice parking place.

photo Justice

I poured this piece of sidewalk; then the cat in the right of the picture walked on it. I expressed my displeasure, and put some boards over it for protection.

Saw this house in Auburn.

Picked up cousin Kenny in Fairmont Saturday. He's moving on to Charleston today.

Our pastor, Alan Neal, retired. His final preaching service was yesterday. All five churches were at Coxs Mills for preaching. That was followed by a picnic.

Grace checked out the creek.

Mercy and Grace wore their almost-matching outfits to church last week. Aunt Ann in Texas sent one; Aunt Anne in Renick sent the other.

Monday morning, June 21.

We went to Pleasant Hill Church in Calhoun County yesterday. All five kids sang in the children's choir (Patience is in NC at grandparents).

Grace made some friends during the dinner after church.

Sunday, June 20.

Grace in her favorite place: outside.

1925 Model T, in town for the Folk Festival.

The kids wanted to run in the kids' race yesterday. The first race is for age five and under. Courage was in it. He burst out to a lead, then got distracted by all of the yelling, and daddy with the camera, and another boy ran by him . . .

. . . then Courage turned on the afterburners, caught him, and won first place.

Justice and Honor ran in the second race. Some fleet-footed boy made them settle for second and third place. Justice is on the right, and Honor on the far left. Mercy finished second to last. She's somewhere back there.

Saturday morning, June 12.

I ate lunch with Lance Linden (on the right) yesterday, at Anchor, where he is pastor. While we were there, Gary and Justine McLaurin came in. When he was a student at GSC, Gary used to come to the Thursday breakfast Bible study at the Common Place restaurant. He and Justine moved to Georgia last year. Their baby girl, just now turning one, is named Keilah.

There is a blue heron living on our creek. We've seen it several times lately. Yesterday I startled it while driving out. It didn't fly far, landing upstream in the creek. I walked up the road quietly about a hundred yards, to get these two photos of it flying away when I spooked it again.

My camera is not a high speed machine.

Found a black snake caught tightly in the netting of the blueberries yesterday evening. Took about thirty minutes to cut it free. I worked from the back forward, thought that might make things easier.

The yellow level is exactly four feet long.

I drove up the road to the bottom of the mountain and let it go.

Saw this 1938 Ford Convertible Coupe in town yesterday. The owner is Jim Parsons, from Normantown. He spent seven years restoring it.

Thursday night, the waters of the Little Missouri River in Arkansas rose quickly between 1:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. A river gauge at Langley had a peak reading over 23 feet -- up from 3 feet deep at midnight.

A flash flood warning was posted for the area at 1:57 a.m. At that point, the river gauge showed the river was below 4 feet.

Between 2:45 a.m. and 3:45 a.m., the river rose 8 feet.

7.6 inches of rain fell in the area overnight.

Nineteen people died.

Friday, June 11.

My sister Mary Kathryn drove up from North Carolina Tuesday to pick up Faith and all the children. The purpose: to let Faith rest and relax, while my sister's family entertains my children. A great offer. I am here working for the week. Mary Kathryn will drive them back up this coming Tuesday.

Mary Kathryn sent an email last night:

Faith felt the baby move for sure for the first time today :)

Monday, June 7.

Friday night Patience had a sleepover. Maggie, Lydia and Hilari. Mercy stayed right in the middle of everything. I took the boys up on the hill for a campout, so the girls could have their run of the place.

Saturday we went to a picnic at Newberne Church.

The men played games.

The kids played games.

Everybody ate and talked.

Sunday turned into a day of splendid clouds, after the rains passed.

Thursday, June 3.

Honor's birthday was the 29th of May. He is nine. He prepares himself to blow them all out, as Mercy gets into the action.

He wanted a nerf gun.

Courage enjoys something kind of like ice cream cake. Strawberry.

And Grace seems to like it too.

Our kitten. It goes to Foodland for give-away soon.

A big weird-looking spider we found . . .

. . . has lots of little bumps on its back. Looked ominous.

When the box dropped on the ground, the bumps came off and scurried around. At least a hundred babies.

The church I'd like to see get off the ground -- Wilson's Crossing. We meet Monday evenings downtown.

This past Monday, our friends the Meyers dropped by (standing), and Ed (sitting) came in for a while, and needed a ride.

Anne and her daughter Jody brought their dog in for a few minutes.

While we were singing, Harvey came in looking for some weedeater string.

Patience and Justice washed Tiffany's car. She lives upstairs.

When the evening was over, I painted the window. That's the Go-Mart reflection in the window.

Wilson's Crossing is noticeably informal. We try to have a brief Bible study and have the Lord's supper each week. We sing. But so far a lot of it is just meeting people, talking, getting to know each other better.