I didn't get to go fishing this weekend, but it wasn't because I didn't want to go.

It was a time issue, really.

I got off work Friday and picked up my friend Mike and we rode to Virginia to get some poles another friend gave to me. It turns out that he was running his store on the river when he noticed the state truck outside changing out sign posts. Luckily for me, they gave the poles to him and I was able to coerce him into donating them to my cause — cause I wanted them.

Actually, I caught him cleaning up around the store and used the opportunity to offer to help him out by taking those clunky things. Included were 4x4s, 6x6s and other various sizes, some measuring 12 feet long. They were mostly treated, which is a big bonus for me. I was tickled to death to get them.

Just one pole like that could cost upwards of $25. It's always good to have friends who also collect junk and need to share the wealth from time to time.

On the way back in we stopped at a friend's house and ended up staying until after 11 p.m. I hadn't been up that late in a good while. I slept in on Saturday morning, not getting up until almost 9 a.m. It felt good to get some extra rest in. So often we overlook the basic needs of our bodies as we heap more and more on our schedules.

During the day, I worked around the house, cleaning up for my rabbits and straightening up prior to the landlord's arrival. You never want the house to look bad when the landlord comes.

I shoveled up about 10 five gallon buckets of ‘bunny berries' for the strawberry patch and loaded them on the truck. Then my friend, who got mad at me for saying he wanted his name in the paper recently, came up to help me with a few projects.

He also works with chickens, rabbits and bees, so he has been a big help in many ways, as we both have similar problems and can share knowledge.

There was a bee class down in Wilkes to attend to boot, offering ‘a day in the bee yard' for amateur beekeepers. It was a hectic day in some ways. Later that evening, I went to visit my parents and stayed overnight at their home. I awoke in the morning to the smell of a really potent garlic roast cooking in the oven. The smell of garlic is a fine one, but not early in the morning. It wasn't the most pleasant way I could think of to wake up, let me tell you.

Soon, it was time to be off to the church of the week and then to visit my property near the old family homeplace. My nieces live there now. They had a porch full of flowers to plant and I was going to help, but I found spreading grass seed and fertilizer there was more than enough work for me. A body can wear himself out sewing seed and fertilizer over about an acre pretty quick.

After that, I had to go eat Sunday dinner at my parents' house, which is sort of a tradition for the immediate family in the area. By now, the garlic roast smelled much better than it had that morning.

After the meal, I went outside to spread the manure on the strawberries and somehow ended up breaking apart all my garlic bulbs into individual plants and moving them to a spot above the strawberry patch. The strawberries came from the cooperative extension and the garlic was a gift from Walter Bell, who may be one of the best gardeners I've met. I also found some of what Walter calls ‘clump onions' that I planted around the garlic several years ago.

They were hidden among the grass around the garlic, barely discernable from it at all. The only way to spot it was to look for the lighter streak in the center. I decided to go ahead and break it apart and replant it as well.

Later in the day, my aunt called to announce she was going to get rid of some of my grandmother's old things. That call was the one of the brightest moments of the weekend.

I already have the best collection of heirlooms in the family, but I intend to continue collecting dishes and odds and ends when I can. I have bought a few things and others were given to me. My grandmother was never a wealthy woman, but it is nice to preserve irreplaceable family artifacts. Many lives are past, but at least we can cherish our memorabilia. I have almost finished re-gathering all of her green British china, which was never really very attractive to start with. No matter. It was hers and before that it was her mother's. I am just glad that it will all be together for some future generation to enjoy now. What better service can we do for the future than preserving part of our heritage? It's really the least we can do.

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