Over the 4th of July weekend, Mamaw, Poppy, Thomas and I went to see Granddad (Poppy's father) in west TN. At 97, Granddad--R.A. Phillips-- is still farming the hundred+ acre farm called "Stoney Lonesome," which came to him through his wife, Willie Ruth, or as we called her, "Memom." The farm name came from a letter written by a Union soldier who was camping near a spring on the property before the battle of Shiloh; in the letter, the soldier describes the place as "stoney" and "lonesome." Trips to Stoney Lonesome were among the most anticipated events of my childhood. Memom and I would look for butterflies, Granddad and I would go to the bank, Shane and I would explore the creek, and the whole family would pile into the car and go the Catfish Hotel. Now, Thomas can tag along and make memories too.
At the Catfish Hotel
Visiting Memom's grave
You can't see it, but there is a tiger swallowtail in this picture. No doubt it is Memom, who taught science and dearly loved butterflies, following us to the creek. "It's snakey down there," she is probably trying to tell us.
Looking for "Ollie's Paw Rock" in the creek. To explain: Last year, we found a rock in Granddad's creek that looked like it had a cat paw imprinted in it. We called it "Ollie's Paw Rock." It has since disappeared, so we decided to look for a new one. Though none quite as feline-pawish as that one, we did find some interesting candidates, including some with fossils!
Playing Chinese Checkers with Poppy.
(Chinese Checker games were legendary at Memom and Granddad's. Memom was a formidable opponent. In fact, even after she was suffering from severe dementia, she was still winning games of Chinese Checkers!)
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