The Trail Since 2006
It began with a spark of inspiration from a few kindred spirits scattered along the Appalachian ridges, mostly in North Carolina and Virginia. Back then, we were virtual friends who—for the most part—never shared a physical porch, but we built a digital one together. Some were writers, some were poets, and some were photographers, each of us finding our way through those early “virtual woods” on the internets.
What follows is a collection of my latest musings (and perhaps a bit of blathering), a trail of thoughts that winds all the way back to those first steps in 2006.
Or just meander through my past muses… Just hope the coffee isn’t stale!
2023 Day 21
Saturday January 21st It’s mid-afternoon, but, it’s looked like this all day long. It’s 53° right now… The same as it was at 7:00 a.m. this morning. There’s been light rain falling off and on…
2023 Day 20
Friday January 20th It’s a cool and breezy 57° this morning. And when I say breezy I mean the wind chimes are singing on the front porch. The wind chill made me get up and…
2023 Day 19
Thursday January 19th It’s a cool 51°. The clouds have all blown away… Mostly. I’ve got many things to do today mostly on the road… So this little muse is already coming to an end….
2023 Day 18
Wordless Wednesday January 18th
2023 Day 17
Tuesday January 17th It’s not feeling much like winter this morning… 67° before the sun comes up… and as the world outside my window lights up… there’s a bit of fog hanging around. I’ve always…
2023 Day 16
Monday January 16th Why is it the best mornings for sitting in the rocker on the back porch or in the flat dab middle of winter? Today we’re starting at 68°. With quite an overcast….
2023 Day 15
Sunday January 15th I slept in this morning… Later than I have in a long time… The first comment out of the wife’s mouth was ” you must have needed it “. So I guess,…
2023 Day 14
Saturday January 14th It’s a chill 36° this morning on the back porch. And I won’t be visiting long… I have some place to be this morning so this will be very very short… I’ll…
2023 Day 13
Friday January 13th The back porch is chilly this morning… 45° as the sun comes up. I know all of you in the Northern tier of states are grinning at that description. What with being…
2023 Day 12
Thursday, January 12th It’s just a bit warm at 67° this morning. Yesterday, our high was pushing 80° again. Especially on the back porch in the sun… It might have even risen into the mid…
2023 Day 11
Wordless Wednesday, January 11th
2023 Day 10
Tuesday, January 10th It’s already 61 ° and there’s a “Dense Fog Advisory” out there. Since it’s still dark out I have no idea if it actually is foggy… As the world outside my window…
2023 Day 9
Monday, January 9th It’s a pleasantly cool 52° on the back porch this morning. The winds are calm, not a breeze blowing. Just enough light clouds in the sky to add some color to the…
2023 Day 8
Sunday, January 8th It was a wild and stormy night… Thunder and lightning… An inch of rain fell while we slept. This morning on the back porch it’s cool and windy. The temperature is 57°,…
2003 Day 7
Saturday, January 7th It’s the beginning of what the prognosticators are foretelling will be a wet weekend. As usual, we will have to wait and see what happens in the long run. Though at the…
2023 Day 6
Friday, January 6th Good morning… It’s a bit warmer this morning at 52°, but the humidity is up and that makes it feel cooler. On this anniversary of one of the darkest days in our…
2023 Day 5
Thursday, January 5th It feels more like winter this morning, 45°… It’s still, the sky is cloudless. It’s even a little chilly inside the house because with our heat spell since Christmas I’ve not turned…
2023 Day 4
Wednesday, January 4th Wordless Wednesday
2023 Day 3
Tuesday, January 3rd Waiting for the cool down… In the past hour a line of wannabe showers blew thru on the leadup to cool front. Not much more than a heavy sprinkle, it just hinted…
2023 Day 2
Monday, January 2nd Another overcast start to a New Year’s day. I am out on the back porch once again and the temperature this morning is a balmy 72°… Not a temperature many of us…
2023, Day 1
Sunday, January 1st Happy New Year It’s 64° and very foggy… And still… And quiet… And my coffee’s brewed… And so far, not much has happened around here in the new year … That’s a…
December Day 31
Saturday, New Years Eve It’s a cool and foggy morning to end the year 2022 on. Here’s wishing each and every one of you a safe and happy New Year… https://youtu.be/ZpR0pKjmKSA 3:00 p.m. on the…
December Day 30
Friday It’s wet… It’s 62°… Since yesterday afternoon over an inch of rain has fallen. What a difference a week can make and looks of the world around me. That is, if you throw in…
December Day 29
Thursday It’s a pleasant 61° out this morning. I can’t really say that it feels like the last days of December. And, the prognosticators tell us it’s going to get warmer by the new year….
December Day 28
Wordless Wednesday Except for… Happy Birthday Breanna…
December Day 27
Tuesday The sun is up… The sky is a deep blue. Cloudless. It’s a blue that only appears in winter. On cold, crisp mornings. Maybe we should name it… Winter’s Blue… We are in the…
December Day 26
Monday Well, the big day is over… Peace and quietude has descended over this house once again. Listening to music in my big easy chair… I don’t have much to say this morning so I’ll…
December Day 25
Merry ChristmasIt’s Sunday, December 25th It’s a busy morning here in Coffee Muses land. So, this post was written and scheduled in advance… I will say that for only the second or third time in…
December 24
Saturday, Christmas Eve Here’s wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Peaceful New Year,,, Christmas in the Wild, Gary Boyd I am not an artist. But I wanted to paint something…
December Day 23
Friday This Old PorchThe weather outside is frightful… My Old Porch, Christmas Morning 2004 This old porch is just a long timeOf waiting and forgettingAnd remembering the coming backAnd not crying about the leavingAnd remembering…
December Day 22
Thursday Winter is coming… Real Winter… Not this fake stuff we normally have pass thru Houston on the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Hard freeze all the way to the coast. All of the…
December Day 21
Wordless Wednesday – Winter inter Solstice
December Day 20
Tuesday While it’s not cold out per se… It does have a look of winter. The temperature is hovering right around the 50° mark where it will pretty much stay for the next two days….
December Day 19
Monday The calm before the storm… There is an overcast to the day… A heaviness hanging in the air… A portent of expectations blowing on the winds… A coastal low pressure system is helping to…
December Day 16
Friday It’s almost 10° warmer this morning. Still, it’s much more seasonable than the above 70° start we’ve been having. The Christmas Day forecast is out… The low Christmas morning will be in the ’30s….
December Day 15
Thursday It’s finally feeling like the season… again. After teasing us with an early week of colder than normal weather, Mother Nature brought summer back for a long visit… Today we’ve moved back to feeling…
December Day 14
Wordless Wednesday
December Day 13
Tuesday It’s already 72° this morning. Looking at the trees you’re given a very ambiguous picture of what season we are in. The Red oak has lost almost all of its leaves, even the balls…
December Day 11
Sunday It’s a cool 66° this morning and the light rain is falling. Though, the thunder makes it sound like it should be raining harder… I spent yesterday playing that fun game of new computer…
December Day 10
Saturday The sun is up fully. And while the temperature is cool at 69°, it’s quite warm on the back porch. We just have another week or so of the sun’s southerly movement on the…
December Day 9
Friday It’s another foggy morning. Even the sounds are muffled. The temperature is 71°. And with the moisture in the air it’s a cool 71°…. It’s the end of another week. We are getting closer…
December Day 8
Thursday Well, once again it’s warm and muggy. The temperature starting today is 72°. Almost all of the leaves have fallen from the Red Oak. The pictures above show yesterday and today’s leaf coverage. And…
December Day 7
Wordless Wednesday https://youtu.be/ghVmIWTVh98
December Day 6
Tuesday It’s another warm one today. It’s already 71°. The prognosticators say this is what we have to look forward to for the rest of the week. We might see it cool down after this…
Not so fall like
December Day 5
Monday The morning is warm and foggy… 67° with a dense fog advisory. The prognosticators are foretelling if a high temperature today is 79°. Not a very fall-like weather pattern we’re having this week… With…
December Day 4
Sunday It’s a pleasant 64° out this morning. Overcast, still… Not a breeze blowing. The progression of color is moving from the tree to the ground. I find myself in that in between space. I’ve…
December Day 3
Saturday it’s an almost warm and sticky mess out this morning. With the temperature of 72° and a humidity of 96%, our cool fall days are definitely in the rearview mirror. Last night after dark…
December Day 2
Friday And just like that, the weather, she has turned on a dime… The morning temperature is 64°. And the humidity is up. Which makes the fall colors pop. At this point I almost feel…
December 1st
Thursday It’s another beautiful fall sunrise. The temperature is a brisk 45°. But, fall’s going to slip back into a more summer like few days. The highs for the rest of the week will be…


