Yesterday I walked down to the big garden about dusky dark. Our drought like weather has left like a stranger who stayed too long and our friendly old weather pattern has returned.
We’ve had thunderstorms about every evening for the last week. Some with heavy down pours that are really something to see and hear with the trees, bushes, and other fauna all leafed out. I love to sit on the porch swing and just watch it fall in fast and furious torrents.
Unfortunately, a few of those storms brought wind with them. There’s a whole section of the corn that’s laying down. I made an effort to stand some of it back up even though I heard Pap in my head and The Deer Hunter right beside me saying it likely wouldn’t do no good.
Most of what I stood up has already fallen over again.
There is still quite a bit standing tall and I’m hoping the wind stays out of the next round of storms.
Even with the damage it’s still a beautiful sight to see corn growing once again in Wilson Holler.
dusky dark noun The times of day when, and shortly after, the sun goes down; partial darkness, in contrast to complete darkness (called black dark).
1939 Hall Coll. Hazel Creek NC It was just about dusky dark. It was snowin’ like water pourin’ out of a bucket. (Zeb Crisp) 1941 Justus Kettle Creek 122 “Of course,” agreed Aunt Emmy, “you must get home before dusky dark lest your folks worry over you.” 1986 Ogle Lucinda 61 I was sitting on top the rail fence, and it was getting dusky dark when I saw something moving toward us out of the Rhododendron thicket.
~Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English
Tipper
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Hi Tipper, It’s good to remember when it used to get dusty dark there on the mountain where Grandma and Grandpa used to live. And yes I’m old enough to remember when a kerosene lamp was our light along with the big open fireplace where we would gather around to talk and share interesting tales of long ago.
I watched your video of Alexander’s Store and I loved it! When you are there you are near where I got my first breath of fresh mountain air! Yes, I’m Appalachian thru and thru! Ever since I saw that you were going to be at Alexander’s Store on August 3rd I determined that I was going to be there to meet you in person. Well, now I don’t know about that. I fell and shattered my kneecap on July 9 and am recuperating from that. I can’t drive for at least 6 weeks but if I can find a way I’ll be there to meet you. I’ve been looking forward to it so much.
I don’t know if you’ll notice the road signs but Burt Nix Road was named for my precious Uncle Birt. It’s still a dirt road and at the top of that big hill is where my grandparents lived. Down to the foot of the hill is Stink Creek and I was born on the little hill just above there. (The creek doesn’t stink, it smells like galax and wonderful mosses and flowers blooming in the Spring and Summer). Lots of sweet memories still linger there every time I drive by. The house is all gone but I still feel my grandparents memory there. My husband Pastored Pine Top Baptist Church and that is the first church he pastored over 50 years ago. So I guess I’ll stop talking so much about this and get back to my trusty old lift chair and work out a plan to be with you at Alexander’s Store. We will have a BIG TIME! I love you and your sweet family. Stay sweet!
Barbara-I’m so sorry about your knee. I will pray for it to heal. I would love to meet you 🙂
My Mama always said “dusky dark”. It really is a favorite time of day, especially in the mountains.
TIPPER SOUNDS LIKE IT WASRAINING DOGS AND CATS. BETTER BE CAREFUL WALKIMG IN THE DUSTY DARK. IF IT STARTS RAINING YOU MIGHT BE HIT BY A CAT THAT HAS NOT HAD ITS CLSWS REMOVED. I READ SOMEWHERE IT WAS RAINING FISH. FRIEND ALLEN
“fauna all leafed out”…which one of your critters is leafed out? I think you meant to say flora. Fauna is animals. 🙂
They’re all in their Gilley Suits, Charlie! If fauna is animals does that mean that animals is fauna. That doesn’t sound right. Animals is fauna or animals are fauna? If a=b then b=a, right. I don’t know? That’s algaebruh! I didn’t graduate high school!
Sorry Charlie! That’s Ghillie not Gilley. Here I am 1/3rd Scottish and I lost another word to spell checker.
In my growing years I loved when ‘dusky dark’ time would come – that time when the day was wrapping itself up and heading for ‘bed’ – all would get so still and quiet – oft times I would grab an old quilt and go lay out on the grass and watch the stars get brighter and the activity up there in the skies that would come into view. In later years, when I still lived in a rural area, I continued to enjoy that dusky dark time of day, when you could ‘hear’ the quietness and stillness moving in. Now I live in a high-rise in a concrete jungle, and though we still have dusky dark each day, it just means the traffic and the city life noise gets a bit less, and there is always the glow of city lights through the night. The smells of dusky dark and the night from country living is also gone when one lives in a concrete jungle.
So happy you have finally been getting some rain!!! The same is happening here in central Georgia!!! We are so thankful for every drop!!!!!
Love the picture. I haven’t heard the term dusky dark in a long time. We are getting rain today again which is a blessing. I am so glad that your rain pattern has returned and maybe the corn that fell will stand again. Thank you so much for the tour of Alexander’s. That is one of the nicest stores I have ever seen. I think I could spend a whole day in there just looking.
“Dusky dark” was Mama’s favorite time of day. She usually spent it on her porch swing with the feral cat my brother tamed. If yall have seen the older lady who always says she hates the cat but is always being caught loving on it–this is the way Mama was with LT (Lonesome Tom but neutered).
My brother’s had a genetic disorder which causes night blindness. Mom would always tell them to try to be home before dusty dark and that she would leave the porch light on. I was readying “Gone Like The Candle In The Wind” as I sat alone in my kitchen. It could have been written by my family. Make memories. They last a lifetime. God bless.
Beautiful picture and yes, I’ve heard and used a few times dusky dark, but mostly said dusk.
You need a rain gauge.
Dusk is my favorite time of the day. Has been for years. I used to sit on the porch and smoke my pipe, but pipes are nasty, stinky things, so now I just sit on the porch swing and watch these weird-but-beautiful sunsets, colored orange this week by Saharan dust in the upper atmosphere. Two old popular songs keep coming back to remind me of dusky dark, my time to reflect and give thanks: “When you come to the end of the day ” by the Inkspots and “Twilight Time” by the Platters. Easy listening.
The two songs you mentioned were from the 1950-60’s when the music was good. One of my favorite groups was CCR, after listening to some of their songs, my daughter also liked them. I don’t think you can ever hear any better harmony than Dale and Gracie when they sung “I’m Leaving It Up To You. I know this has nothing to do with dusty dark, my favorite time to sit on the beach.
Dusty dark is the time of day when I start closing the shed and garage doors and come inside. The same sounds heard in the woods during the day sound much spookier as nighttime approaches. I’m glad you finally got some long-overdue rain. For my garden, the recent rain came a little too late. My corn stalks are so short the wind would have a hard time putting them down. The tomato skins split as they ripen, and the melons suffered the most. I’ll be grateful for what I can salvage and pray for a better garden next year.
Not sure I remember that one, although I knew I better be home before dark. That was not a problem for me cause I was probably afraid of the dark:) Come dark I always wanted to be home; even if I was suppose to spend the night at my cousin’s house, come dark, I got homesick:)
Shout out to Katie and Corie, their jam session in the kitchen was really good!!
As others have posted, I love the picture. It has such an atmosphere that it will take your mind somewhere good to go. Those sorts of pictures are my favorites. The uptown descriptive word I think is “evocative” because they evoke a trend of thought. Captioning with the Appalachian “dusky dark” puts the crowning touch on it. And it makes me realize I sure would like to have a view or a path here to enjoy dusky dark again like when I was a kid. I didn’t know I was missing it, still less that I have been missing it for a very long time. Taking my own sunset pictures in the front yard had not even done it.
So happy to hear your rain pattern has returned. Hoping and praying the damaging winds stay away. Dusky dark is a lovely time of evening.
I know I can’t eat them, but my hollyhocks got taken down by the wind. It’s as if the devil KNEW yellow ones were my favorite so of course those were the first to go. Murrman asked me yesterday “is that it for the hollyhocks?”as they turn brown and seed pods turn brown. I said it is IT. He said “well they sure were something spectacular to see while they lasted!” I’m hoping for a few food items from the garden, but I ain’t about to put my cart before the horse! We shall see what happens with it all I do reckon. “God willing and the Creek (a band of native Americans, actually was the creek spoken of) don’t rise!!!” Bless you all and your corn too. Corn Silk Tincture CURES kidney stones and helps the kidneys so remember that! Gods medicines are WAYYYYY better than man’s black magic.
We’re been getting some much needed rain this week and a good soaking this morning for which I am thankful for. My local corn farmer said it’s the worst year he’s had in year’s especially for silver queen. He’s still charging $7 a dozen.
After these few days of rain I’m hoping my “rattlesnake bean lady” calls telling me they are ready. They are selling for $55 a bushel this year!
As for the phrase dusty dark, I can hear my mommy’s voice saying “ you kids come on in this house it’s getting dusty dark.”
Oh Tipper I’be got to tell you this-you know one of my favorite books is Dorie Woman of the Mountains-found it yesterday at a used book store. Also found Wilma Dykeman’s The Tall Woman. Made my day!
I am on my third Wilma Dykeman book right now! I heard about her, an outstanding author, from Tipper’s blog! I hate to hear about your corn. My grandparents’ barn had a huge corn crib with ears of feed corn piled high! Granddaddy Blue grew popping corn too & many a wintry night he trekked to the barn to fetch the popping corn & popped it over the fireplace in the front room. Grandmother Clem poured it into a dish pan & poured melted butter over it & sprinkled lots of salt. We grandchildren washed it down with ice cold Coca Cola in the small green bottles. There was always a case of those on the back porch when we city kids showed up at The Farm. As I sit on my porch swing, the sky over NW Georgia is overcast; the ground still wet from last night’s rain. Enjoying the cooler air & the summer sounds in the forest! There’s no place like a home in Southern Appalachia. Thank you Tipper for evoking memories of simpler times. God bless your family!
We have been having rain regularly and during the last three days. The grass, trees and other vegetation seems to have bounced back. My husband and I were concerned about our well going dry but not now. The term “dusty dark” was used all the time by my Ky family when I was growing up. My siblings, cousins, neighbor kids and I would stay outside well past dusty dark times. The corn in the fields looks good as you drive past it on the road. It looks like most of the crops in this area made it through the drought. It is so relaxing to sit on the porch and listen to the falling rain.
The same thing happened to part of our corn. It did come back up in a few days. We have sure been enjoying it. We have a few tomatoes ripening. I ate a half tomato sandwich yesterday and it was really good. I wish we lived closer to an Alexander store. I enjoyed the tour.
Hugs from Missouri.
I love the term dusky dark. I’d forgotten about it. I remember my mother telling us to be home by dusky dark from playing outside.
We still say Dark Thirty instead of dusky dark.
Tipper, I love your photograph. I don’t hear dusky dark around here much, but it sure sounds pretty. Except maybe for sunrise, dusky dark is my favorite time of day. The world looks so quiet and peaceful.
Tipper, I love your photograph. I don’t hear dusky dark around here much, but it sure sounds pretty. Except for sunrise, dusky dark is my favorite time of day. The world looks so quiet and beautiful.
lol. This one was a mistake. I somehow hit the wrong keys when typing my name. I thought I deleted it but evidently submitted it instead. Anyway…sorry
My mother had a whistle tone that was to call us kids home, and if we weren’t back by dusky dark, we were likely to be in serious trouble. It was our call to bath time and bed and always just before dark.
And then later on in the evening there’s “black dark”.
Tipper I am grateful y’all are getting rain. Don’t worry about the corn being knocked over as it will stand back up after a day or two. We live in a high wind zone and it always lays our corn down a few times each summer. My daddy always said to leave it alone and she’ll stand tall once again. He was right as rain. One year it laid our Hickory King down so many times in a row with high winds and torrential rains it did stay a little twisted but that was unusual. I love that picture and grateful y’all have a corn patch! Have a joy-filled day!
For the last week thunderstorms have been forecast for us, even for tonight with flooding possible. It has not happened. We have had cloudy humid weather but not a lot of rain. It gets me how with all of the technology available to today’s weathermen they still can be wrong so many times. One of our local stations likes to talk about their Doppler radar, it seems like their forecast is wrong more often than the other stations. Tipper, a lot of time, if the corn is not laying completely on the ground, the corn will stand back up on it’s own in a few days. I have heard “dusty dark” all of my life.