Grizzly

Our early Christmas gift from son #1 and his girlfriend, to son #4. It came to my attention that all the boys have had a dog to call their own ( and some had other animals also, see earlier post), so #1 and girlfriend decided that this would just not do and decided to rectify the situation. 

And now we are the proud owners of a black and tan mix puppy.

So far Moe (the current king of the house) is not too pleased with this new development, we are hoping he makes peace with it soon.

I think he's here to stay.

Bovine in the backyard

To begin at the beginning........
                                        We do not live on a farm. We live on a street in a rural area with a fairly good size flat yard that backs up to a cornfield ( that is not ours) and the street is a dead end with a large grassy field and then there is a river, but WE do not live on a farm. This small detail however did not stop #3 child from bringing home a 2 week old calf.

"Oh, it's only until it's weaned off the bottle"  #3 said. And I naively believed him.

This cow (Opie) quickly became our big yard dog.

Opie was being raised through the dairy steer project from the 4-H and through the FFA chapter #3 was going to show him at the local county fair and then the Mountain State Fair and then according to the contract, he would be sold in lots with the other dairy steer cows at the conclusion of the Mtn. State Fair. We were warned, "This is a terminal project!"  

But how do you bottle feed, keep warm, clean and train to show an animal and not get attached?

Half the neighborhood enjoyed seeing this cow and watching it grow. (side note: there are dairy farms and fields of cows all around us, it's not like a cow is a new and novel thing)

Opie did very well at his "showings" and at the Mtn. State Fair, #3 won Reserve Champion with him. 

Showmanship Practice

                                                                  County Fair
                                           

 Before a bath and grooming for the show.

Reserve Champion.

Opie was sold in a lot with about 8 other cows and my son was seemingly okay with it all. But at the end of the day when he found out that a friend of his, a farmer with connections to the school's FFA privately sought out the buyer of the specific lot that Opie was in and bought the animal from that man, I think he was very happy. Opie then went to that gentleman's farm where he lived happily grazing in a field for several more months.

I have learned about cows and it was a cool experience, one that I am happy to leave to others well qualified with the sufficient means and ways to do it.

Read this

https://livingwithterminalcancer.wordpress.com/

Follow this link for some honesty. This is my nephew's blog on living with the diagnosis of terminal cancer. It's truthful and genuine. His hope is that it helps someone.

Tybee Beach

 So I found a new place to love!

We spent a great week at Tybee over the 4th of July

I could stay here forever.

Perfection

The mom enjoying a rest .

Peaceful

Definitely returning next year!.

Stages

November 9, 2017

Not to sound to cliche' but treasure your children now because things change fast!

Wonderboy and I were talking the other day and he said something about "the little boys" which is what we have always called the youngest two of our offspring and I paused and looked at him and said "they are not little anymore.....at all"

He agreed and we were both silent for a minute.

We are at the stage of our life where we are planning family vacations and trips around work schedules that are not our own. The oldest two have jobs!  One lives completely on his own! (it does happen moms, I promise).

We are also at that stage of life where we are becoming more and more responsible to and for our parents. As I watch my cousins struggle to care for my aunt and uncle, I look at my mom (the younger sibling) and think 'how long until I am in their shoes?'

We had a great family vacation this summer...all the boys, a friend of one who is a girl (but not a girl friend) my mom and my sister. I wonder how many more we will have. What does the future hold? Will our family get bigger or shrink? I know it impossible to know, but sometimes the mind wanders.So enjoy the tedious day to day of taking care of little ones, and the uncertainty of life because it is all great, beautiful and exciting.

Avery County, NC

A quick trip up to Avery County last fall to visit the first born in his new home. These pictures are not his home, haha, but rather the very cool Mast General Store in Valle Crucis.  I fell in love with this place, the peaceful beauty and old time charm. Visit if you can, completely worth it.

So this perfect little place is Fontana Dam, North Carolina.  I am a bit attached to this area as it was here at Fontana Village that I got a summer job after my freshman year in college and met this lifeguard. That lifeguard and I got married in the village, are still together and have four children. My first child, while not born here, (there is no local hospital) was raised here the first months of his life.
We have returned here again and again to this place with our children, friends and other family members. It is a beautiful, restful and relaxed place. Part of the Appalachian trail crosses over here, campers, families, hikers and motorcycle riders have been traveling to this remote corner of North Carolina for years.
It is worth the curvy mountain drive, I promise.