Life in the country can do that to you. You get lulled into such a sense of calm, where time just melts away. You listen to the mountain streams gurgling in the crisp morning air, as the sun tries to peek over the mountain top. You feel the warmth of the sun's rays as they finally crest over the poplar and chestnut trees still awash in the "smokey" mist. You relish each breath as that clean, thin mountain air grasp and tickles your lungs. Yep, it can certainly be intoxicating.
I'll try to share the experience as best I can. It will be long, so I will have to break it up a bit. You can click on each picture to get the full size version. I hope you like it.
We woke up early Saturday morning, and the whole family went to McKinney, Texas to participate in the Lucky Leprecan 1K and 5K race.
First up was Christopher and Lori running the 1k race along with approximately 50 other kids ranging from ages 4-10. Christopher did fantastic as mom jogged along offering encouragement. I believe he finished around 10th out of the group. Pretty stinking good if you ask me. It was certainly fun watching he and his mom sprinting for the finish.
Next up was Aidan and me running the 5K. We started out pretty quickly. In hindsight, it was probably too quickly, for Aidan started fading a bit just shy of the 1 mile mark. We stopped and walked a bit to allow him to catch his breath. This starting and stopping pattern continued for the rest of the run. Our time was not the greatest, but you know what.........that did not matter one bit. I got to run the race with my son, and I had a blast. It was really fun and I can't wait to do it again.
After the races, we traveled home and started packing for our trip to Tennessee. Everyone was really excited for our Spring Break family trip.
Our flight to Tennessee was uneventful, and we were met at the airport by Dianne about 8:30pm Saturday evening. We were all pretty tired when we got to the farm, so bedtime came for all of us pretty quickly.
We woke up bright and early on Sunday........thanks Christopher.... While Aidan, Lori, Dianne and Christopher went to feed the horses and the Chickens, I went for a walk in the cool morning air. It was beautiful, and I brought along the camera.
Lori, Dianne and the boys were through feeding the horses and chickens, so they headed for the cows. Lori was nice enough to come pick me up. We met the others at the implement barn, where cowboy Christopher was ready for action.
Just across from the barn, Dianne had separated a momma cow and her twin calves.
Because one of the new calves was getting more milk from momma that the other, Dianne and Lori had to bottle feed the other. Christopher....well...he just wanted out!
The better fed sister looked on with fear and amazement.
After we left the momma and her calves, we headed over to another pasture to lay out hay for the herd. Lori quickly got out and went to take a closeup of another new born calf.
We left the cows to their hay, and headed back to the house. On the way up, I noticed the horses, and couldn't help but think "the grass is always greener.......".
We got back to the house and all got cleaned up. Shortly after, Steve, Dianne and the rest of us headed to Hot Springs, NC for a late lunch. We ate at a great little restaurant called The Iron Station. While we were there, I got a great picture of Steve and Dianne with their grandchildren.
We shopped for a little while at some of the quaint little stores in town, and then headed home. We spent the rest of the day and evening enjoying each others company, and playing some heated games of dominoes. It was good fun, and a wonderful day.
To be continued
William
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