Overnight Trip

Joe had never been to Brevard to see Emily and Keiran’s house. This weekend he finally got there. 

Parts of the drive are really beautiful. 

After getting there, touring the house and yard, we went for a walk around the neighborhood and to downtown.  We stopped at an outdoor store and Joe tried on some hiking boots and backpacks.  No purchases were made.  

Emily took my picture at the White Squirrel Shoppe.  

It was a very pleasant town to walk around.  

On the way back, I spotted this unusual shaped flower.  Apparently, it is a gooseneck loosestrife.  They look exactly like geese.  

Emily and Keiran have a passion flower plant.  It is lovely.  It is making me consider trying one.  But they said it spreads, so I'm not sure I want to deal with that.  

Emily had asked Joe to bring a chain saw.  He was able to cut all of the unwanted trees and limbs.  Homemade pizza was for supper and Carol joined us for an evening of Scrabble.
Saturday morning we headed to Pisgah National Park for a 6 mile hike.   

Joe carried Emily's backpack for practice.  Are you wondering yet why all this hiking gear? 

Anyway, it was easy hiking. 

With a beautiful view at the top.  This is a view of Looking Glass Rock.

We got a togetherie. 

And a nice picture of Emily and Keiran.

And even a decent one of me and Joe. 

 

Joe spotted this damsel fly,

and Keiran saw this Click Beetle.  I have never heard of one before. 

And there was a very cute squirrel eating a mushroom. 

                                                 

There were lots of huckleberries.

I ate a few handfuls.  

It was a very nice hike. 

Back at the house Keiran wanted to show Joe how light and easy his tent was to set up.  

Then we went to REI and Joe made his first purchase towards his hike, a pair of hiking shoes!

I found out a couple of years ago that he was wanting to hike the Appalachian Trail.  Keiran suggested that he start smaller, The Long Trail in Vermont, 272 miles.  The plan is for Joe, Emily and Keiran to do the hike in August.  We are still trying to get Mitchell to go too.  I get to stay home and take care of the farm. It is starting to get real now. 

Zoom

Draper's colt has been very popular. 

They are spending more time outside.  After over 2 months in the barn, Draper is glad to be out on grass again. 

I caught some zoomies on video.  He is starting to venture away from mom more. 

Linda visited yesterday, 

and Carol came a little bit later.  "Golden Boy" (joe's nickname for him) is eating up all the attention. 

 

First Visitors

Day 3 and Draper’s colt had his first visitors. 

Mitchell and Ann came to see how cute his is in person.  Draper didn’t mind the extra people. She is just happy to be out on grass again.  

While Draper was eating her grain, her colt (I need a name) went over to see Joe. So far he seems curious and not too jumpy. 

By the way, he passed the initial test on getting enough colostrum. 

I don’t think I am being too biased when I say how handsome he is. 

The Hunt

Our family Easter celebration was postponed until yesterday.  We had a good turnout with everyone but Matt. (missed you Matt)  After lunch it was time for the main event, the Easter Egg Hunt.  Sadie had said the one she had at church was not the real one.  The one at Mimi's house was going to be the real one.  

There was a good herd of Easter bunnies to hide all the eggs.  Then it was Sadie and Allie's turn...

And, they'er off!

I'm not sure how many eggs where hidden but it was probably well over a hundred.  

There was lots of running.  

And there were some special surprises.  Emily and Keiran had given them musical instruments from their trip to Peru.  

Then it was time to find out what else they got.  

Lots of candy, money, stickers, toys and nail polish.  

But then there was this special egg.  Mike told them Mimi needed to help with it.  I could not believe what was inside, an ultrasound of our next precious granddaughter!  It was a special egg indeed.  

 

Guest Trainer

I got to keep Sadie and Allie again yesterday. 

We started out playing outside. We were trying to do some shadow tracing but had to keep waiting for the sun to pop out. 

After we did the tracing, the girls added some details like hair and faces. 

After lunch our guest trainer arrived and we headed out to catch Clyde. 

Linda taught me how to ride, now she is working on a third generation. 

I think Sadie and Allie enjoyed the change up 

And I know Linda was in heaven. 

After letting Clyde go we went to check out the new calf. 

Allie actually wanted to pet her. 

Sadie opted for picking flowers. 

No flower is safe from Sadie. 
 

A Beautiful Life

 I said goodbye to my mother Wednesday morning.  She was an amazing women.  I will never be able to put into words all that she meant to me and my family.  Virginia wrote a beautiful poem about her. 

In the Blink of an Eye

In the blink of an eye, the kids are all grown.

In the blink of an eye, they’ve all left home.

No more dishes to wash, meals to cook, or laundry to fold.

Before I knew it, I realized I was getting old.

Growing old is a privilege - so they say.

I’m getting used to it more and more each day.

In the blink of an eye, I have wrinkles and gray hair.

But it also comes with wisdom that I can share.

True wealth isn’t about riches or things.

It’s about having family and peace through whatever life brings.

I’ve endured loss and many years of pain.

But I wasn’t alone - I had my faith and family to keep me sane.

I’ve been blessed to be a ‘Mama’, ‘Grandma’, and ‘Gigi’.

I have multiple generations who look up to me.

In the blink of an eye, my life here is done.

Don’t worry about me, I’m on my way home.

I have lots of loved ones up there who have been waiting for me.

From all of my pain I’m finally set free.

I’m passing the torch now to the next generation.

I hope you’ll stay in touch with each other, no matter your location.

Treat others with respect and stay true to your core.

In the blink of an eye, we’ll be together once more.

I have been struggling with what to say on this blog about her. Or whether to even share her death. But since this is mostly a journal for me, I decided to try.

But what do you say about someone you knew your entire life and who knew you better than anyone. So much of our life is just about us that we lose sight of the people that are most important. They are just someone that is always there, until they are not. As an infant, Mama was the caregiver.

She did the laundry, cooked the meals, did the housework, bought our clothes, all the endless tasks that a mother does. As I grew, she was the chauffeur to school activates, 4-H meetings, gymnastics practice, doctor, dentist and orthodontist appointments.

And she didn't just take care of us, she took care of the entire town through her 32 years on the town council.

When we were children, my father, who was 13 years older than Mama, would introduce her as one of his children.

I know it was just my father being funny, but as a child, when you think your parents are an embarrassment, I was mortified. She was my mother, how could anyone mistake her for my sister.

But in the pictures we looked through for the funeral, I saw someone different.

I saw her for the person she was, not just my mother.

She was beautiful in every way. I also found that there are not enough pictures. Do you take a picture of the person doing the laundry, buying the groceries, driving you to practice?

No, we take pictures of scenery, tourist attractions, wildlife, nature.

It is so easy to overlook what should be the more important focus.

She was an incredible Mama,

Grandma

and Gigi.

But I wish I knew her more as Frances.