The Well Kept Secret

We have kept it quiet for a long time, but apparently the word is out. No longer do our critters believe that the world exists just on their few acres. It started with the puppy, well maybe with the sheep. But now they know.

There's a brave new world outside of their designated area.

There's places to go, things to see, and people to meet.

They now have a wanderlust that is not going to be suppressed.

Try as we might.

They are determined to see it.

and experience all the excitement that it brings.

Until they're cut off at the pass and outsmarted by the human.

But they can't be stopped from sampling the forbidden fare along the way back.

The humans always win, after all.

Now, says the human, you will eat from the worst pasture grass until you have learned your lesson.

A Newbie

Now that I'm home I can finish editing the photos of someone very tiny. He's doubled his age since I took these.

All By Myself

Last night was our church's harvest party, complete with spider cupcakes, pumpkin cookies and caramel apples dipped in crushed butterfingers. Sweet!

But while I was there I suddenly realized I had come all by myself to the party. And I wondered why am I here? I don't have any cute costumed younguns to fuss over. (Although I was secretly smiling about the fact that I hadn't been up all night sewing costumes). Yes, I am a teacher so I had to be there but beyond that, maybe this might be the beginning of the end of such fun for me.

Then I saw a very cute little boy dressed in a black and white costume and I had this flashback. Actually my little boy was a black and white skunk in my flashback but this photo will have to do, as he is all dressed in black.

OK, I will stop posting embarassing photos of the kids now, except for birthdays and holidays of course.

Sleep

Thankful to be home, for 9 hours of sleep and for a pilot who didn't!

Our Last Day

We spent our Monday hanging out and touring the botanical garden in town
they have things blooming now that we don't get till February
and more fountains
and statues
and our feet were tired after walking the whole thing. They were also putting up all kinds of Christmas lights so next month if you are here you can drive through for the light tour.

This was the face I remembered the minute I saw it, my old friend from our neighborhood. We had a great time catching up on the 40 plus years we had missed.

And this our law student son-in-law that is back to class and working hard on his grades.

OK, we have to go back home now, back to work and back to posts about my critters and such. Hope you've enjoyed this little trip with me.

Impressions

I love visiting a new place and getting to know how things are done. Some things can't be expressed in photos so I give you words

What they have:

bricks that look colonial - lots of them on everything, even on Mickie D's and Wally World

y'alls, U-turns and yes maam's

toll roads, tea that's sweet, thunderstorms and traffic cops in intersections

What they don't have:

drive-thru espresso, u-bake pizza, hills

What you may have known:

that virginia is for lovers

What you probably do not know:

that it was named for the virgin English queen when it was settled

that parts of the state are west of Detroit and as far south as Oklahoma (it's OK to check your map now, I certainly needed to)

What I am about to discover:

the face of a neighbor I haven't seen since I was 12, who now lives in this state and is friends with my younguns - it's a small and very fun world!

Just a little walk around Regent

We stayed close to home today since the forecast called for rain,
But it was a lovely day for a walk around campus.
starting with the broadcast building
and the feathered friends that keep the sidewalk cleaners busy
don't get too close to the TV celebrity's house or the man in uniform will come talk to you
finishing with one of the beautiful ponds that are all around
and finally back to the village where the parent club seems to have organized a hay ride with the lawn maintenance equipment. And, BTW, it never did rain.

Someone is yawning on my tour!

You'll have to wait till the end of my post to find out what the title is all about. So just hang in there, it's going to be a long one. And no yawning! This was our first stop yesterday and turned out to be more interesting than I expected. The monument in the background is not really the site of the first flight of Wilbur and brother Orville.
It was actually down in the flat sand that is now distant grass in this photo. And it wasn't in lovely weather such as we are having, it was in nasty winter weather. They were determined brothers all right. Loved the tour gude, he made it all come alive for us.
From there we enjoyed our lunch on some of the best views the Outer Banks has to offer, it was gawgeous.
We would have stayed all afternoon and might have done a little swimming if we had planned ahead. But it was time to move on.
Next stop was the island of Roanoke and whatever happened to the lost settlers there - intriguing. My oldest son wrote a story about this when he was in grade school. There's nothing left of them...
so the only thing to see really is this theatre by the shore where they depict what might have happened to them. Did you know Andy Griffith got his start here? My daughter is hoping for stardom I think. Little does she know what attention she will draw tomorrow!
Oh, and there was a beautiful garden there too, in honor of the lost people.
Our last stop yesterday was a cool lighthouse. And it just so happens the door was open for the first time in 20 years. We just walked in like we owned the place and started up these stairs. Then 3 plain clothed important people all jumped into action and detained us from hurting ourselves on what they were engineering to refurbish. We left quickly, gaining a knack for embarassing ourselves.
Today we ventured further inland as you can see by the brighter fall foliage. This monument might be in DC but actually it is much smaller and in Jamestown. Last time we were here they closed the gate just when we pulled up. So it was a first for all of us.
We got to see the last remaining building from the 1600's. We worked up a big appetite with all the walking in this interesting spot.
We almost didn't make our last stop today but then we would have missed a very entertaining tour guide. He made all these cannons in Yorktown very fun.
It was a beautiful late afternoon as we walked the battlefield. But before he delivered his big finish with the generals and battleships and ship-sinking storms and cannons going off, my daughter did this...
he really couldn't believe the audacity of someone to yawn at his spirited talk so he singled her out with the line in my title. She flushed a very cute shade of pink and everyone was quite attentive from that point on. We thought we should replay it for all of you that missed it.

Birthday Pie

Just waiting for the pie to come out of the oven for the birthday boy celebration. This one:

That was him back then

And this is him today on his 23rd, standing with his wife next to Wilbur. I will tell you more about that later - it was my favorite part of the day. Next to the birthday boy and pie of course!

We made it all the way to this view of the bay - but what's that annoying smudge that has been showing up on all my photos? Must fix that soon, like before tomorrow.
Anyway we were very overdressed for the summery weather that greeted us.
And these guys - look, she's even carrying my luggage! We are going to have great fun tomorrow, maybe Roanoke Island and Kitty Hawk.

See ya later!

"Es mi perro maloso aqui?" I ask around the fields this morning. I hope the B-babe can keep track of that naughty dog while we're gone.

You know what this means don't you? I may not be able to post every day while I'm off having fun and not here watching the paint dry or the creek run or any other exciting events. I will be touring through this:

http://www.motelbythesea.com/Beachcam.cfm

http://www.obxconnection.com/Outer-Banks-Webcams.asp

Pie anyone?

This lovely field we drove by today is destined for the cannery before losing a few peripheral pumpkins to midnight theft (they're so easy to get to) judging from the smashed ones along the roadside. But did you know that most of the pie mix you buy in the can is actually squash? You can tell by their pointy bottoms. But they are beautiful none the less.


As was this colorful spot where is Brenna is doing a test shot for me. We photographed a fun family there on one of the most beautiful fall color weekends I have seen.

Fun ahead

I can't believe I'm starting to think about laundering and packing for our upcoming trip to the other side of the continent! Not looking forward to the long plane ride however. Sadly, my business laptop will be out of town as well so looks like it will be knitting for me. Anybody need a new scarf?

Still Waiting

As suspected, hubby was right about the creek - still dry as ever. I tried to pin him down on his exact prediction on this matter but he wouldn't commit to anything. So as always I just have to take my clues from his other comments. Like when he looked out the window this morning and uttered, "now why are we irrigating when it's gonna rain 2 inches today"? We don't take water lightly around these parts.

New!

More excitement on the webcam horizon. My son and daughter-in-law's downtown cam has finally been replaced with a new and bigger one. Yippee!


While it was out of commission they used a camera that looked out at a very peaceful scene of their beautiful lake but this one catches alot more action, every 3 seconds in fact. If you're very very lucky you might get a glimpse of his shiny red fire truck drive by.

I'm just doing my part to keep your day interesting b/c we are spending alot more time indoors these days. While I was at it I have updated the cams with a few other places I love to watch. Especially when our own Northwest cams are fogged in and boring.

So in addition to watching the mountains fill up with snow you can watch the northern lakes freeze over. Or if that hits a little too close to home you can watch the cruise ships come and go from the warm climates. Both of these brought to you by my daughter's other mothers, known as the Lois's.

You need this

You know how during a volleyball game the girls always have these cheers for each thing that brings them a point.

like for aces and kills and blocks etc. etc.

Well, last night's opposing team beat us and I think their undefeated success might be owed to one of their cheers. Like everyone else they cheered all the good moves

but when they messed up they also cheered. So today when something is messed up or you mess up or someone next to you messes up, you should just stand up and yell, "shake it off, shake it off, shake it off, woooooooo!"

I think this will help you.