Saying Goodbye

I said goodby to a very honorable and kind old man last night. Actually, I just said goodnight, becuase I didn't want to eliminate the possibility that he might get through this, but it will serve if it really is goodbye. People were telling me that even though he was in a morphine-enduced sleep he could still hear me. I really want to find out if that is true, or if they were just saying that for my benefit and he really was just sound asleep. I mean, I'm really glad that they said that becuase it did make me feel better thinking that I could say "goodnight" even though he looked fast asleep. But now my scientific mind won't leave it at that. I don't hear things in my sleep, do you?

Spring Has Sprung!

It is spring here in Western PA. I have to say, this place is growing on me as it gets more and more green. The lady who lived in the house before us had a lot of flowers planted. It is all overgrown now, but flowers keep popping up. I'm afraid to weed because it might not be a weed! I figure I can learn what everything is this year and then make it beautiful again as I go.

We also have lots of new baby neighbors. From lambs to calves to foals ... and maybe even a goat or two before it is all over. I love watching the lambs run around while I'm working. They are so playful! I got a blurry picture of some of the calves who live in our backyard.
And one of the mama cows decided that the grass was greener on our side of the fence. Drake actually went right up to her and she licked his nose. It was hysterical!

Biking in Western PA

Here are a few thoughts I was having while biking for the first time this year yesterday:
1. There are a lot of big hills here.
2. I need get this bike fixed so that I can shift into the easier gears.
3. That rain actually feels good!
4. I can't believe how many hills there are here.
I decided this weekend to do the triathlon in Morgantown that I had been thinking about. Yesterday was day 1 of training for it. I already feel more fit!

Lexington, VA

I went down to visit my sister Julie this weekend. She is a cook at Rockbridge Alum Springs Young Life Camp in Virginia. It is a pretty sweet camp. More like a resort really. And it was a beautiful time of year to go.

Julie lives about 25 minutes from camp in Lexington, VA. Again, another beautiful place. I got to see Stonewall Jackson's gravesite. I'll be honest, it took me quite some time to remember who he was. I need to brush up on my Civil War history!

It was fun to meet Julie's friends and see how and where she lives and works. I'm already trying to figure out how I can get both Tanner and the motorcycle down there with me for my next visit!

Bull Riding

I won tickets to our local "Bull Mania." I had never seen bull riding in person before, so I learned quite a bit! And I think I actually embarrased Tanner with how little I knew. For example, there were some guys walking around before hand dressed like cowboys and wearing spurs. I was wondering what they were there for, becuase surely you wouldn't wear spurs when you are riding a bull. That would just make him more mad! It turns out, that is exactly what they do. The more mad the bull is, the more points you get. I didn't take any pictures. No one else was and I didn't want a bull coming after me for blinding him with a flash, but I got this one off the internet as an example.

New Nephew

My little sister is staying with us for the few months between her various marine biology jobs and grad school. Probably as something of a mid-life-crisis, she adopted a dog today. I got some really cute pictures.
Noah is a 6-year-old, 25 pound, cocker spaniel mix. He and Drake seem to get along just fine, but Diesel was being a bit too rowdy (of course). I ended up putting his shock collar on him and, after one or two shocks when he was getting on Noah's nerves, he won't even get close. But I got an awesome picture of Drake and Noah. I'm not sure Noah really understands what "sit" means yet!

Snowshoe

I realized I skipped the middle of our vacation. We spent the weekend with my family in a neat little condo in the middle of the Village at Snowshoe Mountain Resort. It was sweet. Here are us sisters getting ready for some black diamonds!

And here are Lori, Tanner, and Julie relaxing in the hot tub after skiing back diamonds.
Dad relaxed a bit too.
If you've never been spring skiing, it's pretty fun. It was nice to not be freezing to death, and I can actually say I've been skiing and swimming on the same day!