Ash Hollow

If you have never climbed this hill you may think it is as easy as pie. You would be mistaken! 

Grandpa has more energy than all of us combined.

You can see for miiiiiles

From the top looking down

For those of us where grew up in this area of Colorado/Nebraska we most likely know about Ash Hollow and if we were in the 5th Grade Class we got to go to Ash Hollow and make a day of it.  My kids (as much as they have seen and as many places as they have been) have never been here or even knew something like this exist.  So for those of you who don't know what Ash Hollow is here is a little lesson for you:

When settlers were moving from East to West they had traveled for days and many miles to get to this point.  This was a place where they could stop and rest and replenish supplies and fix wagons and whatever else needed to be done before they headed out again to face the Rocky Mountains as they got closer to their destination.  However, there was this big hill they needed to descend before they could go on their way.  Many many many wagons came through here leaving ruts in the ground where they descended down the side of the hill. Over many years of wind and rain and natural erosion those ruts became even larger and this has become a national historical site.  There is a trail you can walk up to the top with just a couple benches along the way for those who need a break (up or down) and it is a doozy (up and down)!

Now I am sure there is more to the story than that but 5th grade was a long time ago.

Watermelon Creek Winery

Last weekend my neighbor and I and a friend went on a trip through Leisure Travel/MWR and went for a visit of this little winery just up the road a bit.  I've never been to a winery before and learned all sorts of things.  The owner was very knowledgeable and a fount of information! I learned all about legs and dry vs sweet and red versus white and smell, ate some really good food with some rather good company and drank some really good wine.  The owner talked about his family; he can trace his family back all the way to 1819 to a mother and her illegitimate son, 9 generation before him.  They had moved out to that area and settled it and if I remember correctly her son started the first Baptist church in the area that is still up and running.  The land he lives on is the land that was settle by his ancestors and has been passed from generation to generation until it reached him and his wife.  He has spent his time restoring and rebuilding and turning the place into a beautiful quiet place to enjoy yourself.  Then he started growing grapes and making wine.  He has 6 wines ranging from very dry to very sweet, 5 of which are medal winners.  My personal favorite is the Mill Pond Blush, a rather sweet wine but very tasty.

So if your ever in the Coastal Georgia area and feel like a wine tasting full of history off a back country highway head on over to Watermelon Creek Winery and enjoy the quiet and the beauty and the good wine.

Visitor

We had a turtle come and visit today.  I think he liked the looks of our garden beds and wanted to come see how things were done over this way!

I'm not too sure he really saw anything though, he didn't seem to be tall enough.

Gertie was very interested in him though, watched him from the window above the desk and then the window by the couch and then this window in the back door.  She really wanted to go out and play but I didn't think that was probably a good idea.  So she stuck by the windows and hoped he would want to come IN and play.  Luckily for me he didn't!

Mother's Day

We didn't do much for Mother's Day this year. We thought about maybe going to the beach but poor West had a bit of a sunburn on his back from the day before hanging out playing in the hose all day so decided against that. So mostly we just hung around the house wasting the time away. 

We did however decide to go out to eat supper to do a bit of celebrating, even if we didn't do a lot of it. (We had wings if you couldn't tell from the picture)

And Friday the kids came home from school with little pots with flowers in them for me and they each had made a little card to go along with them. So I planted the flowers in one of my favorite pots so I can look at it while I'm sitting outside enjoying this beautiful weather we are having at the moment. 

Hope everyone else had a grand Mother's Day, or maybe just a relaxing one, but either way Happy Mother's Day

The Movies

The chicks and I went to the movies today! Iron Man 3!! 2 hours and 20 minutes of action packed fun!
Oh, and we brought a couple of friends as well!

Easter (the celebration of Spring)

Easter came and went and with it the coming of Spring is right around the corner! This means warmer weather and plants growing and playing outside and coffee on the back porch and bbq grills cooking and shorts and skirts and so many other great things! I love winter, don't get me wrong, but spring time means I get to go out and get my hands in the dirt.
Easter however meant dying eggs and hunting them, and then again, and again, and one more time for good measure.  We lost one for awhile, but it was found this morning and all is well again.