Sunday, April 23, 2017

Blue Skies and Sad Farewells

by Pa Rock
Proud Grandpa

We have had company here at The Roost the past couple of days.  Tim and Erin and their two children, Olive and Sullivan, drove down from the Kansas City area on Friday.  They stopped off in Carthage, Missouri, and picked up my oldest grandchild, Boone, along the way.  Sadly, it rained steadily during the entire road trip - something that I am sure made for a very tedious and tiring drive.  Yesterday was overcast and rainy also, limiting the time that we were able to spend outside.

But we did get out some.

Olive helped me feed the chickens and peacocks a couple of times, and she enjoyed meeting the baby ducks and geese.  A pair of friends from my pinochle group happened by for their first visit to the farm just as I was getting ready to give my house guests the tour yesterday morning, so they joined in with us as I showed off the two new storage buildings and all of the animals.  I was certainly glad that I had gotten the mowing done because the place really looked nice.

Later yesterday we visited a farm where my oldest son works, and Olive was able to enjoy the animals that were there including a llama, goats, and donkeys.  Coming to the Ozarks is almost as much fun as going to the Swope Park Zoo in Kansas City!

Another stop yesterday was at our local feed store where Olive, Boone, and I bought twenty baby chicks of the Barred Rock variety.  The little pullets will be laying eggs in five months - which is good because I lost another hen yesterday and now only have one remaining.  The new chicks were my way of honoring Earth Day.

Last night we went out to eat at one of the local Mexican restaurants.  Nick (Boone's dad) told the waiters that it was Boone's birthday (he will actually be eighteen on May 6th) and they brought out a cupcake covered in whipped cream and then managed to shove his face into it as they sang to him.  It made for a memorable photo!

Not only will Boone be eighteen next month, he will also be graduating from high school and getting ready for college.

And now, Sunday morning, everyone is getting ready to leave and hit the road for home.  Thankfully, the sun is out and it is a beautiful day for a drive across the Ozarks.  Nick and I - and Rosie and Riley -  will certainly miss all of our company.

May they have safe travels and blue skies all the way home!

1 comment:

Xobekim said...

Where does Boone plan to go to college?