The Visit

Patsy, Jacob and Bek arrived a little after noon. It was so great to see them. Jacob loves where we live. There is so much for a boy to do here. Herman and Jacob walked down to the creek. They went fishing and caught a lot of things.....they weren't fish though. They found a toy truck, and two balls and fished them out of the creek.

Jacob climbed up on my father's red tractor.
He really enjoyed my brother's boat.

Pretend fishing turned out to be more fun than the actual fishing.

Peach Pickin' Time In Virginia...

Okay, so the song says 'peach pickin' time in Georgia', but we have our own home grown peaches right here, and right now it's peach pickin' time in Virginia. We go to the mountains every year around this time and again in the fall. These are among my favorite days of the entire year.

Saturday was particularly beautiful for July. It was in the low eighties and we were experiencing a rare thing for July, low humidity. You can tell by the pictures that the air was clear, even though that lovely blue haze, for which our mountains are famous, still hangs over them. We love it.

Now the truth is, we could run down to our local grocery store, and buy some peaches for a much lower price than we end up paying after filling up the tank, driving an hour or so, and eating lunch at a local establishment, but those peaches would never taste as good as they always taste after we spend a day together in the mountains. It's not about the destination, but rather the journey. It's never about the end product, but more about how you get there. This is so true about peach pickin' and apple pickin' too.

In fact, it's true about most everything in life.

So, don't get too focused on the peach cobbler, or you'll miss the true sweetness of life, the journey.

Yep, this is what we were looking for....

Peaches, found on our peach pickin' trip.

...and this is where we ended up...

This guy does not look like he's going peach picking.

Poor Jacob fell asleep on the way up to the orchards. Herman says this photo looks like we put him in a torture chamber.

Now, this guy looks like he's going peach picking.

A Britney Spears Moment

Jacob's first experience behind the wheel, driving through the peach orchards. Patsy called it a "Britney Spears moment." He's so proud of himself in the second photo. I don't know how proud Bek will be when he's 16 and takes her brand new BMW for a joy ride. I have to say, Herman looks a little proud too. What a pair!

Blue Haze and Lazy Days...

Waiting For Autumn

The old 'Apple Barn' sign has gotten much use over the years. Propped up on it's side in the barn; it waits for the return of autumn, when the apples will be ripe, and it will once again be the center of attention.

The Ladies Who Sell Peaches

Carters Orchard....They were not allowing people to pick their own peaches at Carters so we moved on down the road a bit to Chiles Orchards, where we could pick our own. They have different kinds of peaches at each orchard, and will allow picking at Carter's later in the season when their peaches are ripe.

Fuzzy wuzzies all over the place...

Bek Entertains Us...

On the way to Chiles Orchards, Bek took it upon herself to entertain us with song. I seem to recall Jacob pleading, "Mommy stop, please, stop."

Gotta luv his style...

This gentleman was taking his peaches to his car. I love his style, especially the handkerchief, however, I can't help but wonder what his wife thinks of his shirt. What is he thinking?

I'd like some of those fuzzy things, please.

A lady picking out her peaches.

Chiles Orchards

The peaches at Chiles were ripe so we could pick our own.

Going into the orchard at Chiles...

Our very own home grown peach, sniffing another home grown peach...

Just a little closer, Herman!

I can do it myself.