Ken and Judy's Valentine's Day at Raven Rock

If you know me and Judy very well, you wouldn't

expect us to spend Valentine's Day like most people.

Well, I don't think we did.

We set off at mid-morning for Brenda's Jewelers in

Sanford.  Mission:  to replace Judy's lost diamond.

In the end, we resized her wedding band and bought 

an all-new engagement ring with princess setting.

Besides Valentine's Day, this is always our "half-year"

anniversary, so this was 40.5 years and a perfect time

for something new and beautiful.

After that, where can you shop but ...

you guessed it ... THRIFT SHOPS!  And Sanford

has some good ones. No pictures, but we got some

really good books and other items.

LUNCH TIME!

It was our first visit to Mrs. Lacy's Magnolia House

Tea Room, which Trip Advisor rates as the # 1

eating establishment in Sanford.  

It was the perfect place for us.

Nice and homey.

Judy got the quiche and pasta salad.

I got the double-stuffed baked potato with ham,

turkey, bacon bits, broccoli, sour cream, and an

ocean of butter.  Wow!

Judy had coffee and strawberry lemonade.  Yum! 

We shared a divine strawberry shortcake but

I failed to take a picture.  You'll just have to go

there yourself!

Now, on to the second stage of our big day--

hiking at Raven Rock.

We always smile and think of our dear friend and

daredevil Liz Taylor when we see signs like these.

Don't jump, Liz!

Let's begin our steep descent to the Cape Fear River,

where we can view Raven Rock, which is far more

than just a rock.  Watch your step!

Almost there!

We had been to Raven Rock a few years ago, but 

were surprised to see rock formations we had missed 

last time.  A variety of photos follow, plus much more.

And I must add that the last time we were here the 

Cape Fear River was much higher and we could not 

safely get past this ledge.  It's also the ledge where

we and numerous other hikers saw a NINE-FOOT

black rat snake swim out of the river and underneath

the cliff.

The slope made this a little treacherous, 

But it was worth a little risk to see what was beyond.

In fact, both Judy and I ventured a little past

the established trail.  With no regrets.

Then we ventured up river as far as we could go.

The tangle of roots was as fascinating as the 

rock formations.

Bye-bye, Judy.  If I'm not back in an hour please

mount a search party.

This was as far as I could go, so I rejoined Judy in

much less than an hour.

Deer tracks intermingled with human footprints.

 On the return loop of the trail we were treated to

a great view of the upper Cape Fear River as it

descends from the direction of Lillington.

Judy mentioned that we need to come in the fall

sometime to compare views.

Our token "selfie."

Even though it's still winter, several of my favorite

plants are already on display.  I've written about some

of these in other blogs as well as on my Sandhills

Farm Life Nature Trail blog, so I won't offer details here.

This is Wild Ginger.

 Cranefly Orchid-- top side

Cranefly orchid-- underside

A cool knotty old tree

Hillsides were blanketed with Christmas fern.

I don't know the name of this shrub.  It seems similar

to mountain laurel, but I don't think that's what it is.

This plant demonstrates how even a tiny plant can

find its niche on a stony wall.

This early flower may be in the violet family.

I wouldn't have seen this Rattlesnake Plantain if

we had not fortuitously stopped at a rest bench.

I'm not sure what this fungus is, but it caught our eye.

Last, but not least, one of my all-time favorites:

Resurrection Fern.  These are before and after 

pictures of a couple of sprigs I found on the ground,

totally dried out.

After lying in a saucer of water overnight the

Resurrection Fern is totally rejuvenated.  And it

can do this over and over, unique among ferns.

I'll be sharing this with the grandkids, for sure.

The Raven Rock adventure was the ideal way

to celebrate Valentine's Day-- at least, for Ken and Judy.

Sleepover with Claire and Evan

Last Friday night was a big night for me and Judy.

Claire and Evan arrived right after school and stayed

overnight for our first sleepover at our house (we've

slept over at their houses a few times).

So we did a few different things together.  The kids took

this vintage pipe cleaner puppet kit that my mother had

bought decades ago and put their own creative touch to it.

The finished product.  Ta-da!

It had been a long time since Claire built one of her

signature horse farms, but she had plenty of time to

do it right this time.  It included a "Predator Park" at

the bottom right and an obstacle/training course at center.

Claire displays her "obstacle course and training center."

The horse center grew and grew all the way 

into Saturday.  Claire also develops her characters

and creates a story line as she constructs.  Always

different, always fun.

Evan and I played our Melissa and Doug "Suspend"

game, an exercise in balance and strategy.  We successfully

got all the pieces on without a catastrophe. Then the

kids demonstrated their courage by posing beneath the

teetering monstrosity!

 A lot of things were not pictured. Like Grandma's 

classic chicken nugget dinner, Saturday breakfast

at Granny's Doughnuts, many, many games of 

mini-soccer, and a cuddly viewing of "Beauty and

the Beast."

As our time together waned, we piled in the car and

headed up to the old property to see what changes 

have occurred.  The kids know we'll eventually be

back there, so it's not all sad.

This massive willow oak tree has roots that remind them

of a huge water oak in Atlanta at my parents' house. They

played around that one just after Christmas.

I'm not sure what the kids thought of this huge clearing

where Pinehurst Senior Apartments will soon be.

Over the last three years we scarcely played on the part

of the property we planned to sell.  All our trails, plus

the tree house and waterfalls, are on the property where

we will rebuild in the near future. 

The kids had a nice view of the changes from the

mini-mountain.

Off to the stream and the waterfalls.  We were so

thankful for a springlike day this early in February.

We'll have chances to spend summer days at the stream

even before our house is built, so this was a sign of

things to come.

Grandma Judy loves being at the stream with the

grandkids.  It's one of our many special places.

The bridge (one of four) passes inspection.

The kids never tire of floating objects like leaves and

sticks down the stream, navigating beneath the bridges.

Occasionally, they have to use long sticks to lend

a helping hand when objects get stuck.

Claire and Evan will be at our house again TODAY,

less than a week later, and we can't wait to see what

they'll have in store for us!