Little River Canyon



Elaine with the pretty mountain Laurel.




  rhododendron  bouquet





Brother and Sister



After a quick lunch, we enjoyed the afternoon at Little River Canyon National Park.  There are lots of lookouts all along the park, so we were constantly jumping in and out of the car to see the pretty sites.  There were lots of pretty Mountain Laurel and Rhododendron every where we looked.  Of course there was a waterfall in our day.  My pictures don't show how high up we were from the bottom of the canyon.  Believe me...it was high!!  Some birds were flying around above the trees and they were right in front of us.  It was a great day with Fred and Elaine and we still had another fun one to go.

Unclaimed Baggage

Since we were so close to Scottsboro where the Unclaimed Baggage Center was, we decided to stop and see what the big deal was about. Well, we all decided it wasn't a "big deal". It's suppose to be all the stuff from the airlines unclaimed baggage. We saw a few " new items" in there.   The prices on most things, weren't any better than buying the items new in a store.  We all looked around for about 30 minutes and decided it was time to leave, emptied handed.  At least we can say we have been there. 

Catherdral Caverns



The Frozen Waterfall




An Earthquake broke the rocks



Our tour guide...Larry the Cable Guy's brother.





After a fun tour of the Caverns

Fred came up with the idea for us to go over to Guntersville and see the Cathedral Caverns.  It's some place that Chuck and I wanted to see but hadn't gotten over there yet.  It was amazing!!!!  We walked through this huge opening in the ground and went down 265 feet! We had a funny tour guide that looked and sounded just like " Larry the Cable Guy".  He told us he was his brother.   There were stalactites and stalagmites  from floor to ceiling!!!  The more you walked, the more beautiful they became.  Our guide would point out different shapes that looked like people or animals.  Then, we got to naming different shapes, ourselves.  When we came to the end of the cavern, the guide turned out all the lights!! Talk about being black and you couldn't see your hand in front of your face!  Thank you Fred for driving us on a fun filled day.  It was one of the neatest days we have spent in Alabama.

April's Company Continues

Our next company for April was Fred and Elaine.  They flew into Birmingham and rented a car to drive up to Brambly Pines.  It's fun seeing them drive up the drive way for the long weekend.  After unpacking and getting settled, it was time to tour Brambly Pines and then just relax on the porch with a glass of wine and make plans for the whole weekend. 

Moving Day

It was time for the "new girls" to move to the mansion.  They had out grown the tub in the barn.  Chuck wanted to just carry the wash tub with them in it, to the mansion but I knew something would spook them and we might lose some of them.  So, I came up with the idea to put them in the plastic tub with the lid to keep them safe.  It worked!  They took to their new house right off.  Sooooo much room!  They learned to jump up onto the roost right off.  They found their food and water bowls and were in "chicken heaven".  They have no idea that they have a nice yard on the side of their house yet.  We can't let them out until they get big enough so they can't fit through the wire fencing.  Maybe in another month.  Mean while, they are happy to live in their big house.

The Gang's All Here!

Nicole, Lily Ryann and Hannah



Dinner on the porch




and the kitchen




Lily Ryann enjoying her spaghetti




Helping Papa on the computer




Lily Ryann loves the chickies

The rest of the family drove down from Nashville, Saturday evening to spend the night before heading home on Sunday.  A trip down to the garden and to the barn to see the chickens came first before we all sat down for dinner.  The rest of the night was spent enjoying each others company and the nice weather on the porch.  Before we knew it, it was time to go to bed and get up at 4:30 am so the kids could leave for home by 5:00 am.  I know it was a long weekend for the kids but it was a short one for us.  We were so lucky that the games happen to be in Nashville and that we are so close to Tennessee. 

Chicken and Egg Festival



T.W.Star...News anchor with Taylor




Being interviewed by "Waay 31 TV"




More than just chickens and eggs

Saturday morning, we got up early and headed to the "Alabama Chicken and Egg Festival".  We knew Taylor would enjoy seeing all the chickens and other fun.  Her and I got to vote on our favorite chicken paintings in a contest.  We looked at hundreds and hundreds of chickens being judged.  We stopped at the Wild South booth and talked to Janice who Chuck works with in the forest.  We even found pictures of Papa on the display board she had at the booth.  To top off the day, the News Anchors from Waay 31 ABC TV station out of Huntsville were there and T.W. Star interviewed Taylor which was put on their web site.  I think Taylor will remember her memories of spending the weekend with Oona and Papa for a long time.