Grandparents' Round House*

JJ and I spent the last five days relaxing in the round house with my grandparents.  My grandparents, who are originally from Mississippi, retired here fifteen years ago.  Besides going to Mass on Sunday, we never left the lake.  My grandmother is quite the sports fan, and we watched every bowl game that came on.  JJ and I were treated to a country lunch every day, and we fended for ourselves for dinner since my grandparents don’t eat in the evenings.  Also, going to my grandparents’ house means a chance to catch up on napping time.  Afternoon naps are required from 1-3 at the round house.  As usual, my grandfather and I spent some time arguing talking about religion and politics.  JJ and I also got to hear numerous stories about when my grandparents were first married.  I cherish hearing these stories and try to soak them up every time we get together.  The one story that stuck out was when my grandparents were first married, my great-grandfather, my grandmother’s father, was so worried that there would be a fire in their second story apartment that he bought them a rope to escape with.  We also learned more about how my mother and father’s grandmothers were best friends.  In fact  when my father’s grandparents’ house burned down, they lived with my mother’s grandparents for about 9 months.  This was many years before my mother and father were ever even born.  We also heard lots of stories of when my mother and father were first dating, and I now have lots of blackmail material on both of them!

I tried to get out everyday and do a bit of hiking and looking for wildlife.  I really was looking for the bald eagles, but failed to find them close to the house this visit.  I did spot them on the other side of the lake, but didn’t have the time to drive to the other side.   I did run into a few deer, turkeys, and various other small animals.  The weather was chilly, but not cold, and it was nice to get out around the lake.

I don’t think we will see my grandparents until they come down to the Mississippi for my nephew’s baptism later this year, and  JJ and I will not have a chance to make anymore road trips this years as we have already planned events for our breaks this semester and next.  I really would like to get back to Kentucky do some fishing this spring or summer, but really don’t think I will be able to find the time.

Kitchen Deer

A Better View

The Usual Activity at the Bird Feeder

Turkey Crossing

Coots

The Willie Nelson tune comes to mind.  This trip will be a little over 400 miles.  It will be nothing compared to the massive road trip to Key West.  JJ and I will be heading to New Concord, KY to visit with my grandparents.  We made our last trip last summer and can’t wait to visit with them again.  It has almost been a year since we spent a month in Kentucky after having just arrived in America.  The only thing that we have scheduled to do is to go to Mass on Sunday.  The rest of the time will be spent just relaxing and enjoying time with Grammy and Poppa.  I am sure that I will get out near Kentucky Lake to try and get some photos of the bald eagles.

We are bringing our cat, Sohee, with us which should make for an interesting trip, as she is not the best rider(My grandfather is a retired veterinarian and I want him to check her out). We haven’t decided how long to stay in Kentucky, but it will probably end up being only a 4 or 5 night stay.  JJ and I both want to have some time to get organized before school starts on the 18th.

Here’s to the New Year, and I hope that yours is blessed.

A doe that didn't really like me in the field.

The area around my grandparents is filled mainly with corn and tobacco fields. It is pretty easy to spot deer in the tobacco fields. There are also a couple of cow pastures that I regular visit to try and catch deer crossing.

I left on Friday morning heading to one of my fields and I was in the process of checking my camera settings and driving down the road(Not that unsafe if you knew the population up here) when these two crossed the road. I really wish that I could have gotten a better photo of the monster buck that I saw cross in front of me. I did get closeup of his running buddy. I think that the buck that was running across the road was the same way I captured on the deer camera in January.

Monster buck in velvet.

No Fear Deer. I am probably about 15 yards away.

This may be the same deer that is crossing the road.

My grandparents actually live outside of New Concord and as you can see from the next couple of photos that there isn’t much to New Concord. The next biggest city is Murray, which is about 25 minutes away.

The New Concord Post Office

Once upon a time this was the general store.

I really was hoping for some new shots of the bald eagles but never saw them this trip. The area around the lake is so grown up that I really didn’t spend much time there.

These guys were plentiful but quite elusive. You could hear them scuttling through the brush as you hiked and I just happened to catch both of these in the front yard.

Kentucky Lizard

Kentucky Lizard II

We got to spend some great time with my grandparents. We were able to attend mass twice with them and that is always a treat. We also were able to catch up with our friend Billie from Korea. On Saturday night we met up with him and I had pizza and beer at a local sports bar.

Today was a lazy rainy day and after early mass and great homemade fried chicken we took naps and then woke up for coffee and the World Cup. JJ and I will leave after a country breakfast in the morning and make our way to Gatlinburg, TN. We have a good 5 and half hour drive ahead of us but are looking forward to arriving and visiting with our friends who arrived yesterday.

Grammy and Poppa

My grandparents (my mom’s parents) have been wonderful hosts. They have been taking great care of us. My grandfather due to health reasons doesn’t eat dinner so lunch has been a huge southern extravaganza for every meal. We have enjoyed roast, greens, corn bread, hot tamale pie, hamburger steak, tenderloin, peach cobbler, chocolate cake and of course sweet tea~! My grandfather and I tend to work till lunch then after lunch I take off to hike around the lake until 3 or 4 everyday. We still have a lot of jobs left on the list and should be able to get everything taken care of in the next couple of weeks. We have already repaired the garage door, burned a lot of junk, hauled off a ton of scrap metal, fixed some frozen pipes and more. It seems to never end but it is really great to have the chance to spend some extended time with them. JJ has really been able to bond with my grandmother and I have been able to spend some quality time arguing politics with my grandfather. I never knew my father’s father and my father’s mother died a few years ago from Alzheimer’s. It really makes me appreciate my time in Kentucky.