The Deer that Wouldn't Leave

I got up one morning and let Murphy out in the backyard and it was nothing eventful.  About 5 minutes later I looked outside and we had our visitor again.  We don't usually see him in the morning.  We are usually awakened by barking dogs in the middle of the night.  He was just cruising around our yard checking things out and eating things.  

There was nothing of interest on the patio so he moved on to the flowers.  Click the video below to see his next stop. 

Now the garden.  There wasn't much left in the garden. The cherry tomatoes that were left were of interest to this guy. 

This was the stare down.  I thought by coming out on the back porch he would go away.  

Not so much!  He decided to stay for awhile.  Mike took the dogs out for a walk so they could actually go to the bathroom.  He went out the front door.

We had to leave. We were going out to breakfast. Mike coached me on getting him to move.  Yell at him, bring the broom etc.  This is the response I got.  Nothing.  Mike gave a big shout and lunged toward him. 

 Away he went!  

Across the street to the neighbors to enjoy what their yard had to offer.  

Riverside State Park Hike September 2020

This post is short and sweet.  9 miles of beautiful fall scenery with Sheila.  

 

Zion Family Camp 2020

Zion Family Camp a Farragut State Park August 2020.  I didn't take many pictures except on our kayak day.  And what a day it was.  

Beautiful!

Off we go.  I wanted to go the width of the lake but after a conversation with Mike I chose not to.  A long way against the wind.  As you can see it was a bit choppy. 

Mike and I  headed for the point on the left.  We did have the wind against us!  

As we got close to our first destination I took a detour! 

Mike and I saw that circled thing in the distance.  We didn't know what it was.  Let's go find out, again across the lake but not as far!  Mike decided to stay on course.  I decided to investigate. 

This is the direction Mike took.  He was headed toward Bayview. 

I didn't think I would ever actually arrive but I got right up by this thing and discovered it was a barge moving slowly!  I had no idea what the barge was all about but we found out later.  It was a navy barge.  The navy uses part of this lake to test acoustic development of submarines.  Now the trek back to find Mike.  I saw a tiny yellow speck that I knew was his kayak and headed for it. 

Took what seemed like forever to get to Mike.  He was scoping out Bayview.  A little fishing town that was very unique.  It was also a resort area.  The garages hold boats.  Gotta love that!!!

This was my close person friend at Bayview.  This duck followed me around for awhile. 

Highlight of the trip.  I heard a thunk on my kayak and turned around to see the duck on the back of my kayak.  Amazing.  It stayed on my kayak for about a minute.  Seriously,  it was a highlight of the whole trip.  I wish I could have taken a picture but no chance. 

We ended the evening with a fire, s'mores and visiting with friends.  Fun times at the family camp!!!  

 

Layne Turns 15!

Birthday party time for Layne with the family!  So hard to believe she is 15 already!  She is smart, kind, fun, beautiful, athletic and has a great heart!   

When the Lathrops are involved there are always a lot of games.  We are not tremendously skilled at this game but boy did we try.  Mike was actually better than I was.   

Cousins!

I bought corn hole boards so next time Lathrops, next time! 

Cupcakes and ice cream drew the attention of all the kids!

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you!

Cool sunglasses that we got Layne for her birthday.  This is at a softball tournament.  

Love, love, love! So good to spend time celebrating a very special young girl!  We love you Layne more than we can describe or you could imagine.