Mmmmm...That Smell!

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in good old New Hampshire. Zachary left for 5 days for Boy Scout camp up in Raymond,ME,at Camp Hinds. It's an old fashioned style camp which the boys all love. The lake is beautiful,and the shore is surrounded by nice shade trees.They vote each year where they want to go to camp,and apparently the last three or four years they all want to go to Hinds. This is Zach's second year. He signed up for his Swimming,First Aid,and Carpentry merit badges. Swimming and First Aid are requirements for Eagle Scout,which Zach wants to earn. Rick and I drove Zach and his friends Ethan and Shane up. We didn't follow the rest of the group,we took a different route which consisted mainly of country roads. It was the perfect day for a Sunday drive,and we enjoyed looking at the old farmhouses,Colonials and small towns. I wanted a lesiurely ride,and that's what we had. We were missing Zach as soon as we left camp,however. It seems strange not to have him around.


( Our finished chicken coop,with our garden in the foreground)


One of the things I was enjoying on the ride to and from the camp was the smell of fresh cut hay. It is one of the most pleasant smells I know. One cannot help but breathe deep and take a moment to savor it's sweet aroma. All of a sudden,we would pass by a farm and the smell would hit the car. It was wonderful.

We were lucky last week that we were able to get a small amount of hay for free. Our neighbor cuts the grass at the park ball field,and Rick and I had commented a couple weeks ago that the ball field was turing more into a field than a place you could play ball. Then a week ago we heard the mower at the park,so we knew the ball field was getting mowed. Later, our neighbor showed up with a truck bed filled with the cut grass,AKA hay.

Apparently our good friend Kelly had run into this neighbor and told him we could use the hay! So Rick,Brother B and Zach put it on a tarp and started making small bales of it. They posed for the above picture. After I took the photograph, I went over,grabbed a handful,and buried my nose in it. Mmmmm...that smell! Who doesn't love that?

We are off to the Manchester VA today.Rick has physical therapy,and I think his therapist will be even more surprised at his progress. He can ride the elliptical really well,and I haven't seen him use a cane or crutches for a bit now. He faithfully stretches and exercises each day,sometimes twice day,especially if his knees get stiff. He can now bend his knees even more,and has kneeled a couple of times,but it feels strange when he kneels,because he can't tell how much pressure he is putting on the knees. That will just take some getting used to. Everday brings more healing,and that is wonderful!!!