February 25, 2024
Sunday morning began with waffles and coffee. After, I sat at the dining room table and downloaded photos from the SD card inside my Canon camera. I took a little over seven hundred photographs last week, and this morning, I looked through each photograph and selected any keepers. I chose about ten photographs and edited them in Adobe Lightroom.
I usually download and edit after each shoot, but last week was busy, and I didn’t get around to doing it. However, it made for a pleasant Sunday morning, revisiting all the sights and experiences from the week before. There were some decent shots and many missed shots, but all were evidence that I got out in nature and interacted with my environment. There’s a saying that photography should not happen in the studio or in front of the computer. It happens during our personal interaction with real life.
A little later, my wife and I left the house and drove into Wilson to purchase dog toys, dog treats, and dog food. We also filled up my wife’s SUV with gas and picked up some groceries for the week. The day felt different knowing my wife did not have to go out-of-town today. We ate lunch together at La Rancherita with our favorite server, Kate, eating a cheese dip sampler and torta with birria. The food was excellent, and we left the restaurant feeling overstuffed.
After we arrived home, we put away the groceries and issued out dog toys. It was always funny how we selected toys we thought each dog would like. But when we handed them out, they always seemed to be more interested in what the other dogs had. I think humans can be much the same.
We spent some time cleaning up the house and rearranging the furniture in the living room areas. My wife likes to keep the house looking fresh. Then, it was time for one of the most back-breaking tasks in our repertoire: dog baths. Bathing four large dogs is no easy feat. One dog loved baths, two dogs tolerated them, and my oldest, Kilo looked annoyed that I washed off her hard earned, ripened scent. As payback, she purposely shook while I bathed her, ensuring we were both wet and miserable. Within an hour, we had four clean, mostly dry dogs.
In the evening, we ran to the Piggly Wiggly in Bailey to buy some meat for grilling. The Pig always had an excellent selection of meat at great prices, so we picked up some beef short ribs and chicken wings. We marinated half of the wings in teriyaki sauce and the other half in beer, all with salt and pepper. I cut wood and started a fire while sipping on an IPA. In the night, a hot ember shot from the fire, landing on my hoodie, promptly burning a hole in it. Right then and there, it became my official fire pit hoodie, something every fire enthusiast needs.
In the front yard, a pair of hawks hunted. One landed on a fence post near the pasture. We estimated it was two feet in height. These two raptors have lived in the tall trees outside our home since we arrived in North Carolina. Their cries have become a familiar part of our everyday lives, and I imagine they eat their fair share of the squirrels, rabbits, moles, mice, and snakes that populate the area.
We moved here in February 2022, arriving on the last day of the month. It blew my mind to realize that in just three short days, we will have lived here for two years. It certainly feels like I’ve been here for a much shorter time. While I know the area and lifestyle well, it all still seems so new. One thing I am sure of, however, is that this place is as magical to me tonight as the first day I woke up at this house. I feel lucky to live in and among nature. North Carolina has been good to us, and I think we’ll be here for a while longer. I have more exploring to do, both out in the woods and within my mind. I took one last glance at the Big Dipper and Orion. The stars looked polished tonight. They had been around for longer than me, this house, and life itself. But they still seemed shiny and new, too.