{Sweet} Bees

Wow!  Three day weekends really make keeping up with my blog difficult... especially when I'm unplugged and in the country for most of it. 

I packed up every stitch of clothing I could fit into our suitcases after doing three loads of laundry. [Don't judge.  You know you wait to tackle the laundry pile, too.  Think of it as a conservation effort - - good for the environment and the wallet.] 

Dad was driving down to the family reunion and we were tagging along to crash the party.  It's been a long time since we spent Memorial Day with the family.  A LONG time.  More on the reunion itself later...
My sweet shot comes from one of many nature experiences in the open space of Winfall, NC. 

I took the kids out after breakfast to look around. 

First, Chi observed that every passer-by waves, nods his head, or cheerily says, "Hello!"  After about the fifth greeting and "Do you know them?" Chi finally understood that southern manners require acknowledgement of life.  It was quite the change from our northern avoid-eye-contact-and-they-won't-make-you-talk tendencies.

PopPop took Ya up the street a few feet to look around, but he had to coordinate with the family, so the kids and I continued without him.

Ya loved the yard ornaments that were in abundance, especially in front of our Aunt's house.

Have you ever played jockey on a reindeer?

We stopped frequently to admire the flowers growing freely all over.  They have this cotton-esque Dandelion flower that is thick and, well, cotton-like. 

Chi plucked half a dozen and blew as hard as she could to get the seeds to spread.  Ya inhaled a few seeds before deciding it just wasn't worth the breath.

I ran into cousins I'd not seen for years.  They identified me from my kids, I'm sure of it.  There's no other way they'd have known to stop their car, back up, and jump out for hugs and hellos. I refuse to believe my backside is so ... distinguishingly familiar, even though that is what was thrust into the air as I tried my best to get a picture of the bees actively pursuing their pollen collection. 

The pollen's not so sweet, but I'm sure the honey they plan to make is...

Chi's face showed that she was a bit worried that the southern charm had turned touchy-feely, until I officiallly introduced her to her cousins.  The relief in knowing these were kin was immediately evident.

Now, reassuring my cousins that I was not some camera-wielding weirdo from up north that was overly excited about bugs?  Not so simple.