On Saturday, after our blueberry pickin' morning, we decided to stop off at the Historic Meem's Bottom Covered Bridge, in Mt. Jackson.  I just LOVE covered bridges, and any change I have to go to Meem's, I take it.

Here is some information about the bridge that I found on the Virginia is for Lover's website.

One of the best-known covered bridges is the 204-foot single-span Burr arch truss known as Meem's Bottom Covered Bridge in Mount Jackson. The Meem's Bottom Bridge was constructed in 1892-93 from materials cut and quarried nearby for the massive arch supports and stone abutments, which extended 10 feet below the riverbed. It was deeded to the Highway Department in the 1930's in return for assuming its maintenance.

This long span over the North Fork of the river carried traffic for more than 80 years before being burned by vandals on Halloween 1976. After salvaging the original timbers, the bridge was reconstructed and eventually undergirded with steel beams and concrete piers. The bridge was reopened to traffic in 1979 and is still in operation to date.

If you are ever in this area, this is a great place to stop.  With picnic benches and access to the river, you may not want to leave!

Blessings~
Laura

On Saturday, C., Boog, Nemo, Kiddo, and I took a field trip to a local grower to pick blueberries.   It was our first time, but C. and the kids 2nd.  We had such a good time just being together out in the fresh air and sunshine (when it decided to appear).
 

This is the main house...isn't it BEAUTIFUL?  



The rows of blueberries are actually in their front yard off to the left side when looking at the house.  There's Nemo just-a-pickin'!



Boog LOVES blueberries.  She spent most of her time there, underneath the bushes eating right off the branches.  C. told the woman as we were leaving, "You probably should have weighed here BEFORE she started picking the berries!"

The owner said, "It's okay, Sweetie........that's what they're here for!" 



C. was showing me her "secret" way of getting the berries off the branch.



BEAUTIFUL BERRIES!

 

Kiddo hard at work! 



This is my bucket of berries.  It was hard trying to "pick and shoot" at the same time!   LOL

Blue
Luscious
Unique
Easy to pick
Bursting with flavor
Extraordinary
Ripe
Round
YUMMY

Blessings~
Laura

Last weekend I took Bean and Kiddo to the Winchester Apple Blossom Festival during Sunday in the Park. They had a massive amount of craft vendors there and you could find just about anything you could possibly want there. They hade handmade jewelry, candles (my favorite), wind chimes, quilts, picture frames, and country and prim collectibles (also my favorite) and so much more. There were also find a TON of food vendors there as well.    They had the usual hot dogs and hamburgers, and french fries, etc., but, if you are a food-a-holic like me, you could get the "good eats" stuff like gyros, Philly steak and cheese subs, sausage and peppers, BBQ pork sandwiches........and the list goes on forever.  I think I gained 15 pounds just by smelling the food alone!     YUMMMMM!!!   Hey, wait, don't tell Goose that, I'm doing Weight Watchers!

After we had finished our shopping and on our way out, (actually, we didn't buy one thing...amazing huh?) I saw a sign for a local rescue center and wanted to stop and see what animals they had with them. WOW, were we suprised to see a woman, standing by the fence holding an owl. He was absolutely STUNNING! I just stood there for the longest time just looking at him. How awesome to see this gorgeous creature that God created, sitting quietly and calmly on the arm of his keeper. It took everything in me not to run up to the railing and pet it. (That would NOT have been a smart move!) We are talking about a bird of prey here! What was I thinking? lol

So, being the "lover of pictures" that I am, I took this rare opportunity to take a couple of shots of this owl. However, in my rush to get the "perfect" picture, I neglected to ask the name of not only the rescue center, but of the species of owl as well.  So, I have been looking on-line (when my internet guy in my computer decides he likes me) trying to find the exact name of this particular owl. However, it seems that it will take me some time since there are approximately 217 different species to date. When I do find out this information, I will update this post and let you know what I have found.

Blessings~
Laura

Perhaps some of you may already know what species this is.  If you do, would you be so kind as to pass that info along?  THANK YOU!

 WOW.....did we have fun today!  My sister, Cathy and I took the kids on a field trip today to the
Route 11 Potato Chip factory in Middletown.  This was a much needed outing for all!!!!  Rt 11 is a very small mom and pop owned establishment. I wanted to take some pictures, but that would not allow it.    

We were able to get a picture off their web-site.  Turns out that the young men in the picture, were the same ones that were there today.  They even gave us fresh, hot samples of Sour Cream and Chive chips.......DELICIOUS!!!

*How long has your company been in business?
Route 11 Potato Chips has been in business since 1992

*How many different kinds of potato chips does your company make? 
Our company makes 14
different kinds of chips.  We have 12 that are year round, and 2 that are seasonal.

*How many times a day/week do you make your chips? 
We make our chips 5 days a week, 2 times per day.

*How many bags do you sell per year? 
Well, that's a hard question.  You have some really good questions.  Why are you asking so many questions?
Because we are homeschoolers and we like to learn!!!   We can turn any situation it into a learning experience! ! ! !
Well, we cook chips twice a day, making 135 batches each day which = 700  2 oz bags and 500  6 oz bags 

*What is your most popular chip?
The regular lightly salted chip is our best seller.  The sweet potato chip comes in second.  (my favorite)

Kiddo figured out how many bags they sell approximately every year of each size bag and then a combined total.  Here are his calculations:

5 days a week x 52 weeks = 260 x 135 = 35,775 batches each year.

700 - 2 oz bags x 260 days = 182,000 bags
500 - 6 oz bags x 260 days = 130,000 bags
for a total of...............312,000 bags of chips per year

Now that's a LOT of chips!!!

Blessings~
Laura