My sister-in-law said it is her favorite holiday because the world has done little to add to or subtract from it. Of course, a large portion of the culture does not know to Whom to give thanks, but it is less fraught with secularism than most all other holidays. Traditions can be a deterrent to worship and thanksgiving to God, but they do not have to be. Our family's thanksgiving celebration is strong on tradition and may need some tweaking, but by in large I think it is filled with feasting of food and fellowship and fresh air mindful of God's good gifts. We are certainly blessed with grandchildren. Between my oldest brother and me, we have 27 grandchildren and two on the way. For this reason, larger vans are becoming the vehicle of choice in the family. Here my oldest son and his wife arrive along with their oldest daughter.
And here is their youngest doing what he does best.
Their second oldest and his older brother are really enamored with baseball at present. We tossed ball and did batting practice. They couldn't persuade enough cousins to play a game.
It is so good to see cousins having fun together. The one in white is so good with the younger cousins and loves to play with them.
The cousins range from 27 down to less than a year. Here two brothers and their uncle hang out. I have a few less than flattering pictures of a few people but I think they all have better pictures at other places. How else would you react when interrupted from a concentrated texting?
If you don't know these people, then my relationship references will make little sense. In the last picture, I am the uncle of the texter and great uncle of the two young men. The texting nephew's daughter was facetiming her oldest brother in Vermont.
I have Turkey and bread and I am happy.
Some of my grandchildren move too fast to get a sharp picture, but you can definitely see that he is happy and cute.
My daughter has never really been happy on the light collecting end of a camera lens, but she was there and happy in the occasion.
Some people seem to purposely sabotage their own image as my nephew has done in this picture with his wife.
Cool as a cucumber.
Sister-in-laws and daughter-in-laws are common in this family for which we are thankful.
My oldest brother is this patriarch of the family. We have been meeting at his house for Thanksgiving for over 40 years, I believe.
This picture tells you much of what you should know about my sister-in-law. She loves nothing better than telling or hearing a story and grandbabies.
When I asked my oldest granddaughter what she liked about Thanksgiving, she said, "Cousins." Here they are being quite crafty under the watchful eye of my older brother.
More crafty moments
Another perspective on the story
I don't think that this great niece doesn't smile very often.
The better view of my nephew
We had children as young as 4 years old and others as old as 75, and yet, everyone walked the whole way on this 3-mile hike. This is my oldest son's contingent.
If you count you will see that there are 23 people in the picture, but there were 24 on the hike. This was supposed to be a 10-second delay shot so that I could get into place. Evidently, it didn't work. I was not even caught on the way there.
All that this tells you about our hike is the trail we were on for part of the hike. My brother veered us off onto an unmarked trail for the return trip.
We came upon one patch of ground covered in mosses and ground cedars.
The woods were very pleasant, having very little underbrush in most places and the trail was never steep. 80+ years of no logging has produced mature forests. This wind protected draw had a preponderance of Yellow Poplar (Tulip Tree, if you prefer).
The leaf litter is thick this year but still the forest floor has its greenery in ferns and other herbaceous plants.
I have never seen Little Brown Jug (also called Arrowleaf Ginger) blooming in late November. Do you see the bloom at the stem base of the leaf?
Rattlesnake Plantain
Galax
Maidenhair Fern
Black Locust logs don't easily rot. This Yellow Poplar fork has held this Black Locust trunk for perhaps several decades based on the growth around it.
My grandson and I pose beside what may be the largest live Black Locust tree I have ever seen. Since they are so shade intolerant, they do not usually last so long in a mature forest.
Have we two species of shelf fungus here or an earlier manifestation of the same mycelium turning dark?
I thought that I knew what kind of leaf this is until I got home and couldn't find it under that name I presumed. Then I thought otherwise but the leaf edge is entire (smooth, not serrated). I'm going to have to think on this one.
So many things to learn!
"Come up here and sit with the cool guys", said one of the great nephews. Was I to be honored or chagrined? It made for a great photo op with my granddaughter.
He certainly is enjoying himself.
My wife asked me why I would take a picture of bear skat. Well, it had persimmon seeds in it and I used it as a teaching opportunity for the young ones.
Lunch break log
I wish that I had added something for scale. I think these must be Pileated Woodpecker holes on this large Yellow Poplar.
Catawba Rhododendron
Bigleaf Rhododendron
????
At one point we came across half a dozen quartzite boulders somewhat bigger than softballs. Do you see the golden spot on this one? The picture is not quite so clear as I would like it to be, but this is a spider egg sac.
You would think that we just sat around rather than hiked, but of course people are easier to capture when still.
I tell you, she likes the little cousins.
Time to start off again.
There were alternating gray and yellowish-brown patches up the bark of this small tree- interesting.
Puffballs! My grandson was beating them with a stick to watch the green powder emerge. I requested that he leave a few unbattered so that I could take a picture. He complied with a smile.
It was another memorable Thanksgiving with family strengthening relationships and traditions that we hope might extend in some form to the next generations. God has given us so much good to enjoy and utilize for His glory. May we always be thankful to the One to whom praise and thanks is due.
