feren

We're back home from my family's farm after having been away from home for almost a full week. We missed the cats and they missed us, though the neighbor did a good job of keeping Ra and Diva fed and watered. Jazz was, as usual, boarded with the veterinarian so she could have her proper medical treatments (pill and sub-cutaneous fluids) to remain stable and healthy.

The visit was good, except for the part where my father was nearly crushed to death under 4,800 pounds of truck. Thankfully he's okay. He is badly brusied and scraped up, but is okay. I think the swelling in his hand had visibly gone down some today before we set out on the drive back to Illinois.

Food is what Thanksgiving always centers around to some extent, and there was food in great quantity over this vacation. Wednesday, after arriving at the farm, we had a pair of giant bake-at-home pizzas. Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday was delightful: it consisted of BBQ turkey (just a hint of barbeque to go with the turkey, juicy, fine and crispy skin), mashed potato, corn, beans, squash and a few other side dishes. Friday was leftover day and the aforementioned incident with the truck. Saturday we had carry-out chinese to break up the monotony and on Sunday we had barbequed steaks.

Like all the trips to visit the place I grew up, this vacation came to and end far too quickly. While I accomplished everything I had intended during our stay, I'm still left feeling vaguely disappointed that I didn't do more for my parents while I was there. And, like the trip to the farm in August for my birthday, this feels as if it was far too short in duration. Now that I'm home I can feel a cloud creeping back around me. It's mixed in nature, ranging from depression at leaving the farm behind to anxious desire to return to work. Very likely I will be a moody, unhappy person until I get back into the groove and can bury myself in the routine of my professional life (which usually eclipses my personal life).

There are stars in the southern sky

Leaky Barn Roof, Ed? by *panfah on deviantART

Another from the archives! Shot at an abandoned and ruined farm in Bolingbrook, IL. These are from way back in the year 2005, a long time before I got my beloved 40D!

This wonderful abandoned farm and its many buildings were torn down shortly after and, much to my relief, NOT made into office buildings or condominiums. Instead, the local nursery and landscaping company has made it part of their tree farm.

Here we see the roof of one of the longer but lower barns, and the many missing shingles and slowly decaying wood that supported what was left.