Memorial Day held unexpected fun. I taught my afternoon lessons in the morning so we could go to a party hosted by one of my favorite families. For years I have been hearing about "the farm" near Barnesville. Only on Thursday of last week did we get an invitation from Morgan to come to her special graduation party there (she had a big graduation party at home--this one was for the close friends). I decided I wanted to go. Morgan had about 20 friends there, most of whom have been my students too, and assorted parents. I especially enjoy her parents. We took Patches who was a hit with all and ran around like mad to everyone's amusement. We played wiffleball, toured the pond and the mountain (yes, the mountain), and hung out at the barn eating hotdogs with Karl and Carli, Grant, Ellen, Katy, Krystal, Jenn, Nicole, and others. Riding up and down the mountain on the fourwheeler with Morgan was delightful and the view from the top was astonishing. You wouldn't think there would be a mountain in Barnesville, but there is, and they own a substantial piece of it, over 500 acres. It adjoins properties on either side of long time friends to make a 1000 acre plot. The view from the ridge was breathtaking in every direction and the silence was defeaning. Not a lot of development nearby, but you could see the town of Zebulon off in the distance. As dusk fell we had a campfire and as it burned down to coals the kids were getting ready to make smores and roasting marshmellows as we left for home. Patches slept like a log all the way home and is still zonked out this morning. I haven't had such a nice afternoon in many years.