Drove up to Yreka, CA on Wednesday with my Dad and siblings. Mom had an unchangeable flight out to Chicago for work on Friday, and so could not have Thanksgiving with us for the first time, well, ever. It was sad.
Thursday - Saturday Morning was mostly spent at my aunt and uncle's cattle ranch. They have an amazing small set-up. Their cows are natural - they are grass fed, have lots of room to roam, are well-taken care of, and only get antibiotics when the cows are sick, not as a preventative measure. It was neat to hear all of my uncle's stories about why he started the ranch, how he runs it, why he is a natural farmer vs. an organic farmer, and about things that have happened to him as he learned the trade.
Friday we went out to some forest land that a friend of my uncle owns to cut Christmas trees. It's kept mostly pristine, though parts of it are harvested for lumber in a (7-year?) cycle to pay for land tax and such. We cut trees, sat around a bonfire, talked, ate minestrone soup, and generally spent most of the daylight hours in the prettiest country-side you ever could have seen. Did I mention it was cold? Yeah, it was 65 degrees in the sun - maybe. Probably more like 50 degrees, which was warm compared to the evening's 15 degrees. I have a dead tree that will probably make it to my apartment sometime this week. Yea tree!
Got home late Saturday night.
Today I have (Inhales):
( Mostly here to remind myself that I've done more than I think I have. )![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
