Over the Memorial Day weekend, we traveled to Cass, West Virginia, and stayed in cabins at the
Cass Scenic Railroad State Park . We were there to celebrate the wedding of Rebecca's brother and sister-in-law. The cabins were once the family dwellings of the workers for the logging company that owned the town of Cass.
On Memorial Day, we went down to the river with Rebecca's family to throw rocks into the water, a sure-to-please activity for all family members. While conversing with her siblings and keeping an eye on the children, Rebecca's sister-in-law said, "Hey, look at the snake," and Rebecca looked down and saw a large black snake writhing toward Abigail, and rushed over to her daughter and rescued her from the potential danger. Meanwhile, I was hunting crawdads by turning over rocks, but a big snake is much more interesting, and I was temporarily distracted from the hunt. Fortunately, the snake was just one the largest snakes I have ever seen in the wild, the black rat snake, and it permitted us to "ooh" and "aah" over its magnificence. This harmless snake also gave our boys fodder for teasing their mom for her quick emergency response with all the appropriate sound effects.
Later, I resumed my search for crayfish, and Abby let me put one in her shoe, so we could show
everyone else our find.
Last Christmas, our relatives from Arizona came up and saw this peculiar white substance covering our lawn. Following a brief taste test, they determined that it was manna (not sweet to the taste), and it lasted beyond one day. Further investigation proved that the substance could be compacted and shaped, as shown in the photo on the left. This particular being soon appeared and, unlike its dancing cousin, could not move about because it lacked a majic hat and legs. Unhappy at the prospect of standing motionless, the being proceeded to change form, reduce in size, and flow back into the earth.
