Of Earth and Stars

Today we discovered that we live only *three minutes* from American Wildlife Refuge (seriously, I could walk), who was having a V-owl-entine's Day event open to the public with some of their education owls in attendance. Of course, this means I must photo dump, but it works out, because you get to see OWLS!

Getting in and out of the place was a bit dicey, as we have been under heavy downpours for the last couple of days, and the parking area (a field) was pure mud by the time we arrived. The car sank into mud as we pulled into our spot. The event was in a covered greenhouse, luckily, and the rain had *just* finally paused (it starts back up tonight). We gingerly made our way to the greenhouse (L. sinking down into the mud immediately, and Midd'un stopping to help a couple who were having trouble getting traction in their vehicle to leave). Inside the greenhouse there were a couple of vendor tables with rocks/crystals, wildlife themed jewelry, and falconry and rehabbing resources. There was also a small bouncy house and a magician entertaining young children. But the stars were several beautiful owls, carefully held by long-time volunteers, who were happy to tell us about their charges and answer our questions.

This is Rasputin. He is a permanent resident, and has been hit by a car twice, as well as shot with buckshot, and still survived. Hence the name.

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Just before leaving, we walked the field trying to strategize how we would get out. While walking I sank down into mud that covered the top of my shoes and went up my pants leg. We were anxious, as we watched a number of vehicles get stuck (though kudos to the young gentleman with the Jurassic Park truck hauling everyone out of the mud)! Middl'un had also gone with us and helped a couple of cars to get through the torn up field. Finally, we were able, with the owner's permission, to pull through an area that had not been heavily trafficked and so were able to leave without too much drama. All in all, we probably spent about an hour and a half learning about the owls, and so even with the miserable weather and mud, I'm so glad we went!

In talking with the volunteers and owner, they welcomed us to come join them and volunteer at the refuge and/or for help with retrieval and transport of injured birds. I picked up some information so I could check it out - with it being so close to us, it would be a great opportunity.

Every once in a great while, we'll have a magical day where the boys are off with their bio-dad and we can pretend that we're young and adventurous and dating again. Today was one such day. We didn't have a lot of advanced notice, and we had a limited time frame to work within, but we were able to plan a lunch up in Raleigh and then some time out at Lake Johnson.

We first had lunch at The Remedy Diner, which is a cute little place off of Hargett Street, with a menu that caters to omnis, vegetarians, and vegans. We had planned to go to The Fiction Kitchen, but they were apparently closed for holiday. Thankfully, the Remedy came to the rescue (they serve Brunch until 3:00 pm on Sunday). We had fried broccoli with vegan ranch dressing, and I had a vegan BLT with avocado. L. also ordered vegan with the "Hot and Gooey", which was "fried fake 'chicken' and veggie bacon smothered in Daiya cheddar cheese and homemade gravy served on a biscuit". All of it was very tasty, though very "greasy-spoon" diner fare. It's near NCSU so the atmosphere was definitely college hipster, but even though we stood out like sore thumbs, we would definitely go again.

We then hit the lake to walk off all the food. The lake has about a 3.0 mile round paved trailed on the east side, which we took, and an unpaved trail on the west side. It was pretty warm out, but the majority of the trails are shaded, and in certain places you can poke your toes in the water to cool them off a bit. Lots of people were out dog-walking and letting their dogs splash around in the lake, which was fun to watch. The entire area is very peaceful and pretty.
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It was a lovely trip, just very hot and humid. The trails are described as "easy to moderate" and I would agree with that; we found some portions pretty hilly (which I found a little challenging to navigate with my knee) and we were glad to have taken along our water bottles. Afterward we came home and showered and became people again, and then took a nap in the air conditioning - which pretty much made the end of the day perfect. All in all, I'd recommended going to either of these two places if you're in the Raleigh area and want good eats or good relaxation.

♥