Turkey Day with Janice and Bill

Thanksgiving Day for me is all about friends as I don't have any family here so on Thursday I was having dinner with Bill and Janice. We met early, and then with camera gear promptly headed back out the door again. Bill was driving us the short distance to the WV border where we would be hiking for a while, to build up an appetite for dinner!
It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm, crazy weather for the end of November, but we were loving it. The bright winter light threw great shadows on the trail and the lichens and mossy greens really popped against the grey rock and burnt orange leaved woodland carpet.

We hiked along happily, enjoying the hills and amazing scenery, not really expecting to see anyone, so we were amazed to see that some guys had set up camp. Confederate flags flapped in the breeze and huge trucks were parked next to a massive tent, equipped with cots and a wood stove. They were here hunting for about 2 weeks and were standing around their turkey which was being cooked over an open fire under a foil tent. We chatted for a while, wished them a wonderful meal,  and then carried on hiking.

A little later we passed a family out with their very friendly woofer, Behring. He had a hard time sitting still but I managed to quickly snap some photos and later e-mailed them to the family, since they said theirs were so bad because of him being such a wiggle bum.

The woods were beautiful and we could see for miles across the blue ridges that rolled along the horizon. This was an amazing site for camping and I noted it for some Spring action when the weather would be warmer.
Janice spotted an unusual tree which looked like it had an arm with an elbow coming from it's body, so just messing around, I duplicated and flipped it in Photoshop to give it a cool effect. I was also pretty impressed with the hammering a woodpecker had done on a fallen trunk, the finished result looking very square with almost 90º corners.

The wind had picked up by the time we left, and from the nice warm car Bill pointed out a spring which is popular with the locals for fresh water. Another mental note was made to return here with containers, I bet that water is delicious!
The turkey was cooking nicely by the time we returned but we were famished and so gobbled some cheese and crackers while we waited for the veggies to cook. And then it was time for the feast. We all tucked in hugely; turkey, stuffing, potatoes, green bean casserole, sprouts, asparagus and gravy. And we ate as though we hadn't eaten all day. It was delicious, and followed by lots of heavy sighs, groans and tummy patting.

But the apple pie I'd made had to wait, we simply had no room for that, so instead we finished off the meal with a raspberry dessert wine poured into dark chocolate shot glasses.
We did manage some apple pie later with English style custard and fresh cream, and even cleared all the washing up, by hand. So by the time the evening had swept past and I eventually got home, I was exhausted and still feeling stuffed. Two little pairs of pussy cats eyes peered up at me when I walked through my door and I immediately set to making their Thanksgiving dinner with turkey I'd brought from Bill's. They had that with minced beef, grated cheddar, treats and gravy. Afterwards little Rosie Lee summed up how we all felt, full up and content, and ready for bed!