A Great Day In Alleghany County

We had the chance to spend the day in Alleghany County today, beginning at a crafts fair in Crouse Park. There was some absolutely beautiful work on sale, and the music and dancing was fantastic.

You just can't beat a live bluegrass band.

Rick and I both have ties to Alleghany that run deep. I've made the trip up the mountain for court for nearly 20 years now, and Rick actually lived in Sparta for two years while he was the sports editor for The Alleghany News. In fact, he was still there when we first started dating.

After leaving the crafts fair, we had lunch with James and Lib Reynolds, and their grandson, Matthew Bottomley. James took the boys on a tour of Glade Creek Dairy in Ennice, where he works. The dairy is owned by Blan and Dr. Tracy Bottomley, who is married to James and Lib's daughter, Amy.

This is James with Adam and Jesse in the milking barn. Check out the look on Adam's face.

Ever the trooper, though, Adam sidled right up to one of the cows and tried his hand at milking. Remember that scene from A League Of Their Own, where the baseball scout asks the character played by Geena Davis if the cow she's milking is hurt in the process? She says, no, the cow doesn't seem to mind.

To which the scout, played by Jon Lovitz, replies: "Well ... it would bruise the @#$@#! out of me." I don't know why, but I couldn't help but think of that scene as Adam gave milking a shot.

Tracy and Amy's sons -- Jonah, Matthew and Luke -- helped Adam and Jesse feed the calves they're raising. The city boys -- Adam and Jesse, obviously -- were amazed by how quickly the animals sucked their milk bottles dry.

Quicker, by far, than Adam or Jesse ever had.

Below, Adam and Jesse pet a couple more of Glade Creek Dairy's calves. It's people like James and Lib, Blan, Tracy and Amy and their children who make the world go around. I appreciate their friendship.