To be clear, these are the Brown Boys:

That’s Fino on the left, Raj on the right. They’re all that remains of the small herd that’s resided at Tierreich Farm in Durham, NC–a.k.a., the place where I was born & raised–for the last 60+ years.

In fact, “they” aren’t even “they” any more. Since I took that photo last month, Fino passed away, at 28. That’s a good age for a horse. Amazingly, surviving Brown Boy Raj is still kickin’ at AGE 37.

Who would’ve guessed such a nondescript, scrawny little guy could endure into what are usually known as Donkey’s Years?

My point is, you DON’T expect superlatives from scrawny little horses. Nor from Durham, North Carolina. It’s a humble kind of place. This was especially noticeable after flying there directly from our sojourn amidst the bright blue waterfalls of La Huasteca, in Mexico.

The Mate and I go back to visit our old lives (the place where we met in 1977 and fell in love a couple of years later) every March. To see my Amazing Mom…

…my equally Amazing Dad…

Of course if you’ve been following Wing’s World long enough, you also know the story of our Tarheel Pilgrimage to watch the ACC Tournament…so I won’t repeat it here. I’ll just show what we crazy Heels fans eat while we cheer:

Oh, and since the semi-finals (which Carolina made it to before falling to That Team That Shall Not Be Named Duke) were on Pi Day…

But I realize I haven’t explained about the Grey Girls. Here they are, resting up with Dad after his walk.

During our 9 days in NC, The Mate and I helped romp the Grey Girls, patted the Brown Boys, cheered for the Heels, and hung out with my folks, eating (humble) pie.

Note: those potholders, above, came from La Huasteca. Using them in my mom’s kitchen felt surreal, like…”Where we really just there?”

Granted, the NC woods are not THAT, especially before spring takes hold. But they hold a special, humble grip on my heart.

I’m undyingly grateful for our viaje Mexicano. But even more so to be able to come “home,” year after year, to this.

Extra note: you may have noticed many of these photos are weirdly small. WordPress suddenly started doing this, and none of the articles I’ve read to fix it have helped. If you understand WordPress and think you can help me keep my photos large, please email me at gretchen.wing@gmail.com.

Like I said: humble. Ain’t too proud to beg.

Next time: back in NC, again????!!