Mother Nature and all other good gods smiled down on 27 Tuesday Groupers for the farm walk-about on Halloween, October 31, 2007.
The weather was absolutely perfect, the animals friendly, and the loggers kept us safely away from their fascinating operation of thinning trees on the farm. The loggers had been advised they would have us as spectators on that Halloween day and said that would be great but we were not to go back into the woods where the saws were operating and the trees were falling. We didn’t!!! However we did stand far enough away to watch two humongous grappling machines work simultaneously bringing giant felled trees out of the forest before stripping them of their excess limbs and branches and gracefully stacking them just right to be ready for loading them quickly in logging trucks that were running out full and returning empty all day. I use the word “gracefully” truthfully when speaking of the manner in which the professional operators of two giant machines swung their machine’s individual mechanical arms and huge claws around, under, and over the other as they each went about their respective duties. One might have been bringing more trees into the clearing or clearing away nuisance brush while the other was lifting a tree into the stripper or swinging one on the pile for pick-up……and just when you thought one huge arm and claw surely was going to bang into the other one, they’d each very gracefully “dance” away. I personally found it fascinating, like watching a choreographed stage show. Cheers to the operators of those machines!!!
Before watching the logging operations we also got around to feeding carrots to two very grateful horses and two cute donkeys, and later visited some very well fed chickens (all pets) and two adorable “fainting” goats who keep the weeds down around the farm buildings and farm house. Although they didn’t “faint” when they saw us and the four dogs walking with us they did do a few tricks, like standing on their back legs for a treat. One even tried playing with Oscar, the smallest dog in our group, but Oscar would have none of it. Oscar though was the bravest dog that day. He dared venture not only into their pen but also the pasture with the donkeys and horses. We quickly got him out of the pasture though before either donkey spotted him. Donkeys are very protective of their territory and, with them, Oscar would not have had a chance. Harley, my German Shepherd, although the largest dog that day, was the least brave and stayed as far away as possible from both farm animal enclosures. Of course, to be truthful, Harley has been “zapped” by the farm’s electric fencing, and I could not convince him on Tuesday the electricity was off.
The day’s 6 mile hike started out on a wonderful high note, and ended, as always on a farm walk-about, on a deliciously high caloric note, or better said, with an ice cream social in the Big Belly Hunt Club. Twenty-three Tuesday Grouper’s signed up yet 27 showed up. That was wonderful too…..the more the merrier!!! Try one of these hiking adventures sometime, you too might like it. Bill Billings’ pictures taken that day and shown here made it even better. Thanks all. Sandra Canepa
View Bill's photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHskweDmne