Day 2 on the farm

I went back, I have to park on the road as the long drive way is now blocked (with good reason) and that is kind of important to the the end of this post. I walked through what was once the alfalfa field, through the deer trails in what was wide open and graveled spaces to the edge of what was a soy bean field, planted but not harvested, I saw the same at a corn field I know why but am concerned about it.

Half way to the creek I realized I had forgotten to change into my work boots so was mindful of snake bites. There are copperheads down there and the brown leafs are a carpet, funny that I thought about that now when before if I fell I would just roll and laugh, ignorance in youth is a wonderful thing.

I got some good pictures, I spent some time on the west side of the bluff which seems to be where I did when I was a kid, then climbed back up out of the creek and went to the other side, walked almost to where I was before then down around to the other bend where there used to be Indian paintings on the rocks at the other bluff. On the way I disturbed thirty or so wild turkey and eight or nine deer. When I reached them I just stood and stared from across the bank, the face had toppled in a heap.

The paintings were long gone now, I could see the holes bobcats had kept dens in, exposed now. That part sadden me, I remember being that far away late one afternoon when the sun shrank, keep in mind that in the timber it gets dark quick. It was almost instantaneous and one evening when it happened and I was near in the same spot there was yowling from a bobcat from those rocks. I ran out of the timber onto the path and towards the house. With each step I was kicking dirt onto the leaves behind me making me think it was chasing me, when I rounded the first barn I knew for a fact I heard something there so whirled with my rifle ready to shoot, I had a half pound of pressure on the trigger before I saw that it was my dad, he was coming down to check on me since it was getting late. When he saw me running he ducked into the barn to scare me. Ha he scared us both.

Standing looking at the bluff I decided to follow the creek to the river, I can count on both hands how times I had done that even as a kid, but I had left GMs lunch for her so not a big hurry to get back and I wanted to find some of the ancient bones the new owner had told me about. Two steps toward it I heard a pack of wild dogs from that direction, then more from the east. They had split and were hunting deer. Now I am not the wisest man in the world, but I knew that I did not have a pistol with me, nor can I out run a deer or a wild dog. So I began the two mile walk back to the car.

Though I am drawn to it, that will be my last trip there, even if I was going to stay here it would be. The emotions are too much, there are near ghost images of even when I hit a cousin in the back with a big limb by mistake, I saw the horse tank it happened at and that is the first thing I thought of.

It was a wonderful visit, one I will never forget.

The pictures I am sharing are here: http://flickr.com/photos/spikesstoneworks/