“Down on the Farm! Out in the street….” Anyone know that song? Ok, well maybe the lyrics really are “Down on the corner…”, but it was in my head for some random reason as I wrote this (my dad would be proud of my oldies reference). Ok so today is dedicated to the little farm that is around the corner from my office. This happens to also be about two blocks from “downtown Hamilton”. The first time I drove by, I almost slammed my brakes in complete awe. I saw goats and chickens everywhere. Later that afternoon I took a picture and sent it to a few close girl friends. In a way, this little farm inspired my blog :-) Truthfully I drive by it on the way to and from work just to smile. I’ve gotten out a couple of times and talked to the goats. Don’t judge- you would too if you lived here! Since I moved here there were some baby goats born. By the time I shot the videos today, they weren’t so small anymore, but they still frolic around in the most adorable way! I am glad that I waited until today to blog about my little farm because from my perspective, new animals continue to come forth besides the baby goats. I initially only saw the goats and chickens, then there was a black pot belly pig and I named him Wilbur (I don’t eat pig meat so I can get personal with them). Then one day I noticed a donkey!! Then one day there were two pigs, then three…so now I’m not sure which one is the original “Wilbur”. There was one day that I drove by and laughed so loudly because there was this “thing” that was super hairy and reminded me of a miniature “beast” from “Beauty and the Beast”. Upon closer inspection, I found he is actually a goat. The reality about the farm is that you truly need to get UP CLOSE and personal to develop proper perspective of the animals. You see, even though they are on a farm, when you view them, you are on the street (my song lyric makes more sense now right?). When you are standing there, you can see them for what they really are verses the drive by glances. What I mean by this…is well…there is actually not a donkey on the farm. He/she is a cow! Yes…for a couple of weeks I have thought that this grey animal is a donkey! I’m sorry but I’ve never seen a grey cow!! The cows by my house (I’ll introduce you to them later) are brown and then of course there is your standard “I’m going to draw a cow” cow that is black with white spots…or is it white with black spots?? The hilarity of my southern country adjustment is that I can’t even tell what animals are what!!! What on earth?! A video I recorded from last week has me referring to the cow as a donkey. I need more sleep or something. What is so funny is there are times of the day where all of the animals are scattered and cover the whole field, then times where nothing is out there and I assume they are all in the blue shed. I picture it being like Noah’s ark all crammed in there together. It really freaks me out when I can’t see any of them. I feel like they’ve been abducted or going to jump out and surprise me or something. This is similar to when I lived in Colorado Springs and the clouds would cover the mountains. I almost had anxiety until I could see them again. I just wanted to know that the thousands of feet of solid rock hadn’t uprooted overnight. Thanks to Jesus’ words, this is a completely scripturally founded concern. (Mark 11:23) So enjoy the videos of the farm. My little “beast” goat is the shorter video. He’s cute. I’m getting a soft place in my heart for him. Random question but why do we automatically assume based on our own imagination what sex a particular animal is? I am unsure about the donkey cow, but certain the ugly goat is a man. No offense guys :-)
A week from now I will be on safari in Kenya! I will have to study up on my animals in light of recent events. Pray that I can tell the difference between a giraffe and a zebra ok?
In other animal news (what is with today??) I had another encounter with a country dog tonight. I went for a run tonight in a pretty neighborhood. It has lots of hills that I literally could not run up because it was like turning a treadmill straight vertical. I was warned to not go down a particular road because of the “crazy dog” that bit someone recently. This would be a reference to the dog I almost hit last week. It’s great when everything ties together right? Ok so I avoided that street but ran everywhere else. Two tiny dogs were roaming around unleashed and they barked at me but they were down a steep hill. Later I came around one corner only to encounter a dog darting at me. Typically in a non small southern town neighborhood, you first think “Could this dog attack me?” by running through hypothetical situations in your head based on the fence height, animal size, and factoring in an adrenaline filled jump. Your first thought is not a realistic question of “Will this dog attack me?” However, HERE…your first thought is exactly that! I tried to calmly walk but that didn’t help. SO…I got a great work out while being chased by this little medium sized something (don’t worry, I knew it was a dog I just don’t know the breed). The silly thing ran 3 blocks barking at me. While I’m certain it’s bark is worse than his bite, Coco’s bite is still fresh in my mind and I wasn’t wearing jeans. Speaking of Coco, he is so pathetic. He thinks he lives at my friend’s house and if he does get to go home, he barks loudly. I heard him crying as I went running tonight. If anyone wants him, let me know! In conclusion, if you or someone you know owns a dog in the country,PLEASE ask them to domesticate their dogs or fence them in. Thank you :-)
In closing, I’d like to thank my fellow neighbor friend who responded to a text for a need of man hands to open my salsa jars. It was greatly appreciated! “Go for the banana over ice cream”!
Goodnight ya’ll!