Field trip to a local farm
Quick picture taken on a field trip to a local farm with Sam's class. Ben and I accompany the class as chaperones whenever we go to farms - the week before they went to Suyamatsu-Bentryn Family Farm, where the local farm stand is located. This time we went to another farm with meat cattle, sheep (also meat), and a bunch of chickens. The sheep were getting shorn. I think that's the right tense? I didn't have much time to snap pictures while shepherding my three boys (the ones assigned to me) plus Ben! We got to within 3 feet of these friendly cows. It was really fun!
Ever interested in alternative careers, I chatted up the very professional sheep-shearer, Mary. Is that a STEM career? She is so competent and I envied her very much, working on the farm, in her Carhartts, outside with the animals. All my love for those James Herriott books came right back. It was even grey out - an English countryside day. Mary had a not-so-little lamb!
Lookie who flew into town and surprised us!!!! WOW-EEE! Hi Gramma! Boy what a story went with that. I thought it was an intruder peering through the bushes, trying to see if I was at my perch. Mom wanted to sneak up and surprise me. That is hard to do, especially in the morning when I'm all caffeinated and charged up after doing periodic battle with MERLIN. I saw the face peering through the bushes, fiddling with something. Very suspicious. Then the face retreated and started heading down the road. Thinking the zombie apocalypse had arrived on Bainbridge (I know this isn't funny, but I'd just read those disturbing stories and that is what first came to mind, that seriously it was a deranged high schooler out there, who was about to overheat and rip his clothes off, coming after me and the boys). So I ran out the back door, thought about grabbing my hoe or my machete, but didn't want to lose the "track" of the zombie as it headed off. I got to the road and saw "it" heading away, looking oddly like my mom from the rear. I yelled "CAN I HELP YOU???!!!" "It" turned around. Mouth and eyes wide. Agape. Then eyebrows up and a big smile, and "OOPS!" Ahhhh...it was mom. But I was simultaneously relieved and still confused. Had mom forgotten where I lived? Had she gone mad? Quite a few laughs have been had over this endeavor to surprise me. She said she wished she had a picture of my face - I think she's just lucky she didn't meet with my machete! You should see what I do with a dull one around here. It's been fun, mom!!!
That is hilarious! I love it! I can just see your mind going through all the different scenarios! Mom is lucky you didn’t grab your machete! She looks great by the way!
Sooooo, the reason for my retreat down the street was — since I couldn’t see thru the window to learn if Alli was at her “perch” (desk), thanks to all the reflections on the window, I put Plan B to the test. Plan B was to sneak onto the property through some neighborhood trails. That Plan failed, as you know. As Alli and I walked down the driveway, Sam was in the front yard spying on Ben with his periscope. He lowered it from his face, looked at his mom and me, and had a small, expressionless smile. He wasn’t sure he was really seeing me. Later he asked, “Gramma, how did you get here?”. He knows about taking an airplane flight, taxi, ferry, and another taxi. I mean he JUST did that for Spring Break in So Cal! But the whole event had entered the world of “WHAT????”. Although my sneak-up plans were foiled, the fun of it all came through perfectly!