Writings From Blackberry Hill

Just when you think you have seen everything...

when you think that your day is almost over, twilight is falling and things are wrapping up.

That time of day when you are done with this particular day, whatever it is you did or didn't plan or get done.

The land is cooling off from the heat of the afternoon. Thoughts turn to dinner, a nice bath, a good book.

THAT is exactly where the danger lies my friends! This is called being in a RUT.

Albeit a nice comfortable rut (that we prefer to call a routine)!

Then something happens and you and your comfy routine, and your relaxed blasé "I know how the rest of this day is going to go" attitude get a total shock.

It hits hard and fast and bounces you right out of your rut. Causing you to shake your head and laugh and call to people nearby so they can come see and be amazed too.

Then if youre the kind of fool that never has their camera handy at such important times (ahem) you holler for everyone to freeze right where they are, while you run for your camera and of course there is no freeze frame on life, so no one listens and you make it back to the scene of jaw dropping amazement and take the best pictures you can at 8 o'clock at night and just hope you do the moment some kind of justice....

and then....

you post them on your blog!~
(but wait - I'm getting ahead of myself)


It was twilight and another gorgeous sunset was rapidly becoming a thing of the past. I was driving the beef cows toward their pen after an afternoon of grazing. I have found it works better for me and them if I do this slowly, letting them eat and browse, grabbing last delicious mouthfuls here and there as they walk in basically the "right" direction (north). Once we are within sight distance of the gate to their enclosure, they usually go right on in, anxious for a long deep drink of water from the trough.

We had meandered our/their way over the distance of about a mile. The cows staying bunched in a loose casual circle while they walked and grazed their way forward. We were within about 100 feet of their enclosure when the lead steer stopped to munch again, which was of course the signal for the entire bunch to do the same, which was (of course)the signal for me to stop about 15 feet away on the golf cart ( my version of a horse) and pick up my book for a 5 or 10 minute read. We are creatures of our routine and we like it that way.

About three sentences into my book I heard snorting, followed by moo-ing followed by cows breaking their informal loosely held circle and going in every direction the way a cue stick breaks a rack of balls in a game of pool.

My biggest fear was of course a rattlesnake but the steers didn't seem panicked, they seemed more flustered than anything and they were quickly regrouping in a tight bunch, all staring in the same direction.

As I looked in the direction they were staring, a peacock marching sedately, as though leading a parade! He marched past the bewildered cattle and down the lane. I saw a yellow blur (Dixie Dawg) out the corner of my eye, she was moving fast and coming at a right angle straght toward the peacock who only in that moment saw the dog.

There wasn't even time to ask the obvious questions was that really a peacock? how did it get here? where would it even come from? when the peacock saw the furious, fast moving yellow blur streaking to him and something in his 1and 1/2 inch skull said RUN and so he abandoned his grand march with his beautiful trailing feathers, in favor of the worlds most awkward attempt to hoist himself into the air. Which he managed to do exactly one tenth of a second before Pitt bull jaws tried to clamp on turquoise tail feathers only to get nothing but air.

The peacock landed on the roof of my house, turned around to stare down at the still furious barking dog on the ground below him and opened his mouth (beak) to make a noise as exotic as himself.

For one split second we all forgot we were in rural "no where-ville" and were transported to thoughts of a rain forest by the peacocks exotic tone as he looked down (both literally and figuratively) on the dog below.



Next he strolled down the south side of the roof to take a look at ground conditions there while one dog, one human and 15 cows all watched in silence




Apparently he was looking for a good spot to leave his perch on the roof and continue on his majestic journey. Not liking the odds where we all watched, mouths gaping, he turned in a magnificent sweep of tail feathers and began to walk the length of the roof to the other end.



On reaching to end of the roof...



"His Majesty" turned (this guy made more dramatic quarter turns than a soldier on parade)to look down down at the yard below. The scene was much more peaceful as I had managed to corral the dog inside the laundry room and the cows, attention diverted, had quit looking upward when one of them spied a weed growing in the yard that they all had to try and taste.



There was only one lone soul for the peacock to take the measure of below...



Thats right. Poor "Roo" was standing there innocently plucking at leaves, knowing internally as he does everyday, that he is "Cock o the walk" in his little kingdom, the fairest of them all.

and then...

a shadow falls over him. He looks up. The sound he made would defy description. It was a strangling noise and he tilted sideways looking up, like he couldnt believe what he was seeing! Then he high tailed it a safe distance away, flapped his wings and crowed in a slightly wobbly and high pitched "Im not threatened at all - no siree" kind of cry.

Poor guy...must have felt like being the hometown "hottie" that all the girls swoon over. Captain of the football team. Class president. All the "chicks" in town dig you.

and then one day,

Brad Pitt walks casually in the door. Reducing you in one moment into a lesser role.

So what happens next on "As the Farm Turns?

Will the peacock ever leave the roof?

Will "Roo" ever recover from his fall from glory?

Will the peacock ever be claimed by its rightful owner?

Will Dixie Dawg ever make it out of the laundry room?

stay tuned for more after these messages....