Here are some pictures I've taken

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bibbyman,

It's getting harder to get the girls to go on hikes with me in the woods. In years past, I couldn't get out the door without one or the other going along.

Brooke the younger would rattle the whole time - insureing that we wouldn't see any wildlife. Alex, the older would get borred too soon.

But this spring I took them further in the woods and showed them a group of cliff overhings. Locals have used it as a camping spot for many years. I suspect natives have too.

Anyway, I was able to impress them one more time.

Better than playing video games.

This story dates back to Feb, 2004 when Brooke was pretty small.

The days are getting a little longer and the snow and ice is turning the ground to mud. I’ve had time to get a walk in before dark the last couple of evenings.

I’d much rather go alone as that’s one reason I like to take walks on the farm but I’ve been taking Alex or Brooke along with me. There’s no peace and quiet but it breaks up the girls – giving Mary time with one and me with the other. That’s a good thing.

Last evening was Brooke’s turn. We walked down the hill to the east and up the other side into the woods. We were following the old log road north on the “hog back” ridge.

We’d just past out of the patch of red cedar into the woods when Brooke took note of a nice young white oak standing straight and tall. She says. “Wow! Look at the tree God made! It sure is a nice one.” She went up to it and petted it. I said it sure was. Grandma would have trouble getting a long log like that on the mill. We agreed we’d have to cut it into shorter logs. “We’ll have to come back and get that tree.” Brooke said.

A couple hundred yards up the ridge we came to an open spot where the trails forked. Our dowg, Puddin’, had been enjoying the walk also, running here and there. I was watching her watching something when Brooke said. “Look Grandpa! Dogs!” They weren’t dogs but deer. Five of them crossed over the trail just ahead of us. Puddin’ didn’t even offer to chase them – even after we cut their trail.

Another hundred yards and we broke into the pasture behind my folk’s house. Brooke was totally confused as to why there would be a house hidden in the woods. I asked her if she thought it looked like Granny’s house. She knew it didn’t because Granny’s car wasn’t there. (She was looking for the carport on the wrong side) We got into the yard and she noted the old corn crib. “Look, there is a thing just like at Granny’s.” She said with wide eyes.

When we came around into the front yard and she noted every concrete yard ornament was just the same as Granny’s. Even the tacky wood butterflies on the wall were the same.

We made it to the kitchen door and she pushed her way in to see who was in this house just like Granny’s. Sure enough, there was Granny working in the kitchen. Brooke marched right up to Granny and quizzed her on how come she had a house in the woods just like the house like she had on the road. It wasn’t sinking in that it was the same house. She took her case to Grandpa George (my dad – the girls call him “Granny’s Grandpa”). He got a kick out of her confusion.

After our visit with my folks, we left by the road. We turned to look back at Granny’s house from the front. We talked about Granny’s house in the woods verses Granny’s house on the road and I think she was still confused.

We got home and Mary and Alex had made biscuits for supper and had a pineapple upside down cake ready to go into the oven.

Brooke was full of stories – including finding Granny’s house in the woods. Seeing the deer was about fifth on her list.

When she got to the story about the tree God made, Mary asked her if she know what kind it was. “It was gray.” She said.

I would have enjoyed taking the walk alone but I’d miss seeing it through the eyes of a child.

Bibbyman,
Great pictures. Wonderful looking area.
It's nice when you can get them out and interested. Nature can be such a good teacher and friend. Took my youngest daughter on her first trip at two weeks old. Been traveling, camping and hunting ever since. She's 13 now and she has hunted since 8 with a flint smooth bore. Does my heart to sit in our brush blinds together.
Chasing Crow

Last summer we toured the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming. If you’re ever out this way, keep at least 6 hours open to tour these museums.

Buffalo Bill Historical Center web site

After hours and hours of viewing all manners of art and artifacts in the five museums there, we ended up in front of a tepee display in the Plains Indian Museum. Brooke asked how they made the tepee. I showed her that three poles were tied together at the top and then the women would raise these and they would stand. Then they would lean the other poles against these three and so on. She asked about the smoke from the fire and I pointed out the hole in the center that made it work like a chimney. She asked what happed when it rained and I pointed out the flaps on top that could be closed by use of the two poles that were now holding them open. I went on to explain that the cone shape made it very stable and the round shape made it less likely to be blown over by the wind.

To all this information she expressed, “Wow! Those Indians were really smart. They didn’t suck lead pipe.”

I asked her if she know what it meant to “suck lead pipe” and she said it made you crazy, So we concluded the Indians didn’t suck lead pipe and they were not crazy.



A few weeks after we got back, I saw Brooke and Alex dragging edgings down by their play house. Soon they had the poles up. Later Brooke came from the house with some sheets. I guess she couldn't find buffalo skins.

wsalexbrooketp20080711x.JPG (62 KB, 59 downloads)

Nice Pic's. The area looks a lot like where I live. My kids are all grown and married now. Got 8 grandkids, with a ninth one on the way. My oldest was the typical homebody, and stayed close to her mother most of the time. Very domestic. My middle one was the steriotypical blond cheerleader, "like, forsure". LOL. Now the youngest one should have been a boy. Hunt, Fish, chop fire wood, and anything out doors. She stuck to me like the perverbial siemese twin. She learned to shoot better than most guys I know. Not a girly gun either. Man size guns. Ahh, but she's all grown and married too. I'll tell ya' one thing though, If'n anybody gives her any S**T, she'll knock em' out in a minute.

Nice photos--great looking kids. Mine were little troopers when young and we went out into the woods alot. Both, now grown and married, still enjoy the outdoors, but have less time for it. My daughter recently married a cowboy and moved to a small ranch in Oklahoma, where she is out alot more than when she lived in the city. She sent me a photo of her feeding the cows from a 4 wheeler and it was a big change from her city persona! My son teaches and coaches in Little Rock and gets out when he can find the time. Mostly hiking or kayaking and fishing. He likes to target shoot an "plink" but does not hunt. Lately he has shown interest in living history and aquired some period clothes and gear...