I posted this (either in whole or in part) some time ago. - - - There's only one way to unwind, as far as I'm concerned. That is to go cruisin'. No, fellows, I'm not talking about cruisin' chicks. I'm talking about cruising along the highways and byways.
I don't even have to know where I'm going. In fact, it's better if I'm not on my way to any place in particular. Just riding up and down the hills, listening to the transmission as it shifts easily into and out of its gears, and catching glimpses of the landscape and wildlife along the way are enough.
One day, we saw hawks. Another day, it was turkey buzzards; hideous creatures, but they really do look like turkeys - gone wrong, that is. Along old Route 40 a farmer raises buffalo; they are so large that they almost look like mastodons.
One afternoon, while cruising along the back roads, we came across a flock of guinea hens. Strange looking creatures, sort of like turkeys in the face, with long, thin necks, and bodies not unlike oversized pigeons. We stopped to admire them only to be run off by the homeowner's dog. Apparently, it considers the guinea hens to be its property!
Along Route 28, in Virginia, about half-way between Manassas and Route 17, a farmer raises ducks on his dairy farm. The orange-billed, white-fathered avians live in two ponds, one on either side of the road. It's a treacherous road...narrow, hilly, and winding. So many accidents have occurred along that thirty-mile stretch that the speed limit has been reduced and is strictly enforced. Even so, people "fly" along... until they reach that farm. If the ducks are crossing the road, the motorists stop and wait very patiently until the parade is over. No one honks. No one tries to pass. Everyone knows that's where the ducks live.
Last spring, my husband and I took a daytrip over to Abilene, Kansas, to ride on the Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad. It's a short excursion run, just about five miles long, but the coaches are old, wooden ones, and the scenery is relaxing. At the time, the farmers were just putting in their corn and soybeans.
As we neared the end of the run, we crossed an old trestle. What did we see down below but a turtle! He scurried toward the water, not at all happy about our intrusion into his afternoon siesta, but he didn't manage to disappear before my husband caught this shot of him.
Whoa! Must stop! The Midland Railway's afternoon excursion run is crossing the highway just ahead, at Ottawa. Yes, there's an Ottawa in Kansas, too.
Great story, Virginia! I can see that you are like me in your appreciation of our "feathered friends." One of these days I am going to have to go on a train excursion -- you make it sound like such fun!
Jean
Nature affects me the same way. It's very relaxing. I even enjoy the Nature programs on public television. My fondest childhood memories are about my stepgrandfather's farm. "Cruising the Highways and Byways" is a great way for me to start the day.
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