Rocky Mountain High
The Writer and the Farmer are back from a 9-day trip to Colorado. We left the farm in the very competent hands of Bonnie, our ‘farmaholic’ friend.
All went well until the sheep, tired of eating hay (no rain—no grass), decided on the second-to-last day to find a spot where the ground dropped lower under the fence, and they could wiggle under it to grass growing along the creek. Bonnie, attuned to the sounds of the farm by now, heard lots of yelling (moms and lambs separated, some ewes yelling ’cause they couldn’t figure out how to get to the grass) and went to investigate.
She was able to get everyone back in the right place (not an easy task!) then set up a few portable fences to keep them away from the fence they’d scooted under. She wasn’t sure the fence was hot, but then got such a nasty shock, she decided it was. Poor Bonnie. Been there, done that.
All was well when we returned—the outdoor flowers were still beautiful, and little vases around the house had been filled with flowers. Bonnie always leaves the house cleaner and nicer than when she arrived.
So, why were we in Colorado? I’d been asked/invited to record an audio book of my novel, A Pirate’s Heart, and I thought it’d be a great way to get Melissa off the farm, in a different area, where she could explore and fish and get a much-needed break.
I didn’t really think about this until the last minute, but while she’d be out exploring, I’d be spending seven days in a sound booth reading out loud.
What was I thinking? Too late to back out… so we flew to Colorado.
Melissa had a blast—fishing, hiking in search of cool rocks and arrowheads, and hanging out with Hailey the dog.
And here’s proof that the owners of Dog Ear Audio did let me out of the studio, at least for a few hours, when we visited the Florissant Fossil Beds, filled with fossilized redwoods like the one behind us.
Because this is a farming blog, I’m not going to bog it down with non-farm stuff. But if you’re interested in what it’s like to record an audio book while living in a straw bale house in the mountains of Colorado, check out my Inkslinger blog:
http://www.theinkslingerwrites.blogspot.com
We had a great time, but it is nice to be back home.
3 Responses
Oh My Gosh!! My heart totally goes out to your wonderful Bonnie. Bless her heart, getting them all back where they belong! Especially when they’re looking for “greener pastures”. We just had the goats out yesterday, over 40 animals, and it was quite the effort to get them back inside their fence, and away from a yard of lovely grass and yummy fruit trees. The hubby managed to get a big bucket of grain and handed it to me, and I just spread it out onto the ground. This brought them a-running! I, too, was alerted to the situation by a couple of youngsters that got left behind and didn’t know how everyone else had escaped.
You’ll have to get Bonnie to give us the whole story on how she did it!
Glad you two had a nice trip, even if Melissa had more of a vacation. I’m sure you both had fun.
This is my first visit to your blog. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Will be back! Thanks for sharing your excursions!
Bonnie did a great job. She’s a brave one, but then, she teaches 9th grade, so is it any surprise?