Thursday January 9, 2014
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Today was hands down one of my most eventful wednesdays in a long time. It all started off bright and early; dazed, hungry and blinded by the pre-10am light I fumbled out of bed and into my work clothes. I quickly made myself a tumbler of black coffee and a plate of eggs and hotdogs (I am the picture of health). Today I was going to my friend Tyler Robic’s property to help and observe him carry out his morning chores.
His beautiful farm is in Purceville, VA nestled along the beginning ridges of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The land is unique in that it is a perfect marriage between entrepreneurism and just having awesome animals. The cattle and most of the horses on the property belong to other farmer’s and tenants leasing parts of the land from the Robic’s. The chickens, sheep, goats, cats, rabbits and protected forest all belong to his family. For the size of the land - it’s not too shabby. This wasn’t my first time out here; I had visited months ago with some of our SMSC classmates. It’s always a joy to be outside and, to me, there isn’t anything better than being outside and getting work done. Except maybe eating and sleeping. Aside from the property, the Robic household is a handmade marvel. Redone largely by his Uncle, the house features rich wooden floors (fashioned out of repurposed barn walls) and furniture, large cozy rooms, two fireplaces and leather couches and blankets in every room that can fit them. I felt like I was walking through a rustic edition of a Pottery Barn magazine! Due to privacy issues I felt it wouldn’t be right posting any pictures of their rooms, so instead I posted the view outside of his parents room (4th picture above). Impeccable taste, ingenuity and quality make up their home.
After getting all of the animals fed we ventured out into the grazing fields to do some recon on a dead cow Tyler spotted earlier that morning. Cause of death was impossible to identify without cutting into the carcass which was completely frozen solid. It was clear vultures made it to the body before us because the ears, eyes and udder were missing. That failed we headed out with his German Shepard and Boxer to check out an old rock quarry his father has been researching. But that’s classified. The real adventure began at the base of the Maryland Heights hiking trail. To get to the mountain we needed to navigate our way alongside the Potomac River, through a creepy town made up of buildings with fake props and exhibits inside and across a railroad bridge. From there it was a flat stretch to the trailhead which then immediately transformed into 3 miles of switchbackless, unforgiving, ice covered elevation. Not one to complain, it was a struggle for me to make it up that climb in jeans and a damn miracle Tyler made it up in his Carhartt overalls. However, the view at the overlook was, to say the least, breath taking. Before us stretched out the historic city of Harper’s Ferry. To our left and right branched out the mighty Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. There was something about the biting, cold air and the crisp, ice covered waters that made the view even more surreal - I felt like I was gazing at a sight similar to ones I will one day experience in the northwest.
We headed back to the Robic farm for much nourishment and coffee. With a good amount of the day left to burn before the Owl Life History lecture at the Loudon Wildlife Conservancy we decided to break my firearm cherry with a 12-Gauge Remington 870 Shotgun. I must say I severely overestimated the amount of recoil and underestimated the loudness of the discharge. I barely budged but my ears were ringing! We then switched out his shotgun and grabbed a pair of hunting rifles and headed into the woods for some target practice. I used one he was borrowing from one of the animal keepers he volunteers with (the gun I’m firing above). Again I was deafened by the discharge but this time I felt like I had been hit by a flash-bang grenade. My ears were ringing and all I could hear were the muffled vibrations of our laughter. I don’t want to make any statement about whether or not we should be allowed to have our guns - but god damn it if I were to die protecting my family I would want the motherfucker that killed me filled with lead and hurtling towards hell with me. That aside, I have had firearms training on my list of things to do for a very long time. My priority is handgun and shotgun training for home defense and then rifle training for hunting. This was just a wonderful introduction to the shooting world - and I can say I am hooked.
Hours later and the best damn Chai Tea Latte I have ever had (made by his sister sold out of a wonderful, historic shoemaker building repurposed into a coffee shop) we finally made it to the owl life history lecture. First and foremost, I had no idea it was going to last 2 hours. By the end of it I wanted to scream and kick the shit out of something. I simply cannot sustain concentration in a purely lecture situation for more than an hour. Other than that, I learned so many things about owls I had never known before. I learned that their faces are essentially parabolic satellite dishes, that they had 4 external ear flaps, that they close their eyes and turn their heads away at the last moment before they catch their prey and that can move their heads more than 200 degrees because their eyes can’t shift side to side. The lecture was worth going to. I learned a lot. But, as seen in the last picture, I envisioned an outside class filled with hands on learning. Not a stuffy building, crowded chairs and over 2 hours of slides.
Definitely the most eventful wednesday I’ve had since leaving SCBI. I miss the mountains dearly and I miss my classmates even more. I’m using these last days in NOVA to prepare my gear and my body to head back for my internship. Getting back in shape, fixing my diet and streamlining my gear are my priorities right now. But one can never have too much adventure.
Here’s to being spontaneous and making sure that recoil pad is tight to your shoulder.
Chris