Patrick's Place

Mountains! The grand old blue ridge greeted me after biking west on the W&OD. They gleamed with a new splendor this day because I had reached them with my own bodily effort. I had experienced the land between my house and their green rolling slopes.
When I showed up at Patrick's house he wasn't home, but all his animals were were there to say hello. Chickens, pigs, ducks, goats, rabbits, and a dog all called this house home, and most of them could wander where they pleased. Patrick lives with no human companions, but a party seemed to be always going on at his house. Chickens would try to establish pecking order with the ducks who were not familiar with the idea, and the pigs enjoyed chasing the chickens in circles. Goats screamed their high pitched bleats constantly. When Patrick spoke with the goats he used his entertainly screeching voice in an attempt to communicate on their level.
In the one full day I spent there I did lots of stall mucking and clearing of his yard. It was a fun day, he lives in a very beautiful spot, nestled in the crook of the mountains with a stream running through his property. Patrick did not grow up a farmer, but decided its what he wanted to do with his life and dove right in the deep end. I can hardly imagine living as the epicenter of so much animal camotion and attention.
Patrick lived in a mess. His house seemed to be only half built and covered in debris. My first night he brought a goat in the house to be milked into a cup. when the milk spilled on the floor Patrick grabbed a sock, wiped up the milk, and then left the sock on the floor. I once thought that order and tidiness were superfluous and not necessarily practical. However, I found it hard to do any work there since there was so much screaming "I need to be finished!"  and a sense of chaos hung over the place. After visiting Patrick's house I believe that for a farmer order is a matter of survival.
At one point Patrick gave me the low down on his life. The part he spoke most fondly of and in greatest detail was touring the greatfull dead at the age of 19. Is this year going to be what forty year old me sees as my best years? oh man I better enjoy this journey while I am here!