Exploring a new place is one of my favorite things, if you haven't guessed that already. This new place Im at is in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Im working at an outdoor school that is a forest oasis in the middle of a bunch of cup-de-sac's.
This morning, I slept in, took my time and tried to make my small, white-walled room feel like mine. Then when it got to be about mid-day, I decided that I needed to get outside. I packed some snacks in my backpack, put on my sweet new hiking shoes, had a rough idea of where i was going and head out the door.
I started my trip by walking across the lawn of campus, towards where the small paddock is for the goats and donkeys. One of the donkeys stared at me until I walked up to the fence. I tried to call him over but he was not interested. But one of the really friendly goats, saw me there and got up from her shady spot and greeted me. She likes to be scratched between the horns. She followed me along the fence as I walked along it, giving her occasional scratches. In the background, Vinnie the black goat, who isn't all that friendly, came a little closer to see what all the fuss was about. As I walked away, I got a few small goat bah's.
Flashback: This week we did some work on the farm and the Naturalists decided they wanted to move Vinnie into a different pen. We all went into the big pen and tried to corral him into a corner, but the goat was not a fan of us so he kept running and running in circles. Me and one of the other naturalists were running after him trying to get him to the other part of the pen but also trying to avoid his horns! Finally, the other naturalist caught him and we both had him by the horns, literally. Grabbing by the horns works well, its like a built in collar. Vinnie was dragging his feet, he did not want to go where we were leading him. So one of the other Naturalists tickled his back and he started picking up his feet. We got him out of the big pen and then got him to the smaller pen. We brought him inside and then let go quickly and ran out so Vinnie wouldn't turn around on us. Vinnie was tired, huffing and puffing and looking around at his surroundings. We got him some sweet feed to settle him down a bit. Pacing the cage, he ignored the feed and saw his escape through a small gap in the bottom of the fence. He laid down and shoved his horns under the fence, squiggling his little chubby goat body under the gap. We all were stunned at what he was doing but one of the Naturalists caught him pretty quickly. We made sure he was in the big pen again and decided that it was probably a pretty good idea not to put him back in the small pen. Vinnie, the smart goat, knew how to stay in the big pen where he wanted! End Flashback.
When I got to the edge of property, I got one of those sensations like in Lord of the Rings where the hobbits take a step out of the furthest they've ever gone from home. I had a rough idea of where I was going but mostly, I just wanted to walk. I pulled out my phone and called a few of my closet friends to catch up while I was walking. I was talking to one of my girls, walking through a subdivision and made my way to this trail. Many people were out on this paved trail walking their dogs, running and biking. It was great to be around so much energy! I can't wait to get back out there and do some running!
So anyway, Im walking along and I see a sign for a nature center so I follow the signs to a building. I let my friend know that Im going to explore this building, hang up, and walk around to the front. Its a library! The building has many windows and rows of books. It was inviting so I found a Nat Geo and sat down for a bit in a big comfy chair.
After a few minutes, I got a return call from another friend so I sneaked out of the library and started walking back. I got too caught up in my conversation that I missed my "exit". I walked over a small stream and noted its beauty before realizing that I did not remember this stream on my walk to the library... At this point I was off the phone with my friend and a few more confused steps before I actually turned around. The turn-off that I missed was not very far and then before I knew it I was back on property.
This morning, I slept in, took my time and tried to make my small, white-walled room feel like mine. Then when it got to be about mid-day, I decided that I needed to get outside. I packed some snacks in my backpack, put on my sweet new hiking shoes, had a rough idea of where i was going and head out the door.
I started my trip by walking across the lawn of campus, towards where the small paddock is for the goats and donkeys. One of the donkeys stared at me until I walked up to the fence. I tried to call him over but he was not interested. But one of the really friendly goats, saw me there and got up from her shady spot and greeted me. She likes to be scratched between the horns. She followed me along the fence as I walked along it, giving her occasional scratches. In the background, Vinnie the black goat, who isn't all that friendly, came a little closer to see what all the fuss was about. As I walked away, I got a few small goat bah's.
Flashback: This week we did some work on the farm and the Naturalists decided they wanted to move Vinnie into a different pen. We all went into the big pen and tried to corral him into a corner, but the goat was not a fan of us so he kept running and running in circles. Me and one of the other naturalists were running after him trying to get him to the other part of the pen but also trying to avoid his horns! Finally, the other naturalist caught him and we both had him by the horns, literally. Grabbing by the horns works well, its like a built in collar. Vinnie was dragging his feet, he did not want to go where we were leading him. So one of the other Naturalists tickled his back and he started picking up his feet. We got him out of the big pen and then got him to the smaller pen. We brought him inside and then let go quickly and ran out so Vinnie wouldn't turn around on us. Vinnie was tired, huffing and puffing and looking around at his surroundings. We got him some sweet feed to settle him down a bit. Pacing the cage, he ignored the feed and saw his escape through a small gap in the bottom of the fence. He laid down and shoved his horns under the fence, squiggling his little chubby goat body under the gap. We all were stunned at what he was doing but one of the Naturalists caught him pretty quickly. We made sure he was in the big pen again and decided that it was probably a pretty good idea not to put him back in the small pen. Vinnie, the smart goat, knew how to stay in the big pen where he wanted! End Flashback.
When I got to the edge of property, I got one of those sensations like in Lord of the Rings where the hobbits take a step out of the furthest they've ever gone from home. I had a rough idea of where I was going but mostly, I just wanted to walk. I pulled out my phone and called a few of my closet friends to catch up while I was walking. I was talking to one of my girls, walking through a subdivision and made my way to this trail. Many people were out on this paved trail walking their dogs, running and biking. It was great to be around so much energy! I can't wait to get back out there and do some running!
So anyway, Im walking along and I see a sign for a nature center so I follow the signs to a building. I let my friend know that Im going to explore this building, hang up, and walk around to the front. Its a library! The building has many windows and rows of books. It was inviting so I found a Nat Geo and sat down for a bit in a big comfy chair.
After a few minutes, I got a return call from another friend so I sneaked out of the library and started walking back. I got too caught up in my conversation that I missed my "exit". I walked over a small stream and noted its beauty before realizing that I did not remember this stream on my walk to the library... At this point I was off the phone with my friend and a few more confused steps before I actually turned around. The turn-off that I missed was not very far and then before I knew it I was back on property.
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