6/30/2021

Arkansas day two. The goats will still not play with me. One or two keep getting out of their pen and they run up to me, but then run away when I bark at them and try to jump on them. I think maybe they don't know how to play. The chickens are a mystery. I don't know what to think of them. There's a big noisy one that starts his racket about 4 am. I was not pleased. If I find out which one it is, we may have a talk.

After a nice breakfast and nice poop in the field followed by a zoomie around the field because who can help running around like crazy after a first-rate poop in a field, no cars, no interruptions. It really is the best way to start the day.

I was doing pretty well. I think I could get into this farm living. A lot to sniff and explore. Just when I was getting settled in, they put me in the car again. I never know if it's gonna be a quick drive or 90 hours. I feared it was another long one. And it basically was. Snack Guy said something about an hour drive to the hiking spot in the Ozarks, but I just went on to sleep. When I woke up it, we were in the mountains. It was a bit cooler. Still pretty hot though, but I do love a good walk in the woods, and we took a nice one up in the Ozarks. Best part was a little creek crossing where it was almost deep enough to swim. It was clear and cool and perfect for a hot day. I don't really understand why the humans didn't join me, but one could waste a lifetime figuring out the whens and whys of what humans do or don't do.

Then it was back in the Jeep again. I huffed a bit, but I was actually quite tired and didn't have it in me put up much of a fuss. I was fast asleep again, when Snack Guy stopped the car and we had to get out again. Now, this time it was SUPER hot, but he insisted we take another walk, and I'm always up for that. This time though, it was at a place he called Ft. Smith. Then, he got started on history again and lost me and Food Lady. We smiled and listened to him ramble on about the gateway to westward expansion, something about a famous judge that hanged a lot of people, the "Hanging Judge" Judge Isaac Charles Parker. He also did some work in the local jail in the town where we're staying, Greenwood. There's pics if you're interested. Yep, apparently this guy hanged over 100 people without due process and Clint Eastwood made a movie about it. There's a stone here with his name on it, and I'm not sure what that's all about. As we walked along the fort (and oh, my, the squirrels! They were fat and slow and everywhere, which made listening to Snack Guy all the harder). Snack Guy droned on and on about the removal of the Cherokee who came here, the barges that floated up the Arkansas River here feeding the westward expansion, the crossing of a line into Indian territory. For real! There's a literal line marked on the fort's edge. I sniffed it, but it didn't mean that much to me. It didn't sound like all that of a happy story. Then back in the car to our Greenwood home. What a nice place. I chased the goats around a bit more, and then we went into the town to explore the local historical jail, also famous from the same judge. Also, some pictures if you're interested. Another walk. Then back to the farm and Snack Guy threw a stick for me a few times around the field and we ran like crazy. And believe it or not, I pooped again. What a day…what a day.

I'll keep you posted,

Risa