I told Grandpa and JeeJee I wanted a day at the farm and had a list of things I wanted to do. Fortunately the very next Saturday was the date of the Marion County Forestry and Wildlife Expo in Buena Vista and it was only 15 miles from the cabin.
You can see from the expression on my face that I am VERY excited about spending the night at the cabin. This is the check-in photo for Grandpa's and JeeJee's B&B. You are probably wondering who is in my hands. It is James the Horse and he will keep me company in the room with all the animals tonight. "Now Grandpa, don't shoot James!"
It has been a long day! I had just finished my first week in second grade and attended a football game and was now ready for a good night's rest. I chose my bed to be in the living room with Grandpa's hunting trophies that also includes a deer and turkey killed by Mama. It was a very comfy bed and we had prayers together and Grandpa and JeeJee tucked me in for the night.
I awoke early the next morning ready to do all the things on my list and I am not known for short lists! Grandpa had a special surprise to start our day after breakfast. He joked that the surprise was to take a nap for the rest of the day. “That is not funny, Grandpa!”
Here I am dressed and ready to start our full day of adventures! What could Grandpa's surprise possibly be? I bet it will be fun. I always like his surprises.
Smokey Bear welcomed us to the Marion County Forestry and Wildlife Expo in Buena Vista. I like Smokey, but what will the surprise really be? I can't wait to find out!
I was excited to find out what a Forestry and Wildlife Expo was all about. I can’t wait to show my photos. First we took a tour through the exhibits and you won’t believe what I experienced! As you can see below I have the pictures to prove it!
There were two women from Chehaw Park who brought a couple of guests. Look what I bravely touched! But wait until you see what is next! "JeeJee, please don't scream!"
"JeeJee, I told you not to scream, although it is pretty scary to touch such a huge snake!" For a second I couldn't believe they would really let me touch it, but as you can see I overcame my fears.
After looking at the other exhibits, we went to two presentations—one discussing the decreased turkey population, which is of great interest to Grandpa and the other on the control of unwanted plants and trees found in pine forests.. I looked forward to applying my newfound knowledge on control of these invasive species.
Next Grandpa and I enjoyed lunch together. I had a hotdog and an ice cream sandwich and Grandpa had a barbeque sandwich with chips. Now it was time for my favorite part of the Expo!
Here I am in front of my new helicopter, but look at the photo! I thought I got caught by the pilot and he was about to fly me to prison. He was really a nice man and let me sit in the cockpit.
Don't you think I look good in this helmet? Let me know if you would like me to fly you somewhere.
It was great to see the helicopter, but why was it here? We were about to find out, but I was disappointed I was not the pilot. Mr. R. T. Lumpkin used a drone to start a fire and you won’t believe what happened next! Grandpa wrote an article a few months ago on the use of the GFC drone for prescribed fire on one of our timber tracts. You can view it here: https://www.harrisonwoodlands.com/journal/2024/2/24/prescribed-fire-by-drone
We heard the roar of an airplane coming straight for us. A Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) airplane dumped water on the fire as it flew over. But that wasn't all.
The GFC pilots flew MY helicopter over the fire and dumped their load of water on the fire, and they didn't even ask my permission!
The Expo was over and we left to meet JeeJee at the cabin to continue our adventures. We decided to first take a tour of the roads on the Plum Creek tract that Grandpa had mowed earlier this week. We took the Mule and I did the driving. Remember the presentation I mentioned about invasive species? As we started down the woods road, Grandpa spotted a few chinaberry trees. These are trees Grandpa said we try to eliminate on our forestland.
This photo shows Grandpa and me using the "hack and squirt" technique I learned at the Expo. I look forward to seeing the chemical killing this chinaberry tree we found on the road to the Plum Creek tract. Grandpa mixed 25% Arsenal (a forestry chemical) with 75% water in a squirt bottle and assigned me to apply the mixture to a cut he made with his hatchet. Mr. McClure told us at the Expo to apply one squirt per 3" tree diameter.
What we found next was a very pleasant surprise to me and one I intend to share with the rest of my family when we return home tonight.
Do you recognize what I am holding? This is my first experience with muscadines as we found lots of them on the vines along the road. They grow wild in the woods and ripen in August/September. Grandpa taught me how to eat them and separate the seeds. It's a little like eating boiled peanuts and it comes naturally to a country girl like me.
Don't they look delicious?
Now to the next thing on my list. I told Grandpa I wanted to drive a tractor. He let me drive the John Deere and mow the field next to the shop.
Yes, that IS me driving this big tractor, as the next photo will prove!
Grandpa taught me the basics of the tractor operation. As you can see, it takes concentration to do a good job of mowing. This is me after three minutes of instructions. I may be the only experienced tractor driver in my second grade class!
But, the little girl in me came out, as my always observant eyes spotted some large clusters of muscadines high above the ground in the path of the tractor. I think I will take a break from tractor driving to pick some more muscadines. I plan to take some home to share with my family. There was one problem though. How could I reach them?
I have an idea! Why don't I stand on top of the Mule?
Success! My plan worked! I picked so many that Grandpa had to go to his shop and get three plastic containers to hold them. "Sorry, Grandpa! Mowing this field will have to wait!"
Grandpa remembered he had to get his old blue truck from the Carlton’s Hole tract and move it to the dairy tract. I wonder if I can find something there to keep me busy.
I know! I'll ask Grandpa to teach me to drive his bulldozer!
It didn't take long for me to get comfortable in the operator's seat.
I still had one more thing on my list. I wanted to paddle the Gheenoe! So, now we need to return to the cabin.
It didn't take long to learn the basics of boat navigation. There are only two rules: Paddle on the right to turn left and paddle on the left to turn right. Simple! Grandpa said I am better than an outboard motor!
Grandpa always has something else on his list to do. What could it be? It didn’t take long for him to decide to take me to a logging site at the dairy and look at the equipment.
"Sorry, Ellie! I know Grandpa promised this to you for your first car, but it looks like I am claiming it as my own!" The loggers use this old truck to move empty and loaded log trailers in the woods. If I had time I would vacuum and wash the truck to surprise the loggers when they return Monday.
Since this was a Saturday and the logging crew had a day off, I was not able to operate the logging equipment, so you will have to be satisfied with some photos of me posing in front of this giant equipment.
Look at the size of this monster! This machine (Grandpa calls it a feller/buncher) cuts the trees and lays them on the ground for the machine in the next photo to drag them to the logging deck where the logs are delimbed, graded, cut to length, and loaded on the log trailer for transport to the sawmill in Albany where they are sawn into lumber. Can you believe the trees we grow on our farm will soon be used in home construction?
A massive log skidder--it can't be that much more complicated than driving Grandpa's tractor, can it? I wish I could find the key.
It’s time to go home after a busy day. All of us are exhausted. I will close with a final photo showing a loaded log trailer. This load is valued at $1000 and contains mature sawtimber sized trees from the dairy tract. These trees were planted 28 years ago. The money we get from our timber sales will help pay the college expenses for me, my brothers, my sister, and my four cousins. I can hardly wait until my next adventure on the farm and I am already working on my list for the next trip.
Yes, that's me. I am standing in front of a 25 ton load of high quality loblolly pine logs ready to go to the sawmill.
Stay tuned for future articles about my adventures on the farm. I always enjoy learning about what our family does on our land in the country. You probably think owning a farm is all for play, but I learned the importance of hard work and saw the benefits of owning forest land.
Well, I better close now and start work on my list for my next trip with Grandpa and JeeJee. Maybe next time we can work on other things—maybe fishing, hiking, ziplining, 4-wheeler riding, arrowhead hunting, …
See you next time!
Stella Jean Teague