A trip to farm country: Part I

Afer a puddle jump of a flight (about 45 minutes) Ruby and Daisy got off the plane. They met Ollie Dandyshoe, who had disembarked from his flight just an hour earlier. Together they made there way to the front of the airport where Father Mergatroid (Daisy's step-Dad) picked them up.

It was the beginning of a 5-day time of R&R in the isolated countryside among rolling wheat fields. It is a beatiful spot that is vastly different from the forrested and heavily poplulated area the three of them are from.

Their first full day there they had a leisurely breakfast of oatmeal pancakes. Ollie Dandyshoe brought the recipie and supervised their preparation. Ruby's job was to separate the eggs.
"Here are some farm-fresh eggs", said Mother Mergatroid.
Ruby took them and busily set about separating. She needed six and it took many tries to get them, several of the eggs did not meet Ollie's standards.
"They have green cast to them, don't they?" agreed Ruby.
Finally, with Daisy's help, the egg quota was met and all enjoyed the fluffy oatmal pancakes. They later decided that the greenish eggs may have come from the carnivorous chickens they learned of later in the week.

Making Oatmeal Pancakes

Ruby Herself

After breakfast they made a 60-mile journey to the city to the south to pick up supplies for the next day's barbecue and some medicine for a digestive ailment that had struck a couple of them. The ride through the countryside was beautiful.

Countryside

Ruby Herself

This was the town of Moscow, a town Ruby had heard of but never seen. Daisy was driving, so when a quilt shop was encountered, Daisy uncontrollably pulled into its driveway, after a quick visit there with Mother Mergatroid and Ollie waiting in the car they went to Wal-Mart.

"In the last decade no matter what city I am in, with the exception of Athens and Istanbul, I end up in a Wal-Mart and I feel right at home!" said Ruby.

They were amazed at the distance that had to be traveled in order to pick up incidentals, so they made sure they had everything they needed. The ride back was as beautiful as the ride there. There was field burning going on.

Field burning in progress

Ruby Herself

"Field burning is a controverisal issue around here", said Mother Mergatroid.

But Ruby found the stark contrasts it created very striking.

A burned field contrasting with a freshly cut field

Ruby Herself