April 3rd We Try Again...

Before I get started it has been brought to my attention that I made a mistake in yesterdays Blog post. I incorrectly stated that the Joy's property is 9 acres when in fact it is actually 10 acres. My apologizes for the mistake and now I can start my tale.

I woke up this mourning and decided that I would once again try and explore the property. So i got up and had some Breakie. Cereal of course, after that I marched upstairs to my room and got ready for my morning exploration. I put on my jeans and a t-shirt got a bag ready with a jacket, water and a snack (food of course). Then I marched back downstairs to the back porch where I would be leaving for my exploration. I put on my Gum Boots and was ready to head off.

As I stated yesterday the goal it to reach the Peak of Dairy Flat hills at the edge of the property.

I head of down past the trampoline to the right. I have my jacket on, backpack on my back and my camera and tripod in my left hand. I get to the gate that allows me out of the backyard and enter the sheep padock. There are no sheep insight, so i proceed with reckless abandonment. Down the hill into the valley that lies between the backyard and the peak of the Dairy Flat Hills. I trek through the grass which is knee deep. The Sheep need to relocate and start to eat this down. I then come upon the forest that leads up the hill. Not many humans have scaled through this part of the property so there are no trials. However there is sheep trails and i follow those for a while.

The Sheep trails lead me to a steep uphill, and the trails seem to disappear. I have made it so far. I turn around and notice the Joy house off in the distance. I am not turning back the weather is beautiful and I am determined to reach the peak. I pack up my camera and tripod and shove those into my bag. I then begin to scale the steep uphill in a crawling like manner. After approximately 9 minutes of this crawling method my back is screaming in pain and I have reached the top. And what do I see at the top?

The top leads me to views of more hills. Uninterupted views of miles and miles of hilly landscape. I am unsure what to call these hills because they seem to span for miles past the boundaries of Dairy Flat. Maybe I will refer to them as Boundary Hills. With the name established I turn around and can see the Joy house through the forest that is at the peak of their property.

Now I have decision to make, do I go left along the fence or do I go right. I go left and walk for a bit. On the other side of the fence looks to be a grassy roadway, I stay on my side of the fence.I come upon a gate which I hop over I am now on someone esle property and can see a home through some trees. Looks like there is nothing much further. So I turn around and head the opposite way. I get to the cross in the road where I decided to go left, now I decide to continue along the fence. I stumble upon some cows, a bathtub used for water, and then another fence.

I decide to hop the fence onto the grassy roadway. What started out as an exploration has turned into Mike trying to be an artistic photographer. I take several photos of the bathtub that is used for storing water for the sheep, I take photos of myself, and of the landscape.

I walk along the grassy roadway for a bit and take in the sights and sounds of nature. This is something that you rarely get in Suburban America. It seems like a good place to come and clear ones head. Since my head needs no clearing I continue to March on. I decided that I will not go back the way I came, but create a route home that suits me. Along the roadway is an Olive Farm. I know this because next to the Joy's house there is a big sign that tells me so. It has a long roadway that leads down the hill into the valley where the olives grow. I am on the peak that is behind the olive farm. Off in the distance I can see the Joy house.

I decide to cut through the olive farm to get to the roadway that leads up to the Joy House. I can see the road, but have no clue if I can walk around to it, or should hop another fence and cut through the olive farm. And I mean literally cut through, inbetween the bushes of olives and everything. So I hop onto a post and climb over. This is also another prime spot for some artistic photographs.
As I trek through the olive trees I can see the road and I am not too far from it. I continue on and jump on the road and walk along it. I am taking it all in. I get to a double gate and hop both of those and continue on the road. I get to a point where the road begins to go on a steep uphill. Now I know I am getting close, the Joy house is just on the other end of that steep uphill. However I am distracted by a little pond that is on my right hand side. And of course do not pass up the opprotunity to take some photos.

I trek up the hill and arrive at that big sign I was telling you all about. Which means I am at the entrance way to the Joy's house. After all that adventure I am finally back to where I started. I take some more photos, because I am an artistic photographer......then head inside for a much deserved lunch.