Farm frolics
Jul. 12th, 2011 02:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sienamysticSunday was the dojo picnic, and it was a day of firsts that started with a drive out, out, out into the country. The last five miles or so was on a dirt road (albeit a very good one...any dirt road you can do forty on comfortably is a good dirt road) and we were definitely back into the countryside. Sensei and his wife own seventy-plus acres out there, and have a small but clever house and a couple of ponds, plus acres that they turn over to hay and which the neighbor harvests in order to feed his cows. There were wildflowers everywhere, and bullfrogs singing in the ponds. There were ATVs to ride, fishing, trail-walking, and also trap-shooting (or is it skeet shooting? I'm not sure of the difference. Anyway, we whanged a slingshot into the ground that launched clay pigeons, and then we shot at them.)
I brought two giant plates heaped with lumpia, and stood on the back deck in the scorching heat and humidity standing over a pot of oil (note to self: next time, offer to bring a salad) and they were very well received. The dojo crew is a sprawling, congenial group, very cheery, and a great deal of fun was had looking through the thousand-plus photos of a two-week trip to Japan that two of the members had just taken. They put them up on a tv and it was a lot of MST3K-ing, especially since one of the members had taken a million photos of Japanese toilets and cars. The icon for, "this button delivers a spray of water to your bum" was very amusing.
And then I went out and used a firearm for the first time - a twelve gauge Remington shotgun, which I learned to handle safely, load, and fire. It was a little nerve-wracking at first, but I managed to blow a healthy number of clay pigeons into smithereens, and that was very satisfying. My shoulder is still sore, but I can live with that. Next time, though - ear protection.
And then I learned how to manage an ATV, and took off exploring the property, once by myself and once with Bemo clinging on behind me. It was getting to be twilight, and we rumbled through low-lying stands of pine trees with fireflies winking everywhere, and around the back lake, and then back up to the house. I'd always rolled my eyes at ATVs because ads for them seem to make them seem like a toy for jerks, but they really are fun to ride.
The evening was capped off with fireworks, and then we drove home (slowly, because of deer), showered, and tumbled into bed. After checking ourselves for ticks, that is.
I brought two giant plates heaped with lumpia, and stood on the back deck in the scorching heat and humidity standing over a pot of oil (note to self: next time, offer to bring a salad) and they were very well received. The dojo crew is a sprawling, congenial group, very cheery, and a great deal of fun was had looking through the thousand-plus photos of a two-week trip to Japan that two of the members had just taken. They put them up on a tv and it was a lot of MST3K-ing, especially since one of the members had taken a million photos of Japanese toilets and cars. The icon for, "this button delivers a spray of water to your bum" was very amusing.
And then I went out and used a firearm for the first time - a twelve gauge Remington shotgun, which I learned to handle safely, load, and fire. It was a little nerve-wracking at first, but I managed to blow a healthy number of clay pigeons into smithereens, and that was very satisfying. My shoulder is still sore, but I can live with that. Next time, though - ear protection.
And then I learned how to manage an ATV, and took off exploring the property, once by myself and once with Bemo clinging on behind me. It was getting to be twilight, and we rumbled through low-lying stands of pine trees with fireflies winking everywhere, and around the back lake, and then back up to the house. I'd always rolled my eyes at ATVs because ads for them seem to make them seem like a toy for jerks, but they really are fun to ride.
The evening was capped off with fireworks, and then we drove home (slowly, because of deer), showered, and tumbled into bed. After checking ourselves for ticks, that is.
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Date: 2011-07-12 09:18 pm (UTC)I can already see
Date: 2011-07-12 11:08 pm (UTC)Cher
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Date: 2011-07-13 01:01 pm (UTC)