And Willie Said: Of Chickens and Goats

Day 63 - Thursday, September 15, 2022

It is 58 degrees and clear in Jackson TN early in the morning, and I'm wondering what temperature we will see when we return to Texas in a very few days. Since Sweet Georgia Brown is parked just behind the Cracker Barrel, we have only a few steps to walk into the restaurant for breakfast. After a hearty meal, we get on the road heading west toward Memphis at 10:40a.

It's not long before it begins to get hot as we travel, and the air conditioner in the dash of the motor home cannot keep us cool. So Herb turns on the generator to run the house ACs. Welcome to warmer weather!

As Jackson is in the western part of the state, we soon cross the Mississippi River and find ourselves in the great state of Arkansas.

The Mississippi River Delta is excellent farming country, and we see evidence of some of their crops along the highway.

Our destination is St. Joseph's Center in North Little Rock, which is a non-profit organization with a mission to preserve the historic 63 acre property through farming by volunteers. It is on the National Register of Historic Places, and has served as an orphanage, a school, nursing home, day care and a retreat run by the Benedictine Sisters of St. Scholastica.

It is also a Harvest Host site, which gives us parking at no charge, and asks that we patronize their store.

Below is the original gate, now blocked off with signs directing traffic to the new entrance. Near the building is a statue of St. Joseph with a child, and I would assume it was built during the time the facility functioned as an orphanage.

Elsewhere on the grounds is a statue of the Saint holding a basket of harvested vegetables, possibly dating to the beginning of their farming era.

Arriving late in the afternoon, we take a walk around some of the property and learn that their farming includes raising chickens, goats, flowers, vegetables and cattle. They even have some bee hives, which reminds us of our days when we had bees to pollinate the blueberry blooms at our blueberry farm. In the foreground of the first photo we see a 'guard' dog resting (but keeping watch) while the goats graze.

The world appreciates a little humor -- highly trained chickens? The fine print says they are not responsible for injury or death. I also see some ducks.

The horses must be used to pull the plows in tilling the soil, or they may be saddled and offered for rides. There's quite a bit of hay for them in the beer shed. Beer?

A shallow stream is quite convenient for watering thirsty animals.

And the other end of the stream becomes a lake, where we see the bee hives, or supers, as they are correctly called.

Another view of the chicken pen. My camera just won't stop taking photos.

A sign proudly proclaims the Community Garden, the iniative of which is healthy eating and active living. Beyond it are plants sitting by a sink for watering them before the planting.