I remember this very vaguely because it happened 30 years ago - the grandmother of a friend of mine died, and left her a farm. This was in Louisiana, east of Hammond. And she asked a bunch of her friends to help her clean the place out so that she could sell it. A large group of us all went there in a convoy of trucks and vans and what have you, to spend the weekend on this task.
It seemed like a large place to me but I am not a farm person. Most of the animals had been sold, the horses and cows, but there were a flock of peacocks and peahens in an enormous live oak tree just when you turned off the main road onto the farm in front of the farm house. I don't want to exaggerate - 25 birds? Maybe 30? Watching the males do their display for the females was mesmerizing. They would spread out their tails and their wings, and strut around, vibrating, pulsating, colors spread wide. I don't remember if the females were impressed or not, but I was.
The other thing I remember is sleeping in the barn, in the hay loft. Even though the animals had been sold, the floor was covered in ruminant manure and had not been cleaned in a long time. Nevertheless, it was not a bad or dirty smell, and it did not bother me. |
