SUNDAY - JUNE 25, 2000

TODAY WE DROVE TO CAESAR's CREEK to see the Pioneer Village there. We didn’t know that this weekend was the big Folk Music and Gospel Festival held there, so we got a special treat. We had a great time, listening to music, eating home-made ice cream, and learning about the Quaker pioneers that settled this area in the early 1800’s. There were people who worked there in period costume, and also many of the people who were visiting and playing music were also dressed in rural country costume. The Pioneer Village is not a very large place, and we saw all we wanted to in a pretty short time.

On the way home, we went shopping at an Odd Lots store and we each bought a giant (about 2 x 3 feet) card of various novelty candies. It took days for us to finish it all!

Tonight we stood out on the deck until nearly dark, watching Krukker and Frostbite being entertained by a muskrat. He was snacking on corn and seeds under the new bird feeders. Krukker was content to just lay and watch him, but Frostbite went right up and said, "Howdy". The muskrat didn’t appear to be afraid of the cats, and eventually  he just wandered over and jumped into the creek. Frostbite followed it along the bank, running from area to area as the muskrat made his way downstream. He acted as if he thought the muskrat was crazy for getting all wet on purpose! Eventually, Frostbite gave up, hopped over the creek, and went off to play in the woods. The muskrat showed up again by the feeders a little later.

MONDAY - JUNE 26, 2000

Aunt Linda and her friend, Donna,  took us to Heaven's Corner today. That's a sanctuary that Donna's brother, Rick Armstrong, runs in West Alexandria for found, unwanted, and abused exotic animals, mostly big cats. Rick is a well-known and widely respected animal conservator and he's devoted his life and a rather large part of his sponsor's property to the care of these magnificent creatures. He has over a dozen cougars, leopards, bobcats, and lynxes (including one who lives in his home with him). He has a real black panther, as well as a pair of African black leopards that people often mistake for panthers. And he has two beautiful tigers, a Bengal and Siberian that looks like it has a lot of Bengal in it. We didn’t actually pet any of the cats, of course, but we were as close as you could get. Rick played with each of them as we visited. The cats love Rick almost as much as he loves them. He also has bears, some snakes, hissing aligators, a 100 lb. snapping turtle, and a couple of cute pigmy goats. We had a wonderful time.

All text and photos ©2000 by John Lipman, except as noted. All rights reserved.