High Adventure in Springville

The Buggy Ride
This weekend we participated in a good ole fashioned buggy ride and a little chicken wrangling! Good times here in Springville!

Dr. D (our local veterinarian and family friend), invited us over to the animal clinic to learn how to drive and ride in a buggy or surrey, absent the fringe on top. A couple of months ago Dr. D. purchased an Amish trained work horse from Pennsylvania. Joy (the name of the horse) was shipped here to Utah and has since been in several parades including the SLC 24th of July parade. The Amish work their horses hard for many years and when they start to get a bit older they retire and sell them. I’m not sure if Joy wanted to retire to Utah but she’s got a pretty good life here with Dr. D.

Joy and Banjo (the other horse) just eat and hang out together. Dr. D. decided it best to divide the horse corral/stall in half due to Joy eating more than her fair share of the hay. After a month of living and eating together Banjo was losing bulk and we noticed that Joy was moving (not too gently) Banjo aside when it was chow time. Now they are co-existing peacefully with a divider between them. Kinda reminds me of John and Dave’s room in the good old days!

As I drove up the road to the animal clinic to drop off Bianca and Jake at work I noticed Joy clip-clopping down the road and Dr. D and Dad with big smiles on their faces riding behind on the buggy. Dr. D. was teaching Dad how to “drive” the buggy. Dad of course learned quickly and soon everyone wanted a ride, including me.

When you sit behind Joy you realize just how large and strong she is. She had no problem taking all for a ride. We even took her up on the 5-lane overpass being constructed above the clinic. Motor Vehicles are not allowed yet but we felt our mode of transportation was ok. It was fun being the only one on the road...the construction guys were a little surprised to see some action alongside them.

Dad mentioned that it would be fun to take Mom out for a little ride. Dr. D. said maybe he’d get a little top for the buggy...but “no fringe, cause that’s a little too girly”. Sounds like a nice afternoon…maybe we’ll throw in a picnic basket and make it a date!

I’m not sure there was much work done at the animal clinic that afternoon but Bianca, Jake, Kate, Cierra, Grandpa and I sure had a fun time. Thanks Dr. D and Joy!


The Chicken Wranglers
The Sunday after our buggy ride we had another adventure. A little chicken wrangling!!

Every Sunday after our church meetings the kids and I go over to the animal clinic to feed the horses and chickens...yep, they need to eat on Sunday too!
Jake normally takes care of the chickens because they are his mission money makers...he sells the eggs to friends, neighbors and hometeachers—they’re so good to Jake...but today Bianca said she would feed them. I guess she wasn’t aware that if you’re not careful and don’t latch the chicken coop door the chickens like to bust out of their prison.

Well that’s what happened. One of the chickens saw the opening and made a mad dash for it...and escaped! We all let out a wild yell and Jake came a’runnin. We looked at each other and I guess because Bianca felt responsible for the escape she took control and started chasing the chicken. If you’ve chased a chicken before (especially in a dress and heels) you’ll know they normally out run you...they are quick little buggers.

The chickens have been making friends with a wild hen for the last couple of weeks. The wild hen hangs out longingly peering (from the outside) through the chicken wire at our hens eating their cracked corn mash and drinking (kinda) fresh water on a daily basis. I think the wild hen wants the cage life and our hens want to try life on the outside. I guess one of them got their wish because she immediately hopped the fence and raced over to the wild one!

Bianca hopped the fence as well. She wasn’t quite as agile as the chicken but she managed to get over the barbed wire fence with only a few scratches and tares to her clothes...it was quite comical for those of us watching...although no one dared to crack a smile for fear that Bianca would back out of her commitment and we’d have to take her place.

After about 30 minutes of chasing the chicken from one end of the “barnyard” to another we decided we needed a plan.

The plan was to drive the chicken into a corner and then scoop her up and plop her back into the coop. Jake and Bianca were great at guiding her into the corner but when they got close enough to touch her neither would reach down and grab her. I think they were remembering the roosters we had that would charge us if we dared to get too close...they ended up taking a long car ride.

At the point I decided I was going to have to get my hands dirty too. The chicken realized that if she jumped into the horse corral with all the muck in it that she was a little safer than being out in the grass. She jumped in the corral and just stood there and looked at us. I negotiated with Jake and Bianca and said if they would chase her out of the corral and into the feeding area I would grab her and plop her in the coup. Easy as that? Well…no, but it was a good plan because it worked.

Jake and Bianca donned work boots, jumped in the corral, chased through the muck and wrangled the cute little chicken over to the hay bales where I could reach down and grab her fat little body, yelling “open the door, FAST!”

Kate our animal lover was quite disturbed with the whole situation. She kept tearing up and whimpering. All along I thought it was because she was afraid for our welfare...nope...she was fearing animal cruelty.

I haven’t heard but I’m thinking that our cute little chicken’s laying capabilities were a little hampered that Sunday. I’m also hoping that she’ll think twice about trying another escape in the near future! We know that Bianca is well aware of the need to make sure the chicken coop door is fully latched from now on!

On the way home the kids discussed the possibility of trying to catch the wild hen. They think it might be good fun and kind of easy now that they are experienced chicken chasers.

Like I mentioned before…good times here in Springville!


For your viewing pleasure…here is a Smilebox of the buggy ride, and picture attachments of the chickens--