Winding down paved roads which turned into dirt and gravel, we arrived in the evening at Countryside Farm in Cedar Creek, Texas. Its hard to make first impressions in the dark but we were happy to be greeted by a friendly dog named Belle. The farm owners Sebastian and Esther are currently having some family issues. Although we are somewhat disappointed, it would not be polite to speak more of this. Paul and I parked our van near the side of the driveway for the night and I slept amazingly well. Cool air coming through the window and the sound of birds all around us.

The farm is a primarily a poultry farm with a dozen or more pigs thrown in for good measure. Sebastian and Katie, his assistant do most of the work. I followed around Dave who is part-time on my first day. Dave is a wealth of knowledge and is the oldest one here. He truly cares and calls the birds “my babies”. He taught me how to water, feed and collect eggs. We also gathered up baby goslings and moved them to their new home. The weather has been cold for Texas and mixed with rain the place has a muddy, messy feel. I am so glad I brought my yellow rain boots to slop around in all the muck. Your gonna get dirty doing this line of farming.

The main money maker is the selling of their products at farm markets and restaurants. I watched Sebastian and Reed make sausage and the next day I was in the kitchen weighing, bagging, and vacuum sealing them. They have many freezers where they store the meat. I really don’t  want to be involved in the butchering process but I will admit that Paul and I have been enjoying some delicious meat centered meals.

Paul and I ventured out yesterday to Bastrop for some shopping at a huge grocery store called HEB. I nearly got lost in there. We then headed to the Bastrop State park for a run. The park has had a forest fire in 2011 and the devastation is clearly visible. We enjoyed the hilly trails and the change from all the flat road runs in Key West. New trees are starting to grow all over and the trails were completely quiet with no other visitors except some footprints in the sand. We bought a Texas State Park membership as we plan to visit many more before we head back home.