The Actual, Real Hobbit

After Mammoth Caves, we camped for two nights in Nashville before moving on to a place that for Miriam and I was secret. We made seveural guesses as to where we were going, but none of them were exact. The closest one was one of mine- I guessed that the place we were staying was underground. Based on my mom and dad’s reactions, I thought that I might be close, but I did not know the full extent of it at all.

We arrived at a place that at first looked normal. Two friendly dogs named Jedi and Trooper ran up to greet us, so I spent the first several minutes of our visit trying to figure out if it was possible to pet two dogs at once. The answer to that question, by the way, is no. Then we saw where we would be staying. You might remember that on my last post, I mentioned that if you’re a fan of The Hobbit you’d better read this one. And that’s because where we were staying literally looked like a series of hobbit holes. The first hole was the most like a hobbit hole- the door was circular and green, just like Bilbo’s! It was set into the side of a hill so that the roof was the hill, like hobbit holes, though unlike the home of Bilbo Baggins, it only had one room. Instead of an entire network of rooms inside of one door, there were three little hobbit holes. Two were bedrooms, one a kitchen. Inside the kitchen hobbit hole was a book for people to write about their stay in, and my favourite entry I can quote exactly: “The place is amazing. Reminds me of home back in the shire.
After getting acquainted with our new temporary home, we were shown around the farm by the main person that keeps it up and running, a man named Jon. Most of the time I just half-listened to Jon as he talked about the place, because although it was quite interesting, there were dogs to pet. I did learn the main bit- Jon likes to experiment and let nature grow where it wants to. If there’s a way that he can use a plant, he will use it. But my favourite part of the tour was when we were shown to a chicken coop. We brought in some stuff for the chickens to eat- clovers and wild onions and such- and fed them. I GOT TO PICK UP A CHICKEN!!!!! (Though it was quite a tricky business- they did not really love being picked up, despite the fact that they allowed it.)

When it got dark, we toasted marshmallows (there was a fire pit) and drank hot chocolate. Then we went off into our separate hobbit holes, Miriam with me and Mama with Daddy. Miriam and I stayed up talking for a while. After Miriam decided that she was done and fell asleep, (with the lights still on) I read for about half an hour. I eventually got up to use the washroom, which I had been denying for that half hour because you have to walk outside for a few minutes to get there. And although this place was of course much warmer than it is in Barrie right now, (I heard about your very snowy days- we just missed them) I didn’t want to. But I eventually did. It was dark and hard to see, but I found the steps (our hobbit holes were in a gully- the place is called Forest Gully Farms) leading up to the washroom. At that point I heard loud barking from Jedi and Trooper. They ran toward me, but upon realizing that I wasn’t a stranger, began rubbing up against me, asking for petting. They accompanied me the rest of the way to the washroom, and after, all the way back.

The next day called for more interaction with the chickens. Mama woke Miriam and I up to go egg-hunting. Well, she was going egg hunting- Miriam and I had the job of distracting the chickens. We headed up to the coop. Miriam snagged lots of raw onion while I grabbed a handful of clover. Then we entered the large space that the chickens have- the space was sort of like a fenced-in outdoor playground for chickens- which was connected to the coop. While we fed (and held) the chickens, Mama collected some eggs for breakfast.

After that whole affair was over and done with, we exited the coop to take a look at Mama’s eggs. She had nine. Seven of them were brown, and the other two... were BLUE. Mama took them back to the kitchen Hobbit hole to prepare them, instructing Miriam and I to pick some onions. I’m not usually a fan of onions, but these were absolutely delicious. I am going to describe that breakfast we had as the best meal on the trip so far. I had one blue egg and one brown egg, both on toast, as well as some leftover potato and steak from the last night’s dinner. Amazing!

Later, after breakfast, we had to pack up and leave, saying a goodbye to the dogs and driving off. But I have promised myself that I will come back sometime in the summer to see the place in full bloom!
        -Lucy