The Country Girl: Part 1

Last Friday afternoon, my humans loaded my chariot (with, among other things, all that human food my mommy had prepared the day before, one of my beds and several toys that I would ignore for the next 48 hours, and a healthy supply of wine) and we headed to Butler Greenwood Plantation and Bed and Breakfast for a little rest and a lot of relaxation. Butler Greenwood Plantation is located in St. Francisville, Louisiana. It’s less than 45 minutes from my house, but it feels like an entire world away. This was actually my third trip to the B&B. The photo on my very first blog post was taken at Butler Greenwood almost a year and a half ago when I made my second visit.

Butler Greenwood guests stay in eight cottages that are situated on the plantation’s beautiful grounds. On our previous visits, my humans and I have stayed in The Treehouse, which features a three-level deck on a beautiful wooded ravine, and The Cook’s Cottage, a 19th-century building that was home to the plantation’s cook. This time we checked into Chase’s Cottage, which is located on the edge of the pond and features a steep-pitched tin roof and a lovely porch that is perfect for a summer stay.

My daddy unloaded my chariot, my mommy got everything settled, and then the three of us set out on our first walk through the big field behind the plantation home and cottages. I love to run through that field . . .

. . . and to check out all the wonderful smells. It is heavenly.

After our first walk through the field, we settled down on the beautiful, breezy porch where we would spend most of our time during this visit. We watched the activities in, on, and around the pond. My humans read books and magazines. My daddy and I dozed, and–of course–my mommy took lots and lots of pictures with that crazy camera. I was simply mesmerized by all the sounds–birds and baby birds, frogs of all sorts, ducks, and even a peacock who would entertain us with a lovely show later in the day.

Some barn swallow babies, crammed into a nest that was safely tucked just beneath the porch’s ceiling, were our constant companions.

The adult barn swallows swooped from atop the porch lights, to the surface of the pond where they collected bugs, and then up to the little nest to feed those bugs to their babies. They rested briefly on the porch railing, and then started the process all over again.

I watched the ducks on the pond and something deep, deep, deep inside of me said, “Hey . . . Harper Lee. Did anyone ever tell you that you’re a bird dog? Did you know that somewhere way back in your past you had canine family members who actually retrieved those things?” I chose to ignore that crazy voice and just watched those pretty little ducks paddling from one end of their pond to the other and back again. In the evening, they really did settle into their floating duck house for the night.

As my humans sat on the cottage porch enjoying a yummy early dinner pre-prepared by my mommy, they glanced across the pond and saw handsome Humphrey, the plantation peacock, performing his nightly show. He seemed quite pleased to have an appreciative audience.

Our post-dinner wine stroll brought this cute surprise: two chipmunks peeking out of their little chipmunk home. If I used all four paws, I think I would run out toes to count all the different types of animals I saw and heard last weekend. It was magical.

It was also a little exhausting. Back at Chase’s Cottage, I quickly dozed off. Let’s face it: Human rest and relaxation can be overwhelming for a Golden Retriever, and my humans and I would need our rest for the next beautiful day at Butler Greenwood Plantation and Bed and Breakfast.