Where the buffalo roam

I am reporting from Farmer and the Cook. Not only does this place have the very best food, but it is also a hotspot. Thanks for that, Steve. While here an hour or two ago, I overheard one of the new cashiers saying how he almost died. Turns out, he'd been surfing at Surfer's Point in Ventura, when he got out of the water he was coughing and felt unusually tired. He described having the skin on his hands peeling off and having a 103 degree temperature for 5 days. Then it went away and he was fine. He said it was toxic shock. I am glad that I went out yesterday before I heard this story. One of the main causes of making the shore so toxic is runoff from dogs' "coco" along with some other animals who should know better. Thus, Bardo Surfer's catchy limerick for us all to remember and repeat - tapping into the viral method of information transfer - "If your dog takes a poop don't pick it up! use a scoop and then we won't surf in toxic soup."

Anyway, I finally had a day of work again after my amazing 3 week+ vacation in Hawaii. It was nice to get back on the estate. First one I see is Willy, he's looking good, happy. Then in the basement talk with Bill and print up my famous "Outside Manager Job Description" that changes every week.

The various tasks take over 6 hours. Didn't have to drive anywhere. There was one unusual surprise that greeted me. A Eucalyptus tree had fallen at some point. I theorize that no one was there to hear it and thus conclude that it did not make a sound. But it still was lying on the ground, forcing me to climb under or over it. At the end of the day, I gleefully grabbed the chainsaw and proceeded to ground zero. It only took a short while to clear the road and regain access for those who would not appreciate the adventure of climbing over or crawling under the sprawling leaves and branches of the fallen tree.

Bill asked me to go for a bike ride after work. I borrowed his Gary Fisher, green full supension mountain bike. He rode his new silver colored Specialized mountain bike and Willie road his junior version of a mountain bike. We flew down the hill, made a left on Signal and went by Daryl's new house which is under construction. As we continued to bike down this dirt road, we approached a few folks on horses. After we passed them, Bill turned to me and said: "He's a Captain in the Fire Department."

Just then I hear the Captain say: "Buffalo Bill!"

I'm kind of surprised to hear this. I think: "Hmm, I've never heard Bill called that before. But then he says: "Do you want to see some buffalo?"

Bill's like: "sure."

I'm thinking: "Huh? Buffalo?"

Sure enough, there are 4 bison in one of the corales. Will and I climb up the short hill that they graze on and watch them thru the steel fence. They start at us with big wide brown eyes. They motionless but I can sense they are on high alert. If they were CNN it woud be saying "terror alert: ELEVATED".

Bill asks: "Why do they have buffalo?"

Captain: "To train the horses to herd."