Joe had never been to this local landmark below, but for me, I find the place very nostalgic. I have fond memories of wandering through the Haunted Woods around Halloween all throughout my childhood. In fact, I think my very first experience at Wheeler Farm, I was traumatized because the had me cut off a "victim's" head by letting go of a rope that was attached to a guillotine. I suppose that memory isn't as fond as others, but hey, I was only 5. I've moved on.
It was cold and wet outside, but we were anxious to move around so we got out and started to roam the grounds. It wasn't long before we found ourselves next to some Canadian geese foraging for edibles in the snow covered grass.
I've always loved birds, so I a took a few minutes to chat with one goose who seemed somewhat interested in me as well. After a rather one sided conversation, we moved on closer to a lake where we could hear many birds yelling at each other. This seemed to be the local hot spot for most of the geese and ducks on the farm. We decided to get closer to see them better.
Our decision ended up being a big mistake. Once the birds caught sight of us, they immediately mistook us for people that were there to feed them. The poor, hungry birds started moving towards us. They got faster and faster, squawking and quacking their beaks in a rather ferocious manner. I held my ground at first, thinking that they would realize we were not their caretakers, but they didn't. Now, 20 or 30 geese and ducks might not seem very scary, but when they are running after you with hungry beaks it is quite terrifying! I turned on my heels and ran as fast as I could away from them.
What a strange feeling to feel defeated by some farm animals! I'm actually a bit disappointed at Wheeler Farm. They should keep them better fed so they're not attacking innocent folks like us! Well, I found a way to redeem ourselves. We had to go back in front of the bird lake, and this time, I got Joe to run at them yelling and screaming, waving our arms in the air. And it worked. We sure showed them who was the dominant animal. Afterwards, I felt bad for scaring them and apologized.
And the moral of the story is, beware of hungry farm animals.
