As Seen Through the Eyes of a Dog

By Judy Andreotti

November 18, 2015

My humans and I were heading south for Natchez Trace Parkway in Tennesse, but our first night out got us as far as Kentucky and the Hurricane Creek Army Corps Campground. I’m always sniffing out my next adventure and this turned out to be the unexpected that I’m always trying to write about.

We were told we were in the Kentucky Trace area known as “Land Between the Lakes”. It is 170,000 acres and 300 miles of undeveloped shoreline with wild prairies, working 1850 farmstead, and encounters with a variety of natural experiences fit for a dog!

You are now stepping back in time for a day of adventure with me and the first stop is a drive through (at your own pace) Elk and Bison prairie. Here, this native habitat was lost for more than a 100 years before being restored. Upon entering the prairie, the first thing my nostrils are letting me know is there are animals nearby and you cannot get out of the car! Good thing because here came the bison, big, powerful, yet gentle looking creatures grazing in the field with a few young ones following right behind. I barked a hearty hello, but they were too preoccupied to care about me.

On down the road cars were stopped and people were pointing. Now, these looked like oversized deer to me, but I was soon told they are elk. Staying hidden in the trees and brush, it was hard to tell what was elk with antlers and what was a tree, making pictures taking very hard for my mom and her camera. I think I could even hear the spirits of those who traveled by wagon so many years ago gently blowing in the breeze.

Next on the tour is “The Homeplace Center”. It is a working 1850 homestead farm and dogs are welcomed (on leash of course) to experience what life was like back then.

I tried my talents of herding with the chickens, they flew the coop and the ducks headed for the water and left me behind. It’s hard to herd on a 6 ft leash (that I forgot I was on). Ouch! The fields have already been harvested. So, this labor was already done without me. The smokehouse is giving off a sweet smell of tobacco drying and the cornfields already have the stalks in place. What a beautiful sight! Onto the pig barn and what can I say other than it’s not one of my favorites? I’m told they’re a very clean animal, but then why are they always in mud puddles?

They are so boring and it looks like a pigsty and smells like one!

My final stop and last chance of farm life is the lamb corral. Now, what could go wrong here? I’m approaching the fence at the same time a wooly is approaching from the other side to greet me. Hey, what’s up with that buddy! This guy just head butted me through the fence. I only wanted to make friends! A lesson was learned here, we are all animals with a purpose in life and it’s ok not to be friends with them all just learn to accept and get along together!

So much for living back then, it was a life of hardships and hard work and I’m not cut out for it. I am a modern-day dog who now needs an ice pack, wants my wonderful home and my favorite blanket. Dad, let’s roll for I see the welcome sign to Natchez Trace ahead.

This is the eighth in a series of artles written by Judy Andreotti and told through the eyes of her seven-year-old Cocker Spaniel Wrigley.

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