The Wheel Horse Caravan

The Wheel Horse Caravan
told by
Brian Barnett
When I was under younger, as in 10-years-old and younger, papaw and I would go on little exploration trips. He would get out his riding lawnmower, the “Wheel Horse”, and hook up its trailer. The trailer was small and built for yard work-sized chores – perfect for a boy my size to ride in.
I don’t remember when our little tradition started. I don’t know if I asked him if I could go for a ride or what. But I remember it being fun.
We would go around the back yard a bit to survey the fence line and then he’d turn the corner toward the woods. We would ride the dirt trails. Occasionally we would see monstrous ant hills. Some were a good three feet in height and probably five feet in diameter at the base. All of them had ants scurrying all over.
He showed me squirrel nests in the trees and the thin deer trails off the beaten path. The trips always seemed to end too soon and they never got boring. The smell of the Wheel Horse exhaust is probably still burned into my nostrils.
Those were the days.
Category:Stories from the Barnett Family
Category:Stories