Saturday, September 29, saw us spend the day with Farrel Woods and his wife Ina at their farm a little way out of Maurice, Louisiana. The Woods farm rice as well as raising cattle, but their most valuable commodity is the crawfish farmed in the flooded fields after the rice is harvested.

The day began with the Maasai “filling their eyes” with the BeefMaster cattle (Maasai culture revolves almost entirely around cattle, and there is little a Maasai appreciates more than spending time with his cows).

After that, Farrel gave the Maasai turns driving the zero-radius ride-on mower (with blades NOT engaged!). Ezekiel always insists he can drive or do anything better than anyone else; Yona’s face contorts into the picture of competitive concentration, lips pursed and brow furrowed; Petro takes a more cautious but gleeful approach; while Maliaki is consistently more intent and sober in his manner with machinery and new experiences. As for the ladies, they simply enjoy the experience, laugh at the men, and move on. And Namayani is ever the impish young teenager excited to try anything.

From there we took a tour of the farm. After marveling at the large machinery, the Maasai ensured they had their photos taken on tractors with tires taller than they were.

The Maasai discover that at the top of the stairway to heaven is, apparently — a LOT of rice.

We had a great lunch at the Woods’ house before a bit more afternoon entertainment, and eventually making our way back to Maurice. Thank you Farrel and Ina for an enjoyable day on the farm!