Piney Woods Philosopher: A surprise visitor

Piney and She Who Must Be Obeyed have an extended family daughter of whom they are very fond. She has a “ranch” of 28 acres on the Withlacoochee River with an extraordinary Buckminster Fuller “Dome” house on it.
Jean White is a professor at college in Orlando, and comes down whenever she can to relax at her property.
But in the interim, Piney and She drive the few miles (60 or so) from Tampa and check up on the property.
This weekend, they had a great surprise.
The house is remotely located, and back in a deep and very old oak woods on the river. It would be difficult for one not knowing about it to find it.
Today, Piney and She stopped by to clean out a shed where they had stored stuff.
As they approached the property, She grabbed Piney and said, stop the car and engine!
Just ahead was the most beautiful peacock they had ever seen, and he was strutting and fanning to his utmost for three peahens sitting and watching him.
The complete love show went on for half an hour, then the birds saw the car and dispersed.
Piney’s Cobbs family imported a dozen peacocks and a dozen peahens into Virginia in 1620, and the Virginia peacocks of everyone for a hundred years were descended from that stock.
The reason for the peacocks was they were to act as watchdogs. If they see a stranger, they rush at him, emitting loud squawks.
That was necessary in the early Virginia to keep the Indians and some settlers from stealing from the tobacco and grain fields.
A few years ago (1990) Piney had gone to the last Cobbs family reunion in the 1653 house, and descendants of the original peacocks were there strutting their stuff!
But the beautiful ones of today offered no explanation.
Wild Peacocks?
Perhaps, but Piney and She and “daughter” Jean hoped they would stay!

A writer, Bill Cobbs divides his time between Southwest Virginia and Florida.