Who the hell is Ted? And what the heck are you talking about Biggles? Whoa there Tex, hang on. Ted is Highland Hills Farm and rancher extraordinaire. To say he’s a local character to our farmer’s markets here would be a small understatement. I remember working the Fatted Calf one fine morning and overheared Ted telling a customer in a certain tone after said customer asked for directions for cooking, “I’m a rancher, not a chef!” And that, pretty much handled that.
Being who I am, have always been impressed with his “ranchin’ truck”. A Ford 3/4 ton rig with dents, dings, mud, dirt, dust, scratches and now a missing tailgate. That and a permanent collection of random hay pieces that fly out the back at any given moment. Well, I’m not quite sure why or how the planets align with him, but for me and a few others, he’s spotted more about town than anyone we know.
The picture above was taken way back on September 1st at about 9:45 am, west bound on I-80.
I saw his truck again this last Monday at 11:22am, parked on Dwight Way heading east near San Pablo avenue. Quite a few bales of hay, a gaggle of humongous coolers (full of meat no doubt) and a piece of twine holding this all in the bed (no tailgate, remember?).
Here is Jlee’s report:
A couple of weeks ago, driving west on I80 around El Cerrito, there was a sudden “hay storm”. Enough hay blowing around to actually have to close my window. I’m thinkin maybe a horse trailer up ahead, some guy going to the race track. I get over to the next lane, speed up to pass it to avoid the chaff. Then just coming up to Albany, I see the offender. A turquoise pickup, beat-to-shit, spewing hay. And then I know. Oh right. It’s Ted. Of course.
So, as you can clearly see, Where’s Ted is going to be very exciting. Please stay tuned for the next, Sighting of Ted!
Biggles
Haaaa! Sheesh, ranchers! He may be able to handle steer and all but I bet he couldn’t handle a few monkeys!
For the folks who didn’t get the signifigance of the time the picture was taken, it means that Ted is doing about 80 mph here while trying to get to the sat BFM that he is an hour late for already……
I’ve seen him driving around too. If ever I have the camera I’ll add to the documentation.
I’ll have to start keeping an eye out for Ted since he seems to appear in places I frequently drive through.
OK, when did this morph from a meat blog into a pickup truck blog?
Oh Sure! That DUDE! Well, “Hay”, he must be the one I almost ran into on West Sierra Ave., Cotati, the other day while I was trying to get to my afternoon job at the Thomas Page School! No tailgate, right?! Lots of critter fuel in the bed, right?! Must’a been him!
I think I’ve lost my mind.
He’s a meat rancher! I had one of his pork steaks the other night. It’s not all about pickup trucks …
This is too funny – can’t wait to hear about the next installment.
I asked him the other day about how his plans for a meat CSA were coming. “I’m working on it,” he said (with exasperation), “there’s a lot of things going on up there.” Pointing to his head.
Hey Jen,
Yes, it is, I agree.
Ted’s a busy guy.
Biggles
Jen, So funny I’m giggling. Now THAT is a Ted sighting.