Fearrington is a mixed-use community a few miles south of Chapel Hill. It has become a popular place to live for many retirees and active professionals, and offers a number of attractions to visitors. These attractions include an award winning restaurant, an excellent bookstore, and a working livestock farm. The area was an active farm until the end of World War II. Since then much of the farm has reverted to forest, but several livestock pastures remain. Use this cache to learn more about Fearrington and its animals.
To obtain the latitude for the cache, you must answer the following questions. This is best done with a little on-line research before you set out for the village. You must find values for W, X, Y, and Z, below.
W. The best known feature of the Fearrington farm is the herd of cattle, the Belties (“Oreo” or "rugby shirt" cattle). The full name of the breed comes from of a region of Scotland where they originated.
W is the numerical value of the first letter of the name of this region (A = 1, B = 2, C = 3, etc).
X. You will see a number of goats that share one obvious feature with the Belties. They are also known for a very peculiar characteristic, which they do not share with the cattle. The technical name for this characteristic gives you the value for X.
X = 1: alopecia capitis totalis.
X = 2: chorea minor.
X = 3: myotonia congenita.
X = 4: genu varum.
Y. Three donkeys, Mary Alice, Jasper and Charlotte, can be found in the cattle pastures. In addition to their role in greeting visitors, they are here for another reason. The answer gives you the value for Y.
Y = 1: They are one of the few species that enjoy living with cattle.
Y = 2: An experiment is under way to see if they can be cross-bred with cattle.
Y = 3: They protect the cattle from predators.
Y = 4: They eat vegetation that the cattle avoid.
Z. One more species of farm animal, chickens, has joined the cattle, goats, and donkeys. When you see them you will realize why this particular breed of chickens was chosen.
Z is the numerical value of the first letter of the first part of the name for this breed (A = 1, B = 2, C = 3, etc).
Check your answers: W + X + Y + Z = 16
The latitude for the cache requires a little simple arithmetic. It is N 35 48.abc, where
a = X
b = Y
c = Z + W - 6
Now you can head to Fearrington and find the longitude. Park near the posted coordinates (Stage 1). You must find values for M, N, and O.
Stage 1: N 35 48.060 W 79 05.510
At Stage 1 is one of the famous Fearrington whirligigs, created by the folk artist Vollis Simpson.
M. Count the number of animals on top of the whirligig. Remember, "animal" can be defined very broadly.
Walk north from Stage 1 until you reach the farm buildings. Here you can see many of the animals mentioned already, especially the goats. Please don't feed the goats. It seems that visitors have been over-feeding them and the goats are somewhat over-weight.
Continue along the road until you reach Stage 2.
Stage 2: N 35 48.323 W 79 05.287
Here is a bridge at the junction of two trails, Creekwood South and Labyrinth. Walk no more than 40 yards east along the Labyrinth trail, from the bridge to a gate marking the entrance to a Certified Wildlife Habitat. Don't take any side trails. You will see some of the most astonishing animals in Fearrington, or anywhere else for that matter. Their “keeper” is the artist Forrest Greenslade. The animals will provide the remaining information.
Note that the Wildlife Habitat and the side trails are actually private property. The owners are very friendly, but please don't encroach. Besides which, animals seen away from the main trail will throw off your counts.
N. Count the number of "birds" (perching or non-perching) you see along the trail. Ignore any you might see along the side trails, away from the Labyrinth trail. Only complete animals should be considered - eyes, beak, body, wings, and feet.
O. Count the number of "giraffes" you see beside the trail. Again, you might catch a glimpse of others through the trees - ignore them.
Check your answers: M + N + O = 9
The longitude for the cache is W 79 05.def, where
d = O
e = N + 3
f = M
The cache is less than 100 yards from Stage 2. You can get there without leaving the trail.