Mama and the tractor, hunting, bon fires

I took off from work as soon as I could yesterday. I will not have that opportunity for the next several days due to late afternoon meetings. I had to go to Grandma and Grandpa’s house to pick up Mama since Grandpa had dropped her off at lunchtime so she could take a nap. He was still out working on the farm. Her excuse, “I’m just not used to this much hard work.” My reply, “a-waaah, a-waaah.” Wait until the real work comes!


When we got to the farm Grandpa was brush hogging the dam area around the large tank. Mama and I took the dogs over and she swapped out with him. He had outlined several areas below the dam to be cut and Mama went to work. It was about 4:30 p.m. I headed back to the car to get the .22 rifle I had brought. I had attached a laser sight on the rifle and I was anxious to try it out. We have a lot of turtles in the tanks and I am trying to kill as many as possible before we introduce some fish later this year. Turns out the sight works very well in low light. Mama kept mowing until almost dark even though she was freezing. I had asked her to take her coat with her as we walked from the cars over to where Grandpa was working, but she did not feel she needed it. I suppose we are getting acclimated to the south since we are “freezing” when the ambient temperature is only 52 degrees. Last night it got all the way down to 40 degrees; fortunately there was very little wind. Mama refused to stop until the portion she had started was complete. Fortunately it was a small area so it only took about an hour and one half. I shot turtles in the tank while she continued her assignment. I am pretty sure I killed four. I shot at two others but I am not so sure I hit them. Something I found interesting is that Dodger, who darts away at the slightest movement and sound, stayed right with me as I shot turtles. He really seemed to like hunting. Stange, since the other dogs cleared out at the first shot. I’ll have to see how he reacts when I use a shotgun.

After we got the tractor put away and got Mama warmed up, Grandpa and I had to go to a nearby store to get matches. We had plenty of wood, some gas for an accelerant, but nothing to start the fire. Mama stayed with the dogs while we went. We started the fire as soon as we got back. It was well past dark by then.

The cool evening, the warm fire, the peaceful sounds of the country all added up to a very relaxing evening. Victoria was scheduled to get off at 7:30 p.m. and she and Grandma were going to come out to enjoy the fire once she got home. I think I passed them as they were getting off Highway 59 to make the turn to go to the farm. I did not have the energy to stay late this early in the week.

There will be plenty of scrap wood to burn for the next several years as we clear the fences and repair the little house. With the lumber scrapped from the little house, burning it is the very best way to get rid of it. It always amazes me how little is left when it is burned. We started with a sizable pile of wood and scrap trash and what was left will barely fill a trash bag. The rest disappears into thin air – literally.

As we watched, we saw so many colors in the fire. One which particularly caught our eye was a purple hue we suppose came from the old garden hoses we had put in the pile. The reds, oranges and blues are also beautiful, but that purple was unusual.

I think of all the wood we are getting and will continue to get out of the little house. One day not to long ago, it was beautiful flooring and the best wall material the builder could afford. Now neglect and decay has turned much of it into useless scrap whose only redeeming value is for us to sit back and watch it burn.

I hope we can salvage some of it. The rest we will enjoy in our bon fires.