High temps, health, Brittany’s dog, insects

The air conditioning was successfully installed on the mobile home yesterday afternoon. It is perfect timing because today the temperature is supposed to get to 95. In Amarillo we are going to be closer to one hundred degrees, at 99 for the predicted high. By the weekend the temperatures are supposed to dip back into the sixties. There is some rain in the forecast but not until the weekend when things cool back down.


I am scheduled to go to another health screening this morning. It is just like the one I did in Decatur about a month ago. I signed up for it because I wanted to see if the numbers would change when I got back to healthier eating – away from Grandma’s cooking. My blood pressure and my cholesterol are the two indicators of particular interest; Grandma’s ubiquitous ingredients of lard and salt play into those numbers.

I was making some asparagus for me and Mama to eat the very last day I was there – I believe it was a Sunday. Grandma did not have any bacon grease so I used some real butter to fry the asparagus in an iron skillet. Grandma suggested I use lard and I told her that lard had no flavor, to which she replied, “I love the flavor that it gives food!” At least it is healthier than vegetable oil or fake butter, but I really do not think it adds flavor. She is probably tasting the greasy salt taste.

Mama and I went soul winning with the church last night and we did not get home until almost 10 pm. It was a great evening but a very short night. I went out with the pastor and we had three really memorable visits. Mama went out in the van with some of the women and teen girls but she gave out after several blocks due to her knee.

We went because this Saturday, when we would normally go, we will be meeting Brittany to get her pup – which has been evicted from her apartment complex. Not really evicted but it is better to let us keep the little pooper until it is over a year old, otherwise there is a $1000 deposit required. This manager does not like puppies – must be something in their childhood. I wonder if the same rules apply to cats or hamsters or fish.

Mama is adjusting to being alone again. There are pros and cons but she really enjoys the activities of the farm. The down time (being kept inside due to rain or extreme temperatures) there is a little difficult for even her to handle; for me it is incredibly wearisome. The necessary activities make all the other times enjoyable. Were it not for the dogs tearing up our garden or the things we have planted around the property, we would be enjoying great success.

The fleas and ticks are now multiplying on every animal we have. Mama and Victoria have bought all sorts of protective devices but I am not convinced of the effectiveness or any of them. We are still discovering both insects on the dogs. The fly spray they have used on the horses seems to be fairly effective but the amount of insects drawn to them is incredible. Every time they poop, several varieties of flies swarm the warm mass and do not leave until it is dry and crusty. I am starting to think we are keeping them only to feed the flies and the dogs. Both seem to think their excrement is a delicacy.

All the hens we traded for a couple weeks ago are laying now so we are collecting about a dozen eggs per day – even more than Victoria and Grandpa can eat per week. I think Victoria is going to start selling them to coworkers. It would help offset the cost of feed, but not much more.

It would be out first produce.