Sunset, PJ’s, Maggie’s pains, water sports, procurement

Mama and I got to the farm in time to unload the things we had carried over with us and to sit down for a few minutes to watch the sun set. It is amazing how quickly it happens. Once the sun nears the horizon it is only a matter of minutes before it disappears behind it. The colors were spectacular and the sun seemed to squish flat onto the horizon as it disappeared. It was worth the time.


Yesterday the farm had a significant amount of rain so everything will be wet for at least today and possibly through tomorrow. It is a good thing that the work we can do right now is limited because we have no money to do anything other than day to day chores. Even buying diesel for the tractor will have to be carefully planned out. A week or two of respite will be a good thing. There are things I need Mama to do inside the home so we can begin to set up our bedroom.

As you can imagine, she does not look for opportunities to stay inside right now. She even went out last Sunday morning to feed and water the pigs and chickens in her pajamas. It was hot that morning and she was a mess by the time I got out there to help - I got dressed first – but the only thing she needed my help with was watering the horses and donkeys. We have an arrangement of hoses that have to be swapped around to get water to various places – the garden, the calf lot, the spigot for filling buckets, etc. She had the valve opened to water the horses but did not have the hose attached to deliver water to that line. It was an easy fix.

I do not know if she will go out in her PJ’s this morning. It is about 54 degrees; at least right now it is. By the time everyone at the farm gets up and out it will be closer to 70 degrees. It is quite wet with dew and there was a heavy fog, but we are happy for the moisture in any form.

I wish I had a few days off now while the weather is pleasant but I have to save that time for later in the summer so I can help put up hay – Lord willing. All the rest of my considerable time off is being spent for other family obligations. I am just hoping to have some time I can take during hunting season this fall. We will see.

Maggie calls Mama or me several times per week to give us an update on her aches and pains. I think what is happening is that her body is catching up on all the normal wear it should have had over the past decade as she exercises and settles into a working routine. It is all new for her. She was not our most physically active child and now that she has discovered the benefits of activity, she is paying the price with slightly older parts that should have been strengthened years ago. It is better late than never. It is still painful but I know she can hear the smile in my voice as we talk.

I do not know when Aaron deploys again but I know they are enjoying the time together while they have it. She talked about renting a boat Aaron had available for use through his Coast Guard ties and taking an older couple out onto the bay. That would be great fun. We never had much opportunity to get out onto the water as the kids were growing up. There were not too many people willing to take a family of nine for an outing onto the water. It was not until Steve Whidden got his boat going that we were able to do any activities on the water; although we did take a canoe trip down the Guadalupe River that got most of the kids involved. That was fun.

I am looking for a canoe to have available to use on our big pond at the farm. I had thought of getting kayaks but Mama is more in favor of a canoe so we can get up to three in at a time. It would not be a very long trip, but for the grandkids it would be a memorable one and I would be fun to fish from a canoe.

Cori and Nate are tentatively planning on bringing the kids over in the fall, but no dates have been set yet – and that is a good thing. Once Mama gets something set on her calendar there is no painless way of rearranging the event- especially when it relates to the grandkids.

Cori is in the process of teaching Mykenzie that Grammy does not have to buy everything she needs. Every phone or Skype conversation Mykenzie has with her Grammy she lists the things she needs at that moment so Cori thought it was time to let her know it is mommy and daddy’s responsibility to get things for her that she needs. Grammy can then get her the things that come at special times like birthdays and Christmas; that translates into Mommy, Daddy and Grammy buying things for her.

I could almost hear my granddaughter saying to herself, “Cha ching!”