Sad news, construction projects

Sad news on the farm yesterday. One of our guineas was found dead. Mama launched an investigation into the death but since all of her suspects were canines, the results were inconclusive. Our Great Pyrenees were found guarding the carcass and Dodger had only been out for a short while. Grandma and Grandpa said there was quite a bit of commotion at first light when the guineas would have been coming off their roost, but we are not sure what happened. The loss was significant; 25% of our flock lost in one night. I am starting to think that people who have large flocks have the same thing happen; they are just not able to tell.


I will head back to Amarillo/ Borger this afternoon. I have two days of classes to take in Borger. It is something I have been scheduled to do for over five months and classes are difficult to get into since it is a requisite for working in the field for ConocoPhillips. It is not a bad thing since we still have the house in Amarillo. Next month could be different. At that point I will have to stay in a hotel each time I go. Hotels are fine, they are just not home.

Yesterday a man from the mobile home place came and spent most of the day repairing some of the damages that occurred when our mobile home was being set. The siding does not match the original siding – which is no longer available – but he did a good job in the repair. It was ripped open in three places when the driver rubbed the home against a fence and corner post while navigating a tight turn. All of the damage was in difficult places – in the back corner and under windows – which provided a challenge for the man doing the work.

We also got a new back door and Victoria’s room got a new door. It too does not match the rest of the doors but it works well and that is what matters most. The back door took a lot of work since the original frame was installed so badly. He had to remove the frame, reinstall it and then try to get the door to match up to the opening. It works now, but it took a lot of effort and a lot of caulk. The first blowing rain will tell us if it was a success or not.

There is rain in the forecast for Thursday into Friday with almost a quarter inch expected. That is not a significant rain in my estimation but it would be enough to get the seed which we recently sowed in the meadows off to a good start. Right now it looks bad. All the grass is kind of crispy but we know from experience that is only takes a little moisture to wake up the dormant plants.

A concrete man is supposed to come to the farm on Friday morning to give us an estimate on the job. I have some idea what to expect but the price could be anywhere from $800 to $2000 depending on how the person sees it. There is no cost for him to come and look and I will have a feel for what I am up against in future concrete projects.

We got an estimate for the large garage door we want to put on the south side of the shop – towards the house. We are planning on it being a twelve by fourteen opening with a garage door opener. The estimate was for $2000; roughly what I expected. The door at the other end, a more standard eight by ten, will cost about $1300. Both of those prices include installation. No one said this would be cheap.

With the apartment and shop laid out, Grandpa is planning other projects as well; additions to the calf lot building to house the baler, expansion of the hog building, construction of the barn using the log package – with it being the horse barn. Mama is even more excited about that one than the apartment.

We will be busy for years to come, Lord willing.