Travel, sowing, Mama’s birthday, false alarm, goats

I traveled back to the farm with a loaded pickup on Friday afternoon and got there in time to help Grandpa put out the coastal seed we had bought last week. The seed is tiny and difficult to broadcast. It takes less than the lowest setting on the seeder we have to get it distributed and if the seed had not been stained blue by the inoculation agent applied to it, there is almost no way to detect how well or how poorly it has been applied.


Compounding the effort was a cold front I had just barely managed to stay ahead of throughout the three hundred mile trip. I had either just missed or stayed just ahead of the rains associated with the front so we were hoping to get the seed out in case the rain followed me home. Sadly, it did not, but we got all the winds the forecasters had promised. It was a late night for us putting all the equipment away.

Saturday morning we were up early to get to Trade Days before the man from our church who runs a plumbing business was scheduled to get there. Mama and I had a great time. We really took a much longer time than we usually do. We bought stirrups for our saddle, a bridle, four laying hens – which were terrorized by the hens we already had – some beads for Mama’s watch making, and several miscellaneous items. (We even went back for an hour with Victoria on Sunday afternoon.)

While we met with Victoria for lunch on Saturday the plumbing was roughed in and it looks good. Grandpa and I will backfill the forms, level them out and see when I will have time to get a crew together to make the pour. I will be in Borger Tuesday through Friday this week and I am not sure we will have the form ready for the pour on Saturday. Next week, Mama and I will go back to Amarillo to get ready for the final packing in preparation for the official move.

Brittany is trying to line something out for the evening of the 21st to celebrate Mama’s upcoming 50th birthday. I do not know if we will get it all worked out but it would be the last chance for her to meet with us in Amarillo – which is about five hours closer to her than Bowie. She is planning on being there on Friday and Saturday. Mama does not know.

On Saturday morning as we got the tractor fired up Grandpa and I were concerned that something had gotten to our guineas because of the number of feathers on the ground outside of their roost. As it turned out, they are all okay. It was a false alarm. It appears the wind on Friday night blew the molted feathers out of the coop unto the ground making it look like an attack had taken place. They showed up later that day in the hog building. I think we have now been adopted by the birds. The biggest problem is that I cannot find anyone who can tell us definitively whether we have males or females or a mix.

We are drawing closer to getting goats. Mama took the grandkids to look at a herd that is down the road from where Grandma and Grandpa used to rent. Unbeknownst to her, they are fainting goats. She enjoyed the visit immensely. If she has her say, those are the only goats we will ever own. Before we do buy some and start a herd, I want to find out how to market the animals. I really want to find out if we will eat them. If they cannot be used as food for our family, there is little use in raising them.

I am not interested in sponsoring a petting zoo.