Church, farm animals

Victoria was well enough to go to church with us last night. She has been cooped up in the mobile home since last Sunday so she was really ready to get out. In celebration we went to a Chinese restaurant in Decatur for dinner before church. It was good but food but I do not eat enough any more to justify a buffet of any kind. I almost ordered soup instead of the buffet but the price difference was insignificant. We enjoyed the meal – especially Victoria. She was doing her little dance that she does when she is enjoying what she eats.


We also enjoyed the revival service. The guest preacher referred back to a revival that took place in 1949 in the Hebrides islands – off the coast of Scotland. It is a wonderful story of how prayer affected the entire community. It did not spill out into a national or international revival but distinct traces of the prayer groups that continued for months after the initial moving of God are still active in the isle to this day. Prayer really does change things; especially me. It was nice to have a geographic frame of reference when he was referring to the Isle’s of Staffa, Argyll and Skye. I looked to see the particular island where the revival took place. I think it was on the isle of Lewis. I will have to look again more closely some time.

Mama tells me that the little calves were let out to play yesterday afternoon. Each of them jumped and skipped in the larger area as if they knew instinctively what to do. Then they each returned to their own little stall where they have been fed for the past week. No guidance was needed. They each knew where to go. So far we are enjoying the little ones and we are about 20% done with the bottle feeding of this first group. They already want more that one bottle of milk. I am just not sure how much they need.

I asked Mama yesterday or the day before if she or anyone had checked on the horses. No one had since Monday afternoon so there was a mad rush to check their water and to give them each a little bit of grain. Mama said Jazz is a mess. He has been enjoying the soft, wet ground a little too much and the flies that we have in this area have been taking advantage of their access to him by laying their eggs all over his coat and main.

Some if the dirt and egg clusters she was able to brush off before dousing him with the fly spray we have been using on the calves. It was long overdue and Jazz enjoyed the attention, the extra food and the respite from the flies. If this weekend’s weather cooperates, I will saddle him and ride a while; just so he remembers why he is there.

The big dogs are slowly showing signs of cooperating with the farm program. They are mostly getting along with the guineas. They are completely unsure of what to do with the calves, but they do not cause us any big concerns there. They have made peace with the horses. There is no truce available with the donkeys so they avoid them.

They are enjoying the cooler nights. They stand guard throughout the night and we often hear them barking to warn off some perceived threat. I have never seen anything that would cause them to bark – a coyote, a raccoon, a possum, another dog – but I suppose that is why we have them. Their sense of impending danger or intrusion onto their turf is far more keen than mine. I do see them go on the defense every time the coyotes sound close.

Anyway, the two of them must have had some long nights lately – as you can tell from the picture of Sam’s sleeping pose.