Blah, Christmas Parties, Dodger, farm news

Yesterday seemed to be one of those days that you just maintain; no forward progress but thankfully, no falling behind. I am not sure why it turned out that way but it did. I was busy at work and busy at the farm but there were no outstanding moments or events to point out that anything had actually been accomplished.


Tonight we have our Christmas Party for the Decatur office. It is not one of those events that I look forward to. It will be a chance for Mama to meet all of the people in the area and it will be a chance for all of us to meet the spouses of our coworkers. There is a nice meal planned, with little activity required of my group to pull it off. So we can relax and participate in the festivities.

It should be fairly enjoyable aside from the drinking that will go on. Fortunately, this is a company event so the object of the event is to socialize, not to get drunk. With our area manager in the party with us there should be some restraint, but there are always the one or two that feel they need to consume their “fair share” in order to make the event endurable. We should be able to manage that.

Mama and I missed the Thanksgiving Dinner at the church but we will be here for the Christmas Party. I am looking forward to that. I know most people in the office here do not have a clue why that gathering is more enjoyable for me and Mama but it is; the difference in people, the difference in attitudes, the difference in focus, the “others” orientation.

Construction will be at a slow pace this weekend. I will not have the money to get some of the lumber I need to progress so I will have to use what I have purchased already and move as far forward as I can. There are plenty of little winterization projects to be done on the farm and they should take precedent in light of the cold weather we have coming. The well house and the chicken coop are at the top of the list for work, but Victoria and Mama want to build some sort of shelter for the horses before the weather gets too bad. This weekend should be a good time to start on those upgrades and repairs.

Last night as someone was leaving the property up the lane from us, we heard Dodger start yelping as thought he had been injured. When I got to the door to go out and see what might have happened, he was at the top step looking to come in. He was not badly hurt but he was strongly favoring his right rear paw. I am not sure the extent of the damage or how he may have been injured in the incident, but we will watch and see.

It at least should serve to slow him down a little. His propensity to chase after shiny objects and dart after every light was sure to get him in trouble at some point. I am not sure if Mr. Allen who is an older gentleman, even knew he somehow struck the dog. He and his crew tend to drive very fast when they are on the lane that runs in front of the house; at least it seems fast to those of us standing by watching.

Mama’s chickens are doing much better. She lost another of the ones we purchased most recently but the remainder of the flock seems to be doing well. As I got home last night I had to avoid chickens when I parked at the house. Mama said that a couple of the red ones were visiting the calf pens cleaning up the dropped grain below the feeding boxes. That is good news. I would rather them get it than for some rat or mouse to get it.

Grandpa, Grandma and Mama are feeding the calves three times per day until tomorrow in hopes of getting them healthy. Grandpa has been doctoring two who are just now responding to the care. One in particular, Little Bit, looks like he is improving but the progress is slow. I hate shooting him full of antibiotics but there is no other remedy we know of at this time.

Grandpa is going to get him out of his little pen today and wrestle him around to get him stirred up. That will be a telling moment for us.