Grandma Kline, Becky, Navajo people

Yesterday Grandma Kline went into surgery for a double bypass and a carotid artery cleanout. She had been suffering from dizzy spells for some time and lately they had become pretty severe. On Wednesday of last week she went to see her doctor and was not released to go home. She was put directly in the hospital and scheduled for surgery because her left carotid artery we 90% blocked. The heart vessel blockage issues were discovered in later testing. As of last night she was doing as well as expected after a successful surgery. Today hopefully, she will be allowed to sit up. She should be walking by tomorrow or Thursday and leave the hospital soon after that.


Becky goes today for her surgery consult at the University of Arkansas Medical Center in Little Rock. She has some nodules on her spine that proved to be cancerous. The doctors will look at the available options to remove those growths. To date there has been no talk of chemotherapy, which is unusual, but we will await those findings sometime later today. She still needs your prayers for her life and her marriage. There are too many underlying issues to know how to pray specifically, but she and Charles need help, and that from the Lord.

Mama and I ate dinned at church last night. We will do so tonight and tomorrow night as well. It is part of the fellowship during the Missions Conference. The only problem with that is the sheer volume of food consumed. It is difficult t not to overeat at a church pot luck dinner. Mama and I do not typically eat very much in a day so to compensate for eating a relatively large meal at dinner this week we are eating almost nothing through the day. All I can say is that it is a good thing Grandma and Grandpa are out of the house or the task would be nearly impossible for Mama.

One family of missionaries is going to the Navaho people. There are already a couple great works there among the Navajo people in Ganado, Arizona and Nazlini, Arizona. A father and son team of missionaries have been working the Ganado area for some time and the work in Nazlini is a ministry of shoot to the larger work. The couple in our conference this week is going to help in the newer work in Nazlini which is being overseen by the son to the man in Ganado. Mama and I got to know the young family working the Nazlini area while we were in Central Baptist. When we got to Immanuel Baptist we found out that they take a trip every year to Arizona to do Vacation Bible School in Nazlini. It really is a small world.

The Navajo bound young man presented his work last night. His wife, whom he met in Bible College is a Navajo Indian who grew up on the reservation. She is going back to her family and friends; not always the most receptive crowd. As he was presenting his work he was asked about something he found most unusual about the culture. He surprised me by telling that the Navajo point with their lips and chin. I have since read that that is common to most Native American cultures.

They will stick out their lower lip to the right or left to indicate the direction they are pointing. Sometimes the head is nodded in the direction also. Straight ahead is a puckering motion of the lips. He demonstrated the technique and had the church cracking up – especially his wife. He explained that the first time a Navajo man asked if he wanted to go…and then contorted his lips to point the direction. He did not know what was being asked and was sincerely afraid the man wanted to be kissed.

It is a practice he has still not quite gotten used to.

Progress, escapees, angry animals, Missions Conference

This weekend I feel like I made progress on the apartment. I worked Saturday from about 8:30 a.m. until just after 7 p.m. non-stop. Mama brought me water and cold green tea at intervals but other than that I was in the shop or the apartment. The sad part is that when I looked back at the day it did not appear that I had really gotten that much accomplished.


It all started with Emma getting out. I had to take the time after feeding the animals to try to secure the sheepcote. I had already spent a Friday evening putting more posts in the fence to tighten and strengthen it so neither sheep could get out of the enclosure without being let out. Then on Saturday morning Emma was out again. So I spent another hour getting the bottom of one particular area – with the oldest fencing - tightened up to prevent her wandering out of her assigned area. I had no sooner turned my back and she was out again. Needless to say I was not a happy camper.

I left the escapee to her own devices because we realized she would not go to far astray and I began to work on the wall in the bathroom that will hold the shower enclosure. Since I am working on a floor that took me multiple hours to finish I was trying to work carefully. I am also installing walls after the fact. I did that on purpose because I did not have the materials for the walls at the time I needed them and I wanted to stain and seal the floor with the apartment still open.

The bathroom wall was not difficult other than assembling it in pieces because it had to be built in a very small space without the advantage of any layout or preassembly. It took longer than I had thought it would. Besides I was still feeling the sting of being outsmarted be a seven week old sheep. I got done but I really wish I had done it long ago. At any rate it defined the bathroom layout much better. My little bit of planning paid off there.

The bedroom/living room wall was more difficult even though there was room to lay it out on the floor for assembly. It had to be built around the old metal pipe that was the exterior support for the structure years ago. After some layout work I had to cut each stud individually to fit the opening under the brace for that pipe. When it is covered with sheetrock, no one will ever know what it took to make it look like it is supposed to – other than me and Mama. I took pictures to show the progress, but it belies the effort it took to get it done.

I was able to frame up one garage door on the north end of the shop and in doing so was able to complete that end with the exterior siding. I still have the trim to put up to completely finish it but a third corner of the shop is done. It really changed the looks of the overall building. By the time I got the opening sealed with a tarp again, I was worn out. I took time to water the garden before I stopped for the night. I was hurting and tired by the time the sun set.

Mama had decided that the calves would not get an evening bottle starting on Saturday night so they were bawling pretty insistently from the late evening into the night. Lily was also upset that one of her four normal bottles had been cut out. She still gets a bottle at 8 p.m. so I had to run the gauntlet through the four little bulls to get to Lily to give her the last bottle of the night. She attacked the bottle like she had not eaten in a week while the calves stood and protested on the other side of the gate. It amazed me how loud they can get.

We are in the start of our Missions Conference. The man who is preaching it was the pastor of the church in Fort Worth that was taken by our associate pastor from Central Baptist Church in Amarillo. When he mentioned some decisions he had made to spare the new pastor, Jeff York, from having to make them in his first months (decisions concerning the administration of missions’ giving) Mama and I knew the person he was referring to.

It was then that it dawned on me how much the two men resemble each other; in physical form, in speech, in delivery, in sense of humor, etc. This pastor had been in that church for thirty years. Mama and I are hoping that Pastor York has the same opportunity.

Last night was a fellowship after church. Mama, Victoria and I left at 9 p.m. just as they were setting up to pick and grin. I have no idea how late anyone stayed but it looked like they were setting in for a while. Victoria got to make the trek to feed Lily after we got home. She said she enjoyed the all male bovine choir that serenaded her during the feeding.

It was a late night for all of us.

Weary, forgetting, feeding time

I am looking forward to the weekend. This has been a long and tiring week. There have not been any overly taxing issues to deal with but there have been a lot of little problems that added to the drama that has driven me through the week. Not the least of which is what is happening between my daughter Rebekah and her husband Charles. It is all as unpleasant as it is unnecessary but they are in a situation that they have both steered themselves into. There will be no easy, quick or painless way out.


Without going into details I will say that they are separated at this time. A series of very bad decisions has given Rebekah the “justification” to leave her husband and continue down the wicked path they set themselves on. I have explained to Charles and I will say the same to Rebekah should she care to hear it, that although our salvation in Christ Jesus saves us from the ultimate penalty of sin – eternal separation from the presence of God with all the torment and anguish that accompanies that final destination – but it does not always deliver us from the consequences of our sins.

When you sow the seeds of sin, you will reap the harvest it brings. As the Law of Sowing and Reaping works for good – you reap what you sow, you reap more than you sow (some thirty, some sixty and some one hundred fold), you will reap after you sow – it also works in the bad seed sown. And because of that, it is difficult to know how this will all turn out. Although I cannot speak to Charles’s upbringing, Rebekah does know better. Please pray for them.

Last night I was supposed to stop and get some chicks to add to the batch Mama bought in Bowie but when I got to the farm store I could not remember what kind I was supposed to buy. Mama has been reading a book given to her and some of the information has to do with chickens. It outlines which lay the best, which grow the biggest, which are more docile, etc. In getting all that information in conversation every evening I drew a complete blank on the breed she was looking for. I called but got no answer and with money being a little tight right now, I left the store empty handed.

As soon as she did call me back, I remembered. Those of you who know me know how that works. But by that time I was half way home. In her gracious nature, Mama called the store and asked them to hold six of the New Hampshire Reds chicks for me to pick up today. As long as they have the order written down I will not even try to remember. Hopefully, they wrote it down.

Mama was so frustrated with the calves last night it was pretty funny. When she and I went out with the bottles for the evening feeding only one of the four came to our calling. The other three sat contentedly on the far side of the calf lot oblivious to the offering. So we fed the one and began to take care of the sheep and chickens as part of our normal evening routine. We had to walk up to the calves, wake them up (figuratively speaking) and get them in motion before they remembered what time it was.

As soon as the idea dawned on them they were suddenly extremely hungry. Then we had to fight them off all the way to the stall area and get them into the right stalls as they butted each of us in turn looking for the bottle. If you have never had a hungry three month old calf try to stick his head up your backside as you walked, you have missed a very interesting experience. It gives a certain sense of appreciation to just how durable a mama cow’s utter must be.

Two went straight to their respective stalls. The third took a very long and cumbersome route and finally got stuck behind the tractor. I had to climb into the enclosure and run him out so Mama could put him in his stall. He got renamed several times in the process; nothing vulgar. I am not sure what Mama is calling him this morning, but I never take time to learn names. It does not seem practical to me to do so.

I am anxious to hear how the chicks fared through the night.

Spoils, good habits, Maggie and Aaron

With the two big dogs and the territory they feel compelled to patrol, we are always getting parts of dead animals added to the growing collection of bones around the farm. To this point it has been parts of hogs that we are assuming have been shot by local farmers and ranchers. Occasionally a deer part or a cow skull, but we are pretty sure that the dogs do not do the killing, they scavenge the carcass. Sometimes they will fight over a bone but for the most part there are plenty to go around. None of this is appealing to Mama especially the smell of the choicest, rotting carrion.


Mama noticed yesterday that Dodger had something in his mouth as he pranced across the calf lot. She thought it was a large rat and even though she did not want to see, she called him over so she could see what he was eating on. It was a young rabbit. It was so covered with dirt that Mama decided Dodger must have left it buried for several days before retrieving it that morning.

Later on she noticed Dodger re-hiding the carcass. He very carefully selected a spot that the big dogs could not get into – under the stock trailer, which sits very low to the ground. She thought that was pretty clever of our little mongrel. Now Mama and Victoria know why he has not been interested in eating the food they normally feed him. I certainly do not mind as long as his food is taken from the wild animals on the farm and not from the domestic stock.

Neither Mama nor I felt like going to church last night but we went. I told Mama as I hurried to get ready, because I had gotten home pretty late due to meetings at work, that I felt that if we missed for any reason other than a serious illness, debilitating injury or dangerous driving conditions, it would become a stumbling block to us. I do not need any more of those in my life. Going to church is one of those habits of purpose that almost, without exception, brings joy in the doing especially when there is no happy inspiration up front to follow through with the practice. We were among the very last to leave.

As usual, we were very glad we went. Not that anything unusual happened during the service, but rather that we had made the best possible use of the evening; spending it with friends and family, hearing from the Word of God, sharing our needs and burdens with people who really care, hearing their needs and burdens so we can help pray for them also. It is always so much better than anything we could have done at home. When we did get home I went straight to bed.

Maggie and Aaron are settling into their new life pretty well. They have made some great contacts and it will not be too long before they know their way around the area very well. It sounds like Juneau has plenty to offer for shopping and recreation. It will be fun to hear the updates as they explore their surroundings over the summer. I know they are getting plenty of rain which we are not. They are not getting much sunshine, which we are. It would be nice if we could split up the resources but such things are not worth dwelling on. God provides for our needs wherever we choose to be – or wherever He puts us. We need to learn to trust Him and be content and busy working with what we have. They seem to be content and I am happy for them.

Maggie goes to the doctor next week. She could know the sex of the baby then. Mama is anxiously awaiting the news.

Addendum: Maggie called me to tell me she had to go to the ER last night because she was having painful contractions in three minute intervals. After getting thoroughly checked out by the on call OB/GYN she was released. The diagnosis was that the episode had been caused by stress from the move, etc. Time will tell. Meanwhile, pray for the health of mama and baby. They did an ultrasound and determined the sex of the child, but that is her story to tell. I will wait for full confirmation at birth.

Winter again, abduction and introduction, work ahead

After several days in the seventies and low eighties we had to prepare for a freeze last night. Although the precipitation forecasts are wrong more than they are right, the prediction on temperatures seems to be pretty accurate. It is a good thing we took the time to cover what needed protection because the temperature did get down to freezing. It was not too difficult to believe since the temperatures dropped through the day with a morning temperature of sixty degrees falling through the day to right at forty degrees by late afternoon. Some areas where I have people reporting to me got an ice storm followed by snow. We got no moisture – only cold winds. (I asked Mama if she was glad she had not put away her winter cloths yet. She was.)

Mama had made arrangements for the sheep sellers to meet me at work yesterday and they showed up at the appointed time. The ewe lamb they brought was in a dog crate in the back of their van. All the kids were with the mom and all of them were happy to have the lamb out of the vehicle. If sheep can scream, that is what she was doing. I guess she thought she was being abducted. The kids asked if I could give them a set of earplugs for the next time they had to do this.

When we got the little ewe into the back of the truck – it has a topper on it so we use it to transport small animals – she continued her protest. In fact, all the way to the farm I could hear her bellowing. That, in and of itself, is quite impressive considering the volume of the normal road noise in that truck. Shorty was glad for the company. The ewe, Emma, was not deterred from her protests by the playful antics of our young ram. Hopefully, she will settle into the farm routine. I am sure Mama will have her spoiled in short order.

Since the weather was so cool all of the kids had on coats. I could not help noticing that they were small on some of the bigger kids. Mama and I had just been to a local farm store which was having a pretty good sale on winter clothing so I suggested they go and check out the deals there. They texted Mama later that evening that they had bought four new coats from the 75% off rack and were thrilled that I had sent them to that store. It worked out pretty good all around – except for the new ewe.

When we unloaded the ewe she was still screaming which sparked the interest of the dogs –all four of them. Dodger tried his best to get a taste of the new arrival. He is a “tasty, feely” kind of dog. The big dogs got their turn to smell her – she loved that, not – and Rosie got the chance to show off her “What is it? What’s happening?” bark. Emma checked out Shorty right away to see if any milk was available. That did not work out very well for her. We fed them their normal evening meal and made sure Shorty did not beat Emma out of the trough, then we left them alone for the night. Mama will give me the updates later this morning.

Everybody should be weaned by the time Grandpa and Grandma get back to the farm. I do not know if Grandpa is ready but Mama tells me that Grandma is. With the men working all day, every day she is left completely alone most of the time. That does not suit her at all. At least on the farm Mama is nearby even if Grandpa is out for the entire day. When we get the apartment done, she may feel more alone since Mama will be in the apartment rather than the mobile home, but she will still be pretty close.

We are getting back to the West Virginia model of the kids putting a trailer behind the mom and dad’s trailer. Hopefully, it is temporary. Time will tell as I work to rebuild the farm house and build Mama and me a more permanent home on the farm. First I have to build the shop, the calf barn, the horse and sheep barn, and the pig building.

There will be no shortage of projects for the next several years.

Lost chicks, new fence

As I mentioned the baby chicks we had bought over the weekend I was unaware that there was another part to the story. As Mama went on her rounds to feed the chickens yesterday morning she discovered we had left the coop door opened through the night - again. She found the cage door bent and opened and all the chicks gone. Not one feather, no sign of blood, just and empty cage where we had housed the little ones for the night. That was a disappointing discovery.


We had set up the cage in the coop to help acclimate the chickens to the little ones in the hope of making a smoother transition in the weeks to come. Mama is not a fan of the way chickens establish a pecking order in the coop. It is one of those unavoidable necessities of having chickens on the farm, but that does not mean she has to like it.

For some reason she had decided to open the coop on Sunday afternoon – after we had agreed to leave the flock penned up – and none of us had thought to close it that evening after church.

Victoria said she had seen something at the coop while she was giving Lily her last bottle of the day but did not think much about it at the time. We all settled in for the night while some varmint was going back and forth cleaning out our chicks.

Needless to say, Mama did not go back yesterday for the other chicks we had talked about getting to add to the ones purchased. We are going to try again but we will have to set things up differently. Since the dogs were not alerted by and commotion in the coop while the thievery was in progress, we will set things up closer to the house on the off chance that the dogs can intervene if the robber decides to come back for seconds.

Speaking of doors left open, Mama and I have had an issue with gates being left open. Case in point, she had to chase a calf out of the garden yesterday because one of us had left one of the upper gates on the garden open. After the fiasco last weekend of having a cow jump the fence and trample the garden I thought it would be good to go ahead and put up the fence on the upper end of the garden to keep our cows out. I do not know what we will do tehnext time the neighbor’s cow vaults into the garden.

Mama and I worked on that after I took the time to put the second coat of sealant on the apartment floor. Both projects turned out pretty well. Now the floor is done and the garden is separated from what we will make into an orchard…as soon as I have the money to buy some fruit trees. For the moment we will probably let the sheep graze that patch of grass – as long as the garden is not accessible to them.

This afternoon I am supposed to meet someone to pick up a six week old ewe for our growing flock of sheep. We are buying it from the same persons who sold us Lily and Shorty. They are giving us a fair price on what we are buying and the contact has been mutually beneficial for Mama and the lady of the farm selling the sheep.

Like the garden, the sheep will require a lot of new fence.

Rework, herding issues

When Mama and I were looking at the floor late Thursday evening I noticed something wrong. I could scuff the floor and it would take some of the reddish coloring off of the surface. That was not a happy revelation but it was one that had to be corrected before I could move ahead with the other parts of completing the inside of the apartment. So I got the first thing I could find – a fuzzy paint roller brush – and began to rub the floor. I was amazed at how much dust came off. I knew then that the entire floor would have to be “scrubbed” to remove the excess.


I did take last Friday off but I did not manage to get much done. The wind was a steady twenty miles per hour with gusts at over thirty; too much for getting the sheet metal on the front so I moved inside. I worked on the floor trying to get it ready for the final sealing. Mama had decided to go with a wet look sealant since the other looked too dull to her. It was only a little more work for me since it all had to be redone anyway. By Friday afternoon I got out my little sander to use instead of doing it all manually. It was a little faster and a lot less wear on my shoulders but the amount of dust it put in the air was significantly greater. I worked on that little redo project until late Friday evening; at which time I took Mama to Sam’s in Wichita Falls.

Saturday Mama and I spent the entire morning running errands for feed, milk replacer and lumber. At the feed store in Bowie we bought some baby chicks which meant I had to take time to get a place ready for them before I could go to work on the apartment. I was in no hurry since the winds were still in excess of twenty miles per hour, but I was even less anxious to get back on my hands and knees to finish prepping the floor.

Mama and I were talking about those very things as we rounded the corner to our roadway and found two of the neighbors cows out on the roadway. As I slowly drove toward the house, the cows moved up the road in front of us meandering past the mobile home as I turned into the drive. I was getting ready to go back out to get to work when Mama yelled that the cows were eating the grapevines in the yard. She rushed out the back door of the mobile home and scared one of the cows so badly that it jumped the fence into the garden.

I got in the garden and tried to herd it out but it was still stunned from the hide-raising fright Mama had given it and would not go through the gates I had opened. Finally, in frustration I rushed towards it and it jumped the fence on the other side of the garden into the horse pasture. It managed to trample the garden pretty badly but it could not do any real harm in the pasture. The other cow, meanwhile, was still out on the roadway so when the trash truck came to empty the dumpster I was ready and did not let that cow into the yard.

About an hour later I opened the gate to the pasture and the gate to the calf lot to let the cow out if it could find its way through those gates - without letting the horse out. I prayed the God would direct that cow the way He had directed the cows hooked up to the cart that took the Ark of the Covenant back to Israel. Less than ten minutes later the cow walked through both gates into the drive. I still had to run it out of the upper meadow, but it took off down the roadway after that. That pretty well settled in my mind that sheep would be better for me and Mama to raise.

After I repaired the garden and tilled up some new area for Mama to put out her tomato plants, I went ahead and finished the sheet metal on the front of the apartment – wind and all. I finished sanding and cleaning the floor and I finished the first coat of sealant on the floor. I even had time to put up some OSB over the opening for the garage door. I was working with a pretty big piece of OSB while high up on the ladder, in the blowing wind. Mama was not happy with me, but once that was safely done, I was done.

It was a long day.

Weather woes, a blow out, Maggie and Aaron are home, finishing some things

Mama has been anticipating and dreading storms for the past few days. None of them have materialized. I would not mind if they had, we need the moisture they have the potential to bring. What has been a little frustrating is Mama limiting what she will or will not do day by day based on the weather reports – specifically if it requires any driving. On several occasions I have talked her into following through with things that needed to get done rather than wait on me to get home to do the errand. So far everything has worked out well for her, but poorly for the landscape – and our garden.


Last night was a case in point. The height of the predicted severe weather was to come between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Last night was a church night. We were going to go regardless of the weather- barring a blizzard, which was unlikely. As usual, the weather was beautiful, so much so, in fact, that I got to change a tire that blew out (due to something in the road I did not see) in the dry, pleasant night air. Another proof that Grandpa’s weather reporting system – going to the window and looking at the sky – is the most practical and predictable, accurate, up to date weather report.

The tire is toast. I am not sure what I hit but it did not take but a few seconds to flatten the tire. Fortunately we were not yet on the busy thoroughfare so I was able to pull over and make the change with very little traffic. There was enough light to get the entire job done without a flashlight either. We were on our way home in less than half an hour, but I had to drive more slowly due to the mini-spare I was forced to use. The purchase of a new tire was not in the budget for this month, but we will have to adjust accordingly.

One of the men in our church will be taking a survey trip to Mexico this weekend through next week. He and his wife will go with a local missionary to Vera Cruz to look into the possibility of starting a church in a certain area of that city. Their teenage kids will stay behind with family. I am not certain how all in the family feel about the interest of the father to go to the mission field, but they certainly need our prayers.

Maggie and Aaron are moved into the townhouse they will be renting for the next year or so. She described it as very nice with a storage building and a garage outside. It is a two story three bedroom unit so the baby will have its own room with an additional bedroom to be set up for craft making and occasional visitors. She sounded excited about it. She also loves Juneau. The proximity of everything suits her quite well. It may get old, but for now the new is nice.

As I called her yesterday the movers and Aaron were wiggling the queen size box springs up the narrow stairs and into their bedroom. She was questioning whether or not they would get it to fit but Aaron figured it out. I assured her the mattress would be no problem because they are flexible as opposed to the very rigid box springs. That is why I prefer a king size bed. The box springs are in two pieces.

I am hoping to take tomorrow off. There are some pressing matters at work but none so pressing as those at home. We are not expecting any rain over the next several days (but I will do a daily check to verify that) and the temperatures are supposed to be cool so it would be a good time to finish the outside items I have left. Then I can concentrate on the inside of the apartment. Aside from running the wire, everything else should go very quickly – relatively speaking.

At the current pace, I should get done about the time they call me to Licensing.

Mama in Decatur, feeding frenzy, new arrivals

Mama had an MRI on her left knee done yesterday afternoon at the doctor’s office in Decatur. She scheduled it close to the time I would be getting off so we could run a few errands together while she was here in Decatur. It worked out pretty well, I suppose. The most difficult part of the procedure for her was holding still for an entire hour. Fortunately, she had gotten some of her nervous energy out shopping her way to the doctor’s office.


She had set some things aside at one store so we went back to get them on our way out of town. She did well, money wise, for what she got but I could tell she really wanted to shop some more. But there were animals waiting to be fed and bedded down for the evening. All told, we were about an hour late getting the bottles to our dependent animals. We were surprised that there was not a cacophony of animal protests when we drove up to the farm. That all started when the animals heard our voices.

The fun really began when we walked out into the calf lot with the bottles. Mama had commissioned me to start with Lily while she got the calves into their stalls. After the third “You stupid cow” was hollered out, I was pretty sure it was time to leave the lamb and help Mama. The older calves were interfering with the separating of the bottle babies and turning them out of the stall area was proving too much for Mama so we teamed up and finally got everyone in place.

I have asked Mama not to feed the older calves any grain so they will go back out to pasture where there is plenty of grass for them to eat. But she feels that she is denying them special treatment if she does so. While their companion is locked up in the fattening corral she feels obligated to give hem grain also. Hence the difficulty of having them hang around the feed trough all the time. I do not share her thinking on that but she is managing the farm in Grandpa’s absence. I am just part-time help.

The entire mess of getting every animal in place and getting them fed and grained for the evening took less than twenty minutes but it seemed like a lot longer at while we were in the middle of it. It is difficult to believe four calves and one lamb could cause such a ruckus. Were it not for their older cousins we could have gotten by pretty easily, but that is what we had to deal with.

Once the bottles were washed, Mama got changed and we went to Nocona to cash in on a sale at the grocery store there. There is a store of the same chain in Decatur but I did not want to delay getting to the farm any longer so we opted for the Nocona store. On the way home from getting the groceries we saw the most beautiful sunset; one where the clouds obscure just enough of the sunlight that the entire orb of the sun can be seen with the naked eye. We stopped twice to get pictures but they cannot do it justice.

Maggie and Aaron are safely in Alaska. Maggie said it is absolutely beautiful there. Last night they each texted us their new phone numbers. They enjoyed the Passage and the ride on the ferry but the person who was supposed to meet them upon arrival and take them to his home could not follow through on the offer since his wife went into labor that very day.

It will be a memorable marker for the date of their arrival for years to come.

Finishing something, animals, Victoria, work

I finally got the ridge cap on the roof of the shop last night. It went pretty fast. That was a good thing because it started raining within an hour. It was not a hard rain, but it was moisture making it all the way to the ground. Lot more is expected today through Thursday. It is a welcome change to normal weather patterns. It was good to finish a small part of this big project. Hopefully, there will be more of that to come.


Mama is still enjoying her little black headed shadow. The feedings are still paced every four hours so the lamb gets four bottles per day. Sunday was a challenge because of church, but I am happy to report, that Lily survived the small interruption in routine. The noon and 8 p.m. feedings were both a little late – by about an hour – but she forgave Mama as soon as the bottle was offered.

All of the calves are looking good. With the milder weather they are less likely to get the respiratory infections we have had to deal with in the ones we fed and cared for through the winter. We have one big fellow separated and on a diet to fatten him up to take to the butcher shop in about a month. There should be some very good steaks and roasts coming to our freezer soon.

Mama did inform me last night that a similar fate will not be in Lily’s future. Although she names the steers she is not attached to them. The lamb is different. She really is like having a little baby following you around; wanting constant attention, curious about everything, fretting when Mama is out of sight. I will not get to eat her. If the Lord blesses her with long life, sheep-wise, she will be buried somewhere on the farm in the years to come. What a life.

Dorper sheep are raised for meat and for their hides. They do not need to be shorn since their wool does not grow long. Their hides, pelts or whatever the proper term are sought after in the clothing industry because the wool is not the kind that grows to shed. It is more of a permanent coat. We have yet to butcher one to see how the meat is but I plan on that happening sometime late this year or early next year. Mutton is the best meat for Mama’s blood type and since a sheep will yield only about sixty to eighty pounds of meat (depending on butchering size), it will be easier to consume than a seven hundred pound steer.

Victoria has her good days and her bad days in her training to become a Pharmacy Tech. Yesterday was a bad day. She is not one who is easily instructed, especially if the instructions are difficult to follow, presented in a lecturing manner, or given by more than one person at a time. All three of those seemed to be the case yesterday and she was not permitted to escape to the register for a change of pace. She is very easily frustrated and set on edge. This is a good experience for her and it will be a very good job in the future if she has the fortitude to plow though.

Most days at work are not unpleasant, but work is not geared to be a time when you hang out with friends. You rarely get to choose your co-workers, so most of us make the best of it by making friends when the opportunity arises and enduring the other people we have to spend a great deal of time with to fulfill our necessary obligations to the company that has hired all of the crew we do work with.

With respect to making friends at work, I have been blessed. Every now and then, it does help to be the boss.

Disappointments, almost done, Joshua’s birthday, farm work

I think it was on Thursday that I got the stain on the floor of the apartment. Nothing on that worked like it should have and I ended up mopping out the stain to get it applied evenly. On Friday evening I cleaned it and let it dry. Then on Saturday Mama and I put the sealer on the floor. Although Mama was pretty happy with how the stain turned out, she was disappointed with the sealer.


I had her apply some to an area outside of the apartment and I could not tell if anything had been done to it. I will have to do some research and see if I bought the wrong sealer for the job we were looking to accomplish. We did not get the sealed concrete look we were expecting. We will work through it but we will probably not love it as much as I had hoped.

I worked all day Saturday getting the siding up. I completed the south side and almost completed the front. It all slowed down quite a bit when I got to the door. I had to make some large and complicated cuts around it and the window that is only a few inches from it. With the needed interruptions of farm chores, I ended up putting up at dark with two pieces of metal yet to get done to complete the front. Mama is thrilled with how it looks so far.

It was a long, tiring day but when I looked back at what had gotten done and the way the metal had to be cut to fit into place I had to stop and really praise the Lord that not one cut had been made in error. I’m smart enough to know that was not because of me. It will be nice to get it all sealed up. I still have to get the ridge cap on, but I will be finished with the metal for what we need to complete of the shop and apartment, this weekend; Lord willing.

Joshua’s birthday was yesterday. Our oldest turned thirty years old. Looking back it does not seem like that many years have passed since I saw my mother (his Grandma Kline) holding him just after he was born. She had attended the birth which was done by C-section due to problems Mama was having with a normal delivery. I had been up for over twenty four hours as Mama labored in birth. It all worked out fine but it was a long struggle getting there. Now, thirty years later, we did not even get to talk to him on his birthday. I hope he had a good one; that someone near him took the time to help him celebrate.

Mama is enjoying her sheep; however, it seems our timing is a bit of a concern for our grandkids. They were here for over two weeks and we did not have a lamb at that time. Now they are not at the farm and we do have a very little lamb. They are terribly disappointed by the timing of the acquisition. Somehow we will find a way to make it up to them.

I think Grandma and Grandpa are disappointed also, but not nearly for the same reasons. They have always thought themselves to be cattle raisers. Although accumulating a herd was always out of reach for them they have always dreamed of getting a big payday someday from a cattle operation. I am, as yet, unconvinced that the property we now have can give us that kind of return – especially in cattle. I will give it my best effort, but with the weather conditions we have had for a decade now, the prospects are not good. Although right now, with the grass growing green and lush, it is looking better. Unfortunately, that will not last.

Things on the farm are going to get expensive quickly as we get ready to put up hay. I have to buy the AgGrand Grandpa will need to put on the meadows and pastures after they are cut the first time. That will all start in a couple weeks when they get back from West Virginia. On top of that we are going to take a steer to butcher, build a loafing shed, repair the a/c in the mobile home and put a garage door on the shop. I will be pleasantly shocked if we do not buy more sheep in the next few weeks too. That will require more fencing and feed.

It can get a little overwhelming at times.

Doctor, Maggie and Aaron, Lilly and Mama

Yesterday morning I left work to sit with Mama at her doctor’s appointment. The main reason was so that I could hear what the doctor advised Mama but also so that the accounting of the exam could be handled the right way. The x-rays showed minimal damage to the cartilage on her left knee but the residual thickness of the padding on that joint was far less than on the right knee. The main issue is arthritis and we can effectively deal with that. There is not any immediate danger for her and an MRI is scheduled for next week so we will have better insight if any other intervention is needed right now.


The MRI request proved interesting. If we pay privately, that is, we do not file with insurance for assistance in paying for it, the cost is $400. If, however, we pay through our insurance, the cost is $2800. Since we have a High Deductible Insurance Policy, we pay the cost in full up to $3000. That means, if we want to use this to meet our deductible, we can file through insurance and pay $2800 and then have to pay nothing the rest of the year for Mama. Or we can pay the private pay amount and walk away with $2400 in our pocket. I’ll hang on to our cash for now; which is proving hard to do since I will have to pay $900 to repair the A/C in the mobile home.

Maggie called while we were in the doctor’s office. She and Aaron spent the night at the house of one of Aaron’s uncles, just north of Seattle, WA. From there they will drive to the ferry station this afternoon and depart, Lord willing, on the 6 p.m. ferry bound for Juneau, AK. They should arrive at 4 a.m. Sunday morning and are supposed to stay with a fellow Coastie until they have rested a bit. Between Bellingham, WA and Juneau, AK is some of the most beautiful scenery in the Northern Hemisphere. I hope they take time to enjoy it. Pray that Maggie does not get motion sickness on the long ride north.

After we left to doctor’s office we met the lady selling the lamb. That was fun. They are good people. The family had come to Decatur to buy raw milk from a local supplier and to celebrate the 13th birthday of the oldest child. The supplier is not a dairy per se, but he milks some prize winning Jersey show cows to keep the milk supply stocked for sale. It is $7 per gallon so we passed up purchasing any this time. Anyway, Mama loved the lamb. She is about the size of Rosie. She is fed using a baby bottle so those supplies will be easy to come by. She eats about eight ounces of powdered milk per day – mixed in roughly twelve ounces of water. So keeping her fed is not going to be a burden either. Now the lyrics to that familiar tune are, “Mama has a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb…” You know the rest.

My hope is that raising sheep will supplement the raising of cattle – which has not worked out well for us so far. Grandma and Grandpa are not thrilled so far but I am hoping that when they see the ease of raising sheep vs. raising cattle they will see that going forward, as we all get older, this will be much easier on us both physically and financially; provided we keep it up. Time will tell.

Mama took the lamb for show-and-tell to the church school and to Lindy Lumen, an animal loving friend of hers from church. She got home pretty late in the afternoon and after putting the lamb and the ram (whose name is “Shorty”) in their separate places for the evening she was pretty worn out. The kids at the school loved the little ewe, which is not much bigger than Rosie, and Lindy hugged and snuggled the little one during the entire time Mama and Lily were with her. I think Lily was worn out too.

I got the chance last night to put the stain on the concrete floor of the apartment and laundry room; after I repaired the door on the chicken coop and killed the egg eating hen. It took about an hour to prep everything (mostly cleaning by sweeping and mopping) and about an hour to apply the stain. I will see tonight how it turned out as I clean the floor to remove the residual acid and apply the sealer. Mama was pleased with the initial results.

So far life on the farm has not been “kinda laid back”, but Thank God I’m a country boy.

Treasures, appointments, divine appointments

Mama and I had a pleasant evening last night. It is always a little bit of a rush to get ready for church after the evening chores are done but we made it through everything with time to spare. When we got to the church, fifteen minutes early, we were the first car in the lot. It filled up quickly after that but it always gives the feeling that we missed the memo that the services time was changed.


On the way to church Cori called to tell us about a moment with Grant. While they were eating dinner he pulled a rusty old bolt out of his pocket – a memento from the farm. Cori asked him about his treasure, “What is that?” “A tool; Papi said we could keep all the brown ones.” “He did, did he?” “Yeah, we found some silver ones but Papi didn’t let us keep those.” She was amused by the matter-of-fact nature of his answers.

This is the rest of the story. I am building the shop and apartment in the same area that Mr. Vanbebber had built a shop. The entire building except the pipes that formed the frame of that structure had been ransacked over the years – we will never know by whom. In his old shop he had done a lot of engine repair work as well as work on every piece of equipment on the farm. In the process he gathered an impressive stockpile of nuts and bolts of every size imaginable.

Grandpa and I threw away the majority of that treasure trove because, like Grants little treasure, they were rusted beyond reuse. Obviously, we did not collect the entire inventory. Blake and Grant were finding the nuts and bolts almost daily. I let them play with the ones they found that could not cause harm if they were left in the path of a vehicle tire. The screws that I had recently dropped – the silver ones – I took back from them to save us repairing the flats they would have caused.

It took a little bit of fussing to convince the two of them that they could not keep the bent, useless nails either. Those ended up in a pile on top of one of the cabinets in the shop. Mama and I were out in the shop Tuesday evening picking up the last of the small boards that had been stacked on top of the pile of plywood used for their play area. I will dismantle the ramps and bridges I put together for them so the screws in them can be removed before the wood is burned or reused elsewhere.

Grandpa and I have tried to be very careful about accumulating the nails and other items that would flatten a tire. Those boards with nails in them are placed in a very specific spot so we know to avoid it with any air filled tire. The challenge with the grandsons was that their little eyes were so focused and intent on finding nails and screws that they would spot them in places I know I had looked before and not found anything. It was a blessing that they found what they did. It was more of a blessing that they allowed me to set the rules on where those little finds ended up being deposited.

Mama’s orthopedic appointment is this morning. I am going to try to go with her so I can hear the discussions with whoever is giving the details at the exam. Of particular concern to us is the problem she is having with her left knee. After we get that done we are going to meet the lady who is selling Mama the little sheep. Mama is pretty sure the appointments will not overlap, but they are back to back and time constrained. That’s the way Mama does things. She has already scheduled a show-and-tell with the church school and one family in the church on her way out of town after the transfer/purchase and after we have lunch together. It will be interesting to see how that goes.

Maggie and Aaron had an uplifting experience at a Wendy’s in Oregon on their travels north. As they said “amen” after asking the blessing on their food and their travel, a woman in the restaurant added her “amen” to the blessing. They talked with her as they ate and she gave them each a small Bible. She also prayed with them before they left. They were both greatly encouraged by the “chance” encounter.

I love God’s little confirmations of His presence in our lives.

Storm prep, big plans, Maggie and Aaron

Mama and I went into storm prep mode last night. The forecast was pretty bad; strong storms and damaging hail. That was not the part of the predicted weather patterns that alarmed us. It was the prediction of tornados that got our attention. The winds had been very strong all day and it was clear that a storm was on the way. The sky looked like it was boiling upside down. So we decided to prepare the storm cellar for use.


We swept it out and got some chairs placed in it. Mama got some water bottles ready and put some clean, dry cloths in a bag so we could change if needed. I suppose we ought to spend some time really planning this out but since the storm was predicted in the early morning hours we did the best we could – since we were not really convinced of the need. We have never had to use the shelter. Maybe we never will, but we spent some time thinking about it.

When I first went down into the cellar/shelter, I saw a mouse on the shelving we have left in place. The shelving is full of canning jars which we may or may not use in the future. The mouse did not seem to be an issue. When Mama came down the mouse decide to attempt a daring escape and launched itself from the shelving towards the light of the open door. Mama happened to be in the direct path. I think her scream could be heard in Bowie. The mouse reversed course and headed towards the darkest corner he could find while Mama kept screaming and dancing.

We eventually finished the prep but Mama was on high alert throughout. We did not need to take shelter. The storm was certainly severe, but it passed over us without causing any dangerous situations. It is nice to have the resource if we need it and I plan on taking the time to make it more efficient in case we ever do need it, but probably not very soon.

I briefly checked the apartment and shop this morning and there was quite a bit of water inside. The wind shifted from the north to the south and the tarp I have on the north side was blown into the shop allowing quite a bit of rain to blow in. It could certainly have been worse. I am anxious to get it all sealed up and dried in; maybe this weekend. I am certainly at the point of needing help and that could be on the way if Norman and Seth come down with Grandma and Grandpa as planned. If they are willing to take the time to help.

They are planning on coming down with enough money to buy a truck Grandpa found at the junkyard, fix it up and let Norman and Seth take it back to West Virginia. The plan is to buy hay in WV and use this truck and a trailer – which I do not know if we have yet or not – to transport that hay to Texas for resale. I am in favor of the plan, but I cannot support it financially at this point. We will see how it all works out. It is a good plan, but as always the devil is in the details.

Maggie and Aaron got restarted yesterday morning. She called me as they were getting out of Los Angeles. They still have a long way to go to get to the ferry that will take them up the Inland Passage to Juneau, but she was encouraged that the car was operating well – and that bathroom breaks were more easily accommodated. I have read that the only way into and out of Juneau is by plane or by ferry. That is remote living.

They will get on the ferry in Bellingham, Washington and take the two day ride up to Juneau, Alaska. We have to pray they get to the ferry.

The rest is pretty easy.

Check out the knife Nate got from his sergeant. It is a “repurposed” rail road spike.

Lash and Steel, travel issues, rework

Sunday we had an unusual evangelist at our church. John Bailey was his name and the name of his ministry was “Lash and Steel”. He holds the Guinness World Record in “Whip Cracking Speed & Accuracy” and is the Three-Time & Current, World Champion Quick Draw Knife Thrower. It was a pretty impressive show. The longest bullwhip he has is forty feet long. He used it to blow open a can of coke- from forty feet away. The shorter whips he used to cut a flower in pieces as his wife held it in her mouth.


He did a quick draw demonstration with a knife being thrown at a dropping Frisbee. He did an object lesson on tithing by cutting a mock dollar into pieces with a whip leaving only 10% of it in his wife’s hand when he was done. He threw knives all around his wife as she stood with a couple balloons – one on each shoulder – against the backboard designed for his demonstrations. He relates well to children and teens and had a great message to follow the demonstration with the whips and knives. We did our evening service in the gym building so the whole church could participate. The children got a repeat performance since he had done Children’s Church that morning. They certainly did not mind.

He picked me, the pastor and his brother to throw at a board where he had a picture of the devil draped across the board. We were given small axes to throw. They were a lot heavier than I thought they would be. I placed last and pastors’ brother placed first. At least I got on the target and the axes all stuck pretty well. We were supposed to hit the devil in his right eye. I have never been good at throwing anything – especially knives. It was fun but not something I want to pursue as a sport.

Maggie called yesterday and they have not made much progress north out of San Diego. They left yesterday morning at 3 a.m. and broke down only an hour from his parent’s house. After repairing the vehicle on the side of the road – by flashlight, in the cold, with Maggie needing to go potty really bad – they made it another ten minutes before they had another problem and had to call for help. By the time Maggie called me they were already back in Aaron’s parent’s house and Aaron’s dad was helping him with a more extensive repair.

Other than the full day delay and the extreme difficulty of finding places for Maggie to go potty it was not a terrible way for things to work out. Maggie marked the shoulder of the highway so they could find their way back if needed. I told Maggie it is almost always better to break down close to home or close to family. They could have been many hours away and had to have the repairs made in a much more expensive way. They are not sure at this point how they will continue, but Aaron in under orders to report so they will continue. Please pray for them.

Mama and I did not go get the lamb last night. I asked her to wait until Thursday when she is coming to Decatur for a doctor’s appointment. When she called to tell the seller our change of plans, the lady offered to meet Mama in Decatur because they had to make a trip to a local dairy and were coordinating it with a birthday party for one of her children. Mama is disappointed that she will not get to see the farm they raise the sheep on, but it will be very convenient for us to meet near my work.

Today we are forecast to have some very severe weather; strong thunderstorms, heavy winds and damaging hail. Lovely! I worked on strengthening the tarp I have sealing up one end of the shop and was pretty pleased with what I had gotten done. When I got back inside after that work Mama was talking with Victoria about how great it would be if we could park the cars in the shop overnight to avoid getting damaged by hail.

All that work will get undone and then redone tonight.

Missed celebrations, so much to do, added work

My Mom and Dad celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this weekend and although I was invited I did not get to go. I could have gone but I was so far behind on things that needed to be done at the farm that I opted out. Mama would have been left alone this weekend to tend to the farm and there were a lot of little things waiting on me. With the promise of rain also comes the necessary prep I had to complete to keep the shop and apartment dry – or mostly so. Rather than spending the fourteen hours driving to and from as well as attending the festivities, I stayed to work ten hours on the farm and the building.


I had left work a little early on Friday to run a number of errands which had to be done before 5 p.m. I stopped for hay I Decatur. I delivered it to the farm. I went back to a business in Bowie for the electric wire and conduit to hook the shop to the power pole we have set for it. I delivered that to the farm. Then I hooked up the trailer and drove to Gainesville to get the metal I had ordered to complete the siding on the apartment. I did get it all done before five, but just barely.

Friday ended with me trying to bury a calf that had died the night before. Whiel it was still struggling to live I had been keeping it isolated from the other larger calves so we could tend to it but on Thursday night it looked pretty much gone. Using the tractor front loader to dig a grave was a lot harder than it looks like it would when I watched Grandpa do it. The ground was soft which was good for digging. It was not good for giving the tractor traction to do the digging. After almost getting stuck twice and trying three different angles to get the hole dug. I took what I had, buried the calf and hoped for the best.

Saturday started off getting the calves their morning bottles and then cleaning stalls. I got the tractor out and used the bucket to pull back the gravel from the driveway where I was going to dig the trench to lay the conduit for the electric run. That proved much easier to do than grave digging. It was the weekend we have Trade Days in Bowie so Mama and I went for a bit before I really got into working on the building. It turned out to be an expensive weekend.

On our way in we bought a wrought iron stand for the bathroom. We not only liked the way it was designed, we liked the color also. We stopped the longest at a guy who was selling a sushi making kit. After watching and listening, we bought one. (Mama made sushi that night and it turned out great.) A little later we bought some plants for the garden. Not too bad so far.

As I thought more about it, while getting ready to get started on the my task list, I suggested Mama go back and buy one of the sushi makers for Joshua – who’s birthday is this coming Sunday. She came home with the kit as agreed but announced that she had also bought the cutest little three week old lamb. We are going to pick it up this evening along with a six month old ram.

The lamb is from a set of quadruplets. The ram is from a set of triplets. The lamb has to be fed three to four ounces of milk every four hours during the day for the next three weeks. Oh, joy! Mama and I have been talking about getting sheep to raise for meat. I just did not know it would be this weekend that we would get started on that project.

I did get power hooked up to the breaker box in the shop and I did get the porch I am putting on the apartment entry started. I would have gotten it covered but the metal I got with the last order to be used for a roof on a loafing shed did not match the metal on the shop roof so I would not use it to extend that roof over the porch. (My bad!) The best I could do is to cover half the porch roof with a left over sheet of the same metal from an earlier project.

I was a little disappointed in the shortfall, but not the sunset.

Interviews, livestock, time crunch

Yesterday was a very late day at the office for me. I left just after 5 p.m. That is not a bad time in and of itself, but I had been at the office since before 6 a.m. that morning. It was a long and busy day, most of it occupied with meetings – some more productive than others. The last meetings were in reference to a candidate interview and the follow-up discussion to that interview. I have two more such interview to do today and the three of us doing those interviews are hoping today’s candidates are more qualified than the one last night.


Since I have been I this position I have interview about ninety persons and it amazes me how a potential candidate can, not necessarily misrepresent themselves, but be so thoroughly unprepared to discuss what they have indicated as a proficiency on a resume. Such was the case yesterday. This was a very nice gentleman, retired after thirty six years at a refinery, but unable to articulate highlights of his resume The job we are filling requires a quick study with a head start because there will be a steep learning curve no matter who is selected to fill the post. I was disappointed for him.

Grandpa is not enjoying the cold in West Virginia but he and Seth have endured it daily to get some things done so they will be set up for some jobs they are starting next week or the week after. Grandpa is excited to hear about the rain we are getting here. It means that there will really be a chance of getting some hay to put up this year; if the donkeys do not eat it as fast as it is growing.

We separated Misty from the donkeys last night and opened up the upper meadow to the older calves we have. There are three calves out on pasture and four little bulls in the stalls still getting the bottle twice a day. One of the three on the pasture is a steer to be butchered. I am not sure how much he weighs but I would guess it to be about five hundred pounds. The other steer is about half that and the one heifer is about two hundred pounds.

We still are nursing one heifer along but I think we will not be able to save her. Her sickly constitution has kept her from gaining weight and thereby strength. From her breathing is looks like she is fighting another respiratory infection and all that we have done and continue to do is not enough to get her whole. I will be surprised if she makes it through the weekend. I have been called upon to out her down but wanted to take one run at getting her healthy.

I will have to leave the office very early today to get the things done that I have on my plate for this afternoon. I have three stops to make before 5 p.m. and one of them is in Gainesville, TX about an hour from the farm. Two are closer to the farm but none of the businesses I need to get to are open tomorrow. It is either today or one evening next week. With the weather we have predicted for next week I am hoping it is today, but we will see if that works out. I would certainly like to use the materials this weekend.

I have to admit that it is a lot easier to coordinate things like I have to do today when Grandpa is there to share the load. It is not impossible without his help but it s far more challenging.

One of the ladies who works for me has a small white board that she posts pithy expressions on each day. Today she had written; some people talk so much trash it is difficult to know whether to offer them toilet paper or a breath mint.

Saying goodbye, lower costs, mineral rights( ?), almost dry

Cori, Nate and the kids stayed at the farm late enough to get in on the morning feeding one last time before they left. She texted me on their way out of Bowie yesterday morning to tell me that they would be stopping for gas in Decatur. When they got to a local landmark she texted me again, so I left work and drove to the gas station and met them there. I ended up right behind them as they pulled up to the pump. I had not gotten to say a proper goodbye to the kids the night before so I took the opportunity to do so.


I did not know that Nate had told the kids there would be a surprise waiting for them when they stopped for gas. They were excited to find out what the surprise was. They were thrilled when I showed up. It was a nice moment. I helped in the potty break and reloading processes then we left and went our separate ways.

Cori told Mama from that point on Blake kept asking if the car following them was Grammy and Papi. When they stopped for gas were they going to see Papi again? It was worth the little bit of confusion for me. I am hoping it was also worth it for mommy and daddy as they continued home. They arrived safely something after eleven o’clock last night.

I got a call from the person who is getting the wire that I need to connect the shop and apartment to the meter base set for that purpose. He has taken several days to get me the information I needed. We spoke Tuesday evening and the cost he was estimating was pretty expensive. The cost of the wire alone was adding up to almost $500. When we talked yesterday he had found a three in one assembly of wire that would serve my purpose for the price of one single strand of the wire he would have normally ordered. The cost will be less than $200. Conduit and all the other parts, including the wire, should be just over $350. That was good news.

I also got word from the lawyer we have been in contact with that the mineral rights are ours to claim. They passed to us with the deed. I am still feeling a little apprehensive about claiming them but I am reasonably assured that we have the right to do so. I do not know if the heirs have any mineral rights other than those in question but I will make a few calls to confirm some questions before I proceed. At this point I am hesitantly claiming victory, but the fight has not begun yet.

Through the almost two inches of rain we have gotten over that past three days, the apartment has remained mostly dry. I still have a few places I need to work on to get it completely dried in, but we are close.

Visitors traveling home, farm plans

Chase and Makaila came over yesterday. In case you missed it on an earlier blog they are officially engaged. I am sure Chase made a good choice in Makaila; we will have to wait to see how the spiritual aspect of their relationship plays out. That was Mama’s and my major concern but they are doing things properly as far as church attendance and courting. Their trip was more to see Cori and the kids than to see me and Mama. I do not think Cori and Nate had ever met Makaila. They picked a dreary day to make the trip but it gave all of them time to visit.

The rain finally came last night. I did not get to look at the rain gauge this morning but I do know it rained hard for several hours. We really needed it. So far the tarps I put in place are holding up against the winds but it will not last for long. I have not checked to see how much rain is still getting into the building. I will do that tonight when I get home.

When I do get home tonight it will be only me and Mama on the farm. Victoria will be at work. Cori, Nate and the kids are heading out early this morning and Chase and Makaila will head out in the early afternoon. Mama was putting on a brave face last night but it will be very difficult for her today. It has been a very good visit for us and I think it was the respite Cori needed. Again, time will tell.

Mama and I had a Florida beach vacation planned during the first couple weeks of May. That was before Cori and the kids came to visit us. We were going to stay with Cori and Nate during that time. I told Mama that I am not planning on taking that time now. I am waiting on Licensing to contact me and I am pretty sure it will happen in that time frame. Additionally, there is a major computer upgrade going on that week in Decatur that I am helping to direct. We may still do something, but I will have to squeeze the time out and nurse our finances to the point of recovery from this visit.

I need to go to Amarillo sometime in the next couple weeks but with Grandma and Grandpa gone I will put that on hold for the moment. Mama will have all the morning feeding and chores on her own for the next couple weeks. I would like to be there to help in the evening cycle of chores until Grandpa gets back. I think the plan is for them to be back at the farm the last week of this month.

I have no idea how their visit is going but I have gotten reports on a piece of property they looked over for me. It passed inspection with flying colors. There is a second piece of property that we could work for a couple years if we decide not to buy land. The owner has talked to Norman and would like him to use the property just for the sake of cleaning it up. Sadly, that arrangement never lasts because once the property is clean and in serviceable condition the owner generally finds reason to take it back.

We might get two or three cuttings of hay off of the ground but I doubt it would be more than that. We all have to decide if that would be enough to justify the labor it would require of Norman and Seth to get the property to the point that the hay we get would compensate for their work. I have not seen any pictures of that property but I am told it is suitable for our purposes.

If we are going to succeed here I need someplace else to get my hay from. West Virginia is a decent place to do that. I am not sure the expense of transport from there to here is justifiable. That is the question we are praying over right now. It would be a huge benefit for the family to have a working farm there, but at what cost?

No easy answers.

The zoo, escapees, Nate, play

Mama took the kids to a zoo in Gainesville yesterday. She and Victoria left Cori at the farm for some alone time while they trekked through the park filled with wild “aminals”, according to Grant. They got to feed a giraffe that was seventeen feet tall. I think the kids were disappointed that they did not have more change to feed the goats. (At least they get to feed the animals on our farm.) All our change is saved for and given in the change offering at church, so we rarely have any change on us. This is one time Mama was wishing she had some. They had a great time in both in the zoo and at the adjoining park. I am sure we will go back at some point.

While they were away Cori looked out the window and discovered that the caves had gotten out of the calf lot. Mama had walked in one gate in the morning – leaving it open behind her, and walked out of another gate. That gate she closed. She really doesn’t like to close gates more that once. The calves are easy to lead so Cori got some sweet feed in a bucket and walked up to the calves. They had not gone far. They smelled the feed and anxiously followed her back into the lot. Once they discovered they were back in familiar grazing grounds, they were not too happy, but safe is better than happy.

Nate arrived safely last night just before 7 p.m. The kids were very glad to see their Daddy. All of them began to tell him the significant events of the past week at the same time; feeding calves, the dirt mountain that has been their play place, getting chicken eggs, Easter egg hunts, etc. Grant began to lay out the routine of the farm. Grammy’s chickens get out during the day but not at night. Papa has three houses but they only live in one. We feed the cows milk that Grammy makes for them; and on and on.

I took some time last night to put up tarps over the shop door openings. It might be an exercise in futility with the severe winds we have in this area but I wanted to try to keep some of the rain out of the shop. There were about two inches forecast but we did not get any of what was predicted for last night and it looks less like rain today. Anyway, I did what I was able to do to help the shop and apartment stay dry.

Since I sealed over the doors I was forced to put the front door of the apartment into service. To this point I have had it in place, filling the hole it was designed to fill, but it was not operational. It was not too difficult to do but I was a little concerned that the boys would really like that assess once they knew it was functional. I had good reason to be concerned. Not to be denied their playground in the shop, they would crawl under the tarp on the north end of the shop at a place where is was not able to get it to fit tightly and then stroll over to the door, open it and walk out.

My main concern is that they would leave the door open and wreck my plans for keeping the apartment dry. So far it has worked out that we have been able to keep things as I intended, but time will tell. They will continue to play in the shop but the access will have to be monitored to make sure we are closed up when the rain starts.

As I hung the tarps yesterday evening the kids were playing on the stack of lumber I have stored there. Their favorite hangout is on top of the stack of plywood and OSB. Grant has used that as a ship, a playground and a foundation for towers built of scrap pieces of wood. He and Blake have a ramp I built for them to run their trucks down which has also served as a bridge over a dangerous something or other depending on the ongoing storyline.

At one point I left my phone recording the play as I worked. I placed it where you could catch some of the action but where the kids would not notice. They were playing family and Blake was the baby. I think he thought he was baby monkey by the routine he was going through. Mykenzie was the mommy and Grant was the daddy. When Mykenzie got tired of hearing daddy say “Hooneeey” she decided she would be sister instead of mommy.

As we listened to the recording later we all got a good laugh – especially the kids.

Lots of movement, building updates, Easter

Aaron and Maggie made it safely to the farm on Wednesday evening. We left them in the company of Grandma and Grandpa for the evening while we went to church. It was a good chance for them to visit without the distractions of the grandchildren in the house. I am not sure how much Grandpa engaged in the conversation but I do know Grandma enjoyed it.


The next morning Grandma and Grandpa left for West Virginia and Aaron and I worked on completing the east side of the shop. I cut the pieces and he attached them to the structure. We were done with the metal on that side by about noon. He was a great help to me. We worked together until it was time to pack the car for him and Maggie to head west. They left about 2 p.m. headed for San Diego where his parents live. I believe they are headed north to Alaska today.

On Friday we had guests over for an Easter egg hunt on the farm. The smaller children in that family enjoyed the freedom of the farm and the rewards of the plastic eggs they found. I think it was Grant who found the Golden Egg. Inside was a piece of candy and a dollar bill. I fired up the grill and cooked some meats for lunch. Mama made macaroni salad. It was some of the best she has ever made. The kids ran around while the grownups talked. I worked on the north side of the shop. By the time our visitors left, I had it pretty well complete. Mama and Cori were impressed since most of the metal on that side was in fourteen foot sheets.

When I got up Saturday morning I started on the south side of the shop. It was then that I discovered that I had cut into three pieces of the remaining five while I was trimming a sheet of the metal siding to fit around a window. They were not long cuts and the uppermost of the stack got it the worst so I pulled them off and used the unharmed ones to start the south side. The two that were the most damaged I had to cut to fit the east side of the apartment. The unintended cuts were about a half inch above the length I needed for the front of the apartment – the east side. Even in our mistakes God is good. Using two pieces on the front of the apartment did allow me to complete one exterior corner – trim and all.

I have more metal ordered to complete the siding. Fro some reason I shorted myself by thirteen sheets. It will be in Thursday so Mama and I will go to get it either that evening or Friday. It depends on my schedule at work. This will be a busy week since I am participating in interviews for a job we have posted here. I will have visitors in the office for the latter part of the week who will be making the hiring decisions for that job so I will be busy but it makes the days go by quickly.

Rain is expected from Tuesday through Thursday with totals running from one to three inches depending on the forecast you choose to believe. The large openings on either end of the shop have me a little worried because of the amount of water that can get into the building from the wind driven rain, but there is only a limited amount I can do to combat it. Winds will gust up to thirty miles per hour at the height of the storms – that is rough on a tarp stretched over a ten by ten opening. I suppose it will dry out at some point.

Easter Sunday was great. I helped in Children’s church. Mama sat this one out because her knee is hurting to the point that walking is painful for her. We set out several hundred eggs. They were gathered by children ranging in age from one year old to eleven or twelve. Everyone got their basked filled. It was fun. We even got pictures before the grandkids had destroyed their Easter outfits.

Nate is heading to the farm today.

Chase proposed to Makaila on Sunday. We are still waiting on her answer.
April Fool. She said "Yes"