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.