Grant, hay cutting, BBTI

It seems that Grant is fully on the mend – as of last night. He still is a little dehydrated and will be required to drink more water in order to qualify to be sent home but the IV was taken out last night and he was playing a little. Cori said he improved greatly when they began to give him some Tylenol for the headache. It may still be several weeks before he is his old self but he is on the road to a full recovery.

Mama called the gift shop at the hospital and ordered a balloon with a small stuffed animal. The animal was a monkey dressed in a hospital gown. Cori said it both timely and well received by Grant. It will be something he can take with him as a reminder of the hospital stay. At his age I do not think he will house too many unpleasant memories; time will tell.

Last night at the farm I hooked the disc mower to the tractor and began to cut the field we will hopefully bale this weekend. I had to have the hydraulic cylinder rebuilt in order to use the mower and I finally got that done last week. With Mama’s help I got it installed on Monday night. Everything seemed to work well after I got all the arms and levers attached properly.

On the first pass the PTO fell off and I had to work to get it back in place. As I did I realized I had not properly attached and locked in the three point hitch. Once I got that all aligned and secure I was able to cut for a little over an hour. There is a lot more to do and I hope Mama can help do the cutting while I am at work. It will expedite the process and at least give me more flexibility to complete the whole chore. It looks like we will get a pretty good amount of hay in this cutting which is good because the horses are already wanting more than they are getting in grazing their pasture.

I was scheduled to go to the panhandle this Thursday for a short meeting with the building owner in Borger but we are so far behind now that I have had to take that off of my schedule and postpone it until the following week. I have to get the hay into the barn before it begins to rain Sunday evening. Pray God will give me the wisdom to use the baler correctly. I have never done that part of putting up hay.

We are expecting several inches of rain from Sunday through Tuesday; we need it badly. I am hoping my timing in starting the hay is not bad timing, but I can live with the outcome whatever it may eventually be. I do not think I should have waited any longer because things are dead ripe now. Having begun, I am committed to completing the process.

After I got off the tractor Mama and I went and said goodbye to another family at BBTI. They will be leaving for Ohio this morning and will be on deputation for the remainder of the year. We may get to see them again as they pass through the area early next year but there are no guarantees. For Mama it was a very bittersweet moment. It is so at the end of every year at the institute.

We took over some snacks for their travel and some eggs we collected for them. As Mama was cleaning out some of the drawers in her dresser she found some jewelry that she has never worn and took it for the mother and her two daughters to use. They were thrilled; which thrilled Mama even more.

This family will be friends for many years to come.