Home, missing out, the garden

It was good to get home yesterday evening. By the time I got there Mama was dressed and ready to go to Decatur for a ladies function at the church. So, in an effort to get the company truck back to the office and save Mama an extra trip to pick me up, I drove to Decatur and rode home with Mama and Victoria. I worked on catching up to email during the time they were at the meeting. To their credit, they left halfway through the affair to get me home at a semi-decent hour. It was still about 9:30 before we got ready for bed.

My time in the panhandle was a pretty productive time. I always spend more of my time in hallway discussions and ad hoc meetings than actually in any planned meetings but the time always produces great benefits. I have a lot of friends that it is important to keep up with as I have opportunity – and being there provides the opportunity.

The men of the church who were able to get away are on a father and son fishing trip at Lake Texoma. They headed out on Thursday evening. I have wanted to go for several years but have not been able to work out the timing. The meeting that required me to be in Borger was another of those poorly timed, but required meetings that interrupted the fun.

There is another church event where a group from our church goes to Nazlini, Arizona to do Vacation Bible School for the fledgling church there. I am hoping to go to that but it is about ten days all told and I am not sure if I will get the chance to participate in that either. With the recent trip to Florida and the additional time off for Chase and Makaila’s wedding I have a difficult time arranging that many days off in a short amount of time. I need to reserve the time for Mama and I to visit Maggie and Aaron later this year.

Mama and I do not have a big weekend planned but we are planning to go to Brad, TX to pick up some cedar posts. I will have to call the seller today to make sure he will be available to meet us but I have needed to get some of these posts for months now. I will use them to repair and strengthen our fence in certain areas; more work for me on the farm.

I also know that we will work in the vegetable garden to get the majority of the weeds out. It is nearly impossible to clear out all the grass and weeds but we need to make a very concerted effort in order to maximize the limited water we have for the garden. I also need to get the supports up for the peas and the beans. They are already reaching out for something to grab hold of.

We have had enough rain to keep the ground sufficiently watered and the garden definitely reflects the moisture we have gotten this year. By this time last year we had abandoned the garden completely. This year it looks like it will be worth the effort.

Whether or not we will ever get Mama’s flower garden to succeed is another question.