Second looks, on the home front

Last night Mama and I had another chance to talk about how to progress once the farm sells and I think we are in agreement that we need to back away from the purchase of the property in Decatur – at least for now. I do not feel that I will have either the time or the money to develop the property in the time frame we need it to be done. With so many uncertainties in our lives right now with the sale of the farm being significantly postponed and the fact that we have not been able to find an acceptable place to live during the transition from the Van Bebber property to the property in Decatur, it is time to regroup; time to take a second, hard look.

We are scheduled to look at a property with a log home on it this evening before our RU meeting. It is not necessarily in the direction geographically that I wanted to go, but it could be worth the time to investigate. Mama is going to make a couple calls to see if the bank would have a problem with financing such a home and I am going to check on the insurance issues that could be associated with that type of construction. We should have an answer pretty quickly.

On the home front, things are pretty normal. The heat has been hard on all the animals – especially the chickens. We are down to three to five eggs per day, which is still more than we need on average. The only problem is that we are feeding more than twenty chickens to get those few eggs. With cooler weather coming we should be gaining on production in the next few weeks.

Mama’s pigs are growing heavier every day. Yesterday they knocked over the chicken feeders and cleaned up all the feed in them. Mama only found out because Molly, the black one came and tattled on her partner in crime, Dottie. She came and got Mama and led her back to the coop where Dottie was caught red-snouted in the spilled feed; or rather, what was left of it. Mama threatened not to feed them yesterday evening but that threat was short lived. She just fed them less – I think.

The horses and cattle are doing well enough in the heat. We have had enough rain to keep some tender grass growing but in all the acreage the cattle have access to they have to cover the majority of it to get their bellies full. We are supplementing both equine and bovine with hay and sweet feed in order to feel confident they are getting enough to stay healthy. They are loving both the extra feed and extra attention.

Mama is getting suitcases out and starting to pack for our trip to visit Maggie, Aaron and baby Kathryn. I finally confirmed our itinerary last night and Mama was off by a day on our departure. We are not scheduled to leave until Saturday the 13^th rather than Friday the 12^th as she had been telling me for months. It will actually work out better for me because I can use the extra day in the office next week.

Victoria has a friend coming over while we are gone. Brittany Wycoff will be coming over on a couple nights to keep her company. I do not know what arrangements have been made but I get the impression that Victoria is excited about it.

I have gotten the music schedules set for the weeks I will be gone. On the work front I am getting my backups up to speed on all the activities that will need to be attended to in my absence – and there is quite a load.

I think we will be ready to go when next Saturday morning comes along.