Jake, bad timing, dogs

Mama got Jake safely onto the plane yesterday morning. It is always sad to see him go but now Mama can return to her quiet life on the farm. Jake is already talking about coming back next year but he does not know for sure if he will be coming from New Jersey or Florida. His parents are seriously considering relocating to south Florida – which is a really good idea in my opinion.

I picked up the metal for the roof for the pig shelter on my way home last night. It was only three pieces but it will be more than adequate for the enclosure. Now I am plotting a way to get water to the pigs and chickens through the winter. I have all the line and hydrants needed but I do not know if we will be able to use the well in the barn lot or if we will need to come from the well house. There is still a good bit of work to do on that – hopefully with Grandpa’s help.

Mama and I had a difficult time getting dinner done last night because of phone conversations that extended for over an hour (trying to help a friend with a difficult situation)and because the repairman who came to look at our a/c again arrived about that time also. I told Mama we really did not need to eat anyway. The a/c repair was an easy one which will require some ongoing maintenance on my part but we were not charged for the call. That was good.

I spent the evening getting Mama set up for the chicks that will be arriving Friday. She ordered thirty. They will be shipped when they are one day old so we have to get them warmed up and hydrated as soon as they arrive. With the drowning experience we had with the guinea keet we are taking some precautions to avoid that with this brood.

We plan to use the large cage we have used in the past and shuttle them between the carport and the garage. They will need the warmth of the garage through the night but Mama and I prefer them to be outside as much as possible through the day. That way our garage does not take on too much of an odor. At least, that is how we are trying to arrange it.

The rest of the night I spent watering plants and trees. Kobi chewed up my lone grapevine over last weekend but I am still watering it hoping for the best. That was really frustrating after all the effort I have put into getting it back to health after the first time she chewed all the leaves off of it. It may be a lost cause but I have no chance of replacing it before next spring so we’ll see how good a root system it has and whether or not it will bud out once more before the warm days are gone for this year.

Mama tells me I have to understand that she is only a dog. To which I reply that dogs are not a necessary part of my life. They a marginally sufferable inconvenience and continuous irritation I endure because of the women in my life. I do not need them and, believe it or not, would be fine without them.

But Victoria’s and Mama’s need to nurture something more animated than a plant are the driving force behind the hair all over the house, the slobbers scattered throughout the house, the occasional pee we mop up when they are too excited to contain themselves, the toy stuffing shredded on the living room rug and the poop I have to avoid in the yard – front, back and side.

Yes, I could live without them...but not without Mama.