The grandkids, Bella

A couple nights ago Cori was taking Savanna to put her to bed for the night. We were in the garage putting away all the toys and shoes that had been randomly deposited in every open space. When Savanna told me “Good night”, I said, “Noooo!” Pretty loudly. At first, she looked panicked, thinking she had done something wrong. When she took a couple seconds to study my face and then her mother’s face, she realized I was teasing. She looked at her mommy and said, “Papi said, nooo!” “Did he?” mommy asked. Whereupon Savanna tested the situation by repeating her good night. Of course, my response was, “Nooo!” And so, it continued until I finally answered with a reluctant “good night”. Now, every evening when it is bedtime we have to repeat the same banter. We will see if she still remembers the wordplay when they get back from their two weeks in Honduras.  

With the grandkids of sufficient age to help with the farm chores, Mama had both enjoyed the extra labor force and, at times, tried to invent excuses as to why she should go out to feed by herself. We have probably been through twice the amount of feed we normally put out for the goats and the pigs because Grant likes to fill the feeders to capacity rather that mete out the feed. It has all gotten eaten eventually since we have not had any rain. Goats will not eat wet – or even damp – feed but the pigs will eat the slimy, soft, several days old food as if it were a delicacy. So, under Grant’s generous provision, they have all been quite content. However, there are challenges. It does take Mama about twice as long to feed and do the normal chores when she has the kids helping. Partly because Mama is always full of instructions – “No. slide it over to this spot. Put the feeder down just so. Always do this. Always do that. Never this. Never that.” I like to see how they figure things out versus giving explicit instructions. All in all, they are willing to help. That’s a plus.

Last night we ran into one of those happenstances where the hard and fast rule – always close the gate behind you – was followed when there needed to be an understood exception. Mama likes to let the chickens out every evening. The chickens like it also, but for them to get back to the roost in the coop, we leave the gate to the chicken yard open until all of them have made it in to the roost. Well, last night the gate got closed while the chickens were still out doing their evening scratching. When Mama went out, well after dark, to close them up for the night, all of the hens were camped out by the closed gate doing the best they could to roost for the night. Mama had to individually collect them and put them in the coop so they could roost properly. It took a good bit of time. I can’t wait to hear how the exception to the rule – always close the gate – was conveyed to the grandkids when she recounts the experience this morning. My personal opinion; let that one go. We will just need to ensure the gate is open after the kids have gone to bed so all Mama’s flock can come home to roost.

Bella, Cori and Nate’s Black Lab, has been spending the nights in our bedroom. I was a little taken aback the first night she was in the bedroom. When I got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and an amorphous black shape swirled on the floor in front of me, it took a second to realize it was a dog. (Too many sci-fi movies.) The slapping of the ears against the head and the tail thumping on the blanket chest gave my sleepy mind the assurance it needed to relax the rest of me. I do not remember when that sleeping arrangement started, but it has now become a routine. The only issue I can see is that Bella goes out with me when I leave the room before 6 am. Her tail banging on the wall as she goes down the hallway wakes Victoria and her dogs earlier than Victoria is used to.

An unavoidable consequence of happy canine companionship.