First freezes, guests, troubled times, a Color Street first

Winter has finally showed up at the farm. We had our first sustained colder weather last weekend. Now, each night the temperature is getting to or below freezing. That trend will end in a few days, but it always places a hardship on me and Mama in getting fresh water to the animals. Fortunately, the days are warming up into the mid-forties so the waterers thaw quickly, but we still have to deal with a yard hydrant at the coop that has always frozen on us in this type of weather. For some reason the stem does not drain so the portion that stands above ground stays full of water. I have insulated is some to guard against the freezing temperatures, but it still freezes over most of our cold nights. So, we have to carry water in the morning from another hydrant or collect enough water in gallon jugs for the morning watering. It is not a huge pain, but when the temperatures do not warm up enough to allow the hydrant to thaw, we have to transport water to the chickens and the pig for each feeding over several days. That presents a challenge.

Yesterday evening we invited the Miller family over. Mama wanted the help getting the young goats to the little lot behind the shop. We are weaning them from their mamas and the only way to do that it to separate them. We had five to carry from their paddock to the small lot and the help was much appreciated. The six Miller boys were a little disappointed because they had anticipated having to chase the goats for a while before catching them. Instead, Mama simply picked them up and handed them out. It was bit anticlimactic, but they all got past that disappointment quickly.

I started a pot of beans yesterday morning with the idea that some of those beans could be made into chili. Mama made baked potatoes in the oven and we combined them with the chili for the evening meal. Mama also bought Frito’s so the younger ones could make Frito pies if they wanted. Everyone found something they liked except the youngest (a four years old) who ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. We had cookies and Graham crackers with pumpkin dip for dessert.  Later we split into two groups. The ladies went with Mama to get their nails done and the man and boys congregated in the living room to just talk. That lasted until well into the evening. Mostly me and Bro. Miller talked about the troubled times we are in as a nation.

Whether or not it is an accepted fact, the fact remains that cheating went on in this election. The only unknown is the full extent of the cheating. What has been revealed is appalling. The idea that we are being instructed to “just move along” is presumptuous hubris. I do not know if we can win this battle because those we elected in good faith are not willing to fight for us. Our individual voice is small and our individual reach insignificant, but somehow, together we must speak out against such obvious corruption. Especially as those who should be speaking out for us refuse to do so. I am not sure what our silent representatives gain in their complicity, but it must be something substantial to abandon us in our hour of need. Instead, our president, is left to fight alone against multiple forces set against him.

I was asked if I thought this was God’s judgement. No. Not yet. This is a consequence or our compliance. Our acquiescence. Our complacency. When the judgement of God comes on our nation, it will not be misconstrued as anything else. The position we find ourselves in today is of our own making. We are only now beginning to see the outcomes of our go-along-to-get-along approach to living out our anemic faith in a world that has no use for us or our beliefs. We barely whimpered when prayer was taken out of school. We sighed when abortion was legalized. We did not even complain when homosexual marriage was codified. So many other degrading changes to our societal norms went without anyone speaking out – even from many of our pulpits. And here we are. Reaping the outcomes of our lack of courage. Our lack of faith. Is judgement coming? It certainly must. But this is not it – yet. What can we do to make our voices heard, to fight back against the corruption in our culture? I have not found that answer yet, but I am actively looking.

While we talked, Mama and the ladies applied Color Street nail strips. For the two Miller girls, this was the very first time they had ever had anything done to their nails, so the application took longer than normal, but the results were pretty outstanding. We will see how that time spent affects them. For now, I think they are impressed, whether they wanted to admit it or not. Mama and Victoria had fun and they did a live during part of the application. We will see how that plays out. It was a fun evening.

I will be teaching classes tomorrow and Friday. Two of the four remaining classes I have to teach this year. Wow! 2020 is almost gone.