Constancy, weekend plans

As I was feeding yesterday evening, I remembered the old saying that if March comes in like a lamb it will go out like a lion – or vice versa. That held true this year. March 1^st was a gentle day here, cool and quiet. Yesterday was a blustery day, warm and very windy. Today is calm and colder. April is here and Summer is coming to us with a blast of heat next week. We will go from high temperatures in the seventies to high temperatures in the nineties. All in the timeframe of several days. That is often how it happens here. Spring cool one day, Summer heat the next. But the arrival of Summer is a welcome shift for us – at least at the beginning of the hot season. By the time we get to September and have endured the heat for months, we will be ready for the cooling that follows. It is nice to live in an area where we have these seasons to anticipate – either with hope or dread. The changing of seasons is a constant reminder of the blessings of God and His continued watch care over His creation. Don’t like the weather outside (or the circumstances of your life), get ready, this too shall pass. Enjoying the beautiful weather outside (or the peaceful happy circumstances of your life) be prepared, this too shall pass.

Summer and Winter, Springtime and Harvest,

Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above,

Join with all nature in manifold witness,

To Thy great Faithfulness, Mercy and Love.

Mama is still working with her phone on updates or transfers. Mine finished early yesterday afternoon after I restarted it a couple times. With Mama’s I had to pause every app that was downloading and allow them to progress one by one. I was a little surprised by the slow response of her phone, but she did have several dozen apps that needed to be told to take their turn. She will finish the process today and all will be well – I hope. Tomorrow, we will be surrendering the old phones for a trade in against the new purchases and I will wipe them clean of our apps and history, so she has to finish today in getting her new phone fully updated. Victoria got Grandma taken care of yesterday evening. Grandma does not have very many apps on her phone so she could have done with a very scaled down model other than the fact that she loves the music and photo functions of the newer phones. For the moment, all is well on the technology side of our lives.

I often think of how nice it is to have this farm and the constancy of the feeding, gardening, fence repairs and building upkeep, the yardwork, the open ground around us and the lakes beside us. It is a gentle, powerful reminder that there is still peace in the world. With the turmoil of our present world and the growing conflict in our home country, it is nice to have this retreat. We will not always have it. There will come a time that it will prove too much for us to care for and Mama and I will have to give it up. But we have it now and it anchors us to the blessings of God. Plus, it provides me an opportunity for constant activity. Another constancy in our lives. Sometimes a burden but mostly blessing.

Tomorrow evening I will reposition the stock trailer and load the pig – hopefully. She will be taken to the processor early Saturday morning. The way of life on a farm, but I was praising the Lord that we have all the equipment we do to handle such an event. The trailer, the tractor, the hog building with the attached pen, etc. I suppose the pen is build well enough to keep the wild hogs away from our hog because I saw a large wild hog just outside the pen yesterday morning. Our sow is about the right age to attract the wild males to her, but I do not want to kill a wild hog when we are going to process our farm raised one. The challenge will be to get into the pen and level the ground where our hog has rooted out huge holes for herself. Removing a couple posts, the wire panels and a good amount of time will be what is required to get that done. Whether or not it is worth the effort to trump other cores I have to do will be the question for scheduling the work. For now, it will sit and wait but eventually it will get done. Certainly, before we get another pig to house there.

Mama is going to an event in Decatur Saturday for her Color Street business. She, Brittany and Leah Wycoff will be selling nails during the event. This event features venues aimed mostly at ladies; purses, clothing, handmade jewelry, etc., so it is perfect venue for Mama’s nails. I will be transporting the hog that morning so I will not be helping Mama get set up. Leah will be getting to the event as early as possible because spots are divvied out on a first come first served basis. Getting to the event early is a necessity to get a good spot for the event. Hopefully, they do well specially in making contacts with potential recruits.

I just hope Mama makes more than the spends.