Play day, costs, rain on the way, rat trapping

Mama and Kimberlyn are meeting at the farm this morning for a shopping trip to Denton. Kimberlyn is bringing feed from Muenster which was picked up on her way here. I am told it is not out of her way since she prefers to make her way to the farm on backroads that bring her within five miles of Muenster. That friendly help in picking up feed saves Mama and I both time and money, so it is very much appreciated. Plus, the two of them get to spend the day together doing the shopping Mama was going to do regardless of the company while Kimberlyn gets access to stores that she would not typically drive to in her routine outings.

With the price of fuel, Mama and I are very aware of the cost involved in the round trip but the play day for the two of them is more important than the fuel that could have been used to travel somewhere other than to the farm. The feed being hauled to the farm should last us well into May when Mama and I will have to make plans for another purchase. As for prices, they are about ten percent higher than last month, and we are being told by the feed store that prices will inflate even further over the next several months. It may become prohibitive at some point in the very near future to maintain the herd and flock we are now tending to, but we are not there yet. If Victoria was not covering the cost of food required for the dogs, it would already be prohibitive to keep all of them. Such as it is, we are managing but the expense to feed all our animals is more challenging to our budget than any time in recent memory.

On the positive side of the recently inflated costs on everything, Mama and I are finding more creative ways to supplement our needs. That is one of the primary reasons Mama is so focused on the garden. She has been faithful to water our plants and trees every morning and it is bearing noticeable results versus past years of questionable returns on our efforts. We have high hopes. In her efforts, to thwart our furry bandits from stripping the fruit trees, Mama has purchased rough ribbons and bubble wrap to loop through the branches of the nectarine and pear trees to hopefully discourage those thieves from stealing the ripening fruits on those two trees. Fake snakes will be added to the trees to complete the defense. It will be interesting to see if that works.

To make our fuel go further we are simply driving less. Right now, it costs about $85 to fill the Sequoia and about $130 to fill the diesel truck. I am not complaining per se. Everyone is subject to the same expense but the only way we can mitigate it is to use less fuel in our daily lives. Staying home more gives us the time see and do more of the chores that sometimes get overlooked in the less sedentary days of our very recent past. That is a blessing on may counts. So, it is not all bad. It never is.

We are currently forecast to get about two inches of rain over the weekend. That would be a huge blessing. However, an all the recent forecasts when such a prediction was made, nothing has come of it. We will wait and see what rain makes it to our little farm and be thankful for whatever we get. I am hoping to treat the beehives again Saturday, but I would happily postpone due to rainy conditions.

In the coop we have had a rat inhabiting the walls for so long that it has learned our routine and will watch from its hiding place while we tend to the chickens mornings and evenings. Mama has even become somewhat accustomed to its scrutiny. I have tried several methods of trapping the rodent, but it has outsmarted me on every occasion. However, when I made the final repairs to the wiring the rat had destroyed, I set a sticky trap in place in case it went back to gnawing the new wiring. Well, this morning, a rat was entrapped in the pad I had anchored in place, and I will be able to dispose of it once and for all. Whether or not it is the lone invader remains to be seen, but I will celebrate at least this moderate success.

Saturday Mama has another marketing event. This one is in Bowie at the Trade Days facility, but the event is a classic car show. Mama will not need my help with the canopy because she will be in the covered pavilion available for vendors. It is forecast to be windy, but the pavilion has tarpaulin walls that can be drawn down to block the wind. Mama is told she will be one of thirty vendors so it could be a good opportunity to sell the nail sets she still has in stock and to advertise her Color Street business. Time will tell. I will spend the day getting the little things done around the farm that need to be attended to in advance of the storms forecast for Sunday.

It will be a busy weekend for both of us.