Six Flags, container work, brutally hot, snakes, small success

Last week was occupied by training my company provided for all employees in a setting where we could all participate in person. There are now over one hundred employees at Energy Worldnet and about 40% of the workforce is fully remote. Although we see each other in Teams meetings online, it is infrequent that all of us see each other in person. So, this training provided a great opportunity to interact with our whole team and to catch up in person with those we so rarely get to spend time with. The training related to a new operating system being employed to refocus the company efforts in specific ways and since the system is new to us, it was beneficial that all of us got to go through the training together. The training sessions took all day Tuesday and Wednesday. Five separate training sessions each day. It was enough to get all of us started in the same direction but not enough to clear up all my questions about my part in the course correction we are now employing. Hopefully, it will be enough to allow me to ask the right questions as we move forward.

Thursday we all met up at Six Flags for lunch and a work-free day at the park. Many brought their families to the park as well. I was able to take Mama, Victoria and Rosa Lee. Even though Rosa Lee was a bit of a pill throughout the day we had a good time. We got to the park at 11 am and filtered in with the crowd. It was raining off and on so many of the rides had not opened, but as we ate lunch, the rain played itself out and by the time we had finished with the company activities – about 1:20 – the sun was out, and all the rides were operational. Victoria and Rosa Lee tried the teacup ride, but it went backwards the entire time and terrified Rosa Lee. The log ride was much better. We finished that ride and queued back into line for a rerun. It was more fun the second time. Mama and I did a couple more rides together with Rosa Lee and Victoria, but we mostly sat out as Victoria and Rosa Lee did those rides that would not scare her too much. We stayed at the park until about 4 pm. Three hours was about all Mama and Rosa Lee could handle. I could have probably done with less, but the lines were short, so it was almost always a short wait, making it more fun for the little one. Plus, we were able to duck into a gift shop or restaurant when we got too hot or when Mama needed to sit down for a minute.

On the way home we stopped at WinCo to get a few bulk items so Mama could bake cookies for Vacation Bible School, which starts tonight. We were cruising along pretty well until about fifteen miles from home, we got into stopped traffic due to an accident. Getting through the mile long backup took about thirty minutes. Fortunately, we were in an air-conditioned car for the wait. We were in no particular hurry to get home other than to meet Norman and Seth to get Rosa Lee home before it got too late. The delay just ended up giving Rosa Lee a chance to get in a good nap before we turned her over to Seth. Mam and Norman were planning to go to Dallas Friday morning to look for windows to cut into the container. That turned out to be a wasted trip for Mama, but Norman met with a client and got a month’s worth of work assignments. So, it was not a completely wasted trip.

Friday was spent catching up to all the work that did not get done while we were in training, so it passed by very quickly. Friday was our last day of temperate summer temperatures. Starting Saturday, we began a week of temperatures well over 100 degrees. Saturday, the high was 105 degrees. Sunday the thermometer climbed to 107 degrees. Those high temperatures are forecast to continue through the week with a break coming to us by Saturday. Wednesday is forecast to be 110 degrees or more. Our poor flocks are suffering from the brutal heat and there is little we can do to mitigate that suffering. Mama has been going out in the afternoons and wetting the ground for the ducks and chickens, but the way we have the quail housed, we cannot offer them any relief. So far, we have had only one death due to the heat. That was one of our older quail.

We have suffered more losses from snakes so far than from the heat. Two of Mama’s little Bantam chicks were taken by large snakes. One was eaten. Another was killed and left behind. I finally caught up to two of the largest snakes and killed both of them. In another two consecutive nights I caught two other large rat snakes and dispatched them as well. Saturday night I had to chase one snake down through the coop but was finally able to get hold of it sufficiently to unwind it from the roost and take it outside the coop to put it down. Mama, needless to say, is tired of dealing with snakes. Of the seven coop-hatched Bantam chicks, only two remain. I have to admit that it was fun to see the chicks scampering about with the mama hens as they grew, so the two half-grown chicks are a sad reminder of the hazards we deal with to protect our flocks.

Saturday, I spent the day leveling the container (with Grandpa’s help) and running the electric line from the well house to the container. The morning started off in the low nineties and quickly climbed to over 100 degrees. By noon, I was a muddy mess. The ditch I had to dig to bury the electric line required me to use a mattock to cut into the hard ground. Each cut with the mattock sent a spray of the dirt onto my sweat-soaked clothing, which turned to mud when it settled against me. I had to take a shower to clean up so I could eat lunch, but I did get the ditch cut, the conduit laid, and the wire run to supply power to the container.

It was a good day.