Brittany, the Stock Show, homework

I only get the barest of information from Mama this morning but I gathered from that that Britany made it home safely. Mama said she was texting something about a mailman and Lucy. Anyway, she and Andrew put an offer on a house in Wichita. It is not the one she originally sought to buy. That one was already under contract. This one is also a large house but it has a pool along with a large floorplan. I am not sure that is a good thing but Brittany, Andrew and the twins will find out pretty quickly if they like the additional effort and expense. For many people, it works out very well. For me and Mama it was not a good option, especially with me working fifty to sixty hours per week; and through most weekends.

I met Mama at the Wise County Stock Show yesterday evening. It was a pretty small affair compared to what we have seen in other states, but it was fun to see the kids show their animals. What I got there in time to see was the pig show. There were only a few contestants per class (four to five at most) so they went through the process pretty quickly. I was amazed to see how squat all the show pigs were. Mama and I used to pigs with a little more height. Maybe it was the depth of sand in the show ring. It just looked odd. Most of them were a bit too fat for what we have strived for in our pigs but I guess that is a quality they look for here. One constant was that, regardless of the class, the pig I liked best never placed very high. That is consistent with our past attempts to help the kids select animals to show at the Jackson County Fair in Ripley, WV.

Mr. Plumley was with Mama. She was off yesterday so she went to get him before she went to the stock show. He did not get to go to the Ft. Wroth Stock Show and though this is nothing in comparison, he was still happy for the chance to get out and see some farm animals. He and Mama spent a lot of time before I got there visiting with the people showing goats. Most of the show animals were far larger than the myotonic goats we have. Some were Nubian, which are really large but most were Boer goats. They were all combed out and prettied up for the competition; which was fun to see. They also spent time with the people showing sheep. Almost all of the sheep were black faced sheep. I guess Dorper Sheep are not sought after show animals. Mama offered to take Mr. Plumley home for a bit but he was anxious to get back to the Assisted Living Center because they were having a Mardi Gras Party he did not want to miss. I told him he needed to behave himself and set a good example in case the party got out of hand. He just laughed.

When I got home we hit the ground running. I had a small list of outside chores I wanted to accomplish before dark and I knew it would be a challenge. When I got started watering the plants Mama jumped in to help me or I would not have gotten finished before night fell. With the garden now started – potatoes and asparagus for now – there is a lot more time required to get water to that area. I have also added two plum trees to the little garden orchard; both of which could be loaded with plums based on the amount of blooms they have. Mama likes the animals. I like the plants. It has always been that way. The good part of that arrangement is that when she calls me away from tending to my plants to do something urgent with her animals, I know the plant are not going anywhere.

I am currently working on some raised beds in the garden. When I get those done we will be able to get a lot more vegetables planted. The challenges will be first to get the seeds planted safely after the last frost and second, to stay home through the summer to take care of a garden.