Staying put, shop work, school, sheep

Since Mama’s and my travel plans changes for today, I amended my schedule and talked with Mama about going to Lawton today. There are eleven homes for sale Monday that I would have liked to look at for potential purchase, but it was not to be. I received an assignment yesterday evening that I could not put off. It was not an assignment that affected me but rather one that affected those who will instruct a class next Tuesday. Since there was a lot of discussion last month about some desired changes and since this month, I was given permission to make some of those changes, I did not feel like I could delay the updates. If possible, I will try to take off early today, but as it stands now, I will be here for my regular day. Not a bad thing, just how things work out.

After Mama and I fed the animals last night, I worked in the shop. I was not feeling very good, but I had two pieces of plywood that I needed to get up to complete the East wall of the shop. It was bothering me to be stepping over the plywood. So, I spent a couple hours cutting the panels to fit, putting insulation on the wall and screwing the panels in place. I ran out of foam panels to use for insulation, but I had several batts of 6” fiberglass insulation left over from the barn wellhouse that I pulled apart in thin layers to put behind the plywood. The challenge was getting the insulation securely placed on the wall before the plywood was attached. I tried using Liquid Nails, but that did not work well on the fiberglass layers I was trying to get to stay in place.

So, I cut thin strips of wood to wedge inside of the two by four’s the metal was attached to. By using the larger groves in the metal siding, I was able to slip a strip of wood in place with the fiberglass insulation pinched behind it. It worked, but I was covered in the itchy insulation before it was over. I debated leaving one piece of plywood for tonight but forged ahead because I wanted to finish with the insulation – not have to handle it again if possible. I ran out of the fiberglass insulation as I was insulating the last section of wall, so I used some Styrofoam packing that had come with the workbenches I bought for the shop. Having the plywood in place on the walls changes the look of the shop completely. I spent a few minutes rearranging the shop but did not have the energy to do much more than simple shuffling. By the time I had had enough of the itch from the insulation and was ready to shower, Mama was coming out to fuss at me for having spent so long working in the shop when I had told her that I was not feeling well. I did feel better as I worked but once I stopped, I was ready tog go to bed.

Mama baked a couple cakes last night. Today is the birthday of one of the students at our Christian school. I am not sure why she baked two cakes, but I did not argue. We can feed the extra to the chickens and the pigs. She will be taking the cake to the school at lunch time today. She enjoys staying connected with the kids in the school. I am glad she is not working there this year. Sadly, I think it would have been too much for her to handle physically. With the issues she is still having with her knees, I believe the pain would have been debilitating. But, baking cakes and preparing a special lunch now and then is a good opportunity for her to stay involved. For Mama’s part, she wishes she still had the little bit of income working at the school provided for her. From my perspective, it came at too high a cost.

With the sheep and goats sharing the same feed, we are running through that feed at a much faster rate. The sheep seem to eat more than the goats. They seem to stay hungrier than the goats as well. I am certain they poop more than the goats, but we still enjoy having them. Whether or not we will raise sheep long term remains to be seem. If we do, I would like to work our way into the Jacob sheep but that is a couple years away. We will see how these lambs sell in a few months. Whether or not we can clear as much on them as we do the Myotonic goats- which I still feel are the best small animal for our farm based on the price they command when sold – will be quickly evident. If Mama will not let me eat the sheep, I will not continue to raise them.

The tradeoff is not worth it just to have pets.