Online class, visitors, weather

I was in the office yesterday morning for the online class presentation. I was happy to be a part of the pilot. There are definitely things we will need to improve upon, but overall, it went well. Claude did an excellent job with the presentation and pace of the class, meeting the timeline easily. My supervisor was also in the office listening in on the presentation. I was told that we are piloting another such offering in the near future and was asked to be a part of the development group. I am not sure we will need to do the online classes for much longer, but I can certainly lend my help to the project. I left the office as the tests were being handed out. Mama needed me at the house to help her get whatever was bugging her taken care of as we prepared the house for visitors. I am still not sure why we will live with a mess until we have to share the space with someone outside the home, but that is how it is.

Yesterday afternoon, the Miller family came out to the farm. Eleven in total. Eight children ranging in age from four to seventeen, the mom and dad and the grandmother. Mama made brownies and decorated them with Caleb’s – the birthday boy – name. I made banana bread muffins, which finished right before they arrived. Those were a very big hit. I was surprised to have three left at the end of the visit. I am sure several of the boys were just being polite. Coming fresh out of the oven, they were able to lather them with butter. Mama and I buy only real butter, having long ago abandoned any commercial substitute. I guess the kids had not had real butter in a long time. They were fawning over it throughout the visit. Mama and I will have to buy the family a block of real butter for them to have in the home. It is generally the simple things that bless us the most.

We toured the farm with our visitors, played with the dogs (especially Mocha), held the chicks, fed the bottle calf and just generally enjoyed the quite freedom our farm allows young visitors. It was too cool to stay outside too long. Most of the coats and jackets the family had access to had been packed away so Mama and I provided temporary replacements for them so we could spend the time that we did in the chilly wind. The temperature was near 40° and the wind was steady at fifteen miles per hour. I was not dressed warmly enough to stay out too long either.

When we got back in, we had a little birthday celebration for Caleb. Ice cream and brownies. It was not much, but the family enjoyed it. Mama had a few little gifts and more silly string and confetti eggs. Both were used liberally. We all had a great time visiting. It has been too long such things have been disallowed. It is high time to go back to living our lives. As exemplified yesterday, that is where we get to enjoy the pleasures of this life…in sharing what we have with others. It was not much on our part to open our home and bake some goodies, but it was a real highlight in the week for our visitors.

I got sufficiently chilled Monday evening while we were fishing, that I fear I will not be able to sing this evening. Yesterday, my voice was scratchy, and my throat was just a little sore. I took some elderberry syrup later last night and will repeat that several times today. If I cannot sing, I will have to let the pastor know by this afternoon so he can get Zach to replace me for the shortened song service. I should know for sure by lunchtime. If I cannot sing, we will not attend the service. Mama will be disheartened by that.

This cold is supposed to dissipate over the next several days. Fortunately, it has not gotten to freezing. But it has gotten close. So far, the plants have accommodated the cool overnight temperatures without shedding the fruit developing on their branches. Hopefully that will continue until we get some more warmth. In less than a month we should be able to gather blackberries, blueberries, peaches, and nectarines. Too bad Cathryn is not here to harvest blueberries. She really enjoyed picking and eating them right off the bush. Where they are relocating, she should be able to pick local blueberries next season. Soon after the berries and tree fruit are harvested, we will have grapes for the first time. My grapevine is doing very well in the bed behind the house. It has nearly filled the trellis I build for it.

This looks like it will be a great year for our plants and our garden. Time will tell.