Wes, chicken abuse, last of the hay, Joshua

When Wes gave us Jazz he left his saddle with us so we could ride Jazz and Flashy – the second horse he was boarding with us. Soon after that Flashy got injured and Wes had to take her to the vet. After he got her doctored up, he put her close to him so he could keep an eye on her. We have ridden Jazz a couple of times but all the while Wes’s saddle was still with us. I looked at it last weekend and thought it was about time to get it back to him, but was not sure where to take it.


Well, last night he came by to get it about the time we were going out to feed the calves. He joined in the feeding but left pretty quickly after he had given one of the calves a bottle – saddle in hand. It is always good to see him since he can be difficult to catch. He has a fulltime job as well as fifteen horses – which is an additional fulltime job. He is always a very enjoyable person to be around.

Mama and I separated the chicken into non-pecking groups again last night. I am not sure how long we will leave them separated but it could be a while. I am tempted to let the rooster in with the second group so he takes ownership of them also, but I have not run that by Mama. The hens do not need him with them to keep laying, but it would be good to use him to keep the eggs fertile in case one of them decides to get broody and sit on a batch of eggs.

What started the need to segregate again was the damage being done to one of the young Buff Orpington hens. I do not know if they would actually kill one of their own, but she was missing quite a few feathers which suggested a thorough abuse by the other hens. Besides, we need to ensure they all get a chance to eat and rest. With the pecking going on, we could not be sure that was happening and these hens are too pretty to watch them get abused; especially to the point of dying. You can see them trying to keep out of harm's way.

Grandpa cut the last of the hay from the meadows so we could bale it to have for the calves. The coastal seed we planted has taken root in most areas of the meadows. With winter close at hand, we wanted to get the last good growth in the barn. It will help the grass and the ground get ready for winter and it will keep us from having to deal with too much twisted growth – from long grass resting on the ground through the winter – when we cut in the spring. We will bale it tonight.

The deer have found the alfalfa we have growing in patches through out the upper and lower meadows. There were some pretty impressive tracks in the upper meadow over the weekend. I have never seen the big bucks Grandpa has watched cross our property, but I have seen their tracks in the soft ground near the big tank. I hope to get to see them this hunting season – at least one of them.

Joshua called me yesterday to check on Mama. I guess he missed the memo on Mama switching cell phone carriers which disabled the number he had. We talked for a few minutes and I gave him the home number, but I do not know if he called to check in there. He is talking about coming up sometime near Christmas. We will see how that works out. He still has not gotten his license but he assured me the paperwork is in place to do so.

Joshua did tell me that Sunday was an exceptional day at church.

Move calves, more chickens, more cold

I took off early on Friday to go with Mama and Grandpa to get a couple more calves. I had not met the dairy farmers who had been selling us the calves so it was a good opportunity to get out and see the operations they had. Both farms, owned by two brothers, are in the Windthorst area so it is about forty minutes drive from our farm.


Like most dairy farms in this area the farms were nothing fancy. They are both big operations. I am not sure how many cows they milk but it is quite a herd in both cases. Both farms have large growing herds of replacement heifers and quite a calving operation – which is the backbone of the operation; no calves, no milk. Without the replacement herd, the dairy operation ceases. It is a very forward looking operation.

From the first farm we got two calves. One was four days old, the other was only born the day before, making him two days old, but he is huge. He looks like he is several weeks old. He picked up the name, Big Boy. The second calf from that farm was a typical calf but he has a bawl that sounds like a full grown bull. It is neat to hear him above all the rest of our herd when they know we are there to feed them.

From the second farm we got a little fellow. He was born two weeks premature so he is just now, at two weeks old, putting on some weight and filling out. He got the name, Tiny II. The “two” came about because Norman and Grandpa had a Tiny in years past. He should do fine. Grandpa is very attentive and very proactive. We had to give two of the new calves a shop to help them get over some mild sickness, but they are eating well and starting to get stronger. It was worth the trip.

Mama and I went to Trade Days Saturday morning. We were not planning on spending any money but we blew through $50 anyway. We found one seller who had some very large Buff Orpington hens for a great price, so we got two. We did go to look for some dog collars so we can put the calves out into the open lot yet keep them on a leash. We got four of the collars.

We also found a guy selling small galvanized buckets – they are great for feed for the small calves – and we picked up three of them.

Right now we are getting ten eggs per day routinely. We have gotten an even dozen before and that is Mama’s goal. The chickens are her own little part of the production yields of the farm. She did have the hens separated into the older group and the newer group, but as she tended to them on Saturday evening, the two groups got mixed and the pecking started in earnest.

Mama was temped to break it up and separate the groups again but a lady we bought some of the hens from suggested that we put them all together and walk away. (She told Mama to close her eyes). The pecking order is part of the nature of chickens and there is no way to get them to stop until each little hen knows her place. Our rooster thinks our little chicken coop is Nirvana; he now has thirteen hens to take care of.

It turned much colder this weekend. It never got above fifty degrees on Saturday. Last night there was a frost warning issued for our area. There was frost on the windshield of the little car this morning when I left for work. It will definitely hinder the growth of the grass from this point on if the fields got a significant frost, but the next couple days are supposed to be in the low eighties, with nights warming back into the sixties.

Fall is here; no complaints from me.

Impressive effort, church, presumptuous sin, Victoria

I do not know if he will be hurting physically from overexertion, but Grandpa has dug the waterline for the apartment and shop, laid the line, made up all the connections and mostly backfilled the entire line – by himself. It was a big job. About 150 feet of ditch needed to be dug and I was intending to help get it done, but with revival services every night this week, I did not get the opportunity to do so. I was thoroughly impressed with his efforts.


Grandma went to church with us last night and I think she enjoyed it. She was the last one to take her seat at the start of service and she was the last one out of the building at the end of the service. Victoria absorbed all of her sidebar comments throughout the sermon. Thank you, Victoria. Other than a constant driving lesson on the way to church, it was not totally unpleasant having her along. Mama has constantly reminded me and I know it to be true, that Grandma has a good heart. It is not her heart that I have a problem with.

On Wednesday night, she and Grandpa went to church in Bowie for the first time in months. I have not asked Grandpa if he enjoyed it or not. It is the first time the new pastor of the church would have seen the two of them. I am curious if it will come up in conversation this weekend as we work together. We have been praying for some time for Grandpa to find a church home. We will continue to pray.

Last night, the last night of the revival, the evangelist preached on presumptuous sin; an assassin of revival. This particular disobedience results largely from a lack of fear of or lack of respect for God. It is when we choose to do what we know is wrong (read that sin) but do it anyway thinking that God will somehow understand our justification for doing what we know to be wrong; what we know offends Him; what we know is sin…Guilty as charged.

He used episodes in the life of Saul as examples of presumptuous sin; when Saul offered sacrifices because he was tired of waiting on Samuel, when he failed in God’s directive toward the Amalekites (he was killed by an Amalekite who would not have been alive has he obeyed God), and when he called up the witch at Endor. All were direct violations of a known statute or a direct order form God but Saul justified it by looking at the circumstances and the situation rather than doing what was right – albeit, uncomfortable.

I have to ask myself if using a credit card to make purchases is such an instance when I have made a pledge to God to get out of debt. I will pay the borrowed money off. It will expedite the building project. Mama and I are ready to get the apartment done and have some place of our own. I could justify it. I could make it right. But I have made a promise, a commitment to God. I had better be prepared to keep it – regardless of the inconvenience.

Mama and Victoria thought the visit to the specialist was worth the time. They both really liked the doctor, an allergy, ENT specialist. She recommended a couple medications for Victoria in order to ease the immediate symptoms distressing all of us – mostly her cough – and has recommended follow up with a battery of allergy tests to identify the cause. That should produce some interesting results. I am nearly as anxious as Victoria to hear the outcome.

We are expecting colder weather this weekend. A front is supposed to move into the area tonight lowering the temperatures into the forties at night with the high on Saturday and Sunday only in the fifties. There is a slight chance of rain – and we will take all we can get – on Saturday. That will make working outside pretty comfortable; absent the rain. It is just too bad we are out of money. It might be time to go fishing.

Grandpa could use the rest.

Church, farm animals

Victoria was well enough to go to church with us last night. She has been cooped up in the mobile home since last Sunday so she was really ready to get out. In celebration we went to a Chinese restaurant in Decatur for dinner before church. It was good but food but I do not eat enough any more to justify a buffet of any kind. I almost ordered soup instead of the buffet but the price difference was insignificant. We enjoyed the meal – especially Victoria. She was doing her little dance that she does when she is enjoying what she eats.


We also enjoyed the revival service. The guest preacher referred back to a revival that took place in 1949 in the Hebrides islands – off the coast of Scotland. It is a wonderful story of how prayer affected the entire community. It did not spill out into a national or international revival but distinct traces of the prayer groups that continued for months after the initial moving of God are still active in the isle to this day. Prayer really does change things; especially me. It was nice to have a geographic frame of reference when he was referring to the Isle’s of Staffa, Argyll and Skye. I looked to see the particular island where the revival took place. I think it was on the isle of Lewis. I will have to look again more closely some time.

Mama tells me that the little calves were let out to play yesterday afternoon. Each of them jumped and skipped in the larger area as if they knew instinctively what to do. Then they each returned to their own little stall where they have been fed for the past week. No guidance was needed. They each knew where to go. So far we are enjoying the little ones and we are about 20% done with the bottle feeding of this first group. They already want more that one bottle of milk. I am just not sure how much they need.

I asked Mama yesterday or the day before if she or anyone had checked on the horses. No one had since Monday afternoon so there was a mad rush to check their water and to give them each a little bit of grain. Mama said Jazz is a mess. He has been enjoying the soft, wet ground a little too much and the flies that we have in this area have been taking advantage of their access to him by laying their eggs all over his coat and main.

Some if the dirt and egg clusters she was able to brush off before dousing him with the fly spray we have been using on the calves. It was long overdue and Jazz enjoyed the attention, the extra food and the respite from the flies. If this weekend’s weather cooperates, I will saddle him and ride a while; just so he remembers why he is there.

The big dogs are slowly showing signs of cooperating with the farm program. They are mostly getting along with the guineas. They are completely unsure of what to do with the calves, but they do not cause us any big concerns there. They have made peace with the horses. There is no truce available with the donkeys so they avoid them.

They are enjoying the cooler nights. They stand guard throughout the night and we often hear them barking to warn off some perceived threat. I have never seen anything that would cause them to bark – a coyote, a raccoon, a possum, another dog – but I suppose that is why we have them. Their sense of impending danger or intrusion onto their turf is far more keen than mine. I do see them go on the defense every time the coyotes sound close.

Anyway, the two of them must have had some long nights lately – as you can tell from the picture of Sam’s sleeping pose.

Playgrounds, Victoria, building hindrances, Chase

Grandpa and Mama have big plans to rearrange the calf lot to be able to allow the calves to get into a bigger portion of the lot That will enable them to run around a little; a playground, so to speak. It is a great idea since the enclosures we are now using are pretty small. All of the calves will benefit from the romping room. The problem is that we have to let them out individually. If they are put together at this young age they will start sucking on each other’s ears, noses, etc.; whatever they can get hold of.

Right now, after we feed them they suck on a board, the wire of the enclosure, the feed box where we put a small amount of feed; anything they can get their lips and tongue on. It is pretty amazing to see. It is the same as a suckling baby needing a pacifier. All of them are doing well right now and we do not want to jeopardize that in any way.

Victoria is doing better also. Not well enough that we will not keep the doctor’s appointment tomorrow, but better. She is finally able to eat without it either coming back out or charging straight through. I am anxious to see if we can find someone who can help us identify the cause so we can get her back on track. If she is willing to endure the diagnostic process, we should be able to put together a plan for recovery and maintenance.

I was telling Mama last night that I have to watch my attitude at work lest I fall into the temptation of seeing the negative more than the positive. There is a pervasive attitude of negative in this office. It is not overwhelming but it could be if allowed. I have never been a negative person; barring the times I get to feeling sorry for myself. People here are overloaded. One of my peers is very concerned about his job; extremely unhappy, feeling like he is never going to catch up and expecting to be penalized for it during this year’s review. I know help is on the way, but it will be year end before any real help is incorporated into our group. Until them we will have to do the best we can; get as much done as we can. This too shall pass.

On the farm front, not all is positive either. Our building projects are going slowly as well. When the needs are for $1500 to $2500 for each piece of the project, it can get a little overwhelming. I am clearly not going to meet my deadlines for this year if the sole source of the money is from my salary, but borrowing the money is not the most prudent approach to getting this done either.

Our goal is to pay as we go and I know we can do it with the cash the Lord is supplying, but the duration of the project will be much longer than I had hoped. The blessing will be that it will be paid for on completion. Mama suggested that we use credit cards to pay for the materials and the idea initially appealed to me, but on further consideration, I am not inclined to do that. It is unwise t borrow money at 25% interest; essentially, that is what happens when a credit card is used. For now, we are planning to take the long road of cash as you go.

It is not all bad. We have a place to sleep. Our things are stored securely. We are seeing progress every day on the apartment and shop. Our giving program is going strong and we are putting little portions of money into various savings accounts. We are not hurting – except from my own sense of failure at not meeting expectations.

Chase seems to be doing well. It is difficult to tell from this far away. I know he is doing well in school and is beating all expectations in sales in his job at Sears. I pray he is doing well in his walk with the Lord.

That is ultimately all that matters.

Short days, dinner, medical forms, revival

Yesterday was one of those days that hurried by. When I discovered I did not have my laptop with me I had to find one to borrow and one borrowed is never set up the same way as the one normally used. So I had to reconfigure the borrowed laptop to meet my short term needs without making it difficult for someone else to borrow it in the future. That took some time – between meetings.


Since I was out of the office part of the day on Thursday and all of the day Friday, I had some catch up items to take care of; at least those I could address without the programs I have access to on my laptop. That took more time – between more meetings. All in all it was a very fast day; marginally productive. Hopefully my laptop will get here today.

I did get home in time to help feed the calves before eating a little dinner. Dinners are not the same while we are living with Grandma and Grandpa. There is not the same care or interest or time together I am used to when Mama takes care of such things and Grandma has taken to watching back to back episodes of television shows available on Netflix – which we have set up on the TV we have in the mobile home. Within the last week she has watched 78 episodes of Burn Notice. It has not been good dinnertime fare, but it is a small matter.

We had one calf that was a little piqued on Sunday but Grandpa went out and got some medicine to doctor it with and by that night the calf was doing much better. The next morning he was at full strength. I wish I could recover that quickly. Maybe I need to go on a milk replacer diet. All four of the calves are eating well and growing fast. If we are able to get several more we will really see the growth by comparison. So far we have the four and it is enough.

Grandpa spent the better part of the day working on the shop; setting forms for the next pour and digging the waterline. We may have the time and materials to dig the waterline and the septic line this weekend. That would get us a long way toward getting the bathroom ready both in the shop and the apartment. I am still weighing the pros and cons of doing the slab versus doing the roof. I cannot do both at the same time but I will have to make a decision soon.

We have Victoria scheduled to visit a specialist on Thursday. The office specializes in allergy related illnesses. She has been suffering long enough. It is time for us to get the cause nailed down so we can equip her to be well in the future. I know she is scared the allergies will keep her from enjoying the farm so she has not wanted to be diagnosed. But her constant cough is keeping her from enjoying anything, so it is time to get some control and diagnosis is the first step to healing.

It was interesting to see Victoria struggle with answering the questionnaire I picked up at the doctor’s office. She and Mama have the hardest time with such documents. I suppose to them it is a combination of a final exam and an interrogation forum. They struggle to answer questions that are designed to guide the doctor in asking deeper questions when the visit is under way. It is not an appraisal of your honesty or a test of your medical knowledge. It is just a tool, but it is still difficult for the two of them.

Mama and I enjoyed revival services last night. The preacher used the story of the prodigal son as a starting point but preached a very different message dealing with how quickly we forget and how that forgetfulness keeps us from serving God. We forget what it cost God to redeem us. We forget that our loved ones will spend eternity in hell if they die without Christ. We forget how real that pain and torment are and that there is no mercy, no comfort, no end.

It is a sad reminder of how very little I am doing for the Lord

Moving, misplaced items, pets, shopping

Mama and I made it back to Bowie safely. We even beat the rain in most places. It only took us the requisite four and one half hours to make the trip but for some reason it seemed longer. We were both worn out from the long days and late evenings of packing on the days before. Even with all the work on the part of the packers and ourselves, Mama had to load the last of the last items into the little car by herself in order to clear out the house and meet me in Borger. We had already used up Wednesday evening packing the car and getting items we were keeping but not able to transport to Chase’s apartment to be taken home on some future round trip, but there was still more in the house than the little car could provide space for; another episode of too much stuff.


When she arrived in Borger to get me, the car was breathing room only. Every available nook had been taken and I still had to get my computer bag and lunch box in for the trip. The computer bag fit into one little vacant spot behind Mama’s seat and the lunch box was put at her feet. We have started talking about getting a little van, but not soon. It was only when I got to my office in Decatur this morning that I realized I had left my computer in the office in Borger. Had it been in the case Thursday afternoon when I was shoving the case into the car, it might not have fit, but that only caused me a little frustration early in the day today.

We did not get back to the farm in time for the evening feeding Thursday but we were up early Friday to get in on that morning’s feeding. It is a real treat to bottle feed the little calves; slobbery, but fun. They will all be pets before the six weeks are over. They enjoy any and all attention after feeding. You can stand there and pet them, scratch them and get them to jumping around playfully as you spend time with them. As they get bigger it could be a challenge to contain them but for the moment they are content with their confines. I will have pictures tomorrow or Wednesday – when my computer arrives.

It is a shame we will have to “dead” them – as Grant refers to the process of getting the animal to the table- but such is the way of life. He asked his mother the other day why we had to “dead the pigs?” I think he enjoyed the pork chops and sausage from the pigs, but the process of conversion seems a little barbaric to him right now. Unfortunately, we cannot have our pigs and eat them too.

The dairy farmer called on Friday to tell us to get ready for more, but as of this morning we had not gotten instructions to pick up any more calves. Grandpa and I spent the day Friday building an addition onto one of our buildings to provide parking for the baler and sprayer. That will open up the building we have used as a shop to put up our hay. We are going to need it.

It rained all day Friday, all day Saturday and most of the day Sunday. All in all I think we got a little over two inches of rain. It was a terrific blessing. On Saturday Grandpa and I worked under cover in the calf barn making more stalls in preparation for more stock. It was a harder rain that morning than we had worked in on Friday. We did not get to finish the baler cover because of a late start but Grandpa was pretty excited about the progress we made as we worked on it together. We should be able to finish it this weekend.

By the time Mama and I left to go shopping on Saturday afternoon, Grandpa and I had four more stalls ready with plans to make another six to eight if needed. Fourteen calves would be a good bit more work, but a much bigger profit.

Mama and I went to what is left of the outlet malls in Gainesville, TX Saturday afternoon. We had a great lunch at Applebee’s and spent about three hours shopping. I got a new suit. I told a few people at church it was my new birthday suit; one’s I thought could handle the joke. Mama got a new purse and some shirt things – they are not really shirts but they cover the same area. We had a great time.

We have revival at church this week. It will continue through Wednesday night so it will be a long week for all of us. I do not think Mama will get to sleep in at all with the early morning feedings. I say early but they are usually done by 7:30 a.m. So it is not like they are up at the same time I am every morning. And it is not a hardship to bottle feed.

Hopefully the fun will last a few more weeks.