Allie, planning for travel

Mama and Victoria took off last night as soon as Victoria got off to deliver Allie to a home in Sherman, TX so Allie could get together with a silver dapple male. Mama said that Allie stood for the little male as soon as they put her down. The plan was to leave her there a week or so but it looks like the deed will be done by Friday evening so Mama and I will probably go get Allie that evening rather than have Victoria go back over while we are gone.

I am still amazed at the wonderful processes God set in motion; everything producing after its own kind. Even the weeds we detest have that promise attached to their seed. Now we have a heifer bred back so we will get a calf next spring and a little Dachshund being bred so she will have a little of puppies at the appointed time. It is a wonderfully, irreducibly complex process we take completely for granted.

I did not make the trip with the two of them. It was more of a ladies night out – especially since they took all the inside dogs with them. I suppose the canine company was to make Allie feel more comfortable with the little adventure. I have never learned to think like a dog so I trust Mama to let me in on those emotional needs when the occasion requires that insight. Other than that I let them eat dead things, drink from mud holes and lick themselves wherever they like.

Sometime after Mama and I leave Grandma and Grandpa are coming down. That is the last I heard about their travel plans but Grandma is hurting badly at the moment so I am not sure what the actual itinerary is. We will see them when they get here – if they are here. Victoria is hoping they come down so she does not have to leave the dogs in for the entire time she will be working each day. That is always the overriding concern for her and Mama.

Feeding schedules will have to be shifted and the normal attention the animals on the farm  receive from Mama will be absent during her absence but I think things will all go fine as long as there is water and food supplied on a daily basis. Nevertheless, Mama and Victoria are both stressing over it.

Mama has been washing cloths and packing every day. I think we will be ready when the time comes to leave for the airport. We have made arrangements for Lee to take us to the airport on Saturday morning. We are meeting him at the church at 5 a.m. that morning. Peggy will be picking us up when we return. Hotel reservations are set in Seattle where Mama and I will spend a couple nights so I can show her some of the west coast.

We would have been in a lot better position financially if the farm had sold as planned on the 5^th – which was last Friday – but we are pretty well set regardless. We are both looking forward to time with our children in Alaska.

Spraying, Elderberry, puppies

When I got home yesterday evening Danny Benson was at the farm with his tractor and sprayer getting ready to spray the meadow in order to kill out the sticky burrs. I am glad to see him so adamant about getting rid of the nuisance plants. Mama has been pulling them out of the driveway for the past several years and we seem to be no further ahead. Maybe a larger scale program will eventually beat the annoying weeds back.

As I watched him drive over the meadow with the sprayer I thought to myself that that is what I had expected Grandpa to do many months past but when it came time to get that done Grandpa did not want to use the well to fill the sprayer but rather to get the water from the tanks on the property. That required the purchase of an expensive pump and waterlines and I was out of money. So, rather than use the water we had available, the spraying never happened.

So the sprayer we had spent about $800 to build and the liquid lime in had spent $1000 to buy to be used in spraying the meadow sat idle for two years. That was one of the bigger disappointments I suffered in trying to improve the farm. I still have the barrel of lime sitting in a shed at the farm. I do not know what I will do with that when we move.

I did not get much more done yesterday evening than to water the fruit trees in my little orchard. That is one of the features of the farm that Danny finds very appealing. He has always wanted to have a little fruit orchard but has never been able. So far the three apples and the two peaches are hanging on in the heat. The apricot looks very good but the fig is struggling. I think it will make it but it looks pretty pitiful right now. I still have one lone grape vine that survived the crop dusting spray that killed out all the others. I do not even remember if it is a red or green seedless variety but we could know next summer. Time will tell.

The elderberry plants have produced heavily this year. I made my second batch of elderberry syrup last night. I am inclined to think that the heavy production is further indication of a brutal winter on the way. I am hoping that the winter does not hit us in force until Mama, Victoria and I are relocated; wherever that may be.

Mama made arrangements last night to meet with a woman that has a silver dapple male Dachshund so she can get Allie bred. Our little female has been in heat for about four days now so she should be ready to stand for a male by the end of this week. The only caveat is that Victoria will have to retrieve her from the breeder in Sherman sometime next week. Victoria is not happy about the arrangement but it is one of those things that you just make the best of when it is needed to be done.

I reminded her that Mama and I drove over two hours away to get her puppy. And when it comes time to breed that dog the male is over an hour away also. We are expecting Kira to go into heat sometime next month. When that happens we will take her to Mama’s friend Kim Cantrell. They have a male German Shepherd that they really want to get some puppies out of.

I could be overrun with puppies in a few months. Oh, joy!

House visit, survey, canning

Mama, Victoria and I went to look at a house on Friday evening. For me and Mama it was our second look. It  was the first time for Victoria to see the house. It is just north of Decatur on a street named, Conch Court. I thought it was appropriate that Mama would love a house on a street with a seashell name.

My first impression of the house was not positive but Mama really loved it from the beginning. That is why we made the second visit. I am still not enamored with the house or what the property has to offer but I could live there happily if Mama loves it. We will not do anything as far as making an offer until we get back from Alaska.

The survey crew was at the farm on Saturday so we should have those results late this week or early next week. I am anxious to see what the survey reveals about the property since the price will have to be adjusted based on those findings. The husband and wife team were impressed by the welcome committee of five dogs and the two potbelly pigs; especially the pigs. They were not as impressed by Misty who would not leave them alone as they got the boundaries of the horse pasture.

Mama and I took the time this weekend to can up the remainder of the pears we had collected – rather that Peggy had collected for us. We did a batch last weekend without any fancy flavorings but this batch we put some cinnamon and ginger in the mix and they came out very good. Mama and I have already finished off the partial jar we got out of the batch.

We also took the time to cut up and freeze the okra we had been given. We put the cut pieces in layers in a cake pan and froze them that way so when they are put into bagged for long term storage the whole bag would not be a lump. They came out really good. We fixed one baggie up for lunch on Sunday to go with the meat I had grilled. Mama still is not a fan of the slime that okra has when it is cooked. I think we will do a batch of fried okra to see if that strikes her taste buds any better.

I had to take down the dusk-to-dawn light we have on the farm to see why it was not working and discovered that the wiring Grandpa used to initially hook it up had corroded. It was solid copper wire and the corrosion had sealed off the connection to the wiring for the lamp. I cleaned the contacts and put everything back where it belonged and that night we had our light again.

I was tempted to reroute the electric feed to come out of the shop rather than the old farm house but I did not think I had the time to make all the wiring changes before dark and I did not want the project to drag over the weekend into this week.

It will be one of the little things that will wait on me to get back from our soon coming vacation.

Second looks, on the home front

Last night Mama and I had another chance to talk about how to progress once the farm sells and I think we are in agreement that we need to back away from the purchase of the property in Decatur – at least for now. I do not feel that I will have either the time or the money to develop the property in the time frame we need it to be done. With so many uncertainties in our lives right now with the sale of the farm being significantly postponed and the fact that we have not been able to find an acceptable place to live during the transition from the Van Bebber property to the property in Decatur, it is time to regroup; time to take a second, hard look.

We are scheduled to look at a property with a log home on it this evening before our RU meeting. It is not necessarily in the direction geographically that I wanted to go, but it could be worth the time to investigate. Mama is going to make a couple calls to see if the bank would have a problem with financing such a home and I am going to check on the insurance issues that could be associated with that type of construction. We should have an answer pretty quickly.

On the home front, things are pretty normal. The heat has been hard on all the animals – especially the chickens. We are down to three to five eggs per day, which is still more than we need on average. The only problem is that we are feeding more than twenty chickens to get those few eggs. With cooler weather coming we should be gaining on production in the next few weeks.

Mama’s pigs are growing heavier every day. Yesterday they knocked over the chicken feeders and cleaned up all the feed in them. Mama only found out because Molly, the black one came and tattled on her partner in crime, Dottie. She came and got Mama and led her back to the coop where Dottie was caught red-snouted in the spilled feed; or rather, what was left of it. Mama threatened not to feed them yesterday evening but that threat was short lived. She just fed them less – I think.

The horses and cattle are doing well enough in the heat. We have had enough rain to keep some tender grass growing but in all the acreage the cattle have access to they have to cover the majority of it to get their bellies full. We are supplementing both equine and bovine with hay and sweet feed in order to feel confident they are getting enough to stay healthy. They are loving both the extra feed and extra attention.

Mama is getting suitcases out and starting to pack for our trip to visit Maggie, Aaron and baby Kathryn. I finally confirmed our itinerary last night and Mama was off by a day on our departure. We are not scheduled to leave until Saturday the 13^th rather than Friday the 12^th as she had been telling me for months. It will actually work out better for me because I can use the extra day in the office next week.

Victoria has a friend coming over while we are gone. Brittany Wycoff will be coming over on a couple nights to keep her company. I do not know what arrangements have been made but I get the impression that Victoria is excited about it.

I have gotten the music schedules set for the weeks I will be gone. On the work front I am getting my backups up to speed on all the activities that will need to be attended to in my absence – and there is quite a load.

I think we will be ready to go when next Saturday morning comes along.

 

Projects, Alfredo, Becky

Yesterday was a very busy day at the office. For the past several weeks things have been pretty hectic but for the past few days they have been extremely hectic. It is often difficult to identify exactly what the cause is but I get the feeling that people are frantic in their particular roles in support of our business and I am the one who coordinates all the activities related to running the offices so it eventually filters through me and my staff.

With the end of the year quickly approaching there are multiple projects that are scheduled to be completed by the close of the year and the sense of urgency is building. Fortunately, I have the large majority of my assignments at or very near completion so I can focus the necessary attention to helping others get their assignments progressed; but it makes for some long days.

 Speaking of project completion dates; Mama and I had a little talk last night after church. As we had been talking to people at the church about our plans to buy property and build Mama was enthusiastically telling our friends that she hopes to be in the home we are building on the property by Christmas – this year. In her heart I am pretty sure she knows better but since we are not actually going to be able to close in the property until the 10^th of October I would need the Extreme Makeover crew to pull off a move in date at any time this year.

We laughed as we talked but we did get a chance to fully express our wishes, concerns and visions concerning the move.

Brittany is continuing to work with Alfredo to coordinate dates for him and his family to come to the US to visit us. Mama is hoping for the week of Thanksgiving but I am not sure how the timing will actually come together. It is exciting that he wants to come and see us and share his family with us. Mama is excited that he still calls us Mom and Dad.

Becky got in touch with Mama yesterday or the day before. It has been some time since we have heard from her. At one point in July we were notified that she would be turning off her phone but nothing past that until this week. She told Mama that she was in a wreck on the way home from a job interview and her car was totaled. That was her only transportation so I am not sure where things stand right now. She is in need of our prayers but I am hesitant to offer too much help without really knowing how she is living her life at the moment.

It is a difficult situation as a Daddy.

Foiled, junking, delays and directions

Mama had the pigs put up when I got home yesterday evening because the gate I put up was not able to keep them out of the coop. So, I worked on the gate a bit more to try to make it a little more difficult for them. In doing so I may have made it a bit too difficult. When Mama and I were gearing down for the evening I noticed that the chickens were still out and it was nearly dark – very unusual.

I was once again foiled by the pigs. Mama had to go out and open the gate to let the chickens into the coop because they would not fly onto and over the gate to get into the roosts they seek out every night. I suggested Mama put the feeders on the part of the roost that the chickens do not normally use. It will be too high for the pigs to get to until they are much bigger.

Mama and I took some time last night to look into some of the boxes in the old farm house. I so doing we filled the dumpster with items that should have been discarded long ago. It gave me a sense of accomplishment to get rid of the stuff and clear out some space in the old house. At some point we are going to have to complete the exercise in earnest because I do not want to carry junk with me to a new location.

I think sometimes we become too comfortable with the way things are arranged and do not realize just how big a mess we have on our hands. I have been to houses where things are stacked floor to ceiling and have wondered why the effort was even made to accumulate what looked to me to be totally worthless. For instance, we have buckets around the farm that have holes and cracks in them yet we keep them to haul dry stuff. That’s what a wheelbarrow is for.

I looked at the shed where we park the tractor to see what needed to be taken to the new address with us. There is a shed full of things that need to be hauled off for scrap. In all the accumulation of metal pipes and unusable tires there are two or three items I will take along. The rest will be sold for their weight in scrap. I do not know what we will do with the tires.

Through a series of delays – mostly due to the survey not being completed – we will not be able to close on the farm until we get back from our trip to Alaska. That is not a huge concern for us or the buyer. We have learned that God’s timing is always the best. So we will wait. I do not know if it will affect our purchase of the property in Decatur.

We have not heard from the seller yet that he is good with the delay. But there is little we can do since the sale of the farm is needed in order for us to have the finances to purchase the property. Again, God will work all that out to His will and we will adapt and praise Him along the way.

I read in Ecclesiastes 6:9 this morning “Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire…” What that says to me is, if I invest so much emotional energy in plans and dreams that I lose sight of what I already have been given, I will eventually lose both. I still have work to do as I wait on the Lord and that should be the primary focus of my energy.

He will open the doors needed and show us the way forward as we are faithful to work at what has already been entrusted to us.

House shopping, projects, Alfredo

Mama and I had a pretty restful weekend for the most part. It was good to be off yesterday; not that a I got a lot of things done but more that we all got a much needed day of rest and recuperation. We did go to Decatur to look at a house but we were disappointed by the layout of the rooms.

We expected it to be a small house but it is always a bit of a surprise to see just how the house has been arranged. This one would be fine for a young family since all the bedrooms are connected – literally. The master was built into what had originally been a porch and it had a large walk in closet. The next bedroom was directly connected to the master. They had even taken out the doorway to give more access to the room. It was being used as a nursery.

The third bedroom was adjoining the nursery. They had left that doorway in place. Victoria, who was a bit ahead of me and Mama, opened the door between the third bedroom and the nursery and was quite surprised to see me and Mama standing in the nursery. She has expected to be opening a closet door. Monsters, Inc. would have had a hard time making this house work for their enterprise.

While we were there we signed papers for the property we are planning to buy. The proposed closing for that will be on Mama‘s birthday – the 29^th. Mama and I are each going to separate banks today to see if there is a way to secure financing to build our shop/home on the property. I do not have high hopes for a positive answer but we need to find out what we are up against financially.

One of the projects I have been working on at the farm is to remove all the clamps and lumber I had put in place to roof the tall part of the shop. The buyer does not think we wants to go that route and as we talked last weekend, he told me that he would be talking it all off and if I could use the materials I was welcome to them. I am almost done. The heat has slowed me down quite a bit – that and running hither and yon looking at houses.

One of the small projects that has been interspersed in the removal of clamps and lumber is modifying the gate we have in the doorway of the chicken coop so that it will keep Mama’s potbelly pigs out. They would head to the coop as soon as they were done eating their feed and eat all of the chicken feed they could get out of the feeders hanging there. Keeping them out has turned out to be more of a challenge than I had thought.

When I first modified the gate I was successful in keeping the pigs out but the chickens could not seem to get hold of the idea that they could hop over the gate and kept getting stuck trying to go through the small, slatted openings I had left. I redid the openings keeping it pretty solid at the very bottom and leaving a larger opening at the top. That has seemed to work. Only the pigs are unhappy about the barrier.

Brittany was able to contact Alfredo through Facebook and he is now planning a trip to the US to see us – all of us. I think Mama is getting the particulars and hopes to get it all worked out for the week of Thanksgiving. We have no idea where we will be at that time but it is a good step forward just to get the trip arranged.

Mama and Alfredo are thrilled about the proposition.