Little gains, little setbacks

Mama and I – mostly I – tested out the internet connection at the house last night. As it relates to our business, it will be adequate for us. If I can get Mama to learn the process for accessing the information via the internet, we should be able to invest considerably more time in our research. In just a few minutes last night, I was able to find a property that is worth a little further research. What I cannot seem to do is find an auction that is worth going to that I can coordinate with the vacation I have available. And it feels like time is running out. Oh, well. Patience is often its own reward and we have had to exercise that emotional muscle extensively over the past few months.

Our coaching session with Theresa was very informative. She has been a valuable asset to Mama and me in our research. Next Monday will be our last session with her but she admonished us to run our first deal by her, so she can look it over with us even if the paid sessions are completed. We have one more session with her because she set us a session on the day of Mama’s surgery. When we did not show up for that session, she ticked off that appointment as a “no show.” She forgot what was going on in our lives on that particular Monday – but she restored the hour to our account when we reminded her. We have managed to stretch the ten sessions out over five months, but in doing so, we have gotten to explore more options because we have had the time to become proficient in our research in several states through those extended pauses. Some of those who started the training when we did have told us that their entire ten week coaching focus was in only one area of one state. Theresa was more accommodating toward us. I think, in the long run, it will serve us well.

Mama has had several good nights of sleep lately. Me, not so much. I am not sure how it happened, but I caused some injury to my left shoulder while we were in Victoria. It may be because I slept on the floor that night, but we are not sure. I have a painful knot at the base of the deltoid in my left shoulder. It has caused some serious interruption to my nights since we got home. It does not seem to limit my activity, but it has certainly limited my range of motion in that shoulder. The pain is a deep, constant bone ache accompanied by the inability to get comfortable no matter what position I choose. This too shall pass, but not before we spend the weekend with Brittany, Andrew and the twins. At their house, I typically sleep on the floor because the bed is too soft for me. I’m not sure how that is going to work out.

Mama and I talked about getting the boy goats weathered (emasculating them) but when she called the vet the price was pretty high. It seems we have waited too long, and the surgery required is more extensive than we thought. If we could have done the procedure we would have been able to run them with the girl goats without the concern of them interbreeding, but alas, they will remain fully equipped as males and Mama and I will have to deal with the complications that brings. As is true in any negotiation or sale, price solves everything. We just have to accept the fact that they are not going to bring us much money when we sell them, but we cannot keep them. If Mama will allow, we could always eat them.

I love that part of running a farm.

The aftermath

I got a good look at the trees and bushes last night. The last time I got to water them was Friday evening. The Saturday and Sunday we were gone the temperatures were 106° F and 110° F respectively. Because we missed those two evenings of watering I am afraid I will lose the dwarf Peach tree I have in the garden. I will also lose one of the two plum trees in the garden. I have been unable to get it to come back to full strength since one of our cows got into the garden and ate all its leaves last spring. Other than that, I am fairly confident that we will be able to save the rest of the trees and bushes. However, when we are out of town this weekend, I may have to ask Brittany Wycoff to water for me on the evenings she will be staying at the farm. I do not think they can survive another long, hot weekend without help.

Also, while we were gone, one of the older chickens succumbed to the heat and died. The problem is that it died under the coop building. I will have to rig something up this evening to reach the carcass and get it removed. It is putting off quite a smell. I did not get it last night because Mama and I were coming to the office and I did not want to lay in the yuk of the coop yard and stretch myself under the building to try and drag the carcass out. Mama reluctantly granted permission to delay the extraction, but I will not be able to put it off any longer than today. The forecast for this coming weekend is for temperature to barely reach the 100° F mark. That should make enough of a difference that I will not stress over the stress the weather will put on the plants we are struggling to keep alive through this summer. Ultimately, if I lose any of these plants, they can be replaced. It is just a pain to have to start over when we have invested so much time to get the trees and plants established.

It almost looked like it was going to rain yesterday evening. The skies have been very overcast. Almost dirty looking. Yesterday evening, it clouded up to the point that you could almost smell rain in the air. Almost. That lasted for about three hours then things cleared off, the clouds dispersed, and the wind died away. The humidity has hovered at 35-40%. Not exactly the atmosphere where rain would be expected. The dewpoint – the temperature at which dew will form – is somewhere about 65° F. Since our overnight temperatures are in the high seventies and low eighties, we have been without even a morning dew for several weeks. Things are dry. One of the old-timers around here told me recently. “It’ll rain. Eventually. It always does.” And as my friends would have said years ago, “True that!”

Since these drought situations often require a severe atmospheric condition to get resolved, I have been watching the Atlantic radar for signs of a tropical storm or hurricane, but nothing yet. Despite the frantic predictions of the alarmists. No, I would much prefer a slow moving gentle rain like we got in West Virginia, but we are a little far south for that. Or the predictable afternoon shower, we used to get when I was growing up in Houston. But we area not in the right area for that either. Oh, well. We will take what we get and supplement water to the plants as long as we are able.

The weather is not the only area in our lives where we need a big solution right now. Right away, if possible. Fortunately, we have a big God.

Western Hills, Trace and the truck

Friday evening after work, I dropped off the truck at Trace’s, so he and Krystal could use it for the weekend while Mama, Victoria and I traveled to parts south. I drove straight to their house from work and Victoria picked me up on her way home. I visited for about fifteen minutes with Krystal and the boys while I waited on Victoria. Once we got home, I started on the farm chores while Mama and Victoria began packing for the overnight trip we were making to Victoria, TX to visit Western Hills Baptist Church for their 30 Year Anniversary. It was the first extended road trip for Mama since her surgery, so there was quite a bit of thought put into where and how to place her in the vehicle.

The trip to Victoria was an uneventful six hours on the road. We had to stop fairly regularly so Mama could stretch or bend depending on the pain she was having from periods of idleness as we traveled. There was not much ground we covered that was unfamiliar territory to us as the trek brought back a lot of memories. We unpacked the car at the hous

e of a friend from the church, took her to dinner and then walked around the mall for an hour or so. At least, Victoria and I walked around the mall. Mama and Cindy shopped at Hallmark while Victoria and I got some steps in. We had eaten at Olive Garden and needed to walk the food down a bit.

Sunday morning, we got to surprise the folks at church. Pastor and Wilma Parish had no idea we were coming – nor did anyone else except our host and Martha Robinson, who had sent out the letters of invitation. It was a wonderful reunion. As best we can remember, it was fourteen years ago that we moved from Victoria, TX to New Jersey. That is how long it has been since Victoria has been back to Victoria, TX. Lots of hugs. Lots of catching up. Lots of reminiscing. I believe it is the one church that Mama and I could happily return to. Don’t get me wrong. We have church friends in all the churches we have attended over the years – especially West Virginia and New Jersey – but Western Hills is special to us both. Partly because of the way we were so desperately needed but mostly because of the way we fit in that body of believers.

There was a short video shown of pictures that had been taken over the years. We were in so many of them. The kids were so young. Some of the pictures were of those we remember so well who have now gone on to Heaven. Some have moved on to other areas of the United States and the world. Many are still there. Much older. Like I said, so many memories. We enjoyed lunch at the church after the service. It gave us a lot more time to visit. But like all such moments, the time came when we had to head home, and about 2:30 pm we had said our final farewells and headed back north.

It was on the way home that Trace called me to let me know how things had gone with the truck. As Trace tells it, they were headed somewhere Saturday evening and a motorist flagged them down, letting him know that the front tire was low. He pulled off the road and, sure enough, the tire was nearly flat. He headed back home and once there discovered that both of the front tires were losing air. Now he had a problem. One flat is manageable as long as there is a spare. Two is more than most vehicles are equipped for. He called for help from family and was told he would have to wait. So, he called around Sunday morning and was not able to find a shop that was open. However, online there was a tire shop that advertised being open seven days a week. The caveat. There was not a phone number provided.

So, he called a friend who took him to the shop to investigate in person. Sure enough, they were open and had two mismatched used tires that would fit the truck. He bought them both. Managed to get enough air in the tires on the truck to get the truck to the shop and was finally back home late Sunday evening. What they discovered was that the tread had separated on the tires. The mechanic on duty told Trace that he has seen an increase in that problem with the temperatures as high as they have been recently. He felt bad about the whole incident. I felt bad to have put him through such an ordeal, but both of us were grateful to have the truck operational.

Somewhere along the way, the Lord will give us opportunity to repay the effort spent on our behalf.

The party, traveling

When I got home yesterday the driveway was full. Grandma, Grandpa, Norman, Seth and Gabriella, Trace and Krystal and the boys had all come over for a party to visit with Joshua and Alicia and her children and Brittany and the girls. It was not a quiet gathering. What struck me immediately was that the noise did not emanate from the kids – although there were eight of them. The noise, or rather, the level of volume required to speak to be heard, came from the adults. For those who know Grandma and Norman, that is not an unusual thought. Pizza, the staple for such events, was being consumed at various settings throughout the dining room, kitchen and living room. The twins were less overwhelmed than I thought they might be and were happily trying to pinch bites of avocado that their mommy had put on their trays. The “chase” that ensues almost every time they try to capture a chunk of avocado in their tiny fingers is fun to watch. Their determination to accomplish the task is amazing to observe. I often wonder how long it has been since I possessed the singularity of focus.

Everyone was having a good time getting reacquainted or newly acquainted in the case of Krystal and the boys and Alicia and her three children. It was interesting to see five boys crowded around on iPad giving input to the person who was actually playing. When Sophia and Zoe were placed in the mix, the boys made room for them until they tired to touch the screen whereupon, the moved and re-huddled. The girls would skootch themselves over into the mix yet again and the process would be repeated. Meanwhile Grandma did her best to engage everyone in conversation – often at the same time. Part of the volume level came directly from those efforts. Everything was going well until Grandma got the hairbrained idea to have Alicia sit on one of the stools at the counter in the living room and have Joshua propose to her. She somehow thought that would be a great skit to add to the party. Even going so far as to ask Mama to get her an engagement ring to use for the “proposal”.

Alicia, not knowing Grandma, had to be rescued by Brittany and Mama as they tried to deter Grandma from her grand plan. As is common with Grandma she was unrelenting. So next, Grandma went to Joshua and asked him to help her orchestrate the mock proposal. Joshua, kindly, but flatly refused. More than once. Eventually, it all blew over, but not before Alicia had been mortified by the thought of having this happen in the crowd that was gathered at that moment. I believe Joshua plans to propose, but he will do so in his time, at his choosing, when he feels there is the makings of a memory that can be shared for many years to come. That is as it should be. You have only to ask Mama about my proposal to her, almost 37 years ago at this point, to understand the significance of the moment; of the memory. The moment will come but such a moment is not to be forced upon the couple for the purpose of amusement.

When Norman announced that he was leaving, the Bowie crew packed up to head home. He had already helped Brittany pack for her pending departure and he and Grandpa were anxious to get things staged for jobs waiting on them this morning. Suddenly the house was quiet. Even the twins noticed. It was not long after that Mama and I were given the privilege of feeding the twins their bedtime bottle. Me with Sophia. Mama with Zoe. We prayed with Brittany, helped her put the babies in their car seats and waved our goodbyes. I was then free to begin my nightly watering duties.

When I was at the peach tree, I noticed that it was starting to shed its fruit. I picked one and took it to Mama suggesting we use the labor we had available to clean what remained off the tree and do whatever we could with the tiny fruit. The peaches we picked were about the size of a small apricot – but they had a good flavor. All the kids joined in the process of gathering the peaches - with a lot of chatter about who was tall and who was not. It did not take very long but I think it will be a good memory for them. We could not have left the fruit on the tree through the weekend without losing all of it, so it was time well spent.

Joshua, Alicia and the kids will be leaving sometime this morning. Heading yet farther north to see a friend Alicia has not been this close to geographically in several years. From there, they will head back home to Victoria. In an unusual twist of life, Mama, Victoria and I will arrive in Victoria, TX before they do. We will head there tomorrow afternoon to attend an anniversary service for Pastor Parrish at Western Hills Baptist Church – 40 years as their pastor. We will only be there for the morning service and the lunch following. We are looking forward to seeing everyone.

We will be back at the farm before Joshua and his crew get home.

Guided tour, Grandma approved, partings

When I got home yesterday everyone was in rest mode, but it did not take long for that to change. Since Joshua had taken kitchen duty, I changed and got ready to do the evening feeding. Alicia and the boys went out with me. Alicia wore a pair of Mama’s crocks – which were way too big for her – and each of the boys managed to find a pair of boots that fit. It was immediately obvious that they were not in any way used to a farm setting. When I led them into the upper goat enclosure where we keep the bucklings, they were very hesitant to enter. “Can we just go in there?” was the question. “It’s okay”, I assured them, “Goats have tiny mouths so when they bite you it does not leave a big mark.” Just kidding. I let them know the goats would not hurt them other than to get so much underfoot that they trip you as you try to walk.

Although the bucklings are used to us, they did not respond the same way with visitors, so I held Patrick in place, so Alicia and the boys could pet him. The boys were reluctant to do even that. They were a little more familiar with the chickens but not much more so. They would not enter to coop yard without serious encouragement from their Mama. It took me a bit to get the watering and feeding in those two areas done. By the time I had collected the eggs, they were starting to loosen up. With the female goats, we have several that are quite friendly – especially Aspen. The sister to the two bucklings. It did not take long for the boys to become comfortable handling her. I was finished a long time before they were. I am not sure how much of all that they will remember, but it was good first exposure. They were noticeably relieved to get back inside. I was too, but for a completely different reason.

It was 107° outside. Uncomfortable weather. Almost dead calm. Which made the fierce wind I had been battered by on the way home all the more perplexing. It did not last long. Only a second or two but the perpendicular blast rocked the truck violently as I passed through it. The gravel hauler passing me in the opposite direction a few seconds later must have been shocked by the force because I saw the truck suddenly swerve and then correct its direction. Some type of a downburst I guess. I have not experienced one of those since we moved out of Bowie.

Joshua and his crew went to church with me and Mama last night. Grandma met us there. Going to church with Grandma can be interesting. If she approves of the message, she preaches along her agreement. If she does not agree, she preached along her disagreement. Either way, it is a clear and ever present distraction to Mama – and those near us in the congregation. Last night the distraction included Ethan Burns, who was sitting directly in front of Grandma. She felt compelled to whisper her acknowledgement of every agreeable point into his ear. Or poke him and tell him to listen up to the truth. Poor Ethan spent the entire service with a red face. For my part, I am glad it was a “grandma approved” message because the content of the sermon was not something I thought she would agree with; centered on the importance of church attendance and sitting under good preaching, accountability to our local New Testament Church and the family we have there. Grandma asked for a copy of the recorded sermon, but it may be next week before I will be able to deliver it to her. She wanted to take it home right them and share (confront is the operative idea) it with Grandpa. Joshua and Alicia helped Grandma to her car – a lengthy process involving slow forward progress accompanied with seemingly inexhaustible chatter. They met us a little later out back of the church but by the time they had walked through the church Grandma had driven around back and parked beside us. She held us in conversation for ten minutes longer. Grandma thoroughly enjoyed the evening. So did Joshua and Alicia.

Brittany and the girls will leave tonight at the girl’s bedtime. They will spend the night with Andrew and all drive home Friday afternoon. It will be sad to see them go. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time with the twins – and Brittany.

Yesterday

Joshua and his crew arrived at the farm late yesterday morning. They stopped in Waco on the way up – too worn out to go any further. I went home for lunch so we could visit for a bit and so I could meet Alicia and the kids. I did not get to visit with them other than to introduce myself, but Joshua and I spent the entire time talking while I ate. Hopefully, tonight and tomorrow night we will get a longer time to visit. I had originally planned on using my lunch break to run errands for Mama and the farm, but Joshua, Alicia and her three kids, Victoria and Brittany were all going to Mid-evil Times for dinner and a show. They were planning on leaving before I got home so, lunchtime was the only opportunity I had to connect with them yesterday. They all left about the time I got off work, leaving Mama with the twins. I made doubly certain she did not need me to come home right away and she assured me she would be okay. The errands I had to run did not take too long and I was home a little after 5 pm. Mama was ready for me to be there.

I had wondered if she had bitten off more than she could chew in volunteering to keep Zoe and Sophia by herself – hobbling about as she is currently doing. When I did get home, I put all my plans on hold until after the twins were put to bed. Mama was hurting badly. It seems holding a twenty-pound child and walking without assistance was too much for her in her present stage of recovery. We quickly reverted to using the walker because her right knee (the one that has not been operated on) was giving her too much pain to walk without the assistance of her upper body. At one point in the evening, the girls were on the floor in the kitchen while I cleaned up from dinner and Mama headed down the hall towards our bedroom. Both of the girls started crying after her. “Well, come on” Mama encouraged them whereupon both of them started their army crawl in that direction. Their determination was evident. Their ability to cover the distance, somewhat lacking. Before they had made it out of the kitchen area, I stopped what I was doing, picked them up and took them to see Mama. For tiny ones, “out of sight” is “gone”. They were happy to discover that Mama was still there – and they made their relief evident to Mama.

The time passed quickly with feeding the girls, playing with them after dinner, changing and redressing them for bed, feeding them their bottles, singing songs and telling stories and finally laying them down for the night. All done by 7:30. I strongly encouraged Mama to follow the girls example and get in bed as soon as she felt like she could lay down for the night. Last night was not a good night for her because she woke every time one of the twins cried out. Which was often. None the less, it was a pleasure giving the twins time to memorize our faces and voices while we were able to monopolize them for an evening. Those times come all too infrequently even with Brittany’s diligence in trying to keep us connected.

I spent the next hour distributing the feed I had purchased, filling water containers for all the animals and watering the plants and trees I hope to keep alive through the summer. As much as it pained me to give up on the vegetables we were trying to grow, the garden is bare. That alone saved me a half hour of time watering. When I got back into the house, Mama was about ready to go to bed. I had to cool down and wait until the chickens were on the roost, so I could close them up for the night. That generally happens just before dark, which right now is about 9:20.

I do not know what time the revelers got home, but everyone was snoozing when I got up to come to work. From the texts and pictures sent to Mama throughout the evening, I think they had a great time.

So did Mama and I.

Visitor updates, cutting our losses

Brittany and the girls got to Decatur about 11 am. It was quite the interruption at the office – albeit a pleasant one. Brittany needed a good place to change the babies and I had a few minutes of fun showing them off. It did not take long for the girls to warm up to me, but Zoe was pretty standoffish with some my coworkers. The ladies at work loved the interruption. We followed that up by meeting Mama for lunch. Mama was in town for her physical therapy appointment. We all met up at an Italian restaurant. One of those local hole-in-the-wall operations that has really good food at really good prices. The twins loved the rolls but were less than enthusiastic about the ravioli Brittany ordered for them. They did however, get excited about the spinach calzone Mama ordered. I think the two of them ate about a third of that. They love their vegetables and fruits.

While we were still in town, Krystal and the boys were at the house cleaning. Krystal is amazing when it comes to cleaning a house. She had everything sparkling but the time Mama and Brittany got to the house. Mama was thrilled! They were all still there when I got home. Neither Krystal nor the boys were in any hurry to get back to their house. The boys watched some of our movies and Krystal enjoyed the company of Mama and Brittany. She has not been able to get out much lately because their vehicle is still in need of a transmission repair. Mama took her and the boys home a little after 5 pm. I was outside working with the animals when they left. Brittany was cooking and watching over the girls as they ate a little after-nap snack. She lets them feed themselves mostly. They do fairly well at that activity. Brittany has special bibs for them that have a pouch that meets up closely with the tray of the highchair. Most of the food that does not make it into their mouth is caught by that pouch. That way they get a second chance at it. It is a bit disgusting to scoop the droppings out of the pouch and deposit it back on the tray, but it seems to work, and it limits the mess on the floor.

We took some time and set the house up for Joshua’s arrival. None of us were planning on staying up to welcome then into the house. We had not heard any changes to their expected arrival time – sometime after midnight. So, we made sure all the airbeds were inflated and the spare bedroom was outfitted for use as a bedroom. Lately it has become a collection point for sundry items unrelated to its use as sleeping quarters. However, when I got up this morning, all the beds were empty. I am not sure what happened, but they had not arrived overnight. I began to wonder if they could not find us in the wee hours of the morning. Or, if they did find us and were not totally certain they had the right house. We will find out sometime this morning. I just hope they are okay. Mama had big plans for this morning, breakfast-wise.

I took a few minutes last night to pull up vegetable plants in the garden. With the forecast temperatures for the next ten days I decided it would be better to conserve water than to try to keep the struggling vegetable plants alive through the heat wave. It was probably more of an emotional decision than a practical one. I have too many items demanding my time and taking that one duty away from each evening reduces the load a little. It will be enough of an effort to keep the trees and bushes alive through the remainder of the summer. We might reach 110° F by the weekend. It seemed like a good time to cut our losses and focus on battles we could win. Mama was disappointed by my decision, but I needed the respite.

We are planning on traveling this weekend, so I was not sure what we would have come back to after missing two evenings of watering. Oh, well.