Rain, home show, wild cows, birthdays, burglary

Saturday was one of those unusual Soring days in that it rained all day. That does not happen in these parts often. Normally we get thunderstorms that dump rain on us and quickly move on. Saturday, it did not happen that way. There were actually very few breaks in the rain. Some of the stronger downpours brought us small hail, but most of the day there was a steady cold rain. The winds also went unabated throughout the day making the temperature seem much colder than it actually was. The ambient temperature was right at 50°. With the thirty mile an hour winds, it felt very much like freezing. It laid most of our newly planted vegetables over to the south. Hopefully those will perk up today as the temperatures rise over the very soaked garden. No complaints. We needed the rain.

The weather being what it was, Mama and I went to the local home show. It was put on by the Rotary Club. It was a small event featuring local businesses. Mama and I did not know what to expect, but it was a fun way to spend a couple hours and it introduced us to a lot of small business entrepreneurs. Mostly the displays were set up by banks and insurance companies, but there were jewelry displays, home repair companies, Tupperware displays, plumbing companies, etc. we signed up for a couple giveaways, but we did not win anything. Mama discovered a new nail applique that she was thrilled about, and she got her rings cleaned. We probably should have bought that kit. But I did not feel like we had the money to spend on it. We did not leave emptyhanded. We got pens, letter openers, calendars, rain gauges, pencil sharpeners, fly swatters, etc. And we visited with some of our church friends who had displays set up. One for jewelry (Mama bought one item) and one for Laser Tag (which we will use in the future). The rest of the day was spent cleaning the house and staying dry.

Our neighbor called just after we got home from church yesterday afternoon. He has tried twice to load our two cows so that they could be brought home but has been unsuccessful both times. He remarked that the two of them upset his herd every time he tries to corral them. He was clearly upset even though he masked it as he related how the cows, which were within four feet of the trailer, jumped over a five-foot barrier to escape. He was impressed – after a fashion – that they had managed that particular feat. They had each gotten hung up on the top of the barrier but eventually kicked and squirmed enough to fall to the other side and scurry away. He told me that they were headed my direction and that I should go out and see if I could coax them onto our property. I went out immediately but did not catch sight either of them. At this point I am not sure what I can do to help, but I would like to maintain a good relationship with my neighbor. The fact that the two are both that wild now is not encouraging for me and Mama. If they have now realized that they can clear a five-foot corral, I will have a hard time keeping them on the property and an even harder time getting them loaded in our stock trailer when the time comes to do so. I’s sure there is an answer, but I do not know it right now.

Joshua’s birthday was yesterday. Alicia’s birthday is today. Felix’s birthday (Alicia’s son) was on the 2^nd. So, we had some long birthday conversations with Joshua. All that new birthday information is being added to my Google calendar. That is the only way Mama and I will be able to keep up through the coming years. We are still looking forward to Joshua and Alicia’s wedding in July.

Grandma called Mama on our way home from church last night to update her on the progress of Gabriella’s delivery. At that time Gabriella was almost fully dilated and contractions were getting stronger. They wanted to stay but Grandma was hurting pretty badly. They were also on their way home we she called. Grandma called in crying and upset less than an hour later. When they got home, they found the door kicked in and the house ransacked. Everything of value had been taken; tools, guns and all of Grandma’s medications. Grandma was devastated. As would be expected. The police were on their way to their house as she was talking to Mama. By that time, it was 10:30 pm and I had to get to bed.

I am sure more details will come out today, but it made for a sad end to an otherwise great weekend.

Recovery, packed evenings

After four days of teaching eight-hour classes I get one day to recover in the office. The paperwork and records generated by the classes will take me most of the day to compile, but at least my voice can rest. All four classes were very good classes. Three of the four were in rooms that were small enough that I did not have to project my voice too loudly. One of the four was in a rather large classroom. That was the class on Wednesday. That evening at church, I had someone else lead the singing. My voice was nearly gone, and I had one more class to teach on Thursday. It all worked out. The room I had on Thursday was a smaller room and I moved everyone closer to me so that I could speak in a comfortable volume and all of the participants would hear clearly. Two of the attendees had hearing aids in both ears., so I was pleased that my voice held out well enough to accommodate them. Mama’s and my biggest concern was that I not get sick with the flu she brought back from North Carolina. Our prayers for me to make it through this week, through these class, through talking for eight hours every day, was answered. I am grateful for that answered prayer. I am even more grateful that I do not have to teach a class today.

The class I taught yesterday is my favorite class. I only get to teach it once per quarter – and I enjoy it each time I get to present it. With the classes I teach, each one is slightly different. The material is the same from one to the next, but the focus of each class is unique to the needs or interests of the participants in that class. It is interesting to me to see how the focus of the class shifts each time I present any one of the classes, but especially the one I presented yesterday. Whether or not that is my last hurrah (teaching all four classes in one week) remains to be seen. The next scheduled time to present the class I presented yesterday is July. When that class comes up, if I am still working here, I will be auditing someone else teaching the class. I told Mama, if this was the last time I was to teach the class, it will be a great memory of the class to take with me as I move into our real estate business.

Because of the teaching regimen this week I have not been too energetic in the evenings. I have worked to get things done, but I have not really tackled anything overly difficult. One evening I laid pallets out in the shape of the building I will build with them in our second paddock. I watered the plants every evening. Mind numb types of tasks. Last night Mama and I planted some nursery grown vegetable plants in our garden; which is doing very well because of cool nights and warn, sunny afternoons. Another task that required little effort either mental or physical. Another one of those tasks that is gratifying to have accomplished. Fruit trees and berry bushes have flourished in the current weather conditions as well. And my grapevine is showing signs of producing ten to twelve clusters of grapes this year. Of course, all that could be thwarted by the intense heat of our typical summers if it comes as quickly as it did last year. Time will tell, but for now we are enjoying watching things grow.

Mama and I will be going to a garden show this weekend at the same facility where I spent all week teaching classes. It will be interesting to see the venue used in that way.

Mama home safe, growing things, defenses

When going to pick someone up at the airport, it is mostly a guess as to where to park. The signage can tell you the general area of the arrival gate. That can give an approximate location of the baggage claim, but if you do not know the airport really well, where to park in the garage is still more of a guess than a plan. However, yesterday, when I got to the airport to pick up Mama - returning from her time with Maggie, Aaron and the kids – it worked out pretty well. I knew I was near the door that said I was near the gate, but I had no idea how far from that door the baggage claim area would be. I had parked only a short walk from where I would meet Mama; saving her from too much walking to get her very heavy luggage to the car. She is still not feeling well, but a few days of rest should help her recover. Time will tell.

She has only been gone for about eleven days but in that time the trees put out leaves, the garden plants tripled in size and the bottle babies grew noticeably. When she left, the grass was starting to turn green. Now it is quite high in many places on the farm. I mowed Tuesday evening. Trimmed with the weed eater on Thursday evening. By Monday, the grass in our yard will need to be mowed again. Such is the blessing and the curse of Spring. That is, unless the heat comes on us as quickly as it did last year. Today, the temperature is forecast to be 85°. Maybe a little higher tomorrow. The high was 54° only a few days ago. Normal Texas weather. If the rains continue, we will be alright. If not, things will go dormant by early June. So, we enjoy the growth while we can. Mama enjoys mowing so it costs very little time or extra work for me when she manages the grass in our yard. We are not, however, going to plant anything else in the garden since we are two to three weeks behind the optimal time to have done so.

Over the winter I lost most of the fruit trees in the garden. The apple tree, two plum trees and the dwarf peach all died. I have since pulled them up to make room for other trees. I think I may be responsible for the fatalities because I did not water the trees aggressively through the winter months – and we got very little rain. For them a drought is a drought regardless of the ambient temperature. The only trees that survived are the nectarine and the two large pear trees. Maybe I will do better next year. The backyard trees, a peach and an apricot did well and are now loaded with blooms and tiny fruit. Whether or not the fruit will hold on and ripen remains to be seen. Blueberries, blackberries and grapes are also doing very well so far.

Mama and I will have a busy weekend. She is going to get feed today which we will use immediately to fill feed barrels and restock our store of feed kept in the shop. Tomorrow we will go to Trade Days followed by taking Mama to look at the house we are investigating in Bowie. She has only seen the photos I sent her. That is not the same as seeing the house in person – where it sits on the lot, what is around it, how close it is to other structures or the corner of the street, what kind of shape the driveway and sidewalks are in, etc. She will get to do her own evaluation tomorrow. From that point we will either continue to investigate the property of drop it. It is exciting either way.

While in Bowie, I will need to swing by the farm Norman is vacating to collect some pipe I need to reposition a fence I am moving so that Sam and Sasha can get to the back of the property once we complete the fence for the new goat paddock. Right now, they are able to squeeze between the pipe rails of the fence and run through the open gate at the back of the paddock. That will change very soon, and Sam is getting too old to go the very long way around. I still need them to be able to defend that area of our farm because of the pigs and the chickens and I am thinking that if it became too difficult to access the area quickly whenever the need arises, they would give up on that portion of their duties. Maybe I can prevent that from happening.

Once back at the farm, we will try one more time to get the sheep into the barn so we can give them their shots. Right now, we only lack three, but I will take a slightly different approach than we used last time to corral them in a spectacularly unsuccessfully attempt when one of them almost knocked Mama down escaping out temporary enclosure.

I intend to be ready this time.

Sneaky Labs, Mama, business

Our director was telling us yesterday about a weekend cookout he had at a friend’s house. He and the friend together split the bill on one hundred dollars’ worth of bone-in ribeye steaks – bought fresh at a local meat market. The grill was fired up and the steaks were put on to sear while the two of them went back into the house to prepare the barbeque sauce to be applied during the final stages of the grilling process. Since the friend owned two Yellow Labrador Retrievers, they were very careful to close the lid on the grill before they went inside. A very fancy grill from what we were told. When the two of them returned to the grill to flip the steaks, they lifted the lid to find the grill empty. Completely empty. The only conclusion they could come to was that somehow the dogs had been able to raise the lid, eat the steaks (bone and all) off the very hot grill, and retire to their normal resting spots in the few minutes they were inside the house. They ended up eating hot dogs while the dogs got the best meal of their lives.

The story is a little more humorous since Bella, Cori and Nate’s Black Lab, is with us right now. Bella’s current mistress, Gracie Echeveria, is on an outing with her family. We do not mind having Bella. She is a generally obedient dog. The only one we have had recently that I can take out with me to work on the farm. She does not feel the need to run off and spend hours chasing phantoms in the woods. But, when she eats, she eats. Rather, she inhales whatever is put in front of her. While Kira and Kobe are crunching their food at what I would consider a normal pace, Bella is attacking her food with such rapid biting and swallowing that I am always amazed that she does not choke. We rarely hear the food being chewed. It is taken into the mouth and swallowed…as quickly as possible. So, it is not difficult to imagine two such eaters emptying the grill in a matter of minutes. How they opened the lid to get to the contents without showing any signs of getting burned, remains a mystery. I am of the opinion that a Labs teeth are for playing tug-of-war or fetch, but not necessarily for eating.

Lord willing, Mama will be home this afternoon. Her flight is scheduled to arrive at 1:30pm. She is coming home with whatever sickness the grandkids had while she was there. One of the types of flu I suppose. I am going to try to stay clear of the illness because I have three classes to teach next week. Hopefully I can make that schedule but at the same time I will not avoid Mama. She and I are too affectionate with each other to avoid each other. Whether or not I can stay well is an entirely separate issue. A secondary concern to our normal interactions.

On our business front, things are starting to move a little faster. A new roof will be put on our second house in Lawton this week while the tile will be laid in our first house. Walls we talked about removing weeks ago in the first house are now gone and the old tile is being taken up to make way for the new. Glenn told me when I was at the last auction in Lawton that the tile had been delivered but he was waiting on the wall removal to get started on that project. Mama and I are excited to see the remodel moving forward after so many weeks delay. Hopefully, our plans to sell the first house in May will work out. April would be better timing for us, but May will work. Truthfully, whenever it works out will be fine. I am just anxious to make the switch to our new business as our fulltime business. Patience.

While both of the homes in Lawton are being remodeled, Mama and I will research and possibly buy the house in Bowie while looking for houses in Arkansas. There are fourteen or fifteen more county sales that we want to attend in Arkansas. I had to miss the first one we were interested in, but that is not a big issue. There are so many more. The one county sale we definitely want to make it to is Garland County. Hot Springs in is that county. Since we are familiar with that area, we are particularly interested in investing there. That auction happens in the summer, so the list has not been published yet, but based on the current progress of our remodels and potential sales, I intend to be free to attend that auction. When the time comes, Mama and I are planning on spending a couple days in the area visiting Becky and Bridgette while doing research on homes and properties available.

In any case, we are plowing ahead, stretching our money as far as it will go, while working my way out of my current job. It is a delicate balance.

Montague County auction

I drove to the Montague County Courthouse yesterday morning to observe the Sheriff sale that was scheduled for 10 am. I left work in plenty of time because I was not sure where the auction was to take place. The notice said it would be done on the steps on the east side of the courthouse so when I got there, I headed the direction. When I got inside – because there was no one outside – I found a group of about twelve people waiting. It would have been easy to tell that they were there for the auction just from what Mama and I are used to seeing when we go to Lawton, but most of the people there also had the posted notice in their hands. I was twenty minutes early. I stood and waited while the group swelled to about twenty. Most of us standing in the hallway. There were two benches, but they were both filled when I got there. When the Sheriff and the attending lawyer came in everyone perked up; especially as the lawyer read off the properties on the notice that had been redeemed and would not be for sale. With about five minutes to go, a gentleman about my age walked in and asked the lawyer if she had extra copies of the notice. He had left his at the office. I stepped across the hallway and offered to share mine with him. He was delighted and introduced himself. He is a realtor in the Bowie area and was interested in one of the properties that had been taken off the list. But he stayed through the auction.

Mama and I were interested in one particular house. There was not much owed on the property, so I was curious to see how high it might be bid up. To my surprise, when that property came up, no one placed a bid. That and the fact that the opening bid was almost one thousand dollars less than the listed opening bid got me excited. The property now moves to another list from which Mama and I can purchase it. I asked the lawyer to make sure and she told me that since no one was interested at the auction, it had officially been “struck off”. I was free to walk into the assessor’s office (which we were standing in front of) and make an offer - which did not have to meet the minimum bid amount. That got me even more excited. After I talked briefly with the realtor I had just met, I went out to the truck to call Mama.

I shared with Mama what had happened and what I had found out and she got even more excited than I did. When she gets back tomorrow, I will have her do the background work required for us to buy with confidence and we will probably move toward that purchase. Since I had the time and I was already near Bowie, I decided to drive by the house again and get more pictures. It was at that point that I made a very interesting discovery. The house that Mama and I originally thought was the property being offered for sale was not the actual property. We had been looking at 802 when the address for sale was 803. That is how people doing this business get into trouble. Armed with that information, I began to study the right property – and liked it even better than the one we had mistakenly identified. That is not normally the case, however, Mama and I are ready to do our homework and our leg work to make the purchase if all the numbers add up and all the obstacles prove manageable. It would be our first rental property. That’s exciting! Mama and I would be required to hold the property for two years before we could sell it – should we choose to do so. But we are free to rent the property during that holding period. For right now, that seems doable.

Back to the realtor I met. He was interested in a five-acre property that was listed for less than two thousand dollars. It had been redeemed and was no longer being offered for sale. He told me he had planned on buying the land, holding it for six months and the selling it at market value for acreage – about $1,500 per acre. A nice profit for the trouble of holding it for six months.

One very young couple at the auction bought a house in Nocona for $6,100. They were so excited they were about to bust. Even if I had wanted the property, I would not have bid against them. I did not get the chance to ask what their interest was, whether for a home for themselves, an investment property, a redemption for someone they knew, but I know they would have happily let me know had I gotten the chance to ask. Only one person bid against them but dropped out quickly once they saw who was bidding. That was a fun dynamic to watch.

Mama comes home tomorrow. Happy day for me.

Being flexible, work issues, grandchildren

It is amazing how quickly plans can change. I got a text from our realtor in Lawton yesterday morning. He was signing papers on the second house we have bought there. In the text he mentioned that he was going to get a quote on replacing the roof and the windows on that house as his first step in the remodel. With that information in hand I called Mama and we discussed my upcoming trip to Fort Smith, AR to attend the auction there. Together we decided to hold off on going to that auction to ensure we did not overextend ourselves. We can comfortably handle the repairs on the two houses we have in different stages of remodel, but to take on more right now may not be prudent. Besides, investing in houses that are a minimum of five hours away might not be our best option while I am still working fulltime. So, I cancelled my vacation for that day. We will use that time off somewhere else.

I will still attend the auction in Montague, TX this morning. That auction should not take long. There are only a few properties listed on the notice. Driving there and back will take the bulk of the three hours away from the office. I have been accumulating time by arriving at the office an hour early each morning. Tomorrow and Thursday I will maintain that schedule so I can take off at noon to go get Mama. Friday, I will work a normal day. At least I will keep my normal schedule whether or not I get any work done remains to be seen.

Work has been a little different these past two weeks. I cannot explain the difference but there is something brewing in the background – probably good for the company but only time will tell. We are struggling a bit as we have taken on about fifteen new individuals in the past six months. I am only a little bothered because I have been trying to get some others coworkers qualified to teach the classes I normally teach, but once I set those individuals up for the class (so they can be audited and then certified) they suddenly have a change in schedule and are unable to make the class. When that happens, it pushes out their certification to instruct that class for another month. Next week I am teaching classes on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Possibly Friday. Those would have been great opportunities for my fellow employees to get their certification, but that is not going to happen. Sad. April is a another bust in that area. We move to May, which I expect will follow the same pattern of delay I have dealt with since February. If I am able to do our business fulltime in June, my company will be scrambling to find instructors through the remainder of the year. To their credit, they do not know that is coming and I have not yet felt the liberty to announce it because Mama and I have not sold a house yet. Still, I will have given every opportunity to certify instructors to backfill me when I am able to leave. Until then, I will keep trying and hope I am not giving the impression of wanting to get out of work.

As Mama’s time with Maggie, Aaron and the kids winds down it appears that everyone in that household is feeling better. Walter had become Mama’s little buddy and Cathryn has warmed up to Mama as much as she will allow herself to do. For Mama, it has been a good visit. Maggie and Aaron have been extremely generous toward Mama, making it a relaxed, comfortable time with the grandchildren. People ask me if I regret not being there. That is a difficult question to answer because right now, at Cathryn and Walter’s age, the important attachments are to Mama, not me. I am, at this age an extension of Mama (Grammy) to the younger grandchildren. My involvement will come to play later in their lives. Right now, the most important connections to me and Mama are, of necessity, made through Mama. The caveat to that are Brittany’s two, who seem to be more responsive to me than to Mama. I think that is largely due to the grandparenting moniker I have chosen, Papi. Sophia and Zoe love saying my name. But even the conversations with Brittany take place largely through Mama. I get everything secondhand – when I do get the updates. And that is okay. I like to watch from the corner. Listen to the conversations. To learn how to pray for my children and grandchildren. On average I process things more slowly than most people, so I have to spend a lot of time putting the pieces together as I get the information and insights.

So far, that has worked out pretty well; especially for Mama.

Business week, the flu, help

This week will be focused on our business. I am still working full-time and have to occupy those hours engaged in tasks for my employer, but this week I get to tiptoe into our business in some very direct ways. Tomorrow I will attend an auction in Montague, TX. Less than an hour away – just past Bowie where Grandma and Grandpa live. I have not registered for the auction so I will not be able to buy any of the properties for sale, but I want to get a feel for how the auctions are conducted. In the very near future, Mama and I are going to start picking up some homes in Texas so this will give us an introduction to the process. Maybe I can meet one of the lawyers involved in the sale and l get more information about other nearby auctions. It is helpful to be able to recognize someone in these settings. A familiar face is normally a welcome sight. Also, today our realtor will be closing on our second property in Lawton. Work will begin on that property as work continues on our first property. Hopefully, since they are across the street from each other we can get the remodel moving forward on both in rapid succession.

I have taken a day of vacation Wednesday. I will drive to Fort Smith, AR, the county seat of Crawford County. It will be our first Arkansas auction. From the list I have compiled, there are several homes I would be interested in acquiring, but I don’t know if Mama and I would really be interested until I look at them. I am planning on leaving the farm early enough to look at most of the properties that seem promising before I go to the courthouse to register for the auction. I am not sure how scattered out the properties are, but I will drive by as many as possible. The ones I see are the only ones I will be bidding on – provided they are good prospects for purchase. So far everything is an “if” and a “maybe”. Wednesday’s road trip will give me and Mama a lot of information and insight into these auctions so we can decide whether or not we want to take on those investment opportunities or stay closer to home. It will be a long day. Nine to ten hours of drive time with the auction in the middle of the day. Chances are that this will be a survey trip. Mama and I do not want to be “house poor” too early on in developing this business. And there are many more auctions to look into in Arkansas.

Thursday is the day I am looking most forward to. I get to pick Mama up at the airport. I am accumulating extra time Monday, Tuesday and Thursday to make up for the time off I will need to meet her mid-afternoon flight. Maggie is recovering well – in spite of some lingering nerve pain. However, Kathryn is in the throws of the flu. We have gone very high tech on the flu lately. Now there are differing categories of the flu. Type A and Type B. Each have characteristic symptoms related to the diagnosis. Neither can be treated. But now you can brag about how long it took to recover from either one of the types, or from both if you are the lucky person who gets the combination of the symptoms that we just used to call the flu.

Somehow it seems to make people feel better, more informed to say, “She had the Type A flu,” or “He had Type B flu.” And we all know how horrible it must have been when we hear, “She had both Type A and Type B flu, poor dear.” Still, the treatment for the flu remains the same; plenty of warm liquids and plenty of rest.  The fact that the illness has somehow acquired bragging rights is a little troubling to me. Now when we hear that someone has the flu we can respond with “Was it Type A or Type B?” and if the poor soul sharing their concern for the ill person happens to say, “Well, I don’t know.” We can somberly inform them of the different symptoms and help them nail down a diagnosis. Not that it matters all that much since it is the flu, but we feel better for having issued an informed opinion. Don’t get me wrong. Getting the flu is not laughing matter, especially for those in the throws of the viral infestation, but I find it awkwardly humorous that we have consoled ourselves as though we have actually helped a person by “diagnosing” their particular strain for the virus.

For the past week Victoria and I have been muddling through with the care of all our farm animals. Occasionally, Grandma and Grandpa have been called in to help. Today is one of those days. I left the house at 5:30 and Victoria will leave at 6 am. On these days we call Grandma and Grandpa to do the morning feeding. It happens a little late, but it saves Victoria and I from having to do things in the dark. The only concern is for the bottle babies. On the good side, they will be hungry when the bottles are fed to them.

All our critters will be happy when Mama gets home.