Goat shuffle, more travel, catching up

Friday afternoon I took off from work at 3 pm. I had gotten to the office a little after 6 that morning. Since Victoria and I had returned from our trip to the airport when we found out her flight had been cancelled, I had gone into work early as opposed to trying to get an hour nap before reporting at the standard time. Friday proved to be a long day in spite of leaving early. When I got home, I found out that Mama had scheduled with Nancy (Rick’s wife) to get the goats to their farm that evening. I was all in favor of that. Having them with Rick for two to three months will help me and Mam in many ways. With Victoria’s help it did not take long to get all four of the goats loaded into the cages I had put in the back of the truck. We were on our way to Bowie by 4:15. The extra hour made a big difference. We dropped Victoria off at Grandma’ s before we headed to Rick’s.

We chatted with Rick as we always do for almost an hour before we positioned the truck to unload the goats. Unloading the goats proved more difficult than loading them. Mama is neither as strong as nor as flexible as Victoria – and she was not dressed to help; though she insisted on doing so. I appreciated the help, but I was very aware as Mama helped to keep her out of harms way and to ensure I did the bulk of the lifting. Even with that attention, Mama ended up with a significant bruise on her left hand when Millie, our largest goat, fought being taken from the cage and smacked Mama’s had against the tailgate of the truck. Other than that, and some mud on her non-farm shoes, we got the goats out without too much trouble. Next time I will use the trailer to move the goats. Both loading and unloading would be easier. But the trailer was in Gainesville with the Cantrell’s. And I needed the truck to load some file cabinets Rick had given me. The file cabinets turned out to be less than I had hopes, but I will fond a place for three of the four and discard the forth.

Saturday was a long and interesting day. I got up at 2:15 am to take Victoria to the airport to catch a flight to Houston, connecting to Honduras. We got to the airport in plenty of time. I parked a helped Victoria get through the check-in process, get her bags checked and rearrange her carry-on items to go through security. By the time I prayed with her and walked to the car to head home it was 4 am. Once home I napped for about an hour. Through the day Victoria kept Mama updated on her flights. When she landed in Houston. When she rechecked her bags for the flight to Honduras and was at the gate. When she boarded the flight to Honduras. When she landed in Honduras.

All those updates came as we traveled to Chappell Hill. Mama and I were on the road for that five-hour trip at 7 am. It rained on us for most of the trip, often heavy rain. But as we neared Chappell Hill, the rain stopped, and we got a couple hours without any rain for the reunion. Steve and Diane had driven down from Wyoming. Tony and Barbara, who have relocated back to Chappell Hills – a nearby subdivision of Brenham - were there early. Cathy was recuperating from a broken wrist, but Chuck came over by motorcycle later that day. Danny did the grilling; vegetables – including stuffed jalapenos, chicken quarters, venison and pork steaks. Mama brought macaroni salad and I brought a Choco-flan cake. Both were big hit with everyone. Diane made seven-layer dip and Marth and Stephanie (Tony’s daughter) made a Peanut Butter and Key Lime pies. We ate off and on but mostly we visited. Mama and I had to leave by 4 pm to make the drive home, so our visit was pretty short. Everybody appreciated us being there. We had a good time. The trip home took just over four hours under clear skies.

Randy was also there for our gathering also. He has been a good friend for many years. He will also be a valuable resource to me and Mama as we develop this real estate business. He and I took some time to catch up and talk through a couple investment strategies. I always enjoy that. Randy is going to help me with a kitchen remodel as Mama and I move forward on that project. He also gave me a piece of information I was missing for the remodel of the sunroom that Mama and I will tackle sometime later this year.

Mama and I got to talk a lot on the way down ad back. And yes, I drove the distance both ways. That is not unusual in and of itself, but Mama stayed awake talking to me knowing that I had been up since 2 am. One takeaway from the gathering with my siblings was how close some have become to the Lord over the past couple years. That was a very pleasant discovery.

It was not difficult to get to sleep that night.

Deliveries, travel plans

Victoria and Mama were out doing a second round of last-minute shopping yesterday afternoon while I was in class through the work day so, I had to wait until I got home to find out which delivery I was supposed to make that evening. Whether we were taking the goats to Rick’s or taking the stock trailer to the Cantrell’s. When I got home, Mama was napping, and Victoria was out feeding. I got changed and helped get the feeding done. By the time I was back inside, Mama was up with instructions. It is always a little funny because Mama assumes I know what the plan is because she has talked it out with someone other than me so, she was a surprised when I asked her which we were doing of the two choices. We were taking the trailer to Gainesville. I should have guessed that. I had a 50/50 chance of getting it right. But with Mama, I remain open to changing plans as needed.

Once I ate a quick dinner, we headed out to hook up the trailer. Fortunately, where we park the trailer, we do not normally have problems with the ground being soft. If I had left the trailer in the barn, I would have had problems. But as it was, I was able to back up and make the connection quickly and we were out the gate and headed down the road by 5:20. With the round trip and a few minutes visit once we got there, the delivery took a little over three hours. We did not stay long because we needed to get back home and get Victoria situated to pack up the car for an early morning departure to the airport. With that early drive ahead of me, I was in bed as soon as I could make that happen.

Mama woke me this morning just before the alarm went off at 4:20 am. Victoria was already up making her coffee. We were out the door at 4:35. Her flight was scheduled for 7:15. We were in plenty of time. However, on the way to the airport I asked Victoria to check her itinerary for the return flight information. Just to make sure we were all on the same page. When she looked, we discovered that her flight this morning had been cancelled. We were only about twenty minutes from the airport when we made that discovery. If I am remembering correctly, that is only the second or possibly third time we have had that happen. But severe weather in Houston caused the cancellation. Whether the flight from Houston to Honduras was also cancelled is a question I will not spend any time worrying over. There was no alternative way to get her to that flight. Victoria is now booked on a flight leaving DFW at 5:40 tomorrow morning.

That will be a lovely Saturday morning drive. We will need to leave the house at 2:30 am. The round trip plus time taken to help get all of Victoria’s baggage checked should put me back at the farm in time to feed before Mama and I need to leave for Chappell Hill. Since we are making the trip to Chappell Hill a day trip – there and back on the same day – we will not get back to the farm until 9 pm at the earliest. Our animals will be hungry Sunday morning. I just wish I could be home this morning when Mama discovery that Victoria did not leave. That will be a surprise. Savanna will be very disappointed – for a few minutes. Such are the challenges in international travel.

Brittany was trying to find a way to make it down this weekend to go to Chappell Hill with us but that is not going to work out. I-35 was completely flooded about twenty minutes south of Brittany’s. As of last night, there was one southbound lane opened to traffic. Both northbound lanes were still closed. Overnight the forecast was for continued rain in the area. They have gotten far more rain than we have here, and we are dealing with flooding in certain areas. Brittany has even gotten water in the house during the periods of heavier rain because the sump pump was unable to keep up with the water accumulating in the basement. That coupled with the fact that the girls have been running fevers and have been generally cranky because they do not feel well, has taken a toll on their Brittany. Hopefully, Andrew getting home this weekend will help her through this rough patch before he leaves again to go to Washington State for more training. Britany is booked on a flight out of DFW to meet Andrew in Seattle so they can spend a couple days together there. We will see if she is able to make that happen.

Life is full of surprises.

Home, corrections, neighbors, sickness

Mama made it home safely last night. It was near 9 pm when she got here. By the time we had unloaded the car and placed most items required for the night in their proper places, we were ready for bed. I will find out more about the trip in the days to come, but it is certain that Mama had a wonderful time with Kimberlyn and her kids and grandkids. I am sure the trip will be repeated at some point in the future, but Mama was very happy to be home. This morning, all the animals will be happy to see her also. Mama and I did not take much time to catch up last night, but I did get instructions for today and tonight as well as corrections for appointments later this week. It will be a tight schedule.

Sometime this week we have to get the goats to Rick’s, get the stock trailer to Kenny and Kimberlyn, meet Brittany and the girls, get Victoria to the airport, and go to Chappell Hill for a family reunion. A couple of those specific tasks can be shuffled. Some cannot. If Mama can work it out with Rick, we will take the goats to his farm tonight. They will be there two months. Enough time for me to get the second paddock done. That will also help me out in organizing the pig building to have the pigs ready to take to the processor. If we do not get that done this evening, it will have to wait until next week. We are thinking about getting the stock trailer to Kenny and Kimberlyn Thursday evening. The delivery of the trailer is time sensitive because they have an appointment to have the pigs processed Tuesday of next week. So, that drop off could happen as late as Monday evening of next week, but we would like to get things in place before that if possible. Meeting Brittany is set. That will happen Thursday afternoon. Mama and Brittany will meet somewhere near Oklahoma City and travel back to the farm caravan style. Victoria has a flight out of DFW at 7:30 Friday morning. That means I will be leaving the house with her somewhere around 4:30 that morning. The family reunion is set for Saturday. We will travel down and back the same day. Regardless of how we work things out, it is going to be a busy week.

Yesterday evening, Victoria and I went for a walk down the road and back. She took the dogs with her and the big dogs follow me. On the way we passed a couple working on a patch of ground near us. On a corner of the forty acres that sits across the road from our farm. I had told Victoria that it looked to me like someone was getting ready to build a home, but I did not know for sure. We waved as we were heading down the road, but on the way back, I stopped to introduce myself. I was right. Ricky sold two acres of that field to a family member. Cody; early forties. One daughter about nine years old. A fiancé. They are clearing the ground to lay out a homesite. They seemed like good people. Time will tell. It is not like they are right on top of us. Mama and I will try to be a good witness to them as they go through the construction process and as they settle in as our neighbors.

I will be teaching tomorrow. A coworker and I will be splitting a class of 43 into two smaller classes. It worked so well last time we did this that we are actually looking forward to doing it again. Yesterday, unbeknownst to me, one of the persons I have been trying to get into the office to do a mock class with, came to give that mock to the leadership team. It went well enough. Both of the individuals were here to give the mock but only one room was available for the presentations. At least we are one up in getting these individuals qualified. When I did a walkthrough with these two candidates last week, I cautioned one that he would need to be hurried to meet the time constraints of the class. Turns out I was correct. He was an hour behind at lunchtime. The second instructor candidate will have to be cautioned to slow down. He will present next week. We will see if I am right about him as well.

None of us, me, Mama or Victoria, are completely well. All of us are still snotting and coughing. As this information was related to Savanna Sunday morning, Savanna was undeterred in having her Aunt Tori come to see her in Honduras – sick or not. “It’s okay”, she cheerfully related to Victoria. “You can throw up in our potty when you get here.”

Simple problem. Simple solution.

Sickish, Mama, busy week ahead

Unfortunately, last weekend was one of those weekends that no one wants to have. The fact that it was a repeat of the previous weekend made it even more frustrating. Friday, Saturday and Sunday I felt miserable. I got up early Saturday morning and went through our normal feeding routine. I had not slept well so going out to feed the animals was therapeutic. When that was done, I got ready to go bus calling. I am not sure how the time got away from me, but I ended up leaving the farm later that planned. When I got to the church, the road was blocked off for a food fair going on in the square in downtown Decatur. Pastor was out of town this weekend, so I am not sure where the men were meeting before teaming up, but I was too late to find out and get on a team. I ended up just going to Lowe’s to get a few items I needed for the fence I was planning to work on. When I got back home, I changed and rested.

So went the day. Work a little bit. Rest a little bit. In that routine I did get some fencing done. I attached rolled fencing to the pipe fence that lines our driveway on the east side of the house. I had to stop in the early afternoon. I was out of energy. Now, I have about sixty feet of fencing left on the pipe fence portion of the paddock and about the same distance on the new back fence of that paddock. The gate into the paddock has been up for some time already. Once the fencing is complete, I can finish the shelter and we will be ready to house either our sheep or our goats there. It is just disappointing and frustrating to feel so badly when there is so much that needs to get done. I wanted to clean the coop over the weekend, but that did not happen. I wanted to clean up around the farm, but that did not happen. I wanted to sweep and straighten up in the wellhouse, but that did not happen. Oh, well.

At some point I will have to see a doctor to find out what the underlying issue is that is keeping me from beating this lingering respiratory issue. But I have been holding off because I hesitate to get a diagnosis that will affect the extent of coverage available to me once I no longer have my current insurance. In other words, I would like to avoid carrying pre-existing conditions with me to another insurance provider – past those that I already have. Maybe that is a poor reason to endure this ongoing malaise, but I feel almost compelled to do so as Mama and I wait for one or both of our houses to sell; thus enabling me to move to our real estate business fulltime – requiring a change in insurance providers. Time will tell.

Mama should be back tonight. She has spent the weekend in Louisiana with Kimberlyn. I suppose they have had a great time as Kimberlyn led two ladies’ meetings in two different churches. I have not been updated very often or very thoroughly throughout the time Mama has been away. She has been very busy. But I am pretty sure she told me would be heading home sometime near noon today. That should put her back at the farm around 9 pm. We will all be glad to have her back home.

Mama does not get much downtime. Tomorrow, Tuesday, she is driving to Oklahoma City to meet Brittany. Britany is traveling down so she can fly out to meet Andrew in Washington State. He is there for some special training on the new aircraft he is helping commission. Brittany will be back on Friday.  Mama and Victoria and I get to keep Zoe and Sophia. I could get used to that. Now that my beard is gone, I will see how the twins react to me.

We have a busy week this week. Tomorrow we will take the goats to Rick’s. Thursday we will take the stock trailer to Kenny and Kimberlyn. They have two pigs they need to get to the processor. Saturday we will be driving to a family reunion in Chappell Hill.

Lots going on. It would be nice to feel better.

Mama, a thorough soaking

Mama texted me mid-afternoon yesterday to let me know that she had made her decision to go with Kim Cantrell this weekend. That question having been settled, she sprang into action to get all the sundry items in place to spend four days and three nights away from home. By the time I got home a couple hours later, her bags were packed, her timeline was set, the laundry was caught up with, and she was ready for me to tell her how we were going to finance her holiday – whether cash or debit card. Kim’s husband, Kenny, is probably relieved that Mama was going along. It is a fair drive to Southern Louisiana from here. Not that Kim could not have done it alone, it is just nice to have company along on that length of drive. Mama had to leave the farm before 7 am. I am guessing that the meeting Kim is scheduled to speak at is sometime in the early evening at a church where her son is the pastor. So, the underlying driver is grandma going to see the grandchildren – and the children too, I suppose. Mama will meet Kim in Gainesville and the two of them will leave from there. Pray for their safe travel and for Kim’s message to the ladies she will be speaking to this evening and tomorrow. The two of them will be staying over for church Sunday. Traveling home Monday. I miss Mama already.

We have been thoroughly soaked now. Many of the creeks are out of their banks and lots of acreage is underwater. I am not aware of any issues with the flooding locally, but it is always inconvenient. The forecast if for an additional inch of rain through the day today but sunny skies tomorrow. Temperatures remain in the mid-70s, so it is we have a pleasant, sloppy weekend ahead. Fortunately, we may be rain free through Monday. Tuesday through Saturday next week are expected to bring more rain each day. Up to a half inch per day. No complaints. It will be a gift to have all the ponds, tanks and lakes filled up before summer hits. And, the rain brings cooler temperatures with it. It we can avoid the three and four inch rains our runoff channels can manage the downpours without incident. But the weather does what the weather does, and we adapt.

Our pigs have no dry place in the entire pen. It is their own doing. They have dug two very large wallows. One at the only gate into the pen. The other beside the shelter I built for them. The mud holes are on either side of the small shelter I attached to the pig building when I kicked them out and gave the building to the goats. The water from the recent rains has now accumulated to the level that it floods that shelter. Last week, I dug a channel to drain some of the level from one of the wallows, but that evening the pigs stopped up the drain. I guess they like being wet and muddy. They are pigs, after all. Last night I reopened the drain, but I do not expect it to last. Mama and I have taken to entering the pen – when absolutely necessary – by climbing over the pallets I recently placed around the pen to fortify the south and west sides. Yes, Mama has actually been able to use the pallets (they are like short ladders) to get into and out of the pen. I have not seen her do it and I would certainly like to see that happen, but I am confident that she was successful because she was very proud of succeeding at that little acrobatic activity.

When we take the goats to Rick’s next week, and I will clean out the accumulation of hay saturated with manure and urine that the goats have gifted to us and allow the building to air out for a day or two. I may then open the building to the pigs again. I will need them to be comfortable with the building before I use it as an avenue to load them into our stock trailer for transport to the processor. That date is still five weeks out. Five potentially very wet weeks out. They will dirty up the building in a big way, but we can clean and sanitize it once they are gone. All that, of course, requires Mama’s approval.

Yesterday we got our check for the sale of the two crazy cows. It turns out that the real crazy one was seven months pregnant. Mellow, the less crazy of the two, was only three months bred. They both brought a fair price. Mama and I were pleased. Pleased with the cash generated. Pleased that we do not have to worry ourselves over those two mad bovine upsetting our neighbor’s herd. Their departure will save us about $350 per month on hay and feed. Now we start over. This time we are looking at miniatures. Possibly Highland cattle. Equally possible, mini Herefords. For the moment we are just looking. Selling one of our two houses will be the key to how quickly we can move forward with any plans requiring more than $100.

That will happen soon enough.

Officially sick, storms, not a total loss

Mama is officially sick. Just how sick remains to be seen, but she has the cough and sore throat, the nasal draining, the snotty-ness and the general malaise that confirm to her that she is not well. She is mad at me. Sort of. Not that I could have done anything about getting sick myself, but she can confidently pin her current discomfort on me. Oh, well. This too shall pass. The real reason she is upset is that it may cost her giving up traveling with Kim Cantrell this weekend. That decision has not been made, but Kimberlyn has a weakened immune system and is battling fibro myalgia. Unnecessarily exposing her to any virus would be unwise. None of us, Mama, Victoria or I want to go to the doctor and pay them to tell us we are sick. Though we may be forced to take them to shorten the infection, we do not want to take any antibiotics. So, we let our bodies fight the infection with minimal medical intervention using herbs and oils to help us cope with the symptoms and fortify our natural abilities to fight an infection. It is not the easy way, but in the long run, it is the best way. Mama will make her travel decisions this morning. I will await the final news on that front.

The storms that passed us by earlier in the week battered us most of the night last night. It all started just before dark. Very strong winds. Very heavy rains. Lots of thunder and lightning. I woke up several times through the night and it was storming every time. I do not know if it was the storm that woke me each time, but I laid listening as I fell back to sleep. I have always enjoyed storms – other than when we lived in Bowie and dreaded the approach of any bad weather.  As I left this morning, I checked the rain gauge. We got three inches of water overnight. Not a huge amount, but significant. As I left the farm, I noticed the HIGH WATER warning signs were up on FM1655. That is the route Victoria normally takes to work so, I called her to let her know she might have to take an alternate route. She might try it anyway but based on what I saw of the creek that I cross over on my way to town, the bridge that is normally flooded after storms like these will be underwater this morning. Fortunately, there are a number of alternate roads she can safely navigate to get her to the same place. For Mama, feeding will be a soupy mess this morning; especially with the pigs.

We got our check from the stock sale where we took our sheep. We did not do all that well with them. It was not a total loss. We got about 60% of what we had originally paid for the bred ewes. And we have five lambs to sell in a few months. We should end up with a 50% profit overall. Not counting feed and vet bills. As far as operating a small hobby farm goes, that is a pretty good return. I was not too disappointed. As I stated when we brought the ewes home, they were butt ugly sheep. Compared to the Dorper sheep already in the lot, I had the feeling that ours would not sell high. Overall, I am pleased with our little venture into sheep. We will probably not repeat it. If we want some lamb or mutton in the future, we will buy one to have it processed. We will not raise it ourselves.

With the cows our neighbor took to the sale for us, I am at a loss to even guess what we will get for them. Some weeks the market is up. Some weeks the market is down. I suppose it depends on who is there to buy on any particular day. But both of the cows we were forced to sell were born on our farm so, any money we make on them can be tagged as a profit. At least in farming terms. We should have that check tomorrow or Saturday. At the very least, it provides us the cash we need to buy feed for the next several months – if we do not spend it elsewhere.

Cori called last night to offer me an inroad into Medical Missions Outreach as a translator. That would be an answer to prayer. I will make the contact and see how things work out.

Weather, sickness, travel plans, Maggie’s follow up

Mild mornings and pleasant evenings have been the order of our days lately. Rain had kept us under shelter more than was normal in the past three or four Spring seasons, but that is a blessing. Even though the days are ranging up into the 80’s, it does not seem unpleasant. For many of the past days, Mama has cut off the air conditioner and opened the windows. When it is humid, things in the house can get a little sticky, but for the most part, it airs out the house and blows out that “closed-up” smell.

Our lambs are enjoying the pleasant temperatures and seem more playful in the evenings when we are getting ready to feed them. In the absence of the ewes, they are calming down some, but it would take many months to get them as familiar with us as the goats are. Still, they are more playful than the goats when they are not running from us. The only issue with the goats is that they want to herd you as you enter the enclosure with them. It has not happened often, but when they push against Mama’s knee as she walks through them it can hurt her. Yesterday was one of those days that they hurt Mama. They were so hungry they were trying to get her to head to the feed trough not realizing that she needed to get to the feed first. As I struggle with balance lately, they have too often caused me to stumble – nothing dangerous, just something I have to watch for. 

The rain we were supposed to get this week has stayed mostly to our north and east. Though there is a significant threat of rain in the forecast, I may actually have to water our plants and trees tomorrow evening. I was telling Mama the other day that the current conditions remind me of my childhood. It was almost a certainty that each afternoon there would be a thunderstorm. Those storms would pop up between 2 and 4 pm, rain for about ten minutes and disappear as quickly as they had come. Leaving us with an oppressive humidity. Being north of the Gulf Coast, the humidity is not as bad here, but it is still a factor we deal with; usually by closing the windows and turning on the air conditioner. With the rains we are getting now, Mama and I are wishing we had planted a bigger garden. Maybe this Fall we will do just that.

I am still battling a deep cough. I know it is a disruptive cough in the quiet atmosphere of the Education department, but I feel the need to be at work. Since most of my day is spent sitting, it is not a hardship physically. But I am sure my cough is annoying. On the bright side, I am not the only one at work who is coughing. On the not-so-bright side, Victoria told us last night that she is starting to get a sore throat and Mama told me this morning that she is starting to get a sore throat. Mama is supposed to travel with Kim Cantrell this weekend – Friday through Monday. Victoria is traveling to Honduras next weekend. Leaving on the 10^th and coming home on the 24^th.  There is never a convenient time to get sick, but right now seems less convenient than most. Please pray we will all get well quickly.

Mama and Victoria are going shopping today. Hopefully, both of them feel up to the challenge. It is the last push to get all the requests met from Cori and the kids. Victoria has gotten packages from Amazon every day in order to provide items for transport to Honduras. So far, she is planning on taking just enough clothing to have three or four changes of clothing. The rest of the weight in the two suitcases she is packing will be items for her sister and nieces. Mama and I will probably be making our trek to Honduras in September – depending on my employment. We will not be able to do as Victoria is doing. Mama requires too many personal items to allow that much sacrifice of luggage space, but we can each take two suitcases, and I do not require too much for my own personal needs. If we follow the packing strategy we used last time we went, I will be carrying a backpack full of cereal and cookies, a suitcase full of items for our children and grandchildren a second suitcase with some clothing and the overflow if items for Cori, Nate and the kids. Mama will need the other two suitcases. That typically works for me.

Maggie goes back for a follow up visit to her doctor today. They will evaluate the condition of the tumor on her kidney to see if the cryogenic procedure was a success. We are all hoping the medical team likes what they see in that dye contrasted CAT scan. Maggie will need help following the procedure because they require her to take two Benadryl prior to giving her the dye. Sleeping that off is a must. If only they would give Benadryl to Walter and Cathryn as well. I am sure Maggie will work out the logistics of her recovery.

Your prayers are always appreciated.