Hands on, busy Mama

The drive to and from Abilene was uneventful on either leg. The time spent in training there was very helpful. I spent a lot of time out in the field actually learning how to do what our line locating training talks about. The overarching difference between writing a training module and performing the task is the difference between a seeing a photograph and standing in the scene the of photograph. The hands-on experience will change the approach I will take in the presentation of the material we are preparing both for the class in Alabama and in our online courses. It was well worth the time spent in the field. I elected to spend all of my time in one of the two areas I will be presenting because I had no experience at all to fall back on for embellishing the training presentation I will be giving. Now I have a few hours of sweat and trial and error with the locating equipment to fall back on in referencing questions and relating to stories from a class.

Mama called me to tell me she had gone to feed the cattle this morning and was pleasantly surprised to find that #75 was the only cow in the corral in the barn. That was a blessing because we need to get her separated this weekend so we can put the other cows and calves on the adjoining property for the summer. We are feeding out #75 to take her to the meat market on the 11^th – when I will be in Alabama for back to back classes in two different cities. Mama has already arranged for Grandpa to help with that.

Additionally, the Bantam chicks we ordered have arrived so Mama is getting them setup in cages in the garage until we acclimate them and find them a more permanent home. We ordered fifteen and are hopeful that a good portion of them will be hens. With the Bantam’s the hatcheries do not sex the chicks so all that can be ordered is a straight run. We will not know for several weeks what we got but I wanted at least eight hens – hence the order of fifteen. The roosters will be processed for meat; as will the roosters that we got in the batch growing in the west side of the chicken coop. I think there are eight of them to process soon.

Along with all of that, Mama has been trying to find out what size tire is required to replace the one on the front of the Zero turn mower. She told me she took pictures of the tire and whatever information she could see on it and sent the picture to the guy at Decatur Tire for him to interpret. I am not sure how all of that will work out but we will eventually get that taken care of. I put a can of Fix-a-Flat in the little tire a week ago but I knew it would not last since I could see the fluid coming out of the tire through a fairly large hole. It at least lasted long enough for Mama to get the mowing done.

Looking at the weekend ahead, I seem to spend all my time catching up to the little items that could have been done during the week if it were not for travel and VBS. Oh, well. That is what Saturdays are for. I have a long list of things that need to be done but some are weather sensitive so I have a backup list for items that are lower priority but can be done regardless of the weather. I know I will have to clean the shop before I leave for training classes in Alabama because we have contracted a concrete man to pour the floor while I am away. I did not plan it that way but that is how it worked out. Mama will be quite busy over the next couple weeks – especially with Jake coming in on the 7^th.

Mama showed me a video Cori sent recently. It seems Savanna had a greater appreciation for clothing than for body parts. Cori discovered this when Savanna began to complain that her “pockets” hurt. What Cori finally figured out was that her hips were hurting but she did not know the word for that area of her body. What she did know was that the pockets of her skirt were in the same general location as the hurt.

So, when you tell be that your pockets hurt I will understand.

Time’s march, VBS news

This year is almost half over. It is hard to comprehend just how fast the months go by. At this point in time, I suppose Brittany has the best grasp on the issue of time’s unrelenting march forward as she approaches the delivery date of the twins and the increasing overcrowding problem her womb is experiencing daily. But I also think of all my grandchildren and just how quickly they are growing up. I will not be too long until all of us get together and lament the fact that we did not take better notes of the funny incidents that passed by before us as they grew; of the funny way words were used as they learned to navigate everyday English; as life touched them and taught them one valuable lesson after another. Sadly, we will remember only a very small fraction of those times.

With the advent of Facebook and Marco Polo I am left out of most of those daily stories because once it is shared amongst the registered users in my family, one moment is quickly forgotten as one just a humorous replaces it in the queue. Mama had me sign up for Marco Polo but after I got the fiftieth alert (within two days) that someone was available or someone was sending a video or someone had just joined our ever-expanding group, I deleted it from my phone. I want to stay connected but I am not looking for another full-time job. If you have something to share, give me a call. I’d love to chat. I cannot find the emotional energy to live life 177 characters or 1 MB or less at a time.

VBS last night was well done. (It was live and in person.) This is the first time Bro Zach has done a Vacation Bible School. Sadly, last night is the only night I will get to go since I will be leaving town this afternoon. From what I saw, he was doing a great job. The theme is Hudson Taylor: Missionary to China. Last night for the skit, three teens were in a johnboat mounted on two furniture dolly’s sailing through the pretend waters of the South Pacific on their way to China. Being stalled (becalmed) at sea and drifting to an island where the natives were cannibals, God’s answer to the prayers of Hudson Taylor saved them from certain death. The kids – all 115 of them -  were enthralled by the skit. The thought of defenselessly drifting toward certain death and then be rescued by God was a powerful story. The only issue was that the boat, being propelled by three teen boys on their knees, had difficulty getting out along the left side of the auditorium.

Later, Bro Zach had the “Karate Kid” come up and give a demonstration for the kids. Even though karate has more of a Japanese heritage than Chinese, it worked for the kids in attendance. One of our teens is a Black Belt in some form of karate and he demonstrated breaking boards with a kick and a karate chop. The boys were especially attentive. Bro Zach had his sign the broken portions of board and gave them out as prizes to the most well behaved. As I understand it, tonight, the Karate Kid’s sister will give a demonstration of her kicking and chopping powers – along with a demonstration of the use of the Sai, a three pronged metal baton.

I hate to miss.

Sunrise, near miss, more travel

I stopped on the way to work this morning to take a picture of the sunrise. I get to see the sun come up almost every morning on my way in, but this morning was worth the extra time to try and get a picture. The problem is finding a place to stop that will allow a good picture – no house, no power lines, no oil tanks, etc. – and still have time to get the right shot. It happens so quickly, you can only appreciate it as you watch it happen. Once, many years ago, when we first moved to Victoria, TX, I took the family to Seadrift, TX to watch the sun set over the bay. I remember everyone being shocked by how fast the sun sank beyond the flat, watery horizon. So it is with the sunrise. It starts off an orange ball that you can actually look at directly, but a moment later it is so bright that it will blind you. It took a little extra time to morph this morning. My phone takes terrible pictures, but at least I tried.

The only issue with watching the sun rise was that I almost hit a deer as it ran across the road in front of me. I was driving Mama’s Sequoia this morning so that would have been an especially bad incident. I did not ever have my eyes off of the road completely but I had not been watching out to the right side of the road – where the deer came from. When I saw it, it was catching it’s footing in the lane directly in front of me. I very narrowly missed hitting it with the left front corner of the car. I had the cruse on during the encounter. I never touched the brake. The truck behind me must have thought I never saw the deer. That would have been mostly correct. I have noticed a lot more deer out lately so I should have been paying more attention, but, thankfully, it was only a near miss.

I will be leaving tomorrow at noon to drive to Abilene. I will spend Thursday with a client there training with them for a couple tasks for which I am currently writing a large training package. The training I am writing will be presented at Leak City in September during a national training event. I am grateful to my company for sending me to get the background information from seasoned professionals. I will spend the morning training at their facility and spend the afternoon in the field applying what I have learned. That will be a great benefit when I present the training later this year. I may not be an expert, but I will at least have had a good exposure to the practical application of the information in a real-life setting. I will have the sweat and blisters to prove it.

Vacation Bible School continues through Thursday night. Last night was the first of the four nights and Mama made sure Yilin and Cheyenne got there on time. I did not go last night. I got out from the chiropractor’s office very late, but I will go tonight. Last night Alex (Cheyenne’s father) took the time to go and see what was going on. Mama said he really enjoyed it -all the excitement and confusion. He even made sure to help the girls win in the offering portion of the competition. At our VBS we use a balance with two large buckets; one for the girls and one for the boys. The kids compete to outweigh each other. To encourage the accumulation of weight, the church sells rolls of penny’s and bricks. A roll of penny’s costs 50¢ and a brick costs $5. Alex bought a brick for Yilin and Cheyenne to put in the bucket. As Mama describes it, the competition went on for some time but the girls finally won.

I’ll see if I can help the boys tonight.

Last week, drain work, piglets

Last week was spent in our company conference. It was a great experience. Even though we had about 150 attendees, the company allowed each of us to participate in the conference activities Tuesday afternoon and all day Wednesday. On Thursday, I taught a class to twenty-eight attendees while there were two other classes being taught. Those that were not attending classes participated in round table discussions about topics relevant to the industry. Friday, I taught a class to one individual. We held the one-on-one at the office and though it was a little awkward at first, we had a great time getting through the material.

Tuesday evening Mama met me at the Texas Motor Speedway, where we were having the conference and we visited with folks from the company as well as folks in attendance that I knew from offsite training classes that were there attending the conference. My company sponsored a dinner of heavy hors d'oeuvre which was more than enough for me and Mama. The only problem was that it was hot. The temperature was almost 100° in the shade and there was little to no breeze until late in the evening. Mama forgot her phone so she had to track me down at the track where some conference participants were being taken for rides round the track. The ride was only four laps but I suppose it was enough to get the feel of racing speeds of 160 mph. I did not participate in that portion because the cost was $125 per person for a three-minute ride. I told my peers that after getting to ride with Mama going speeds in excess of 100 mph not a thrill any more. Besides, once the participants got into the coveralls and helmets required for the ride, some of them were very close to being overheated.

Saturday, I spent the day running a line from the A/C drain to the back of the house to eliminate the hose we have had temporarily connected to the drain. That worked for us but I had it strung through the kitchen, the dining room and the laundry room to go out the laundry room door through the garage into the yard. With the hose in the way we have not been able to close the laundry room door at the dining room, nor the laundry room door into the garage; nor have we been able to fully close the garage door. Now all doors are fully closed and secure, but there is a line running down the living room wall to the sunroom where it takes a hard turn and goes through the sunroom walls to the flowerbed just outside of that wall. It is not pretty, but it will work. Other than running it to the shower in the hall bath or digging it under the slab to connect to the septic line, this was the best solution. (I asked Lee to check out the line that served as the original drain but he found that it was collapsed and unusable.)

Mama and Victoria rescued one of the piglet born to Mollie during the week. Fortunately, she only had four live births. One was not fully formed and one was an obvious runt. The one that Victoria bottle fed was the last one born and there seemed to be something wrong with it but after a weekend of bottle feeding it appears to be fine. Mama and Victoria put it back with its litter last night. I am waiting word to see if it was effectively reunited. The fact that Mollie decided to have the little in the dirtiest place in the hog pen really bothered Mama. Then the rain came and she and Victoria had to scramble to get some old sheets of metal roofing to cover her and the little ones. There was a good shelter only a few steps away but we could not get Mollie to use it.

The other litter of piglets is into everything. I am not ready to piglet-proof the enclosure so they are finding ways out of the enclosure and rooting around in the area we have the boy goats and the chickens in. It is not a big problem. The only real concern is that the dogs will kill one of the little ones when they do get into the yard. Although I do not want the dogs to start killing animals – any more than they already have – that would not be an unworkable solution for me. I am looking forward to getting rid of these pigs – all of them. I just loathe the marketing that goes along with that effort.

All-in-all, it is a small price to pay to keep Mama happy.

Father’s Day, repeat leak, big week

I took the day off Father’s Day. I did not particularly want to but my back convinced me that sitting still or laying down was the course of the day. I missed both church services. I hated that part but I could not function because my back was spasming so badly that I was having trouble dealing with the pain. I ended up taking a muscle relaxer and laying on the couch. I do not know if I moved from 10 am through 4 pm. I did not feel much better for it but the pain and spasms eased up. Sunday night I stayed on the couch even though my shoulders were hurting from sleeping so much there. It is not as comfortable as our bed but having something to press my back against helps with the pain. Monday, I had to call in sick because I was still hurting too badly to function at work.

The electric was off to the house when I did finally struggle to get up Monday morning. As Mama was calling the electric company some service trucks rolled past our property as they headed up to the property past us. It did not help to call the company because all their lines were busy – guess something big was going on. Mama and I ended up having a nice breakfast about 10am when the electricity came back on. After feeding the animals Mama took off for Muenster to pick up feed. I stayed still at the house; or, at least, I tried to.

We have had a recurring leak under the a/c unit. At first it was due to a line plug on the drain line coming from the unit. A trap in the line would plug and cause an overflow onto the floor. Lately the leaks have come from a plugged line going to the septic system. Saturday, I thought I had it beat, but yesterday it began again in earnest. I tried several things to clear the line but I was not able to get it done – partially because I could not fit myself into the bends I needed to get into to work on it. I did find out that the a/c produces about a ½ gallon of condensate per hour because it overflowed the gallon container I had set under the unit to catch the condensate. We called Bro Daniel to see if he could help and he and James came over just as I was getting home from my chiropractic appointment.

They bought a snake with them but were not able to get any further into the line than I had been able to and I did not look forward to the possibility of getting up every two hours to empty the container I had catching the condensate. Since James had suggested a hose run from the line to the yard I rigged one up to run through the house, through the garage and into the yard. It was the best way to get the water out of the house without leaving a critical door open – like the front door. When I checked it this morning it seemed to have worked well enough to keep most of the water out of the house. Not all of it, but a good bit of it. And we got to keep the air conditioner running. I have a call into Lee to see if he can come and look at it for us. I fear it may be a big repair in the works.

This is a big week for the company I work for. We have a conference this week at the Texas Motor Speedway. I will not be home until after 9 pm today and tomorrow so there will be little I can do – as if I could have done much anyway. Mama will meet me at the speedway this evening for a reception the company is hosting for the more than 200 guests attending the conference. She and Red Shaw’s wife, Joanne are planning on hanging out together somewhere along the edge of the crowd. There is a second reception tomorrow night but I am not sure if I will attend. I would rather go to church – especially since I missed Sunday. The only difficult part for me during the conference is the eight-hour training I will be doing on Thursday.

Standing that long is very difficult for me with my current back issues.

Mama’s tough life, backup, first time catch

Soon after I got home yesterday evening, I called Mama to see what she and Victoria and Brittany were into. Victoria picked up the phone to answer. She told me Mama was just getting out of the pool so she had to dry off a little before she could talk. When she did come pick up the phone I apologized for having given her such a tough life; traveling, sitting poolside, shopping, etc. She gave me her, “Yeah, right”, return comments before she launched off into her “newfound” project of finding out just how much it would cost to put in a pool at the farm. Every summer this becomes a topic of discussion. I have to admit that I like the idea of owning a pool, having it ready for me to cool off every summer evening.

I just do not like the idea of maintaining it. For the few hours a month spent enjoying it, there are countless hours keeping it clean, chemically balanced and secured from non-invited animal guests – toads, mice and rats, the occasional opossum, etc. Then there is the money associated with the constant upkeep whether you do it yourself or pay someone else to do it. So, we will work through the numbers and talk about it until the weather is too cool to actually enjoy it. Buying me another year without it. It was blistering hot last night…but a shower worked just as well to cool me down. That water was free of chemicals.

Mama and Victoria will be headed home this afternoon. I know the animals will be very happy to see her again. Especially the inside dogs. I have fed them, but not the way Mama does. She takes time to pour additional things over their food and mix it in with the dog food before she sets it out for them to eat. I figure they are dogs. They can eat dog food – so, that’s what I put out for them. So far, they have not eaten more than a few bites of the food I have given them without the treats. I guess it would take a full week or so for them to be hungry enough to eat the food plain. Tonight, their patience and stubbornness will be rewarded; especially if I tell Mama that that same food has been in their since she put it out Wednesday morning.

Grandma and Grandpa have been coming over late morning or early afternoon to let the dogs out because Mama and Victoria were worried that the additional two hours of my schedule to let them out before I left for work and then again when I get home was too much for them to bear. I do not see it but they were sufficiently concerned to call in backup. I don’t mind. I think Grandma enjoys getting Grandpa out for the trip. He does not range very far afield these days. Grandma will drive out two tanks of gas a week just running about. If it were up to Grandpa, a tank of gas would last a month, but they get by and they seem to enjoy what they have. What more can you ask?

This morning as I went into the well house to get feed for the goats I saw that the trap I leave at that door was closed. I did not immediately see anything in the trap which is not unusual because a rat will crowd under the closed door of the trap to hide. For that reason, I normally have to lift the trap to see what is inside. This morning was a first. Inside the trap was an enormous toad. I took the time to let him out before I scooped the feed I needed for the goats but later had to get the toad back out of the well house. He had gone back in while I was tending to the goats and rabbits in the goat barn. I guess that little tunnel the rats created in the door jamb was just too attractive to him.

It is on my schedule to repair the jamb but it is not a priority, especially when catching critters – even cold-blooded ones -  in the trap is so much fun.

In the baby front, back at the farm

Mama and Victoria made it safely to Brittany’s. Today or tomorrow they plan to celebrate Brittany’s birthday – which is coming up very soon. On the baby front, Brittany’s doctor told her that they would probably take the twins in four weeks. That will put her somewhere around the 32-week mark. For some reason, the delivery gets more complicated if it is delayed further. I will defer to the doctors on the one but that puts us going to meet the newborns sometime the week of the 17^th of July. That will be a new experience for me and Mama. We had three babies born to our children a couple years ago – but they came one at a time. This will be the first twin birth in our family; although we have been dealing with twins (other parents children) since our children were small. Pray for Brittany but especially pray for Andrew. This may be somewhat “old-hat” for Brittany, but it is a completely new frontier for him. It will take him months to adjust.

Meanwhile, back at the farm. I had to get up at 5:30 this morning and do the morning feeding of the menagerie. It is not much earlier than I normally rise but it was a totally different arrangement to the morning. It took me about thirty minutes to get everything done – at least hurriedly - which took away the time I usually spend in Bible reading. I will do that this evening.  Last night I took some extra time to make sure waterers were full. Mama and I have started putting away the feed in the coop every night to try and discourage the rats from taking up occupancy. I am not sure that is working but it is something we can do to make things more difficult for them. So, I put out all the feeder this morning, opened up the coop doors to the yard and made sure there was still plenty of water available. I put out fresh feed for the pigs, goat and rabbits. Then I had to take care of the inside animals. Dressing for work, making my coffee and packing a snack for lunch were squeezed into the remaining few minutes this morning.

Mama is down to three Bantys now. Last night I found one dead in the nesting box of the little coop where they normally roost. We have been wondering why the three remaining birds have not wanted to roost in their normal spot. She seems to have died of natural causes. Mama assumes she was egg bound. It would have been preventable if we had caught it sooner. Alas, we did not. I see some purchases of young Bantam hens in our future. We really like the eggs. Bantams lay a smaller egg but the yolk is about the same size as a normal egg. Since the yolk is where the flavor, that makes them especially flavorful. I will start on a new Banty house very soon and we will use the little house we now have them in for some bunnies.

The piglets are growing quickly. Three of them already belong to Brittany Wycoff. They are not going to be pets. If we end up with any grown pigs from the lot, they will not be pets either. They will be sausage. But for now, they are quite safe. Molly, our older pot belly pig is adapting to her new home in the pig sty but she is not thrilled about it. I am not sure what we are going to do longer term but I plan on taking down the sty and replacing it with something more permanent. The pallets were good in a pinch but they have a short life expectancy – especially against a rooting, full grown, full size pig.

We will still have a pig sty but I will construct something a little less biodegradable.