Gailyn, Audrey, swarm trap, planting, signs of Spring

Gailyn arrived a little after 11 am yesterday. Makaila and baby are doing fine. Chase is still figuring out what is going on. Gailyn was just under eight pounds and nineteen inches long. It is definitely a good thing they took her early. In another two weeks she could have gained another two to three pounds. Makaila’s family is very excited about the first granddaughter/cousin being born into the clan. Mama and I are thankful for another healthy grandchild. Mama is making plans for us to visit late in March. Chase and Makaila have a huge support network so there is no need for us to hurry over to meet our newest granddaughter.

Brittany called yesterday to tell Mama that the doctor wants to induce her Monday morning. Brittany is in pretty much the same position neonatally as Makaila was. The baby is certainly large enough to be born and waiting any longer will only complicate the delivery due to the weigh gain possible in the next week or so. Mama will be leaving Sunday after the morning service to drive to Brittany’s. We are not sure how long she will stay, but I am sure it will be no less than a week. Final packing is being done today and tomorrow. The timing could be better because I will be leaving Tuesday for Omaha. I will get back on Friday, but Victoria will be our primary caretaker at the farm for most of that week. She can handle it. She just does not enjoy it like Mama and I do. Added to that is the fact that Mama will be with Zoe and Sophia while she (Victoria) is working. An unpleasant combination for those missing out on the fun but we will all endure.

Mama was talking to Brittany and the twins yesterday evening as she and Victoria were getting back from the vet’s office. Mama, as always, had the phone on speaker. I met them in the garage and asked if there was anything to carry in. The girls heard my voice and started calling out “Papi! Papi!” So, I had to stop what I was doing to talk to them. Grandparenting is such a hardship. I told Mama I will have to remember that Brittany and Andrew’s youngest is Audrey. I have been calling her Aubrey for months.

Mama talked to our beekeeping club president earlier in the week to confirm the date we would need our hives ready for the bees we are buying from him. That date will be after Easter which gives me more time than I thought I had. In the conversation Mama talked with Donny about swarm traps. I have looked at plans for traps and have held off building any because of our financial needs right now. Donny told Mama that there was no need to build a wooden trap. We could simply get a properly sized box outfitted with the right beehive frames to use as a swarm trap. That is a great idea, but it would not last long out in the weather. Anyway, Mama had a box from somewhere that would work out perfectly if we had a place to set it. I decided that since we had everything we needed to make the trap, we should set it in the loft of the goat barn. It took very little time to get it done. Now we will see if we get any good results.

Late in the evening Mama and I spent an hour in the sunroom planting and transplanting various recent purchases. Mama potted strawberries and flowering plants. I worked on planting pecans. I am confident of her work showing success. I am not as confident with my plantings. I have never planted pecans and it feels odd to bury the pecan in dirt rather than cracking and eating it, but that is where pecans come from. If any of the seeds sprout, it will be years before we get any fruit from them. Mama’s strawberries on the other hand are already starting to bear. Maggie called as we were planting, and I told Maggie that Cathryn would be able to pick her own fruit salad if she comes at the right time. Blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, grapes, apricots and pears. We will eventually produce our own honey to put on that fruit salad as well as make our own yogurt. Mama has breakfast covered.

I took a picture of the little crocus flowers we have blooming in the bed in back of the house. Brittany helped Mama plant those bulbs a couple years ago and I have left them undisturbed. Every Spring they produce flowers for us.

It’s the little things that make life enjoyable.

The call, Mama’s struggle, our hog

Makaila called Mama yesterday evening to let Mama know that she would be induced this morning. She and Chase are to report to the hospital at 5 am. Makaila said the doctors would not actually induce her for several hours – probably around 8 am. The doctors are concerned about the size of the baby. She is larger than expected and they do not want to allow her another two weeks in the womb. Mama was as excited as expected, however, we will not go to Amarillo until sometime in late March. Mostly because of my travel schedule, but also so that Mama can be on standby for the call we are expecting from Brittany. If all goes as expected in this birth, Gailyn will be born today. If she holds off until after midnight, she and Owen will share the same birthdate. His birthday is tomorrow, the 28^th.  So, we will get to meet grandchild number 14 today. Lord willing. Grandchild number 15 (Aubrey) will be along very soon.

Mama is going through a rough patch right now. I would appreciate your prayers for her. Kimberlyn made the trip over yesterday afternoon to spend a little time with Mama as a way to encourage them both. Mama seemed the better for the visit, but she did not go to church with me. She had a really bad night Tuesday night and was suffering the effects of that lack of sleep last night. Hopefully, she will be better today. Sometimes, returning from a vacation is a bit of an emotional letdown. Mostly, our lives are not the material for a best-selling novel. But vacation living is not real life. I am not saying that is what caused Mama’s malaise, but there is always a balance to be struck between enjoying the moment and the routine of daily living. We have it so good here in the US. We need to be truly thankful because even in our mundane routine of daily living we are incredibly blessed. Visiting Honduras makes that brutally obvious.

One of the challenges of our lives now – me and Mama – is waiting our turn to be included in the lives of our children and grandchildren. Mostly, our children are very gracious in maintaining that connection. Living on the farm has given Mama a lot to do but there are still periods of loneliness. Mama is a creature in need of connection. Her love language is time spent together. That is a challenge for me. I crave time apart to unwind, to unload, to regroup. Mama does all that when she is in the company of others. I do that while alone. Her connection to her children and grandchildren is paramount especially as we work through some financial issues in which she feels helpless in providing any of the solution. The problem is that I am, for the most part, equally helpless. That can cause friction if we are not careful. So, we are careful. Which is why Mama hesitated to tell me she was struggling emotionally. We will deal with the issue, pray carefully, and watch our God work in our lives.

Mama contacted Ricky yesterday to let him know that the coyotes were getting bad around us. Mama spotted four on at the far side of the open field just across the road from us. That is a problem. Mama wanted to know if Ricky knew of anyone that would be willing to shoot the varmints. In making that contact Mama learned that there was to be a hog hunt this weekend. The grand prize in the contest is $30,000. Ricky said he would have four hunters using night scopes on his property this weekend shooting every hog – and coyote – they saw hoping to kill the prize hog. He went so far as to ask that we keep Sam and Sacha on the farm this weekend to avoid a fatal mishap; and to allow the hogs free reign on his property. Mama and I cannot control Sam’s wanderings but after the first gunshot, Sam and Sasha will be hiding close to the house. I would like to participate in the hunt, but I am no equipped to do so. I will, however, have my rifle loaded and ready just in case I get the chance to take down a hog as they scramble for cover.

Speaking of hogs, ours was taken to the market yesterday. It weighed 313#. We will owe Dennis Brooks one dollar per pound for the hog. A very fair price. Albeit bad timing financially. Mama will call today to arrange processing. The processor also makes boudin, link sausage, and dried sausage sticks which we will include in our order. Kimberlyn and her parents may buy half the hog. That would help us out a lot, but if not, we will make it work. I have to admit, this is about the easiest way to get fresh pork. Financially, it is a break-even deal – without the hassle and monthly expense of raising the hog. Plus, Mama makes pets of all her animals. Even the hogs.

We don’t know this one so it will be eaten with less guilt.

P.S. Just got word that Brittany will be induced Monday. More on that tomorrow.

Predators and protectors, surprise expense, known expenses

Mama are seeing an increase in predators – coyotes specifically. Even before we moved the little ones to the paddock and lot on the East side of the property, we were seeing coyotes in the fiend across the road from us. Often two at a time. One time, while Sam and Sasha were on the trail of one at the far side of the field, another stood very near our property close to the fence line above the quarry lake and just watched the big dogs run off the coyote at the far end of the field. Mama and I watched as Sam and Sasha tracked back across the field and began to sniff out the one we could clearly see. As they zeroed in on that coyote, he finally took off into the tree line and disappeared. Sam and Sasha made their way slowly back to the house. Mama suggested that I try to shoot the coyote nearest us, but it was more than 150 yards away. It would have been a difficult shot through the trees. I erred on the side of caution that time. Besides, Sam and Sasha do not like gunfire.

Now every evening we are hearing the coyotes behind the house. It is difficult to tell how many are hunting in the pack, but it sounds like a lot. Sam and Sasha spend the entire night barking to warn them off, but if this keeps up, they will eventually find a weakness in our defenses. Unless I can start killing them off. With the travel plans we have for the next several weeks, that does not seem likely. It only reinforces the plan on Mama’s part to get a pup to raise up to replace Sam. Sam is having difficulty getting up and down. He has a hip issue that is slowing him down significantly and he is almost eight years old. His running days are coming to an end and we really do need the working dogs to protect our goats. So, we’ll be taking on the challenge of training another guard dog for the farm soon. I am thankful I took the time to make a path beside the shop for Sam and Sasha to have quick access to the back of the property. They have worn a clear path from that access at the back of the shop toward the back fence.

Victoria got an unpleasant surprise on her phone bill yesterday. It seems Mama had been calling Cori on a number that generated international charges when called from a US phone. Fortunately, the charges only amounted to about $120 for the month in question. It could have been much worse. Mama and Victoria got the issue straightened out by queuing the right number for Mama to use in making those calls without charge in the future. It would have been nice to have been warned that the number being used would generate the charges we accumulated, but no such information was given. Lesson learned. I will just count it among the expenses incurred in our trip to Honduras since I had to use the little cash we had left over from that trip to cover it.

I had been scheduled for a pulmonary function test at the hospital tomorrow, but I called to cancel the test because I am still dealing with a cough and a mild bronchitis. I told Mama there was no reason to try to complete the test with my respiratory issues because the hospital would most certainly have charged me for an inconclusive test. As if to reinforce that thought, I got a call later in the day from the billing office at the hospital letting me know that my portion of the cost for the test was going to be $226.09. Good thing I cancelled. That is an expense I would like to avoid for the time being. I have ninety days from the order being issued to get the test done – if I choose to do so – so there is no harm in waiting a bit.

Tomorrow a friend at church will be taking a hog to the meat market on our behalf. I had money set aside for that expense, but it has been used for other things. Mama and I are still going to pay for the hog and for the processing even though we lack freezer space for an entire hog. In the long run, getting one this way is cheaper than raising one ourselves. the timing could have been better, but we will deal with it. In only a few short months we will need the meat as Nate, Cori and the kids stay with us for a time.

Having plenty of meat on hand for that visit will be a good thing.

Help, the move, defending ourselves

Krystal came by sometime yesterday afternoon to drop off Norman so he could do the evening feeding with Mama. Since Mama is on standby and I am definitely traveling next week, Mama needed a backup plan for feeding in our absence. With Victoria working and Grandma and Grandpa some distance away, it makes sense to have a helper closer to the farm. Some things have changed since Norman last helped Mama do the feeding, so he was reintroduced to all the locations where the feed is kept. All the locations of the waterers. All the nuances of who gets how much feed and where to place the feeders in case of rain. We should have plenty of feed available and I will ensure sufficient is put out before I leave next Tuesday afternoon. Norman is a good helper. The saving grace of having younger helpers is that if feed and water get put out on a regular basis, the animals will be fine. Collecting and sorting eggs is a bit touchier, but, again, we can work with however it gets accomplished.

We also needed the help yesterday evening to get the weanling girls relocated. I was not completely ready with the new lot, but I found a piece of fencing to cover the gate. It was made for cattle, not young goats. I also found a few pieces of metal siding to cover the back and some of the sides of the shelter. Until I get that completed, the little girl goats can fit easily into the igloo doghouse I put in the enclosure. It was a challenge to catch a couple of the young ones, but since they are fainting goats, all we had to do was scare them sufficiently to get them to stiffen up and slow down. Once caught we carried them to the new lot. It was a good distance to walk from the paddock with the nanny goats to the new lot (past the house, behind the shop) with a squirming, bleating thirty-pound weanling. But we made it. Norman took one. I took one each time in two separate trips. Victoria took one. Actually, Victoria took the second one from my arms at the corner of the house.

I still need a permanent latch for the gate at the new lot, but I found exactly what I needed at a farm store in Decatur yesterday. I will get that welded on this evening. It was fun yesterday evening finding exactly what I needed for the gate and the back of the shelter in the scrap pieces I have accumulated. None of those pieces needed to be cut. They fit perfectly. I will need to make some cuts to fit metal to the remaining portions for the shelter, but I will not have to buy any metal to get it covered. I get to finish a project and clean up the farm at the same time. A win-win. Praise the Lord!

Kimberlyn might try to get together with Mama today. She and Kenny were at church Sunday night and Kenny gave a presentation on what to do in an active shooter/attacker situation. It is a shame that we, as a church, need to plan and prepare for such an eventuality, but that is the prudent path forward. I came away from the presentation with more questions than answers, but I did not ask for any clarification. Even though Kenny knew what he was talking about, he left some questions in people’s heads on how exactly we are to respond in such a situation. Maybe there are no good answers. The takeaway in general was that you must analyze the situation, accept that there is a danger to you and others and get out if possible. You must deny the attacker access to the area you and others are in – when possible. Several ways were shown on how that can be done. Lock the doors and turn the lights off. Wrapping a belt over the opener arm on a door to keep it from opening. Barricading the door with whatever you can find. Lastly, you must be ready to defend yourself. Do not fight fair. Do not give up. It was a powerful presentation. How we will apply it to our church is being finalized but it was something we needed to see.

Mama’s greatest worry is that in such a situation, she cannot get down to a crawling position and she cannot move quickly. Hopefully, we will never need to apply either of those options. It did make me think of Cori and Nate’s church in Honduras. They are more vulnerable there than we are here. Praise the Lord, nothing like that is happening in Honduras but it does give me pause when I think about how the church is set up. There is still a respect for churches in that culture.

Sadly, here, there is not.

Still waiting, one project, Praise, final grilling

Mama and I are still waiting on the call from Brittany. I assume she and Mama are in contact daily, but I have not been included in those conversations – not do I need to be. The baby will come when she comes. God has an interesting way of doing that. I have often wondered how the body actually knows for certain that the child in the womb is fully developed and needs a breath of fresh air. It is a miracle that still fascinates me in its creative wonder, whether a human birth or an animal birth. Such recreation is miraculous. We take it for granted rather than seeing the blessing it is from God.

Mama and I are also still waiting on news of our two houses in Lawton. I sent an email to our realtor this morning asking for an update. Here is what I said.

“I deposited $3,702.41 into the 39500 Arvest account on Wednesday last week to pay the January invoices. That pretty well emptied my account. Because of the time it has taken to complete these projects (16 months on Dover), I am struggling financially.

So far, we are $120,000 into this venture and I am wondering how close we are to selling either of the two houses.

How much money do you anticipate needing to fully complete the remodels? Please err on the high side of the estimate so I can make sure I have more than enough money on hand to reimburse you. I will work on getting that cash together to see this through.

Thanks for all you are doing for us.”

Whether or not it is taken in the right spirit is in the Lord’s hands, but I appreciate your prayers that it will be well received. I also need wisdom concerning the money needed to finish the houses as well as meet some March expenses.

It will all work out. In fact, we are seeing God work right now. Just before we left, I received a collection notice from our mortgage lender that we were almost three thousand dollars in arrears on our escrow account. That hung over us the entire time we were in Honduras. Our mortgage payment was being raised by $400 per month to cover the past expense as well as cover it in the future. When we got back, I called the lender to get more information and found that the anticipated bill was from Wise County. A trip to the Tax Assessors office gave me the information I needed to straighten out the issue. When I walked into the office, an older employee offered to help me, and I did my best to explain what I had been told by the lender. By the grace of God, he knew immediately what the issue was and gave me a full explanation of the issue that I could share with the lender. As it turned out, we do not owe the amount in question. Our mortgage will go down by $100 per month and we will get a refund for $580 from the escrow account. Praise the Lord!

I did not get anything done that was on my list this weekend. I spent all my time getting a small shelter built in the lot I enclosed several weeks ago. That turned out better than I expected. I still have to skin it, but I may have enough metal siding laying around the farm to get that done. It will be multiple colors, but it will eventually be painted to match the shop. With that done, we will move Midas to that lot and move all the young goats to the paddock where we have the boys right now. All the nanny goats will get the chance to dry up. Plus, we need to put all of them on a diet. They are far too fat right now.

Zach came to get his pellet grill Saturday afternoon. They actually called Friday evening but Mama asked if they could wait until Saturday so I could cook all the meat I asked Mama to thaw for grilling. I spent an hour or so later Friday evening getting all that meat cooked. Victoria and Mama really enjoy how the pellet grill does meats. While we were grilling, Zach sent us a picture of a Craigslist add featuring a Green Mountain pellet grill at a very good price. Oddly enough I had seen that add earlier in the day but passed it up. When we did some research and decided to make the call, we were too late. It had already sold.  

We are definitely going to get a pellet grill. It is only a matter of time.

Balloons, shopping, Brittany. the farm

Mama has had a lot of fun lately with a party favor she found at the Dollar Store. It is a small balloon sealed in a foil package. It does not look like much, but when it is struck (preferable only one time), the balloon inflates and causes the package to pop loudly as the balloon jets out of the wrapping. Some of the “explosions” are pretty loud. I believe all of the grandchildren of appropriate age have had a chance to experience the balloon release and it has been fun every time. The only caveat is that not all the balloons pop out of the packaging at the same rate. There have been moments of frustration when a delayed release has occurred. Eventually all the balloons appeared – when activated properly. It is amazing that, for as cheaply as these are sold for all the engineering and chemistry that goes into their manufacturing and packaging, that there are very few failures. For the most part, they have provided a fun experience for all participants. Mama even shared them with her Sunday School class.

In Mama’s outing with Grandma and Grandpa yesterday, Mama introduced them to WinCo. That is the new favorite for Grandma and Grandpa. They loved the store: the bulk goods, the prices, the layout, the overwhelming selections of conventional groceries and paper goods. It was a good experience for them. They even declined to go to Kroger’s since they found more than they needed at a better price at WinCo. Mama even found some blocks of cheese for less than 50 cents each. If you are willing to take the time in the bulk goods section there are a wealth of excellent offerings there and you can buy only what you need since it is not prepackaged. We buy our flavored coffees there and many of our condiments. The only caveat is that since things are not prepackaged, we have to find containers for the purchases or use them from the little plastic bags offered. Not a big deal.

No new news from Brittany even though she is doing her best to expedite the delivery. Yesterday, she took a dose of Castor Oil and orange juice to see if that would hurry the process. If not, it will certainly empty her bowels. In light of the pending birth, that is not a bad thing. Mama is still on hot standby as Aubrey frustrates her mommy with a delayed arrival. Meanwhile, Zoe and Sophia are happily oblivious to the pending addition to their family life. That is as it should be. Keeping their little sister safe from their ministrations will be a fulltime job for Brittany once the baby is the focus of the twin’s attention. They will be all kinds of help to mommy.

My prediction is that the two sisters will be a lot like Cori was when Victoria was born – only twice as much so. When Victoria arrived, Cori was always ready to get a diaper or a bottle or anything else Mama needed. She was a “little mommy” from the day we got home with the baby and has been so ever since. I can see Zoe and Sophia adopting that role as well. I do not know the depth of the personalities of the girls, so it may be more one than the other in many areas, but I can see Brittany having to gently turn away all the help she is offered. Spending a good deal of time putting away the excess offerings of helpful items the twins bring to any given situation. As the big sisters grow and learn how to actually help, the help provided will be a wonderful blessing to mommy. It will be fun to watch.

I have a lot of chores set up to do this weekend. None of those chores are big, but all of them need to get done and it will take more than this weekend to address the list. As we move into March – very soon – my travel schedule will keep me away from the farm for three of the four weeks of that month, limiting my ability to take on anything major. But, most importantly for this month I need to get ready for bees. Secondarily, I need to get the garden ready for Mama to plant in my absence. As for the bees, I will only start with the two hives we have ready. I cannot take on anything more than that right now. It will give us a good start without overwhelming us. With the garden, Mama and I are going to use planters or tubs for a lot of the plants. Mostly to protect them from the chickens. What we put in the ground will be protected as best we can from chickens, rabbits, raccoons, opossums, squirrels, wild birds, etc. It is always a challenge.

We do not always succeed but I have high hopes for this year.

New meds, busy Mama, almost forgotten

Mama picked up my meds yesterday afternoon. I was going to start them last night, but Mama stopped me from doing so. One of the three is a blood pressure/diuretic pill. The pharmacist had told her when she picked up the medicines to caution me to wait until the morning to start taking anything. Otherwise I would be up all night going to the bathroom because of the diuretic – what people commonly refer to as a water pill. Fortunately, Mama caught me in time. Not that I am sure it would have mattered that much, but I did start the regimen this morning. According to what I have read about the blood pressure medicine, I should feel the effects within a couple hours. It is supposed to slow the heart rate and thereby reduce blood pressure. That should be fun.

Mama is meeting Grandpa and possibly Grandma this morning to drive them to Denton to go grocery shopping. They have decided to limit the money they spend at Walmart. Instead, they will go to Kroger’s and WinCo. Sometimes to Sam’s – but Sam’s is just another form of Walmart. Mama does not mind the shopping trip. She needs to go about the same time that Grandma and Grandpa do, so it all works out. I am not bothered by the extra trip. When we lived in West Virginia, it was a thirty-minute trip to town and an hour or more trip to Sam’s. It is about a forty-minute trip to get to the south side of Denton where we can get to all the stores we need. All of them are clustered in one area for Mama’s convenience. She has been on the go since we returned from Honduras and it does not look like it will let up until after Brittany and Makaila have their babies. Go Mama!

We are still waiting on Brittany as she waits on Aubrey. Mama has a bag packed and almost ready to go. I noticed the suitcase sitting on the bed in the spare bedroom yesterday. Mama is in considerable pain with her knees, but she keeps going. Her discomfort is partly my fault. I let her run out of an herbal combination she has been taking faithfully for years. Somehow, I did not order enough to keep her supplied as well as a friend at church who is taking the same supplement. My bad. As I prepared for the monthly order while we were in Honduras, I anticipated that order being at the house soon after our return. It has not shown up yet. As soon as it does, Mama will get some relief.  

Maggie has been suffering with kidney stones over the past week. Most, if not all have passed, but she is still in pain from the internal irritation caused by the stones she birthed. She has been able to carry out all her mom duties, but with difficulty. Cathryn and Walter are blissfully unaware of the inconvenience as long as their needs and requests are met. So it is with children.

Maggie shared with Mama the other day a question from Cathryn. Cathryn was trying to remember a name and it was eluding her. She asked her mommy, “Who is that boy that lives with Grammy?” Maggie was caught off guard by the question. As they talked for a few minutes, while Cathryn tried to narrow the question, Maggie realized she was talking about me. “Do you mean Papi?” A very relieved Cathryn responded, “Yes. Papi! How come we never talk to him?” It is nice to know I have made an impression on my grandchildren.

It has always been so all my parenting life. When the children were young, I was working rotating 12-hour shift work and was by default a rotating shift father. Missing too many special events in their lives. Mama filled in for both of us. That went on for thirty years. Now, with the grandchildren, I am still working, traveling and mostly in the background as our children, the parents of our grandchildren, make regular contact with Mama (Grammy). I suppose that is the way it will always be. I tried then and I try now to make up the difference in availability in a variety of ways – mostly with longer periods of contact during trips to visit the grandchildren. But I have always been more comfortable in the background watching the activities of my children and grandchildren rather than needing to be a part of those activities. Mama is a creature of contact. Craving that closeness, intimacy and contact time. It is her love language. Making it happen for Grammy, who is far more anxious to engage them, has met my emotional needs as I watch how the Lord is working in the lives of those two generations.

God has been very good to me and Mama and I have always understood that she is far more memorable than me. I’m good with that.