You simply have not lived to garden until your hens are out there helping in the way that only chickens can. One has to be very careful not to step on a head or worse, stick it with a spade fork! But the girls will tear up each clod and check it out thoroughly for worms or grubs. They are not particular. No rake is needed when they finish their job, by the way. Now it might end up as a very deep hole if they are left to themselves, but it is not that difficult to fill in the hole because every speck of dirt is free from grass and rocks after they get through with it. Love my hens!
So almost ready to put chicken wire around the large area where sunflowers are going to grow. Will plant the other stuff inside after the weather gets a wee bit warmer. Cucumbers will climb sunflower stalks with a little bit of encouragement. We will see how it goes.
Lance asked how the old woman was feeling today. A bit sore in the shoulder where the shot was administered, but other than that, good to go. Drove over to the Smith farm and dropped off a sock, some change, and a container left here by Tim. It looked like Stephen must be making fire pits or something special out in their front patio. Will have to ask Cindy--if she even knows. She made the "meat rolls" that she gave to Tim to eat while he was here. DE licious! Bought pizza and hot dogs thinking that he would eat that kind of stuff. Pffffttt. What guy in his right mind would eat that kind of stuff when his grandmother made these rolled up meaty things! Anyway, unless he sampled the ice cream, don't think he ate anything left here for him. Oh well.
Took eggs over to the doctor's office and then hit Market Street for a few things. Got a honeydew melon and thought about whether or not it would be worth planting a vine of them. Really prefer cantaloupe. Oh well. Have some containers to fill with dirt and fertilizer tomorrow--maybe. Still have not put the chicken wire fence up around where the sunflowers will grow. Slowing down in my old age.
Have a good funny book to read tonight. This author uses old folks like me as his main characters--with a double dose of humor. Kinda fun. Mysteries are nearly always interesting, but putting attitude into the situation makes it even better.
The bird for the day is the European Golden Plover. We have some plovers here in the U.S. still, but many of the different species have become extinct. Daddy stopped the car just inside the gate going down the lane to the Grandparent's farm and told us to look and learn. He said, "You probably won't ever see those birds again in a year's time. Folks kill them and the Meadowlark to eat. God knows they are too small for a meal, but some people just kill things and say it is for food!"
The Meadowlark always made me think of a professor wearing his vest and jacket. And they are such very friendly birds with a song to make your heart joyful! Great-grandmother Camp used to feed a Meadowlark every morning from her leftover toast. He never did come eat out of her hand, but he got right up under her feet. He had been injured and had only one leg, but Mimmie said that she knew just how he felt: she had only one good leg to stand on.
Have read a bunch of posts on FB today. Probably should not have done so as so many were asking for prayers for sad situations. But others were celebrating the spring and flowers, trees, birds, and sunrises. When things are in proper perspective, we know that we will have good, bad, terrible, and wonderful--and we just need to be grateful to God for all the blessings He gives us.
Will ask you all again to pray for Joe Malay. He is still one sick puppy with infection in lungs and right leg. High dose oxygen is still ongoing, but he may get to go to another hospital soon and then maybe to Clay County MH before going home. Right now Michelle has her brother-in-law to help her with the dogs and whatever needs to be done, but that all changes when Tim and Mother Malay go home in April. Maybe by then Joe will be better and able to come home. Just remember that Michelle is just ONE of the many who are dealing with hospitals and family with sickness. We know her personally and love her to pieces, but she would be the first to tell you that all of those who are dealing with the healthcare system right now are pretty frustrated.
Two of my grands are off on spring break this week and headed to San Antonio to visit relatives. About all some of us can do is pray for their safety and protection. Traveling on I-35 is a trial all its own! But at least they know how to get there and not get lost. Every time Lewis and his navigator went to Ft. Worth to see Lance while he was at UT Arlington, we ended up in the parking lot of the Salvation Army. EVERY TIME! Jenn says she has been there, too. giggling Nothing like going down Lancaster to the wrong exit. sigh
Still have not even thought seriously about putting things back in place in the kitchen. Will have some cleaning to do on the floor where paint was dropped. Oh well. It does not have to be perfect. The next sprinkle will provide another layer of dog prints. And if it does not sprinkle, that is ok, too. Fresh water in the water bowls requires dogs' feet to be inserted to test the water or whatever. THEN they can track dirt back inside the kitchen door. deep sigh
Lost another pocket knife. Can't figure out how they are getting out of my pocket, but have thought about Granddad Pollard several times. He always thought that Sterling had moved his tools or lost one or more. Daddy once said that if wire pliers and fencing tools could sprout, that old hill above the farmhouse would have so many sprouts that a truck could not take them down. And not to say that my brother never moved the tools, but you can almost bet that any lost tools were strictly Granddad's disposal system. Clay County has many a canyon that sweeps through with fast, high water during a downpour, but the ones in the valley near the farmhouse were the best for taking out sections of fencing while the water ran high. Danged cows KNEW where to find a place to get out, too! Had to go chase in five heifers and the bull one day. The heifers were not too difficult to herd away from Doughitts herd, but if they had mixed in, we never would have got those heifers back! Anyway, headed the heifers toward the farm and the bull suddenly turned on me. My horse was no dummy. She knew that bull could get her. But Daddy saw the bull turn on me and from across the pasture, he flew in that old International pickup truck. He got the bull turned and bumped him all the way back to the top pasture. Granddad sold that ornery bull that year.
Old memories make me wonder how much of life we missed at the time since the memories seem so full of good sense now. My parents and grandparents trusted me and my brother to take care of stock the way they always did. Nothing was put into words that serve my memory now, but we watched and did things the way Granddad did them. The funniest time was when Granddad bought some sheep from some dude out toward Electra. The sheep were supposed to be very calm and had been penned and handled according to the seller. Well, hello! Granddad got home with them and put them in the sheep pen. The next morning we got a call from someone in Byers telling us that our sheep were over there--about five miles from the farm. Granddad got Grandmother up and told her to go herd sheep. We got in her little brown Chevy and herded sheep down a back lane toward the farm. Don't remember now how Granddad got those danged ewes corralled, but they were gone the next day. From then on, he only bought Suffolk or Ramboulet ewes. When the grandparents left the farm, they still had one of each kind of ewe. They gave them to the man at the telephone office in Byers to keep the grass down around the building. Guess they lived out the rest of their lives there. Not too shabby for some real pets.
My childhood was probably one of the best in those days. We did not have money or anything flashy, but we had some good love to share. And my parents did their best to have fun with us. One of my favorite memories is sitting on the ice cream freezer while Daddy cranked the handle and made home-made ice cream. Great stuff.
Well, have a few things to do that include folding the laundry and putting it away. Never ending tasks. May you all enjoy each chore in your days. Rest well and take care of yourselves. You are loved.
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