The weather thankfully changed for the better this week. We received right at 5 inches of rain combined in two short thunderstorms. It wuz so dry that there was no runoff in my pond, but it sure did freshen up the water.
Now we need a few weeks of good weather for the soybean and grain sorghum harvests, and then give us a little moisture for wheat planting. I’m not asking for much, am I? 😉
***
I’ve been going through a season of breakdowns, repair, buy-backs, and maintenance. I mentioned a couple of week ago that the water line broke to the hydrant I use to water my chicken flock and my gardens. My hardware friend, ol’ Nutson Boltz, sent a good plumber/electricial, ol’ Watson Gallons, out to fix it. While he wuz here, I had him install a new cut-off valve in the basement for that waterline. The old valve leaked a bit when in the off position.
I also had the guy install a handy switch at the electrical box into the house to make it easy to hook up my generator if we have bad weather again this winter that shuts off the electricity.
Another breakdown was the coffee maker in the kitchen. That wuz a crisis for Nevah in particular. She’s an early morning coffee maven. I can take or leave coffee. We bought a new coffee maker before nightfall.
Another recent kaput wuz the paper shredder I use to make compost out of all the political mumbo-jumbo I get mailed daily from the political money-grubbers. The old cheap one went on the fritz, so I bought a heavy-duty shredder and it’s working fine, so far.
On the maintenance front, my pickup truck, the riding lawn mower, and my utility vehicle all needed oil and filter changes. I’ve got 2 of the 3 done and have the 3rd one scheduled for next week.
Last, but not least, I sadly discovered that the chicken-killing hawk has not moved on — or at least, another one took its place. A few days ago I had just turned the flock out to range and wuz working in the garden when the roosters let off their “hawk squawk” and every chicken headed pellmell for cover.
But, one hen wuzn’t fast enough and I heard her squawking and discovered her caught by the wing by the chicken hawk and that rascal didn’t want to give up his prize. I almost had to kick him off that hen, but I did, and she ran away to the henhouse and survived. But, I found out later that day that the hawk had returned and killed another hen. So, I’ve had to keep the flock in the small pen the last 2 days where it’s more difficult for Mr. Hawk to catch a chicken.
To make matters worse, the KC Chiefs had a stinker of a football loss last weekend, the KC Royals didn’t make the playoffs again and my college alma-mater, Bea Wilder U I, lost to my other alma-mater, Bea Wilder U II.
***
It’s Pumpkin Patch time, which makes this story appropriate.
“A farmer was driving his tractor pulling a trailerload of fertilizer behind..
A little boy playing at the side of the road saw the farmer and yelled,“What’s in your trailer?
“Manure,” the farmer yelled back.
“What’cha gonna do with it?” the kid yelled back.
“Put it on my pumpkins,” the farmer yelled in reply.
“You should come eat with us. We put whipped cream on our pumpkin pie,” the kid reasoned.
***
Here’s a rural story about intellectual and philosophical reflection.
A farmer was walking through a forest pondering life. He walked and pondered. He felt very close to nature and even close to God. He felt so close to God that he felt, if he spoke, God would listen. So, he asked, “God, are you listening?”
And God replied, ‘’Yes, my son, I am here.”
The farmer stopped and pondered some more. He looked towards the sky and said, “God, what is a million years to you?”
God replied, “Well, my son, a second to me is like a million years to you.”
So the farmer continued to walk and to ponder … walk and ponder. Then he looked to the sky again and said, “God, what is a million dollars to you?”
And God replied, “My son, my son … a penny to me is like a million dollars to you. It means almost nothing to me. It does not even have a value it is so little.”
The farmer looked down, pondered a bit about the financial straits he was in, then brightened and then looked up to the sky and asked, “God, can I have a million dollars?”
God replied, “in a second.”
***
A stressed-out farmer, finally, at the behest of his wife, went for a mental evaluation. While the farmer slouched on the couch, the psychiatrist asked why he had decided to get mental counseling.
Farmer answered, “My wife says that I’m here because I’m not all there.”
***
Words of wisdom for the week: “Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.” Have a good ‘un.
