18 February 2011, 1043, Friday, GCEC, Liberty

Not much has happened agriculturally since yesterday.  I fussed and fussed with the darn master bedroom toilet, but only made it worse.  Now, we will just have to use the guest toilet until we can get a plumber to look at it.  I confess that I have no idea what is wrong with it.  It used to leak around the bolts, so I replaced those.  It was holding water, but when I flushed it, water would gush from between the tank and where the tank meets the seat.  I took it off for the 12^th time and put the old seal back, thinking that maybe the new seal didn’t fit.  No luck.  I guess it just didn’t seat correctly.  In thinking about it, I might try again.  However, in all my messing with it the tank fell off the counter and it has a hairline crack.  There may be something that will seal it, so I’ll have to look on line.

Tomorrow will finally be a ranching day.  Those are fewer and further between and I grow frustrated at my inability to do the thing that I came here to do.  I will enjoy tomorrow as much as I can.

Today, I am still watching “The Patriot”, but I brought in some reenacting weapons to help them understand how the technology worked.  That’s an attention getter.  It’s also been interesting walking around in the discipline problem school with a rifle and pistol.

17 February 2011, 0734, Thursday, GCEC Liberty

Not much has happened since my last entry.  I have been subbing every day this week, which is good because we need the money, but I have not been able to do any ranching.  Subbing has been hard recently.  I got word that several students hate me.  I guess this shouldn't be a surprise.  I make them do boring work left by their teacher.  If I do my job, then they will hate me.  I'm just not used that.  When I taught before, I was well liked by my students, so this is a bit of an adjustment.  Oh well, can't be helped.  I will continue to do what I am paid to do.
A student actually locked me out of the classroom the other day.  That was really humiliating, but I take no small satisfaction that he rides people's horses for money and that I was at one time thinking of sending him some business.  Not any more.  Is it wrong to take pleasure in that?
The weather has been nicer.  I am anxiously awaiting the birth of some calves.  On Saturday, we will go take a look.  I will post a picture of our first.
I'm showing the movie "The Patriot" in Social Studies at the alternative school.  Some of them are pretty interested in my reenacting experiences.  One kid asked me what my weirdest reenacting experience was.  After class was over, I remembered it.
We were galvanized (playing Yankee) at a national event, Raymond, MS.  This was a tactical event, with no or few limitations on when action could occur.  In layman's terms, we were not playing to the crowd, but for fun and we could be attacked at anytime.  Anyway, we were making our breakfasts one morning and noticed that we had gotten a lot of flat biscuits (tortillas).  Someone commented that they figured they could throw their tortilla further than anyone else.  That's how it started.  Before long, it escalated into a fight between companies.  Horses were tugging on their leads to avoid the strange white discs flying through the air.  Company commanders were forming their lines to present the maximum firepower to their opponents.  When we were done, it looked like the wilderness that the Hebrews passed through with manna all over the ground.  We retired to our camps, laughing and joking.  Suddenly, a group of riders appeard across the field.  Confederate Cavalry was riding in fast.  One of our Vietnam Vets yelled, "INCOMING!!!" and we grabbed our pistols and returned fire as best we could.  However, amidst the fray, I saw confused Confederate troopers being pelted with Yankee flat biscuits.

14 February 2011, 1024, GCEC

You know what?  It's been too long to even try to explain my absence.  So I won't.  Suffice to say that I've been busy and distracted.
The weather has been cold up until yesterday.  I have gone to putting out 6 rolls of hay every 5 days, just to get them through the cold.  They will still have hay through most of April.  What I am really excited about is that I only have to go out to the New Hay Field twice more and then all the hay we have left will be at the Hay Storage Place in the Old Field.  This will make putting out hay much easier.  I have also decided that 6 rolls at a time is about right.  This will give every cow room at the buffet.
Dad was down Saturday and we looked around a lot.  The cows look good.  They are not fat, but they are not skinny either.  They look like cows in the winter.  I had finally started entering the cows into my management software and realized that we need to start having calves right now.  At least, according to the vet, they should be having cows in the next week or two.  Or maybe a week or two ago.  I took some pictures, which will I will enter into the computer as well.
We also spent a lot of time looking at equipment and trash and supplies stacked around the Cathedral Oaks.  There is a lot of scrap that still needs to be taken off.  Also, we need to start stacking stuff in the red barn.
Over all, things are pretty smooth.  I will enter another post soon.  Not like last time.

27 January 2011, 0819, GCEC Liberty

I know it has been awhile, but I'm back.  Frankly, our situation gets a little tricky at times and defeating discouragement is a constant battle.  It is true that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but it is spiritual and it is internal.  Anyway, it doesn't make for the best of blog entries, so I tend to bypass.  Now, don't think that if you dont' see a new post that we are down.  It's probably just a lack of discipline working as well.

It looks like the oil well is not going to be right in our front yard.  That is great news!  There will still be one somewhere, but the rep from the company seems very concerned with disrupting our lives as little as possible.  Praise God for that.  Also, it won't be happening until the fall.  There is a geologist running around doing a lot of tests.  Yesterday, he had some trouble in the thick stands of tallow trees in the deep woods next to the horse pasture.  He offered me daily what it would take me a week of subbing to earn just to drive around with him in the Gator and knock them down.  Wow!  That's almost a week's worth of subbing.  I though about calling in and canceling my sub jobs for the rest of the week, but I knew that wouldn't be right.  So, we decided that if Anna could run over trees, then she would.  By way of a test, we took him around in the Gator to see if it could handle the job, and sadly it could not.  What we finally decide was that he would do what he could on his own and if he still had work to do on Monday that I would escort him around with a chainsaw and help him out.  He should be calling me today.  That will be good money and good exercise if it works out.  I was about to offer him a horse and take him around mounted.  A horse can go just about anywhere.

After showing around the geologist.  Anna and I got back to what we were attempting to do.  That lovely job was to fix the septic tank.  I had made a gamble and was waiting until the excess water leached out and then all I would have to do is patch up the hole with some concrete.  I lost my gamble, becuase it rained all Sunday and most of Monday.  Swell, we had to pump it.  Most of our job consisted of sitting on the septic tank in a lawn chair dangling an electric pump into the inspection port.  I watched the sunset and Anna read a Thoene novel.  How redneck are we?

We finally got it well-drained and we mixed up some concrete, but the dirt hole on the outside of the septic system kept filling with water.  I ended up applying mixed concrete around the ingress hole as best as I could, but also just dumped a bunch of concrete into the hole.  The water should mix with the concrete and form a decent barrier.  If it's not perfect, then I will redo it in the summer when it is dry.

I have to say how faithful God is.  We are still struggling with knowing exactly what to do, but He has provided me with plenty of work this week and possibly some good money for next week.  Things are going well, but even when they seem to not be, God is still good.

21 January 2011, Friday, 0751, Home Patch

Today is the day that we will learn what the oil company intends to do.  Dad will be meeting with them in a couple of hours, but I will be at work.  Yesterday, we looked around to see if we could find where the well had been in the past, but there is no telling.  That was at least 25 years ago.  We also put out hay.  It was interesting watching his technique.  You think you have it down to a science and them someone comes and shows you something.  For instance, I did not know that you could tip a roll over with the fork on the back of the tractor.  I didn’t think it would go high enough.  You see, all the rolls must be put out on their ends like a donut.  This enables us to pull the hay wrap off.  I was always dropping the hay, then coming around and spearing it, lifting it way high into the air and then dropping it off.  This is kind of fun, I admit, but all I have to do apparently is to poke it just a little bit, then back up.  I also saw Dad drop the hay from the spear in such a way that it will land on its side like a kolache, although this is a tricky maneuver and he met with slightly less success.  (excuse the food references it’s breakfast time)  This is an important move when you are dropping the hay from the New Hay Field to the Savanna over the fence.  You have to go back around and pick the rolls up, and if you can do that without having to tip them, then you have saved time.  I’m actually excited about the next time that I put out hay.

This will be four days from now.  We have decided to put out hay every four days instead of three.  This is back to the ratio of 1 roll per day.  Of course, I could go back to 2 every two days, but that may be harder on the roads, I’ll have to do the math later today.

I’m off to work.  I need to seek my certification, but I really resist the notion of becoming a professional teacher.  That is not why I moved out here, but I will let it rest in God’s hands and be obedient to whatever He wants.

20 January 2011, Thursday, 0818, Home Patch

No job today, so I will do work around the house and some administrative stuff.  I also need to put out hay, but haven’t decided whether to take it from the New Hay Field, way out there, or from the closer and easier Hay Storage Place.  I will probably try to get as much as I can from the New Hay Field before shutting that operation down.

Dad is coming in today and we will make a trip to the courthouse for legal records regarding the oil well.  Other than that, I am not sure what we will do.  I know Dad wants to load some hay to take back to Normangee.  I have a job tomorrow, so I will not be able to meet with the guy, but Dad will ask all the right questions.

Yesterday, after I got home, I tried to fix a problem with our septic system.  Apparently, the hookup guy did not think it necessary to concrete over the hole that takes the intake pipe.  There is a rubber diaphragm there, but it still will take on standing rainwater and make the tank level go high.  Did I mention that the hook up guy was one Jason Crow?  I guess that’s the price of doing it yourself, but when I think of what I might have paid a professional, I’m still glad I did it myself (with help from our ever present Belgian Cowboy).  Water is collecting in a ground hole outside the intake port, so I tried pumping that out with my shopvac, but it was taking too long to drain into that hole, so I am going to try to let the leach field take the water for the next couple of days, then I will pump out the rest with a gasoline-powered pump.  Tricky business, that.  As nasty as the water at the top of the septic tank is the stuff below the water is worse.  I would really like to avoid messing with that.  I will give it until Saturday and monitor it closely.

19 January 2011, 0751, Wednesday, Home Patch

I have pretty much made my peace with the oil well.  The worst thing that can happen is that we put up with the increased traffic for a couple of months, they find oil or gas, and then put a pump in.  In that case, when we decide to build a house, we will just find a different spot.  Or, we can even move the mobile home.  That is what it is designed for.

So, there is nothing I can do about it.  The oil guy is coming out on Friday and if I am not working, I will meet with him.  If I am, then Dad will take care of it.  I am sure he will represent our interests well.

Yesterday, we took a trip to Clear Lake and closed our checking account.  We also made a brief stop at the house.  Everything looks good.  I am tired of making that drive, though.  Of course, it is more annoying when we are going down to check on a house that we don’t want.  It may be easier when we are just visiting friends.

I don’t know much else.  The sun is shining again and I will put hay out tomorrow.  I may start taking hay from the Hay Storage Place close to the house.  Bobcat Woods is getting pretty muddy and we are in the wettest part of the year.  That way the roads will last a little longer.

I don’t know much else.  I could regale all of you with what chores, errands, and tasks that I plan to do, but I always seem to do something like fix the toilet, so I guess that I will tell you what genius ranching thing I have done after I have done it.

All right, I have a job today, so I am off.

13 January 2011, 0702, Thursday, Home Patch

Oftentimes, while plagued by thoughts regarding money, or calf crop, or resources to make the ranch what I envision it to be, I looked out the front window and enjoyed our view.  “At least, we are living here in the country, and I look out my window and see grass and horses,” I would say.  The thought comforted me.  I learned last night that the oil company who owns the mineral rights on this land will be putting in a drilling rig right in that view.  For about three months there will be thousands of vehicles coming and going.  There will be no privacy, no peace.  There will be noise and headache.  If they find oil or gas, then there will be a permanent well, an eyesore serviced by whomever at the company’s will.

Our peaceful life in the country has now been stolen from us.  That’s all we had, God.  They drilled here 25 years ago and decide to come back within months after swe move here.  How is that not God’s will?  Why would God will such a thing?  I am completely discouraged.  Nothing has turned out like I had hoped.  Furthermore, I can’t do anything about it.  The thought even occurred to me that we should move back to Clear Lake, but what can I do there that will pay the mortgage?

Anna, bless her heart, pulled up some scriptures.  The one that strikes home is to “trust in The Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all of your ways acknowledge Him and He will set your paths straight.”  Ugh.  My understanding is the first two paragraphs of this blog entry.  It makes no sense.  Yet, by faith, I acknowledge Him in this way.  I do it here publicly for everyone to see.  I acknowledge that my hopes, aspirations, and vision are subject to His.  For whatever reason, God is the one who has brought the oil company back here at this time.  God will make our paths straight.  “Straight” means along with His will.  My understanding is not good enough here.  I have to rely on Him.

So, I will go about my business.  I will substitute teach.  I will put out hay.  I will fix fence.  God has put me in a place where I have absolutely no control over my circumstances.  There is no illusion of control.  Were I an accountant, or an engineer, I would have long fooled myself into thinking that I could save enough money to do what I want; that the bills that I pay are because of my hard work.  Not here, not now.  I am completely in God’s hands.  I can work as hard as I want to and it won’t make the oil company go away, it won’t make the house sell, it won’t make the cows have calves.  I will work because that is my part, but it won’t make a difference.  God has us right where He wants us.  All we can or even should do is obey what He has told us to do today.

Pray for us, when you think of it.  Thank you.

12 January 2011, 0713, Wednesday, Home Patch

My two and a half week stint subbing at the alternative school in Liberty is over.  For awhile I thought it was going to work into a full time job, but the funding didn’t materialize.  It makes me debate finding a full time thing, but I’m going to ride out the substitute teaching a little longer and see if it can still work.  Of course, the house selling is the main issue.  We have had several showings in the last couple of days and one of them is actually a second showing.  That’s good news.  We hope to hear something soon.

The trick now is to develop and follow a schedule for ranching.  I managed to get up early this morning and get cleaned up, read my devotional, etc. and I am waiting for a sub call or to start working here.  I am so behind on financial statements and email, that that is what I will probably focus on.  As I write this, Sarge has wandered past my window, so I suppose that I will feed when I finish here.

We had a dismounted reenactment in Galveston this weekend.  It is an all powerful reminder of why I am in the cavalry.  I missed my horse.  The battle was pretty fun, if short.  Talking with my friends out there was the high point and I stayed up pretty late both nights.  Monday, we just relaxed.

Yesterday, we took a trip to Beaumont and got groceries and some items for the house.  I also put out hay and the road through Bobcat Woods is getting scary.  The tractor really goes up on an angle at a couple of spots.  Roots growing across the ruts are the main culprit, so next time I go out there on Friday, I will bring an axe and a shovel and try to level it out.

I created a spreadsheet that keeps track of how many rolls are in each field.  My goal has been to quickly transfer as many rolls of hay as possible to the hay storage area close to home.  This will make it easier to put hay out and also it will tear up the roads less.  We now have almost as much hay in the storage area as we do at the New Hay Field.  I just added another formula that predicts that by 17 February, the New Hay Field will be empty.  That’s not too bad.  Another twelve trips and we’ll have it.

07 January 2011, 0805, Friday, GCEC

Today is my last day at my extended sub job at the alternative school in Liberty.  There is a chance they may extend, but it doesn’t look promising.  It is in God’s hands.  It’s hard to say that a lot of the times, but it’s true whether we acknowledge it or not.  It’s definitely easier if we do acknowledge the truth of it.  So, if I get some stability, then great!  If not, then I get to spend more time on the farm.  I can’t lose.

I rolled cartridges last night for a dismounted reenactment this weekend.  Anna even helped me package them.  I look forward to this weekend.  I will miss Anna a lot, but it will still be fun.

We burned some trash last night.  It was pretty redneck, but we actually enjoyed it very much.  It was comfortable in my shirtsleeves outside, so we got some chairs, the camera and our books and sat there and watched the burn barrel.  I got up several times to stir the trash to make sure everything got burned down.  Anna calls this playing in the fire, but it is clear to me that it needs to be done.  I’m sure that there is also a purpose for kicking water up on to the side of the barrel and watching it flash boil, I just haven’t figured out what that purpose is yet.

06 January 2011, 1325, Thursday, GCEC

We put out hay last night and it was basic night ops.  We didn’t get started until around 4:30 and then we realized that we needed gas in the Gator.  So, we took a quick trip to town, got a snack and some gas and finally left on the tractor around 5:15.  We got back to the house around 7:45 after dropping all the vehicles off.  Driving in the dark on a tractor is harder than you might think.  There are lights, pretty good ones actually, and they work fine when you are not carrying a load, but if you have a roll of hay on the front, then all that light is reflected back into your eyes.  The only option is to lift the roll up high, but you have to go way slower so you don’t risk tumping over since the center of gravity is way off.  I messed with it awhile, but finally had to get Anna to lead the way on the Gator.  I could barely see her above the hay, but she did a good job of leading me through the tallow trees.

We put out two rolls of hay and Anna took pictures of the sunset.  It was really gorgeous and the pictures turned out well.  After we had put out a couple of rolls we took another two to the Old Hay Field and parked the tractor.  Dad is out there today and grabbing 5 rolls for Normangee, so we brought him some so to make it easier on him.

When we parked the tractor we shut down the Gator too.  Of course, we could hear the road noise from 770 and 105, but the view of the stars was amazing.  It was very clear and you could see a lot of them.  Those moments are what makes not having any money seem more worthwhile.

04 January 2011, 1614, Tuesday, Home Patch

Okay, the Blog is back from its Christmas vacation.  It was a fairly busy couple of weeks and I’m sure that I have forgotten all but the most momentous of occurrences.  But, I suppose it will make for more interesting writing if I leave out the unmomentous.

The day after Christmas is when my cousins descend upon Batson.  They usually expect some kind of project to do, and I would hate to let them down.  The main thing I have been trying to accomplish is to move hay from the New Hay Field to the Hay Storage Place.  This is rather tedious, since I can only move three rolls on my truck going through town and that is a lot of gates.  With cousins (and their kids) I figure this could be a good deal easier.  Not easy, mind you, but easier.  The other difficult part of this is that the tractor is just slow.  The job worked out like this.  Nathan and his son Duncan worked the hay field end of it while my cousin Shannon’s husband Mike rode with me in the truck.  This sounds like an easy job, but it is not.  In fact, if you ever get roped into doing an agricultural job with someone, try to drive.  If you can’t drive, try to get someone else to go with you and then take the middle spot or the back seat.  In the course of a couple of days, Mike and Duncan probably opened or closed two dozen gates, easy.  You may recall the old Michael Martin Murphy song, “Cowboy Logic”.  He spoke the truth in that except it’s not always the real Cowboy that sits in the middle, just the one with the most seniority.  Anyway, I won’t bore you with all of the details, but due to the truck and trailer having trouble going through a particular mud patch and the rerouting of 15 rolls of hay to the neighbor instead of to hay storage, the tractor crew didn’t ever get to just hang out in the Hay Field waiting for the truck crew to get back.  We were all moving most of the time.  I guess the real adventure came when Mike and I got to the Hay Storage place with the first load of three rolls on the trailer and no frontloading tractor to offload them.  We anticipated this.  The smaller Kubota tractor could easily pull them off and I had picked up a chain.  Easy.  Until we got to the last roll.  That is to say the roll that was on the front of the trailer.  The chain wasn’t quite long enough to reach, so we began yet another Army style Leadership Reaction Course.  We pushed, we pulled, we rolled, and we finally hooked on to the side of the roll to get it the extra distance we needed and in doing so, Mike got to ride the bucking tractor with one wheel off the ground.  That’s always fun.  I also tried to invent a new sport that I doubt you will see in the rodeo anytime soon.  Hay Bale riding!  I was standing on the roll closest to the truck while Mike was pulling on the middle one with the tractor.  Instead of just sliding off, the roll started to tip.  I quickly thought (probably too quickly) that if I could jump on to that bale as it tipped over, I could grab the chain and not have to pick it up and rehook it from the ground.  Well, I rode the bale as it tipped, but quickly gave up grabbing anything, but the bale itself.  Fun, but not something I would recommend.

            Mike got another nice ride during our other chore.  We had to clear some brush and limbs from the tractor path through the woods.  Mike got to ride the hay spear to the top of its reach to get to some of the higher branches.  The man has a lot of trust.

            Not much else of note happened other than people raving about a new cake Anna made for us.  Hey, we’re country people and cakes are newsworthy.  This thing was amazing.  It had pudding and chocolate bars in the mix itself, caramel, cream cheese icing, and cheesecake.  I’m not saying it was rich, but when we moved it you could hear change rattling in its pocket.

            I decided that putting out two rolls of hay every other day is not quite enough.  The main risk is that if the cows run out, then they will start pushing against fences trying to find more.  I’d rather them waste a little then leave the pasture, so I am now putting down 4 rolls every third day.  I did the math in my head on the long tractor trip and that means that cows and horses are getting 1 1/3 rolls of hay every day.  There also needs to be enough hay down so that event the weak ones have a place to eat without getting pushed off.

            On New Year’s Day, Anna’s folks came over and we took a ride.  They were on the Gator while Anna and I rode.  Scout was feeling his oats and gave Anna a little trouble.  He didn’t buck or run off, but he kept trying to go back to the house.  Anna just doesn’t have the experience or confidence yet to make a horse mind, so we switched out and I gave him a couple of lessons.  I’m still proud of her, though.  She was going to ride him back part way toward the end, but I still didn’t like the way he was acting.  Also, when he was being difficult with her, she kept her head (and her balance).  She didn’t yell or raise her voice.  In fact, it took me a while to realize that she was more distressed than she looked.  Anyway, like they say, it just takes wet saddle blankets.

            I tried to level the house yesterday and discovered that several of the middle support beams along the marriage line of the two halves were never put in.  I called the seller and hopefully they’ll make it right.  I also hope they will just level it while they are here fixing it.  Then, I can watch their technique.  I don’t want to have to pay for that every 6 months.

            I’m getting back in the groove with my fairly steady sub job.  I have rigged up an old laptop to take in with me to get some work done.  Maybe it won’t be so long before the next blog.

24 December 2010, 1649, Friday, Home Patch

Tuesday, we took a trip out to Clear Lake to check on the house and stopped at Star Cinema Grill for a movie.  I miss that place, but other than that, the area doesn’t hold much charm for me anymore.  Wednesday, we put out some hay, and piddled around.  We had lunch at Grandmother’s with my Aunt, Uncle, and a couple of cousins.  That was nice.  They also came over to take a look at the house.  Oh yeah, we saw the crazy sorrel mare and the stallion I’ve been calling Brego in the pasture.  These are the horses that I thought may have gone into the deer lease.  So, they are in the right place and I can patch that hole.  Although it’s not super urgent because the horses are not going to leave the where the good feed is.

Thursday was a Santa and elf day.  We did some more grocery shopping.  On that, we have not been doing well about the groceries.  Whenever we get back from the store, we always think of something else that we need.  Back in Clear Lake that was not a problem, but here, it’s kind of an ordeal.  Even during the week, when I am doing a lot of subbing, I can stop off at the store, but during the break, it’s an extra trip.  Anyway, we went to the store, wrapped presents and that kind of thing.

This morning, we slept in a bit, but I got up and rode Sarge some.  I had put an even better set of reins on his bridle, but hadn’t put them in a knot yet.  I got him bridled, then led him out to the stall that the gray mare and colt are at.  I almost tied his reins in a knot on a little half post on that stall, but decided against it.  Instead, I knotted his reins in a loop to throw over his head like normal, then looped the reins on the post.  Good thing, too.  When I was coming out of the saddle house with the saddle, he got spooked at something.  I think it was the dogs, or maybe he didn’t know he was tied.  He pulled back and broke that little post.  Like I said, it was a good thing that I just looped his reins over that post, because if I hadn’t that post would have been chasing him across the pasture.  Not a pretty picture, I’ve seen it before.  To his credit, it did not take me long to catch him.  He really is pretty gentle, just young and green.  I led over to the saddle and finished saddling him while holding the reins myself.  No problem.  I led him around to the front yard and rode him in the horse pasture some, but the dogs tended to spook him a bit.  I took him out to the rode and there was something by one of the barns that he didn’t care for.  It took some convincing, but I got him past it.  He never tried to jump or buck, or even really shy away.  He just kept turning away from it.  I kept turning him back and we did fine.  We went to the double gates and turned around.  I trotted him most of the way back and did a couple of turns by the trailers parked in front of the horse barn.  He did good.  Like a reenacting friend of mine says, “It takes wet saddle blankets.”  Well, they’re not wet yet, but we’re getting there.

Came back and did some stuff in the office, ate lunch and then Anna and I put out some more hay, brought the tractor back and finished spreading the dirt on the culvert bridge.  My tractor started bucking with me while doing that.  I had a load of dirt and hit an uneven patch and the back left tire came up off the ground.  The engine stalled and everything just held motionless.  I got the engine started back up, dumped the dirt and she settled back down.  Can't be too careful.  One more lesson learned.  Then I stacked up all the hay in the hay storage place.

Tomorrow is Christmas, but it still feels like Thanksgiving.  I’m so happy to be here with a wonderful wife and doing the stuff that I love.  It’s not all perfect yet, but I was reminded by one of my faithful blog followers just how far we’ve come in the last 6 months.  Incredible!

So, Merry Christmas to all of you!  I hope your celebrations of the birth of our Savior and King are as joyous as mine have been and will be.

21 December 2010, 0726, Tuesday, Home Patch

Friday night, we went to the new diner in town.  Pretty good food and well-priced (which is important).  We took Grandmother and saw some friends.  It is nice becoming part of the community.  Saturday, we finally got around to going on a ride.  We saddled up Scout and Sarge and took a brief ride down to the pens and back.  Sarge is pretty green and has not been ridden much.  He doesn’t neck rein very well, so I decided that I needed to put him on a limber curb bit.  That’s a bit that is hinged in the middle like a training or snaffle bit, but the reins attach on rings below the bit like a curb bit so you can brake by putting pressure on his chin.  He did fine, he just needs some experience.

We got back and then I saddled up Rebel and we went out again.  We rode out to the new hay field and counted the rolls out there and we have more than we thought.  Good because we won’t run short.  However, that is a lot to move.  I hope we can get that done before it gets wet, because I don’t want to have to put all that hay out from over there.

On the way back, the wild horses were standing somewhat near the gate out of the home side of the pasture, so I set the gates, put Anna dismounted on the road and made a couple of passes at the horses.  I got them separated from the other horses okay, but couldn’t get them through the gate.  I really didn’t open the right gate anyway.  Once I fixed that, I tried again, but they faded off into the patch of woods.  I haven’t seen them since.  There is a fence that’s low that goes into the deer lease to the east of us.  I will leave that open until I see them again.

We had had a busy week, so when we got back, we took a nap and brought the gator over from Grandmother’s.

Yesterday, we fed and I fixed up the new bridle and bit.  Well, it was all old, but I put the limber bit into a relatively new headstall and some old leather reins.  I got Sarge saddled up and was going to tie him in the empty stall in the barn while I helped Anna saddle up and he just went ape all of a sudden.  Anna was standing in the breezeway with a gate between her and the horse.  I don’t know why, but Sarge started bucking.  He kicked the gate, which hit Anna in the chest, then he bucked his way into the stall with me.  I figured that he would jump a couple of times and then settle down, but whenever he looked like he was going to quit, he just started up again.  I had the reins and tried to maneuver him into the stall with me, away from Anna and she got clear to the other side of the breezeway and then the reins broke and he bucked right toward her again.  I advised her to climb out, but I don’t think she really needed my encouragement.  Then, Sarge bucked his way back into my stall and I went over the fence into the next stall and he tore that partition down right after I climbed over.  Then, he finally quit.

I ran around the barn to check on Anna and she was fine, but a little sore and she is carrying a couple of bruises today.  Sarge was now locked up in the barn, standing, but shaky.  I gave him some feed, attached some new reins (good ones this time) and soberly pondered what I would have done had he started bucking and my reins broke while I was riding him.

Ten or even 5 years ago, I’d have gotten right aboard and ask for the worst, but going to war and turning 40 helps you realize that you are not as invincible as you once were.  However, I’m not going to just sell the horse because he bucked a couple of times.  I rebuilt the barn, then led him down to the pens and by that time he was pretty settled.  I rode him back and used the new bit to reinforce his neck reining.  He did fine.

I came to the conclusion that I would much rather have a horse just start bucking with me, than to have the premonition that he might buck.  To have a horse just start bucking is a bit startling, but the adrenalin kicks in and you want to ride him to the ground.  “Buck with ME, I don’t think so!!”  But knowing that a horse is goofy or crazy makes it all the harder.  You’re nervous and he can tell.

I was at a reenactment about 3 years ago and we were all standing in formation with our horses and the colonel asked for a volunteer.  Crickets chirped and tumbleweeds rolled by.  I realized that I was trying to be a leader in the unit and that I was younger than most of them, plus I had been in the army and all, so I stepped forward.  At that very instant, I realized that I had been in the army and should have known better than to volunteer.  The assignment was to ride a staff horse to “warm him up”.  Mr. Jitters was his name and that branding didn’t cover his disposition by a long shot.  This horse was crazy.  I had ridden him before and he gave me a little trouble, but he was put on very skimpy rations at the time.  Now, he was nuts.  I clambered aboard and rode him around the formation a couple of times and every step, he bowed up his back like he was about to explode.  Finally, I let my weight shift ever so slightly and he chose to start.  Don’t think that he didn’t know what he was doing.  That first jump put me off center even more, but I got over him and tried to tuck his head under him and everyone started yelling at me.  They had left out that this horse had a habit of rearing up and tipping over backwards so pulling on his head wasn’t a good thing to do.  Thanks for the information, guys.  Anyway, he didn’t tip, I rode him down and he went back to the picket line.  I guess the staff officer rode in the wagon.  I had put on a show for the whole regiment and thanked God that I didn’t spill in front of them all.  Anyway, like I said.  It’s worse when you know they’re going to buck.

15 December 2010, 2204, Wednesday, Home Patch

I did not have time to mention this morning my attempt to herd wild horses on foot in a coat and tie.  Well, I guess that about sums it up.  Yesterday, when Dad was here, the gate to the main pasture got left open and two of the wild horses jumped the cattle guard (not much of a cattle guard, I suppose) and ended up in here.  They’re not really hurting anything, but I’d rather not have to deal with them.  So, I’m feeding horses this morning.  Normally, when I work, I dress pretty nice.  Anything that gives me an edge as a substitute will help.  I had on my tweed coat, fedora, nice pants and a tie.  I was also wearing my boots with my pants shoved into the tops.  This is so I can feed, I put my regular shoes on when I get to where I am going.  Anyway, I fed all the horses and these two wild ones are hanging around, so I figure I’d give them a go.  I drive down the quarter mile or so to the double gates that are on the side of the road that give access to the main pasture and open them up.  Then I drive back to the barn.  The horses already start to move in the right direction so I follow.  Now herding wild horses is a lot of luck and a little about knowing where to be.  When you herd cows you herd them from a couple of feet to several yards away.  Horses or more like 50-100 yards.  So, they start moving south and I follow.  They then cut into the area between the horse pasture and the main pasture called “Between the Tanks”.  (Okay, not a very fancy name, but I’m not J.R.R. Tolkien)  They turn into there and I follow and then they go west, but I need them to keep south.  I can’t get around them, so just follow them until they get to the end and have to turn back around.  They do, turn back to the east, go out to the road and then turn south….but pass the gate right up.  They turn back to the east into the woods.  I follow a little bit, but then realize that I have to go to work and it would be better if I’m not dripping sweat and have blackberry briars dragging from my breeches.

In the end, we will have to get a little fancier than Sunday go to meeting wear.  I may even try to use a horse, but luck will be what really works.

Okay, here is a map.  This is very crude, not to scale or anything like that, but it may help anyone who is following along to know where things are.  It is intentionally vague in regards to size, location, etc. just because ranchers like to play it close to the vest.  Example:  I get asked a lot how big the place is.  I know no one means anything by this, they are just interested, but it is the same thing as asking someone how much money they have in the bank.  So, the pastures are bigger or smaller, then what the map says, but it will help you get an idea.

15 December 2010, 0749, Wednesday, Gulf Coast Educational Consortium

Two whole days as a bona fide civilian.  It is a little strange, perhaps even a little melancholy, but I figure it would be melancholy 12 years from now too, so I won't fret it.  Anna and I went to Beaumont on Monday night to celebrate and I'm still trying to decide what kind of nonregulation facial hair to grow.  (Provided I get permission, of course).

Dad came out yesterday morning to move the hay that my truck could not.  Anna followed him in the car as he took the tractor to the field.  Here's a summary of how equipment and assets are currently disposed.  Dad got all of the hay moved out of the old hay field except for 12 rolls.  5 will be reserved for a guy who lives down the road from the hay field.  We sold them at well below price, but he's a neighbor and a friend.  Community relations are important in our business.  There are a good 100 rolls in the new hay field.  This hay field is in the pasture, but can still only be accessed by truck and trailer by going through town.  40 some odd rolls are scattered in the hay storage place at the end of our camp road.  The Kubota is in their, but the bucket doesn't work because it is low on transmission fluid.  The John Deere is still in the hay field.  So, we have to put fluid in the Kubota, move it, and at some point spread the dirt on the culvert bridge so vehicles can cross.  We have to move 5 rolls of hay to the farmer down the road, put out the rest of the hay from the hay field, then start putting hay out from the new hay field while trying to figure out a way to move the new hay field hay to the hay storage place.  I am wondering if my truck can pull 3 rolls or so on the flat bed trailer.  The question then is can it get through the Bobcat Woods with a trailer attached.

We have a lot to do and figure out.  It is one of the things that I like about ranching.  It is a combined lateral thinking puzzle and Leadership Reaction Course.  Leadership Reaction Courses are the training tools used in the Army to train thinking outside the box.  Example:  "Take this rope, this barrel, and this paper clip and transport this ammo box full of radioactive material across this pond of water."  Ranching is one giant Leadership Reaction Course.

I still have to do a lot of home stuff the next couple of days, but after that we will begin putting out hay.  Probably at the end of this week.  I will, of course, start a spreadsheet keeping track of what we put out and how fast it is getting eaten.

I will try to post some pictures and maybe a map.

13 December 2010, 0612, Monday, Home Patch

Okay, it has been a few days, and I am more cognizant of that fact due to the happy development that people are actually reading my blog.  So, I tip my hat in gratitude to those folks who have said that they are enjoying reading it every day.  I offer my apologies for not posting every day which will make it abundantly more interesting.

Friday, was uneventful.  Really uneventful.  The sub job I am doing is good because I get to do a lot of reading while monitoring the class, but as much as I love to read, 8 hours straight of it can get old.  Friday night we went to Clear Lake for a Christmas part with the old singles group and that was fun.  Anna brought a cake for the gift exchange.  We got back pretty late.

We ended up sleeping in on Saturday.  Here is where blogging can help us to good works.  I am now committed to telling the story and when I have to say things like, “we slept in” I have to justify it, at least in my own head.  However, we were very tired.  It had been a rough week and we were trying to catch a bug.  So, we finally got up, got situated, found the tractor key over at Grandmother’s, then began.  Everything was difficult.  Neither of us were in the mood to tackle this job and we were both apprehensive about Anna taking the tractor through town when she had no experience on it.  I even had trouble hooking up the hay trailer to my truck.  It had been attached to Dad’s truck, which is much higher so the jack stand was set in such a way that I had to lower it onto blocks in the back of my truck, raise the stand, adjust it, then, put it back down, and finally hook it up to my truck.  Of course, I will have to do the same procedure in reverse so Dad can hook back up to it.  It is still attached this morning.

Getting through town was not as bad as we thought and Anna did well handling the tractor.  I managed to pull the long trailer into the hay field, and we got the five rolls on the tractor.  We decided that the tractor was so slow that it would be better to leave it there.  We can dump the rolls from the trailer without the tractor, bring it back at the end of the day, then stack the hay in the hay storage place.

Here is where we started to get nervous.  Strange smells began emanating from my truck.  The extra 5.5 tons of hay was too much for my truck and I was burning out the clutch.  We managed to get the one load dumped, but we called Dad to let him know and he waved us off.  Neither of us minded.  Later in the day, Anna hauled me to the hay field in the car and I brought back another two rolls on the tractor.  So, we now have 9 rolls of hay in the hay storage place.  There are 150 or so to be moved.  We will have to work something else out.  I can maybe haul 4 by pulling the flatbed with the tractor, but not only will I not be able to haul as much, I will have to unhook and rehook the trailer to put the hay on and off.  Plus, the tractor is just slow.  Probably what we will do is end up trading vehicles with Dad for a spell.  It just needs to happen before the roads and ground get too wet.

So, other than discovering a new reason that I need a new truck that I can’t afford, the weekend was a failure.  We did get a good amount of rest on Sunday, so I think the bug that attacked us was defeated.

I will keep you posted on what we come up with.  For the rest of the week, I will concentrate on tidying up the house, unloading reenacting stuff, cleaning my guns, etc.  I will try to get a ride in with Sarge.  That will be something.

Anna took some horse pictures on Sunday, here they are.

Thanks to everyone who is following the blog.  I am enjoying having an audience.

09 December 2010, 1739, Home Patch

Finally got the burn barrel set up, so I just burned some trash.  I like fire, but I forgot how much they smell.  It is that chemically, Styrofoam cup burning smell.  We need feed so we will go to the store in a couple of minutes.  Other than that, things are pretty quiet.

On Saturday, we need to try to move hay.  I need to get Anna checked out on the tractor to drive down the road.  I am a little nervous about that.  However, I don’t know how else to do it.

Started a sub gig today that will last until next Friday.  Pretty easy.  I actually get to do some reading.

08 December 2010, 0943, Wednesday, Army Reserve Center #3

I was kidding about the weekly blog, but it looks like it may be coming to pass.  I am spending my last day in the reserve center and in uniform.  I find myself quite unemotional about it.  I’m thinking about where to store my uniforms that will maintain them, but not get in the way.  Friday night was the Dining Out and it was pretty successful.  Mr. Vice (for information on that, you should google it) wore my Yankee Cav uniform.  I wore mess dress and Anna had on a beautiful red dress.  We looked nice, I might say.  The rest of the weekend was spent at Dickens on the Strand doing reenacting stuff.  Nothing really worth mentioning there other than meetings and planning about how to work Co. K back into the mix.  Until I get a large enough group we will just fall into Co. F out of Austin.

Monday, Dad and I penned the cows for the last time of the year.  We didn’t get them all, but we sold everything we were going to except for one open cow and a calf.  We can carry them without a problem.

It rained this morning so it may not be possible to move hay this weekend, but that’s the goal right now.  The priority is to move hay out of the hay fields and into the hay storage place, then to spread the dirt on the culvert bridge, then to mow.  The weather could play havoc with this, but there will be plenty else to do if the weather is bad.

Anna called this morning and said that the gray mare and colt were outside the home pasture.  I don’t know how they got out, so that will be investigated this afternoon.  I’m not too worried about them, but I don’t want to have to hunt the saddle horses.

08 December 2010, 0943, Wednesday, Army Reserve Center #3

I was kidding about the weekly blog, but it looks like it may be coming to pass.  I am spending my last day in the reserve center and in uniform.  I find myself quite unemotional about it.  I’m thinking about where to store my uniforms that will maintain them, but not get in the way.  Friday night was the Dining Out and it was pretty successful.  Mr. Vice (for information on that, you should google it) wore my Yankee Cav uniform.  I wore mess dress and Anna had on a beautiful red dress.  We looked nice, I might say.  The rest of the weekend was spent at Dickens on the Strand doing reenacting stuff.  Nothing really worth mentioning there other than meetings and planning about how to work Co. K back into the mix.  Until I get a large enough group we will just fall into Co. F out of Austin.

Monday, Dad and I penned the cows for the last time of the year.  We didn’t get them all, but we sold everything we were going to except for one open cow and a calf.  We can carry them without a problem.

It rained this morning so it may not be possible to move hay this weekend, but that’s the goal right now.  The priority is to move hay out of the hay fields and into the hay storage place, then to spread the dirt on the culvert bridge, then to mow.  The weather could play havoc with this, but there will be plenty else to do if the weather is bad.

Anna called this morning and said that the gray mare and colt were outside the home pasture.  I don’t know how they got out, so that will be investigated this afternoon.  I’m not too worried about the, but I don’t want to have to hunt the saddle horses.

01 December 2010, 1126, Wednesday, Army Reserve Center #3, Houston

Once again the journal irony has struck.  Whenever nothing is happening you have time to write.  Whenever there is something to write about, there is no time.  Last week was Thanksgiving.  I worked on Monday at Liberty Middle School and spent Tuesday and Wednesday preparing for all the activities.  Can’t remember at all what I did.  We took a bunch of trash to the dump, I think and bought groceries.  Melissa spent the weekend with us and we had a lot of fun.  On Friday we went to the Renaissance Fair and even dressed up.  I had somewhat of a costume, but most of what we had was rented from a great costume shop in Sour Lake of all places.  You never know what you will find in the country.  It’s not all gas stations and corner stores.

Saturday, Scott, Chaundra, Darlene, and Val came over.  Scott works in construction and he helped me put in a device at the foot of the blocking gate that will keep cows from stepping in the track and breaking their foot.  The device looks great and will hold up well.  It was a new experience for him.  “Ranching is not the same as construction,” he said.  We kept using scrap lumber and straightening out 50 year old nails for reuse.  He had trouble getting used to not just going to the nail pouch.  We had a lot of fun with the comparisons.  The girls did a lot of straightening up around the pens and cleaned a lot of brush away to make it easier to get around.

Sunday, we took a good rest.  Dad and Linda showed up on Monday afternoon and I was not satisfied with what we had gotten done to that point.  Nevertheless, we managed to make the necessary pen repairs before dark.  We were ready to round up the cows and have them ready for the doc on Tuesday.

Tuesday morning we started early.  The cows were completely uninterested in the gator and the cubes so it started out as kind of a rodeo.  There was a small bunch just inside the savanna so we went ahead and penned those.  The dogs made it difficult.  They don’t know what to do and at first they have try to just chase the cows.  This splits them up, so we had to work against the dogs for awhile.  After we got them moving, however, they started to get it.  Dixie especially was working the front of the herd and keeping them bunched up.  Once they almost got away from us while crossing the gully, but Dixie set ‘em on course.  When she knows what to do, she can be a good cow dog.  I think they’ll get better.

We went back for the second bunch and it was the same way.  Tough at first, but after the dogs got lined out, things went pretty smoothly.  There were about 10-15 head that we never got.  We saw them when we came back after lunch, but they just ran off and we didn’t have the horses, so it was no go.

The vet got there around 2:30.  We worked them pretty smoothly and the blocking gate worked well.  I kept the cows qued up in the chute while Dad worked the headgate, Linda vaccinated, and Anna kept notes on what was pregnant and what wasn’t.  She also worked the squeeze chute and the back gate.  I kept thinking that I should run forward and do that for her, but every time I did she had a handle on it, so I let her continue.  She did great!

The vet checked 38 cows and 31 were pregnant!  This is a far cry from what we had before.  Hopefully we have turned the corner on our glut.  For what we checked we had an 86% pregnancy rate.  What we sold so far was about 15%.  So, Dad and I culled pretty good based on a visual inspection.  Plus, a lot of what we sold we knew were pregnant, just really old.

We also tagged a bunch.  The next step in our cattle management will be to go out and take notes on the color, brand, description of all the cows that are tagged and enter it into the management software that I bought years ago.  I get to manage cows.  I’m very excited.  All that college training will go to good work.

20 November 2010, 0702, Saturday, Home Patch

Living in the country is great.  Teachers openly talk about God in classrooms.  Men giving a special music in church wear the best coveralls and coyotes can be heard close to the house at night.

Thursday, Dad came out to put in the blocking gate so we can palpate the cows.  It turned out to be quite a job.  The thing was pretty heavy, so we used 6” x 6” posts to attach to it.  Half the job was figuring out the procedure.  We both slipped back into NASA mode a little bit and it worked out.  We had to cut some of the boards, then plant the two posts on one side, slide the gate in, hook to it, then plant the posts on the inside.  Not the way either of us imagined how it would go, but it was the best way to do it.  It is one of the joys of ranching to use your head and your back in the same job.  We also talked about how much fun it was working together.  Doing a lot of jobs by yourself can be very tedious and dull, but with someone you care about helping, it becomes more fun.  I suppose that’s why God didn’t let me come out here until I got married.

Not much else happened yesterday.  I subbed at the alternative school and arranged for the vet to come out to palpate on the 30^th.  Today, we are going to Schulenburg to meet Buddy and Betty for lunch.  Anna’s folks will be there as well.

17 November 2010, 1717, Wednesday, Home Patch

Went to my first Civil War Reenactment in many years and got back on Monday.  I had a heck of a time.  I remember how to do everything, but still need to learn how to move troops on the field and the finer points of tactics.  Reenacting is like a big chess game.  I look forward to getting back into it.  I would like to train horses for cavalry, but I have a lot to learn about that as well.

Yesterday, we started some actual ranching.  We dug out some usable wood from the old barn and rearranged the stalls in the horse barn.  We can now feed all three of our saddle horses without having to get in amongst them and all of the stalls are now roughly the same size.  We still need to do more construction in order to sustain more horses and also to feed new horses.  The scrawny gray mare and her gray colt have been coming up regularly.  Now that we are set up to feed them in Sarge’s stall, we are in good shape.  However, another horse has started to come up.  This one is a gray stallion, probably two or three.  He might be a good one to break for reenacting, although he seems pretty wild still.

Tomorrow, Dad is coming with the blocking gate for the chute.  If I don’t work tomorrow, I will help him put that in.

08 November 2010, 0947, Monday, Hull-Daisetta Ag Class, Daisetta

I had my last full drill this weekend.  I still have some work to do with them during the week and next month we will have the Dining Out, but basically, I’m done.  I feel a little sad, but mostly relieved.  A guy I served with in Iraq is thinking about taking over the command.  He is an excellent man and a fine officer.  I would be happy if I could leave my people in good hands.

Tomorrow, I am going to MS for the first reenactment in a very long time.  I am a little nervous.  I’m out of shape and unaccustomed to all of the military encumbrances on person and saddle, but I’ll be all right, I reckon.

There is still a lot of work to do on the actual ranch.  I feel a little guilty running off to play, but hopefully some good will come out of it.  Maybe it will help develop the horse end of the business, who knows?

Finally, I got the details on the Post 9/11 GI Bill.  As long as I take 7 hours a semester, I can get over 1500 dollars a month.  History would be my choice, but when I get the degree, then what?  It won’t make me any money, just help support me now.

05 November 2010, 1034, Friday, Home Patch

A little overwhelmed by all the tasks that need to happen.  Getting reenacting stuff squared away yesterday took pretty much all day.  I also discovered that it is a lot harder to climb aboard a military saddle than it used to be.  I need to get in shape.  I think we are doing better in that regard, but it’s slow going.  I also still need to make cartridges.  However, I am working fairly steady if not 5 days a week.  Once the reenactment is over things will start settling down again.

This weekend is my last full up drill.  There is one more in December, but it will be half a day and then the Dining Out.  I do need to get in as much work as possible in for the Army while I still can.

Every walk I take and every time we walk out the front door, I see things that need to happen on the ranch.  I’m here and that’s a start, but how great it would be to not be enslaved to the need for cash for insurance, groceries, and utilities.

02 November 2010, 2137, Tuesday, Home Patch

Way too much has happened for a blow by blow, so here is a summary.

The party last Saturday for my birthday was a big success.  We shot some guns, drove around the place, ate a lot and I offered horse rides to kids, also taking one myself as we toured the place.  I got a pony ride for my birthday!  Later that weekend and this weekend as well, we continued on the press to sell cows.  We have probably sold 20 or 25 and will do another 30 or so.  We will be palpating in a couple of weeks when I get back from my first Civil War Reenactment in years.  After that, we will be able to see what is really worth selling or not.  It is hard for Dad and me to do this, but it makes sense.

The list of things to do just keeps getting bigger.  Our dogs have a lot of good instinct, but are really no help.  They really got the cows stirred up when we were trying to pen them on Sunday.  I need to figure out how to train cow dogs.  We got some good rides in, though.  Rebel is really quite the woods horse.  I know that the modern ranch has little use for a cowboy, but Rebel is a cow pony from the Big Thicket.  I can look at a space between two trees, give a slight flick of the wrist and he’ll head for it, sparing my knees in the process.  He’s a joy to ride in those circumstances.  He’s not quite as rambunctious as he used to be either.  I intend to saddle him in military style on Thursday and run him through some jumps and saber work.

22 October 2010, 0946, Friday, Hull-Daisetta High School Ag Class, Daisetta

Got the shed built yesterday and got a lot of stuff out of the house.  It is fun to get the house straightened up and lived in.  However, I’m looking forward to beginning doing ranch stuff.  We will be hauling some old tin off today and probably trying to find a place to take our trash as well.  Tomorrow is the party.  That will be fun.

21 October 2010, 1000, Thursday, Hull-Daisetta High School Ag Class, Daisetta

It is my 40^th Birthday today.  One of my recent goals has been to get out to the ranch by the time I am 40 and I guess I did it.  I’m not exactly ranching, but I suppose I’m closer than I ever have been.  We’ve had some discouraging days.  Money is tight and we are accepting the fact that we are going to have to get full-time jobs, at least until the house sells.  That is disappointing, but I am trying to stay encouraged and trusting.  Frankly, it’s not easy.  Anna is very helpful in this regard.  What I am discovering is that even though I manage to maintain my composure, I am nursing a strain of doubt under the surface.  Every now and then it comes out.  So, my new task is to war against the doubt that still exists.

Watching “Silverado” in class.  The teacher doesn’t care much what we do while he is gone.  He gave me a movie to watch, but to keep from watching the same thing over and over I brought a couple of mine in.  I was up kind of late last night and I don’t have much patience for a bunch of knuckle-head sophomores who think they are something special.

With everything else that is going on I haven’t mentioned the grass fire.  I won’t say much other than that someone stole the signs from downtown and we thought the burn ban was off.  A brush fire got away from us and I had to rush home.  I beat the Saratoga VFD by about a minute.  We got everything put out and there was no fine.  God spared us in that.  As a matter of fact, he spared us in the fire itself.  The wind was blowing away from the house, so it didn’t even get close.

We also cleaned up the old pile of barn that was stacked up in our backyard.  It looks a lot better and it also looks like we will have enough lumber to replace the gates and bullwire in the barn with real wood.  This will also let us split Scout’s stall in two and move Sarge under the barn.  We should be able to feed all three horses without leaving the barn.

Getting excited about the big party this weekend.  We still have a lot to do in the house, but I am looking forward to my birthday dinner and movie.  However, we’ll still have a lot to do today.