Three Stooges Hay Baling

Three Stooges studying the situation while eating.

First Bale

I may get in trouble for writing this one, but last week had been one of those weeks. Rick and his "other" brothers had been trying to cut, rake, and bale the hay crop. First, Rick and Greg replaced the spikes on the rake the week before. Monday and Tuesday nights the cutter had to be tinkered with. The third night finally the hay got cut. Next was the hay baler episodes. The guys worked all day Saturday and averaged one bale of hay per hour. The boys were bruised, tired, and scratched up. The hay baler won round one. Sunday was a new day. Same story - second verse. They took Monday off, because they thought the hay might be a little too wet. Tuesday, same story - third verse. The rest of the story is history. The guys decided to buy a new baler. It is Friday afternoon, and we are waiting on the delivery of the new equipment. I made several comments through the week that the old-time farmers, including my dad, are smiling down at these guys trying to figure out how to make these piece of machineries work. Rick's comment is that they are saying, "been there, done that."

A Great Week End

Talk about random, this last Wednesday to Sunday was about as random as can be. Wednesday night Rick and I picked Chad up at the airport. I had a great Thursday with him. Then off to Dallas he went to catch up with Dave and the rest of his friends. Rick and I were off to the races; however, we had a blowout on our travel trailer on I35. Thanks to Rick and Diana they came to our rescue just in the knick of time. Only one tire shop was open at 7:30 at night. We finally got our trailer set up at the racetrack, and off to the airport Diana and I went again at midnight. Jerry came in from Cambodia. We did all the normal race activities. We had great family time with Jenna, a friend, Justin, and Jonah. The races were disappointing, we did not get to see one wreck! Saturday night at midnight we decided to pack up and come home because a storm was brewing. Sunday was the end to a great week. I had ALL my family, except Tara - the newest member in my family, in my house at one time, for a meal of course. Tara, you were missed!

Easter Week 2012

This week is always a special week to me on various levels. So this post will be as random as ever with old and new comments in NO particular order.

My wonderful, beautiful daughter-in-law had her first birthday as a Davis, in Singapore. Luckily, her dad got to go visit and make her birthday special. I am sorry that I missed getting to hug her in person. We are so blessed to have her a part of our family, AND be willing to live the adventurous life with Chad out of the country.

In this past Good Friday post, I explain why good Friday is so memorable to me.

On Wednesday of this week, Marlon, a good friend near to my age, had a "significant" heart attack while playing the drums during praise practice at church. He had to have a stint put in. This morning, he was back at church playing the drums. The entire ordeal was emotional; I am so glad that God chose to let him live.

The Sunday School lesson, music, video, and sermon at church this morning was a fantastic experience. I felt God's presence when we walked in His house. I know with out a doubt that we serve a risen Savior;  I am so thankful that "He Lives," and that this is truly the reason for all seasons.

Rick, if and when you read this, thanks for being in my life these last 10 years. Kids, you were all missed today. For various reasons, Greg, Chad, Jenna, nor Justin got to be with us today.

Thanks to Rick's girls for letting me be a part of their lives. We got to watch four ballgames Saturday of the older grandchildren. Today, Cade and Cali came to visit.

Whoever reads this, I hope that you had a wonderful Easter. Zach played for Deion yesterday on one of his "truth"teams. On the fans' tshirts was a quote that said something about we look good, we play good, we feel good, and all is good. I can't remember the exact saying, but the bottom line was that Life is Good! I hope you can say the same thing. Happy Easter!

The Sad Conclusion

Rick knew best. As I stated earlier, he would not let me name the calf. He had his doubts. The downhill slide began when the mother cow's udders started drying up - one per day. Each day we had less real milk and had to use the fake stuff. By Friday the mother was dried up. The calf would suck from the bottle, but she would not stand up without Rick holding her up. I kept saying that we just needed to do physical therapy on her. The story ended Saturday morning, one week after finding her in the cedar tree; a coyote got her during the night. So the story ends without a "happily ever after."

The Rest of the Story

The little calf I wrote about in the last post has had a tragic experience. She got caught in a huge cedar tree and was stuck for about 24-20 hours. She could not stand up nor could she nurse. Rick has been milking the mother cow and bottle feeding the baby. The baby calf is about as thin as she could possibly be. Time will tell. Rick says that I can not name the calf until it stands by itself.

Our Visitor on the Back Porch

We looked out the patio door to find this little visitor. She was born on Sunday before the rains came. We have watched out for her all week, so she just came to assure us that all is well.

Spring Break 2012

As this spring break comes to a close, it was another fun-filled time for me. I think that this is always one of the fastest weeks of the year, and I even started mine two days early. I will just list a few of the highlights of my week:

• A ladies' trip to Asheville, Gatlingburg, and Pigeon Forge in which we toured the Biltmore Mansion, the Great Smoky Mountains, the Blue Ridge mountain pass, and some cemeteries.
• We finished our income taxes to send on to the CPA.
• Rick and I went to the Good Guys car show.
• We planted our garden hoping the frost is over.
• I worked on a patchwork quilt.
• I read a book that Keelie gave me for Christmas about learning to be thankful for everything.
• We went to two baseball games of the grand kids and a birthday party for another.
• The Easter bunny came, and we decorated the house for Easter.
• Rick and I took my jeep out for several rides at night. There is just something rejuvenating about the wind blowing in your face going down the road.
• God blessed us with the perfect weather all week. It was amazing!

Did you notice something missing from the list? I did NO spring cleaning. Maybe that is why the week was so fun-filled.