The Long Monday

And stressful for the dogs! 

There are fields being mowed all around us.  Ramona reminded me why I keep seeing crows and vultures in the freshly-mowed fields.... the animals that were dead (or dying), killed by the mower as it went over the field.  

I don't wanna know. 

They're everywhere! 

I went ahead and put a feeder on the railing of the porch, to try to save a little feed. 

The birds are getting used to it. 

This is the hen spa yard one month after the cochins were removed.  It's a jungle. 

There are two Brahma hens still living there, but they sleep in the dog house just out of sight, though the pophole to the henhouse is open all the time. 

I used the Worx weedeater on it this morning to try to knock down some of the 

growth because the two girls will not come out from under the hen spa. 

I need to catch them and take them across the yard to the red hens in the old hen house, where there is a lot of room for everyone. 

I went into the hen spa yesterday for something, and noticed that the top two rows of nest boxes were empty of straw!  

I still have a 3 step stool in there, so I got it down and climbed up... and found this 

big nest on top of the nesting box.  The only thing I really saw was mouse poop around it, but would mice build a nest this big, and move that much straw? 

I am finding the water bowl for these two hens full of food every morning, indicating possums are visiting them at night. 

They have a 2 gallon water inside the henspa with good water, don't worry. 

The first green pepper is almost there! 

Tomatoes are coming along, too.  I took the Worx to all these boxes, cleaning up around them. 

Pretty soon, I looked around for Lilly, because I realized I had not seen her for 30 minutes.  At this point, I am not letting her in the pasture, it is so overgrown and she comes out covered in seeds (and ticks). 

Before I could call her, she came walking by me very slowly.  

She was wet everywhere but her topline. 

She had been swimming at Troy's, and had come home! 

I went over to check the walk gate, and sure enough, it was open, and will not close now, because the hook won't hook.  I'm going to tie it shut in the morning with some baling string. 

That's the very first time Lil has gotten out and not gotten "lost" and couldn't figure out how to get home. 

We did not have a good end to our morning.  I had to drop something off at the food pantry, so 

went down to town.  About two blocks from the pantry, I heard a wheel make a funny noise. 

By the time I pulled into their alley, it was flat as could be. 

I took the donation in, and asked a friend from church if I could call a tire company... 

and she told me her husband was there volunteering this morning. 

(the man in red). 

I'm going to stop here and tell you a prayer that Keith and I have been praying lately.  It is a prayer that singer Amy Grant says daily: 

“Lord, lead me to the ones I need.

And, to the ones who need me.”

Keith has been saying this prayer daily now for a week. 

You see... the young man who is helping Jim.... is a young man who came there for food. His wife was waiting in the truck.  He could have walked by and left, but instead, turned around, and got down and dirty to help Jim change the tire and put the spare on. 

Out of sight to the left was another old truck, and in it were waiting a young woman and her daughter. 

They also had come for food. 

They saw the problem, and the young mother brought her jack over and handed it to Jim and 

said "Here, try this one".  

Lord, lead me to the ones I need.... 

And some of the eggs we took there Saturday and the donation 

we made this morning were probably in the sacks these young people had carried out.... 

"the ones who need me". 

So you see. 

Here's a short video of Jester being silly to end this post... 

I used the old Canon camera almost all today. 

(Car is now fixed with a new tire... but was a long day!)