Farewell to August

We're wrapping up August with a bow and saying so long.  What a long, hot, dry 31 days?!  We're glad to be putting this one in our rear view mirror.  My son, Russ, was over visiting today and when we passed by the rain gauge mounted on a post in the garden, he remarked, "That's a lonely rain gauge, right there!"  He's right!  It has seed not precipitation in a very long time.

How long, you ask?  Well, let's look at the matrix that we chart daily rainfall.  It has been 47 days since we've had over an inch of rain.  We've had NO rain in the last 41 days.

We have 10 years of detailed rainfall records.  Normally, in a year we average 65.9 inches of rain.  Through August, we have usually had 49.14 inches of rain.  This year we are only at 29.8 inches.  That's about 20 inches short!  Normally, in August we get 9.08 inches of rain.  This year 0.0 inches.  The grass and landscaping is dying.  

The grass looks like it normally does after a heavy frost.  We turned the water sprinkler on and the grass greened up under the oak trees.  Today, we put the electric fence up and let the cows eat the new growth.  They were happy.

There is good news, however.  As I look at the forecast, we have a 37% chance of rain on Sunday, a 53% chance on Saturday, and a 55% chance of rain on Monday.  Those are the best chances we've seen in over a month.

The other good news is this.  LuLu and little Nicky are doing well.  I have had the water sprinkler going in her pasture.  The grass is green and growing.  That's helped her.  She is not back to normal.  The heat has her stressed and I spray her with water daily to cool her down.  But she is getting better.  We thought we might lose her for a while.  Nicky is growing and he kicks his legs in the air and runs around the pasture with energy!

We welcome September.  A month that promises better chances of rain and hopefully cooler temps.

Wrapping Up a Garden/Chicken Project

We butchered all the roosters over a month ago.  We've been eating them and the taste is superb.  They are not as big as the Cornish Cross meat birds, but they taste better, we think.  The downside is that the Cornish Cross birds are ready for slaughter in only 8 weeks, while the birds we hatch from our own eggs take about 6 months to mature. 

Now that all the roosters but two are in the freezer, mostly hens remain in the chicken tractor.  I push them to new grass everyday and bring food and water.  I'm ready to make things easier.  It is time to incorporate this flock into the free-ranging flock out in the pasture.  It's always tricky trying to get the flocks to assimilate.  Birds of a feather, do indeed, flock together.  Before doing so, I'll trim the pullet's wings.

One project must be completed, first, though.  From past experience, I learned that young pullets can squeeze through the 4x4 mesh of the fencing that surrounds the garden.  Chickens get into the garden, scratch up seeds I have planted and eat the plants.  Worse than that, those that can't get in the garden, stick their heads through the fence and scratch away all the wood chip mulch, exposing the ground.  The exposed soil soon sprouts weeds that spread across the garden.  Not good!  

So I embarked on a labor intensive project.   I cut a 1 foot strip of 2x4 welded wire fence and wired it over the 4x4 fencing.  This will, I hope, bar entry into the garden of any pullets.  No way they can get through there.

Then I backfill with wood chip mulch to cover over and choke out any weeds that might try to grow from the previously exposed soil.  I pushed it right up against the fence and packed it in good.  Once it settles, I'll add even more.

I got mostly all of the garden fence complete.  I'm lacking a 6 foot portion on the east side and a 15 foot section against the south side.  I wanted to finish, but it got dark on me.

Once i have that finished, I'll release the chickens that are currently in the chicken tractor, into the pasture to roam - just not to roam in our garden.  Before I do that, I'll clip their wings so that they can't fly out.  Letting them loose on the pasture will save roughly 20 minutes a day in feeding, watering and pushing the tractor.  Always looking to make things more efficient.  We'll see if this time-consuming project pays dividends.

What's the Dill?

September is drawing to an end.  This morning at church in Sunday School we finished up our 13 week study of Jeremiah and Lamentations.  It was a heart-breaking study.  Jeremiah was called the "weeping prophet" because he told the people of Judah a sad story of judgment that was coming.  They had walked away from the one true Living God and were serving false gods.  The prophet pleaded with them, but they would not listen.  

God chastens those who He loves.  There was famine and pestilence across the land.  Jerusalem fell and the people were taken away in exile.  As bad as things had gotten, the study ended with hope, however, that God is a God who is faithful even when His people are not.  His mercies are new every morning.  We fall and miss the mark, but He calls us back.

We know nothing of the suffering like the people of Judah faced, but I'll tell ya, this summer has been trying, for sure.  Paul Harvey, in 1978 said, "Despite all our accomplishments, we owe our existence to 6 inches of topsoil and the fact that it rains."  Except this summer it hasn't rained.  Today it was 106 degrees.  We will get through this, but the plants, animals and humans plead for rain.  We look back longingly to the spring.  Daily we ate crisp cucumber salad with blueberries and fresh dill.  So refreshing and healthy!  The dill has long since died, dried and gone to seed.

I gently pulled the seed heads off of the remnants of the dill flowers.  Some seeds had already shattered and will likely volunteer next spring in the herb garden.  

In the event they don't, I wanted to ensure that I had a good amount of dill seed to grow for next spring.

If the Good Lord wills, cooler days will once again come.  I'll save these seeds for the time when it is right for planting early next spring.  In the meantime, we'll continue to pray for rain.  It's time to be planting the fall garden, but it would be futile to plant anything right now.

This Will Brighten Your Day

I can't even venture a guess at the last time we've turned on the TV and watched the Nightly News.  Same for cable news - we don't have cable.  There's no sense in getting anxious about things we can't control.  We're not in the dark about current events, to the contrary.  We seek out credible sources and look at world events from a Biblical lens.  It's all perspective.  God's on the throne.  He's Sovereign and He's in Control.

Someone forwarded me a You Tube video the other day.  It is 59 minutes long.  It is about a young man named Titus that lives in the hills of Kentucky.  The video is beautifully done.  Titus is genuine and peaceful and the joy of the Lord is all over him.  I intended to watch a few minutes, but 59 minutes later, I had watched the entire thing.  I played it again for my wife.  I'm attaching a link to it below.  I think you'll find it beneficial to watch.  Once you've watched it, what were your favorites?  So as not to spoil, I've listed my favorite points below the video link below:

I loved:    when he stood on his horse and sang.

                when he showed the "funnest" way to get out of a barn and mount a horse.

                when he talked about what saved him from suicide.

                when he climbed trees and moved from tree to tree without touching the ground.

                when he told the story of losing his patience with his horse and how God spoke to him.

All in all this was just a fantastic interview.  If more people had the love of the Lord that Titus has, this world would be a better place.  I think we can all learn from him.  Have a great weekend!

Billy Boy the Bull is a Movie Star!

If you remember, Billy Boy is a Devon bull that we borrowed from a friend to breed Elsie and Rosie.  It was time for the old boy to leave, though.  My friend sold him to someone in St. Francisville, Louisiana.  I set up the livestock panels in a makeshift corral and coaxed him inside with some sweet feed.  Then I closed the panels up, and he was captured.  He didn't like it much being penned up.  He used his horns to try to lift up the green panels to make his escape.  He was unsuccessful in that endeavor.  He did, however, get green paint on his horns.  Remember that factoid at the end of this blog post.

Billy Boy's owner showed up with his trailer and we pushed Billy Boy into it.  Then Billy Boy was off to his new home in St. Francisville.  On the way there, my friend was called and reminded that there was a Beekeeper's Meeting in Baton Rouge and he had to be there.  You see, he sits on the Louisiana Farm Bureau Beekeeper's Advisory Committee.  After a minor detour, he and Billy Boy arrived in Baton Rouge at an impromptu photo shoot.

If you click on the arrow below, you can watch a 3 minute video from TWILA.  TWILA stands for This Week In Louisiana Agriculture.  They talk about beekeeping in Louisiana and the friend we borrowed the bull from is interviewed.  At the 1:28 mark of the video you can spot a cameo appearance by Billy Boy.  You can even see the green paint on his horns from Our Maker's Acres Family Farm!  Great photo bomb, Billy Boy!

Billy Boy should be up for an Oscar in his supporting role from that clip.  Sadly, Billy Boy was not successful in breeding Elsie and Rosie.  He was in our pasture with our cows for 3 or 4 cycles.  We watched him breed both cows.  Here in the past week we've watched both Elsie and Rosie come back into heat.  Doggonit!  

The Road

A week ago I found myself turning west off of Louisiana 26 between Elton and Oberlin.  My job required that I be somewhere that day promptly for an appointment.  As I headed out of town, I knew right off that my GPS was leading me down the wrong road, but I wanted to make absolutely sure so I double-checked the address and then followed the road to its end.  After making a quick telephone call, it was confirmed that I was temporarily lost.  But all was not lost.  I found myself on a beautiful country road.  There was not another soul around.

The sun was blazing all around me and then I came to a point in the road where the trees made a canopy over the road.  The wooded area was thick with brush and timber.  The sun filtered through the trees and the muted sunlight made things look magical.  I stopped the vehicle and rolled down the windows.  A crow was cawing in the distance.  The air smelled cool and fresh.

Peace.  Just a mile to the east is a road that teems with passenger vehicles, grain trucks, tanker trucks, agricultural equipment and an endless stream of people in a rush to get somewhere.  Here I was lost, but that wasn't such a bad thing when you find a little piece of heaven on a back country road.

How long has it been since you turned down a back road that you've never been before?  How long has it been since you slowed down your pace?  Got a good night's rest?  Spent time thinking about and prioritizing things that really matter?

I read something written (Author Unknown) that attempts to capture the gist of this post better than I ever could:

There is more to life

than measuring its speed.

Let me look upward into

the branches of the towering oak

and know that it grew great and strong

because it grew slowly and well.

Slow me down, Lord, and inspire me

to send my roots deep into the

soil of life's enduring values.

Hot & Dry

Summer is always hot, but this summer we're hot AND dry.  Below I've taken a photo of the log that I track daily rainfall.  Tomorrow it will have been a month since it rained.  Everyday high temperatures have exceeded 100 and with no rainfall, well, it's getting serious.  We normally average almost 9 inches of rain in August.  We are at a serious deficit.

The grass is dying and the dirt is now dust.  Apparently there is a high pressure system sitting over the south that won't let up.  Normal afternoon thunderstorms are non-existent.  We have been praying for rain for weeks.  The forecast has not looked promising.

The cows and goats have eaten all of the remaining grass down to the ground.  We're supplementing with hay.  That hay is normally reserved for the fall, however.  Never had we begun haying the cows this early.  Now that I've gotten the chainsaw blade sharpened, I've been lopping off live oak branches that need pruning and tossing them over the fence for the animals to eat on.

Not only is the drought concerning for the pasture that the cows, goats, and chickens depend upon, but it is delaying getting the fall garden in.  We normally have fall Irish Potatoes planted by now as well as getting the cole crops planted by seed.  I haven't even begun any of that.  Afternoons are spent watering sweet potatoes, peppers, okra, butterbeans, etc. that are struggling in the garden.  Five of our Seven pumpkin plants waved a white flag and withered into the dust.

We'll continue to pray for showers of blessing that will bring a refreshing to the land.

Update on LuLu and Nicky

We last reported about LuLu calving in the hottest, driest, most miserable time ever.  It put her in heat stress and possibly a touch of milk fever.  We have been doctoring on her for a week now.  I have been running the water sprinkler since we haven't had rain in a month.  I'm trying to keep a patch of grass alive for her to eat.  Here's old girl standing in the water sprinkler cooling off.  Reminds me of what we'd do when we were kids!

We have been feeding her a little sweet feed mixed with alfalfa and have been drenching her 3 times a day with molasses, apple cider vinegar and Epsom salt.  At first we were bottle feeding Nicky a little bit to supplement, but we've stopped that.  LuLu appears to be producing milk for him.  In fact, we milked out her back teats last night.  We don't want her to get mastitis.  We'll soon start milking once a day.  Nicky is looking spry and healthy now.

His umbilical cord has not fallen off yet.  We have been checking his little horn buds on his head.  I would assume in another week, we'll de-horn him.  He won't like that a bit!

LuLu is not out of the woods, but I wouldn't say she's in "ICU" like she was.  Here she is slowly eating sweet feed mixed with alfalfa.

And here she is eating some hay while keeping a close eye on her little bull calf.  Although a first time mother, she has the motherly instincts.

If we would just get some rain and some cooler temperatures, I think things would get better.  We see no respite in sight.  Next week temperatures one day are showing 104.  Yikes!

Sharpening Up on Skills

"If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend the first four hours sharpening the axe.  - Abraham Lincoln

I listen to a podcast called "The Art of Manliness."  I'm subscribed to their weekly newsletter and they send me emails.  Of of the things I like is they send a weekly "Skill that Every Man Needs to Know."  Some that come to mind are: How to start a campfire in the rain, How to escape a riptide, How to Whistle with your fingers...  You get the idea.  HERE IS A LINK to 100 skills every man should know.  I was thinking about incorporating this into my life.  

One of the things I don't think is in that list is, but should be if it isn't is:  How to properly sharpen a chainsaw.  One of the things that makes cutting logs difficult is if you've allowed your chainsaw to become dull.  You'll know this because you are working too hard!  You'll also know it's dull if your chainsaw is making sawdust instead of wood chips.

My little $69 electric pole saw was doing just that.  I ordered another chain just to be on the safe side (1 is none and two is one!)  I have more than gotten my money out of this little saw, but it has a lot of limbs yet to cut.

Even though I have a new chain, I wanted to do a good job in sharpening the chain on it and get some more use out of it.  I've sharpened chainsaws before with a little rat tail file, but really didn't know what I was doing.  This time, I figured I would learn and do it correctly.  I purchased a 5/32 circular file with a guide.  It cost me a whopping $9.99.  You'll note it has angles on the guide.

The reason why is that you are supposed to sharpen the teeth at a 30 degree angle.

Pick out the tooth you are starting with and mark it with a Sharpie so you know when you are finished.  You simply line the file up on the teeth, positioning your file and guide with the 30 degree angle and push forward until you are even with the last 30 degree line.  Only go one way.  I did it three times.  Then I moved on to the next one.

Before long I was finished.  I want to show you something crazy.  Look at the directions on the back of the file!:

SHUT OFF SAW MOTOR BEFORE SHARPENING

What type of a meat head would try to sharpen his chainsaw while it was running?  I guess a meat head with missing fingers.  What in the world happened to us as a people?  It reminds me of reading this the other day: 

Car manuals in the 1960s told you how to adjust valve clearances, now they tell you not to drink the battery fluid

Ha!

So with the chainsaw sharpened, it was time to test it out.  There were some live oak branches that had grown to where they are touching the roof.  Time to do some trimming.  I leaned the ladder on the roof and set off to test the sharpness of the chainsaw blade.  

Tricia hates when I do this.  I assured her that my affairs are in order as I headed up the ladder.  I pushed the button and the blade chewed through the limbs like a hot knife through butter.  What a difference it made!  It was so easy to cut, I've gone all around the house trimming branches.  The goats and cows are enjoying eating the green leaves off of the limbs.  

LuLu's in Stress

LuLu calved in what might be the worst possible time.  It's hot as Death Valley and there is a high pressure sitting over us that has not allowed it to rain in a long time.  The heat index daily hits "feels like 107."  There appears to be no end in sight.  The pasture, which is normally green looks like this:

The heat, drought, and calf delivery has put LuLu in heat stress.  Although we have administered CMPK gel (Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, and Potassium) we don't think it is full on Milk Fever.  However, her appetite is not good and she completely stopped eating hay for a few days.  We're concerned about her.

We have been mixing sweet feed with alfalfa pellets to feed her.  She SLOWLY eats it.  We watch to ensure she's drinking water.  She has begun, once again, to eat hay, albeit slowly.

It is important to keep her rumen working and help her to get things balanced.  We've been mixing up molasses, apple cider vinegar and epsom salt drenches and then, three times a day, holding her head up and getting that mixture down her throat.

To take a little strain off of her, we've been supplementing LuLu's colostrum for little Nicky with bottles of Jersey cow milk we are buying from a neighbor.  Tricia and I mix up bottles twice a day to give him.  Nicky would rather nurse from his mother, but he's getting enough down where he's hydrated.  We see him peeing and also see him jumping around with energy.  That's evidence that he's getting what he needs.

Each day we're picking sweet potato vines from the garden and feeding LuLu.  It's her favorite thing.  When she won't eat anything else, she'll eat this.

LuLu sits in the shade mostly all day and gets out to graze on the pasture at night when it is a cool 80-something degrees.  She's making limited progress, but Tricia and I have settled in for a long road of nursing her back to health and we'll do what it takes.  If we could just get a break from the heat and if it would only rain, we could experience healing in our animals and land.  At night we've resorted to running a water sprinkler in the pasture where we have LuLu isolated so that at least some green Bermuda grass will grow.  We're doing everything we can and hope and pray we'll be able to save her.  

Strangers In The Night

The evenings, in summertime, are a time of respite from the sweltering heat, from the penetrating rays of the sun, from the busyness of the workday, and from the noise of commerce.  As it gets around 10 o'clock at night, most people are home.  There is stillness and quiet.  All is at peace, or so it seems.  I like to go out and walk and look at the stars, listen to podcasts (Right now THIS ONE) and think.  

I was walking and looked up into the northwestern sky, admiring the masterpiece of the stars in an infinite universe and my eye caught this (apologize for the low quality photography):

A few months ago I wouldn't have known what that was.  Now I know, it is - A Starlink Satellite Train.  SpaceX's Starlink is a satellite train that will provide broadband internet access for people across the globe.  That's something else.  Out in rural America, you can look up and see something manmade way up in space.  It sort of reminds me of the movie, "October Sky" about October 4th, 1957 when the Russians launched Sputnik 1 and many Americans looked in the sky to see the 23 inch sphere pass over the earth.  Whether it is Sputnik 1 or Starlink, there's something a little unsettling about something created by human hands in the heavens.  Fortunately, the Starlink train only lasted for a few minutes and then the stars twinkled once more without competition.

Oh, the sights that you can see at night if you look.  I remember the wise men in the Bible following a star in the sky that led them to the Christ Child.  On Thursday night at around 9 PM we were coming back from the Bayou Beekeeping Meeting and as we turned into our driveway, a flurry of wings became visible in my windshield.  Whatever it was, it flew directly up into the branches of the live oak tree that shades our driveway.  I had a feeling I knew what it was.  We were just talking about "wise" men putting satellites in space and the Wise Men following the Star to the Christ Child and now we see the "wise" old owl.  I opened the door and got out my phone and put it on flash.  The owl was returning my attention with a penetrating stare of his own.  Tricia was concerned that he would swoop down and come into the vehicle with us.  He turned his head on a swivel like they do as if to say, "Nope, I'm going to stay right up here."

I remember spending the first night in our home here in 2001.  We didn't have furniture in the house yet, and we all slept on the floor.  I remember hearing an owl hooting right outside our window.  It might have been in the same tree that we spotted this one in 23 years later.  The owl is welcome on our property.  Hopefully, he'll take care of some of the rats out by the barn.  Hopefully, he'll leave our chickens alone.  That reminds me.  I'm going to go close up the hen house.  I don't want "things that go bump in the night" to be our wise old friend bumping into one of our laying hens.

Look up, be watchful, for your redemption draweth nigh...

Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name:  Amos 5:8 KJV

For Those Who Served

There is a Veteran's Administration Home in our town.  Veterans from all branches of the Service make residence there.  Our little church (before Covid) held monthly services at the VA home.  We said, "If you can't come to church, we'll bring church to you."  We'd meet and sing some old hymns, pray, and then have a message from the Word of God.

Then Covid happened.  We could no longer get access to the VA home or the other nursing homes in town.  We recently started going to one of the nursing homes on a monthly basis, and we're trying to do the same at the VA Home.  But while we are working that out, a local family that sings Gospel music was set to play for the veterans.  They are a great family that plays great music.  The community was invited to attend.  It was at 2pm today.  I took a break from work and Tricia and I made our way over there.

The gospel music was great!  They played old songs like, "When we all get to heaven," "I saw the Light," "Are you washed in the Blood?," "I've never been this homesick before," and "How Great Thou Art."  I looked around the room and those that served our country were really enjoying it, singing along with the old hymns from memory, smiles on their faces.

Many of the veterans had caps on: Veterans of the Korean War, Vietnam Veteran.  If you look in the very center of the photo below and to the far right, you'll see a couple of gentlemen with caps on and you can make out the word, "WORLD" on the cap.  Yep, World War II veterans!  Nurses and attendants served Kool Aid and snacks to them as they listened, clapped along and sang along in praise.

I took a video of a brief part of "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" so that you could enjoy it, too!  Click on the arrow in the center of the photo below and listen as The Crochet Family Gospel Band from Iota, Louisiana sings it.  You can sing along, too.  I know you want to.

Will the circle be unbroken

By and by, Lord, by and by

There's a better home a-waiting

In the sky, Lord, in the sky

Rowin', Rowin', Rowin' on the River...

A few weeks back Tricia and I, along with our two sons, Russ & Benjamin, went on a canoe trip down the Ouiska Chitto Creek in Mittie, Louisiana.  It's on Hwy 26 between Oberlin and DeRidder.   You may recall two months ago we decided to go on a Sunday afternoon drive and ended up in the Ouiska Chitto, walking through the cool water on a hot afternoon.  That sparked the idea to go canoeing.  We had a great time and decided to organize a trip with my sister, her husband and family.

We made reservations, and I took off work on a beautiful (but hot) afternoon.  We met at T&J Canoe Rentals at 9 AM sharp.  It ended up being 10 of us:  Tricia, me, Russ, Benjamin, my sister, Jenny, her husband, Brett, their sons, Conner and his wife Elle, Carson and Landry.  We got on a school bus and headed down to the creek.  We were given a sharpie and told to sign the bus.  

We highly recommend T&J Canoe Rentals, a family operated business.  They request that you not litter because, "It's our backyard.  A place where our children swim. It's our home."  The proprietor is very friendly and talkative.  Here we are launching from beneath the bridge in Mittie. 

We had five canoes total.  There was a nice current in the spring-fed creek.  It's approximately an 8 mile excursion, which takes about 4 or 5 hours, but you can make it last however long you want by stopping on one of many white sand beaches for a picnic.  Here's Jenny and Brett:

First stop was for snacks and lunch.  We had packed an ice chest with watermelon and cold pizza ordered the night before.  We like cold, leftover pizza.  There was a bag of Raisinettes that barely made it around the first bend in the river.

With Tricia in the front of the canoe looking forward, I tested a theory in putting my paddle in the boat and making random splashing noises while I relaxed and she did all the paddling.  The water level was a little low, and there were some obstructions (fallen logs) that we had to maneuver around or over several times, but it was fun and a challenge.

We pretended we were Louis and Clark, not knowing what was around the next bend, far from civilization, lost in the wilderness.

There is one other canoe rental company on the river.  All in all there was not much traffic at all on the river.  We had the river mostly to ourselves.  In our few interactions with other canoers, they were friendly.  Here is our family below, Tricia, me, Russ & Benjamin:

A heron watched with little interest as we paddled slowly by.

This photo shows how clear the water is.  That is crystal clear for Louisiana standards.  Most water looks more like chocolate milk.  The locals describe the Ouiska Chitto as "tea-stained water with white sand beaches."  The Creek is a true treasure - only 30 minutes away from home.

Here is Rose with a nice photo op by the Titanic.  "I'll never let you go, Jack."

We stopped by the rope swing that we swung on last time we were here.  The boys were swinging and jumping off.  This photo reminded me of "The Lord of the Flies."  I almost expected one of them to run out with a pig's head on a pole.

At around 3 pm we caught sight of Carpenter's Bridge in the foreground.  That's the pickup point.  It's a bridge that is closed and supposedly will go under construction soon.  Right now, with it being closed, it makes the trip from Oberlin to Kinder a LONG trip.

The owner of the Canoe Rental company agreed to take a photograph of our motley crew.  

What a great outing we had!