A Recycled Foundation

My son Russ lives in a neighboring town.  He had a sidewalk leading from his front door to the street that was cracking due to an oak tree in the yard.  The insurance company warned that a cracked sidewalk was a liability issue, so the sidewalk had to come up.  Russ rented a saw from a rental place in Lake Charles and in half a day we had the entire sidewalk chopped up and hauled to the back of his house.  He filled in where the sidewalk was with topsoil and the St. Augustine grass is quickly filling it in.  Russ attempted to get the town to take the big pieces of concrete to stop erosion in canals or ditches in the area, but they were not interested.  So, what are we going to do?

We poured a little sidewalk linking his old sidewalk to the driveway

I went one afternoon before it got too hot and, using a sledgehammer, I cracked the old pieces of sidewalk into pieces that would be manageable to handle.  The old sidewalk was at least four inches think.  After propping the pieces up on another chunk of concrete, I was able to crack them up pretty easily.

With our recent goat barn renovation, I had a brainstorm.  The goat barn sits in a low area.  We didn't think things through when we built the barn there.  Over the years we've hauled loads of dirt to build up the area.  Unfortunately, the goat barn area was never built up - until this week!  I moved several loads of clay into the barn and leveled it out.  Then we moved several loads of the old sidewalk ten miles east and north to our place.  I arranged them on top of the clay as best as I could so that the pieces fit as close together as I could get them.

The problem with that is the cracks between the sidewalk chunks.  What to do?!  Then we remembered that our neighbor had given us 20 bags of sand that he no longer needed.  I poured the sand in the cracks and let the animals walk on it.  As they walked and the concrete moved, the sand settled.  I added more.  This time the concrete is more firm.  I'll need a few more pieces of the sidewalk to be put in place and then sand poured in the cracks.  Then I'll spray it with water to really set in in good.

This 'recycled foundation' lifted the level of the floor by about five inches, ensuring that the goats will be high and dry.  An added bonus is the concrete will help the condition of their hooves.  They'll be on a firm foundation.  When the town refused Russ' concrete, he made two loads to the landfill to dump the old sidewalk.  I'm glad we were able to get the rest of it!  Always nice to recycle something that's no longer useful into something that is useable and an upgrade.

Sea Oats to the Rescue!

Hebrews 1  New American Standard Bible

God’s Final Word in His Son

1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the world. 3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, to the extent that He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

While on vacation, we saw lots of sights.  I like the beach, but I like the mountains, too.  Tricia and I debated which type vacation we like the best, but never could make up our minds.  Being an agriculture person, I'm always looking at plants, trees and the like, wherever we go.  We hiked on the island and went into a Discovery Center for the Gulf Islands National Seashore.  The Seashore runs from Mississippi to Florida and the museum had a video we watched that was very interesting about the wildlife that inhabits this ecosystem.

One of the interesting things we learned was about "Sea Oats."  I took a photograph of them below.  Sea Oats were all over the sand dunes and birds would fly and roost on the stalk of the sea oats as they swayed lazily in the breeze.  If you look closely below, you can see why they got the name sea oats.  They have a head on them that looks similar to oats.  While what you see above the ground is interesting, it's what you can't see that makes this plant a real hero.

Sea oats, we learned, are a remarkable plant largely responsible for the islands' success in remaining despite hurricanes and punishing winds and water in this extreme weather environment.  Sea oats have an extensive root system that stretches out and holds the sand in place.  If the roots of the sea oats were not there, the sand dunes would be blown away and deposited elsewhere.  This is of vital importance to the mainland as the barrier islands serve as a "first line of defense" against the onslaught of bad weather, absorbing the first blows of hurricanes to protect the mainland.

The Bible verse I pasted above tells us that 'God upholds all things by the word of His Power.'  God holds all things together.  This is very encouraging to me.  As hurricane force winds metaphorically blow in our lives, we need an anchor - something to keep us from being blown away.  God is that rock, that strong tower, that Mighty Fortress that holds us together.

In a time of shifting sand, may we build our house upon the Rock!

Beaches or Mountains?

For family vacations we usually choose between beaches and mountains.  We love them both.  There's no mountains anywhere near here and our beaches are, well, pretty much mud.  After several mountain vacations full of hiking and sightseeing, this year we chose a beach vacation.

We brought food from home, namely fresh eggs that our girls lay, and Tricia started our day with a delicious omelet stuffed with tomatoes, mushrooms, onions and peppers!  My goodness, what a way to start a day off!  Look at how dark yellow those eggs are.  That tells you that the hens that laid them are out in the grass and not locked up in a cage.  It also tells you that the eggs are tasty AND healthy.

After a big breakfast, we set up the tent in the sugar white sand, put on sunscreen and relaxed.  All Day Long!  Oh every once in a while I would get up and wade out a hundred yards and float in the surf, dive for sand dollars, and ride waves.  I also read a couple of books.  It was relaxing and rejuvenating, to be sure.

Despite forecasts of rain, the rainfall stayed offshore and didn't really threaten us at all. While swimming out in the deep water, Benjamin and I saw a dolphin jump out of the water right near us.  Pretty cool.

The surf crashing on the shore is a very peaceful sound in my opinion.  We woke to the noise of the waves and could hear it all night long from our balcony.  The waves keep coming and coming...

On the morning of our last day there, Benjamin and I walked way down the beach as we dodged the encroaching waves.  I may post a few thoughts about this later on. Brown pelicans flew over us, seagulls ran to and fro and little crabs skittered across the sand.  It was quiet and beautiful.

And soon, it was time to go home.  The beach and our little farm couldn't be more different.  From looking at sand and not a blade of grass to looking at dirt and fields of grass.  Both are beautiful and peaceful in their own way.  As much as I love getting away, I always love coming back home!