The weather can’t seem to decide what season it is here in the bluegrass state. We’ve been bouncing around from highs near 80 on beautiful sunshine filled days to near 30 and drizzly like today. I can handle either I just wish it was one or the other. We’ve finally gotten started on building the second set of poultry houses. Just barely though. The contractor got the footers dug and almost all of one house of footers poured and then just like last time, here came the rain. It has rained atleast part of the day every day for a week. Everything here is a soppy mess. I figure it will take until atleast Wenesday or maybe even later to dry out enough to do anything on the buildings.

We’ve used the breaks in the rain to do some fence mending and add a transfer tank and toolbox to the new truck. I made the mistake of leaving hay too close to the fence and the horses rode the fence down eating the hay. Initially I put up corrall panels in the place of the now knee high fence, but the horses just rode those down too. I never realized how destructive horses were. They will stand on anything to reach across the fence and eat. Now mind you, they get hay inside the fence and even sweet feed every day, but that same hay on the other side of the fence is what they desire. One good thing came out of the fiasco. I figured out that I can dig post holes much deeper in this sandstone when I use the loader on the 7010 to put down pressure on the post hole digger. Having 2 tractors really comes in handy at times. It will be cleanout time before you know it and I’m kind of bummed about it because as things look now we will either be renting a skid steer or trading the 6000 in on a smaller HST tractor. I know I don’t really have a use for 3 tractors, but I just hate to see the 6000 go. It has been bulletproof and everything is so simple about it. I suppose I could rent a skid steer, but I’m the type who believes in buying tools and using them until you can recoup your investment, not renting.

Madison finally got her little pigs this week. We got a total of eight. I’ll probably have more in them than I could buy them for by the time they get butchering size, but atleast I’ll know what they are fed. I ended up getting them from the RECC lineman who took the logs. It took him a while, but he finally came back around and I just took the pigs instead of money for the logs.

This past week has been modern gun season for deer here. That’s meant no horseback riding for fear of being mistaken for a deer. Madison is about to crack. Every day I hear “can we go horseback riding yet?” Madison and I have a new favorite song too. Cowgirls don’t cry by Brooks and Dunn. It just plain fits us. The other kids have their own thing, Katie and Garett are bookworms, Kaylee is my cheerleader, but Mattie is my cowgirl! I know I have said it many times before, but I am so proud of my children! All of them! They have what it takes to make it in this world. When you are young you don’t realize the foundation that is being built in you. I still remember my oldest brother Paul’s wedding rehersal dinner. Paul married a girl from a pretty well to do family. All her family showed up in fancy cars and brought fine wine. I commented to my dad that it must be nice to have money. I will never forget his response. He simply said “son when times get rough we’ll make it, but will they”? That’s when I realized money and things don’t make you who you are.

Well I should close, there is tons to do here, literally. I have about 250 tons of rock to spread, trees to trim, fence to fix, christmas shopping to do, and a cleanout plan to configure so I best go for now. Be sure to take a peek at the pics I’ve added and check back soon to follow our progress on the farm! Thanks for reading!

Things are calming down a bit in the chickenhouses and allowing me just a little time to work on other things on the farm. It’s turned winter on us skipping straight through fall. One morning this week we had a dusting of snow on the ground. Just a few days ago it was 70 and sunny. Once again I find myself under the gun to get firewood cut for the winter. I had the electric company cut two huge oaks that had died and have started cutting them into lengths to be split. One of the RECC guys wanted the logs so I agreed to split the money from their sale with him. Little did I know I wouldn’t be seeing a dime. He hauled off 11 large logs. Even loaded them with the RECC pole truck onto his log truck. He came back a few days later, but not to pay me, to take the poles I had paid to have set for the double wide before it’s move. Sometimes things like this make me want to stop trusting anyone.

Garett, Katie, Kaylee, BJ and I got away for the majority of the day last Saturday to attend a native american pow wow. It was called The Princess Cornblossom Festival. They had lots of cool stuff. There were demonstrations with bows and blowguns, dancing, drumming, and lots of artifacts and crafts. I think the kids had a good time and they learned something. This trip kind of killed three birds with one stone. The festival was held at the old 4H camp here in the county. It was one of the first camps built in this area. It’s been a lot of years since it was used for a 4H camp, but there is a ton of history there. Today it’s mostly used just for it’s shelter, but in previous years it had a huge barbecue pit and alot of families had their reunions there. Bj’s folks still have their reunions there. It was a trip down memory lane for BJ. In the 70s the Stearns Coal and Lumber Company donated the lumber from the old Stearns Hotel to the 4H camp and they built a big shelter and bunkhouse. Since then her family has had their reunions there. Before the new shelter there was an older smaller shelter which had a barbecue pit in the middle. Bj says she still remembers her papaw roasting a pig every year in that pit when she was a kid. It’s things like that which I hold dear. Noone can ever take away the stories you can share nor the memories you hold so close.

Construction should be starting any day on the second set of chicken houses. We will be using a group of mennonite builders this time. I hope to keep as much of the money from construction in this area as possible. I had 6 loads of rock delivered and spread on the roads around the building pad. Sometime today I hope to get the time to even them out a bit with the bucket on the 7010. I had to make a warranty claim on one of the wheels last week. I don’t know how I never noticed the wheel was bent. The center disc of the wheel had an obvious bend in it, but I hadn’t hit anything and there was no mark anywhere else on the tire or rim. The only thing the dealer and I could figure is the crate of wheels was dropped somewhere in shipment and no damage noticed. Everyone I talk to says they have never seen the center of one bent.

Well I have promised Madison a horseback ride this evening so I better end for now. I’ve added some new pics so feel free to browse around them. Thanks for reading and check back soon!