Speaking of when the time comes, I was thrilled yesterday to note that Chrystal was in heat. I had heard that it can be difficult to tell, but it was QUITE obvious, once I knew what to look for. Her tail was up, like a little flag; her opening was moist. And today I thought it was a bit swollen. In three weeks, or around October 7, I’ll make sure to look again to see if she is in heat. Michelle assures me, though, that there shouldn’t be any trouble.
I rather like coming outside and smelling the musky buck smell. I like hearing them bleat to me when they see me. And especially I liked handling the goats, for the first time. That made me feel like those goats belong here, that despite Phil’s reluctance and Annabelle’s initial persnickety nature, those girls belong on the farm, at least for now.
Butch came over to talk about how to spread the minerals. He had never seen such a crazy shipment, and suggested (very graciously) that I not order from that place again. I don’t mind looking crazy, mostly because I expected it, but since I’ve now had the doubting comments from Rachel, Butch, and not one but two feed stores (basically everyone I’ve talked to), I’m really hoping this works.
Anyway, Butch suggested that Phil and I borrow his little spreader to pull behind our little riding mower. It’ll take a lot longer (maybe a couple of days rather than a couple of hours), but it would be a lot safer. I enthusiastically agreed. It wasn’t until later in the day that I remembered something (crazy) I’d read some months ago: the phases of the moon affect how well the earth takes in minerals and nutrients, especially in soils low in organic matter. Well, since there are few soils in the world with less organic matter than mine, I figured I should probably review when it would be best to spread those minerals. It turns out that the earth is more porous at the full moon.
Had Butch spread the minerals yesterday, it would have been just about the worst time of month, as we are now approaching the new moon. Yet another little reminder of how God guides and directs us each day.
Butch was really going all out for us. He brought over four more bales of “spoiled” hay, to use as mulch for the garden (or, if the inside is good, free feed for the goats and the soon-to-arrive sheep). These are the big round bales that weigh several hundred pounds apiece, so that amount of hay will be good for some time. And he brought over five bales of good hay, and he let Isaiah ride with him in the enclosed cab of the Kubota to go and pick up two of the bales.
I overpaid him a bit, and I think he felt bad, because later that day I looked over, and there was an excavator tearing up our ground over near the electrical box.I freaked out. I couldn’t find my phone to call Phil. I wondered if maybe Phil had gotten in touch with excavator Randy, who had come to excavate a trench. But if that was the case, he was excavating the wrong spot! Who wants an extra trench?! And we had hoped that Randy could also dig us a little pond while he was there, but was I alone supposed to decide where to put said pond? EEEK! When I finally found my phone, it was dead, so I had to wait longer to plug it in. Then I couldn’t reach Phil.
I steeled myself to go and talk to the mysterious excavator, and gently and humbly redirect the activity.
It was Butch, characteristic cigar in mouth, come with his excavator to remove some of the stumps that were too big for Phil to mow over. “I had an extra hour and just thought this would be fun. You don’t have to pay me or anything,” was his explanation.Abraham and I had a good time watching. And Butch came back again this morning to pull up some more, then called a bit later to let me know that he had left me some tomatoes, and invited me to pick while he and his wife are on vacation this next month. So dear!
The boys and I were reading Daniel 1, and it says something to the effect that God caused Daniel to find favor in the eyes of the prince of the eunuchs. It was so striking that I feel like God did that for us, too, with Butch, a man who does not follow God, but, for some reason, just really loves us. And I made sure that the boys know never to say, “Mommy says that you’re like the prince of the eunuchs for us!” (Can you imagine?!)
I made tea with the spice bush stem that Abraham and I had found. I thought it delicious, and I expect that it would be like chai if I added milk and sugar. I can’t wait until we have milk on a regular basis again. Only five more months or so!
Today was an errand day, which really just means that I needed to look some things up on the internet, and I wanted to see what mail I had. That took several hours. We were also out of water, so I carried the empty 35 gallon water container that Phil bought at the great Tractor Supply Store and put it in the car. It has a nozzle on the bottom and a filling hole in the top, so it is easy to fill and fairly easy to dispense. That size fits in the little cart behind the riding motor, so Phil can drive down to the goat pen, and use the long hose to fill their water bucket over the fence. Michelle complimented the set up (which was lifted entirely from their set up).
I filled the tank at the Bessettes, and was so pleased to have the entire tank to use in the next 24 hours. That is plenty of water for drinking and washing and cooking (even 10 gallons a day is plenty!), and the goats were well-supplied already, so I figured I had plenty of water for my thirsty garden. I have been more diligent to water the original three beds once I realized things are actually growing (yippee!), but I hadn’t once watered the beds planted Saturday. I figured that when it finally rained, it would be time for the seeds to sprout.
Well, I’ve gotten a little nervous about that plan. In part because the kale was supposed to go in the ground on September 1st, which is now two weeks back. And although we haven’t had heavy dew, I’m not positive that the seeds aren’t sprouting. Maybe the dew would be enough.
With my 35 gallons of water, I was ready to saturate the whole thing. Remembering how tiring it can be to lug a 5 gallon bucket of water up the slope, I decided to practice my reverse-driving skills and back the car the 50 feet up the hill. Less water lugging is always good.
In order to back the car those few feet, though, I had to make sure Chloe was in the car. She tends to get stressed if the adults and the cars look like they are leaving without her. And I had to get Jonadab in, because he, too, is pretty connected to his mother. And Abraham piled in for good measure.
I backed up the hill and went to get the hose and fill my first bucket.
It was then that I realized that, at some point, the hose had fallen under the container and was now securely stowed beneath 200 or so pounds of water.
I tried to budge the container, and I am still sure it could be possible for someone of my muscle capacity to move something so heavy. I have read stories in Reader’s Digest about such feats of strength: when a child falls off a ski lift and the little mother holds onto him, dangling in midair, for long minutes, for example. The adrenaline rush kicks in and superhuman feats are possible.
I tried to tell my body that the beets and beans were thirsty, but no adrenaline rush was forthcoming.
Thankfully, Phil had a smaller piece of hose. I was able to unattach the long piece and reattach the short piece.
But now I realized I had parked the wrong way, working against gravity. So again I piled the dog, the Jonadab, and the Abraham in the car and turned it around. Phew! This worked. Slowly, slowly, the water dribbled out of the tank and into my bucket. Then from the bucket to the watering can, and finally from watering can to garden.
Which was fine for the first 25 gallons. But gradually the flow of water trickled to nothing. I had not parked to the full advantage of the slope. So again: dog, boy #4, boy #3 in the car, drive in reverse for about five feet. Third time was the charm. My vegetables were not thirsty any longer.
Back in Colorado, Phil had a chance to meet with our new real estate agent. Our former agent’s contract had (finally) expired, and we immediately contacted the South Boulder expert. He said that we were clearly the best value on the market, and was surprised we hadn’t sold yet. Which I took to mean that God has things he must teach us, and we need to wait for His timing. That was encouraging.
One final example of God’s grace to us. I had been a little put out by the crazy 3000 pound totes from the mineral company. How ridiculously heavy! But as I read through their catalog, I realized that Joe had really been looking out for me. They usually can ship a pallet for $110 each, which would have been $770. (I assume that, had they loaded only one ton in each pallet, it would have been $1100 for me.) But Joe pulled some strings for this raw beginner, and found me shipping for $475. That was really kind of him, and I appreciate it much.
Zach Bush once described his house as feeling “more like home every day.” That’s the way I feel right now.
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