I was discouraged all day, feeling just on the edge, and the edge grew ever more slender. We tried to talk through the various options we have open to us with the house in Boulder, without ever coming to a solid conclusion. I suggested that Phil build a toilet box (basically a wooden box to fit around the 5-gallon “honey buckets,” or poop buckets, we have, so the bucket can be inside without danger of tipping over—gross!) out of the pallets we have. So he spent some time dismantling, sawing, and such. It was slow work, and probably would have been better to just drive in to the hardware store and buy some wood.
The electricity, which we are ready to install on Friday or Monday, is delayed. The trench-digger can’t make it, so the date is now October 12. I should be thankful to have a date, but having a one-week delay was disappointing.
The pigs showed up around noon, trotting down the driveway … and back up, across the road and into the neighbor’s field. They showed up again a few hours later, and again after dinner. We were so pleased—we corralled them, and got them into their fenced-in pen.
They enjoyed the slop I had poured on the ground, and they each got a good shock on the nose. We were training them to the fence. But then we pushed them a little too hard, made them a little too uneasy, so they bolted out of the pen (through the 10,000 volt charge!). We managed to corral them briefly again, but the fence was off and they made good their escape.
I hadn’t showered in eight days and felt disgusting in body, mind, and spirit. We left for Bible study.
Ahh—a shower. A time of worship. A time of being in the Word. So wonderfully refreshing. I can look back on this whole discouraging day and see that it really was not that bad. I got the office trailer a bit more cleaned out; I read 13 picture books to Abraham; I made meals for my family, and we learned a very teeny bit about how to manage pigs. And I read some good poetry.
We studied Luke 9, where Jesus tells his disciples that if they follow him, they must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow him. And they must lose their lives to find them. Jadon, again, was really intent on the study, really involved and flattered at Doug’s amazement at his knowledge of the Bible. He’ll answer a question and get really embarrassed and squirm away with a funny look, but he keeps answering. Apparently Berenice, the lovely older African-American, kept dropping her jaw in amazement at Jadon’s answers: “I would just like to point out that the king of Babylon did not do what Jesus says here,” said Jadon at one point. Or, “Good Ananias made the scales fall from Saul’s eyes; bad Ananias held back some of the money and so died.” Or, “Aaron was anointed [followed by a quote from Psalm 133].”
All very precious.
Besides Bible study, my very favorite part of the day was also almost traumatic. I brought the sheep and goats some minerals. The sheep didn’t move a bit when I offered them—they didn’t even get up. So I sat next to them on the ground, worried that they were ill. How uncharacteristic! For the lounging sheep to not run away! I was able to feel Ashley’s spine—she’s a fat lady. And her hooves do need to be trimmed, but not too badly.
But I got to pet my sheep! I got to dig my hands into her wool and rub her nose—all things I have been yearning to do since they came on the farm. Lovely!
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