We Have Visitors

Yesterday Phil's parents came for a visit. It is a nice break for me, as the boys have uninterrupted grandparent time, which leaves me a bit of extra time to work and putter.

Phil walked around the lower pasture and realized that he couldn't see the goats. We hadn't seen them the day before, either, so presumably they got out. Somewhere. Oh, well.

Today we rolled a large hay bale all the way from the top of the upper pasture to the lower pasture. Ken, my father-in-law, drove the truck in front of the hay bale: it was our bumper. Phil pushed the hay a bit from behind, and tried to steer it. I helped with that a bit and managed the gates.

But with all of us working together, we did it! The 2000 pound hay bale really did make it into the cow pen without taking out any fencing, without running away down the wrong slope, without any animals getting out of their appropriate pens. Wonderful!

I spent a little extra time in the garden today, and managed to get two of the beds ready for fall planting. My root crops of a week ago have come up nicely. I think I prefer fall gardening to spring or summer: maybe because it feels like I actually have some success?

We had a very Lykosh farm intensive dinner: burrito bowls with pork, onions, garlic, okra, limes, and lard from our land. (Beans, rice, and spices were not.) Great!

In a bizarre final note to the court case: we received a bill from the county for $10. The judge had fined Phil $100. Somehow, in the checkout process, someone added on a $70 court fee. How that happened, we're not sure, but there was plenty about this kangaroo court that smacks of extortion.

Phil went to pay the $10 fee, but the man at the desk said, "No. You owe $170." So had we only paid the $10 bill via the mail, we would have been in arrears. After all, we did hear the right amount, and therefore should have known that we owed the full amount.

The whole thing leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. Overall, I have loved living in Virginia this last year, but this experience: maybe not so much.