Julie Visits

Thursday morning, Linda went to Pauline and Brent's house to pick up Julie. Stacey and I went to Columbia in the 1997 Mustang to have the Ford dealership make a repair. We had ordered a new sway bar for the rear of the Mustang and they put it on in about a half hour and we were back home by a few minutes after 10 AM. Stacey and I went to town for lunch and when we returned to the farm Linda was back along with Julie. We spent the rest of the day and most of Friday playing with Julie and hanging around while Linda babysit her. We did go to town to eat and took Julie for lunch on Friday.
 
Saturday morning Pauline and Brent came over early. They missed Julie and arrived before 8 AM to our surprise. Linda fixed everyone breakfast and we watched them play with Julie. Brent had read about the tree being blown down so he was wanting to work on it. We went outside around 10 AM and hooked the trailer to the back of the Mule, then went and picked up the chainsaws at the hay shed. We pulled down to the edge of the creek and looked at the tree. We both said it was going to be a big job. The hickory tree had limbs that were as big as trees I had cut down for firewood and they were heavier wood. We cut up the pieces and loaded them on the trailer, then hauled them over to the back of the hay shed and dumped them in front of the wood shed. Linda came down with Daisy on a leash and said it was time to go eat lunch, so we unloaded the trailer and pulled the Mule and trailer in the barn. We went into town and ate, then back to the farm and played with Julie a while. Brent and I went to the wood shed and split some of the pieces with the log splitter until dark. We went inside, showered and watched Julie and TV the rest of the evening.
Sunday morning after breakfast, Brent and I worked on the tree until we had most of the limbs out of the way. Linda, Stacey, Pauline and Julie came down to help a little and watch. They brought the car and had Julie setting in the back of the HHR watching us work. The temperature was in the 60s and Brent and I were working in t-shirts The girls helped by picking up the smaller limbs and tossing those in the creek A few of the bigger limbs were in the creek, so I started the tractor and Brent hooked a chain to them and then cut them loose from the tree trunk with the chainsaw and I lifted them with the tractor and carried them to the bank and set them down there. After we had cut everything off of the trunk that was small enough my 20" chainsaw would cut, I used the tractor and pushed the trunk of the tree off the bank and into the middle of the creek. I scraped most of the remaining debris into the creek for it to wash away. We quit, put the tractor, trailer and Mule away and went inside as it was starting to become cloudy. Linda fixed a good dinner and we ate and played with Julie for a while. PB&J headed home around 4 PM. Stacey and I watched the Super Bowl while Linda went to Regina's house to visit.

Tornadoes In The Area

Early in the day I went to the wood shed and split some of the wood from the old hickory tree Brent and I cut up over the weekend. Stacey and Linda came down a little bit later and stacked the split wood into ricks inside the wood shed. We finished and went to town and ate lunch, then returned to the farm. Linda worked at the after school day care and when she came home, Stacey and I were ready to go to the basketball game. Cumberland County played Warren East. The CC boys team lost by a lot, but the CC girls team had a tough game. They ended up winning by about 12 points. We left the game and went back to the farm. The weather forecasters had been predicting severe storms would hit our area Tuesday night since Monday morning. I watched the Nashville channels and monitored the National Weather Service Radar as the storms began developing. A storm with a tornado was being tracked across TN and reports were coming in of a 'tornado on the ground'. After about an hour the storm was coming close to Cumberland County, a Tornado Warning was issued and looked like it might hit near our farm. We gathered up candles, a flashlight, and took the laptop and drove the Mule down to the smokehouse about 11 PM. I sat outside the smokehouse and continued to monitor the radar using the wireless laptop. Finally the rain began and we all went down in the cellar and set on our lawn chairs with the candles burning. The rain wasn't that bad, but the wind was fairly loud and seemed strong. I don't believe a tornado was near us though. We stayed in the cellar about 25 minutes and then the weather calmed down. I went back outside and restarted the laptop and could tell from the radar the worst had passed, so we went back to the house. We all stayed in one bedroom and Linda and Stacey slept in their clothes. I monitored the TV and radar until the last of the severe weather missed us about 2:30 AM. Then we all undressed and went to sleep. This morning I took a short ride around the farm and everything had held together. The only problems we had was the creek was out of it's banks and has dropped debris in the hay fields.

Junk In Fields

Stacey had been feeling good for a week or so, but the weather has been strange. It has rained and Stacey put together another puzzle during the days.
 
The severe weather didn't do much damage to our farm, but the creek being out of the banks left debris all over the fields.
 
Linda and I went across the creek to see what had been dropped in the fields and took Daisy along since she had been in her pen for two days.
 
After the storms the sky was beautiful as the sun was going down.
 

Breakfast In Town

I'm planning on being out of town Thursday so Stacey will be going to Smith's Grove with Linda to baby sit Julie for Pauline and Brent. That caused Stacey to have to change her plans with Jason to have breakfast this morning instead of Friday morning like they usually do. Stacey had told Jason during their last phone call that we would be coming to eat breakfast so he was expecting us. We parked and went inside and Jason was already sitting at a table. We joined him and Stacey gave him some candy for Valentine's Day. Jason was surprised and even more surprised when we told him Stacey would be out of town till Friday evening. Jason whipped out his cell phone and made a call. We ordered our food and the waitress brought it and we began eating. A few minutes later, his mom pulled up outside. Jason stepped outside and took a Valentine's Bag from his mom and came back inside and gave it to Stacey. Jason and Stacey were both smiling as Stacey pulled out a Happy Valentine's Day Teddy Bear and a Jimmie Johnson heart shaped tin of chocolates.

They giggled about the stuff and immediately started arguing with me about who's my driver this year in the NASCAR series. It went on like that as we finished breakfast and then the waitress came by to check if we needed anything else. She patted Jason on the back and told him he did good. I picked up the tickets and paid while Jason, Stacey and Linda remained at the table giggling about what had happened and making plans to meet at the Cumberland County basketball game Friday evening. We gave Jason a ride to his job at Houchens and then went back home. Linda worked at the day care and Stacey and I took Daisy for a run while she was gone. We also took the log splitter down to Steve's house so he could split his wood. We stacked the rest of the split wood from the hickory tree into the wood shed.

Freezing Rain and Snow

We had rain yesterday with temperatures near 50 degrees, then after dark the temps dropped into the mid 20s. The rain kept falling and began freezing, then early this morning it changed to snow falling and we woke to about an inch of snow on the ground. The snow was still falling and I talked Linda into taking a ride in the Mule with me to take a few pictures and let Daisy out of her pen.
 
The sun was shining while it was snowing as I looked back at the house on my way to start the Mule. Linda went to the barn stall and let Daisy out. We loaded Daisy in the back and drove down by the creek and I took a few pictures while Daisy romped around in the snow.
 
She was as frisky as a puppy. It might have been the first time she had been in the snow since she was old enough to remember. She kept coming back to the Mule like she wanted to get back in because she didn't know what to think about the snow.
 
The rain water had the creek flowing too quickly for the water to freeze.
 
I loaded Daisy back in the Mule and headed back towards the barn to put her in her stall, but stopped by the edge of the road and took another picture of our house with the light snow on the ground.
 

Valentine's Day Trip

Stacey and Linda woke up early and began to dress for their trip to Pauline and Brent's house to baby sit for Julie. I showered and dressed for a trip to Louisville to see the National Farm Implement and Machinery Show. We all left the house around 6 AM. I drove down to our neighbor Steve Riddle's house and picked him up for the ride to Burkesville. We arrived at the Bank Of Cumberland and were told to go inside. We went inside and were offered sausage biscuits and something to drink. We waited a few minutes for everyone to arrive as we ate. Shortly, we loaded on the chartered bus and headed to Columbia to another branch bank to pick up more people. We made the short stop in Columbia and there was a second bus with others on board A few minutes later, both buses pulled out and we were headed towards Campbellsville and then on to Louisville. The bank's employees passed out drinks and a small bag of goodies during the trip.

We unloaded at the front of the Lousiville Exposition Center and walked into the building slightly before 10 AM. Since this was the second time Steve and I had went we had a better idea of the layout of all the buildings and we began our tour up and down almost all of the aisles.

The place was crowded but not enough to slow us down most of the time. Steve was interested in looking at cattle gates and I was mostly just looking at everything, but not that interested in buying anything this year. I had came back from the show last year and bought a new tractor from a dealer in Tompkinsville. Of course, there are things I would like to buy if I had an unlimited farm budget. One is pictured below.
  
The piece of equipment in the left picture above hooks to the back of a square hay baler and the bales come out of the baler and go right into the 'Bale Band-It'. The machine then stacks 21 square bales and puts two wire straps around those bales to create one large bale. The large bale is then dumped out into the field to be picked up by another tractor with a front loader or hay spike. It takes all the hand pickup and tossing the bales on a hay wagon out of square baling of hay. It also makes the stacking of the hay done in the barn capable of being done with a tractor similarly equipped. We each picked a long line to stand in to get our choices of lunch and met again to eat, then resumed our tour of some of the attached buildings with more displays. After touring almost every aisle, we returned to the eating area to just sit down slightly after 2 PM. It was the first time we had set down since we got off the bus. We waited until the bus pulled up in front of the entrance where we had been dropped off and then we boarded just before 3 PM. We had a few minutes to wait until everyone was on, then the driver pulled the bus away and we headed back to Columbia. The driver stopped in Columbia and unloaded several guests, then we continued on to Burkesville arriving right at dusk. Steve rode with me to his house and I made it home at 6:15 PM. A long day and a tiring one too. I enjoyed the trip though and appreciate being asked by the Bank of Cumberland to go as their guest.

Tractor Work and Visiting Friends

Since the tornado warnings and severe weather about a week ago, there had been driftwood and debris strung across all the hay fields. Friday the fields had dried enough that I could drive the tractor through them without making ruts. I used the scoop on the tractor as a grader blade and pushed most of the debris back to the creek banks. The two fields across from the house took about 4 hours to clean up the mess. Saturday, I drove the Mule through the fields and hand picked the stuff I had missed with the tractor the day before. I let Daisy run around the fields as I was picking up the smaller pieces and putting them in the back of the Mule. Daisy has learned to stay near the Mule or where ever we are working. We don't let her loose near the highway though, she seems clueless when it comes to stopping in front of the Mule and I don't think she would do good with the highway either. Donnie Cox had left a message on our answering machine and told us they were at their place near Byrdstown, so I gave him a call and we told him we would stop and eat and then be over to their place a little after 7 PM. Stacey, Linda and I left in the HHR and after eating we drove to Bonnie and Donnie's cabin near Eagle's Cove. We talked and heard stories about the things going on in IN and we told them about what had been happening down here. We stayed till around 10 PM then said goodbye, and drove home.

Trip To PB&J's House

Most of the week had been fairly normal considering it was time for Stacey to have some problems. Wednesday Stacey had noticed a slight twitching, but nothing developed, so we planned on going to Smith's Grove to baby sit for Julie. I was going along to make sure nothing went wrong with Stacey. We left the house about 6 AM after having a sausage biscuit that Linda made for us. We turned onto the Cumberland Parkway and after a few minutes of cruising I noticed Stacey was having trouble. I asked her a few questions and her responses kept getting less and less. I told Linda to give Stacey a 10mg Valium at 6:30 AM and I continued to drive. Stacey calmed down a little but her involuntary movements were still happening. About an hour later, I pulled the HHR into PB&J's driveway and told Stacey to remain in the car. I went around and grabbed her arm and we walked to their door. Linda was carrying stuff and as Stacey and I went inside the doorway, Stacey dropped like a rock, but I caught her before she hit the floor. Brent grabbed her legs and we carried her to the couch. Pauline grabbed Julie out of the way as we made our hectic entrance Shortly after that Pauline left for work. She called and said the roads were in terrible shape with freezing rain and ice on them. Linda gave Stacey another 5 mg Valium about 8:30. The news reported kids were still on the school buses in some locations about 9:30 as Stacey was again having involuntary movements and we gave her another 5mg Valium. About a half hour later, Stacey had calmed down again and seemed to be doing OK. A little after noon Brent went with me to Smith's Grove for some sandwiches from Wendy's. The roads were extremely slick. They were covered completely with about a half inch of ice. Once back at the house, we ate and played with Julie until Pauline came home around 6 PM.
  
  
Linda and Brent fixed chicken and rice for supper and we played Aggravation on their new dinning room table until nearly bedtime.
Friday morning, Pauline fixed everyone breakfast and then we messed around until it was time for Pauline and Brent to go to their eye doctor appointment. Linda and Stacey remained at P&B's house and took care of Julie while I took them to their doctor's appointment because they were both going to have their eyes dilated for examinations. Pauline and Brent went in on the Sweetheart's Plan. Supposedly they get cheaper prices for both going together as a couple. They are planning on having the Lasik laser surgery done to correct their vision problems. We were at the examination for about 2-1/2 hours. We picked up sandwiches on the ride back to their house and ate. Pauline, Julie and Stacey rode with Linda driving their car while Brent rode with me to the farm. Pauline and Brent couldn't drive because of their eyes having been dilated. The girls made an extra stop in Glasgow to shop for Julie some outfits. We stayed inside the rest of the day to keep them out of bright light and then Linda fixed us home made pizza after dark for supper.

Helping A Neighbor and Cumberland Girls Basketball

After lunch in town, Linda went to work at the after school day care and Stacey and I were at home. Our neighbor, Steve called and was heading up on Jone's Ridge to his farm. He had trouble getting his tractor started the night before, so I told him Stacey and I would ride up there and see if he needed help. We drove the pickup truck and when we arrived, Steve couldn't start the tractor. I checked the battery charger and it wasn't charging the battery. We wiggled the battery terminal and it began charging but the tractor still wouldn't start. We used his Mule and our snatch strap to pull the tractor out of the pole barn. Steve pulled his truck up to the side of the tractor and I hooked up the jumper cables then he tried again to start the tractor. No luck with the jumper cables either. After some more examination in the brighter light of outside, we determined the cable connection to the battery terminal was bad. At that point we decided to pull start the tractor. I hooked the snatch strap to the back of his truck and then pulled Steve on the tractor to start it. When it started we unhooked the strap and he used the tractor to move a roll of hay for his cows to eat. Then he parked the tractor back inside the pole barn. We talked a little while about a shed he is wanting to build, then Stacey and I headed back home. After showering and Linda coming home, we all left for a trip to Russell Springs to watch the Cumberland County Girls Basketball team play. They won the game with Clinton County fairly easily. One thing that interested me was that Christen Rowe played. She had broke her finger during a ball game several weeks ago and her injury required pins to keep the bones in place. The pins were still in and it was on her right hand which is her shooting hand. She is such a good player, it was tough watching her play basically one handed and I bet a lot tougher on her doing it. Jason and his family were there, so Stacey was able to visit with him while the game was going on. I was glad to see Tommy feeling better after spending a day or two in the hospital taking IV fluids.

1/2" of Snow Flurries

We received about a half inch of snow overnight. I stepped out our front door and took the picture above. The weather men had forecast snow flurries for our part of KY. Oh, to have a job where I only had to be right less than half the time.
Na, I don't want a job, even one like that!