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Posted on Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Morning Storms
This morning I woke and checked the weather reports for our area and
the Nashville channels were reporting storms near Bowling Green that
were producing small hail. I dressed and went outside. I moved Linda's
Mustang in to the lower barn and put the 4-wheelers in the upper barn,
then returned to the house. About 45 minutes later the storm reached our
location. Thunder and lightning were occuring often and within a few
minutes hail began to pelt our house. Luckily it was only pea sized hail
and no damage was done. The hail continued for about five minutes with a
downpour of rain. After the storm had passed, I went out on the front
walk and took the pictures above. A little after sunrise we went out and
assessed the damage. The flower bed we had worked so hard on had the
mulch washed into the grass and rocks from the driveway were in the
flower bed. Overall though, not any damage to worry about, so we loaded
in the HHR and headed to Campbellsville to the
Overhead Door Company and bought a keypad for our garage door opener. Then
rode on over to Somerset, which ended up being a real 'trip'. I used the
DeLorme Earthmate GPS to find our route and it took us through some gravel
roads in between farm fields, across a small creek, and generally
through the untraveled roads. We wanted to enter the parkway, but the
GPS had routed us alongside the parkway and the nearest entrance was
about 15 miles ahead. We drove within about 20 miles of Somerset before
being able to enter the parkway. We stopped at Paul's Discount Store and
then Big Lots. Then we ate lunch at Cap'n D's, after which we headed to
Aldi's for some food supplies. Then back on the parkway and the return
trip to our house.
Posted on Thursday, May 04, 2006
Disking Mum Patch
Linda cooked breakfast this morning and then went to work at the school. I waited a while, then went to the hay shed and started the larger mower and mowed the hill behind the house, the slope and yard in front of the house. Stacey was working inside doing the laundry, emptying the dishwasher and house work. I went inside and fixed us a lunch. I fried hamburger and added stuff to make it into taco meat. Stacey had taco shells with the meat, salsa, and cheese, while I had a taco salad with salsa and cheese. After lunch, I went back to mowing and finished with the little mower to mow the barn lot. Linda came home from working and helped hook the disk to the tractor. I drove the tractor to the mum patch and disked the mum patch and the garden spot, but the pumpkin patch was too wet. I finished the disking just before we received a light shower of rain about dark.
Posted on Friday, May 05, 2006
A Couple Trips
Linda left early this morning, headed to Pauline and Brent's house, and
then Brent and her were leaving for IN. Stacey decided not to ride along
this time and to stay home with me. We had breakfast after Linda left
and then cleaned up the dishes and went to town to pick up groceries and
to buy some supplies at the Dollar Store. We returned home and after
lunch we took a 4-wheeler ride around the fields as it had quit raining
and was still too wet to do much else. Once the pavement dried we
decided to take the HHR and ride out to Dale Hollow Lake to see the
level of the water. It was at the normal 'summer pool' level. We stopped
at the Dale Hollow State Park Lodge and took a few pictures.
Then I drove down to the boat ramp area where we parked and walked down to the
edge of the lake and took a few more pictures.
After our first Dale Hollow trip of the year, we returned home and I fixed
Stacey and I chicken breasts and a salad for supper.
Posted on Sunday, May 07, 2006
Linda Returns
It rained almost all day, just a cold drizzle, only around a half inch, but too wet to do anything outside. I did go to the hay shed and dink around and replaced a halogen bulb in one of the work lights. Stacey and I stayed inside and ate a late dinner around 3 PM. Stacey watched the current NBA game and not much else was going on. Late in the evening, Linda returned from her visit to IN, bringing Trevon with her to stay with us for a while.
Posted on Monday, May 08, 2006
New Hand On The Farm
We started with a sausage and egg breakfast and Trevon ate fairly well.
They worked a few puzzles and played in the bedroom till about 10 AM. By
then the sky had cleared up a little so the girls and Trevon started to
the pond to feed the fish and I went mowing. I was mowing where the old
house used to be when they all came down in the Mule and Linda started
loping some branches off of the bushes and trees. I finished mowing that
area and went to the house and picked up the camera, then went back to
where the work was being done.
Stacey and Trevon were picking up the limbs and putting them in the
back of the Mule, then Stacey was driving the Mule to the fire pit and
they were throwing the limbs in the pit. Once that job was finished we
went to the house and I fixed us lunch of chicken breasts and salad.
Linda had to hurry the kids up so they could go with her to the after
school day care. Around 6 PM they came back and we took the Mule back in
the holler and Trevon saw two wild turkeys on the way. Trevon and Stacey
played with Missy in the grass in the opening. I used Regina's push
mower to mow as close as I could to the trees we planted a year ago but
I left a little grass to be pulled by hand. Regina and Linda pulled the
weeds and grass close to the trees. We drove out of the holler right at
dark and Trevon saw a opossum running along side the trail. We dropped
off Regina and went inside for the night and Stacey took a shower and
Trevon took a bath.
Posted on Tuesday, May 09, 2006
A Goal For Today
Today started sunny and Linda fixing Stacey and Trevon pancakes with
sausage for breakfast. I mowed Regina's old ostrich lot and along the
road by her house. I was putting the mower back in the hay shed when
Trevon came out of the little house wanting a basket ball aired up.
Linda went to the house to get the needle to inflate the ball, and while
we were waiting I decided to put up the basket ball goal that Regina had
given to Stacey. Until then, I couldn't think of a place that was flat
and where, if someone lost control of the ball, it wouldn't roll down a
hill into the road. But there is was, right in front of me. I had been
spreading gravel in front of the hay shed and it was the best place for
the ball goal. Linda came back, I aired up the ball and told her what I
was going to do. She grabbed the post hole diggers and started digging
where I had decided to place the goal post. I took over and Trevon was
watching and Stacey was measuring the depth of the hole. I set the pole
and used a level as we filled the hole around the pole with dirt and
tamped it down.
Then Game On! Trevon and Stacey shot baskets for about a half hour
as Linda and I set in the Mule and cooled off as we watched.
Linda, Stacey and Trevon loaded in the Mule and followed me on the
tractor up the hill. I bush hogged the open space there while Linda
loped some of the low hanging limbs. We returned to the house and had
lunch, then I mowed around the house and the front yard. Later Linda and
I took the tractor to the creek and I popped up some larger rocks and
slid them into the scoop. I drove the tractor to the house and we used a
4-wheeler to move the rocks to the back of the house. We dug out places
the size of the rocks and then dropped the rocks in the holes. That was
it for the outside, we went inside and took showers and had supper.
Trevon and Stacey were working with Lego's until bedtime.
Posted on Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Rainy Day In KY
It rained overnight and was drizzling this morning when I fixed a
sausage, egg and cheese scramble. Trevon complained a little about the
onions being hot, but ate most of the breakfast. He told Linda that he
hadn't had cereal in three days and I don't know if he was upset about
that or not? We stayed inside most of the morning, other than to take a
letter to the mailbox in the Mule. Around 1 PM we called and ordered
pizza and went and ate at the new pizza and sub shop in town. The shop
had a deal on their medium pizzas, so we had ordered two and we took a
complete pizza home. Their medium is like most places' large. After
that, the weather had cleared up and I hooked up the bush hog on the
newer tractor and went to bush hog a place for three ophthalmologists
from TN. It took over two hours and when I came back to the house the
sun was shining and Trevon and Linda were outside. They had been to the
pond and walked around the upper field and Trevon was looking for a
4-wheeler ride.
He came over to the 4-wheeler and I loaded him on with me. We rode
around the hay fields and back in the holler, where we stopped and I
took a few pictures of Trevon sitting on a rock in the middle of the
brook.
We rode around another hay field and then went back towards the
house. As we were going up the driveway, I saw Linda bending over
pulling weeds out of the flowers and I told Trevon to yell at her, "Hey,
we see your butt!" No problem, he yelled that out like he knew what he
was doing. We had supper and Trevon had a bath and that was just about
the end of a rainy day in KY.
Posted on Sunday, May 14, 2006
Mother's Day At The Farm
Pauline and Brent came over early and brought Brent's buddy, Maxx, along with them. Maxx was visiting from CA for a few days. Linda and I had met Maxx a few times while they all were in WKU. Maxx had been to the farm once before, but it was before we had our house built. We showed him the house and then Maxx and Brent shot pool for a while. Pauline showed us a wedding book the girls that work with Brent at the school had made for them. It was really a nice book with pictures and accounts of what had happened at their wedding. We talked and joked with Maxx, Pauline and Brent while they played pool and after some time we went out on the back porch and checked out the ducks and let the dogs run around outside. Brent had sent Linda a 'Teddy Bear' for Mother's Day and Pauline had gave Linda a few books too. We had lunch and then played cards while the conversations continued. Maxx was interested in learning the card game of Euchre, so we told him the rules and then played several games so he could pick up some of the ins and outs of the game. He was a quick learner and Maxx's team won several games, playing against Pauline and Brent. Linda and I took turns playing every other game, so Maxx would get the feel of playing with different players. Trevon and Stacey were working puzzles and playing with Lego's while watching a DVD. We had burgers for dinner and then Pauline and Brent left with Maxx and their dogs a little after dark.
Posted on Monday, May 15, 2006
Taking A Hike
Linda, Stacey and Trevon have been taking 'hikes' around the farm. The
hike started at the back of the house and went up the hill to a seldom
used 4-wheeler trail, where the day before Linda and Trevon had been
cutting limbs to clear the path.
Cooter and Missy went along also, and usually Cooter tries to stay
in the lead. Trevon likes to walk with Linda through the woods and they
have seen turkeys and deer while walking.
But the best part for Trevon is ending up at the strawberry patch. When he
first came down, he didn't know that the strawberries were growing
there, but after me showing him and then eating them right out of the
patch, he loves to pick and eat. But then, so do I!
Posted on Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Trip To The Park
We took Trevon to Dale Hollow State Park and let him have a good time
while he was there. We stopped at the Park Lodge first and took a few
pictures in front of the Lodge and overlooking the lake.
Then we walked over to the playground and let Trevon check out the
equipment. The piece he seemed to enjoy the most, was a 'backhoe', that
had two levers he could use to dig the mulch and scoop it up, then use
the other lever to lift the bucket and then use his legs to swing it
around on a pedestal and then dump the load. He worked with that for
about 10 minutes.
He played on the climbing ladders and the slides for a while too.
We had to coax him off the playground equipment and back into the
car. I told him we were not going to buckle up, because we were not
going to leave the park. We then drove down to the lake and walked to
the edge of the water. Trevon threw everything he could get in his hands
and still couldn't fill the lake up.
After a few minutes of throwing things in the lake, he looked around and Linda
had found a hat that must have blown off a boat. Trevon wore that the
rest of the time we were at the lake. After the trip to Dale Hollow Lake
State Park, we drove to Albany and ate at Burger King.
Posted on Wednesday, May 17, 2006
J-E-L-L-0
Linda slept in a little yesterday, so Trevon and I went upstairs to
check out the pictures I had been taking. He played with the Brio trains
and watched as the pictures flashed on the big screen TV. We came back
down stairs and fixed breakfast. Linda did the usual with Trevon, taking
a hike, eating strawberries and etc. Late in the afternoon Trevon helped
me mount a paper towel rack in the hay shed. When dark set in, Linda had
Trevon help her make some Jello.
They made two kinds, stawberry without fruit and orange with mandrin
oranges. Trevon likes both kinds. After they finished with the Jello, we
went to Subway and ate supper.
Posted on Thursday, May 18, 2006
Mum Patch Ready
I fixed breakfast and Trevon and Linda ate before leaving for Bowling Green. Linda is helping Brenda get ready for a school dance at WEMS. Trevon and Linda will be staying a couple of nights at Pauline and Brent's house. Stacey and I went to town for some groceries and we also stopped at the video shack and picked up three DVDs. Back at the farm, I took the bush hog off the tractor, put the disk on, and reset it so it would leave the patch more even. I then went to the mum patch and disked the patch for the pumpkins and the mums also. That setting on the disk leaves the patch nice and level and busted up nicely. The patch is ready to plant. I finished and made it home just before a short period of rain arrived and put down about a quarter inch of rain. Stacey and I watched Narnia later.
Posted on Sunday, May 21, 2006
Planting The Pumkin Patch
Linda and Trevon came home yesterday and Linda decided to plant the
pumpkins today so that Trevon could help. They went to the patch in the
Mule and I followed a little later on the tractor. They planted some of
the pumpkins while I was disking the mum patch. I stopped the tractor
and took a few pictures while Linda was raking the dirt into a mound and
then leveling the top of the mound.
Stacey was carrying the seeds and handing them to Trevon.
Trevon would lay the seeds on the mound to look like a face and then use his
finger to press them into the dirt.
Then Linda was covering the holes with dirt and pressing it firm. I went back
to disking the mum patch and when I finished they were almost done
planting the pumpkins. I drove the tractor to the barn and went inside.
They followed a short time later and when everyone was inside we ate
Jello, strawberries and whipped cream. I think Trevon has really enjoyed
being here while the strawberries were ripe.
Posted on Monday, May 22, 2006
Trevon Headed Home
I fixed breakfast for everyone while Linda was getting ready to leave for IN. Trevon and Stacey were carrying their stuff and packing it in the HHR for the trip. I gave Trevon a hug and told him good bye, then kissed Linda and Stacey and told them to have a safe trip and they were gone a little after 8 AM. It seemed real quite without anyone here, so I watched a movie and then bush hogged around the hay field at the other farm. Phil began cutting the hay in the fields near the house. I went to Sonic for supper and then watched TV the rest of the evening.
Posted on Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Mums Delivered
Stacey and Linda returned home about 7:30 PM on Tuesday. They said they
had a good time in IN, but had a little trouble by picking up a nail in
one of the HHR tires. Linda said Bobby Bankson helped her out at Boles
Chevy in Pendleton by getting a tire off a brand new HHR and putting it
on ours. I guess it wouldn't have happened if Bobby hadn't been there.
So a
BIG THANK YOU
to Bob for helping out!
Linda went to work at the school today
after I fixed breakfast. Stacey and I washed the car and worked on the
portable generator that Linda brought home from Imon. I finally was able
to get it started after putting in a new spark plug. The problem was
keeping the motor running as the generator was being put under a load
and then the motor kicking back to idle after the load was removed. I
could get it to run under the load or at idle, but not both without
changing the position of the choke. My arm was tired from starting the
motor so many times. Once Linda came home we were eating chicken breasts
and salad, the door bell rang and Fed Ex delivered our 1,000 mums. Right
on schedule! Linda and I went to the mum patch and I bush hogged the
area around the patches and Linda used the string trimmer to clean up
the weeds around the gate and a few other places.
Posted on Saturday, May 27, 2006
Planting Mums
After two nights of rain, Linda and I were worried about being able to
plant the mums, so we checked the patch and decided it was a go. Pauline
and Brent came over late Friday night and we all got out of bed between
5:30 and 6 AM Saturday. We had loaded the Mule with tools and stuff to
plant the mums the night before. I drove the tractor and Brent drove the
Mule with the black trailer behind and Pauline riding along. We started
the generator and began unwinding the extension cord to use with the
drill. The generator died and when I tried to restart it, the starting
rope broke. @#$#%^&*! We drove back to the house and repaired the
starting rope, but the carb float was sticking and flooding the motor
out on the generator. We messed with it for a while and was able to get
it started again. Back to the patch and Brent and I started drilling the
holes.
We used 2 strings 3 feet apart with marks on the strings that were 2 feet
apart to space the holes properly. Linda and Stacey rode up on a
4-wheeler with the little red trailer behind and Regina drove her truck.
Regina began dropping the plants in the holes and Pauline and Linda were
covering the plant roots with dirt and pressing them in snuggly. Stacey
was going behind them and watering each plant.
The generator wouldn't run continuously and had to have someone standing there
moving the choke constantly. After about 6 rows and starting the
generator about 20 times, I let Brent start it for a while. It didn't
take long for him to give up on it either. We quit using the drill and
generator and began poking the holes for the mums with an old hoe
handle. About 10 AM the heat set in and we started taking short breaks
for drinks and to cool off. I was using the tractor to scoop water out
of the creek for Stacey to water the mums, then helping Brent poke the
holes for the plants. Linda and Pauline kept filling in the dirt around
the mums that Regina was dropping in the holes.
We finished the planting before noon and went back to the house. Everyone
washed off the biggest part of the dirt, then we loaded into the HHR and
picked up Regina and went into town to eat at Hamilton's BBQ shack. As
we drove through town, Stacey spotted a blue Sea Ray boat at the gas
station. Linda said she thought it was our neighbors from IN. I turned
the car around and went back. Sure enough, it was Donna and Mike
Boffing. They lived next to us when we lived in Park Estates north of
Anderson. We talked with them about 10 minutes while Mike was filling
their boat with gas. It was nice to have a short visit and hear about
how their lives were going. When we finished eating we came back to the
house and some of us watched a movie while others took naps.
Posted on Monday, May 29, 2006
Rolling Hay
Saturday, while we were planting the mums, Phil Garmon and his grandson
were cutting hay. Larry Anderson was also cutting the hay on the other
farm. They have let it lay and dry for two days in the 90 degree heat,
so it was ready to rake and roll today. They waited until about 10 AM to
start to give the sun time to dry the dew off of the hay laying on the
ground. Cody used a rake behind the tractor that gathers the hay and
rolls it over while also moving it into a 'wind row'.
Then Steve used another tractor with a hay roller behind it to roll
the hay into large rolls. He just drives over the 'wind row' and the hay
roller picks up the hay and continually turns the hay on large rubber
belts. As he drives over the hay, the size of the roll increases until
it weighs about 500 lbs. At that point the back of the hay roller tips
up and the roll of hay is kicked out. Phil then uses another tractor
with a hay spike on the rear and on the front scoop to pick up the rolls
and place them on a wagon specially made to haul the large rolls of hay.
The wagon carries ten rolls and then Phil pulls it to their farm where
he unloads the hay and stacks it for storage. David McIntyre was raking
the hay on the other farm and Larry was rolling the hay. They leave it
lay until later, when they bring their hay wagon down and pick up their
hay. We rode to Columbia in the Mustang with the top down and ate at
Sonic. We returned home and watered the mums using the tractor to scoop
water out of the creek and the 4-wheeler to pull the red wagon with 4
five gallon buckets of water down the rows and dip out a cup full of
water and pour on each mum. All 1,000 of them!
