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Posted on Sunday, July 01, 2012
Too Hot
Nashville TN had the hottest day ever recorded (109) on Friday. It has
been over 100 degrees for the last 6 days at our farm. There has been no
rain for over 10 days. The creek has dried up and no water is flowing.
Most of our yard is brown.
Almost
all counties in KY have burn bans in place and some are banning
fireworks.
Posted on Thursday, July 05, 2012
Around the 4th of July
We have had about a 20 minute rain shower in the last week. It knocked
the dust down for the rest of that day.
The car club Linda and I are
members of held a car show at the park in Burkesville for the 4th of
July Independence Celebration.
The
town had a 5K run, a bike parade, singing, food vendors and games during
the entire day, ending with live bands in the evening and a fireworks
show. Our club started the car show at 10 AM and gave the awards away at
3 PM. We had around 75 vehicles entered in the show.
Stacey,
Linda and I were there from 8 AM till about 4 PM setting up and taking
down stuff. The weather reports on TV said it was the hottest July 4th
on record. It felt like it too! About half way through the show,
Pauline, Brent and their kids joined us at the park. They stayed a
while, decided it was too hot and went back to the farm. Brent came back
when the car show was over and helped pack up the stuff. When Linda and
I returned to the farm, we noticed we had a dishwasher setting on the
back porch. I thought, what the heck was that doing there. It didn't
look new, so I couldn't figure it out. We went inside and a few minutes
later Linda and Brent started talking about Pauline and he had brought a
dishwasher and installed it while we were doing the car show. What the
heck? So that was our old appliance on the back porch. Brent said that
Pauline's parents, Dorothy and Larry, had given them the dishwasher when
he asked Larry what kind to buy for us. Our dishwasher had broken down a
couple weeks earlier and Brent knew about that. But this whole thing was
a surprise to us. We talked about how the dishwasher worked and how
Brent had hooked it into the water supply. We had to wait till we had
some dirty dishes to give it a try.
The next morning, Linda fixed
'French Toast' for breakfast and afterwards they loaded the dishwasher
with the dirty plates and things. We went to Dale Hollow Lake for the
day. During the day, we made a run to the dam area and Brent dove down
in a shallow area to get shells for Julie. Pauline, Julie, Kyle and
Brent went for a ride in the tubes first, then Stacey joined Brent for a
bumpy ride.
We
started back to the State Park and stopped to swim late in the
afternoon. It began to cloud up as we were still in the water. At the
first sign of lightening, we climbed into the boat and went to the dock,
took the boat out and tied down the cover, then headed to the farm. It
began raining on the way home. The radio announced there were severe
thunderstorms in the area and we were driving right through them. By the
time we reached the farm we had drove through downpours and passed
broken tree limbs and downed lines. I guess the drought is over, at
least at the farm for a while. I parked the truck and boat in the pole
barn and we dumped the water off the top of the boat cover, then closed
the barn door and went to the house. When we went in the house, the
dishes were done and they were clean too. Wow, it was like magic and
Linda loved it.
Thanks Dorothy and Larry!
Posted on Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Dogtra Collar
A few weeks ago, I wrote about Daisy not coming back to the Mule and
being hurt by a wild animal because she stayed in the woods. We have
tried a few more times to let her run and the results were that she
wouldn't come back until she was tired or scared of the dark. Linda and
I don't like her doing that because we are afraid of Daisy getting hit
on the highway. Cooter was killed that way and we don't want it to
happen again. We tried taking Daisy for runs on a leash, but that was
hard on us and her neck. With no way to let her run, we began ignoring
her unintentionally. Linda didn't like her just being in the dog pen all
day and I missed driving around in the Mule watching her run and
explore. I checked out a few radio controlled dog collars on the
internet and found one that I thought would work for Daisy. I ordered it
from Amazon. The postal
service delivered the Dogtra
Collar on July 6th and I plugged the units into the charger and the
wall. I read the manual and a couple of pages about how to use it. The
collar emits a shock through two prongs that touch the animal's skin.
The strength of the shock is adjustable from 0 to 127. There are three
buttons, one is labeled as page, when it is pressed the collar vibrates.
The second button is called nick and when a person presses it, a short
pulse is emitted. The third button is labeled constant and when pressed
it causes a shock as long as it is depressed up to 6 seconds.
After
a day of charging, I took the collar and placed it around Daisy's neck.
I didn't know how she would respond, but we had to try something. We
rode across the creek in the Mule and I let Daisy out of the Mule. To my
surprise, Daisy hung around the Mule as if she was still on a leash. As
I drove the Mule around the hay field, she gradually got further away. I
called Daisy and when she didn't respond, I used the page button,
nothing happened. I pressed the nick button and nothing happened. I
began turning up the power and when it was set at 30, I saw Daisy
respond to the nick. She immediately came back to the Mule and I patted
her head and praised her. OK, I now had the level of stimulation that
she needed to get her attention. We moved around the fields, with me
calling her back to the Mule and if she didn't respond, I would use the
page button and then the nick button. I probably called her back to the
Mule 10 to 12 times, but only used the nick button about 3 or 4 times.
Daisy's worst actions had always been at the creek. She would get in the
water and try to catch the little minnows in the water. She would remain
in the water until she was done. This time, Daisy did exactly what I
wanted when I parked the Mule on the creek rocks. She walked around the
Mule until I opened the tailgate and she jumped in the back without any
collar stimulation. Wow, this was the dog we wanted her to be, so I gave
her lots of praise and petting. I drove to the barn and put Daisy in the
pen.
Stacey, Linda and I have each made trips around the fields with
me using the Dogtra Collar and Daisy is responding with less stimulation
each trip. I only used the nick button one time on an entire trip, and
Daisy is listening to our voices now. I'm hoping we can just put the
collar on her and not have to use the control at all after a while of
training, maybe eventually, not even putting the collar on her. We'll
see.
Posted on Monday, July 16, 2012
Visiting IN
We left the farm around 8:15 AM Saturday in the Malibu and headed to IN.
The trip went well until we made it to Louisville. Brent had called
Friday and warned me that Interstate 65 was closed going north through
Louisville, so I had mapped out an alternate route using the Street
Atlas GPS program on the laptop. Stacey opened the laptop and started
the Streetfinder program when we headed into Louisville. We exited the
Interstate and took SR 61 towards the Ohio River. The GPS pointed the
way and I followed the directions, then just before the river, the GPS
directed me back on the Interstate and we were able to cross the river
and were back on our way using our regular route. As we drove past the
first Anderson exit, I had Linda call Pizza King in Chesterfield and
order a pizza for us to take out. We picked it up as we drove to
Daleville. We unlocked Mom's house and went inside and ate the pizza.
After unloading the car, we took a break for a little over an hour.
After the rest time, we drove to Muncie and visited with Virginia. Mom
was surprised to see us. She was doing well. Her memory is still sketchy
at times, but her physical health is getting better. We went to the
lunch room with her and talked while she ate supper, then we returned to
her room and stayed a while longer. We said good bye just before dark
and as we walked out, Linda and I remarked how nice the visit had been
with Mom.
After tossing and turning most of the night, Linda and I
were still tired Sunday. We didn't do much most of the morning. Linda K
and Imon came to Mom's house to visit in the afternoon. We sat and
talked with them for a long time, then checked out Linda K's truck they
had bought a couple of weeks ago.
I
guess it's a old truck body on a newer 4-wheel drive running gear. Right
as they were leaving, Steve Sargent came walking up the alley from his
bar and went inside to talk with us for about a half hour. When Steve
left, we piled in the Malibu and headed to Pendleton to visit Nana. We
drove through Arby's and picked up sandwiches to eat with Reba at her
house. We sat in the kitchen and ate the sandwiches as we talked about
two hours with Nana. We returned to Mom's house to stay the night.
Monday
morning after going to the bank to transfer some money, we loaded the
car for the ride home. Traffic wasn't bad, so we made it to Louisville
without any trouble. There was a small detour to get to Kingfish, but
not much of a problem. We purchased carry out and ate outside under the
patio roof. We had Coco with us and it was too hot to leave him in the
car. After following the GPS's advice about 4 miles to get back on the
Interstate we drove on home by 2 PM. Linda had a job interview at 5 PM
and she now has a full time job during the coming school year.
Posted on Sunday, July 22, 2012
Beth & Logan Visit
Pauline and Brent had planned on coming to the farm and Pauline had
invited her sister, Beth. Pauline and Brent arrived Friday evening and
didn't know if Beth was coming that night or Saturday morning. Pauline
made a few phone calls and then told us Beth and Logan would arrive
around 9 Saturday morning.
Saturday morning we had breakfast and got
ready to go to the lake, then waited on Beth and Logan to arrive. At 10
AM, Pauline called Beth and then told us they were near Somerset about
an hour away. I changed our plans, we decided to eat lunch at the farm
before going to the lake, so we had hamburgers ready when Beth and Logan
arrived. After eating lunch and time to change their clothes to swimming
suits, they were ready to go. We drove to the lake, put the boat in the
water and left the dock area about 1 PM. We headed to Ashburn Creek and
anchored the boat. Julie and Kyle were the first ones in the water with
everyone else soon following. The water was warm and the sky was
clearing. Soon, Bonnie and Donnie came in their boat with Linda Crosley
and Tom Fritz riding along. Next to arrive was Susan Rockhill and her
crew. Lana and Frank Dial boated in and threw out an anchor. They had
their daughter, Jennifer and her family with them. Lana's sister Terri
was along too. I lost track of who arrived next, but there were at least
two more boat loads of people that joined the group and were swimming,
laughing and having fun. We spent the afternoon just enjoying the water
and friendship. Around 5 PM we climbed back in the boat and took a ride
over to Pusley Creek. I pulled the boat to the end of the fingerlet and
we anchored in a quiet spot. After swimming a little more, we made
sandwiches and ate the goodies we had brought. An hour or so later,
Julie went knee boarding, then Brent took a turn. When he finished we
made a slow run back to the State Park and took the boat out of the lake
at 7 PM.
Sunday
morning Pauline fixed breakfast, then Linda fixed lunch. Beth and Logan
packed their things up after lunch and headed home.
Posted on Monday, July 23, 2012
Kid's Day On The Water
We launched the boat and left the dock area about 10 AM, then drove to
Pusley Creek and anchored in a cove. Fairly soon our friends began
arriving.
It
wasn't too long till Julie and Kyle were joined by Caitlynn and Caleb
Beer for lunch on the boat. Pauline took food orders and served up what
the kids wanted to eat. After finishing their lunches, they swam from
boat to boat munching on whatever they were given to eat. Karen and
Steve Wilson's pontoon was the first boat they hit.
Dave
Wilcox and family were the next targets followed by Bonnie and Donnie
Cox's boat.
Bruce
Beck's pontoon was raided, then Lana and Frank Dial's boat took the hit.
After several hours of eating, drinking and laughter, Frank wanted to
make a run over towards Sunset Marina to find Jen & Derek Dial.
We
found Derek running a pirate flag on his boat and we ran alongside as
they boated towards Sunset Marina. We pulled into a cove about a mile
away with the Dials and went swimming while Derek topped off their gas
tank at the Marina. Derek returned and began taking the kids on tube
rides.
Brent
rode with Julie on her first tube ride behind Jen and Derek's boat.
Then
Julie rode with Caleb on his first ever tube ride.
A
few more of our friends joined in the fun and Derek took them rides if
they wanted to go.
As
we were getting tired from all the fun, Brent headed the boat back
towards the State Park and then let Stacey drive it the rest of the way
to the marina. After Pauline dropped me off at the courtesy dock, I
pulled the truck and trailer down to the lake and Brent helped Pauline
drive the boat on the trailer. I pulled the boat off the lake at 6:30 PM.
Posted on Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Sunset Cruise
We went to the lake a little later this time. We met our friends at noon
in Turtle Cove. The wind was keeping the water chopped up, so we found a
place close to Lillydale Recreation Area, that was shielded by the hills
from the wind and anchored our boats. Julie and Kyle went right back to
playing in the water with Caitlynn and Calib.
We
spent the biggest part of the day right there, but later we moved over
to Pusley and let Julie work on her water skills. We put her in training
skis and gave her one short pull behind the boat, then let her move to
the knee board, where she felt at ease. Brent took a few laps on the
adult combo water skis, then he made a few cuts on a slalom ski. We went
to Willow Grove Marina and bought ice cream, then pulled out to the
middle of the lake and ate on the back deck of the boat. Pauline took
the controls and we rode towards the dam area until she found a cove she
liked near Galton Hollow.
She
stopped the boat and we went swimming until almost sunset. We pulled up
the anchor and took a slow ride back to the State Park enjoying the
sunset.
It
was after 8 PM when we took the boat off the lake and tied down the
cover.
Posted on Thursday, July 26, 2012
Friends Last Day At The Lake
We went boating again Wednesday and when we returned to the farm, I
mowed the front yard and barn yard till after dark.
Thursday was most
of our friends last day on the lake, so they had organized a get
together at 1 PM near Star Point. We did our usual routine of getting to
the lake and pulled away from the dock with about 20 minutes of time to
spare. A short chat on the marine radio and we knew the location people
were meeting. We arrived and said hello to those that were present, then
decided it was too windy to hang out in that location. I made a cove
suggestion and said we would check it out to see if anyone else was
using it. I called back on the radio and let them know that our group
would be the only boats in that cove, so they joined us in the large
cove in Ashburn Creek area. There were only 5 or 6 boats at first, but
later more people arrived.
A
couple of people counted the heads and said there were 38 in our group.
That meant Julie and Kyle had more kids to play with in the water. It
was fun to see some people for the first time in a year with jokes and
laughter being the theme all day. All good things must end, and so did
the get together. People began leaving a boat at a time and pretty soon
it was Bonnie and Donnie in their boat, Lana and Frank in their boat and
us. We talked about when they would be back to Dale Hollow and then we
said good bye. Brent drove us back to the State Park, where we took the
boat out of the water and tied down the cover. We changed our plans and
went to the State Park Lodge for supper. We went inside and ordered our
food, then I took Julie and Kyle outside to check out the overlook.
Julie
was amazed to see the boats on the lake way down below the Lodge. 
A
short time later we went back inside and enjoyed the excellent food we
were served. Then it was back to the farm and the day was over.
