Fun in the Country!

I saw something funny the other day.

In this area, there are two big operations - farmers who raise chickens in their big long chicken houses for Tyson, and farmers who raise cattle (presumably for hamburger and steak). It is important to know that for the purposes of this story.

Recently, I had gone into town in the car. Coming back from town on the dirt and gravel lane that the county confers with the lofty title of "County Road", I came across the trail of little digested black squishy stuff that I identified as cow pies. Did you know that cow pies look different from horse dookie? Some of our neighbors own horses and sometimes ride them up and down the roads. Thus I have experience with both. The trail of cow pies began next to the property of a neighbor who owns cattle.

Driving further down the road, I came across a farmer in his truck coming my way. Behind his truck he was hauling a trailer. In the trailer was a small bale of hay.

The next thing I came across was a cow coming my way. The cow was in the process of chewing on a mouthful of hay, her mouth moving side to side in the comical fashion used by cows in their first round of eating and digestion. I wish there was a way to describe the look on the cow's face when she saw me. I don't know who was more confused and amused, me or her.

Using the logic I gained from years of college education, I deduced that the cow had escaped the confines of the farmer's property.

The farmer, being the smart guy he was, developed a plan to lure they cow back. His wonderful plan included loading some hay into the trailer, going to the cow, then allowing the cow a mouthful of hay. The farmer would then move the truck and trailer and hay a little closer back to his farm, wait for the cow to move up to the trailer to take another mouthful of hay. The farmer would then do this as many times as it took, until the cow was finally back on his property. The farmer appeared to be in no hurry, filled with much patience. The cow seemed to be in no hurry either.

Being the impatient city slicker I am, I'd have probably started hitting the cow at some point. I am trying to learn things from the farmers around here. Maybe by the time I retire, I'd be able to do what I saw that farmer doing.

Autumn Again in the Ozarks

It is autumn again. Nights are getting chilly. Skies are clearer in the daytime. The sound of crunching leaves underneath our feet signals the changes all around us.

One of the benefits of a home office is the ability to be aware of what is going on around you.

This afternoon, a buck and a doe where feeding in the front yard, out past the garden. I got some pictures of the buck, but the doe was hidden behind the garden fence, so I got none of her.

It is interesting to note the musculature on the buck, the thick neck, the head held high as he surveys all around him. It is also interesting to note how the light tan of the fur has turned a much darker color for the fall.

The fur on the squirrels, too, has changed to a darker color.

These are things never noticed while living in the big city surrounded by roads and highways and interstates and noise.

Yes, this will be a great place to retire.

The sun will come out tomorrow

Orphan Annie was right. The sun will come out tomorrow.

Here in the Ozarks, we got our power back Tuesday afternoon, so are back at home after a brief stay at an internet-connected motel Tuesday during the day (so we could continue to "work from home").

I was able to work from home on Monday by using my UPS battery backup to keep the satellite internet connected and running on my laptop battery.

After the power went out, I was able to get thirty or forty gallons of water from the pressure tank (we are on a well) before the pressure ran out; however, we still did not have enough water for the three days we were without power.

On Sunday morning after the storm had passed, our daughter and son-in-law, three-tenths of a mile down the road from us, discovered two trees at the end of their driveways, one on each side, keeping them from "escaping" in their vehicles. We spent a portion of the day helping them cut up and clear out one of the trees so they could get out in at least one of the directions. The county came out later in the day to clean up all the downed tress crossing the road.

Between Sunday and Tuesday, I learned to bathe in 1 inch of water, and felt how refreshing a shower could be using one of those camp-shower bags. We cook with gas, so we were able to have hot water and hot meals. We had to haul water from our daughter's swimming pool to flush.

I think we would have been better prepared had NOAA said we'd have winds up to 60mph. However, all they mentioned was flood warnings. We knew winds that bad would cause a power outage, but did not know until it was too late.

We used a hurricane lantern, flashlights, candles, and those light sticks for light. Of all of those, only the lantern produced enough light. So we went to Walmart and purchased a battery-powered lantern and a rechargeable lantern as well as some more containers in which to store water. The light sticks came in handy at night. I'd start up three or four of them and place them in various places throughout the house in case we got up at night.

Other than having to throw out 80% of what was in the refrigerator and having a 100-foot tall pine tree (see picture below) arm-wrestling with a 90-foot tall oak tree in our back yard (we counted almost six dozen trees downed in domino-fashion in the 1/3 mile between our house and our daughter's house), we are none the worse for wear. The people in Texas still have it worse.

Of course, Of course

We've seen all kinds of wildlife roaming through our yard in the two years we've lived here. Today was a first. I don't think these were wild animals. They grazed for about an hour and then went on their merry way.








A horse is a horse, of course, of course.

I talked to these horses and they could not tell me where they lived.

Lunch Guests

This afternoon, we saw five deer grazing on the bushes and trees behind the house. Better that than them grazing on our fruit trees out front in our "orchard". One of the deer had little buds where the antlers will eventually be.

And then, this evening, a buck showed up.