yesterday ...

Yesterday was bad enough being about 40 minutes late for work because I couldn't find my keys! How pathetic is that! I had to take Chris' truck and park way in the back. My umbrella was in MY car. When I walked into work it was downpouring rain, and I was drenched by the time I reached my desk. My jacket was still damp when I left to go home. The workday was busy, and it was a relief to pick Kellie up from school and head home. Unfortunately, my phone died on the way, and even more unfortunately, Chris had been trying to reach me because Chuck, one of the calves, was doing very poorly. He had his mom pick up some medication from the vet for the calf. I administered the shot, and by the time we went to bed he finally wanted to eat.

The turkey egg with the chick pecking a hole in the wrong place finally hatched. Since it seemed to be taking this one so long, I told Chris that he could help it with the membrane part if he wanted to. The doggone thing is all wrong, however. It won't get off its back, even when you put it over on its stomach. Its feet are curled and won't straighten. Right now, we've just tried to keep it comfortable and have helped it get water, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to go against everything I stand for and put it out of its misery when I get home. There is one other egg laid at the same time that hasn't started to hatch yet. I don't know what the deal is. It doesn't smell yet. Then there are four other eggs that should start to hatch today or tomorrow. There are four more that should hatch tomorrow.

Being a farmer is real hard sometimes. Animals get sick, some die and there's nothing you can do about it. Produce doesn't work out. I vowed the summer after we moved to this farm that I wouldn't ever do corn again because I had so much trouble, even with birds swooping down and snatching up the seedlings! For crying out loud, there's an entire field of corn at their disposal! I did corn again last year, after taking a year off, and it worked out! I was amazed! So even with plants, farming is hard. Last year I had amazing vines for my squash and pickles, but I didn't get much yeild. It's hard, but I wouldn't trade the lifestyle and the lessons my daughter and stepson are learning. There is a lot of hard work that goes into all this, but the payoff, when it works out, is huge. We pray for the calves to grow to be healthy and yummy. We pray for the goats to deliver their kids safely. We pray for the ducks to grow strong and love slugs. We pray for the chickens to lay great eggs, and we pray for happy healthy turkeys. Finally, we pray that our children learn and grow and do their best with their schoolwork and that they are a shining example of Christ.