thirty days of thanksgiving 14

I didn't have school today - we always get out for the first Monday of deer season.

And Liz doesn't work on Mondays.

So the brothers decided that it would be a good day to work cows at the big field.

Working cows can be difficult. There's always a few crazies in the group - you don't want to turn your back on those. But with everyone around to help out, it isn't so bad.

The boys got the cows in the barn just as Liz and I were getting there this morning.  Apparently they didn't go in the first time. Nerves were a bit frazzled already. Liz and I were sent to get a table, and she had to change shirts because Lovey didn't like her pink one (remember what I said about frazzled nerves).

Joey and Baby Jus worked the pens, moving cows from area to a smaller area, and finally into the chute. I encouraged them to move through the chute and into the headgate. Big Boy had to raise and lower the back gate while Lovey worked the headgate and administered the wormer and shots. Liz gets the shots ready and does the paperwork.

Of course, everyone changes jobs when needed. I had to work that back gate some today; it doesn't take much of that to wear you out.

At the end of the day, everyone was a little sore, a bit bruised, a lot tired, and covered in dust with a bit of cow poop mixed in.


Dear Lord, thank you for your blessings in our family business; we know that everything we have, Father, is a gift from you. Thank you for the opportunity to work side-by-side as a family. Let us continue to find joy and laughter in our tasks. The job we did today can be very dangerous, yet we came away with just a few bruises and sore muscles, and for that I am grateful.

two day outage

Living in the country has its ups and downs. Finding a way to connect can be a definite down. Where I live, I can't get DSL. We can't get cable. Cell coverage is iffy at best. It's just something we are accustomed to. So for me, it's satellite TV and satellite internet - and of course they are from different providers, so I can't bundle for a discount.

For the past two days we have been "experiencing an outage" with our internet. I do have to say that I got a call saying it would be up Friday morning, and when I got on today, it worked. But it was strange, and inconvenient, to be without an internet connection for two days.

And then this afternoon, the TV just went black. No static. No blinking. Nothing. Several minutes later we got a message that said something about the sun causing the disruption to our service. Really? The sun? We've had satellite TV for many years and never have I gotten that message. It didn't stay out for long - only a few minutes.

I discovered the internet was out on Wednesday evening. I had been sitting out on the deck watching the cows and the shadows move across the field.

The sun sets on the other side of the house.

The trees at the other end of the field glow - seemingly on fire at times.

It was a peaceful few minutes even with the crunching of the cows eating grass - have you ever listened to how noisy cows are when they eat? Like dry limbs rattling in the wind. Like a covey of quail taking flight.

It didn't take long before I had some company.

Mewing every few seconds. Sometimes the peace and quiet of the country can get really loud.