Living surrounded by forest i feared fire more than i feared anything. I refused to have anything in the shed that could be remotely ignitable. Though i had a charcoal grill i kept neither charcoal nor lighter fluid. All my power tools were electric. The mower was powered with elbow grease. There were no candles; …
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A Brief Warm Day
It seemed as if the weather had sensed that i was at the end of my rope and in a matter of hours the temperature rose from 30 to 60, with a high of 72 scheduled for the afternoon. I was determined to get us out in the yard to enjoy it as it was …
Grounded
It was my day off after a long week. The girls were spending the day indoors, both because it was 30 degrees outside and because they were in trouble. Both of them were tracking mud all over the floor and Cashew was once again soaked in dried urine. Her rump, her legs, her belly, and …
God’s Grace
I’d been told by many people that change was the only constant in life. I wasn’t sure if i quite identified with that statement. I felt God’s grace was also a constant in my life so i wasn’t sure if i could say with any confidence that i understood “change” to be the only ever-present …
Sili’s Birthday
On a tuesday in december my sweet Sili turned 4. It didn’t seem like she could possibly be that old but then Cashew was a 5 lb beanie baby in my hand when Sili was 3 and Cashew was almost a year old now so she had to be 4. Unfortunately the tree pollen was …
The Hill Country Sky
Frozen Soap
At a certain temperature all the soaps would freeze. I mean, not become solid like water to ice, but they would become thicker and gel-like and they wouldn’t pour. At 29 degrees i had to unscrew the cap to the laundry detergent because it would just barely trickle at all from the dispenser. At 29 …
A Quick Dip
I will preface this story by saying i did not take a photograph to pair with this post. It was just one of those days when things had to be done quickly and there was no time to fiddle with things that weren’t water proof. I arrived home from work one evening to turn on …
Sitting out the Christmas Sales
In december the tractor supply store had a big christmas sale. Chicken coops were each 200 to 400 dollars off regular price. Many other items were 20 percent off. If i was going to buy a chicken coop and supplies for raising chicks and then accommodating chickens, December would be the time to do it. …
An Ice Party in the Yard
In mid december every year the local farmers would close up shop and they wouldn’t return to the little white shack where they sold their goods until mid May of the following year. Crops just didn’t grow in the winter and the new crops for spring wouldn’t be mature until May. So, in early december …