I thought I should try and write something before this entire week gets away from me. We are currently on Spring Break. "We" being everyone except for Justin. Justin and the Lyon College crowd had their spring break 2 weeks ago.



The fact that I am sitting here at 10:45 pm, on Wednesday Mar 25, should give some indication of "free" time. It has not been slow this week, that much is for sure.



The weekend was almost typical, the only significant change being a talent show that we put on for the Batesville Branch. It was so much fun. We had 35 people turn out (really good, when you think we have 45 on a typical sunday). There is such diverse talent in our Branch. We had some music, including our 3 youngest. Justin had to work, and Elizabeth was at a Priest/Laurel activity in Conway. Ian, Ben and Kaylee sang "love is Spoken Here", which is one of my favorite Primary songs. Michelle had been sick, and felt like staying home. I was having sore throat issues, and could barely carry a tune in a bucket. I felt bad about not being able to participate.



We also had some poetry readings (original works), and a stand-up comedy routine. Other talents were displayed, such as quilts, paintings, crafts, etc. desserts were great, and everyone seemed to have a really good time.



Sunday was typical. Start at 6:15-6:30 in the chicken houses, so that we could race the clock and try to be showered and out the door by 8:25 to make my PEC meeting. Ian has to come with me, because he has been assigned to make the weekly bulletin. Leonard Powers (mentioned in an earlier post), is still back and forth between the nursing home and the hospital. He is currently in the hospital, but seems to be doing okay, with Pneumonia the significant concern. Church responsibilities last until about 2:30 or so, and then I come home, deal with chickens, help with dinner and what-not. We typically get to read, or just visit, so Sunday evenings are not too bad, most weeks.



Monday and Tuesday were days that were supposed to be pretty, and WOW, was it true, or what? I always have to factor in Chicken houses, of course. We typically start our walks around 8 am on "holidays". The job takes 3 of us about 1 1/2 hrs. we have been leaving Michelle at home, since she is still fighting some respiratory issues from whatever cold took her down last week.

After we finish walking through the houses, inspecting birds, picking up those that died the night before, and dealing with any maintenance concerns, we go home, get cleaned up, and have breakfast.

Then we deal with other chores for the day. Monday involved some hauling. One House has a wet spot, water seeping in under the foundation, into a low spot. No "shiny" surface water, but it turns the litter to a jello like firmness that will just hold chickens, but a human may go knee deep. It required one tractor load of clean litter to firm up the ground to make it cleaner and drier for these birds. Not too troublesome, rice hulls are really light. Kaylee can carry a 5 gallon bucket of them, with no problem.

Then, our next chore! An ongoing challenge, maybe for the next 2 years, really! The ice storm back in Jan/Feb left so many trees down, or damaged, and we have relatives that can't really take care of it themselves. Michelle's Aunt Betty is one. This is Bob's sister-in-law. She and Bob's sister Robbie live just up from old House #1. They had several big trees either fall over, or lose some really large branches. All over the yard. They were fortunate, as were many of us, that things did not end up on houses or cars.

We had planned to help Bob get these trees cut up and moved. I had been working on our own yard, as time would permit, but Bob's old chainsaw was becoming troublesome. I could clean the carbeurator (sp?), and keep things well tuned, and it was still so slow that a 4 inch limb would take over a minute to cut. (New chain, for any who might wonder if the teeth were dull.) Bob decided it was time for a replacement.

Thank Heaven! He bought a nice saw, and man! That thing screams!! We worked on an old "sweet gum" that had fallen in Betty's yard. The trunk was about 2 feet in diameter, and that new saw would rip through that in about the 1 minute it had been taking to cut 4 inches!!! I was sooooo glad!! We got that gum cleared out, and yanked several large branches out of the big oak in front of Robbie's place. Branches about 9-10 inches in diameter qualify as big, don't they?

We filled the old red truck with firewood lengths, and took them home to spend the rest of the evening splitting and stacking. Oak is great! Hickory is nice. Don't usually mess with pine for firewood. Maple, and other hardwoods, so easy to split! Axe, wedge, or 6 lbs. splitting maul, they all make pretty short work of these "nice" hardwoods. Get a good "check", and one or two more hits gives a nice stright split.

Only had 4 wheelbarrows of that stuff. All the other was "sweet gum". Maybe oldtimers would tell me I'm nuts for even trying it. We split all the gum we brought to the house!! Every length, the wedge had to be pounded through the ENTIRE piece, and sometimes requires help from the maul to make the final split.

And what weird directions that wedge would travel!! I had one turn nearly sideways on a single stroke, even though the wood appeared to be perfectly even in color, and density! What a workout!! Good thing I have children who enjoy working outside, (most of the time).

I am going to set this aside for now. It is past 11:30. Interruptions have slowed me down. Phone calls kick me off line, and one of Michelle's clients, who calls pretty late some nights, has called 3 different times. Tired, going to bed now!