June 11 - 20 in Reverse Chronological Order

06/20/2009 Saturday: Generally overcast and occasionally cool with light sprinkles of rain. A good day to work because it wasn't hot.

Another really busy Saturday.

The Enrique and Oskar came about 7:30 even before I'd started chores. I had them begin taking nails and joist supports off the wood that they took down last weekend. Chas was worried that we'd run out of time for them to do all the chores we needed doing. I snarled at him because I hate to be interrupted when I'm doing chores. But, I also told him not to worry. We'd get it all done.

Shortly after I finished chores Mary H showed up and helped me castrate Magic's two bucklings. I used the band method. Mary held the bucklings up in the air with her hands behind their hocks so they couldn't struggle. I banded them pretty easily. The hard part about using an elastrator is getting the elastic band off the bander. It took us just a few minutes to get the males done and also to do Mystical's buckling. Generally speaking I don't like to band until they're older but I have to admit it is a lot less work when the animals are smaller. I'm just not as strong as I once was.

I really, really appreciated that Mary took the time to come over to help me castrate. Just having someone hold the the bucklings while I kept my hands free to do the castrating made all the difference in the world.

Another one of the tasks Chas and I decided to do while we had some help was to put the well house roof back on the sides so that Chas could check to make sure the roof would be tall enough to cover the new pump. We need to be able to access the top of the tank in case we have to blow air into the bladder. Chas had nailed two 2x4s on all four sides to raise the roof up about 3 inches. The four of us put the well house roof back on in two stages, up on the wood sides then after a quick check, up and over the tank. Now all Chas has to do is to fasten the roof to the body and put up flashing around the outside to keep water from leaking inside.

After Mary left (after admiring my garden again) I had the guys move the wood by old deck to two piles in the equipment shed. The wood without nails was put on the long trailer (per Chas's request); the wood with nails was put in the pile with the other wood in the second bay for later nail removal and reuse.

Oskar seemed interested in buying a goat. He want's the male that I used to breed last year. I told him that he could have him. He said okay and that was that. I'll have one less goat after next Saturday. And, if Curtis still wants the two goats, one of the bucklings that I castrated and my blind-in-one-eye doeling that rejected her babies and let them die. He'll keep them as pets until they get on his nerves. I should write up a handout for new goatkeepers.

The three of us picked up small pieces of boards from the cow barn, outside the green barn and scattered in other places on the property from all the work that was done by Pat and Chas. The longer boards went into the equipment shed and the short ones into the burn pile.

Before we picked up the small pieces of scattered boards I had Enrique and Oskar move three bales of alfalfa hay into the green barn (which is all that were left) and move 6 bales of local grass hay from the green barn into the cow barn. I'll be glad to get the cows out grazing again.

The guys emptied the two tubs of chicken manure and shavings from the time I had the chicks and ducks in the tubs back behind the wood stump along the creek bank. I'll spread the manure/compost in that area since the wood chips we had there are long gone, rinsed away when Hope Creek flooded. The guys rinsed the tubs out for me with the hose and turned them upside down to drain under the deck.

I also had Oskar and Enrique put the metal roofing used on the chicken tractors on the ATV and had them haul it to the scrap heap where I store all the metal roofing (outside the green barn).

We picked up the picnic table in the gazebo garden and moved it a few feet north onto some gravel. Over time it has sunk into the ground and the legs are beginning to rot. Anyhow, we picked up the picnic table and moved it so that part was on some gravel. It still wasn't level so we put two bricks under the south ends of the table.

Just before he and Enrique left for the day Oskar cut out the rest of the wild roses in the flower bed next to the well house. I'd gotten most of the wild roses removed but not all. They came back with vengence but Oskar defeated them with my clippers which are mostly worn out. They were so bad I put them in the metal recycling bag that will go the Mike and Mary for their next trip to town. The bed looks ever so much better with all that extra vegetation moved.

Laura and Enrique weed whacked the area to the west of the house where the vine maple beds are. I weed whacked the area by the main (north-east) gate into the Dexter pastures before lunch and Enrique made some passes to clean up the area around the flower bed about 15 minutes before he was scheduled to leave. We still have more to go as it's only about half weed whacked.

Chas and I had gussied-up pizza for dinner. Chas added some salami and mozzarella cheese to the top and I cooked it. It was pretty good but very salty. I drank two cups of tea and had two pops before the evening was over and I was still thirsty.

I played with my new Garmin GPS system. I ordered it from Amazon about a week or so ago and it arrived Wednesday. I think it will work just fine for me. I just program in the address and let it acquire the signal and it will tell me where to turn and how far away and I think I can even tell where I am located. It will even tell me how to go home from where ever I am. I can also add music (MP3s) or even audio books so that I can listen to a good book while I drive.

Two more days and I can put Lucky Charm (Baby) in with the other Dexters. I could probably do it tomorrow. Maybe I'll put her in with the others in the afternoon when I bring the Dexters back in from grazing.

After this full day I'll be glad to rest tomorrow. After I do some weed whacking.

06/19/2009 Friday: Rainy, but more like a driving mist all day. Some sunshine in the evening.

Morning chores took forever this morning. I was really dragging. I think I'm overdoing it with all the animals I have. I have 16 Herefords, crosses and Milking Shorthorns. If I get rid of the 6 males (3 bulls and 3 steers), that will take me down to 10 cows. I will get a heifer in exchange for my red bull calf from Gary N (up to 11). Plus LauraVic will go. She's getting on and is beginning to limp. I'll also get rid of Wendy. That will bring me down to 9 Herefords plus any babies they might have. I need to get the herd down even further. Now comes the tough decisions.

Allen P, a friend of Lances, hauled in a truckload of gravel as Pat requested. It's 3/4 inch, minus, at a cost of $170.00 for the load. Ouch.

Chas finished removing the last of the remaining pieces of wood holding up the deck. We were both happy.

As a reward for getting the deck finished I make Chas one of his favorite dishes, stir fried vegetables with chicken served over rice. It was really good. It's had to go wrong with stir fries made with carrots, red and green peppers and chicken.

06/18/2009 Thursday: Overcast most of the day with intermittent sun.

Some predator got two of my chickens, one Buff and one Red Ranger.

I pounded in the rebar that Mike H cut for me and Mary dropped off yesterday. Then I dropped in the plastic pipe over the rebar and finished pounding the rebar down till it was almost flush with the plastic. When I watered I tried out the new "bumpers." They worked really well and did keep the hose from knocking over my plants - as long as I was sure to put the hose around the bumper first. Mike made me 7 bumpers. It is nearly enough for the number of beds I have.

After lunch I transplanted four more yellow peppers that I'd picked up a few days ago. I also potted up a whole bunch of flowers in different pots. Now I'm nearly out of potting soil. Maybe I'll pick up some more tomorrow.

Dinner was chicken breasts, rice and Chas peeled carrots. A terrific dinner but I ate too much chicken. These are the southern breasts which are so much better tasting than the Foster Farms chickens. I'll be glad when I start harvesting my Red Ranger chickens.

Danette and Joe want to borrow my trailer to haul their chickens to the butcher. I still have to put the license plate on but first I have to find it. It was on the table the last time I looked. They're going to come over to see if they can use the trailer.

06/17/2009 Wednesday: Overcast most of the day. On the way home I experienced a few sprinkles but it didn't amount to much.

I went in to work at the Health Department but because I got to bed so late last night (I was up reading again) I wasn't worth much. I did get some more data explained and some more facts entered but finally left around 1:30 pm. My office mate was on a conference call and I just couldn't concentrate.

I finished up the hay that was stacked on the south side of the barn. I still have three bales left in the cow barn plus the timothy and a few bales of alfalfa. I'm going to have the guys take the alfalfa to the green barn for the goats. With all the babies running around the moms need the additional protein that comes with better hay. Also, I still have local grass hay in the green barn. That needs to be used up sometime before the new hay starts coming in.

Mystical's three baby goats are still alive and eating. I still have to tie their mother, Mystical, up so that she'll let the babies nurse but she does seem to be doing better about standing still and not trying to kick the babies away. The little doe seems to have double jointed legs as does one of the bucklings. The paint doe seems to be quite okay. I have to remember to give the kids each a BoSe shot. Maybe that will help. Also, CDT to prevent scours.

I took some pictures of the goat babies and the Welsh Mt sheep but none of the bucklings I will be selling. I need to finish taking as many individual pictures of the goats as possible as a record.

06/16/2009 Tuesday: Cool and cloudy till late morning, some sun and then the sky clouded up. We're supposed to have rain this week.

I stayed up way too late last night. I didn't get to bed until 2pm. As a result I was not worth a damn today. I had a nap in the morning and one right after lunch. I did get some things done today but it wasn't really very productive.

Chas has almost finished tearing off the deck. He's taken off most of the deck boards but has not taken down the super structure. I put a warning cone on the steps up to the deck until he gets it torn down and one on the inside of the back door (which is really our front door since we never use the front door.

I grabbed the fishing net and scooped up all six of the Buff Orpington chickens and 6 more of the Red Rangers. I put the chickens in the cage I had under the deck and used the ATV to haul them up to the chicken coop where I tossed them in. The Buffs are scratching around for food but the Red Rangers don't seem to have figured out that they have to look for food. The Barred Rocks seem bemused at this influx of chickens. I tried to get two Red Ranger roosters

Speaking of the Red Rangers, my lord some of them are big. The bigger ones are definitely ready for harvesting. I plan on doing two at one time and eating one and freezing one. I wonder how big they'll be at 12 weeks of age which is when you're supposed to butcher them.

The banty still has all her chicks, all four of them. They wander in and out of the fence searching for food. I do toss out cracked corn for the chickens and they do get some of that but I think a large part of their food is insects.

Mystical has settled down a little bit and doesn't stamp her feet too much when I put the babies up the her teats for dinner this afternoon. The babies are becoming more steady on their feet as the days pass. The one little doe almost seems double jointed. Her tendons are so loose her legs flop in several directions at once. I find I have to hold her to the teat so that she can eat. She's a determined little thing. I may bottle feed her separately since she's already gotten cholestrum.

Marcy is letting the little bucklings suck through the stock panel. Grrr. I wanted her milk for the pigs.

Violet isn't acting her normal self. She's acting like she doesn't feel well. I'll need to keep an eye on her.

The two new ewes are getting less skittish. I put some grain in with their hay and they had their front feet and noses in the feeder. Grain may be the way to lure them to me.

I got the plastic chicken waterer from under the deck where I'd left it after buying a better water container for the Red Rangers and too it to the green barn where I filled it up with water for the ducklings. Momma Muscovy took them on a long walk into the goat yard.

Mike and Mary came by to pick up two dozen eggs, a white protein tub (small) and the remains of the well (pump, pipes and electrical wire). Chas wanted to keep the water tank, turn it on its side, and fill it full of water for emergency water for the critters. I plan on putting it up on a platform (maybe I'll ask Pat M to make one for me) and filling it eventually. I have no idea how many gallons it holds, maybe 50. It's hardly worth it for that few gallons.

06/15/2009 Monday: Cool and cloudy till late morning. Then it warmed up.

Only another week (June 21) until I can put Baby in with the other Dexters. Then I'll know whether or not she was bred to Chuck's bull. Then I can start luring the Herefords into that pen so I can catch the boys for castrating (except for the large red bull calf which Gary is going to take home with him).

During evening chores I put two bales in the collapsible feeder in the cow barn and took two bales that had gotten wet from sitting on the ground out to the road pasture and tossed them out for the cows to pick through.

I also put each of Mystical's babies on a teat after a bit of a struggle with Mystical. She was not having any of her babies. I persuaded her to stand still while they nursed. They eventually all ate including the one that must have a selanium deficiency because she looks like a noodle. I need to order needles and syringes for giving shots to the goats and sheep and also for my cattle.

I worked at the Health Department today. Back to chronic diseases and the 10 leading causes of death in Lewis County, WA.

Pat stopped by about 8:15pm to check to see what we'd done. He's leaving for Oregon for a week to do a job and then will be back to work on the deck. I guess he's going to pour concrete footings after we level the area and remove a stump which is right on the line where the concrete footing will go. I need to contact Dill to see about having a trench built so that we can get water & power to the outbuildings. I also need to contact Lance McCoy to have him deliver a load of 3/4" minus gravel. We'll use some for the deck and some for under the cement in the barn and pad. I'd like to get the Dexter pen done, too, but that might have to wait till I can get that area cleaned out.

Our well went out yesterday. The repair person showed up just before I left for work. It turns out there was a good sized hole in one of the sections of pipe near the pump. Chas decided to replace the pump and pipes while we had them out of the ground. He also had the guy install a tank with a bladder so that we weren't always having to pump it out. I was so happy. That well house has been a PITA since we moved in.

The guys disconnected the roof of the well house and slid it forward on two large planks. The new pressure tank is taller than the old tank so we're going to have to build up the sides of the house by two 2x4 widths (about 3 inches) so that we can get access to the top of the tank where the air valve for the bladder is. Chas wants to use the 2x4s that still have some use left in them from the planks on the deck. After nailing those on we need to put a face board on and caulk it on top. Then lift the roof which is leaning on two stout boards against the well house and replace it on the well house and fasten it down.

Dinner was hot noodles, Chas's favorite dinner.

06/14/2009 Sunday: Chilly this morning. The sun really didn't come out till after 2pm and even then it stayed cool.

I weeded several of the flower beds in the cottage garden and then proceeded to hack away at the weeds in the vegetable garden. Three of the zucchini squash are up but none of the Hubbard. The fourth zucchini didn't come up. Oh well, I think three plants will give us enough zucchini to even freeze some.

The yard long beans are coming up but the Kentucky Wonder beans are not. We have germination on the three different kinds of chard. I love chard. So delicious steamed. The corn is up about 2 inches, both kinds. I purchased Ed Hume seeds for the corn since I expected they'd be seeds that would sprout in this climate. No kohl-rabi yet. The potatoes are doing well, even the finger potatoes I just planted are doing well. Most have emerged and have leaves.

I'm being ruthless this year. If a potato appears where it isn't supposed to be it gets chopped down as if it were a weed. I suppose I could transplant it but I'm too lazy.

After watering the garden I went in to have lunch.

I've been noticing that our water pressure has gotten steadily worse over the last few days. We thought it might be that it needs draining and the water tank pumped full of air. Chas drained it but said that not much water came out. The tank seemed to be full of air. This didn't sound good. There is supposed to be water in the tank so that we can pressurize it.

The water pressure slowly climbed to 28lb of pressure. We did not try to put air into the tank. Around 4:45pm I phoned Moerke, our well folks and asked them to please call us back in the morning (Monday morning). Chas will talk to them. I hope he tells them that we're getting sediment from the bottom of the well fairly frequently. That probably isn't doing the pump any good.

I found having the water problem to be a total downer. This kind of problem really bums me out.

Marcy's two baby bucklings seem to be having problems adapting to life separated from their mom. I am milking Marcy although she's not giving me much milk. I wonder if the babies are reaching through the fence and sucking on her. (Later. They are)

There are 5 new ducklings. The pround momma was taking them out exploring. I need to put out a pan of water for them so that they'll have something to drink.

I did not get the Buff Orpingtons moved to the hen house. I was going to move them in the afternoon but I got in from working on the garden so late that there was only about half an hour. I could have done it then but decided to spend half an hour reading a mystery novel.

The two new St Croix sheep are acting nutso. When I get near their pen to check their hay and water they start trying to jump through the stock panel. They seem terrified and I'm not exactly sure why. As far as I know they've never been abused. They're away from their mom for the first time and probably just don't know what's going on. Hopefully they'll tame down when they realize that I'm not going to hurt them and am the bringer of food delights.

One of them tried to get behind the round calf structure and got caught in the panel I grabbed her and checked her collar to make sure it wasn't too tight. It wasn't. I petted her for a few minutes but that didn't seem to make any difference. I was able to catch the other sheep when it tried to leap through the space between the calf hutch and the stock panel which I hadn't opened up yet so I als checked her collar and loosened it.

After struggling for a few minutes and tearing up the sod that had grown over the lip of the calf hutch I was able to drag the calf hutch away from the stock panel so that the sheep could go around the back. Now they can hide but not get caught in the fencing.

Anne called me today to check on the lambs. She also gave me the name of the folks who might have a ram lamb. The farm name is Ternam Trails Farm with Mike and Faye being the owners. Anne said they have very nice rams. I will follow up next week.

I ordered Joel Saladan's two DVDs from Back40Books for $85.00. It sounds as if it might be useful for thinking about pastured animals.

Mystical had two doelings and one buckling very early this morning. She's rejected these babies. One of the females is a paint, very pretty. One of the doelings has serious leg problems. I've been putting her on Mystical's teat and she's eating well but Mystical is really unhappy that I'm forcing her to nurse the babies. The buckling seems to be doing okay.

Dinner was boiled finger potatoes (the ones I didn't plant in my garden), pork roast from last year's pig, and frozen beans. I know we have frozen beans in the freezer downstairs. I'll have to dig them out.

06/13/2009 Saturday: Overcast and cool this morning but sunny and hot this afternoon.

Another lovely but busy Saturday.

Enrique and Marcos showed up to help out today. They started right away to tear down the deck under Chas's supervision so I left them to it. Later Pat M came by and told them that they needed to remove the rhodies so that they could pull the whole structure over and work on it from the ground. He also gave them instructions on what to do.

While they chainsawed some of the deck cover to get it down, I scouted out where I wanted the rhodies - near the creek but alongside what must have once been a road since it's very flat - and pounded in rebar with insulators on them to mark the spots.

Then I weed whacked a path and cleaned out an area for the plants.

By then it was 10am. I left to go to Anne Scharff's place. She lives on Mauerman Rd near Pe Ell. I got to meet her husband, too, but I can't remember his name, now.

Anne had put an ad on Craigslist about two St Croix ewe lambs she had for sale for $100.00 each. I phoned last night and made an appointment to see the lambs. I liked what I saw and purchased the two ewe lambs. I stuffed them into the dog carrier and after a short visit and a look around the place took them home. They are living temporarily in the calf pen with the round calf hutch in it.

They were both born in early April this year; I think she said they were born around the 5th.

Anne is going to look for a ram lamb for me. One of her ewes is going to give birth in August. If she has a ram lamb she will save it for me.

I guess these sheep breed year around and generally have twins.

Shortly after I got back Gary N came for a visit. He told me he took the sweet Black Angus bull that I used and a cow to the sale barn. Apparently he did not impregnate all Gary's cows. Gary paid a thousand for him and got $500 at the sale barn. He did get $150 from me for leasing the bull so he really wasn't out all that much money. He plans on using my long-legged red cross-breed Red Whiteface on his cows. He'll be picking him up after he does the haying for me.

Gary wants $35.00 for each round bale. I have no idea how many round bales I can get into the barn but I will get as many as I can from Gary. I wish I could store some in the green barn but there is not enough room to get anything but square bales into that barn.

Enrique dug up some of the dirt for the holes with the tractor and then he and Marcos finished up the holes with shovels. Two of the holes had lots of tree roots that they had to cut before they could finish the holes.

One by one they dug up the rhodies and transplanted them. We gave each plant 3 - 4 gallon buckets of water to make sure they were well watered. Tomorrow I'll have to give them another bucket or two of water. They're in the shade and Enrique made a well so that the water wouldn't escape. I'll add coffee grounds and compost to the well to enrich the soil and to act as a mulch.

They finished up transplanting the rhodies just before lunch. I fed them lunch. After their lunch break they went back to taking down the section of the deck closest to the walkway. By 5pm they had that entire section of the deck down. It's a long way down looked at from the kitchen door.

Chas seems to feel he can finish up the last section of deck.

I did some more weed whacking but by then I was pretty tired.

Later on in the afternoon Richard showed up. He's an electrician. He'll be helping us with fixing all the things that were installed incorrectly. I want a fan with lights in the kitchen over the dining room table. He's going to do that as well as fixing the lighting in the cow barn and running power to the green barn.

The piggies got milk with their dinner. This morning I separated the two bucklings from their mom, Marcy, and this evening I put her on the milk stand and milked her out. I didn't get much because I think she was holding it back but over time she will release more. She was none too happy about being milked and did stomp her foot a couple of times. I just held her foot while I finished milking her out. The pigs were very happy to get milk as a topping for their dinner.

I totally forgot to feed them this morning. They were definitely hungry when I dumped their food in their bucket this evening.

Chas made macaroni and cheese from scratch. It was really good. Hard to beat shells, grated cheese, mustard and a can of chopped tomatoes well baked as a dinner. Good thing he felt like cooking because I did not.

06/12/2009 Friday: Cloudy this morning but sunny this afternoon.

This was a worthless day for me in terms of getting anything done. I guess I finally hit the wall since I slept most of the day. I'd been working pretty hard physically these past few days and it finally caught up to me.

Basically all I did today was do chores twice and read some but I mostly slept. I feel better and if I get to bed reasonably early tonight I should be raring to go tomorrow.

Just as I'd given up hope that the Muscovy duck number 1 that was setting was going to hatch anything, I noticed several babies tucked under her wing. I expect she'll be taking them out and showing them off in a few days.

We're going to get at least one more meal in addition to the one I cooked tonight from the killer rooster. I make chicken a la king and have lots left over.

I phoned about an ad I saw on Craigslist for two St Croix ewes for $100 each. I'm going to see them tomorrow morning and will likely purchase them. I will sell the Welsh Mt sheep, at least the trio. I'll keep the two lambs from this year plus the wether from last year.

The contact person for the St Croix sheep is Anne Scharff, 237 Mauermann Rd, 291-3931.

06/11/2009 Thursday: Overcast with some sun.

After I let the Dexters out to graze I took the ATV and trailer and started picking up all the junk that Pat left lying around when he reroofed the potting shed. First I took all the uprights and roof joists from the deck to the wire enclosed "greenhouse." That cleared up two areas that were causing me heartburn. They looked awful. The metal Pat took off the roof when he trimmed it got put into a feed sack and will go to Mike and Mary's.

Mary showed up today with my metal gate. Not sure where I'll put it yet but I'll find a space for it sooner or later. While she was here we looked at the garden and then admired the chicks and ducks.

My chicks at 6 weeks are almost big enough to start processing. I talked to one of the staff at Del's about the high cost of chick starter on Monday since I was all prepared to buy two bags of the 24% protein. She asked how old they were. When I said 6 weeks she suggested I switch to the cheaper 18% protein (all purpose poultry). The 50lb sacks were half the cost of the 24% feed. Something to consider.

I've been watching the chicks and I think the heavy protein is making some of them grow too fast. A few (two so far) seem to have leg problems. They're walking as if one leg is dislocated. Those will get eaten first. I'm hoping to process a few at a time each weekend till they're all done.

After a lunch of yogurt I headed back outside and picked up the two loads of trash right in front of the pig pen. Pat had left it there when he redid the wall in the green barn that had rotted out and from tearing out part of the wall to my loft so that he could put in a flight of steps. I just can't climb vertical ladders any more. Quite a lot went into the burn pile but the good pieces went into the equipment storage area. That's going to have to be reorganized eventually.

Once I got the detritus cleared up I turned off the power to the fence and loaded up the ATV with fencing tools. Chas and I went out to fix the break in the fence. I think the cows must have broken out because they couldn't see the fence. It is really overgrown there.

We spliced in a length of wire and turned up the edges so that the wire wouldn't slide out again. I think this is the third time we've repaired this section of fence. I had to go back to the tack room once and get a pair of pliers and the weed whacker.

After we finished the job and I tightened the fence, Chas walked back to the house and I continued the weed whacking he'd started along the fence line. I didn't do the entire fence line but I got quite a bit of the thistles and daisies cut down. I'll continue to weed whack till I get all the fence line cleared out.

After that I let the cows out and did my evening chores. It wasn't an hour later when several of them walked through the polywire again. I went back into the pasture and routed them out with my ATV. It took several tries to get them back in as they got very naughty and kept sneaking back or into neighboring pastures. I finally got them back into their winter pasture and put up the electric fence to keep them in. I think the bull calves and Wendy are causing the problem.

I'm going to definitely reduce the herd. It's getting to be too much work, now that they've become escape artists.

By then I was so agitated that Lucky and I decided to go for a nice car ride. I snuck out without telling Chas that I was leaving. Bad me. Before I left I told Chas he would have to get his own dinner. He had succotash and kielbasa. I had a chicken pot pie when I got back from Pe Ell.

While I was gone, Chas took down some more of the deck railings. He's so good. He actually removes the nails. That will make reusing the boards for my greenhouse much easier for Pat. I have to admit I did not remove the nails from the boards I put into the equipment shed but will eventually get around to that.

He and I talked about moving the recycle garbage pails down under the walkway to the back deck. I wanted to do that to get them out of sight. They're currently by the well house and are not very attractive to look at from the deck. I thought it would be easier to do the recycle if we just took it down the stairs to the daylight basement and stashed it out of sight. Chas was concerned about how we'd get it back up to the top level. I suggested the ATV as one possibility. We recycle all the time but generally give our pop cans to Mike and Mary. We take glass and cans in.

Lately we hardly go into town together. Since I'm working at the Health Department I go in three times a week but never think of taking the recycling.

While I got a lot done today the cows are so aggravating that the day wasn't very much fun. It is, however, a pleasure to go into the chicken pen. No rooster to attack me now. Maybe chicken a la king for tomorrow night's dinner. Should be easy and tasty served over rice.