Nothing

You know, I was going to write something but the writing wasn't going where I wanted it to go so I discarded it.  Perhaps later it will do what I wanted it to do.  But, back to nothing.  My mind is somewhat blank and I have work to do.  There is a vacuum pump problem at the barn that needs to be addressed.  I have hay to bale.  I have 5-6 acres of new ground to sow.  And, truth be told, you probably have something better to do then read this so.  Until next time...

Memories

I mentioned on Facebook that I was camping with my wife's family this past weekend.  There are things about camping that are grand and glorious and then there are things that are, well,  less so.    A fire is always a must.  Not a roaring smoke free fire or a perfect hot dog roasting fire, lots of good hot coals.  Most camping fires I have been responsible for NASA would be proud of.  I am sure they wonder what sort of rocket or shuttle has been launched.  A silent shuttle to be sure, unless to much gas has been used, but lots of smoke.  Beautiful smoke.  Lung filling smoke.  Nicotine free of course but glorious blue smoke wafting through eyes and nose before winding gracefully through the trees. I enjoy and appreciate the nostalgic feeling one has when tears are streaming down his face. Cooking is also an incredible experience.  I was able to create a rather impressive fire one morning.  It was the  result of some sort of raw meat which ha falling into the fire and is turning into something resembling charcoal but is also causing a roaring blaze.  Grease will do this.  If you don't believe me try it sometime but please do it outside.  Your mother/wife/children will appreciate it.
And then there is the tent that I never could master.  So many little stakes and pegs.  Rods with some sort of stretchy stuff you have to thread through holes,  bending and twisting them so the roof of the tent is dome shaped instead of flat, like a pancake, on the ground.  Then, once the tent is erect you can place things in it to sleep on.  Sleeping bags, air mattress, foam mattress, etc.  Most air mattress I have used are always flat by morning.  Why is this?  It could be brand new, never used, fresh from Wal-Mart and by 1:00 in the morning it will be flat and some root will be annoying you nigh unto death .
And of course there is rain.  Glorious rain.  Rain that makes the crops grow and the fires smolder and sputter.  Soggy hot dog buns are always a great treat.
Then there are elephant ears.  Cooked over a pot of oil which is sitting somewhat precariously over the fire.  A few accidental slops and you will have another roaring inferno.  This is something men greatly enjoy watching.  Women?  Not so much.
Then you have all the incredible work of taking the tent back down and packing everything back up and going home to a hot shower.  Your shower.  Need I say more?
I must admit this past weekend I did none of this, I slept in a little cottage which was equipped with an AC, shower, restroom and a bed.   However, I did try to cook over the fire.  But I am digressing from the title.  The memories that were made.  Looking back on this weekend.  The children spent hours and hours riding bike and playing.  The rest of us sat around the fire talking about days gone by and swatting at the bugs buzzing around our ears.  We remembered previous camping episodes.  The good, the bad, and the ugly.  We laughed about the ugly and proved to ourselves that we had matured in the last ten years.  I think we had a great weekend....
Oh, did I mention I had more elephant ears than any one else.  They were really quite awesome...

The Most Important Thing

Over the last three years I have slowly come to realize what the most important thing is. Perhaps I have known it a long time but it didn't really sink in.  I was in the middle of, what I would consider, a huge building project.  This project was moving about as fast as a glacier.  I made phone call after phone call leaving messages.  Trying to get some sort of take on what the builders status was. When was he coming?  Was he coming?  We need to get this done.   I wasn't ready to "dump the builder" I liked him and he did good work.  I was really struggling with how to be a Christian in the middle of the headache and aggravation, ok, I may as well be honest and call it anger.  I came to this  realization.  Six  months after the barn or project is completed and we move the herd moved into the barn I will have forgotten all the grief, pain, aggravation and anger that went with it.  But, six months after the project was complete I knew the builder would remember what kind of person I was.  If I was unable to rise above the circumstances and live in peace he would remember this and never do business with me again.  Worse than that it would affect his view of Jesus.  One of the questions I still continue to struggle with in these situations is how should a Christian deal with these issues.  I am speaking specifically about business deals.  How does Jesus affect the way you do business? 

All In A Name

The name of our farm is "Airy Mont Farm".  I have gotten more strange looks over this name.  Where did that come from?  Did you say Dairy Mont Farm?  Or maybe Dairy Mart Farm?  I always wonder if these folks simply need to purchase a nice pricey pair of hearing aids.  But I digress, Airy Mont Farm.  If you have ever planted your feet on our farm in the spring you will understand where the name comes from.  The farm buildings are located on a hill and we get more than our share of wind.
But there is more to it than this.  Years ago Merle Yoder coined another name for our farm, "Malfunction Junction".  I am really disappointed I can't take the credit for such an appropriate name.  It fits so well.  If you read my previous post you read about a decision which led to some hay being rained on.   Well, we raked it yesterday only to have it rained on again last night.  Another form of Malfunction Junction.  It never ends.  Some days we spend a considerable amount of time trying to find ways to make this name remain true and faithful till the end.  We spend so many days working toward this goal that I had "Malfunction Junction" printed under "Airy Mont Farm" on our checks.  The bank was somewhat surprised.
But wait, there is more.  We are in the process of purchasing another farm in Pittsylvania county. (Should have closing in a couple weeks.)  This property has an incredible number of creeks and streams as well as bordering Straight-stone Creek.  (Which I would call a small river and I assume this "Creek" is quite offended by it's poorly chosen name.  It isn't very straight either.)  Anyway, lest I ramble on forever I have been pondering names for this property.  We had quite a list.  Double Creek, Triple Creek, Rolling Creek, on and on the list goes.  None of which struck me as the appropriate name.  Earlier this week it came to me that perhaps it should be called Troublesome Creek.  Malfunction Junction and Troublesome Creek.  After all we have a reputation to uphold.