We have been back for a few days, but I was just numb
with all the images swirling through my brain. The
myriad of suitcases I was tripping over only added to
the general numbness and I needed to bring some order
back into the family and home before tackling other
projects.

The Mission Trip to Mexico was beyond incredible. We
were able to bless the Torres Fuerte church with a
concrete floor and they blessed us by becoming our
brothers and sisters. Even though they had a pre-
conceived notion that Americans are cold (they had
refused to have other churches from America come
to them in the past) they opened their homes, lives and
hearts to us and, I think, were surprised at how we
opened our hearts and lives to them. We became friends,
and God willing, that friendship will continue, not just in
heaven, but here on Earth as well.

This trip has done another thing for our church. My husband
and I have long prayed for a fire to be lighted for missions
here. That has come to pass. It is more than just a spark.
Now we pray for God to give wisdom in ways to keep that
fire burning. He is already answering that prayer as well.

Stormy weather
I am living now outside of St. Louis and so was right in the midst of the storm that struck Wednesday evening. Thankfully the only damage that we had was flying shingles and lots of tree branches down. It was a bit scary when it started raining in the basement (dripping off of the rafters - I guess it was blowing sideways and got between the basement and the house???)

Every cloud has a silver lining - and this event for me has one as well. I love being hospitable and I have a family that work with World Impact as church planters in the city of St. Louis staying with me until their electricity comes back on. The heat index was at least 112 degrees today and the sleep on the 3rd floor of a brick building in the inner city...can you imagine the heat?

We are having a blast together here "camping out" - and we had 2 other families over as well for the evening that also do not have electricity. Whew I'm a bit tired from cooking and serving and cleaning, but I am loving the opportunity to give back a little hospitality to someone who has shown me so much. Pray for St. Louisans - there are many who are hot and hurting tonight.

Becky

Enough Grace
I mentioned something yesterday that I wanted to develop just a bit - I said that God's grace is sufficient for me today (and today only is what I mean). When we were living overseas we came to a place in our oldest son's life where we had to choose between homeschooling - (he would have been the ONLY Western teenage boy amongst 9 million people or so) or sending him 7000 islands away to boarding school. (More than a car ride away from your 14 year old!). I worried over the decision for almost 2 years. I grieved for the holidays we would not spend together, I cried for the missed connection he would have with us and his little sisters - I was anxious about making the right decision. It seemed very easy for others who we knew to send their kids off to high school boarding school, but we anguished over the decision. Finally we came to a point where the 3 of us (myself, husband, and son) all agreed that he should go. Talk about feeling like Abraham sacrificing Isaac - we were there. I could give you the factors that went into the decision, but the bottom line is we really believed that was what the Lord wanted - and looking back I see His blessing.
Perhaps the biggest blessing was the lesson I learned about God's grace. Until we actually left our son there and flew back to our base of operations (as missionaries and church planters) I was so anxious. But once the deed was done - I was filled with peace. (A peace that truly passed understanding). That is not to say that I did not miss him, or worry about him - but I was confident that He was in God's hands and His hands are better than mine!
What a lesson to learn - God does not promise that His grace is sufficient for tomorrow - or next year, He promises it is sufficient for today. Whenever I begin to be overcome by fears or worries, I try to remember His faithfulness to me - and to leave tomorrow and its worries in His hands and rejoice in the Grace that IS mine (from Him) and sufficient for me TODAY.
I pray that His grace is sufficient for you too today. He's big enough.
Becky (guesting for Laurie)

The persecuted
I found a great verse the other day that spoke particularly to my husband and I because of our experiences in Southeast Asia. We are presently advocating for frontline national church planters who are working in very difficult dangerous places (unreached people groups) where Western missionaries cannot go because of the danger factor not only to themselves but also to those who build relationships with them. We were recently overseas at a conference where we connected North American representatives from various churches with these frontline national workers. These workers are my heroes! One of them, working in a VERY difficult place, told me stories of God's protection in his family's lives. First a group of people tried to burn down their house (a straw hut literally) but the men were frightened away (this small hut contains not only himself and his wife, but 7 children as well!) Another attempt was made against the family when a group of rebels surrounded their house shooting and launching a grenade through the door - but the rebels ran away terrified because their guns did not shoot and the grenade did not light! A third attempt was made on the family that for security reasons I cannot describe. At this conference the man and his wife said, "Thus far God has chosen to be glorified through protecting us, but some day he may choose to be glorified by not protecting us." Wow, such faith is beyond me - or at least God has not yet called me to experience that grace. I have learned that God's grace is sufficient for me today - but not for tomorrow, or for somebody else etc.
Another worker and his daughter were recently martyred in another people group. The times are tense - but yet God is so good - and He is raising up a people for himself to surround His throne bringing him glory. The family that I was describing (with the 7 children) have had their house burnt down since I was with them...and 3 other workers received very pointed and real death threats and had to abandon their work - imagine our joy when I read these verses the other day...
II Corinthians 1:8-11: "We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under real pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many." (NIV)
Our work right now is to garner prayers for the persecuted church and for the workers who are "laying their all" on the line. Maybe as you read this you might pause for a moment and pray for them - even though you do not know their real names and places - God does!
Thank you!!! Becky

My sister has asked me to be a guest blogger, and I am honored. I just walked in the door from a whirlwind 1,000 mile trip in just 3 days. It is a good thing my husband and I are compatible!!!
All three of our children left for summer church camp early this morning, which was the reason that they did not join us on our marathon cross country trek. First a few blog thoughts (and questions) on the trip...Is every road in America under construction right now? Lake Michigan is beautiful and feels good on a 100 degree day - It reminded me of the ocean with the sandy beach and the gentle waves...does Lake Michigan have a tide like the ocean? What a blessing it is to be with people who are relaxed about entertaining you! I never knew that I could enjoy sleeping with 3 Boston terriers in bed with us...but I did. They are neat dogs. Our hosts actually did a "dog compatibility" survery before they adopted their Boston terriers. Apparently they had a string of uncompatible dogs before these 3 sweeties. Speaking of dogs....
When we were living in the Philippines we had 2 dogs - Tracker (the male) and Sugar (the female). Dogs were a necessity for us, not just a luxury. They were guard dogs (gentle ones, but noisy) to discourage thievery (we regularly had clothes stolen from the clothes line, or bikes, or shoes from outside the door etc.) and they were good snake and rat catchers. And the rats in the Philippines really cannot be caught by cats, because they are as big as cats - truly! We once had a rat run off carrying a bag of McDonalds hamburgers in his mouth - the whole bag. We had a hard time putting our feet on that floor again. One unusual trait of our dogs was that Sugar was the worker and Tracker the pleaser. If a rat came down off our roof into the yard, Sugar was sure to grab it in her mouth, give one shake, and then lay it down dead. Tracker would wait until we were around, run to the rat, pick it up and bring it to us, as if he had actually accomplished a mighty deed. We had running jokes about Tracker and Sugar knowing the Lord. Whenever our children were memorizing Bible verses they would say them over and over again to the dogs who listened attentively with ears cocked. We even had a few of the young people in the church we were planting actually practice giving their testimonies or sharing their faith with the dogs, because of their enthusiastic response, in Cebuano we would say, "Ang mga iro nga kahibalo sa Dios" (the dogs who know the Lord). I know this blog is random and rabbit traily, but I did just complete a L O N G drive, and I'm a bit punchy. My sister fernnook farmgirl - is in Mexico right now, and we are praying that she, and her family (including our Mom), and their companions, are being a blessing, as well as being challenged and given lots of opportunities for service. I don't know if fernnook farmgirl introduced me as her little sister - but I am (except I am taller 4'10" - so maybe I'm her little/big sister. I'll be blogging tomorrow, hopefully with more sense :-). Philippine Sister

One last quick Notes from around the farm before I head
South and Becky, my guest blogger whom you will LOVE,
comes aboard.

1. Oh glory, we got 10+ inches of rain early this week. As
my dad had said before the rain came, "We haven't had
any rain since the last time it rained." We really needed
it.

2. The lane to Joel's house became gullied big time because
of the rain.

3. The gollywhompers are here. They came by droves yesterday.
Probably the rain brought them on. Gollywhompers, aka snake-
doctors are huge dragonflies that zoom around the yard and
over the fields in great clouds. They are a riot to watch. It is
fun to watch a chicken be walking along and reach up, like
lightning to snatch one from the air as it flies over.

4. The rain also drove some of the crawdads that live right below
the surface up into the yard. The chickens have been having
fun with them too.

See you when I get back.

I always hesitate to write to knowingly on the "hows" and
"wherefores" of raising children. I think that my children
are beyond the beyond in fabulocity, so that is not why I
hesitate. It is just that the grace of God is so very extremely
evident to me that I feel to claim that I know THE WAY to do
things is going a bit far. However, the other night, Kent and I
were discussing one of our child-raising techniques and I
realized I might have some insight to give to those who are
seeking it.

We have been very relaxed parents on the physical end and
very diligent parents on the emotional and spiritual end. For
instance, I read one time that children get hurt more when
their parents are watching them on the playground than when
the parents' attention is elsewhere. Mostly that was because
the parents were constantly saying, "Watch out!" or "Be
careful." This distracted the kids and built inconfidence into
them. Most children are built with a sensor that lets them know
if what they are attempting is beyond them. Okay, I did run
when Tyler, (at age 12 months) was walking across the ridgepole
of the 12 foot high swingset. But when I got there I didn't even
say a word. I did not want him to fall. I just, outwardly calm,
but inwardly quaking, watched him walk to the end and climb
down. But with 4 very active children, children who rode pigs,
jumped on the backs of horses, climbed cliffs, tore around on
4-wheelers, ran barefoot on rocks, ran down the middle of
rivers, hunted and fished on their own...generally just enjoyed
life in every aspect, I just didn't worry. To learn, enjoy, experience
-this is what I want for my children. And, I guess I should add,
we have never had a broken bone, and just a very few stitches.

In a few weeks two of my boys and two of their cousins are taking
a 2-4 day camping trip on their own down the Current River. Now,
bear in mind, they did this same thing about 3 years ago. Tyler,
then 13, caught a fish, cleaned it, licked his fingers and then got
very sick a few hours later. Well, oh well. I didn't know about it
until they got back, and I still didn't fret over it, and he learned a
very valuable lesson on washing his hands after he cleans fish.

Okay, enough on that aspect. As relaxed as we are for them in
the physical realm, we are diligent in the spiritual realm. Now,
I do not mean we play the Holy Spirit. My job is not to catch them
in every wrong doing and beat them up for it. But we watch them
like hawks for their attitudes, their spiritual depth, their habits,
their laziness in this area, and we encourage and admonish. We
teach them in season and out about the ways and goodness of our
Lord. We had them begin giving a tithe from the first time they
ever earned money, and it is second nature to them now.
We guarded their hearts and minds from the filth on TV, but we
always talked to them very honestly about what was going on
in the world.

Kent just came in and when I told him what I was blogging on he
said in three or four sentences what I've just haggled on for the
longest.

1. Many parents spend more time being concerned with the
physical well-being of their child than the spiritual well-being.

2. We need to be careful physically...but we need to be more
careful spiritually.

3. The physical care we give will only last them a lifetime...the
spiritual will resound throughout eternity.

4. God has our appointed time in His hand. We do not need to
fear as we go about His work.

Preach on brother.

My favorite summer meal.

Fresh sliced tomatoes.
Cucumbers, onion and green pepper in a vinegar mix.
Fried corn.
Crowder or garden peas.
Zucchini stir fry.
Fried bread.

Here are the recipes for those dishes that aren't obvious.

Cucumber, onion and green pepper vinegar mix:
Slice cumcumber, onion and green pepper to fill
half of any size bowl.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper and sugar.
Fill bowl halfway with apple cider vinegar.
Fill the rest of the way with water.
Chill for a few hours.

*I will keep this mix for a week or two and just add more
veggies as they get low.

Fried Corn:
Slice the corn off of sweet corn cobs.
Melt butter in a pan and put in corn.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook till tender.

Zucchini stir fry:
Olive oil in pan.
Slice in zucchini, yellow squash, green tomato, fresh corn
off the cob, onion, green pepper and any other fresh
garden vegetable.
Sprinkle with garlic salt, lemon pepper and basil.
Cook till tender.

Fried bread:
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 and 1/2 cups milk

Stir all together. Heat 1/4-1/2 inch of oil in pan.
Drop biscuit or a little larger size spoonfuls into pan.
Fry till golden brown and turn. Fry again till golden
brown.

You will think you have entered your eternal home early
when eating a meal such as this! Don't forget the hot sauce
for the peas!

On the Eleven Point and ready to eat the hotdogs
which are cooking on our boat.
















The family ready to descend on Snappy Tomato
Restaurant...I should have warned them we were
coming. The ones in blue shirts are most of my own
family, we had a special service for those going on the
mission trip to Mexico.

Family Reunion Snippet.

Little Mitch (6), my kids' second cousin, was riding with
Kent, Princess Daughter and me to Snappy Tomato, where
the whole gang was going to have Sunday Lunch.

He (Little Mitch) leaned forward in his seat and said, "Excuse
me, Mr. Kent, but, how many cylinders does this car have?"

I glanced amusedly at Mr. Kent, and I waited for the answer,
I sure didn't know.

"Six, Mitch. It has six cylinders."

I couldn't resist...I know, my sin nature and all. "Hey, Mitch,
what is a cylinder anyway?"

Silence. But only for a second. "I don't know," he happily
confided.

"I don't either," I smiled conspiratorily. "But whatever they
are we know this car has six of them!"

I was fretting over my family's trip to Mexico trip.
I wasn't fretting over the preparations and the packing.
I was fretting over this blog. I didn't want to leave it
just hanging for the duration of the mission trip.

And then I thought of something that would definitely
work for me. Ask Becky, my sister, to guest blog while
I am gone. Becky agreed, so wa-la, I am now set to go...
or at least set to begin fretting over the preparations
and the packing. You'll like Becky, and she owes me big
time anyway. Why does she owe me, you ask. Just because
I am her big sister!

Visit Works For Me Wednesday at Rocks In My Dryer for
a gazillion more great ideas that just might work for you too!

My grandmother decided to spoil me a little. Boy, was I
surprised. I always tease her, because, if my sister comes
from the Big City to visit, or my brother, or one of my
cousins she always cooks up a storm and spoils them with
their favorite foods. We always say she is showing off for
them, or as they say in Mayberry, "showing out." But, she
doesn't call and invite me to come a quarter of a mile down
the gravel for lunch or dinner. She does say, "I just figure
if you are hungry you'll wander on down anytime you want."

This week she spoiled me. She made some pickles for me
from the cucumbers in her garden. They are good. I put
some out at the reunion and got all kinds of compliments.
Guess I'll have to go beat her in a game of High Five before
I head down to Mexico this weekend.

Kent surprised everyone and put a BBQ pit in the front
our boat so we could grill hotdogs while we floated. Fun!
Laurie surprised herself by forgetting the matches. Hey,
I remembered the charcoal, paper, and lighter fluid. No
woman is perfect! But all was well in Mayberry because
someone had a lighter.

Laurie wasn't going to put on her suit because she doesn't
like cold water. She only swims in the Current River if it
is over 100 degrees and only swims in the Eleven Point if
it is over 110. But she decided it would be smarter to go
ahead and don it because one never knows when one will
hit the water unexpectedly. Good thinking! Someone forgot
a paddle for our particular boat and so Joel, oldest son, and
Laurie got to be the paddles. This entailed a lot of getting
in the water. This paddle is a bit bruised all over her body.

The only other really important item that was left behind
was the coffee. I did that on purpose but regretted my
rash decision many times over!

It was a fun, fun, fun, and busy, busy, busy family reunion.
Cousins are cool, even when they belong to Kent and not to
me.

Day one of the Family Reunion is over and day two
is beginning. I cooked a huge meal yesterday for the
first batch of people and I have a ton of leftovers. My
fridge is stuffed to the gills. One family of five had
car problems in Arkansas on the way up and had to
rent a car and leave theirs at the shop there. They
didn't make it in 'til way late last night. Another
two groups that I was pretty much expecting are not
coming 'til today...so lots of leftovers. I expect they'll
get eaten when the crowds start coming in today and
tonight.

Today we are planning on going to the Current River to
play and swim and picnic. Tomorrow is a big float trip
on the Eleven Point River followed by a BBQ at our place.
Sunday everyone will go to church, eat, and begin to
head home.

Oh, last night I won in Fingers. That is a fun card game
for a crowd. It is exactly played like Oh Heck, otherwise
known as Oh H***, except everyone bids at the same time
by hitting their fist on the table to the count of, "One, two,
three." On three you hold out the number of fingers that
matches your bid. It is a great family game because there
is some strategy, but it also can be played by kids 6-7 and
up. We can never play the game of Fingers without mention-
ing Kent's grandmother DeeDee. She was such a character
and she always cheated at that game. She had a crooked
finger and she would always look around at the rest of the
bids and then tell whether that crooked finger was out or
in.

It is not always easy being married to a pastor/theologian.
I compare the two of us to two water creatures. Kent is
like the catfish at the bottom of the stream. He comes up
to an idea and he looks at it slowly and from every direction.
He considers and considers and considers it. I am like the
little waterbug on top of the water, skating around, bumping
into a subject, taking a nibble, getting my fill very quickly
and moving on. So he is deep and I am shallow, and somehow
the two have to be melded together. He causes me to think
a lot more than I would on my own, dad-gum a lot more than
I want to. I admit my little pea-brain, left to itself, likes to be
lazy. Perhaps this is a part of the grace that God has given
to me; maybe it is a part of His plan for growing me up into Him
so that I can realize the fulness of Him.

Psalm 36:5-9

Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Your righteousness is ike the great mountains;
Your judgments are a great deep;
O Lord, You preserve man and beast.

How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust
under the shadow of Your wings.
They are abundantly satisfied with the fulness
of Your house,
And You give them drink from the river of Your
pleasures.
For with You is the fountian of life;
In Your light we see light.

I don't know that that Psalm has anything to do with
this post. But it sure has some ideas for nibblers like
me to take a quick bite of. His judgements are a great
deep. Whoa! We see light because of His light. Double
Whoa!

Mayberry Hush Puppies

1 and 1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 egg beaten
1/4-1/3 cup chopped onion

Drop by spoonfuls into hot oil and fry until golden
brown.

Can't be beat when eating bluegill or perch or bass
caught out of Logan Creek!

Life continues to amuse me here in Mayberry. Tonight at
Bible Study my friend Leita had us all giggling. Yesterday
she was just walking through her house barefoot when she
stepped down on a mouse. Apparantly the mouse just
happened to be zipping by as she was stepping. She had no
idea what the warm, furry thing was 'til she looked down.
She had smashed it. Yep, dead and bloody. Yuck!

I went home and was merrily switching the wash out of the
washer and putting it into the dryer. I was chattering to
Tyler as I was doing it, not paying much attention, then I
bent into the washer to scoop up the last few little things on
the bottom and there, right in front of my disbelieving eyes,
was a frog. Dead. How, you ask, did a frog get in my washer?
Good question. I guess from the fishing trip that Kent and Tyler
took yesterday down the middle of Logan Creek. See, when
you fish Logan Creek, the way my guys do, you don't do it
from the bank, and you don't do it from a boat. You wade it.
I'm thinking the frog swam into one of their pockets. I think
God kept me from finding that frog in the pocket as I was
checking them. "Tyler", said I, "there's like this frog thing in
the washer...could you um..." "No." "Billy, I need you! Please!"
Billy had mercy on his poor, overworked mumsie. Thank you,
dear!

It is Works for me Wednesday, hosted by Rocks in my Dryer,
and I am excited to see all the ideas that will pour in today.

This week I want to promote, with no kickback whatsoever,
one of my favorite kitchen gadgets. My mother always used
a nut chopper similar to this one to chop her nuts and I have
very seldom been without one. I use mine so much that I wear
them out and have to buy a new one every 7 or 8 years.

Actually the reason I just recently had to buy a new one was
because of the deer hunters in my family. Tyler, to be specific,
used my nut chopper to grind salt for a salt lick. It ground the
salt, it also caused the demise of my chopper. Since I cook with
nuts a lot, my first trip out of Mayberry and to the Big City of
St. Louis saw me hitting the cooking stores to scoop up another
chopper.

The one pictured here is listed at Walter Drake for $7.99.

Jollyblogger has a wonderful post on the history of American
Freedom and the threats to that freedom. Chrysalis has a
piece linking faith to love on the battlefield. Rocks In My
Dryer puts forth some quotes from a great American.

Kent and Tyler are fishing this morning so we can have a
4th of July fishfry at Ma and Pa's house later today. Tonight
we are having folks over for fireworks. I just found out about
the company late last night... so I guess I'll clean house most
of the day. That will help me get ready for the Harding
Family Reunion which we are hosting Thursday-Sunday right
here at our little farm in Mayberry.

Ha,ha! I forgot to let the reunionites know that July is rutting
season for the billy. If you have never been around goats in
rutting season it is quite an odorous experience. One single-
solitary-lone goat can create perfume for an entire 40 acres.

Living in Mayberry is great. Last night we went down
to the ballpark to watch son number 3 ump. We saw
lots of people we knew. We visited with no less than
24 people from our church. In fact, when they turned
off the lights to the park we were still visiting. We stood
in a circle in the dark and Princess Daughter, who has
a lot of energy began running around the circle and
suddenly said, "goose" as she tagged Ruth. Ruth,
bless her heart, is game, very game, and she began to
chase Hattie around the circle. Hattie beat her to the
open spot and the game was on. Kent was holding a
folding chair when he got tagged and it opened up as
he ran. I learned from his mistake and put chair and
water down so my hands would be free. Steve tried to
cheat by cutting across the circle, but we nipped that in
the bud! Twas fun!

God has given us many examples, in Scripture, of serving
others. He has been very explicit in telling us how we
may fulfill that part of the law that says, "Love others
as you love yourself."

Feed the hungry.
Visit those in prison.
Help the poor.
Share the gospel.
Forgive your enemy.
Pray for those who persecute you.
Resist evil.
Help the widow and the orphan.
Minister to the sick.
Comfort the heart-broken.

These are all actions that we can only do today, in the present.
How, when we get to heaven will we visit the prisoner? How
will we feed the hungry? How will we help the widow and the
orphan? How will we forgive our enemy? Heaven will have
none of those.

We will be serving in Heaven, but not in this fallen world. The
groaning of the Earth will be finished! On the new Earth there
will be no sick, poor or hurting...so our work will take a new
direction.

This is galvanizing. This present life is my only time to do these
things that God has placed before me. May His Spirit enable me
to do them well.

Notes from around the farm: (With a short aside by the
resident agrarianess) We are very much a mom and pop
little farm here. We do what works in our family and
business schedule. We let roll off our shoulders what we
want. We morph as the seasons in our lives do.

1. Remember the six homeless chickens we adopted. They
are now three...and we didn't eat any of them ourselves.
Princess Daughter and her friend Josie came running in
yesterday and said as they went to get their babydolls to
play with, "Oh, by the way, Dot (one of the chickens) is
laying in the chicken yard dead. Her leg is torn off and her
head is a mess." Lesson: Life goes on.

2. Last night I finally remembered to ask one of the boys to
set the trap before bedtime. Maybe Dot, and the other
three hapless hens would still be with us if I had done that
earlier. We'll try to keep the other three around for a while.
Really it is a hopeless gesture because we are absolutely
overrun with possum, raccoon and fox. We would need to
secure our chicken housing, but that is a lot of work. Lesson:
Don't sweat over what isn't important in this season of life.

3. Speaking of not sweating...something ate the entire garden.
YEAH! Lesson: Remember next year that no one in the
family likes to garden, just move on to something else and
reap the bounties of others' gardens at the truckstands.

4. My oldest son, who lives across the way, got two new kitties
last week. Poor things, they were really flea infested, but
with a lot of patience and hard work they are now much
more comfortable. What little rolls of fur they are. Princess
Daughter's favorite is black with white tips on the two back
feet and a white tip on the tail. Kent and I favor the grey
tiger, what a ball of energy he is. They spend a lot of the
day at out house. Lesson: Get a litterbox if they are going
to be here all day again. (Shew-no details offered.)

5. Last week we sold 5 goats. We got a new billy and so had
so get rid of the older one. Plus we had various others that
needed to be culled out. As the big cattle ranchers say, "If
they don't produce a profit, they become a profit." Lessson:
(this one is directed at Princess Daughter) life goes on, Honey.

6. In the mostly-all-day process of catching the five insane goats
and loading them Hattie got a good lesson in sex-education.
Comment overheard by me. "Wow, that is interesting!" Yep,
she's right. There is nothing like a goat in his rut. ('Nuther
aside...when our 16 year old was about 3 he looked out the
window one day and said, "Look! That rooster is se*xing that
chicken." Lesson: Who needs s*ex education classes?

7. My freezer is almost empty of beef. Note to self: ask Kent if
any of the cows are able to be butchered and then invite all my
friends from blogdom to a Fernnook Farm BBQ!