Up and Down the Gravel

It has been a busy week up and down the gravel.  Sunday evening I was talking
with Joel on the phone and the noise level in his house rose drastically.  Joel
paused for a second and then said, "I've got to go.  There's a snake in the house."

Sure enough, a small ring-necked prairie snake was in the boys bedroom.  It was
taken outside after being duly admired and held by various little people.   Colyn
told me later that, "...the snake just slithered into our room (he wiggled his little
body while talking) yes, he just slithered in while we were sleeping."

Wilbur had his 2 year old birthday last Saturday.  He is an amazing little man.  Don't
tell him so, but I think he is destined to be an engineer.

We didn't have a snake, but we did have a mouse in the house this week.  I saw
him scurrying when I was walking in the dark down the hallway.  I promptly
yelled at Kent and he jumped out of bed and we got the little guy cornered.
Kent was wielding a broom, but he escaped under the piano.

I set out all the traps around the piano, but alas, morning came and no mouse
was in them.  The next night I was reading on the couch, and I heard my
little friend making little mousy noises.  When I got up to check on him he
scooted under the couch, and I couldn't find him.  I didn't get Kent up that
time because it was truly the middle of the night and I didn't want to wake him.

In the early morning though, when I went into the bathroom, there sat the mouse
on the bathmat.  It was a little guy.  I looked at him for awhile, and when I couldn't
think of any better plan I bravely threw a towel over him and ran and got Kent.  He
(brave man that he is) scooped the mouse up in the towel and took him outside and
disposed of him.

I do not like mice.

But I do like yellow garden spiders and I just happen to have a big egg sac
from one  outside the door to nowhere.













I read that the eggs (between 400 and 1200) hatch in the fall, but don't leave
the egg sac until the spring.  I would love to catch them when they come out.
I don't mean catch them to keep them; I just mean catch the event happening.

I heard that cousin Terry from the Big City was here this week, but, sadly, I didn't
get to see him.  He was here mainly to visit relatives from the other side of
his family.  Those that did see him (Uncle Jim and Papa) enjoyed their visit with
him.

Jenn (daughter-in-law 3) was in the hospital last night from dehydration.  She
is expecting in April, and the morning sickness got a bit out of control.

Mae Greenwood, who lives just off the gravel a bit, was also in the hospital
with pneumonia.  She had a severe case of it and was in ICU for 12 days.  But,
yesterday when we visited with her, she was looking quite perky.  You can't
keep a farm woman down for long.

Uncle Jim finally bought a new water heater today.  He has had his fair share
of cold showers this month.  But, hopefully, tomorrow he will get this new
one installed.  The installation is a bit dependent on getting the stairs to his back
door repaired so that they don't break under the weight of the water heater
being carried up them.  Uncle Jim didn't realize that repairing his stairs
would include sawing up the wood on Pa's sawmill.  It has been quite the
project.  Uncle Jim would rather someone else do the project while he watches.
I am only reporting what he told me! (Correction to the original--Uncle Jim
didn't take too many cold showers after all.  He had hot water...at least as
long as he lit the water heater several times per day.  Hopefully now he
will have hot water without the hassle.)

Meanwhile, we have a young steer with a nose-weaner in it.  It is a smart steer
and refuses to let us corner him so that we can remove the weaner.  Kent is
working on plan C now.  If that doesn't work, this guy may grow into a full grown
steer with a nose-weaner.  That would be bad...very, very bad.

Finally, I still have a few hummers visiting on their way south.  But it will
only be a short time until I clean the feeders out for the last time this year and
pack them away.

I will miss the little guys.  But autumn is here, and while it is here, it is my
favorite time of year.