Trials Abound and Blessings Abound Even More!

Sunbathing Chicken Style

Ever go through a time when it seems like trouble piles on top of troubles until you cry "Uncle"!? The past few weeks have been like that here on the homestead. As I mentioned in my last blog, we had a trial over a used refrigerator purchase. So, bad refrigerator returned to the horrid people we purchased it from and deposit made on the glorious refrigerator God brought our way. Mother and Son returned from Florida with our new Silver Fox Rabbits in tow. So, into a house already topsy turvy from the whole refrigerator situation and young chicks ready to go outside, we now had their suitcases and treasures from Florida and rabbits who's cages had not yet arrived. Now our house was in major chaos and the stress level was registering on the seismogram at the nuclear plant in Southport.

I put out an SOS and was able to acquire a dog crate for temporary housing for the rabbits. The rabbits promptly proved to be bad roommates. The chicks were moved out to the tractor. The chicks promptly found escape routes from the tractor! We arranged for a friend to help us transport the refrigerator. The friend and Son were unable to move the refrigerator due to it's heaviness and plans were made to come back the next day with reinforcements. The tension increases.


The rabbit cages arrive and are put together and the rabbits moved into their new condos. They do not know how to drink from water bottles so I have to give them water in bowls until I can train them to the water bottle. The J feeders don't want to hang right so I have to get wire and fix them so they stay proper. 

All the while, the chickens continue to find escape routes from the tractor but fail to understand that the route goes both ways so they walk around and around the tractor trying to get back in! In a few weeks they will be too big to get out through their escape routes. We purchased a waterer that isn't a "hanging" waterer but Son fixes it so that it does hang. We also purchased a hanging feeder but then Son found an old dog kibble auto-feeder that he decided we could re-purpose. With some creativity and a few screws, Son did just that. That piece of recycling work saved us $10.



Now, back to the refrigerator -- Yes, we are dealing with all these issues at once. Juggling them like a juggler trying to juggle chainsaws. We had scheduled a time to go back with Friend, Son, and Re-enforcements but Re-enforcements didn't show. Friend didn't want to try again without Re-enforcements. Man we were purchasing from was giving us 30 minutes before our next opportunity would be five days hence. Son starts removing the doors and declaring that the refrigerator was coming home one way or another. I beg Friend to come try once more and call Pastor Son to come help. Son gets the doors off refrigerator (not an easy task let me tell you!) and Friend finds that without the doors, the refrigerator is much lighter and easy to move. Refrigerator gets transported at last! Son and Pastor Son reattach the doors and all seems to be settling down. Pastor and Family had come as well so we had a nice time showing them our rabbits and chickens and chatting for a spell.

Chicken waterer

You noticed I said "seems to be", right? Yeah, well, sweet Son is determined to connect the refrigerator to the water source so we would have water and ice. He is exhausted from a very long day of dealing with chickens and rabbits and stuff. But, nonetheless, Son proceeds to crawl under the house and gets the line run and all seems to be going fabulously at this point. But, the sink plumbing decides to spring a leak. Such is the way of old houses. We go to Home Depot to get a part. Still leaking. All that can be done is turn off the cold water to the sink and deal with it in the morning.

Re-purposed food dispenser

So, Palm Sunday and we are not in morning services because we are at Home Depot to get plumbing supplies. Back home and Son sets to work. It was not an easy fix but after several hours and multiple attempts, he finally is victorious over the plumbing. Praise God!

Waterer & Food Dispenser

Son is not my biological son, he is my spiritual son given to me by God. How I ever deserved such a blessing I don't know that I will ever understand. How his biological parents failed to see what they had in this son of theirs is totally beyond my comprehension. I recall so many times his father called him lazy and stupid and good for nothing. I can't reconcile that with what I see in this young man. What I see is a young man who knows so much about fixing things whether plumbing or electrical or carpentry. Not only does he have a gift to "see" how to fix something, but he works with such determination and pure joy of being able to say "I did it!" God has gifted him with wisdom and love and kindness and a smile that never ends...even when he is ready to drop in exhaustion, he still smiles and still presses on.

Of Weeds and Blessings

The Tallow Tree adventure took an interesting turn yesterday.

The tree trimmers from the Electric Company arrived to trim back the Tallow Tree from the electrical wires. Turned out this simply act uncovered a disaster lurking unawares at the top of our power pole. Unbeknownst to us or the power company, the wires at the top of the pole were bare. All the coating has been worn off leaving the wires exposed and dangerous. In an electrical storm or other cause of a power surge, our house would be damaged severely. There was no reason for the power company to come look at the wires since there was no loss of service. There was no reason for us to think there was a problem. No reason whatsoever for anyone to examine the powerlines.

Except for a nuisance weed tree.



That tree for all that it was where it wasn't wanted, was a blessing in disguise. Isn't that the way of many blessings? Coming in the guise of trouble so we can easily miss it if we are looking. I guess that is why folks talk about the importance of "being in the moment" or "being present"...it helps us see the blessings in the midst of the weeds of life.

That Tallow Tree was hiding a few other secrets, too. A volunteer pecan tree and a bunch of Wild Cherry Trees. How did we not see these? Well, I guess they were hidden in plain sight. The pecan, already about six inches in diameter, was tucked behind the tallow and surrounded by the cherry trees. The cherry trees (at this point more "bush" than tree) were just so much background noise until the tallow was gone. The nice tree trimming crew, who also did more than just top off the tallow--they cut it to the ground for us, identified the wild cherry trees, thus elevating them from "background noise" to foreground fortuitous find.



Prunus serotina, Wild Cherry Tree (aka Wild Black Cherry)



Wild Cherry Trees are good for several somethings, it seems. A quick google search revealed that the bark has medicinal uses and the fruit (if one can beat the birds to it) makes a tasty jelly. The one potential problem is they may get very large. They can get upwards of 80 feet but one university site says such heights are unlikely in the piedmont and coastal regions of North Carolina. I plan to keep these pruned so they stay more on the bush-to-small-tree side of their potential.

The pecan tree they surround, however, does not have quite so bright a future. It is just too close to the power pole and, in fact, is heading straight for the powerline. It will, alas, have to go. But, on the upside, there are several other volunteer pecans and an oak that are small enough for repositioning to better spots.

While I am thrilled to be able to encourage the grown of several pecan and one oak tree in my backyard (which desperately needs tall shade trees), it does mean relocating the orchard. Now, the fruit trees I had planned to put back there will have to go in the garden area with the blueberries and fig...or somewhere...this means also moving the grape and kiwi vines...here we go again...better now than when the trees are in the ground!

Best laid plans of mice and men and journeys that never quite "get there".....