1,258 Words for the Day (Not Counting Captions)

Good morning! I saw something interesting this morning when I stepped out the door to encourage Scooter to go down off the porch to do her morning duty somewhere other than the porch. I noticed something wafting in the breeze from the grass. At first I thought it might be heat coming from the pile of hay, etc., from the goat shed but I realized two things. One, that the pile of stuff from the goat shed has been there for nearly a year. There isn’t much heat left. Two, the stuff wafting through the air wasn’t coming only from near that pile. It was pollen. How does a person escape pollen wafting through the air? I certainly don’t know. Other than that, it is a beautiful day out thus far.

I know, I know, a good picture of the back of the referee. Also of Seth in motion, which is my goal.

Yesterday Cedric did not have his soccer games. I am not sure why exactly they were postponed to next Saturday, but they were. It might be that they were expecting more rain, I don’t know. The weather reports I saw indicated that the rain was supposed to be over by the time his first game started. However, that wouldn’t have left any time for remarking fields if necessary. Or it could be that the field was too soggy as was Felton Field where Seth was supposed to play. Seth’s game was moved from Felton Field where the recent heavy rains had rendered the field unusable to Roach Field. That’s fine other than it added 15 minutes to our travel to and from.

Not much motion happening here unless you call it latent.

In the morning, Paul decided that it was time to attack the attic. That is something that has been needed for a LONG time. Since before we arrived and our being here has only added to the problem because there was no apparent rhyme or reason to the mess so I was not able to really put things up in an organized manner and it has only gotten worse as people have been up going through things to find this or that or to store things when moving away. It is obvious that men are just boys in large bodies; Paul had as much fun playing with the toys that he found as the boys.

When all else fails, take pictures of your feet.

Allie and Sam came over yesterday just before lunch and stayed all afternoon. They and Amena went out in the woods but it was too buggy to stay out very long so they came back in and made brownkies. Paul took the boys out to get their treats for writing book reports. Laura got home. Paul went back to the attic until it got too warm. I planted the rest of the flowers in pots in front of the house. I took a shower. And then it was time to go to Seth’s game.

Nice throwing form, eh?

The boys went with me and we left early so we could go to the Hardwick coop for some corn seed. They still have plants so I got a six-pack of marigolds also since I needed more for the tomatoes. I got two kinds of seed because the one I liked the most there was only one packet of. I looked at the bag balm to compare the price there. In Winchendon, the price for a 10-ounce tin is $9.69 (for some reason yesterday I was thinking $9.98 but I just double checked the receipt). In Hardwick, the same 10-ounce tin is $7.99. I think if I were a member, the cost would be less. The trip to Winchendon can be only 13.9 miles but I’ve never got that way. The way I always go is 17.4 miles. Going to Hardwick is 21.3 miles. Taking the shorter route to Winchendon is 7.4 miles shorter which is 14.8 miles for a round trip. If I take the Jetta, which gets probably around 45 miles to the gallon for this trip, I spend about $1.23 on fuel. If all I get is Bag Balm, I come out ahead going to Hardwick. The shorter trip to Winchendon supposedly takes 26 minutes. The trip to Hardwick supposedly takes 37 minutes. I think both those times are pretty close to reality. Taking into consideration the time, 22 minutes of my time would be worth at least $3.64 (that’s based on $10.00/hour). Adding this into the equations makes the trip to Winchendon a better deal. Of course, then there are other factors to consider such as dentist appointments (which are in Winchendon) and soccer practices (which are in Hardwick—but only until Cedric’s last games Saturday) and the fact that the coop has more goat-related things that I might need (like nipples, filters, strainers, deworming medication, etc.). It’s all about economics.

Nice action. I'm trying to decide if he's holding onto his shorts here or if they went up on their own.

Seth’s game was good. His team won which is always a nice way to end the season. They practiced for half an hour on one field and were moved to the other field for the game even though it was smaller because it was also drier. The other team wasn’t bad and the game was good. Seth’s team had 9 players, which is nice for substituting, and I think the other team did as well. Seth had a couple of good kicks in there and I really would like a new camera with faster shutter speed.

Lots of nice clouds yesterday.

On the way home, we saw Barre Police Department doing their best to raise revenue for the town. We passed two of them with vehicles pulled over. I’m just really glad that neither of them was me because the only ticket I’ve gotten in Massachusetts was in Barre.

This would be better if Seth were more centered but still, not too bad.

When we got home, Laura left to watch a movie with a friend. Paul wasn’t home. He’d got the tractor (think lawn mower) running but he didn’t get much accomplished before a belt broke. He went out in search of a belt and did his Saturday shopping at the same time. He got some steel posts and a post driver so I can put the panels up in the garden for the tomatoes and cucumbers this week. That will be nice. He of course got other things but mostly things we needed and/or will use.

This was just a nice shot as we were getting ready to leave.

Cedric and Seth both went out with me this morning to milk. Seth chickened out but did give them the corn husks Paul brought home for them. Cedric did a couple of squirts and decided he doesn’t like Bag Balm. I don’t really like it either, but it does nice things for the goats. I think I forgot to dip when I was done.

I’ve been going through Ana’s Story so that I can send chapters to Diane and that has been a lot of fun. Last night before bed I didn’t want to look at another chapter of it because I’d finished reading them all and wasn’t in the mood for looking for mistakes and making corrections. So, I started reading the story about Hywel and Cailin. I’d written more than I remembered and I have to say, I like the story. I also have to say that I wish today wasn’t Sunday because I would love to start working on it again. I’d probably feel the same way about The House but it is just waiting to be looked at at this point.

Currently, I need to cut some freezer burn off of some chicken and get it soaking in something so that we can grill it after church. I have no idea what else we’ll be having but I’m sure we’ll think of something, even if it’s just green salad made with poison ice-burg lettuce.

Have a wonderful day!