bugscufle
10-02-2006, 03:07 AM
Brett, whose place borders mine on the north, arrived early this morning with his cement mixer. We poured the Portland cement footings for the cellar. Brett will lay the cement blocks later this week.
Showered and dressed. Just sat there for a while, too tired to move. Drove into town to Buttery's Hardware to get some water lock primer for the blocks. No luck. Buttery's people try to sell you something that might do. I think that is the way they grew up. Llano is kind of like an island on an ocean of hills. The natives acquired a Robinson Crusoe mentality from their pioneer ancestors.
I got back and had just enough time to move all the water hoses before Ross arrived. Trees were stating to die. It just slipped up on me. I want to believe this drought is over, but I guess Mother Nature was just teasing us with couple inches of rain total from the end of August through the beginning of September.
Ross trims Esther's hooves. Esther is a donkey who has been foundered most of her adult life. Esther stepped on my ankle. Pain just takes my breath away. But I was glad that there was no sensation of structural damage.
We decided to take Esther down. Easier said than done. A donkey has a phenominal sense of balance. After Esther shoved both of us into a mesquite tree a couple of times we all went down. I held Esther's head down. Until a plane flew really low over us and Ross clipped a tender area.
I lay on my back, taking another injury survey. Ross asked if I was okay. I was, but didn't immediately reply. I just couldn't make up my mind if I wanted to get up. But there was nobody counting to "ten" and declaring Esther the winner.
I guess everybody won, in a way. For the first time in a long time, Esther's hooves look like any other donkey's. It was a little sad watching her high step with hooves she no longer had. If she can run again everything will be worth it.
Took a break and went inside to suck up some air conditioning. It hit 93.4 today and was humid. Had an e-mail from Chuck letting me know that the Cherokee Children's Home annual donated auction was today. I can't handle any more stuff. I'm building a 24' x 60' carport and 16' x 20' utility room with a 10' x 12' cellar just to store all the good bargains I've already got.
I reckon some children's lives are pretty scary. It's kind of like they are falling in a dark cloud. The Children's Home catches some of these kids and tries to give them some love and some dignity. I'll be back next year. Maybe they will have a church pew I've been looking for.
Back outside to the post holes I had been watering. Shocking pain in my hands when I slammed down the post hole digger let me know some holes handn't been watered enough. Most of the holes are 36" deep now. Tommorrow they will all be.
Drug the 3.5" oil field pipe to the holes. There was a time when I would have picked up a piece and put it on my shoulder.
Saw Chuck going back to Cherokee with his trailer while I was digging holes.
Later he came back with it full. He just backed the trailer under his carport. It can wait until Monday.
I don't normally cut women much slack, but I have noticed when they get bargains it don't weigh nearly as much as when men get bargains. Men bargains often take two guys just to unload.
Took the pick and shovel into the cellar and worked on leveling the floor for a while. Thought about the fact that tools that women use don't weigh as much as tools men use. Seems the older I get, the heavier every tool gets.
Went in and showered and dressed again. Just sat there after putting on my shoes and sox. Wanted to get up, but didn't have anything left to get up with.
When I was young I would go body surfing through limestone shoots on the Pedernales River. The shoot ended in a hollowed out hole that had a mild whirlpool. I would swim out and go back up to ride the shoot again. I had been doing this longer than I realized, because the last time when I tried to swim out of the whirlpool, I couldn't.
This stretch of the Pedernales River was famous drownings. I was too young to think that I might be in danger. At least until I found myself doing cirles in a hole that I could not see a bottom.
I gathered as much breath, determination, energy and adrenoline as I could and made it out. When I have a hard day and try to get going after a shower, it is much the same.
Well, I did get going again. Got the water troughs and water bowls all full and the water hoses on the most imperiled trees for the night.
The sun had set but the sky was glowing when I left for town. Aimee, Curtis and Joseph were pulling the evening shift at Town and Country. T and C has the best brewed ice tea in Texas. Joseph came over and asked if tonight's tea was okay. My approval means a lot. The chicken fried grizzards were fresh and Aimee had cooked them to perfection. And unleaded gas was $2.039 a gallon.
I have an air conditioner and pain killers. Life is good.
Showered and dressed. Just sat there for a while, too tired to move. Drove into town to Buttery's Hardware to get some water lock primer for the blocks. No luck. Buttery's people try to sell you something that might do. I think that is the way they grew up. Llano is kind of like an island on an ocean of hills. The natives acquired a Robinson Crusoe mentality from their pioneer ancestors.
I got back and had just enough time to move all the water hoses before Ross arrived. Trees were stating to die. It just slipped up on me. I want to believe this drought is over, but I guess Mother Nature was just teasing us with couple inches of rain total from the end of August through the beginning of September.
Ross trims Esther's hooves. Esther is a donkey who has been foundered most of her adult life. Esther stepped on my ankle. Pain just takes my breath away. But I was glad that there was no sensation of structural damage.
We decided to take Esther down. Easier said than done. A donkey has a phenominal sense of balance. After Esther shoved both of us into a mesquite tree a couple of times we all went down. I held Esther's head down. Until a plane flew really low over us and Ross clipped a tender area.
I lay on my back, taking another injury survey. Ross asked if I was okay. I was, but didn't immediately reply. I just couldn't make up my mind if I wanted to get up. But there was nobody counting to "ten" and declaring Esther the winner.
I guess everybody won, in a way. For the first time in a long time, Esther's hooves look like any other donkey's. It was a little sad watching her high step with hooves she no longer had. If she can run again everything will be worth it.
Took a break and went inside to suck up some air conditioning. It hit 93.4 today and was humid. Had an e-mail from Chuck letting me know that the Cherokee Children's Home annual donated auction was today. I can't handle any more stuff. I'm building a 24' x 60' carport and 16' x 20' utility room with a 10' x 12' cellar just to store all the good bargains I've already got.
I reckon some children's lives are pretty scary. It's kind of like they are falling in a dark cloud. The Children's Home catches some of these kids and tries to give them some love and some dignity. I'll be back next year. Maybe they will have a church pew I've been looking for.
Back outside to the post holes I had been watering. Shocking pain in my hands when I slammed down the post hole digger let me know some holes handn't been watered enough. Most of the holes are 36" deep now. Tommorrow they will all be.
Drug the 3.5" oil field pipe to the holes. There was a time when I would have picked up a piece and put it on my shoulder.
Saw Chuck going back to Cherokee with his trailer while I was digging holes.
Later he came back with it full. He just backed the trailer under his carport. It can wait until Monday.
I don't normally cut women much slack, but I have noticed when they get bargains it don't weigh nearly as much as when men get bargains. Men bargains often take two guys just to unload.
Took the pick and shovel into the cellar and worked on leveling the floor for a while. Thought about the fact that tools that women use don't weigh as much as tools men use. Seems the older I get, the heavier every tool gets.
Went in and showered and dressed again. Just sat there after putting on my shoes and sox. Wanted to get up, but didn't have anything left to get up with.
When I was young I would go body surfing through limestone shoots on the Pedernales River. The shoot ended in a hollowed out hole that had a mild whirlpool. I would swim out and go back up to ride the shoot again. I had been doing this longer than I realized, because the last time when I tried to swim out of the whirlpool, I couldn't.
This stretch of the Pedernales River was famous drownings. I was too young to think that I might be in danger. At least until I found myself doing cirles in a hole that I could not see a bottom.
I gathered as much breath, determination, energy and adrenoline as I could and made it out. When I have a hard day and try to get going after a shower, it is much the same.
Well, I did get going again. Got the water troughs and water bowls all full and the water hoses on the most imperiled trees for the night.
The sun had set but the sky was glowing when I left for town. Aimee, Curtis and Joseph were pulling the evening shift at Town and Country. T and C has the best brewed ice tea in Texas. Joseph came over and asked if tonight's tea was okay. My approval means a lot. The chicken fried grizzards were fresh and Aimee had cooked them to perfection. And unleaded gas was $2.039 a gallon.
I have an air conditioner and pain killers. Life is good.