Wearing Many Hats

     As I transition from summer vacation back to the new school year, I need to once again put on my teaching hat.  Although, I realize, that it has
                                                     been on all along.  We all teach when

we instruct our children or demonstrate a skill or give advice to others.  And we each wear many hats within one day as wife, mother, daughter, sister, niece, cousin, aunt or even grandma.  We put on different hats with different relationships.  But we also wear different hats with the same person as we counsel a friend, do business with them, teach them, console them, or have fun with them.  According to the article "The Many Hats We Wear" ~by Rev. Lucinda Schersing, DD, our hats are not just job related, but also encompass that of creativity, child-like qualities, worry and sorrow, compassion, etc.  All the time we Christians need to remember we are wearing the hat of Christ like love, while sometimes circumstances or other people are trying to knock it off.

     Last Saturday I got busy working out in the yard.  I needed to get away from my computer, feel productive, and get my mind off Roni.  We were supposed to get rain in the afternoon, so I thought I should do outside work first. I helped Joe with putting railing on each side of the deck steps so the dog chain wouldn't keep catching on the corners.  The flower bed was a big mess so I tackled the weeds with gusto.  I trimmed the rose bush, moved the chicken wire (which keeps them out), added edging bricks, put down Preen (a good weed prevention and fertilizer I had on hand), and planted flower bulbs (which have been sitting around since last fall).  Then I added 3 bags of old mulch that have also been lying around for over a year.

 I love wearing my gardener's hat.

     Mid morning Andy came to look at our broken drain tile, and it was then that we received a blow to our budget.  Come to find out, several more tile
                                         have broken.  There is a line of holes along the

water way.  Digging the water way deeper than we wanted or needed, but to help out our neighbor's water problem, was probably not the best idea.  We also believe that all the heavy equipment rolling over it to do the excavation caused the cave in.  Now we have to replace the whole tile system in the South pasture, or we will have the same problem in the North pasture. It is so disheartening.  I try to keep it all in perspective and remember to be thankful for our health, daily bread, home and farmland, along with a ton of other blessings.

     We tried putting Amiga and Zorro together in one grazing pen.  Joe did it out of necessity to begin with, and they were so happy together, that I decided to leave it that way. I took several photos of them enjoying this new freedom.  I think horses wear different hats too. 

     Once again, we never got any rain.  I just don't get it, it seems to rain all around us.  We did have some neat looking clouds early evening that I tried
to capture on film, two I have posted later in
this blog.  As you can see in the bottom photo, our yard is scorched. The grass under the trees isn't quite as bad, but we desperately need rain. 

     Sunday was a new day, with a new beginning, bringing new blessings.  Marj decided to lowered her price on Roni to what Joe and I can afford.  She felt that Roni and I were meant for each other and needed to be together.  I knew I was moping around, but didn't realize that back at Marj's, Roni also seemed to miss me.  It is hard to explain the attachment and bond that can occur between horse and rider.  (Any of you with horses or dogs probably get it.)  Roni and I definitely have that connection. 

     Taken from TODAY.com   by Scott Stump:
Hawkeye, a labrador retriever, was pictured lying by Navy SEAL Jon Tumilson’s casket in  a heart-wrenching image taken at the funeral service in Tumilson’s hometown of Rockford, Iowa.  Tumilson was one of 30 American troops, including 22 Navy SEALs, who were killed when a Taliban insurgent shot down a Chinook helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade on Aug. 6.   Hawkeye was such a huge part of Tumilson’s life that Tumilson’s family followed the dog down the aisle as they entered the service.  Hawkeye walked up to the casket at the beginning of the service and then dropped down with a heaving sigh as about 1,500 mourners witnessed a dog accompanying his master until the end.  Like a fellow soldier on a battlefield, his loyal dog refused to leave him behind.

     Ronii and I are no where near as connected as this man and dog.  However, not many people can easily or comfortably ride Roni.  He needs a special touch and I guess I have that, as does Marj.  And because she sees this, and is so compassionate and generous, she has made it possible for Roni and I to be together.  I am so humbled by her gracious and selfless act of love. 

     I had mixed feelings about the new decision.  I didn't want to be standing in God's way of his will for me, and I knew our finances, time, and resources would be stretched.  But at the same time I was dancing with joy and happiness.  I couldn't believe that Roni was actually going to be mine, to enjoy and care for. Different emotional hats were flying off and on my head.

     I went about tasks with a new energy and an urgency.  I knew once Roni came here to make this his for-ever home, I would not have as much time.  So I busied myself (and recruited Joe) to getting some jobs done. I can't even remember what all we did... but I stayed busy all day and squeezed school work into the night.  

     I think cows wear a few different hats too, but usually they have on their ornery one, especially Norman.  Here we are adding better fencing around the little weeping willow tree.  If you click on the picture to the left, you can see the damage Norman has done to it.







      Here it is all fenced and safe, hopefully.  This new, make shift fence is intended to be enough to keep the cow boys out and away from the little willow tree. I have been taking buckets of water to it all summer, so the grass around it is more lush. 

     Monday afternoon I thought I was loosing my mind.  Norman was in his little calf pen (with the chain link gate open) mooing for food when I came back to the barn from taking Zorro out front.  I let him out into the paddock through the wood gate and kept wondering how he had gotten in the barn.  I couldn't believe I had left him there all morning while at school. 

     The chickens enjoying a snack from the kitchen compost bucket.

     I went to Wellgreen Farm to help Richard out for a couple of hours because Marj was unavailable.  They were having some of the horses checked and worked on for dental care.  Roni went first and did very well. He had one canine that was quite long because it does not occlude with another tooth, but the vet didn't think it would cause problems with the bit in his mouth. I held several horse heads and tongues and asked several questions. (wearing my Biology student hat)

      Tuesday- the good thing about chasing a cow around for 40 min during morning chores, is that my tea is extra strong by the time I come in because it has been steeping the whole time.  Norman's second escape also confirmed by suspicion from yesterday, so I felt I was not going senile. Somehow he is getting out.  And then, just before leaving for school, I saw it with my own eyes.  Just like Sir Loin had done in early spring, he stepped right through the elecro-braid into the side pasture.

     Joe found time to come home mid morning to move Norman from the side pasture back into the paddock with Frankie and Sir Loin.  Then he mowed all around the fence line because some of the weeds were up to the electro braid and probably weakening the charge. (Norman wearing his ornery, fugitive, escapee cow hat)
Me wearing my calf wrangler hat.... which is a cowboy hat I believe.

     Around noon Tuesday, we finally got some much needed and over due rain.  It came in spurts as 2 different storms passed through the area.  Not only did the rain soften the ground and green things up, but it also cooled the air down. 

     Wednesday the temperatures hit 94 degrees again.  It was hard to believe summer weather was back so quickly.  I busied myself with school work as soon as I got home, hoping I would have time for horses later, but a fatigue came over me and I had to take a nap...for 2 hours.  I got very sweaty doing an extra good job of cleaning stalls.  Then Courtney arrived and we messed around with the horses for a while.  I walked Amiga after dinner once the air had cooled off and couldn't even stay up until 10 pm, so school work would have to wait.

      The "baby" chickens still stay together as a group.  The black one on the bench is a rooster, the other three are hens.

     Thursday I was up by 4:30, feeling I had had enough sleep.  The school day went well. Amiga had messed up her stall gate and hurt her neck in the process, so I had to fix her owies while Joe fixed the gate.  Then he put on his golf hat and hit the greens while I put on my riding helmet and went to Wellgreen Farm to work with Roni, who seemed pretty low energy, kind of like I was feeling.  It only got up to 86 today, but still seemed plenty warm.  Amiga and Zorro continue to grazed together in 1 larger grazing pen, enjoying each others company.  When we brought them back in after dinner, Amiga's neck had swelled a fair amount.  We headed to LeRoy to hear the Biscuits and Gravy Band at the fall festival.  There was a big crowed with lots of rides and games.  We enjoyed ice cream and the band, but headed home in less than an hour to met Courtney who came out to look at Amiga.  We decided her neck was bruised and she was obviously in pain.  She did not like us to touch it.  I gave her a Bute hoping it would look and feel better by morning.

     This morning I headed out to the barn as usual, only today I had Amiga's neck on my mind. It was no worse, but still pretty swollen, so I gave her another Bute.  The tile diggers then

arrived and got started on that mess out in the back pasture. 

     The tile guys were gone by the time I got home from school.  The photo below is looking north and the one on the right is looking south.




Luckily there are clean, unbroken tile at both ends to tie into.  Now there is 300 feet to be dug between them and new pipe to be put in.






     This afternoon I cleaned the big turtle pool for the ducks. Leo (the turtle) is now at school.  I also watered all the outdoor potted plants, flowers, and new transplants. Down at Wellgreen Farm I worked with Roni.  We went outside part of the time because Natalie was giving a riding lesson in the indoor arena.  Roni did very well, and I quit early like yesterday to reward him for his great efforts. Amiga's neck was much better, but I decided to give her another day off from walking and light ground work, because her neck was still pretty tender.
     Because the back pasture is off limits to the cow boys, we let them go out on the side pasture.  Boy did they think this alfalfa was tasty.   You can see how well it has greened up and re-grown since we bailed it two weeks ago.  We are going to need to limit the grazing time out here, and I am thinking a third cutting might be possible.

     Betty had to come out and see what I was up to, so I clicked her picture while I was at it.
     Grilled hot dogs were enjoyed in the picnic shelter and a bit later a fire was also a nice, cool evening activity.

     Somewhat like Joseph wore a coat of many colors, we wear many hats of different shapes, sizes, textures and functions.  In the article I referred to at the start of this post, the Rev. Lucinda Schersing ends by asking "What does your hat look like?  Is it well balanced so that a gust from the Winds of Surprise will not knock it off?  Do you change your hat often? There is nothing so forlorn as a hat that is battered and rumpled because it has become unbalanced from being worn too long or a hat that simply sat on the shelf, unworn."
When I Googled Christian hats, this verse  ->  was found on one of them.
I have to make a point to wear this hat regularly. 
.