Behind The Scenes

     With any production, there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes.  Usually it is a lot of hard work, sweat, and scampering around.  But, every now and then, some fun can be had.  In either case, the audience is typically unaware of what is or has gone on back stage, like last week's quick plumbing repairs.  When we are not "on stage" showing the house, we have had some time for "behind the scene" fun.  We had a good time Friday evening, aside from the bummer of Joe's keys getting locked in the car and needing a locksmith to retrieve them.

     The six of us ate a fantastic dinner and then walked to the boat dock.  While walking, I discovered a voice mail from our hopeful buyer.  She said "Don't give up on us.  Getting the loan finalized and approved is going to take longer than we expected."  She went on to explain about their main hurdle. 

     I didn't get a good photo of Mike's mom, and these were the best I could get of everybody else.




     The river boat cruise aboard the "Spirit of Peoria" was a lot of fun.  We enjoyed a little two man band...


and liked watching other boaters and activities along the shore line.


















     We enjoyed a spectacular sunset.

     This six month old golden was along, in training to be a service dog.  He was so cute, and well behaved.

     It was a fun and late night... but
well worth the time and money.


     Saturday marked the day of Britney's departure to Costa Rica.  We walked one last time an hour before she needed to leave for the airport.  She had on her hiking boots, that she would be wearing through airports, to 
                                                           her new home, because all her less
bulky tennis shoes were packed.

     Joe took Britney to the airport and I stayed home to get ready for another family to look at our house.  I washed Britney's sheets and towels and finished straightening up her room.  There wasn't much to do, she had packed everything to be moved.  Even all her drawers were empty.

     Britney's self photo of her kissing Brother good-bye.  They have spent many hours this summer, on the front porch together, she doing homework while he slept.

     There is a definite void with Britney gone, as she had been my walking and talking companion all summer.  I was excited for her to embark on her next adventure, but as I hugged and kissed her good bye, it was strange to not know when or where I would see her again.  She will be flying back to Normal the end of May, but I am guessing Joe and I will be in Tennessee by then.  I can't imagine the emotions for her to say goodbye to the farm, horses, barn kitties, Hercules, etc... knowing that she probably would never see them again.   

     House showing has been keeping us busy, and already starting to get a little old, but I'm not complaining... we are grateful to have so many interested buyers.  Backstage, before the curtain rises, it is always a bit of a scramble though, getting the house ready to show.  Here is Britney's clean and uncluttered room... void of her presence, her junk, her smiles, her joy, and her music.

     Saturday's house shoppers were here for over 90 minutes.  The man is a builder and said our house was very well done... that was good to hear.  But, they are wanting to down size from their "mansion," (have four kids) so were trying to figure out where they could put an addition on the house to fit everyone in.  They aren't horse people, but have four-wheelers and dirt bikes.  They want to put in a "race track."  Ugh, after all our work on fencing, barn and pastures. 

     Once getting home from nursery, Church, and shopping on Sunday, I loaded Roni and took him to Moraine View.  I met Megan, the young lady who I did chores for and who let me ride in her arena.  Her horse Pete was not as trail experienced, so followed Roni and I most of the time.  It was only in the lower 80's, but still warm enough for the horses to work up a sweat.  I hosed Roni down once I got home, because I also needed to hose out the trailer he had peed in.  More house shoppers had already arrived, but Joe was showing them around outside, so I had time to finished up.

     I came inside to give the house tour, and was impressed with the "behind the scenes" work Joe had done before the "curtain went up" for the show.  He had made our bed, folded towels, cleaned off the kitchen counters, hid the cat food dish and personal photos, turned on the air, etc.  The man (another builder) was so excited about our house and acreage.  He said not to take less than asking price without calling him first, because he really wanted to buy it.  Wanting something and being able to get it are two different things though.  He needed to talk his wife into it, promising her a big addition to the house... and would have to sell his place and get a loan.  We, as sellers, have no idea what goes on behind the scene for any of our potential buyers. 

     Joe grilled lamb chops and steak while I cooked veggies and we sat and talked about our future.  It was still pretty quiet without Britney.  I skipped my evening walk since I had walked over 20 minutes in the morning, with a baby, to get him to go to sleep.  The walking probably would have been good for my restlessness though.

     Photos of Monday morning's sunrise.

     Sunshine, bird chatter, and fresh cool air... welcomed me on a mid August Monday morning.  Britney had sent a second e-mail including photos, so she didn't seem to be so far away.  Below is her Costa Rica bedroom. 



     We also got news from Daniel.  He said all was going well, and that he is on the night shift.  He got moved from guard duty to tracking trucks and containers on the computer since he is good with computers.  He picked it up so fast, now they want him to re-class to that job.  He has no internet and his phone sporadically picks up a signal, so I was glad he was able to touch base.  

     We had a record breaking crowd of 25 at Water Lilies.  I ran to the post office and vet office on the way home.  Then, as I sat on the front porch with Brother, I heard a loud pop and my fan and light went out.  I got up to explore, made some phone calls, and waited and wondered.  By mid afternoon, the power company finally came out.
 
     It was just us Villhauers that were out of power.  As the Ameron man and I walked out to the large transformer, we discovered the problem.  There was a dead squirrel on the ground beneath the pole.  I turned off the solar power fence and opened gates so the electric worker could get his big rig where he needed to go.  And we were soon back in business.  While burying the squirrel, I unearth a frog.  I was glad to see we still had some of these critters around.  To end the day, I had dinner with Shelly and Kelly and then rode with them to Bible study. 

     The reality of trying to sell realty and Roni had me a bit restless through the night and I got up well before dawn Tuesday.  I spent part of my morning on the front porch with Brother again.  





     Putting on fly masks and grazing muzzles to lead the horses to the front pasture, I couldn't help but get a photo of Amiga's back.  With the small amount of rain we had had, she managed to get this muddy.

     Having all day and feeling the need to get started on something, I moved into my some- what disorganized desk.  I consolidated and prioritized my to-do lists onto three file cards.

     Becks "boys" have been "running around" like crazy getting ready for their show.  I had told them I would take care of the unsightly mess by the tracks.  So, I mowed and burned a huge pile of brush and branches throughout the day. 

     I raked level the rotten hay/manure, seen to the left.  Several of Becks' workers complemented and thanked me for the improvement.  I agree that it does look so much better.

     Another outdoor job was to finally plant the mums I bought to add color to the front.  The chickens were obnoxious as usual, getting in the way while looking for bugs.





     I had to fence off the flowers and an area where I put down grass seed to keep the chickens from disturbing my new work.


     I like how the tree roots add interest and make little planting areas for the flowers.  

    Someone came up the drive while I was fixing dinner.  Joe went out to talk with them, and had told them to call and set up a time to come back to see the house.  So, I reminded Joe about not turning away any potential buyers, they may never return. 

     After dinner I took Kaysha for a walk over at Becks, to take a look around.  I even took a trash bag so as not to leave any dog mess behind.  When I arrived home, there was a different car in the drive and Joe was showing a family of four around the house.  I was glad I had had the behind the scene pep talk with him.

     After Water Lilies on Wednesday, I rushed home to get ready for the farrier, who ended up being a little late from his first appointment.  Beck's field show was well underway.  While Loren was trimming Amiga, a random
                                                           car came up the drive.  It was a lady, 
returning with her husband, to show him the house.  I told them I was busy, that they could go in the house on their own, but that the dog was inside and I wasn't sure how she would react.  They opted to just look around outside and come back another time to see inside.  I suggested they call first. :-)



     Once done with the horses, I headed over to Becks to have a big barbeque pork lunch and check out what's new in farm research.

     It is amazing how technology can help farmers to evaluate their fields and then plant accordingly. 





     I was impressed by the depth these roots had reached in this cover crop demo/illustration.  You can't see, but they were 40 inches down, (much deeper than a plow can reach).  When the cover crop is killed or dies, the decaying roots add moisture, air space and nutrients to the soil. 

     I took one tram tour (out of three that went by our farm) partly to see how our place (with the For Sale sign) looked from the "audience" side of the "curtain," and I was interested in the field studies.  It was encouraging to hear a positive comment about how our property looked (they didn't know I was the owner) but discouraging when a different person commented about
                                                           the horse for sale ad.  He said that
people are dumping horses near where he lives in Kankakee.  I later read this news article.  I may not even be able to give Roni away if needed.  This corn photo shows the effect of different amounts of nitrogen applied to corn crops, and what the optimal amount is.  Too little shows poor results but too much does not increase corn production, and goes to waste.  As we eat our daily bread, most of us are unaware of all that goes on behind the scenes to produce our food.

     Next on my agenda was to meet Lisa out at Moraine View.  I went early to ride Roni alone, and was very pleased with how he did. 




     Lisa and I took a different, seldom used trail, and found mushrooms which she harvested.  It has been so cool this month, the mushrooms think it's fall.

     When we got back to the camp ground, there was a deer, just walking around like it owned the place.





     The deer did not seem too worried about us, and got a drink out of the horse water trough.


     I saw this fox by the side of the road as I was leaving the park.  I took the photo through the front windshield, but still really need a better camera. 



     Hercules with some Naked Ladies.  When I was telling a Water Lily about seeing some of these while riding in the woods, I got the attention of several ladies exercising near by.  Come to find out, there are at least five different names for the Surprise Lily. 

     Abbey has regularly been hunting the ground squirrels that have invaded our yard.  She will sit or lay down by a hole and wait for what seems like hours.  Meanwhile, behind the scene, the little buggers are probably running around in their tunnels beneath her.


     Not only is our yard full of ground squirrels, but our corn crib is home to a bunch of pigeons.




     I was up before the sun Tuesday, which is getting easier and easier to do these days because it is rising later and later each morning.

     With a long to do list, I headed to Wal-Mart, discovering that it is not half as bad to shop there before 9am on a weekday.  Along with food, I bought some more mums.

      I didn't like this brick colored mum by the tree, so moved it out by the mail box, along with some Sedum.  Then I prepared to replace it with a purple one and add a few more around the tree. 
     While digging around the tree trunk, I "ran into" this rock.  It was quite large and went down fairly deep, which slowed down my efforts.

     I did get the rock out, added dirt and theses mums, along with more mulch. 


 




     I am much more satisfied with this finished look.  It will be even better if    I can get the grass to grow near by... which means keeping out chickens.

     Enjoying the outside weather, I continued working, moving iris to thin them out and relocate others.  Some I cut way back so you don't see them, but I put them all along the garage.

     The day did get hot enough that the horses were ready to come in the barn and the cows had found shade by the grain bins.

     Hercules and some hens found shade under the bushes as usual.

     Below, Zorro and Amiga hanging out in the evening shade later in the day.

     Joe got home just as I was coming in to clean myself up and relax before dinner.  He announced that house shoppers were coming in a few hours.  I had him remove the old stump by the garage, which only took a few solid blows with the sledge hammer.  I quickly raked and planted grass seed in the sport where it used to be.  I had to fence out the chickens also.

     After a hurried dinner of left over pizza, I went into cleaning house mode for an hour before shoppers arrived.  The man and wife, who had been here Wednesday, arrived 15 minutes late for their 7:15 appointment.  The husband was very impressed.  Finally, with them gone an hour later, Joe and I could relax for the evening.


     I enjoyed exercising with the Water Lilies as usual, this beautiful Friday morning.  I was so thankful not to be at school with my fellow teachers, who just returned to "the trenches" this week.  I put the horses out on the front pasture and sat here to finish and post this blog before Carol and her two dogs were to arrive.

     There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes in the military.  Some of
it is classified; some we simply would not want to see or know about; but there is also some that is precious, heart warming or fun.  A particular
                                                                                            soldier (who is
dear to my heart) went out to do inventory this morning at the end of his night shift.  The sun was just right as he snapped this photo.  God keep you safe Daniel... We love ya.