Not only are we getting rain in August, we are getting a lot of rain. I originally was going to tell you about the 1.9 inches of rain we’ve received this past week. But we had a serious rain storm overnight last night receiving 4.75 of rain, making the total 6.65 inches of rain for the week! Suffice it to say that all my animals were very wet this morning.
I had my 61st birthday last Tuesday but we didn’t celebrate it much because it landed in the middle of the week. I did manage to put out a podcast, Episode 43: Lessons and Insights of My Trip to Florida where I shared some of ups and downs of helping my parents for a couple of weeks as Dad recovers from another health scare. It can be seen here.
It appears that Wattles finally weaned her piglets while I was gone. I was interested to see how long that would take. It was definitely longer than six weeks.
After getting some much-needed rest since my return, I decided to go to the vineyard and harvest grapes. I was really upset to discover that we completely missed the grape harvest for the year. They must have been ready while I was gone. Because of our rain cycles here in NE Oklahoma and that we don’t irrigate, we go for a few years frequently without a grape harvest at all and I was looking forward to one this year. The grapes were there, but they are gone now. There’s no telling when we will have grapes to harvest again in the the future. Oh, well.
My sow, Daisy, has been alone since we took Oscar to the processor. Her paddock was completely without grass and she really needed to be moved. I finally got her new paddock perimeter mowed and got her moved the next day. The weeds are so tall, she can be difficult to see, even at her size. She is also closer to Wattles and her piglets so I’m hoping she’ll be less lonesome. I also hope that I can move Wilbur, the intact piglet in with her soon. It’s much too early for any breeding activity but it would be nice for Daisy to have a companion.
Tom, Kinzie and I went out to eat with my youngest son and his family on Sunday to celebrate my birthday. I really enjoy the company of Tony and his wife, Kayla. Of course, Ivy was frequently the center of attention as she is about 21 months old and learning to talk. It was a very enjoyable evening.
Kinzie has hurt her knee and we are in the process of seeing the appropriate doctors to see how bad the injury actually is. She is no longer able to participate in softball games or work at her job until she is cleared by the doctor. As difficult as that situation is for her, she is taking it well and I’m very proud of her. We see the orthopedic doctor today and will hopefully have some more information.
As usual, life is hectic around here and I need to get back to work. See you next week!