For the entire month of April, until these past few days, we have not received any rain. The rain did finally come and it was a nice, slow, steady rain. The kind that soaks in nicely and doesn’t wash away all my topsoil. I actually love the rain, but my spirit begins to sag after a couple of cloudy days. I don’t mind so much slogging through the mud to do chores and coming in with my lower body soaked. I love the way the rain wakes up thirsty plants and trees, turning the leaves a vivid green. I guess I just need a little sun sprinkled in with the rain on those days.
At the same time, it also gives me time to rest. I don’t feel like writing or editing and a feeling of malaise comes over me. I finally broke down and gave in to the fact that I was not going to get any good work done and took a novel to the nearby Oologah lake. I spent an hour or two with an excellent novel, looking up on occasion to watch the rain drip off trees, splatter onto the water and dribble down my windshield. Two young people happily slogged through the rain, toting fishing poles in hopes of catching fish on a day no one else would want to venture out.
It was the true rest I needed and I’m glad I gave in and took the time.
I did manage to get a few things done. On my Grandma’s Homestead YouTube channel, I posted a farm update video. Watch it here.
I also posted a podcast.
On my YouTube channel, Farm Animal Life, I posted a short video that also showed up on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
I also have several piglet short videos showing up on several of my platforms. I’m very grateful for the adorable litter of piglets that my first-time girl, Wattles, farrowed. All nine are healthy and happy with their Mom, who is turning out to be an excellent mother.
Many of you know that we have many days of high wind here in Oklahoma. This has caused some challenges with covering over my John Suscovich-style chicken tractors and some of my other infrastructure for my animals. A friend at church had us come over and pick up several sheets of corrugated plastic. These bright blue sheets are a byproduct from his job that are generally just discarded. I didn’t care about the color but it does look like these sheets may be the answer I’m looking for and the price was right. I look forward to trying them out. I’ll keep you posted.
Tom got quite a bit of gardening done this past weekend and it’s a good thing because I would not have gotten any of it done otherwise. I’m grateful to have at least a few more plants in the ground.
Well, the sun is finally out and it’s time for me to get back to work. See you next week!