After taking the previous week off to spend time with Emily and Sidney, a niece and nephew from Nebraska, FD and I had a lot of mowing to do yesterday. Just before Em & Sid arrived, the drive shaft on the brush hog mower broke, so mowing in the orchard came to a stop. The pasture on … More Fawn Season
Last week, the previous owner of the pecan orchard began moving some of the farm equipment he had left behind after the sale of the land in August last year. Old farming implements, several broken down pickup trucks, a couple of cattle feeders, a couple of stock trailers, a brush hog mower, a broken tiller, a … More Parents on the Rocks
Lately, the weather has been favorable for continued work in the pecan orchard. There are times when I feel like I have not made the slightest dent in all of the cleanup that needs to be done on the fifty-two acres of land and, more specifically, in the orchard itself, where 142 pecan trees have dropped limbs … More The Consciousness of Mindless Work
Almost every morning when looking out the kitchen window while finishing up the last of the breakfast dishes, I can find Emma and Ronnie deer, grazing in the yard. Of course, this time of year there are numerous weeds growing, and my herb and lettuce bed is sprouting all sorts of greens that deer like to nibble … More Shadowing Your Mom At Work
Last night before bedtime, I made one last scan across the front yard and pasture with the flashlight, hoping to spot Emma and Ronnie deer, but there was no sign of them. I walked through the house to the back porch and shone my flashlight down in the canyon. All I found there was a lone raccoon … More If You Go Looking for Trouble, You Will Find It
I did not know what to think yesterday morning when I walked out to the front gate to unlock it and found Ronnie deer by himself on the north side of our house. Since it was still dark out, I scanned the property with my flashlight, but found no sign of his sister. While Emma … More Love is in the Air
Surprisingly, I slept soundly the night after we released Emma and Ronnie deer. I suppose my body was fatigued after spending so much of the previous day on foot, while leading – or, I should say, mostly following – our two little charges around to show them the woodlands. I am quite sure my emotions, leading … More Rest and Rumination
If I could have changed one thing about yesterday, it would have been the weather. It was cold and blustery. The wind howled out of the south with gusts to more than 30 mph. You would think a south wind, and temperatures around 50F would make for a lovely day, but the wind made it miserable. … More Running Wild in the Wind
During the month of December, it was common to find me traveling west in the electric buggy to the pecan orchard’s old river channel area where a large, globe-shaped elm tree stood. After exhausting the supply of cat brier on our original ten acres, I took to sawing down larger elm limbs for Emma and Ronnie … More A Mystery Unfolds In The Woodlands
Friday brought very balmy, warm weather, the likes of which Oklahoma had not seen in a few weeks. While folks up north were experiencing the “Siberian Express” hurtling down the plains and bringing bitter, below freezing temperatures along with it, I was enjoying the last hours of our unseasonably warm conditions. I intended to make the … More Tough Skin
“We often want it so badly that we ruin it before it begins. Over-thinking. Fantasizing. Imagining. Expecting. Worrying. Doubting. Just let it naturally evolve.” Egypt ~ The Good Vibe In five weeks, deer hunting season will end and, on January 16th, we will release orphaned fawns Emma and Ronnie. Five years ago, we set the same … More Letting Nature Take Its Course
