Two Hawks.

 Two Hawks!

 

Ah, my favorite hen was killed by hawks today. Lance found her amid all the feathers and put her in the trash bin. Sad to see Isa dead and gone, but such is life—and death. Critters, just like us, don’t live forever unless it is just in passing memories. She was a sweet little hen who loved to be petted and swung in the yard swing. Have only had two or three hens like that in all the years that chickens have grown up on this old hill. Gonna miss her.

 

Lance worked all the way through the list that was ready for him. He reminded me that he would be back in December unless he was needed before then. He and Jennifer have worked out a deal that each one would come every other month to “take care” of mom’s little jobs. Some of those jobs are not so little, but Lance certainly handled the ones today. Probably the hardest one was taking a large folding table to the long coop and putting the flower pots on it. Think we forgot about the basil plant, but maybe it won’t freeze or something before we can move it later. One job not on the list was the front door knob. He discovered that the thing inside of it had worn out. He bought a new one at Sutherland’s that just needed to be programmed with the keys we already had for the old one. Neat, huh! No new keys needed that way. Then he got 25 pounds of winter rye grass seed to sow out in the back yard. The hens should have something green to eat if it comes up at all. And it might accidentally smother out the danged khaki weeds! Wouldn’t that be great!

 

One other thing that Lance did today is going to contribute to weight gain around here. He found a sack of peanut butter logs and a small package of coconut dips. Yum! Good thing diabetes does not run in the genes around here. As it is, Jennifer sent me a pair of jeans that were sent to her some time back. Tried them on earlier and ended up wearing them all day. They are snug, no joke, but are a size 14, so that made me feel special! Doesn’t take much to affect a woman’s feeling of size!

 

Life 360 shows Jennifer and her friends to be on a beach in Florida. Sounds so very neat and fun. At least we know it is not cold down there! It has to be sunny and pretty out there on the beach. It feels as if it would be a perfect day for beach combing. But then, who knows what is on that beach.

 

Donny Anderson’s son and daughter-in-law just drove by in Donny’s truck. It has not been driven since the last time they were here. Think they may have had it washed. It looked nice, anyway. They are here today to do some more stuff for Patty. She made a list. Big smile here thinking about two little ol’ widow ladies and their lists for the families. It works.

 

Thompson and Sylvia really enjoyed having Lance here. Thought that Sylvia was going to get in bed with Lance, but she just reached up and washed his face for him this morning. He is not used to dogs doing that. His dog sleeps on the floor at the foot of their bed. Not too sure about the cats, but don’t think they get to sleep with anyone either. Everyone has a different feeling about critters. Mine don’t really know that they don’t belong on the bed.

 

Have a “new-to-me” iPhone. Lance gave me his and took his daughter’s phone. She has the newest one. Her old one had a scratched screen, so that is why he gave me his. He said the screen is expensive to replace. Then he told me about taking pictures with this one. It seems each edition of phone that comes out has a better camera. And then, he wears a watch that tells him all kinds of things about himself and what is going on. It tells him to stand up once every hour! Can’t imagine! It counts his steps and tells him how many calories he has used in exercise, too. Hmm. With my luck, a different phone would tell me how many calories were eaten! Argh!

 

The rugs for in front of the doors came today and seem quite capable of handling the traffic through the doors without rolling or wrinkling. SO glad to have something to catch the crud from outside. The dogs are pretty messy, but they especially make messes when they wade in the doggy pool. Sylvia loves that silly pool though. She walks in and stands there with her tongue hanging out and a big grin on her face! Funny dog!

 

The hen coop door has a plastic cover on it now to prevent rain and wind from bothering the hens. Now it will be great if the temperature does not get up too high again. Texas weather is pretty unpredictable, however. We will see what happens.

 

Last night as the moon came up, it reminded me of a shot that Keith Mattson would have taken. Yes, it was lovely. But honestly think that about one shot of moon just about does the trick. Someone asked me about watching the meteor showers. Ya know, if you have seen some of them once, it is about all that is needed. They don’t really change all that much. Kinda like the moon. Sunsets and sunrises can be awesome, but the rest of it pretty much stays the same. Did notice and put down on the calendar when the “Star of Bethlehem” was supposed to show up on the 21^st of December. It will probably be cloudy, but such is life. Lance reminded me about how much darker it is here on this hill and how much quieter it is out here on the lake. But then, the employees for the State were not whizzing down Kemp to get inside the gate before they were due for work, too. Compared to what it was like 53 years ago, this place is noisy and very bright with the city lights. Can’t imagine what it would be like out in Clay County on the farm where the grandparents used to live. None of those stupid wind turbines blinking excessively and going whump, whump. Wish they could think of better ways of generating electricity.

 

Gripey ol’ woman probably needs to find a good book to read. Will tell you that life is good in general and wonderful for family. We can appreciate all the blessings that God has given us and hope to love others even nearly as much as He loves us. May He give us peace and rest as needed.

 

From this hill to your home: You are loved.