TERRY
As I blog it is 8:30 and Terry is sleeping I think. I heard her cough a bit ago but I have not heard anything else and the TV is not on so my guess is she is still sleeping. As I left the bedroom at 7:15 I did put covers on her again as she always somehow kicks them off. She enjoys the warmth of the electric blanket so I try to keep that on her. So here we are one day at a time again and life goes on in the middle of so so much happening in the world.
Middle son Travis turns the big 5 0 today. I guess that kind of puts me in the "old" class!!!
Travis is just a good good guy in every sense of the word. Neices and nephews love Uncle Travis and his many friends would tell you that he is just a good guy. AND yes, Dad would say he is proud of him and thinks he is great. Happy birthday Travis and I hope the day is special and the year ahead of you is wonderful. Love, Dad
There is nothing on the menu today. As is usual now it will be church on the TV as I do not like to go to church as Terry is home. At this point Terry is pretty much bed ridden so to get up and then get into the car is a stretch that we do not do unless it is a must. Later this morning I am going to try to get her to stand on the scale as I put it right near the bed. I want to keep track of her weight. As she stands on it I will hold on to her as standing alone is not something she can do at this point.
No tennis again today as I always take Sunday off but I will try to get a bike ride in after Terry wakes up. Usually the bike ride is just around the complex here and not all that long but I need to get out and about or I tend to go crazy. Well that accusation has come my way more than once but we will not go into that!
WE ARE ABOUT THE FARM TODAY
Well as one can see the granary was just a few decades past its prime! But that picture was most likely taken around 1980. I do admit it was not a whole lot better in the 50s and 60s when I was still at home. But it did serve us in many ways:
- It was where the kerosene for the living room was stored as we had to fill 5 gallon cans and carry them to the house IF we wanted to stay warm in the winter!
- It was where the coal was unloaded and then during the winter we carried our coal bucket into the house so that Mom could use the cook stove.
- It was where the oil barrels were as Dad purchased oil for the equipment in 50 gallon drums
- In the far right room was perhaps the only one that did not leak big time during a rain. That was where we had the metal tent like thing that kept the baby chicks warm after they were delivered by the Mailman Fritz! The chicks stayed there, all 100 of the them, until they were big enough to butcher.
- It was where the feral cats would hide as they came at night and were under the floor joists and more than once Dad went out with his rifle and after spotting them with the flashlight they were no more. They would kill the little kittens if they found them.
- I am guessing that in it's day grain was stored in it but IF that is true those days were way way before my time.
- The small building you see came from G & G Lee's farm. That stored some things along with Dad's welding equipment. The yard light is there and that was put up in the early 50s as REA came in and put lines to area farms.
- You can see one steel bin in the background and that was one of 3 that we had on a cement foundation.
- Our beloved Ford tractor that us kids could drive at the age of 6 was perhaps the most popular item on the farm. The clutch was a step down on it so it was so easy to shift gears.
For me this is a sad sad picture. This was our barn which was not used as a barn maybe after the early 60s. Dad never built a garage so what did he do? He cut a large hole in the hay part of the barn for their car! Where you see the gas tank was where we would pull the hay rack and then open a door near the top of the barn as we threw hay into the barn. The light pole by the barn was my way of climbing up to the roof to sit on the far side of the roof just to look or to day dream! Many wonderful things came to mind during those times but few came into reality!!! I promise it was fun! From there I could see our car coming from the west several miles away. On a Sunday when we expected Dad home from deer hunting I probably spent most of the afternoon looking and dreaming! The south side of the barn was where I made my little ball field to throw the ball against the side of the barn and then be a major league player. Funny how I always won!!! The sad part of this is it certainly tells a tale of a farm that was way way way past its prime. A hole in the empty barn. The end of the combine that had not been used for a long time. A car that did not run any more. A barnyard beyond the barn that had not seen cattle for many years. AND the list could go on and on. I am not sure but I think Dad sold the last of the cattle in the early 60s. I remember Dave and I milking cows in the 50s yet but not after that. In the early 50s the barnyard would have been filled with maybe 30 cows big and small. We had shorthorn cows and they are not noted for milking but we did milk 4-6 of them for many years.
So ends my story for today. If anyone reads this you may be in for a REAL treat as I will blog tomorrow about our well used and famous OUTHOUSE!!!
I am about finished. I did quietly walk into the kitchen to get my last cup of FP and as I did I noticed Terry again had NO covers on. So I stopped to cover her which may help her continue to sleep for a bit longer. As I sign off my "end of the Alaska highway" cup is almost empty of FP and it is now 9:15 with the house still covered in silence.
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