Thursday, October 11, 2007

An early start

10/11/07 Thursday
I’ve been up since 3:30 this morning. Just couldn’t get back to sleep. I needed to wash my hair so took a bath. Running the bathwater woke Cherie up so she wandered in and sleepily said “Are you taking a bath? It’s three in the morning”. I told her it was almost four and she went back to bed. So I wrote a letter to Wayne. I can’t remember if I wrote about it and am too lazy to go look but I was able to talk to Wayne and get things straight. At least I hope so but knowing how MS affects the brain I wrote the letter to make sure he was clear on things.

After three rough days it’s good to be sharp again. I’m getting moving early to take advantage of it. I suppose 3:30 might be a little early but I never know how long these periods of cognizance will last. Sometimes it’s days but others it’s only hours. First thing I want to tackle is the tiller. I painted it yesterday so it’s ready in my mind to put together. I know I didn’t need to paint it as that is cosmetic and doesn’t effect the performance but I generally don’t do anything halfway. Just a little pride in my work. I’ll have to do a little Southern Engineering for the throttle control but that shouldn’t be too hard. When there’s some money I’ll buy one at the small engine repair shop I found. It’s a good thing I downloaded the manual for it as there is a schematic that shows what goes where cause I sure don’t remember.

The sunrise this morning was one of those where the sun looked twice it’s normal size due to how the atmosphere magnifies it. There is a hazy mist over everything and a heavy dew has every surface dripping wet.


Yesterday we rushed to get the dogs in and closed up the house for they were aerial spraying the cotton field next door. I enjoy watching the skill of the pilot as he loops and dodges the power lines like a fighter pilot. But he’s probably spraying a defoliant to get the leaves on the cotton to fall off so they can harvest. Some of the fields are already ready to go and are white as snow with the leaves gone. Looks like there will be some good harvests.

Time to get back outside. The puppies are doing well and Trixie is moving around much better, even running on occasion.

I just went out to check on them and the suckers were out in the cotton field running at full speed. We don’t want them out there in the first place because of the field being sprayed. In the second place it’s not good for Trixie to be running that hard yet so I called them in and settled em down.
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Nuts, the manual I downloaded doesn’t have the particular section I need the most. That’s how the reverse clutch belt assembly goes together. I’m sure I’d seen it but must not have downloaded that part. Now I’m going online to see if I can find it.

I got frustrated which slows me down so went out back and worked on the compost pile. Simple work helps. I burned some of the dead Johnson grass out there. It’s so thick that it coats the bottom of my shoes and takes quite some time to peel off. I now do it over the grill so I can use it to start the fires thus destroying the seeds and keep from tracking it back on my feet. It’s going to be a major ongoing fight to get this weed under control.

Eric let me know this stuff isn't Johnson grass. I really don't have a clue what it is other than nasty. As with many things I just guess and when I hear a name use it till I learn better.

3 comments:

i beati said...

what thrills me the most Bob is that you focus on the flowers, the sounds, the pride, and the beauty of a sunrise ..so many people don't !!!

Bob Westbrook said...

When I woke from the coma all was new to me and like a child I saw things with wonder in my eyes. I still retain that to a degree and have been known to sit and marvel at things like bugs working hard. Though I'm not too keen on them when they eat my garden. But I try to see the beauty that surrounds me and us all for that matter.

Eric Siegmund said...

Bob, I figured someone else would have corrected this by now, but I guess not. Johnson grass doesn't have stickers. It grows tall - up to 8', with wide leaves, and generally needs plentiful water. I didn't notice any Johnson grass when I was last out at your place. It's no big deal; just figured you'd want to know. (And, by the way, I have no idea what the proper name is for the stickery grass. It's not crabgrass; we just always referred to it as grass burrs.)