5/25/12 Friday Cherie’s truck is breaking down again. 2 weeks ago the radiator blew and on the way to work she called because something is squealing. I suspect it may be a wheel bearing as it has been shaking lately. At first I figured that was because a wheel is out of balance or perhaps a shock absorber going bad. Now I am not so sure. Will have to run to her work with all my tools and see if I can figure it out. All of our vehicles have over 200,000 miles on them and are in bad shape. At least Cherie made it to her work safely. I had a good time at the local jail yesterday. Got to talk to the two trustees, whom I have developed a relationship with. Then was able to speak with two others back in the jail area and feel it was a significant meeting for one of them. He poured his heart out about his inability to get free from the drugs and lifestyle that goes with it, and about his concern for his family. He understands that he has a big influence on them and unfortunately that influence has not been for the good. He will be out of jail shortly so I offered to spend time teaching a bible study at his house when he is released. That idea was received positively but we will see what happens when he gets out. Meantime we struggle to make ends meet. The work on the farm goes slow as my physical ability has limits and the one hundred plus degree heat hasn’t made it any easier. There are lots of melon plants growing and some of the cantaloupe already has fruit on it. The corn is doing surprisingly well despite my not putting any fertilizer on it. This last rain gave it a big boost. So we have hope but it is all a long way down the road. The job securing homes and performing maintenance on them is not working out well. Their accounting department is tasked with looking for any reason not to pay or to pay less than normal and every invoice I send has been cut, sometimes dramatically. There are several lawn mowing jobs to do in connection with that but our mower seems to be wearing out. It is burning lots of oil suddenly, not a good sign. I have another mower but it does not have a grass catcher on it. The grass catcher is important as I use it to recover clippings that I use for compost, and now I use it to harvest the rye grain.

Here you can see me slowly pouring out the clippings from the grain in the wind. This allows the wind to blow the chaff and straw away and most of the seeds fall into the wheelbarrow. When I mow about half the seeds are knocked out of the heads and fall to the ground and the rest end up in the grass catcher. I will disc the land over and thus replant the grain for another crop, should we get rain. There is so much to do and so little of me to do it. Gotta go work on Cherie’s truck now.