7/7/12 Saturday

          Humidity is a rare thing out here in the West Texas desert, but we have been running 70 to 80 percent humidity for weeks now. Unfortunately that means that our swamp cooler doesn’t work well, or at all. It works very well on dry days as the process of putting moisture in the air as the fan moves it instantly lowers the temperature. On days like this all it does is move warm outside air inside. We have a small window air conditioner in the bedroom, so that is now the sanctuary of coolness. I’ve been out mowing the lawn, which includes three foot tall weeds in many places as I have been negligent about this task. Doesn’t take long to overheat and become a sweat ball so I just came into the bedroom, turned the fan on full, and am enjoying the chills as this refrigerated air washes over my soaking wet shirt. Plus I need to take a pain pill as well.

          I am not sure what will happen when we go to the VA next week and protest the doctors decision to stop my medication. Fortunately I have been very astute with it and managed to save enough to tide me over till then. There was some snafu on the paperwork as the same lab results that were fine when he approved last month’s medication now say I have not been taking any of it. The insinuation is that I have been possibly selling or misappropriating these drugs, and that is not acceptable. But this is all part of everything going wrong all at once. I am not worried for I know I have been careful and correct with how I handle these drugs so will trust it will all work out.

          We got the small local paper and I saw that the pastor of that little church we once attended is just rerunning old articles on her nuggets column. I’m sure her stress levels are higher after the church was scorched when nearby oil tank batteries exploded so continue to lift her up in prayer. It was evident she was getting tired and had lost much of her enthusiasm when we attended that church a year ago, but despite that she keeps hanging on and is unwilling to allow anyone else to share the burden of leadership. My heart aches for her as I understand much she apparently is unable to see. Unfortunately there are many things that blind our eyes and often then we end up with the blind leading the blind. Then, as Jesus said, they will both fall into a ditch. The hope is that when that happens they will be able to understand and will seek help.

          Well, I am cooled off now, and the pain medication is taking affect, so must go back out into the heat. Will pull the spark plug from the mower as I am sure it has become fouled again from the oil that now leaks into the cylinder and burns. That poor mower has sure seen some work on this farm, and on that job I had caring for properties for the banks. I think I have worn out almost a dozen blades with it, running them till there is just a wisp of steel left. The grass catcher has been patched several times and now is held together with a piece of an old pair of blue jeans I had also worn out.

          It doesn’t look like we will get much corn out of this last crop. There were plenty of ears of corn visible on the outer edges of the plot but when I walked into the interior I was surprised to find that many of the six foot stalks of corn did not have any ears of corn growing on them at all. This is a most curious thing and I am at a loss to understand why. Did I have it planted too close together? There is so much I need to learn about this farming stuff.

          I plan on discing up every area I can get to with the tractor. Unfortunately the rain we had is mostly evaporated away now so the ground is dry on the surface. I must take a shovel out there and dig to see if there is any moisture left underneath. If there is then I have a hope of blackeyed peas sprouting, and perhaps some okra too. Plus I need to prepare for a fall crop, but I am not sure what to plant for fall. I have some Loufa seeds someone sent me that we are anxious to try. These are a gourd that make those Loufa things people use to scrub their skin with. I probably am not spelling that right but that’s ok, those of you familiar with it know what I am talking about. We also have some corn seeds sent from a fellow homesteader in Kansas that I plan on planting as well.

          Please pray for one of the sweet little old ladies we care for. She has been fighting depression and that is a hard fight when surrounded by negative things. She works at a program called “Kids First”, which deals with troubled families that have young children. Many of the parents are alcoholics, drug addicts, or have other difficulties to overcome and of course that impacts the lives of those precious little children. Then there are the kids at school that Geneva works with, who are also troubled youngsters. Adding to that are her own children, who are adults, and their children, who are also now mostly adults too. I don’t need to go into details but there are lots of issues with them, ranging from illnesses and some really poor attitudes aimed at Geneva. We are making extra trips into Midland to have an excuse to visit with her and try to cheer her up. She hasn’t been taking her medication and being diabetic that can be a serious issue. Plus Geneva hasn’t been eating like she should, also a serious problem when coupled with diabetes. I just got off the phone with her and hope to have raised her spirits some.

(Here you can see what coyotes do to my watermelons)

          That’s all for now. Lots of work to do and it won’t get done with me sitting here typing on this laptop. See ya later.