Advice from An Old Farmer

Here are many good pieces of advice for anyone. I put my favorites in blue - but I really like them all. What are your favorites?

Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.

Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.

Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.

Words that soak into your ears are whispered… not yelled.

Meanness don’t jes’ happen overnight.

Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.

Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.

It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.

You cannot unsay a cruel word.

Every path has a few puddles.

When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.

The best sermons are lived, not preached.

Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen anyway.

Don’t judge folks by their relatives.

Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

Live a good, honorable life… Then when you get older and think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time.

Don't interfere with somethin’ that ain’t bothering you none.

Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance.

If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.

Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.

The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin’.

Always drink upstream from the herd.

Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.

Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.

If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around.

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he might just kill you.

Most times, it just gets down to common sense.

I don't mind if he forgets

I managed not to injure myself anymore this weekend and I’m grateful that Nick’s back home. I feel safe – to a point. Although I kept my weight the same for the past two weeks, this week I slipped above that magic number Nick is so keen on me staying below. He’s been consistent in using some horrible cane like implement when I’m over. I definitely won’t hold it against him if he forgets to check the log this week. I’ve told you he has tons on his mind. If he’s still determined to use the damn cane, I’d really just as soon he forget.  I’ll let you know.

Nick left and I took off my wedding band

We’ve been married for thirty-four years and in all that time I’ve never once taken off my wedding band. It’s had to come off a time or two for surgery, but Nick’s always removed it and put it back on.

So why would I take it off myself after all this time? Because Nick’s not here to take care of me this weekend. He’s golfing and I managed to spill scalding broth on my hand. I was right by the sink and started running cold water over it at once. It wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been, but I was worried that there would be swelling so I very reluctantly removed my ring. I kept the cool water flowing for a long time. It’s red, but there hasn’t been much swelling and no blistering.

It’s not been my best two days. Thursday, I broke a tooth, and of course my dentist is on vacation. He’s supposed to be back Tuesday, so I hope I can get in then. I’m going to be very careful the rest of the weekend. Sitting quietly reading or writing sounds good.

If it’s hot where you are you should stay in and read. For those who have never read a Cassie book, I have a snippet up from the first book up over at the Reading Room.

Sometimes the HOH Won't listen!

Nick was off this past week. I won’t call it a vacation. The man has a hard time sitting and resting. His parents need so much right now. MIL is in a care facility and he visits her nearly every day, I try to go a couple of times a week. Unfortunately, she can only stay there until this Thursday. She was released from rehab, although she can barely walk across the room. There are no beds there in the ‘nursing home’ side so Nick’s sister is taking her to her home. I don’t think that’s a good idea at all, but being an in-law I keep my mouth shut. His Dad is still living alone and doing pretty well, but one of the kids goes every day to take a meal. All the brothers and sisters are helping (one not as much as others, but still.) The situation is tense and it keeps Nick from sleeping well.

Not exactly this. 

The time of my family reunion is fast approaching so there are many things to be done around the house to get ready. Nick does tons of that too, but I’ve really been trying to help him outside a little and I’m doing well on all the inside chores and lining up my part of the food. But what do you do with a HOH who won’t listen? He overworks out in the heat, he won’t come in and rest when I tell him to. He’s up on ladders and even on the roof cleaning out gutters. My man is wonderful, but a spring chicken he is not!

Should he be working hours in this heat and humidity? NO. Can I get on the roof and help him? NO. Can we afford to have someone come do it? YES. Will he listen to me? NO. Someone surely needs a spanking and this time it’s not me! But as with most of you, there is only one spanker in the house and it’s not me. I’m afraid it’s just Nick’s way to over work when he is stressed and worried. All I can do is be on hand, watch and listen when he is on the roof and help with his parents when I can.

Now I don’t mean to say we didn’t have any fun on his week off, cause we did. The temperature might be horrible during the day time, but it’s perfect for skinning dipping at night and coming up for some MFL afterwards. 

We also took a day to ride up into the mountains and I always enjoy that – the riding part. Hiking is not my thing. I can walk quite well on reasonable flat smooth ground.  Picking my want through toe snagging roots and climbing up rocks, not so much.

I desperately needed my walking stick, which I didn’t have but I did make it up one trail to a place Mollie had suggested. She said it was a short easy hike. She lied. I told her later, “Try this again when you’re sixty.” To which she replied “I will. And I’ll let you know what I think.” 

It actually wouldn’t have been all that bad if I had had that good walking stick and for all my complaining I’ve told Nick I’d go back with him again this fall when the leaves turn. It should be specular. Here are a few pictures of what I thought was a rough trail, but a great reward at the end.

We started with toe grabbing roots.

This was the smooth easy part.

These looked even steeper in real life and they

turned near the top to the left and kept going.  

Not fun going up or down with nothing to hold on to.

But I have to admit the view was incredible.

This is why I'm willing to try it again in the fall.

After all that we did my kind of mountain fun – we went to a park up that that we love, sat by a stream and read for a few hours. Then to a great restaurant with a fantastic view before heading home.  Not a completely restful week off but we did have some fun.