The Move

Kat and Andy decided to move from their apartment to a house near their work. Since they had driven over to see Christopher for his parent-teacher meeting, there was now just two days left to make the move. With a load of packing boxes, picked up at Walmart, I grabbed Mom on Saturday morning and we headed up to help with the move.

We got a hold of Cliff and, as soon as we had everything boxed, he brought over his pickup and trailer. In a very short period of time, Andy, Cliff and Kathleen had everything that was headed to the house, loaded. We flew down the road (at the speed limit) to the new home. Then, as the cold wind stung our hands and ears, the trailer, pickup and car were quickly unloaded. It was a full days work, but it seemed to go quickly. Afterwards, Kat and Andy took us all (we now picked up Barb, too) out for BBQ ribs to celebrate. mmmm It was really good. I was able to bring home a go-box of rib bones for the dogs...but Kathleen refused to part with the go-box of her leftover pasta dish so that I could give it to the cats.

The only thing left was the apartment inspection. On Sunday Kathleen, Andy and I met Julia and we all went to work getting the apartment ready for inspection. Today (Monday) Kat, Andy and Julia headed back to the apartment for the inspection and they passed with flying colors. (Yea!) Now on to the new home so that they can get ready for work.

Thank the Lord that my brother, Cliff, was there with his pickup and trailer, or we could have been making trips all weekend, just to move the stuff. Although I am his elder, he has always been the one behind the wheel. Being the oldest of the boys, he was out driving tractor, running the combine, and driving trucks, since the time he could reach the pedal. Dad would not let us girls drive the tractor until we were quite a bit older. However, I found it is not always such a fun task. When finally I could drive, I was allowed to plow up a field on the other side of the Rand Place (old deserted homestead). There was a dike of some sort which created a somewhat steep slope off to the side of the field. Having much wisdom of youth, I thought I would do a really good job and plow up the side of the dike and have a bigger field. So I started sideways down the incline. It did not dawn on me that a tractor could tip over. Imagine my surprise when suddenly both front and back tire on the upward slope left the ground. I then felt the jolt as the plow, which was cutting deep into the incline, pulled the tractor back to the ground. I eased off the dike and felt a whole lot wiser about life that day.

Anita, my younger sister, also found out the seriousness of driving. She, too, finally got to drive the tractor and had a bucket attached to the front. She was driving it along and somehow miscalculated the distance between Dad's large, oversized, 2 1/2 story tall garage and the tractor. She not only crashed into the garage but hit it right on the corner and cracked the corner support beam. There was a BIG, crunched dent where she pushed it in. This is probably why us girls mostly picked rocks and picked bales, when it came to helping in the fields.

As kids, Cliff was Dad's right hand. He worked the fields, as seasons changed...the plowing, the seeding and the harvesting. As he grew older, he helped work the fields for the neighbors. He didn't get to play with us kids a lot. There were a lot of hot summer days, though, when supper was finished and all us kids got to go play in the iron pile. There was an old abandoned wood stove there, so we all played family. The imaginary cooking on that stove, was a delight and we had a lot of fun.

As the brothers grew older, they helped Dad with the equipment maintenance and overhauls. One of those summers the boys took apart Mom's push mower. They took the engine and made themselves a go-cart. I don't know what they used for a frame, and I have no idea how they made the brakes, clutch, or how they made the wheels run, but they did. And they had fun riding it down the drive that lead up to the farm. It was about a quarter of a mile drive--so much fun for them. Mom watched and cheered them on as they took off.

In those days, when Mom and Dad went to town, Uncle was in charge of us kids. However, with Mom and Dad gone to town, Uncle would disappear and go to the bunk house and read, or nap or do something, to enjoy his "day off." This one particular day the boys were looking for adventure. Who knows why they thought the outhouse was an adventure. We didn't have indoor plumbing at the time, so it was kind of an essential to have it standing. However, to young boys, it was a challenge to tip it over. They got posts and sticks and I don't remember what they used for leverage, but after much effort, and just before Mom and Dad returned, they succeeded in tipping it over. The outhouse at the time was half way between the barn and the house. The walking distance was all covered by the big yard light. Now Dad moved the outhouse down by the shed. Twice the distance, and the last half of the trip was in darkness when you had to go at night. THANKS BOYS! Perhaps it was the next year that we got indoor plumbing. It was a good life.

The Day is Good

The kittens are back this morning. The Day is good. Thank you, Lord.

The Missing Babies

Last Sunday the wind was blowing and it was getting dark. A young couple had just left with a precious little furry kitten--the last of the litter to be adopted out. I looked out and Christopher's little black kitten (8 wks old) was scampering over the edge of the deck and Freckles (the teenage kitten) was following him. Mama cat was watching me, waiting to see if I had any treats. I shut off the lights and went to bed. The next morning I went out to feed the dogs and cats and found NO CATS. All were gone. I called and called but no cats came. I waited all day. I found the fields glasses and scoured the fields--it would be hard to miss Freckles, he is so big. Even the big black dots on his back don't diminish the expanse of his white fur. His colorings make him look like a huge domino!

Night came and still no cats. The next morning Kathleen called to see if they had returned. I looked out and here comes mama cat from their little house! But no kittens. She had brought home a couple of rabbit legs, but there were no kittens to share it with. That afternoon I made up cards of the missing kittens, with my name and number on it, and delivered them to all the neighbors. So far there has been no response.

Tonight I looked out. The dark had just set in and already mama cat was gone. Back tracking to see if she can find her lost kittens, I'm sure. Its dark out there, the wind is blowing and there are all kinds of predators waiting for a kitten--badgers, coyotes, hawks, stray dogs. Tonight mama cat and her babies are in my prayers.