It's a Rainy Day In August

So much for the mowing and weed eating I was planning on doing today. It has been raining off and on for the past five or six days. Seems strange for August. But, really, the only complaint I have is that it stopped Chris from installing the water softener in the pump house over the weekend.

I don't think Chris really meant it to work out this way, but we bought a dishwasher for our anniversary. We've been married for thirteen years, and for all that time, have never had a dishwasher. I take that back. We had one for a short while when we moved to the farm, but we never used it. It took up vital cabinet space in the trailer, and I really didn't want the water-spotted dishes I was sure would be the result of using it.

Anyway, last week sometime, Chris came home from work and noticed a large, two-day pile of dishes filling the sink and counter tops. "Maybe it's time we get a dishwasher," he said. He expected the normal resistance, I'm sure. In the past, I always argued that a dishwasher was something we didn't need, and spending a chunk of money on something we didn't need seemed unwise. But I had just spent the day jumping through hoops and trying to figure out what other hoops I was supposed to jump through in order to get my new business up and running, and housework wasn't anything I was focused on. "Okay," I said. A dishwasher sounded nice right then.

So, although Chris got the dishwasher installed over the weekend, I am not using it yet. I still don't want water-spotted dishes, and the water softener that we bought last fall still need to be installed. This weekend looks more promising.

August 20th already.

The kids started the first week of August. This is the picture of their first day, eyes puffy with lack of sleep.

Two days before school was scheduled to start, we took a trip to Lake Winnie, an amusement park in Chattanooga. Reanna came and spent the night so we could get an early start the next morning.

 This is one my favorite pictures from the day. Last year, Z wasn't tall enough for the crazier rides, but this time, she was. So for her second ride, I took her on the Tilt-A-Whirl. Inspite of her initial reaction, she loved it, but, truth be told, I didn't. For the first time in my life, I almost threw up after a ride, and it took a good while for my stomach to settle back down.

 The next weekend was Mark's birthday, and the family came out for some fun at the farm. Mark brought down his new little drone, and promptly lost it in the tops of some trees. He and Mike spent a good while plunging through the woods in search of it, until Mike, using his innate MacGyver skills, located the tree it was in. I climbed a 28 foot ladder up into the tree, then scaled a little higher. I still couldn't see the drone, but once I gave the tree a good shake, it fell to the ground.

Next came fun on two wheels.

Joe and Robert are naturals. I can see them winning motocross races someday. 

But when it came time for the girls to ride, I was incredibly nervous as Finley's motor skills aren't as keen as the boys'. Thankfully, my brother is an excellent and careful teacher, and the girls were soon zipping around like they had been riding  motorbikes for months.

 In other news, mama chicken and her babies are doing well. Two of the chicks died, but the rest are doing well. I think there are fifteen in all, but they are incredibly hard to count, as is evidenced by the blurry photo.

 With the kids back in school, and the majority of business stuff out of the way for the moment, I had time to take on another project. Jane, our rabbit, has been cooped up in a small hutch for over a month. I had used her cage to house some chickens for a while, and now that those chickens are gone, I needed to get it ready for her to move back in. The tarp I had used for shelter was shredded, so I had planned to take the metal sheeting off an old truck topper to make a sturdier, longer-lasting shelter for Jane. I got it half finished yesterday before incoming rain forced me to stop.

While dismantling the old topper, I noticed some strange patterns in the algae covering old plastic-bubble windows. Apparently some worm or larva had been feasting on the algae, leaving something strangely beautiful... a little reminder to slow down in all the busyness to take notice.