Security Blanket

Went to the horse auction last night.  Not sure I would have gone without my security blanket but Rob even drove. I know it isn't his idea of a fun Saturday night, but I enjoyed being around horses again, even if it was just the sale barn.
100 plus horses were there. We're not set up to take any in yet, but there was a small mule or two for less than 100 dollars I would have snagged to train up to skid some logs out of the woods if I had been ready.

There was a really cute and fuzzy donkey there that went for 65 dollars.  He was old, scarred up and had a bad back.  He would have been a fuzzy lawn ornament.

I also found 9 eggs under a bush in the front yard.  The next day I found four more.  The hens are locked up in their house for the weekend or until they learn to lay in the boxes again.

 Jethro has figured out he has the good life.  Although he has started to want to go outside more now that he is fat and happy.

 He does enjoy a good game of Diablo 3 though.

Tough Week

Well the depression/anxiety/pudding brain hit me hard this week.  After Dad left I planned to take a day to relax and then get back to work.  I haven't done anything since he left.

The fear is crippling and there is no reason for it, I just don't want to go outside.  The resulting anger and sadness just doubles up on top of it and it all snowballs into a bigger mess in my brain than I can deal with.  I know it is a simple matter of realizing that it is just chemicals or hormones or whatever making me feel this way and I can physically go out and do things.  But it is traumatizing.  And I hate it.

I haven't had a week like this in a long time.  Not since I got my medicine.  I've had a few days of this before while on my medicine but it usually comes back to normal.  At least normal for me.

I know it will pass, but the frustration of my brain releasing me to do what I want is agony.  So for now I am stuck behind this wall until it crumbles enough and I can Kool-Aide man through it.

Visit from Dad

Dad came up for a visit while Mom was at a retreat.  He was bringing up the trailer for me to get hay with and on it a post hole digger and several pieces of wood he had salvaged from a deck he was working on.  Since he was coming up Thursday I stayed near the house and cleaned out the goat pen.  It is now freshly covered with hay and the wood is clear of the dirt (poo) again.

 He helped fix the goat fence the next day while I was finishing cleaning their house.  It is so great when he visits cause he is so helpful and knowledgeable for the projects around here.  The T-post was being pulled over (I know they aren't meant for corner posts but it was what I could do at the time), and the goats had the fence half down.  He got the come-along and some chain and pulled it straight (you can see it pulled from the tree).  And he got some wire and made a tension-er to another older T-post nearby.  Turned out great.

 We also worked on the emergency brake line for my truck since it had broke.  Took us most of the day and we had it assembled about 2/3rd of the way 6 times, but eventually we finished it.  This picture shows the new spring on the line where is attaches to the rear drum brake.

 This is the broken line.  We think there was a rubber grommet that fell out of a hole in the frame where the line ran, and the line just whittled away in the metal.

 We put up one of the posts he brought up so the post hole digger would have a stand to be stored on.  The ground was so dry that me and Rob had to lean on the auger to get it to finish digging.

 Then Dad helped me clear the 200 feet of the north side of the fence line.  There were a lot of trees to chop up and it took around five trips with the little yard wagon to get all the wood put away behind the garage.  The storage area for the wood is packed!  I should have gotten a picture of that too.

 Even got to see the neighbors cows.  I would have liked to get a better shot of them but they were on the other side of an electric fence.

 And finally, meet Jethro Gibbs (yes that NCIS Jethro Gibbs).  Rob had seen him in the morning but he had to get to work.  We found him after coming home from dinner, he was in the driveway, and I just picked him up and brought him in.  Super friendly kitten; even gets along with the dogs!
I am guessing he is 3 or 4 months old since he still has his kitten teeth.
He will be our barn-garage cat.  He has already proved himself to be a mouser.  He was playing with his first mouse his first night in the garage.

Thanks for all the help Dad, you're an amazing man and father.  Couldn't ask for anyone better!

Double Video

I find it is easier to show how the fence line clearing is going than try to describe it.

Wasps

Hate me some wasps.  I got stung while putting away the wood from the dead tree we cut down.  Right on the knuckle of my middle finger.  Perhaps the wasp was a hit man sent from the bad drivers in St. Louis.

But I do have a fair amount of wood now.  Not sure how much more I can fit because it is starting to get difficult to stack it much higher.  I do have some room on the left that I am trying to reserve for the wood I start splitting.  It doesn't look like it but I would say the pile is at least four feet high.

Also made gooey butter cake.  As you can see I didn't get around to taking a picture before I had some.  I regret nothing.  But a great easy recipe I found on facebook, here: St. Louis style gooey butter cake

Shaky Cam

I didn't realize how bad the video would be shaking when I took this, but it is what it is.  I just always complain about stupid shaky cam work in movies and shows to give fake action and here I am doing it myself.  Just not on purpose.

Also a cute picture of Varg sitting in Bone's lap.

pictures

Picture of the fence line I had cleared so far.  Rob helped me this weekend to get some trees and a branch that was up high.

 Turkeys being very helpful.  They wish they had thumbs to help unload the wood.

quick video of what I had gotten done.  Will get another made in the next couple of days.