

Nate and I left from Golden Chick to get the vehicle after
Nate had said his goodbyes. Roger charged them $60 for the time he had spent on
investigating the leak. I could tell, he hated asking for even that much, but
he had used over a pound of Freon to find the leak – so the money was to
replace the chemicals used. We all headed back to the farm. Nate and Cori packed
up the camper, hooked up the camper and headed out for Houston about 2 pm. Not
too much later than they wanted, but still without a working a/c. We all gathered
and prayed before they left, and the older kids realized that this really was
goodbye. They are not planning to see us again before they leave the country –
at least, not at the farm. No one was crying. We made a game of hugging one
last time, one more last time and so on. Cori said that Savanna is beginning to
understand the separation and the fact that she may never be back to Grammy’s
farm again. She is struggling with that, but we have pictures and videos that
will preserve those memories for her – and for us. Such is the life of
missionary children.
In the process of doing normal chores on the farm, Savanna
and I had gone to feed the cows Friday evening. With Daisy still in the corral,
I have to keep vigil on her feed and water – especially her water. The issue is
that the yard hydrant at the barn does not completely shut off. The amount of
water it allows to leak through is significant, so I installed a shutoff valve
at the well. That means that every time I need to fill the trough, I have to
open the valve at the well. When I have filled the trough, I shut the valve at the
well. Well, Friday evening, Savanna and I were in a big way of talking and I forgot
to shut that valve when we put the feed buckets back in the well house. I did
not go back to check on Daisy until late Saturday afternoon. The water had been
on the entire time. The corral was a mess. The stream I had created flowed all the
way to our stock tank. I was pretty upset with myself but, what, what can you
do? The ground will dry out. The well will recover, and Daisy did not run out
of water.
Such is the life of a hobby farm owner.
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