April 22, 2013
I forgot about a conversation I’d had with Elliot last week. The hay people were there cutting the hay. Elliot and I watched from the porch as their equipment crept along the field, eating up hay and spitting it out in a long, trailing row.
“When will they bale it?”
“In a few days when it’s dry enough. They’ll come out at night.” Elliot squinted at the sun and smiled. “I used to buck hay when I was a kid. It’s a lot of fun ‘til your arms fall off or you trip. The field’s small enough, they may buck it instead of using a stack wagon, which is what they mostly use now.”
“I can barely move a bale, let alone throw it on a trailer. Sounds brutal.”
“Well, one of the guys that’ll do it, that’s the guy I’s telling you about, Crabtree. He works real hard, even if he don’t have a lot o’ what you’d call social skills.”
When I caught Elliot for a moment today, I asked him.
“That Crabtree guy who cuts hay? Is he any kin to…” I caught myself falling into Elliot’s speech patterns. “Is he related to Delilah Crabtree?”
“I don’t know. I just know him from your dad hiring him sometimes. He’s mucked the goat barn a few times. He did a lot of grunt work on the dog run, moving concrete and stuff. His first name is Shirley. Like I said, he’s a little cuss, but he doesn’t slack.”
Shirley? Crap! I remember a guy named Shirley who was rude to me at the farm supply store a couple of months ago. That cannot be a coincidence.
April 23, 2013
Elliot and I rolled out the water wheels again. It went a lot easier this time. We got out my dad’s rusty truck and hauled some boxes and plastics to the recycler and some trash to the dump. Surprisingly, the truck runs good. Elliot said you have to add oil every so often and it has a tendency to overheat, but otherwise, it’s good.
April 26, 2013
Long week, several hours wasted on patches for software because the customer did not want to spring for an update. They were running their system on a program that was so old I actually had to look it up. I finally got something workable, but it’s clunky. I told them if they need me for further work, they’ll have to update.
The chicks are HUGE! They looked so awkward for so long, but now they are starting to look like real chickens. They’re eating machines.
I am starting to notice the weather a lot more than I ever have. When I wake up and hear the wind blowing, I wince, knowing I will be a fudge sickle before I get done with my morning chores.
Also, I am starting to really enjoy hearing the roosters crowing as I lie in bed in the morning. Elliot told me it usually takes a few months before the birds start crowing. I did the math, and that means that the meat birds will be dead before they get a chance to crow. I find that really depressing.
I had a great time on our date tonight. Jodie and I went for a movie and had dinner in the car at the drive-in. She has this way of pulling me out of my problems.
I can’t wait to see her tomorrow. We’re going to have dinner with Liv and Nate.
April 27, 2013
Tonight was amazing! We walked from the park up to the Boise Train Depot and back before meeting Liv and Nate at this great restaurant that Liv is fixated on. On the way home, we planned a day trip for Jodie’s next Saturday off. We’re going to take the dogs up to Idaho City and go hiking. I cannot wait! I think I have cabin fever.
May 3, 2013
Mom called. Harvey is putting off surgery until after the adoption goes through. He’s wearing a knee brace and getting around okay for now. Mom said he is still in a lot of pain, but he doesn’t want anything to happen that could mess up the adoption. I could hear worry in her voice, but she’s trying not to show it.
Later, she sent me a photo of the three of them at the California State Railroad Museum and Library, where they took Hailey for reading time.
Any memories? She asked.
Only about a million. I loved that library and the museum it’s attached to. It was one of my favorite places to go, even after I started high school. I always wanted to have my birthday party in the caboose, but it was too expensive. I loved seeing them there. I want to get to know Hailey and Harvey better. It figures Mom would finally move on from Dad, and I would be hundreds of miles away and not be able to be an active part of that.
Maybe she’ll be a Junior Conductor, like you?
Junior Engineer, Mom, and that’d be way cool.
May 10, 2013
Long, busy week. I try to write once a week, but I cannot think of anything worth noting.
May 17, 2013
I did my final assignment for the internship today.
I am so stoked about tomorrow. Jodie and I have almost run out of things to do in Emmett. We’ve been to most of the restaurants, the movies several times, the raceway (with Russ), and bowling. I looked up Things to Do in Emmett, Idaho online, and most of what I found was in Eagle and Boise. It will be good to go somewhere else for the day.
May 18, 2013
We decided to take Frodo, Lucy (the black lab), and Pippin (the Australian Shepherd) with us. Bruno and TNT would have to wait for another day. I didn’t want my
