H2S

Lessons from high school chemistry class came rushing back to me Saturday evening as we were getting ready for the last night of the county fair - a loud pop was heard in the kitchen. I rushed into the kitchen and discovered little pieces of egg shell strewn about which led my eye to a blackish green pool of fluid on the counter. I didn't fully connect the dots until I got a whiff of a wretched and vile odor that repeatedly triggered my gag reflex and brought back chemistry with Mr. Bowen. I raced to the door for air and leaned over the railing.

Hydrogen sulfide is the chemical compound with the formula H2S. This colorless, toxic and flammable gas is only partially responsible for the foul odor of rotten eggs. I am really not sure what all else is packed under the shell, but it is foul (sic).

I guess I need to back up a bit. Mary wanted to preserve the little eggs pullets were laying so we gathered a bunch of them - too many to bronze so we decided to blow them out and keep the cute little shell.

Problem is we had another batch of petite eggs after the first batch that eventually got mixed in with the blown eggs - that was a couple of months ago that the anaerobic decomposition first started inside these eggs. One exploded and four remained intact. We had to defuse the situation fast so we could get on to the fair; keep other eggs from also bursting; clean up the whole mess, air out the house and keep from hurling inside the house as we clean up the mess.

It was a complicated situation, but Dalton stepped up to the challenge donning his gas mask he was able to clean up the contamination site, remove the unexploded hen bombs and bury them outside.

We were pretty pleased with the final outcome until we saw Duke dug down to get the four remaining eggs and ate them. He was staggering around eating grass as we drove off to the fair.

Duke survived. He greeted us on our way in and when we opened the car door we were greeted with the smell of rotten eggs that Duke had liberated from the grave.

Hunker Down as Ike Approaches

Friday was preparation day- preparation to hunker down. You could tell a big storm was approaching - the breeze and cloud cover increased. We had wind from the north.

I mowed the low areas to lessen possible erosion; we picked up lose items that might become airborne; and nailed the shutters closed to minimize clacking.

We took a break and enjoyed the sunset. Dalton and Britt played Risk - a bored (sic) game. The outdoor cats came inside and hunkered down with us. Cowboy was very relaxed with the hunker down concept. Perhaps we all might be better off turning off the TV and relaxing after making necessary preparations.

The wind howled most of the night. A morning check of the rain gauge revealed about 1.1 inches of rainfall. Total recorded storm precipitation on Lazy Day Farm Saturday afternoon was 2.5 inches.

Mary and Jacob and a couple million others nearer to the coast lost power. We were grateful for being spared the ferocity that some experienced.

Sunset Ike Eve

Ark Friends Visit Lazy Day Farm

We left Houston without much notice. The construction project demands were constant and our whereabouts and doings remained a mystery for many during fall 2006-2007. The chickens consumed more time than anticipated this Spring and Summer in their brooding and coop construction. The fencing and electrical service is not yet complete but the birds are mean as ever and for young birds they are laying well. The henfruit is growing in size and number daily...but I digress.

We were able to get together with friends from the Ark Sunday School Class this past Sunday. It was a good chance to catch up on our extended family: Randy, Linda, Rachel and Luke; Kevin, Tami, Tony and Audrey; Brad, Julie, Erica and Colin.

Julie took a few photos. This one of the old garage was pretty neat. Thanks Julie! Linda shared a recent photo of Rachel and Luke.

The kids enjoyed petting the birds and picking up eggs and Mary prepared 4 delicious quiches for lunch - yummy. We need to do this more often.

Birthday Flowers

The Family Barn

Halleluyah! Lazy Day Farm Got Rain

We went to town for groceries at 3 and upon our return at 4 we had some significant rainfall - about a third of an inch! Shortly after unloading the car it began raining again - and kept raining! A good soaking rain. Halleluyah! The wind blew the rain gauge over just enough so it wasn't catching much rain. While we recorded about an inch, I am pretty sure it was more than an inch received!

Have you ever wondered what "Hallelujah" or "Halleluyah" or "Alleluia" mean or where it comes from or why so many spellings? The word "hallelujah" mentioned in Psalms is the Hebrew word for requesting a congregation to join in praise. The best translation of hallelujah is "Praise Yah, you people", usually worded in English versions as "Praise ye the LORD" or "Praise the LORD".

Alleluia is the spelling when transliterated from Hebrew to Latin. Halleluyah and Hallelujah are transliterations from Hebrew to English. Either way, the word with it's varied spellings has been accepted into the English language.

Tropical Storm Eduard

Not sure exactly how to spell Eduard or why the national weather service decided to get exotic with storm names, but I do know we received 0.35 inches of rain in the days immediately following landfall of Eduard last week and another 0.10 inches yesterday! Those cracks are begining to close up a bit. God will heal our land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Ask the LORD

We have not had much rain this year. Oh sure by some standards its lush, but for this area of Texas it's dry. In fact, Lazy Day Farm is right on the edge of a severe drought area. The earth is cracking badly even after getting 0.3 inches this past week.

I was reading Monday night in Zechariah. I don't recall why Zechariah, but know most everything happens for a reason. I came across 10:1

Ask the LORD for rain in the springtime; it is the LORD who makes the storm clouds. He gives showers of rain to men, and plants of the field to everyone.

I know Zechariah was referring to the tribe of Judah but as believers in Yeshua HaMashiach, we are grafted into the root and believe it applicable for today. As I meditated on this short passage I started thinking of spiritual drought, and how we can ask the LORD for rain to quench our soul as well as for parched fields.

Are you blessed with life giving rain?

Have you ever wondered how deep those cracks are? Have you thought about the good that comes to the soil by cracking open like this?

Purrl Missing and Found

We left town for three days to run visit Zach and Liz. Six days now have elapsed since Purrl was last seen. I walked all over Lazy Day Farm calling out to her, but the only mew came from Cowboy (Purrl's brother) that was tagging along for the hike.

Sometimes if cats are not feeling well they will disappear until they feel better. "Better" sometimes doesn't happen. Of course our hope is that frogs and crawdads are active down by the creek and Purrl is having far too much fun to come back. Maybe tomorrow.

Sure enough, Mary came home Wednesday and called for Purrl and she showed up. Hungry.

Maybe her hunt was not very fruitful.

Did you ever hear about the cat farm down in Hermosillo, Mexico?

Purrl the ragdoll calico

Purrl is a sweet ragdoll calico that loves to be wherever we are. She has dispatched many rodents and has even taken on a yellow jacket nest. She is very independent and will go for a midnight swim if it means getting a frog and often comes back with all sorts of burrs and seeds in her wet fur. She is a fierce hunter.

Purrl inspects the dog fence project.

Use a Rough Cut Mower

Use a Rough Cut Mower - wikiHow

Someone asked if we had wild hogs

We have not been frequented by hogs...yet, but know that many landowners in the area have been plagued with them. What follows is a little information about feral hogs (wild hogs) in case you were curious (source Texas Parks and Wildlife).

Early Spanish explorers probably were the first to introduce hogs in Texas over 300 years ago. As colonization increased, hog numbers subsequently increased. They provided an important source of cured meat and lard for settlers.
During the fight for Texas independence as people fled for safety into the United States or Mexico, many hogs escaped or were released. It was not until the mid 1800s when hostilities between the United States and Mexico ended that settlers once again began bringing livestock back into Texas. The livestock included hogs that ranged freely. Many escaped, contributing to the feral population.
In the 1930s, European wild hogs, "Russian boars," were first imported and introduced into Texas by ranchers and sportsmen for sport hunting. Most of these eventually escaped from game ranches and began free ranging and breeding with feral hogs. Because of this crossbreeding, there are very few, if any, true European hogs remaining in Texas.

The old well

The old hand dug well's concrete collar is covered with sheet metal, boards and bound with barbed wire. Hand dug wells are common features on land around here - usually shallow, some filled with garbage and most still serving in agriculture.

We hope to uncover and inspect the well and based upon findings of depth and water quality we will consider placing a hand pump over the well.

They moved the house in 1942

We spotted the old crumbly cedar stumps surrounded by dewberry vines and high grass. They served as foundation for a once modest, yet adequate wood frame home overlooking the pasture below.

Our locksmith was familiar with the place - his cousins lived here. He walked around reliving if only for a moment those times he frequented this place years ago. He shared that the house was sold and moved to Brenham in 1942.

We built a barn on a rise east of the old homesite - thinking someday a home may once again be perched upon the hill.

The trick is to keep it that way

The county agent came by just before we purchased the land. He said some things we really didn't want to hear but glad he said it just the same...and after some questions and answers when we were about to part company he said, "others have lived on this land a long time ago and it is a really nice piece of land today."

"The trick is to keep it that way."

That may not sound like sage advice but it did stick...and when one considers options for development and agriculture it makes a lot of sense. We are working hard to keep it nice.

Bluebonnets in front of the old garage

Did the realtor tell you it floods?

We met the neighbors. Nice couple. They were good enough to share photos of our pasture during the aftermath of tropical storm Allison in 2001. The land is positioned along a dry creek. We have not had that much rain since, but we have had some ponding water in the lower pasture after intense storms. It goes with the territory.

At first we were alarmed about the volume of water sheeting across the land during heavy rains, but later observed everyone experiences the same thing. The great thing about living near a dry creek is that the area will not be developed and there are not many mosquitoes. Neighboring pastures should remain wild and wooded for quite some time.