BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE!

This is a story about the car again. My sister had come home from Business School for the week-end. She wanted to visit some friends that were 10 mile away while she was home. Dad permitted her to take the car. I was the tag-a-long (as usual). Well we had a little visit and then she decided that she would like to visit various people in various towns around the community. Without permission, we did just that! Before we got home my sister had me promise that I wouldn't tell Dad about these extra excursions we took. I gave an oath to her that I would not tell Dad. I should have known that my sister was short a little bit from a full load in her head after giving me the keys to the car at the tender age of 10. If she happens to read this, just kidding sister, just kidding! Like my grandchildren informed me JK sister, JK. But there again, I thought she was all wise and I would go along with the deceiving process.

All went well and nothing was said when we got home. When the weekend was up, dad took my sister back to school (about 50 miles away). Dad had a way about him, as I had mentioned earlier in my writings, that he could extract what he wanted to know, without the person even realizing what he was doing. This day was no exception. While driving the 50 miles back to school my sister on her own free will "spilled the beans" so to speak.

The next day my Dad asked, "Did you have a good time with your sister visiting her friend?"

I said, "yes".

He said, "I heard that someone saw you in a certain town".

I said, "No we didn't go there". (As I remembered my promise to my sister)

He repeated a few other towns that people happened to see us in. Again, the same response from me.

By this time, my Dad was getting really perturbed with my outright lying.

He said, "I didn't care that you went to these places, but you are lying and this is not acceptable." He made it perfectly clear that I had better not ever lie to him again. I truly was between a Rock and a Hard Place!! To my knowledge, I believe he got his message across to me that I never lied to him again.

The next time I saw my sister, I found out she had told him where we had been on her own. Did I mention that above, that she was a few stacks short of a full load! Just kidding, sister!!!! (or JK)

Wisdom for the day--Number 32:23b says, "and be sure your sins will find you out".

LEARNING TO DRIVE THE "STICK SHIFT" CAR!

Well today I will try to tell you how I learned to drive the car. My sister was about 15 and knew how to drive the car. She was allowed to go to town to run errands, etc. Well there was a viaduct about 1/2 mile from our home and one day when we got through the viaduct she asked me, if I would like to learn to drive. Well, this was just too good to be true. Of course, I wanted to learn. I was about 10 years old. This was my first attempt to drive. Occasionally, she would let me try again. By the time my dad thought I was old enough to learn, I had a pretty good handle on what to expect with the "clutch". Dad thought I was a "quick study"! Little did he know.

One time Esther was driving on one of these excursions and we came to a railroad crossing ingrade. She climbed up on top of the tracks and the car stopped. We looked down the tracks and there was a train coming right at us. She couldn't get it started, but somehow the car rolled backwards and the train went by. Whoa!! That was a close call.

Another time we had our aunt, grandpa, mother, my sister and myself in the car going to town on a gravel road. Gravel roads are quite unpredictable when it comes to controlling the car when you try to slow down. This time, Esther was driving and the car started skidding (due to loose gravel) and her trying to dodge a pothole. She tried to dodge the pothole and landed in the ditch. My grandfather got out of the car and didn't want to get back in. I guess he thought walking was safer than an inexperienced driver.

One day Dad and my sister went to town. My dad had gone in the store and she stayed in the car til he purchased what was needed. She looked and saw that the engine was on FIRE. Then she ran in to the store and told dad that the car was on fire and everyone in the store came out to help put the fire out.

In those days we did not have to have a drivers license to drive a car.

Other mishaps I will tell on another day.

Wisdom of the day--Rules of the road are there for a purpose to avoid accidents and was created by those who know the pitfalls. God has rules to go by and they are put in the Bible to avoid pitfalls in life.

CAN YOU SLEEP WHEN THE WIND BLOWS!

I got this e-mail today and it is really good. Hope you look it up on Yahoo@.com and type in the words years ago@yahoo.com. It should bring you to a site that tells the story about a farmer and his hired hand. The hired hand promised he could sleep when the wind blows. He was hired. He nearly was fired when the storm started, but check it out and see what happened. This is my prayer for all of you. Have a great Thanksgiving day tomorrow!

TRANSPORTATION!

The cars that my dad had purchased were as follows:


Overland car--First car owned and before I was born.

Model T (year of car was unknown) It had artificial glass as windows (called isonglass).

Buick--Had a mishap with this car and purchased the 1929 Model A

1929 Model A (Purchased this as a used car in 1931)

1938 Chevrolet car (Purchased this new for $750)

1950 New Chevrolet Car (Last car he purchased as he died in 1954)

The car that I remember as a child was the Model A. It wasn't fancy, but it got us where we wanted to go. My dad always paid cash for his cars. The last 2 cars he owned were purchased new. He always said, "If it gets you from point A to point B without giving you any problems in between point A & B, then why buy another". This has been our philosophy even now. We never tried to keep up with the Jones, but bought things when they were close to wearing out.

When the snow was really deep and cars couldn't get through, our neighbors to the north of us had a Surrey with a fringe on top that we rode to school in. This was pulled by a team of horses. We were invited to ride with them on those days. They had nearly 2 miles to walk to school and we had a mile to walk. On rainy days, dad would be sitting out in the Model A waiting for us to get out of school, so we wouldn't have to walk home in the rain. That was a pleasant sight when it was pouring down rain. I will tell you more about our school days on another day.

Words of Wisdom--You're headed in the right direction when you walk with God.

SHEEP SHEERING!

I had mentioned that we raised sheep when I was growing up and about my pet lamb named "tootsie". Today, I will tell you about each spring they had to be sheered.

They had a thick coat of wool that needed to be taken off before the summer heat started beating down on them.

Dad had a clipper that he would clip off their wool about the first part of May. He could almost take all of their coat of wool off in one swoop. He would have them lay down and start clipping until all of it was off. It was just like taking off a wool coat. I'm sure it felt a little breezy right at first for these sheep, when the spring would have a cool spell.

My mother would wash the wool and then in the winter months she would make wool comforters out of this wool. Since our bedrooms weren't very warm, we were really cozy warm under all these wool comforters.

A metal comb or wire brush would help untangle and fluff up the wool. This was our job whenever we lacked something to do. I'm sure we got tired of this job quickly, but I do remember doing a little of it.

Todays wisdom--When Jesus comes into your life, He changes everything. Our rough edges must be chipped away to bring out the image of Christ.

NOTHING IN PARTICULAR!

We plan to go to see my husbands sister today. Yesterday we went to see the movie "Fireproof".
If there were movies like this shown more often, society would not be in such a mess.

Wisdom of the day--When Jesus comes into a life, He changes everything. (this is evident in the movie "Fireproof".

BUTCHERING DAY ON THE FARM!

This was always done when it was cold and meat would be able to process in your leisure. There were no flies to contend with. There were no danger of the meat spoiling either.

A huge black kettle was used when they were butchering. They built a fire and put water in the kettle. The men did all of the work of killing and dressing the animal. The fat was saved and rendered for lard. The cracklings were salted and eaten. This part was done next day. Sausage was made the day of butchering. Casings were scraped and cleaned and sausage were ran through a sausage press and put in the casings. The next day was a day for the housewife to cook all the sausages up and place them in huge crocks. Then melted lard would be poured over the sausage. The huge crocks were put in the cellar. They were preserved in this fashion. As long as the grease covered the sausage, the sausage did not spoil. My mother would can meat. This was done by a hot water bath for a certain length of time. The meat would be hung to season outside and hams and bacon would be smoked in a smoke house. Then dad would bring the hams in and cure them with salt and seasoning and wrap them up. They would be hung in the basement. Bacon would be processed this way, also.

When I was in high school, they took the animal and had the people butcher the animal and cut in various cuts and place in the locker in town (10 miles away). Then each week, one could get the pieces out that you needed for the week. So the process was much simpler in the 40's.

The meat was quality meat and much better than any a person could buy today in the grocery store.

Wisdom for the day- The birth of Christ brought God to man; the cross of Christ brings man to God.

MORE ON CENTRAL AIR AND CENTRAL HEATING!

I thought this was really funny! Somebody had mentioned that we did have Central Air and Central heating at our house in the 30's. It was Central heating in the summer and Central Air in the winter months. That really rang a bell! I thought this was hilarious and described it very well.

We went to the eye doctor today for grandpa's eyes. He has a little macular degeneration in one eye, but it hasn't gotten any worse since last visit. He now takes vitamins expecially for this problem. He always took vitamins, but this is a special kind for this problem.

THRESHING DAY!!

The threshing machine was owned by my dad and two uncles. They did the threshing for themselves and for other farmers. (I really don't know how they decided which home to thresh first, but you knew what home they would harvest next in line).

The woman of the house where they were threshing the oats, would be the one to prepare, serve the meal for all the workers (which happen to be a lot of men). The neighbor ladies always came to help with preparation of the dinner. This meant that their children would also come. As children, we viewed this day as a HUGE picnic! The men were big eaters as they really burned the calories while working. Most of the families in those days had a LOT of children, so there were a lot of children to feed as well. Then they would repeat this until all the farmers had their crops threshed. Each farmer would go and help the other farmer thresh their oats.

Each lady tried to fix the best meal ever and each seemed to succeed in their endeavors. There were a variety of meats cooked (fried chicken & roasts), slaw and other salads, many vegetables, mashed potatoes, gravy, home made biscuits, all kinds of pies & cakes. The table was laden with delicious food. The table had lots of leaves to it and still the men had to eat in shifts. There were as many children and women cooking and preparing the dinner and washing the dishes between shifts as there were men eating. I can't imagine the work that went into the preparation of the dinner. After the men went out to the field the ladies and children got to eat. There were always lots of food, so this wasn't a problem.

Prior to threshing day, the men had to cut their oats with a binder that made oat bundles. Then they had to go out and pick up the bundles by hand and put them into shocks. This consisted of standing the bundles up against each other and putting caps on each shock (made out of bundles by spreading the bundles to protect the grain from the rain). This process also helped the grain to dry. On threshing day they would get the bundles into the barnyard and put them through the threshing machine. This seperated the oats from the straw and chaff.

Harvesting oats today consists of a combine that does this in one step. Quite a lot easier.

During the hot summer months when the men worked in the field. We would prepare a snack/drink and take it out to the field about 10 o'clock. (This was usually my job). They would have dinner (noon) and then supper at night. I know that nobody calls it supper anymore and now it is lunch instead of dinner at noon. Vocabulary changes with time. For instance, when someone called you gay, it meant that you were a happy person.

We visited friends out in Portland, Oregon and ate at the same table that the threshers ate at long ago. The table didn't have the leaves in, but it served at least 12 men at a time when the leaves were all in. So that table had legs and did travel!!!!!

Wisdom for the day--Galations 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

MANY HO-BOES AND GYPSIES IN THOSE DAYS!

There were many men that rode the rails to look for work or just out of a job and tried to exist during my growing up years. They came to our house on many occasions, since they would get off at a rail switching station only half mile from our home. My dad and mother both agreed that no matter who or what they looked like, they would feed them. I'm sure there were never a hungry soul that came to our house that was ever turned away. My mother would stop what she was doing and fix them a hearty meal (even if it was just a good breakfast). I'm sure my mother identified with these people, because of her early experience of nearly starving to death as her parents took her and the rest of the family in a covered wagon to homestead in Nebraska (the year was 1887). She was 9 months old when this happened. They lived on the land in Nebraska for 9-11 years. This was in compliance with the Homestead Act that they had to live and improve the land for a certain amount of years, and then the land was theirs to keep.

The thing that each ho-bo would do as they left the premises, was make a mark on the road gate leading to the house. This told other poor souls where to find food. The spread of the Gospel is like this--One begger telling another begger where they can find food for their soul. They were never disappointed with what was given them. This brings tears to my eyes yet to this day!

One day my brother and I was playing in the sand by the roadgate and my brother told me to look up. I did and there stood a ho-bo that was so pitiful that it scared me so much. I couldn't run fast enough to the house.

I remember gypsies coming by and camping down by the switching station about half mile away. We were always leary of these people as they were prone to steal. I remember witnessing a gypsy approaching my grandfather and frisking him to see if he had money. I will never forget this.

Wisdom of the day--Hebrews 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unaware.

DAILY CHORES!

We all pitched in with our chores, depending upon our age. Some of the regular chores were as follows:

1. Gathering eggs
2. Getting coal & cobs in from the cob house (to burn in the stoves)
3. Getting the cows into the barn from the field so they could be milked
4. Feeding the white-faced Hereferd steers in a long feeding trough
5. Running the seperator (to seperate the cream from the milk)
6. Feeding the pigs (stirring water in the tankage) and then pouring it in the
trough. The trough went under the fence, so we were away from the pigs.
7. Pulling weeds from the garden
8. Picking vegetables, etc and the preparation work
9. Ironing clothes
10.Filling the reservoir on the stove for washing hands, etc.
11. Running errands (so dad didn't have to do this)
12. Turning the butter churn to make butter
13. Setting table for a meal
14. Helping with the dishes
15. Bringing water in from the pump for cooking, dressing chickens, etc.
16. Washing the seperator
17. Picking raspberries along the hedge fence every other day

These chores were assigned to us as we grew old enough to handle them. I do remember that we all wanted to go out to help our dad. We would fuss over who would get to help him. He had a way about him, that when we finished helping him, he would praise us so much that we really felt we were appreciated. He would often say, "I just could not have done this without your help". This always made us so proud and we wanted to help again.

Some of the things that I remember as I grew old enough to drive a tractor and truck, was my help during hay making time. I would drive the tractor pulling the hay rack and followed by the hay loader. Dad and my brother would be loading the hay in the hay rack while I drove. Later I would drive the truck while they loaded hay bales onto the truck. Also, I would drive the tractor when they put the hay into the barn. I would be on the other side of the barn and they would have big forks that went into the hay and when they called to me, I would start the tractor for the incline to the hayloft (this fork was on a pulley). If I went too soon, it could be a tragedy, and if I went too far with the tractor, I could have pulled the pulley out of the barn.

A neighbor and good friend of my dad was doing this one day and he fell out of the haymow and fell on a pitchfork. He died due to this accident. I'm sure my dad appreciated my help during this job on the farm. He always was very vocal in his praise, which made us want to help him all the more.

My mother never learned to drive and so when we were old enough to drive, we were assigned to run errands for dad. This included getting groceries, picking up parts for machinery, etc. Dad always said that girls should learn to drive the car. I am so thankful for my dad and his wise slant on new ideas. It was more the exception than the rule, that girls learned to drive a car.

A few times, I remember harrowing the field with the tractor. Also, we would shock oats in the field to prepare for threshing the oats. This was when the weather was threatening and they needed to get the job done before it rained. (So my sister and I would pitch in and help) This was a HOT job.

I never learned to milk a cow. I just did not know how the get the milk out. Of course, it was because I did not WANT that job. No matter how I tried, the milk would not come. I knew that if I learned to do this, I would be milking the cows. This did not appeal to me, so I faked it.

I am so thankful for good health that I was able to contribute to the families well being. I'm sure the good food that was put on the table was a contributing factor to my good health.

Wisdom for the day--Idle hands is the devils workshop!!

ENTREPRENEUR (OR AT LEAST FIRST PAYING JOB!!

I mentioned that my father didn't have a tractor until later in 1930's. My sister said that he had a tractor in 1929 she was sure. Later they purchased 3 tractors.

When I was old enough I had the job of herding the cows along the roadside of our farm. This was when the drought was on and you used every green blade of grass you could get. My dad paid me a penny and hour to do this task. Before you start feeling sorry for me, let me set you straight. When you were getting 10 cents on a bushel of grain, a penny was worth more in those years. Also, I was making money when I was playing on my bicycle. All I had to do was turn the cows around when they grazed to the end of our land. By the 4th of July I had saved up $2.00 and blew it all on rides, etc. The rides were like 5 to 10 cents. My first shot at being an entrepreneur!

When I was in high school I typed the high school and grade school tests papers for the year for the teachers. I got the grand total of $1 a month. I wanted the experience and thought it an honor that they trusted me with these papers.

My dad would give us 5 cents everytime we were in town to buy candy, etc. My friends would have to stand and beg for their spending money. Needless to say, I thought my dad was about "IT". He told us later that he wanted us to have something to spend and not be tempted to steal. He prepared us for the real world.

The farm was really a great place to live when times were rough. When people were out of work in town, they had nothing and the cubboard was bare. In our club meeting, a lady was telling about at supper time they would rattle the dishes, so people would think they were fixing supper. There was no food to eat and they were ashamed and wanted the other tenants in the house to think at least they were eating. (This lady lives in a beautiful home today and you would have never guessed how destitute they were in those early years in the depression).

Wisdom for the day--Impossibilities compel us to rely on God.

FARM ANIMALS AND PETS!

Horses were used solely on the farm prior to tractors. I can't remember when dad purchased his tractors, but it as probably in the late 30's. He ended up with 3 tractors to farm the land. He had 1 pair of mules, as well as the other horses, but after his bout with the mules, he sold them.

There were hogs, white faced hereferds (cattle), chickens, roosters, sheep, 2 dogs, galore of cats and kittens. We had a few ducks but they were quite messy. Of course, quite a few cows to milk. Calves, piglets and a few colts were born regularly and this made life interesting.

A house rule was that the animals stayed out of the house. This was a great idea, since there were so many animals that as children we would have carried into the house, if this rule wasn't in force. Of course, my mother would allow a orphaned sick small animal to nurse it back to health in a box behind the stove. We would have a menagerie of animals in the house if this rule had not been adhered to.

Our dog's name was called "Rudyscoot". He was a collie mix and was a beautiful dog. We had a wire terrior, also. Now as far as cats and kittens, we had them running around everywhere. On a farm there were lots of mice, etc for the cats to catch. Some of the kittens were wild and some we tamed as pets. I even had 7 pet chickens that would follow me around like I was their mother. I had a pet lamb named "Tootsie". She would eat out of your hand and would run to you when she saw you out and about.

Wisdom of the day--Why have toys when you can have the "real" stuffed animal to play with.

SURVIVOR MODE IN THE 1930'S!!!!

I heard on the television today that one needs to take inventory of their own circumstances. There were 3 catagories that they listed. They were--necessities, needs, and wants. The necessities were food, clothing and shelter. This was the pattern our family followed.

Many things that would be nice to have, really were not necessary. We learned that needs and wants were not the same. During those years, we learned fast the difference.

Last night we viewed on television the PBS special about the Stock Market Crash of 1929. It put us in a sombering mood, what transpired during those years. I was 3 years old and didn't know what was going on. However, if you were older and witnessed this, you probably wouldn't forget it.

My dad and mother lost a farm during these years. They had their farm more than half paid for and after the crash, it wasn't worth what they still owed on it. They couldn't make the payments because crops went down to 10 cents a bushel on corn and drought hit the land. With these prices, one couldn't pay the payments. This happened all over America. They made the decision to let it go back before they foreclosed. However, if they had put that money in the bank instead of purchasing a farm, they would have lost it anyway. It was a lose-lose situation. As a family we survived but knew what wants and needs were all about. We still lived in the home on the farm we rented.

There was a quick comeback and dad purchased a farm adjacent to the farm he lost and paid for it in several years.

Wisdom for the day--Philippians 4:19 "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Note that it says all your "need".

PREPARATION FOR FRIED CHICKEN DINNER!

If one decided that they wanted fried chicken for dinner you had a lot of preparation to do before this occurred.

Since there was no refrigeration until about 1940, your chicken dinner was running around the barn yard. You had to go out and chase your chicken down, kill it. I won't go into all of that, but after that, you need a bucket of hot water to dip the chicken in. Then it came time to pluck all the feathers off. Some of the pin feathers were still left on the bird, so you had to light a newspaper and singe the remaining feathers. After this, came a really good scrubbing of the bird. Carrying water into the house to supply enough to get the bird really clean was no small task. After the outside of the bird was clean, one had to cut into the bird and remove all the insides, being really careful not to cut the Gall. This would make the chicken taste bad. The gizzard was saved after the lining was removed, as well as the liver. The chicken was ready to put in a frying pan when all the pieces were cut up.

I never did have this job to do, but sure saw a many a bird processed. Fried chicken was made only in July & August because the chickens were too big to fry after August. Then we made chicken and noodles, baked chicken, etc. Then of course there were all the other vegetables to pick, wash, look, stem, etc. for a good old fashioned Fried chicken dinner. Oh but it was all worth it when it got on the table!!!!

Wisdom of the day--God never puts you in the wrong place to serve him.

REGARDING VIDIO THAT I SPOKE OF YESTERDAY!

I tried to get on the video site that I mentioned of yesterday. I wasn't able to, so I will tell you that this man had no arms, no legs, only flippers for a foot and hand. He was an inspirational speaker at a school assembly. He said he was a happy person. If life knocks you down 100 times and you can't get up, you try again until you succeed. He fell down and showed how he was able to get up by himself. We can't complain, when we are so blessed with so much. I think there were 86,000 responses on the internet about this video. How powerful a message is he giving with his limited ability.

Wisdom for today--"Bloom where you are planted!"

DOWN IN SPIRIT? MUST SEE!!

Today I received an e-mail that needs to be viewed by everyone. You have to go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=210DRk8dfjl

This video is powerful! You think you have problems? Whoa! I think when you see this, your problems will be brought into perspective. This man is a giant and defeats all odds in my opinion. We should never complain or get discouraged and be optimistic in every situation. God truly does use a person, no matter who or what the odds. PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO VIEW THIS!!

ENCOUNTER WITH A COW AND HER NEW BORN CALF!

When I was not doing my chores, I was usually outside enjoying the fresh air, riding my bicycle, etc. This day was no exception. I was outside playing and my brother was carrying a new born calf in his arms that was born in the field. The cow was following close behind watching over her calf. Seeing me close by, he called to me to open the barn door (so he wouldn't have to lay the calf down). I quickly started running toward the barn door to make this happen.

Well, the cow thought I was a predator and was going to harm her little new born. She started running after me. I tried to run faster and toward the hayrack to get under it. Even though I could run pretty fast (especially when I was scared), I didn't escape the fiery mad cow. She butted me over and she turned around and started to gore me. My brother came to my rescue chasing that cow away. My "hero" that day for sure.

The cow did do a little damage, however. I developed a large bruise the side of a muskmelon on my thigh. In the few seconds it took to butt me over, the cow managed to step on me.

My lesson for the day was--DO NOT MESS WITH MAMA AND HER NEW BORN!!

We are going to bag the leaves up again in the back yard today. We have gotten 53 bags so far off of our lawn this year. The back yard is just covered again and lots more up on the tree.

NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART, "BABY" OUR COW!!

One thing I forgot to mention about the hatching of eggs. When you see that the chicken is pecking it's way out of the shell, one must never help this process along. The chick needs to build up strength by doing this for itself. If you help, you really are causing the chicken to die. I think of welfare and having the state or government step in, is somewhat like this. This kind of thinking weakens the person. One needs to help them help themselves. This promotes growth and makes the person strong. Give them a fish dinner and it helps 1 day, teach them to fish and it helps the person for a lifetime.

One day when I was in grade school I was riding my bicycle on the road by the strawstack that was very close to the road. I heard a horrible groaning and moaning going on. I investigated closer, and noticed our "Baby" (our name for a certain cow) was the one that was in so much agony. I ran to the house and told my mother and our neighbor lady (visiting that day) about it. They both came out to check this out. They both agreed that I must run out to the field (where dad was working) and have him come in immediately. I did as I was told, and I told my dad that Baby was having a calf and he MUST come in. His first reply was, "let the cow have her calf". Cows have a way of dropping their calves by themselves all the time, so he thought I was just witnessing a normal birth. "No, no" I said. "Mom and our neighbor lady said that you
you MUST come now" After hearing that, he knew that this was no normal birth. When he sized up the situation, he had our neighbor's husband to come down to help deliver this calf. The calf was so huge and already dead, and the cow was not able to deliver. They got the cow in the barn and then got the tractor and had a block and tackle to help deliver the dead calf. (Much like forceps would help in the birthing process.) Most cows will get up and walk immediately after birthing a calf and take care of themselves. This cow was so weak and was not able to stand up for a whole month. Then one day, as I was gathering eggs, Baby had managed to get up on all 4 legs and was leaning against the manger. She had come a long way baby, from such a painful experience. One thing you learn on the farm very quickly, is empathy and sympathy at an early age as you witness many things with God's creatures. This happened in the late 1930's, because dad was using tractors to farm the land.

Next time I will tell you about a new born calf being carried in from the field. It involved me and the mother cow.

Todays Wisdom--God always has a lesson for us to learn in each situation, we just have to keep our eyes open for it.

GATHERING EGGS--FATHER IN TROUBLE!

Yesterday I told you about setting of the hens and new baby chicks. Before you put the eggs under the hen you had to candle the eggs to see if they were fertilized. Only fertilized eggs were used. It took 21 days for the eggs to hatch.

We had lots of eggs to gather everyday. What we didn't eat, we sold or traded for what we needed in town. I'm sure in the winter they had to gather them more often. This was one of my chores in the evening. Of course, sometimes hens would not lay their eggs in the usual spots, and you had to go and find where they might lay them. Of course, the barn was a perfect spot, with all the hay and straw around to make a nest.

One day while gathering eggs, my father came to the barn door, and asked me to bring the cart (one we used to feed the cattle). He had just been trampled by a pair of mules. He was taking off their harness and stepped on a piece of paper. Mules are very flighty and they reared up and down, kicking and kicking. My father was in their stall and nearly was trampled to death. He managed to get over the manger and to the barn door as I was approaching. He asked me to pull him to the house. I started pushing him in the cart, and he was so weak he couldn't hold his legs up. He told me to turn the cart around and pull it to the house. He nearly passed out. Our father was "Rock" in our little world, and I don't know what in the world we would have done without him.

I think we called the doctor and he was OK, but was bruised up a lot.

Another time I was gathering eggs in the barn I saw one of our cows (her name was Baby) and she was leaning against the stall after giving birth a month before. Most cows stand up and walk immediately after they give birth, but Baby could not walk. So this was a milestone to see her standing up (even though she was leaning against the side of her stall). Tomorrow I will tell you the story about Baby.

SETTING HENS/BABY CHICKS!

They say that you never get too old to learn. Well, today that is true. My sister told me that our mother would "set hens" to raise baby chicks. What I can remember, was getting these baby chicks in boxes in the spring and placing them in an incubator to keep them warm until they were old enough to fetch on their own. These chicks came in the mail and upon arrival, we would get them immediately. This was a really a "fun" experience to see approximately 200 chicks that was just hatched. I believe that after we got electricity in the home, is when we had an incubator and ordered baby chicks.

She had my curiosity aroused and I looked up on the internet on Google. There it was (setting hens). Here are a few things that you need to watch for, so that you knew when the hen was just right to "set". The internet called them "broody hens" (hens ready to set). One has to have a keen eye and watch for the signs. The hen would start molting on the breast area so that they can keep the eggs at an even temp. This occurs in the spring. They will sit all day on about 11 eggs and turn their eggs to rotate them. They would only get off once a day to eat, drink, & poop. Another thing to watch the hens to see if they are ready to set, is that they go around clucking to themself.

Our mother would "set" a lot of hens. My sister told me a story about a particular hen. Here is what she said--"A hen started brooding too early (February) and she had eggs that she would have to leave to eat, & drink. Our mother knew that the eggs would not be any good for hatching if she left them a half hour in February. Mom told my sister that that hen was hers if she hatched the chickens. My sister knew that they would get too cold and she sat lightly on the eggs so that the eggs would stay warm while the hen ate. The chickens hatched. Her chore was to help feed the chickens each day". This was about when my sister was about 5 years old. I couldn't hardly fathom this, but she did and sat on them very lightly. Amazing!!!

We don't know how many chickens each year she brooded, but we think it was about 20 hens. This would be about 200 chicks if they all had 11 per hen. It was really a sight to see a mother hen and her little chicks following her around until they were able to fetch for themselves.

A lot of work went into raising chickens from hatching, feeding, gathering eggs, cleaning the hen house out, as well as preparing them for the table as fried chicken.

Today's Wisdom--We shape tomorrow's world by what we teach our children today. Hard work is always in vogue.

PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!!!

According to the date, it is one day before election. I pray that each one will get out and vote because this is an important election. Vote your conscience after you pray for guidance according to scripture. The only true test is "how God views us as a nation". Our opinions doesn't count, but God has guidelines that will weather the test of time. Break his guidelines and we suffer, just as the Israelites suffered long ago, when they went away from God. History does repeat itself!

II Chronicles 7:14 says "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."

My footnote says this about 7:14--In chapter 6 Solomon asked God to make provisions for the people when they sinned. God answered with four conditions for forgiveness: (1) humble yourself by admitting your sins, (2) pray to God, asking for forgiveness, (3) seek God continually, and (4) turn from sinful behavior. True repentance is more than talk--it is changed behavior. Whether we sin individually, as a group, or as a nation, following these steps wll lead to forgiveness. God will answer our earnest prayers.

After we do this, let us all get out and vote tomorrow.