On the past two visits to the Mountain Farmlet I discovered another good reason to let a pasture lay fallow.
Bobwhites!
I never got to see them but oh how thrilling it was for me to hear them! If I could have seen them they would look like this…
http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/79755299
I observed that some of them call out “Bob-White”, while others preferred to call “Bob-Bob-White”. I never knew there were two forms of their calling. Did you?
In my research I found out that the Bobwhite’s habitat is systematically disappearing. Less habitat can mean only one thing… fewer Bobwhites. Over time as we work our new property I must make sure to have at least one pasture out of use from spring through fall.
Now that I have found them, I want them to stay!
And so I leave you with a lovely audio-visual of the Male Bobwhite calling. ENJOY!
If you are even in the least bit squeamish about being sick, then please just skip today’s drivel and whatever you do – do not watch the clip at the end of the post!
Yesterday, having been sick with a 24 hour stomach bug that at age 62 leaves you low for four days instead of one, I felt good enough to crawl out of bed, take a shower, and think about living again. I had slept for nearly a solid 48 hours. Up for necessities, meds, water, and then back to sleep. I was weak, achy, and moving slowly, but I did a bit of pushing the Swiffer to catch the *buffaloes that wafted by as I passed. I sat down and ate a very light breakfast.
BTW, I haven’t mentioned that I got this nasty bacteria from Bob. He got sick at work and they thought it was his hydration/low blood pressure problem again. So they bundled him into an ambulance and back off to the hospital. (Yes, another ambulance ride that will not be covered under our insurance.) Once there, they again checked him for everything and found not much at all. Suddenly, Bob announced that he had to “…get up NOW!” Whereupon, he got very sick. In the aftermath of his episode the nurse and the Dr. looked pretty amazed by the mess.
It was at this point that I recalled the scene in Stand by Me about the pie eating contest, and I’ll tell you it was just like that! The bug that’s going around stops your digestive system in it’s tracks. So, everything from the morning (including all the bottles of water he’d been drinking to stay hydrated all day) were stuck there and wanted out NOW. It was nearly 4:00 pm.
And he wondered why his stomach hurt so bad? Poor baby!
Anyway, back to yesterday. I then I got up and started a load of contaminated bedding, and cleaned the kitchen with a healthy dose of bleach in the water. Being meticulous about giving every surface we may have touched the once over with hot, soapy, bleach water was gratifying. From there I conquered all the switch plates and door handles throughout the house. Time for another rest. Then it was on to the bathroom, and more contaminated laundry with good hour rests between each task. I felt I was vanquishing those little bastard bacteria who had invaded our bodies and made us so horribly ill!
By the end of the day our house smelled hospital clean, and I was tired, but it was a good tired. The activity of detoxing the house had bounced me back from my morning-after-illness-malaise and I just felt good!
DIE you mangy bugs, die!
~*~
I suppose it goes without saying, that hand washing is especially important when this bug, or any bug, comes to town!
Over the course of a year’s time we have had to replace every working part in our washing machine. Sound expensive? It was. And yet, if we paid to have it fixed, well, with all the money we would have spent we could have afforded to buy a new washer and a dryer with all the bells and whistles! (Yes, I repaired that too) . So, I fixed whatever broke and got on with it. Of course, when it came time to replace the drive shaft I gladly let Bob take over, because it was hard work and required strength that I just don’t have…
As we set to work,
we began to wonder if the nut that holds the wash drum in place on the drive shaft would break loose…
Would we have to call the repairman after all?
I’m happy to say it did, and we proceeded to gut the works.
HINT: This is a very good opportunity to remove all the water deposits
and detergent residue that have built up on the drums!!! 😉
No job is complete until it has been inspected by the resident Kitty Inspector Number One!
He is always on the job when there is serious work to be done…
This was a very big job!
And so it was that last week, that the annoying loud hum which had become so familiar to my ear suddenly stopped. (I was washing new apron fabric) The spin cycle started and I could hear the water swooshing in the drum and not going out…
Uh-OH!
The water pump had failed. It finally just gave up and quit.
So, it was off to Parts Select again to buy the part I needed.
I ordered it that morning.
It was delivered next morning!
I fixed it in about an hour.
It was a very easy job.
Unplug the wiring, take out two bolts, and release two hose clamps.
Well, OK, those two blankety-blank hose clamps will be replaced with the screw tightening variety…
If I ever have to do this again.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~
If you are new here, then you may be wondering why I am so partial to Parts Select.
Well it isn’t royalties or paid endorsement, I can tell you that!
It is because of fair pricing, ease of finding the parts I need,
and the how to do it videos!
Like this one! 😀
Thank you once again, Steve!
~*~*~*~
So, are you a do-it-yourself kind’a person, or do you prefer to let the professionals do it for you?
Life on the Farmlet 