Pink Squirrel Farmstead

I tend to buy animals that are unique. Buford has become more and more a porch goat. He loves laying on the porch and relaxing, he has been showing evidence of being on the outdoor furniture but hasn’t been caught on it. He loves being around people and I love how sweet he is. Today they caught him on the outdoor couch.

At the sight of the picture I immediately thought, “excuse me, I’ve been trying to reach you about your cars extended warranty. Do you have a moment to talk?” Isn’t he just the cutest?

We have been talking about colors for the house, mom said she is going to try to make some curtains for the house. I’m am planning on having a board and baton accent wall in the living room and have it the color endless sea, then have the remaining walls the color icicle. In addition, I would like to build window seals and then stain them with a dark brown stain.

For the kitchen I am starting to narrow down the colors but haven’t made final decisions on what color where but I have the palette I want picked out. One of the top 3 colors will be the cabinet and island color. The next two colors will be the ship lap and backsplash colors. Then the 3 accent colors. The door between the mud room and the kitchen will be the color raging bull and it will be a dutch door, what do you think?

One thing I did not like about the house is that the stairs were closed off. I have always pictured my forever home to have a banister that I could decorate for Christmas! Yes, I decide most of my designs based on how I will decorate for holidays, most specifically Christmas! The bathroom we put in still didn’t have a door so since I am going to open up the staircase, my dad took the door off and used it for the bathroom. Much better than the not so private, see through curtain that we have been using. Mom is also going to make curtains for the bathroom, as of right now we are thankful for the wooded area outside for privacy. Not sure how much longer that will last since fall is here and leaves are falling.

I am not one that likes to shop without a purpose, unless it is thrift shopping. On the farm I do not want brand new everything, I like character in our home. I don’t mind putting a little elbow grease into a project to give something new life. Chad does an amazing job with paint making things look old and antique. I don’t have those skills or patience.

We found a thrift store in Lubbock that had used lights galore, and I love a good bargain. We picked out a few lights and a bookshelf and went to load it all in the navigator. While we were loading them up and situating them to keep them from breaking on the way home a lady was donating a beautiful stained glass light that I immediately wanted for the library room on the farm.

I worked on wrapping the lights up to put in storage until our next trip to the farm. I was not exactly sure how to wrap them but I had some plastic moving wrap and a bunch of news paper, so I got creative. Luckily I got them wrapped up before any bad weather came through, just not put into storage.

A violent wind storm came through with 55mph gusts. I was not a fan of it in the RV, it was definitely rocking us around like crazy! We ran out and put the plastic totes into the backseat of the truck. The cover to the hot tub flew off, it even flipped over our shop vac. We survived, maybe with a bit of anxiety but we survived. Lots of trash blew in that we got picked up, Payton found a air freshener still in the package that blew in too. She was super amused. The RV sewer hose racks even blew across to the other side of the RV. Oh the fun cleaning up everything that blew around everywhere.

In better news, Hunter got a call back on a job application at McDonald’s. He went in for and interview and got the job! Yay!! He started on Tuesday for orientation, and training on Wednesday. I have asked him each day how it has went, first day he said he worked the grill and burned his self 3 time, and that his feet were killing him. Today he said, “Well my feet feel like their falling off, but otherwise ok.” I am so glad he got a job and can now save up for college.

Chad asked me to make some Charro beans for him to take to work, I have made this recipe several times with no problem. The beans looked great but for some reason we’re not softening up like normal. I went to google for some advice. I read several sites that said to add baking soda to the beans and they will soften up. I couldn’t find exactly how much to add and I was in the middle of making carne guisada as well, so I grabbed a spoon out of the drawer and sprinkled a heaping spoon full all over the beans I had in the crockpot. This is where it all went wrong.

Let me remind you, that our washer/dryer combo is out of commission. As soon as I finished sprinkling the baking soda I knew I messed up. Luckily, I had the crockpot near the sink because here came a bean juice volcano. I ran and grabbed a bath towel to start cleaning up the bean juice, it had already soaked through a potholder and it kept on bubbling everywhere. There was bean juice running down both sides of the kitchen counter, all over the floor, all over the counter.

I cleaned it all up and chunked the bean juice soaked towel, and pot holder out the door so I could spray them out with the garden hose and hang on the line. What a great time to not have a working washer. Luckily the baking soda worked on the beans but next time, there better not be a next time, I’ll use a lot less.

Back on the farm, they have started getting firewood ready for the winter. Buford’s leg is getting much better and he is finally putting weight on that leg again. He got his second dose of wormer, and has been dusted with the powder several times to help rid of the louse.

Mama cat is doing great with all her babies and they are so cute! I wish I was there to snuggle them! Mama cat will now rub up against you but will slap you with her paw if you attempt to pet her. She doesn’t mind if you pet the kittens though.

I have been racking my brain for a while now trying to figure out how to clean out the front gutters on the house. The gutters were overly clogged and even had a plant growing out of it. I attempted while I was there to climb on the roof but it was too steep, I tried putting a ladder in the bed of the side by side that was on the flat bed trailer but it still wasn’t tall enough (osha probably wouldn’t approve). I thought we’ll, maybe just should replace the gutters but still wouldn’t be able to replace them because we can’t reach the darn things. But my dad figured it out today!! He made some contraption on the end of a leaf blower and got them clean! I was so glad! Great job dad!

My dad and mom went to the small animal auction and bought a pig. They were told it was a KuneKune at the auction but it didn’t look like one to me. My dad named the pig Arnold, he seemed to be quite timid and he was a little guy hopefully he is sweet. We can be hopeful, right?

Dad put him in one of the barn stalls while he built him a pen in the garden area. He wanted the pen to be movable so that it could be moved all over the garden area. He got it all fenced in a made a little house for him.

Kunekune (pronounced cooney cooney) pigs are know for being excellent grazers and they do not rut up the ground like other pigs. They have a very sweet and loving demeanor. Sprinkles was the best pig ever, I am still sad that we had to give her away when we moved from Dalhart since we didn’t have the farm yet to move her to. She has a wonderful new family and I am thankful for that. Kunekune pigs also have waddles or tassels that hang down from under their chin, Arnold did not have them. Maybe he is part kunekune but definitely not full.

Arnold began rutting up the ground right away. Luckily the ground in the garden needed to be tilled. He did quite a large patch in a short amount of time. Arnold was very busy. It didn’t take him long to escape from the pen. I can just imagine in my mind Hunter, Mom, and Dad chasing the pig around. I laugh thinking about them chasing this pig all over the farm. I got this text from my dad “The pig escaped… not sure if he dug out or jumped the fence. It sure was a sight, Hunter has no clue on how to catch a pig, your mother is to slow, and I’m way to old for this shit.”

They finally got him barricaded and put into a stall in the barn while they worked on revamping the pen. Dad said he was not easily coaxed with food, that makes it a bit more difficult. Dad is want exactly sure where he got out so they put barbed wire around the bottom of the enclosure in hopes it would keep him in and they put a pallet under his house to keep it off the ground.

Buford came to help with the fence building since the Arnold was in the barn. Arnold loved Buford but unfortunately the feeling was not mutual. Buford would try to head butt him anytime he came close to him. Dad was ready to butcher Arnold after the escape. He offered Arnold to the neighbors and after they discussed it for a couple days they took him up on his offer. I’m sure dad was glad to know he would not be chasing Arnold around anymore.

The same neighbors came and cleaned out the manure and hay piled up in the barn to use for their garden. We definitely did not need it or want to haul it all up to our garden area. The barn was finally cleaned out. What a relief! It was just asking for a family of rats to move in this winter, so glad it is gone. Look how good it looks now!

We have been living full time in the RV for almost 2 1/2 years. If Chad had told me 11 years ago that in the future we would live in an RV full time, I would have told him he was crazy. But here we are killin’ it, well most days that is. RV living has its ups and downs. For instance, we have become closer as a family, and we have learned what is truly important and what is not. By the way, a full size kitchen is important, RV kitchens do not have enough room for someone like me. I have kitchen gadgets that I use regularly, I like to have a good stock of groceries, and I like to cook big meals and bake. That is one thing I look forward to on the farm is having a big kitchen.

Since we live in the RV full time we do not have the option to just take the RV to the shop for months to get fixed. After the first winter in the RV the central heat and air went out. I tried hiring someone to come fix it but no one wanted to work on an RV. I have not fixed that issue other than using window units and space heaters.

I have learned how to fix plumbing issues, not my favorite but I am super thankful for Sharkbite pex plumbing supplies, they cost a little more but they work great. I have changed out the septic drain lever twice (it is a really bad design) which is not for the faint of hearts. I have also switched out the water pump and changed out the bathtub drain, and plumbing because the old one was leaking. I am very thankful for YouTube, I have watched so many how to videos on different RV models that have helped me enough to get through it.

The bathrooms in the RV are usable but not cute in any way. Of course I saw on Pinterest how to put in faux ship lap which I was able to talk Chad into doing. And while I was in Kentucky this last time he repainted our bathroom, and gave our bathroom cabinets and mirror a facelift. We have always hated the bathroom cabinets but have not had the time or ambition to get it done.

There is also constant maintenance with an RV. Every 2 weeks or so I clean out the septic tanks with a wand attachment on our hose. And with a family in here we are constantly cleaning up because of a couple things are out then it makes the whole house look like a mess. Luckily it doesn’t take long to clean.

When we moved into the RV one of my requirements was to have a washer and dryer. We went with a washer/dryer combo to save space. I do not recommend it. To wash and dry 1 load of laundry it takes 4 hours if not longer depending on what you are drying and the laundry loads had to be super small. Eventually I just started hanging clothes out to dry on a clothes like because we just had too much laundry.

RVs are not designed to live in full time even though so many people do live in them full time. The washer/dryer combo also was not made to be used like a household washer and dryer. If finally kicked the bucket on Chad while I was gone this last time in Kentucky. There is not room for him to pull it out and look at it, so when I got home I crawled behind it through the closet and went to work on it.

When I opened up the back the drive belt was not on it, so I though oh that should be an easy fix. I tried and tried to get the dang belt on and finally resorted to YouTube which showed me how easy it actually was to get it back on. I finally got it on and then had Payton turn on the dryer to see if it would work. Within 10 seconds it threw the belt again. I then thought we’ll maybe we just need a new belt. But after researching more, it is the bearings that went out and we ended up just taking the whole machine out. I will just have to go to the laundry mat and do laundry for a while.

There is definitely never a dull moment around here. Back in Kentucky, Hunter and my dad finished cleaning out all the foam in the basement. And found that there is a section on the floor where there is concrete is higher than everywhere else. Maybe they did it to level the “Amish fridge” since the rest of the basement is made so any water will go into the drains built into the floor. And my dad got the light above the bathroom sink installed. Let there be light!

Everything went well with the laundry room except one of the washers is showing a code now so we will have to get that repaired eventually. I am sure my mom is glad not to have to go to the laundromat anymore.

We cleared out the hill behind the house to keep varmints from getting close to the house as winter approaches. I used the walk behind weed eater to do most of it but part of the hill was as just too steep so my dad and Hunter finished up with weed eaters. I also hit a bee hive and made some bees very unhappy with me.

The kids and I finished working on the loft above the workshop in the barn. We chunked most of it out the exterior door to the hayloft in 2 batches, after each we organized them into piles so the other stuff wouldn’t get broken in the pile. There was a ton of trash, windows, and lots of wood. Found extra replacement pieces for the vinyl siding on the house and some other random stuff. No fun finds other than wood. We checked on the Mama cat while we were up there and she is doing great along with the 5 adorable babies. She is getting a little more friendly each day.

On Tuesday the part to the Side by Side was scheduled to come in. You would think that my dad was getting in a check for a million dollars. He even started stalking the UPS man to see exactly where he was at. Then when the UPS man came by he went up the driveway to the neighbors house first. I busted out laughing, it was too funny. Unfortunately, by the time he got there with the part it was starting to get dark so he would have to wait until morning to fix it. Before I got out of bed (at day light) my dad was already down working on it. By mid morning he had it up and going. My parents took it for a romantic drive to the Amish store right down the road and my dad came back and said “it doesn’t go fast enough.” Back story, when I was a teenager I had a racing 4-wheeler and I told my dad it did not go fast enough and he grounded me from it. Rude, I know! Maybe I should have grounded him from the side by side.

Now that it was fixed I finally got to see the back of the property. Yes, I was too lazy to walk to the back of the property. But it was nice to finally explore not of foot!

There was a large pond like body of water that we weren’t quite sure was so we went back to explore a bit. The beavers have damned up a creek and with all the rain we had it was quite the body of water. It was very disgusting but cool, all at the same time. Found several logs that the beavers have been gnawing on. The neighbors to the right have told us before that sometimes they have to destroy the beaver damn but didn’t realize it was that big. Now we know what he was talking about.

It was our last day in Kentucky and we soaked it up as much as possible. I missed my hubby and I was ready to be home but I wanted to take my goat home too. Maybe I could pass Buford off as a new dog breed. He likes sitting on the porch like a dog. Chad said no we couldn’t keep a goat in the RV.

I would say I would just stay another week in Kentucky to punish him for telling me no but he has already proved since I have been away from him for 3 weeks that I must die before him, he is spoiled and would not survive without me. He has burnt pizzas, broke a mirror, spilled stain in my bathroom sink and managed to break the washer/dryer. Maybe the last one wasn’t entirely his fault but he was the one using it when it broke. He was redoing our bathroom to surprise me but I don’t do surprises and FaceTimed him too much for him to keep it a secret! He also cleaned out the hot tub and got it ready for me so I could soak in it when I got home. He is truly the best and I couldn’t wait to be home in his arms.

The next morning I took Hunter to his job interview at Wendy’s. Unfortunately they did him wrong and I was astonished that a company would treat a potential employee that way. His interview was supposed to be at 9am. He went in 10 minutes prior to his appointment time. They had him sit at a booth then a while later came and told him that his interviewer would not be there until around 9:30. He sat patiently and waited. At 10 am he had still not been interviewed and no one had even talked to him about it. He finally went back up to the counter and asked about his interview and they took his name and number down, said they would have the interviewer call him but has yet to do so. It’s sad that so many companies are short staffed but he keeps trying to get a job. He is Autistic but he is high functioning and a hard worker. I told him that it is their loss and to keep looking because apparently they do not value your time. So he will continue to work on the farm and help his grandparents out. After supposed to be interview, I dropped Hunter off at the farm, hooked up the trailer and headed back to Texas. I made it to New Boston, Texas that night and stopped at a hotel. We continued our journey home the next morning and made it home safe and sound.

As you know we have been using an outhouse, and a shower tent with an on demand shower we found on Amazon in the basement since we bought the property. Since the home we purchased was an Amish home and had no indoor plumbing it has been quite the chore to put in indoor plumbing. WE HAVE INDOOR PLUMBING YALL!!! I cannot express the excitement I had to soak in the bathtub and not have to go outside to potty in the middle of the night!

I will admit there has been a few hiccups along the way. My dad has a new hate for the brass plumbing fixtures we bought for the tub/shower. But they sure are purrrdy! I love them!

It was actually a lot easier getting the bathtub in vs. the wood heater. All the parts needed to hook up the faucet to the tub did not come, little did we know. Since the bathtub is from 1929 and faucet holes in the tub are not that close together now. We had to buy adapters that then changed the size of nut that holds them on. After several head scratches, lots of pondering and a trip to Ace Hardware we had a solution. Dad complained the entire time hooking it up and I can’t really blame him.

We have the toilet hooked up and I’m working order, along with the toilet closet sink hooked up. Oh did I mention how nice it was not having to go outside to potty in the middle of the night. The toilet closet light has not been installed yet and a couple other electrical plugs on that wall but it will be done in time.

In addition, when we went to mount the shower head to the wall it was too far away and it needed to be mounted straight up from the faucet. We decided to use that beautiful beam to mount it to but then after installing it, it still was 6 inches shy of where the shower head needed to be. We found a second beam and cut what was needed and mounted it to the big beam. I am actually super glad we had to do it because I love the look of it with the brass fixtures.

The electrical plugs on the new wall have been installed and are in working order. Once we hang sheet rock we can hook up the other sink. We hung the shower curtain rod that is a square that goes around the entire bathtub. It was not an easy project and I slipped while standing on the side of the tub and landed on my knee into the cast iron tub. 10 out of 10 do not recommend, after we finished getting mounted I took a one way ticket to the couch with an ice pack for the rest of the day.

I snuck into the bathroom against Chads strict orders to rest my knee and hung the shower curtain up. Unfortunately we did not account for the 360 inches of shower curtain needed for it…. So only half the shower has a curtain. I did end up going to the dollar general to get some temporary shower curtains until the others come in from Amazon.

We also now have laundry room plumbing in and since the floors I did are now dry we can do laundry tomorrow unless there is more hiccups…. usually is hiccups so I won’t be surprised. We still have a wall to put up to separate the laundry room from the mud room but it will be so nice not having to go to the laundry mat to do laundry.

Also we have hot water running to the sink so we don’t have to heat water to dishes now. We are moving right along and I am so excited, I only have a few more days on the farm before I head back to Texas. I cannot wait to see my husband! We have never been apart this long our entire marriage!

Today the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. We had some delicious cinnamon rolls for the Amish store up the road. Dad reminded me first thing this morning that I forgot to tell about him torturing me with the fake mouse cat toy yesterday. I was minding my own business, being the angelic person that I am and he tossed the dang thing at my feet and I screamed like a little girl. Luckily, no one was recording it, he got me pretty good though.

The kids put the chickens out in the chicken tractor this morning, we checked on the mama cat, and checked on the bunny rabbits. All are doing great! Mama cat moved the babies back up to the hay loft and I brought her up some food. While up there I explored the hay loft and found that there was all kind of wood, tin, and other items stored up there. I checked the roof for any signs of leaking from the previous day of rain, but it looked pretty good.

We moved the base up to the bathtub up to be put in place, then we moved the bath tub up. Surprisingly, the tub was much easier than the wood stove. I painted more on the bathroom walls so that when we install the toilet and sink, I won’t have to paint around them. Dad worked on some of the bathtub plumbing stuff and I helped when I could.

It was now time to start building the bathroom wall that separates the living room and the bathroom. While we started working on the wall, Cheyenne worked on cobweb removal and when Payton was done with her schoolwork she went to help clean out one of the stalls and a walkway behind the stalls.

Tomorrow we will move sheet rock down from upstairs to put on the wall. It is so exciting that we have made some progress today. Hunter worked on cutting down some pokey annoying tall weeds today and started burning them so their seed pods won’t create more for next year.

Yesterday morning I took Hunter to meet his new doctor to establish care. The doctor was very nice and did great with Hunter. So I guess she is a keeper. Afterwards, we stopped by a local Amish store called The Dinner Bell and got some cookies for breakfast (they had oatmeal in them, so they are healthy right?).

We stopped and got some groceries and headed back to the farm. I finished up grinding the old paint off the tub and then washed it down with hydrochloric acid. After washing it down it has to be dried completely with a blow dryer or heat gun. I must admit I felt a little strange out there blow drying the bathtub. I dried it the best I could and then let the sunshine dry it some more.

We decided it was time to move the wood heater into the house. The wood heater weighs about 500 lbs and is not easy to move. We have a large wagon named George that has removable sides on it. We took the sides off and lifted it onto the wagon to push up the hill towards the house. Unfortunately, that was the easy part. When we got it to the house it was time to be a bit more creative since the wood stove barely fit in the door. We used a dolly to lift up on one side and picked up the other side with muscle power.

We fought and fought with it all the way across the mud room and then up a step into the kitchen area. Finally we got it set on the mat exactly centered in front of the chimney where the metal pipe is encased. Were now are one step closer to having it ready to heat the house. I just love wood heat!

We hopped in the car and headed to get some stove pipe. We found some stove pipe at a place called Peddlers Market for $10 but just needed the elbow so we headed next door to tractor supply but they only had it in black and the other pipe was silver and I being the brat I am, wanted them to match. We headed over to Lowe’s, there we found out that we could not use the silver (galvanized) pipe. Apparently it will put off toxic fumes into your home, so we went and got all the pipes in black that we needed and got it all hooked up.

Mom, Hunter, and I were unpacking some of the boxes we had brought up and I found cat toy mouse that squeaks like a mouse. I acted like I found a real mouse and tossed it my mom, she squealed and threw it across the room. Hunter and I died laughing, she called me some not so nice things but it was totally worth it! I just wish I had video taped it so I could enjoy that moment over and over again.

We did have a little surprise in the barn in the afternoon. Hunter went to get a tool out of the barn and came back and said “uh mom, there is a newborn kitten on the floor by itself in the barn”. Of course I went to investigate. We looked all around to see if the mama cat (a stray that decided to make a home in the barn) was somewhere close or what was going on. We looked all around but could not find her, finally I noticed a home in the floor of the hay loft directly above the kitten. Hunter climbed up the built in ladder to see if the mama car was up there, as soon as Hunter peeked his head up he heard her hiss at him. She was up there with her other babies and we put this sweet little one back with her. I climbed up to check on mama cat and try to see how many kittens were there. I could see she was panting a lot so I had Hunter to hand me up a couple of bowls for food and water. She did not want me close to her babies, so I kept tossing her some treats and gave her some food and water. She is a good mama and would not leave the babies to even get a drink of water, but she was eating the treats that I tossed to her. We placed some boards over the hole so the babies wouldn’t fall down anymore. My mom had found some store bought kitten milk before she knew we had found the mama cat. Shortly after, here came Payton and wanted to know what was going on. She didn’t know there was kittens yet like we thought, she was actually on the way to play with the rabbits. She crawled up in the hay loft to try to see the kittens to. I’m sure the mama cat was not excited about us being up there but we just love animals!

I went to work on the bathtub some more. It was now time to mix the paint and epoxy. I had to stir it for 10 minutes, let it set for 5 minutes, the stir again for 3 minutes, then start pouring on the tub. This was the scary part, and hard part. I had not idea what I was doing but it had to be done. I am by no means a professional and I’m sure if a professional looked at it they would point out all the flaws. Even though it is not perfect by any means, I did my best and that in itself is pure satisfaction. It has to dry over night and we plan to move it into the house in the morning.

After dinner my dad decided it would be fun to ride the wagon down the hill. I think he was trying to break a hip or something so he didn’t have to help move the tub tomorrow. I video taped it from above and Payton video taped it from below, for your enjoyment. You are never too old to have some fun.

Well this morning I was awaken by thunder and rain. My first thought was please let the tub be dry and not ruined by the rain, but every inch of my body was aching so I didn’t move. I finally got up and went down to eat breakfast, my mom had made biscuits and gravy. I was actually glad it was raining, man my body is achy from all the manual labor I did yesterday. I am definitely not used to that. Payton had went before breakfast to play with the rabbits and the had to get busy on school work.

We went back to town to get a tool my dad needed to put in another outlet in the kitchen, I got a light fixture for one of the stairways at Lowe’s and get some groceries from Walmart. We stopped at Goodwill and found some lamps and light fixtures for the house. I didn’t get pictures of them all but I will when they are installed.

Checked on the kittens and the mama cat moved them down out of the hay loft and into the big bay in the barn where we moved a bunch of manure and old yucky hay to, but at least they won’t fall down again. We worked upstairs moving stuff into the attic and organizing some boxes, I cooked Jambalaya and cornbread for dinner, and painted the area that we will be putting the tub in tomorrow. I did not want to paint around the tub after it is installed.

We built a fire in the wood stove to see if the smoke was exiting properly, which it was. I saw the sky outside and had to go take some pictures. I went and checked on the chickens while I was up on the hill and now it is time for bed.

I brought the last load of items out of our storage unit to the farm until we move here permanently, years down the road. The drive is 18.5 hours not including any stops, traffic, road closures, detours, gas and potty breaks. I wanted to drive straight through but that didn’t happen. We did get into Kentucky before we stopped for the night though. Cheyenne our oldest daughter was very excited about going through Tennessee, and going to Kentucky. She had never been to either state, she did great on the trip here.

I stopped around 1:20 am with 3.5 hours left to go. The kids and dog were snoring in the car and I was ready for some sleep. I woke Payton up to help me find a dog friendly hotel and luckily their was one about 3 miles up the road. We all went straight to sleep. Zep woke me up at 4:45 a.m. to go potty. I was not super happy about it but when ya gotta go, ya gotta go. And then went right back to sleep.

Meanwhile in Kentucky my parents we to a small animal auction and purchased 2 rabbits. A white rabbit that hunter named Carbanogg (a killer rabbit of of some movie or show he watched), and a black rabbit that I am not sure of the name yet. I’m not sure if he could have picked a longer name….

We got back on the road early this morning and headed onto the farm. When we finally got here around lunchtime (and totally forgot about eating lunch) dad walked around with me to show me whats been going on since we went back to Texas. The field looks so nice mowed down, and the chickens sure have grown!

We started working on unstrapping the trailer and getting it unloaded and I noticed around the water meter it was covered in water. Uh oh, another water leak. Dad went to investigate what was causing the leak. He quickly found it as the rest of us unloaded the trailer. It did not take too long to get it unloaded with 3 teenagers, me, and my mom.

When we were done with the trailer and unloading the navigator, I went to help my dad. Not sure if I was helpful or just in the way. Then when he was finished fixing it I pulled the dirt (mud) back into the hole.

What a fun adventurous day, time head to bed. I have to get up early and take Hunter to meet his new doctor here. Too bad he can’t keep using the same doctor we have in Texas. We just love her and her staff. Hopefully Hunter will love his new doctor here as well.

Most people go years living in a home without speaking to your neighbors. Since buying the farm we have had several neighbors step up and have been the best. We had one neighbor in Utah, and she was the best ever and we miss her dearly. Maybe I can talk her into moving near us in Kentucky. I bet her and my mom would be best of friends. I need to make her some zucchini bread she loves it. One-time years ago we flew into Las Vegas to pickup my step son Landon. She picked us up and we stayed at her house for the night, she dropped us back off at the airport the next day and flew back. I brought her a suitcase full of mini zucchini bread loaves.

Anyways, yesterday my dad was using the walk behind weed eater to re-cut paths to the back of the property where we have a deer cam set up and the neighbor saw him. He thought that my dad was trying to push mow the pasture and brought his tractor over and started mowing the pasture. Dad offered to pay him for his fuel but he said to my dad “no, that’s what neighbors do.” I am so thankful that the neighbors we have there are so helpful. You never know what you are going to get when it comes to neighbors and we hit the jackpot. Since being there, we have had several times that neighbors have come to help or just made us feel welcome in Hillsboro.

In other news, Hunter put in his first job application today. That is a big step for him. He is pretty socially awkward but he is a hard worker. It has been quite the change for me with him not being here at home with me in Texas but I am proud of the young man he is becoming. He is trying to get a job to start saving up for college. One of the reasons he moved to Kentucky to the farm is so that he could become a Kentucky resident and not have to pay out of state tuition. He started college classes while he was in high school and has really done well. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers as he tries to navigate into the world of working.