Hair Cut

Meanwhile, as the monsoon continues . . .

I last visited the barber a couple weeks before quarantine.  So, it's been seven or eight weeks since my last haircut.  I thought about just being shaggy until quarantine is lifted, since I don't see people regularly anyway.  But, it sounds like our Governor wants us to stay in another month.  So, late the other night before I jumped into the shower, I decided to cut my own hair.  I used to cut my sons' hair and I have the equipment.  But cutting your own hair often can be disastrous.  Especially trying to cut the back while looking into the big mirror with a handheld mirror in one hand and the clippers in the other.  Everything is backwards!  I went slow and just took a little off at a time, and eventually was satisfied that it was shorter with no major divots.  The next morning I did a little more trimming, and the old farmers' wife didn't even notice that I had cut it.  I call that success!

There will be no before or after photos.

All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
Numbers 6:5

   

Grounded

While sitting here watching it rain and stuck at home, it's time to update.

In the last six weeks, since the quarantine began, I have been to a store twice!  I went out yesterday for my second trip to Farm and Fleet.  Also, the last two Sunday mornings I took my laptop to the oldest farmer and my mother's so they could watch services and feel a little more connected and less isolated.

I got started planting on Monday morning, and by Thursday afternoon when the rain interrupted us, most of the corn was in the ground along with the first 40 acres of soybeans.  The old farmer's wife received a quick lesson in tillage operation, so she and Son#1 were able to keep me in the planter most of the time.  Our start was a month and a half ahead of last year, so I am pleased so far.  I disked all the corn stalks earlier and the ground dried out, so I was waiting for a rain before hitting soybeans hard.  Now we have plenty of rain, and it will be a while before things dry out again.  It would be a great time to go visit grandkids (and their parents), but not sure if we should travel because of the stay-at-home orders.

I recently finished the book A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, by Ishmael Beah.  During the civil war in Sierra Leone, Ishmael became separated from his family, and was a child refugee just trying to survive.  At the age of 13, along with his friends, he was carrying an AK-47 and fighting in the war against the rebels.  These kids were fed drugs and were taught how to pillage, torture, and kill.  This became his life and family.

At the age of 15, some UNICEF workers showed up in the village where he was stationed.  They were allowed to pull him from the squad and send him to a compound in Freetown, the capitol of Sierra Leone, to be rehabilitated.  After almost a year of rehabilitation, he was repatriated and reinstated into normal society and allowed to live with an uncle and his family.  About the time the war reached his uncle's town, he was asked to go to New York and speak at a conference at the United Nations about children affected by war.  After the conference, because of the connections he made in New York, he was able to move to the U.S. to finish school and attend college.

It is a very eye opening story about what war does to children, especially in third world countries.

One evening in late March while I was pruning fruit trees, an owl flew in to watch me from on top of a utility pole.

We donated an old wood burning cook stove that belonged to the Schlipf family to the Braker's Market in Eureka.  We were ready to get it out of our garage and that seemed like a good home for it.  They cleaned it up real nice and are using it to display merchandise.

Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants: they traded in thy market wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm.
Ezekiel 27:17

Blog Recommendation

I would highly recommend following Christy Stoller's blog if you don't already.  She is a doctor, a surgery resident in a New York suburban hospital full of Covid-19 patients.  She is definitely on the front lines, and like all health care workers, needs our prayers!   

There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines.
Jeremiah 39:13

Books Revisited

Meanwhile back at the ranch . . . .

While home sheltering, the old farmer's wife decided to complete her BookBuddy App project.  She has canvassed the entire house and with her library/organizational skills, has entered all the books into the App.  They are all classified, location notated, and numbered.  Just like a real library!  The Grand Total?

We have 1975 books in the house!  This includes 23 Bibles, 129 hymn books, two encyclopedia sets,  the 53 book set of The Harvard Classics, two Bible Commentary sets, several other small sets, and 167 children's books.  She did not include the huge Rubbermaid full of Archie comics or the box of classic comics😊.  There are still some books out on loan that have not been entered yet also.
We have books in every room in the house (except the bathrooms), and we have run out of space for more bookshelves.  We need a Library room!

I just finished reading Journal of Nicholas Cresswell, 1774-1777.  Nicholas was 24 years old when he took a journey from his native England to America to explore the possibilities of living here and seeking his fortune. He arrived prior to the Revolutionary War and watched it develop.  He was totally a British supporter, but was careful not to reveal his allegiance for fear of ending up tarred and feathered, or in jail.  In 1777 he was able to get to the British army and they let him leave the country and sail back to England.  It was very interesting to hear the story of the revolution from his point of view.  Not from the same perspective that we were taught in school.  He had very little good to say about the reasons for the war.  It was also interesting to hear him describe his travels around and descriptions of the young America.

The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.
II Timothy 4:13