The sun is warming the eastern sky. Like me it is not quite ready for the day. To the west a full moon still hangs in the sky like a petulant child who is refusing to come indoors. The quietness out here is a different kind of quiet. A rooster crows against a background of chirping crickets. Cattle are mooing everywhere around us, punctuated by the occasional whinny of a horse. Somewhere a dog signals its presence with an occasional bark and Emma momentarily lifts her ears, checking to make sure her porch is safe. It's rather cool this morning which is refreshing after the 100F temperatures we've had in Houston. Our first cool front signalling the end of summer and the promise of many, many more mornings like this.
We are starting again on the process of finding ourselves a builder. We think we now know the difference between a builder, a general contractor and a jobber. Jobbers don't show up or respond after the first meeting. Builders have computers and e-mail addresses and are generally familiar with the requirements, materials and newest technology. General contractors need a lot of guidance, although we did meet with one yesterday who is pretty savvy but spent most of the time talking about how savvy he really was. Although I may deny this comment in the future, we now believe we have four, possibly five good possibilities and look forward to getting their estimates by the time we return from our trip to Sturgeon Bay.
The property is now pretty much cleaned up. We've filled four 30 cubic yard roll-offs as well as a smaller one full of metal. I've dragged the old farm implements from their burial sites and deposited them in the open until we decide what to do with them. Lee has started trimming our gorgeous oak trees and they are already looking like someone cares. You know how it is when you take your shaggy-haired kid on that overdue trip to the hairdresser and they come out looking all trim and clean. That's kinda like how it is. Lee's wife calls him Mr Myagi, after the teacher in Karate Kid who fastiduously trims his minature Bonsai trees with a pair of nail clippers. Lee's like that.
And finally I would like to take this opportunity to advise all of you would-be tractor drivers out there of a little know fact about tractor operations that does not appear in the John Deere handbook. When moving forward with speed, do not put the front loader on the ground. This has the unintended consequence of bringing the tractor to a dead stop. And I mean a dead stop. Don't ask, it was a senior moment which I am still wondering about myself!
