June 3 (Thursday) 4:25 am
Rain has shut us down work-wise for today, but we have managed to get some work done this week and
hope to return to work tomorrow. Working with the tractor in the R. O. W. is rough work, and I fear for the
safety and welfare of my tractor.
Poor Patrice. She positively loathes being left alone. When I do return home she runs around, yapping and
contorting herself in seemingly uncontrollable spasms of delight and joy, whimpering and crying, yelling
and snorting. The poor girl requires my total attention for about 15 minutes before she calms herself down
enough to land. During these episodes she crawls up my shirt, licking my face and biting my nose as
though to assure herself that I am real. And in the morning as I am preparing to leave she manages to hide
herself as if against the inevitable, as though she knows what is to come; and believe me, she hides well.
Finding someone as small as Patrice is not an easy task.
June 5 (Saturday) 3:45 am
My good friends from Wisconsin, Roger and Sharon Carlson, came for a visit on Thursday. They are big
Elvis Presley fans and make annual excursions to our area for the various Elvis festivals and celebrations.
Their pal, Reuben, supplied Horace Lucky with the "Lucky" part of his name.
TVA work is going well, but we could still use a bit more of it. Recently we have been working in Alabama,
and the drive is about an hour and a half. The scenery is beautiful, and early morning is a great time of day
to be out and about.
The Willow Oak crew continues to do well. There is not much else to say on this early Saturday morning.
June 7 (Monday) 8:45 pm
Had a good, long day working the tractor with TVA. We are currently working in Alabama -- about an hour
and a half drive from my house. I quit my job in Memphis as a software engineer nearly a year ago because
of the hour and a half drive time. Go figure. Working outdoors, operating my own equipment as a
sub-contractor feels better, though. Today I was located in the middle of a huge several-thousand acre
cotton field. It was positively gorgeous and invigorating! The sun shone bright and hot, and I did nearly get
a little over-heated a couple of times, but I would not have traded the work for anything. Being on my own
now is a bit scary, but I don't have to endure the incompetence of others -- only my own.
Patrice has a really tough time being left alone during the day. Poor girl requires quite a long time to settle
down after I arrive home. She cries and moans for nearly an hour before she finally calms down. All the
rest of the Willow Oak crew handles my departure and subsequent return much better. The dogs do make a
racket when I leave, and they certainly do get wound up when I return, but they only require about five
minutes to settle down once I am in the door. But those five minutes do reveal some ruckus!
June 8 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
I don't know what it was, but I got into something today while on the tractor, working the TVA job, and tore
the fins off the radiator fan. No biggie; I have ordered a new fan and should have the thing fixed by Friday.
In the meantime no more work this week. I hate that, of course, but it cannot be avoided. I must say that I
sincerely love working outdoors, and doing the hard work. Even though spent the past 25+ years making a
living in air-conditioned comfort at a "professional" job, this outdoor manual labor suits me just fine. I
guess being the owner of the equipment helps.
I left Patrice our of her cage today when I went to work, and stashed her in the utility room, which has an
open door to the rest of the house. There is a door guard that kept her in the utility room, and she was safe
and sound when I returned home, and she seemed to have suffered less stress with that arrangement.
Still, she cut a rug when I returned, as all the dogs do, but she didn't require as long to recover her good
disposition.
June 8 (Tuesday) 8:00 pm
I don't know what it was, but I got into something today while on the tractor, working the TVA job, and tore
the fins off the radiator fan. No biggie; I have ordered a new fan and should have the thing fixed by Friday.
In the meantime no more work this week. I hate that, of course, but it cannot be avoided. I must say that I
sincerely love working outdoors, and doing the hard work. Even though spent the past 25+ years making a
living in air-conditioned comfort at a "professional" job, this outdoor manual labor suits me just fine. I
guess being the owner of the equipment helps.
I left Patrice our of her cage today when I went to work, and stashed her in the utility room, which has an
open door to the rest of the house. There is a door guard that kept her in the utility room, and she was safe
and sound when I returned home, and she seemed to have suffered less stress with that arrangement.
Still, she cut a rug when I returned, as all the dogs do, but she didn't require as long to recover her good
disposition.
June 11 (Friday) 7:30 pm
Corey, Cliff's son, and Corey's friend Jonathan met me at the tractor today and we managed to get the thing
fixed. I had gotten into something on the job on Tuesday, and the fan shattered. I ordered a new fan, which
was covered under warranty, but when I got the fan to the work site, we discovered that the new fan did not
fit. Nonetheless, Corey managed to work the fan into place, and I was able to get some work done. Corey
did a masterful job of fitting a square peg into a round hole.
Boy, what a great time to be working outdoors! Earlier in the week I spooked some deer, and later a wild
turkey. What wonderful creatures! This morning I crossed paths with some sort of wild cat. I do not know
what kind of cat it was, but its size was immense, and it shot across my path at lightening speed! Later in
the day I also made aquaintances with a wild coyote. I have seen coyotes in the wild before, but those were
always on the run, and I could barely make out what they were. This one I saw today stood and watched me
from not 50 feet away. What a gorgeous and wonderful creature!
June 12 (Saturday) 7:45 am
I suspect that Saturday is "sleep-in" day for most folks. I am all ready for lunch. So far I have managed to
clean off the carport and the area where I kennel the dogs, give Horace Lucky a bath, and treat him for fleas
and ticks ...
..., and I treated the kitchen for fleas and ticks -- er, well, Lucky did. I had then big guy tied down on the
carport where I was giving him his bath, and after I had him thoroughly soaked in the solution with which I
treat the animals for fleas and ticks, he broke loose. It just so happens that the door leading from the
carport to the kitchen was open, and Horace Lucky shot through. Just as he reached the middle of the
kitchen he gave a big shake, and everything in the kitchen got covered with the solution. I suspect that I
shall not see a flea or tick in the kitchen for quite a long time.
June 14 (Monday) 5:15 pm
Broiling hot! Today was one hot day, but I have not worked outside like this in many a year, so it could be
that days this time of year are usually as hot as today was. But I have thoroughly enjoyed the change of
venue in regards to my employment, and tomorrow I get to do it again. In the meantime I am getting one
mean tan!
June 19 (Saturday) 9:15 am
This past week so a deluge hardly to be surpassed. I managed to get in a couple of days work, enough to
get by, but I also suffered another breakdown on the tractor: nothing major, something easily fixed, but
enough to cost me a whole day's work.
The Willow Oak crew is still whole and healthy. Not much news to report.
June 26 (Saturday) 5:15 am
Computer has been under the weather but is better today. I had a hard week with TVA -- the heat was
brutal, but it feels good to work outdoors. Actually, considering the fact that I have spent the past 25 years
working inside in air conditioned comfort, I am holding up as well as the others who have always worked
outdoors.
Darkly was gone for a few days but has returned and spent the night at Willow Oak. The rest of the crew is
in good shape.
June 27 (Sunday) 5:45 am
Not a lot happening around Willow Oak these days. Barely into summer, and already the summer doldrums
have set in. Animals are all fine. Already this morning I have a lap full of dogs, and cats crawling all over
the computer as I type. Ah! Life at Willow Oak!
June 27 (Sunday) 5:45 am
Not a lot happening around Willow Oak these days. Barely into summer, and already the summer doldrums
have set in. Animals are all fine. Already this morning I have a lap full of dogs, and cats crawling all over
the computer as I type. Ah! Life at Willow Oak!