The Fall

Don has been driving tractors all of his life, so when it came time to mow the weeds in our field he rented one with 5' mower behind it and went to work. He is very good and got almost the whole field cleared in one evening. Looks like a real farmer doesn't he?


Well, I went for a walk the next morning and he started finishing the field, but then he moved on to mowing the weeds on the side of our steep, windy road. About 1/4 mile from our house, the brakes gave out and the tractor started speeding toward a 3oo' drop. So Don jumped off.

As he jumped he caught the steering wheel so the tractor turned into the side of the hill, but it also ran over his foot. He walked the 1/4 mile home bleeding the whole way, Tami picked me up from my walk and the ER put 27 staples into his foot, 7 into his head and bandaged the rest of his wounds. We feel VERY blessed it wasn't worse.

He's mending nicely, very bored and feels like he was hit by a truck. I gently remind him that at his age, he's not supposed to jump from a moving vehicle onto asphalt. What an adventure!

What started out as a working Mother's Day (house, Kimber, church) , which I will admit had me reconsidering my attitude, turned out to be incredible. When Don and I got home from our 2-5 church at 5:30, Donnie and Sean were grilling gourmet hamburgers with jalapenos, jack cheese and bacon cooked into the patty. Yummy. They were about a pound a piece. With corn on the cob and watermelon. Delish! The girls cleaned up and I got a call from Jeni. So nice.

The counter was FILLED with the most beautiful roses, tulips and sunflowers. I still feel like I'm living in a florist shop and loving it.





The following are from Becky's birthday on May 3rd. Two dinners in two weeks. We used to have Sunday dinner every week, but with such a late church schedule and us living up here, I've been slacking, so this was nice.

Tami, Becky, Brad (Becky's BF) and Sean.


Donnie, his friend Nicole, Julie, (Janey is hidden), Joe, Kimber and Tami
This is where I walk almost every day. Our house is the first house at the top, left of the valley with the white trailer . The brass rounded roof is the monastery meditation hall. I've started carrying a "snake" stick. It has a hook on the end so that I can fling the snake away. Yeah, right. This is rattlesnack country. Today a well fed coyote that looked like a wolf crossed about 25' in front of me. I'm thinking, yea, I can take him on - Not. I ALWAYS have Sandy with me and she told that coyote to leave and not come back. And he did. She is Donnie's fantastic Australian cattledog that didn't go with him when he moved out, partly at my request,

We planted a garden a couple of weeks ago. I remember "Train up a child in the way (she) should go" so that's what we're doing. So far it works, some of the time. That's a dragon fruit plant behind her. Our strawberries are already bearing more then we can eat, and we're feeding the rabbits and grasshoppers with some of the rest of it.


Lest you think we're not really red-necks - Sean's engine blew up so he got one from the junk yard and is putting it in - in our driveway. Actually I'm quite impressed and proud of him. Looks like a bunch of wires and hoses to me.