Helping Hands

It began early.  Tessie got spooked just after I'd gotten her into the milking room.  She made a mad scramble for the nearest exit, which happened to be the hole in the door (that I hadn't fixed on purpose because of the air flow).  Somehow, Tess got herself through, ripping the door off its bottom hinge in the process.  Pete didn't say anything, but I could hear him thinking, "Oh, no!  Not another thing to fix."  Tessie, the silly goose, after wreaking havoc, turned right around, came in and got up on the stand as if nothing had happened.  That's a goat for you.  I finished with the milking line up and locked the girls into the other pen.  A guy doesn't need six supervisors on a job.  (Poppy couldn't have cared less.)

Fortunately, I already had the replacement panel cut to size, but it took time to dismantle the door, find new nails and screws (it had taken me five years to find where Steve, with his convoluted storage system, had put nails in the first place), and realign the frame.  After days of great weather, yesterday was hot, of course.  Pete and Jake had planned to head for home about one, but this unexpected setback certainly delayed their departure.  Working as a team, they got the repaired door back in place, a job well done.  Anyone who knows Pete will look at this photo and wonder what it is that is different.  After a lifetime of hair that was curlier than mine, his hair has gone straight (and nearly white)!

Showered, fed, and rehydrated, the guys finally drove down the drive about three-thirty, facing a long drive after a long day.  It was hard to see them go.  The house was unnaturally quiet.  Bessie and Frank went into a blue funk; Jake had become their special friend and they missed him as much as I.

I walked around the property at sundown before putting the critters to bed.  Everything looks so neat and tidy, evidence of all the hard work the boys did on their "vacation."  There are times when chores get ahead of me and I'm overwhelmed.  With their help, Pete and Jake got me back to square one where now it will be a matter of just keeping up.  I am so grateful for their helping hands.

It was a good visit.  It was a good day.