Summer Time Heat

As we enter July, we begin to experience the rising heat of the Texas Summer.  We have already had a few days break 100 degrees; something that we are not accustomed to as native Seattlelites.  Last week we kept the A/C on all day, and we have not turned it off since.  Though we are still getting acclimated to the hot weather, it is not keeping us from staying active and continuing to step out in faith and experience new things.

The biggest news in our house this week was the birth of 14 baby chicks that we hatched from the eggs of our own chickens.  3 weeks ago we borrowed an egg incubator from a family in our community and took 22 of our own chickens eggs and put them inside.  We must give all the credit to Caleb from planning, initiating, watching, worrying, praying and caring for the eggs while we waited for them to hatch.  Then, like magic, 4 days ago, tiny baby chickens began to peck through the shells with their beaks, until they cracked completely and new life emerged.

To accommodate these new chickens, Caleb with no assistance from me, built a chicken tractor with the plans he read about in a book.  In less than one week, Caleb built a 10′ X 6′ chicken tractor.

For Father’s Day, Mel cooked eggs Benedict for breakfast and quesadilla burgers for dinner followed by ice cream.  We spent the time in between meals playing my favorite board games.  It was my kind of day.

Also, we have been making great progress on our investment home.  Our contractor finished all his work on the inside of the house and our landscaper is scheduled to come out later this week.  Our family had a work party at the house last week and are planning one more this week.  I have a meeting scheduled with a real estate agent at the end of the week and we plan on listing the house by the middle of July.  (And yes you can see that Caleb is now taller then Melodee as the picture below clearly proves).

For the Fourth of July, we had dinner with a family who let us milk their cow, and then made homemade ice cream with their cow’s milk. What a difference between homemade ice cream made with fresh milk vs store bought ice cream!

We are also visiting with a couple two days a week learning to do gardening from them.  They have taught us the common bugs of Texas, how to know when to harvest, how to save seeds, and best practices to plant and grow garden plants in Texas.  This couple also runs a BBQ brisket stand and I did a quick electrical project for them in trade for BBQ brisket.

Our own garden continues to grow as the heat of the summer increases.  As long as we keep the soil well watered everything continues to flourish.

My, personally, most exciting event happened yesterday when I received my truck (and bike), which I had shipped from Seattle to Texas last week.  Now I no longer need to pretend our minivan is a work truck.

All and all, we are getting along well here and are continuing to build relationships with the families in the community.  We feel blessed to be here, where we are able to participate in “small church” groups and stay connected with others.