The landscape has
changed rapidly from what it was the last time I wrote. Two hard freezes occurred, one at 15 degrees
and the other at 19 degrees. With those,
the leaves turned dark and fell rapidly from the trees, leaving the pecan clusters
dotting the tree branches. Most of the
outer green skins dried up and popped open, revealing the precious nuts
inside. Harvest will most likely wait
until next week, however, since there are a few husks that held fast to their
greenness, and refused to yield their fruit to the fresh cold air.
The cotton harvest
has been underway for weeks, as evidenced by the stray cotton lining the
highways, and the telltale cotton hanging from the mesquite branches which hang
a little too close to the road. Cotton
is harvested and then packed tightly into modules – huge rectangular cubicles
weighing about 30,000 pounds each – and covered on top by tarps to protect them
from any precipitation that may occur.
They are then transported to the cotton gin which is a co-op of the area
farmers, losing bits of the fluffy balls on the road and to the grasping
mesquite bushes. Once at the gin they are placed evenly in a large lot to await the
ginning process. The lot is much too
large this year, as production is reduced by 2/3 or more due to the prevailing
drought. The gin cleans the cotton,
especially removing the nutrient-rich seeds which are embedded deeply in each
cotton ball. After this, it is sold to
be used for all the various products in which it is used.
Please look for 100% cotton clothing and bedding – it is far superior to
the manmade (plastic) stuff – and it supports farmers! :D
We had a beautiful
two months of attending weddings, one in California in San Diego, the long-awaited wedding of my niece, and one in
Santa Fe, New Mexico, of my cousins. Both are beautiful
places, both beautiful weddings. In Santa Fe we visited the
mysterious Chapel of Loretto where a lone carpenter with simple tools built an
exquisite staircase to the choir loft and then disappeared. The staircase, to this day, defies the
knowledge of engineering, and is beautifully handcrafted from a type of spruce
that has never been found, one that does not even seem to be in existence. The presence of God is palpable and powerful in this gorgeous chapel, even though it is no longer owned by the Church.
Next we made a
pilgrimage to Chimayo, NM, the “Lourdes of America”. I will not tell the story here (you can look
it up), but I did collect the healing soil for which Chimayo is famous, and I
blessed The Millionaire with it, who quickly and suspiciously backed away from my handful of
dirt, as did the two younger ones who were with us. No matter, I took and decided to bless myself
instead, signing myself with it, rubbing it on the back of my neck, my chest,
and shoulders. I couldn’t let it go to
waste!
After Chimayo we
drove north to Ft. Collins, CO where we had arranged to purchase a horse trailer – a four-horse stock trailer - just what I wanted! On the way home, we stopped
in Veguita, NM, and picked up a cow.
Yes. A cow. A lucky cow, that will be calving sometime in
a month or so and then give us milk and all the sweet cream we could ever want!
The day after arriving home I
decided that rascally Peaches had gone too long and was in need of at least 3
rides a week to sustain her. I saddled
up and 20 minutes later found myself incomprehensibly looking up at my brother
as I gasped in pain. I couldn't understand what he was saying. It eventually dawned on me that he told me he was
taking me to the hospital. I wanted to
tell him to wait until the pain subsided, maybe I just had the wind knocked out
of me, but I couldn’t talk, so I submitted.
It was terrible. But it was also
wonderful, grace-filled, a gift from God.
I have six broken ribs and a fractured collar bone, which was set with a
brace in surgery. And now here I sit,
recovering, not able to do much physically, but with a broadened prayer life and expanded
gratitude in being forced to slow down, to sit, and to “know” that He is God. How I needed this! Thanks to the prayers of all my friends in
the know, I think I probably already feel much better than I should. I could begin a list of all the blessings
that are brought about by this, but it would double the length of this too-long
post already! I do look back with surprise and wonder when I think about how I blessed myself with the miraculous soil of Chimayo only two days before! Anyway, here are some
updates:
Hot Rod only has one more week of school, after which she
will visit our beloved California and relay in person our well-wishes and love
on our friends. She continues to drive
faster than her skill level, especially on the dirt bike which she wrecked a
few weeks ago and thanks be to God did not wind up like me. However, she had to be rescued from under the
bike and did sustain a sprained knee and some road rash.
The Elf has been beautifully training our new cow since I am
physically unable to participate. She
has gentled her to the point that the cow comes and rubs on us, and loves being
regaled with attention. She also wrote
40,000 words during National Novel Writing month! Quite a feat, considering the constraints of
time she suffered during the last two weeks of my convalescence.
Dead Eye is becoming ever more the gentleman, and especially
is solicitous of me now that I am compromised.
He opens doors, carries everything in sight, and sympathetically asks
after me if he hears me groan. Don’t get
me wrong, he was gallant before the accident, too! He spent some wonderful time being a grip for
the upcoming videos filmed by my brother for . . . THE IVEYS! Yeah!
New album to be released soon! He
also helped in the filming of a commercial.
His talents are broadening. Do
check out
www.theiveysmusic.com and
visit their Facebook page. Watch for the future release of their new videos. Maybe you'll see a surprise!
The Millionaire has been my knight and so wonderful to me. He watches over me with great love and care, seeing that my every need is met, and then some. He also did the lion's share of driving on our road trip and hasn't complained (too much) about the cow. In fact, I think he's really grown to like her.
God is so good, and I haven't evening finished counting my blessings (will I ever?). I saw this today which is so true:
Whenever you feel guilty, even if it is because you have consciously committed a sin, a serious sin, something you have kept doing many times, never let the devil deceive you by allowing him to discourage you. My beloved, may every fall . . . always become for us a small step toward a higher degree of perfection. Maximillian Kolbe
