The weather was perfect, sunny and warm. After we had our coffee, I had to do some orchestra work, so Scott left the camper in the morning by himself.
After breakfast, they all toured the farm and he milked a cow and milked a goat. Using the milk they'd gotten from the cow, they fed a baby cow whose mother had rejected it. Apparently, that happens sometimes.
After breakfast, they all toured the farm and he milked a cow and milked a goat. Using the milk they'd gotten from the cow, they fed a baby cow whose mother had rejected it. Apparently, that happens sometimes.
Jon came by and asked if we wanted to go see a baby cow that had just been born. We hopped into his truck with the kids and headed over to a field. When we got there, one of Jon's farmhands was waiting. It was now his cow and he'd roped it to get it ready to be tagged.
Then he put the tag in his ear.
Then he was untied and he jumped up and followed his mom to join the other cows. He was a little unsteady at first but then he was fine. Amazing because he was a day old!
There is an old schoolhouse on the property. Jon took us there. It was super cool! It's made of limestone. It has a basement and that rests on a limestone slab that was there under the ground.
When we got back to the main house, Jon gave me a ride in the Ranger. It was a lot of fun and super comfortable, actually.
Then we went inside and hung out. After a while, Scott and Jessica went out to throw a ball, and I kept talking to Krista and Dave. I learned a lot about farming and about them. It was just a lot of fun.
Kris cooked another great dinner. I asked for a lot of recipes! We drank a bottle of wine a customer had given Scott. It was really good.
Kris cooked another great dinner. I asked for a lot of recipes! We drank a bottle of wine a customer had given Scott. It was really good.
We kept talking. OMG we heard some amazing stories. How about Jon and Kasey getting dressed for a wedding but having to do a quick change back to regular clothes because they had to go perform an emergency C-section on a cow that was dying?
Kasey is a hair stylist, and she started a business making tallow skin creams (she gave me a sample, and I love it). She also just started working part-time for some local business doing their books. Jon is a welder and he used to work on oil rigs, but he gave it up to come back and take over the farm. His skills are well-known in the area though, so he still does welding when asked; when we first arrived the day before, he was welding a neighbor's equipment. He is also a volunteer firefighter. Some of the things he's had to do are incredible. They had terrible wild fires rage through the area recently, and they had to work like crazy for hours and hours trying to beat back the fires and protect the houses they could. They had more than one very close call. They said a lot of farmers lost everything they had. As a firefighter, Jon is also called to help people who crash on the roads and highways. Not a job I could do.
After dinner, we played cards. First I taught Jessica and Dave how to play Poison. Scott played War with Jenna's oldest boy. Then we learned a new game that they play a lot called Pitch. I loved it! Four players, playing as two pairs of partners, deal nine cards. Jessica and I were partners, and Dave and Scott were partners. Players then bid how many points (10 possible) they think they can take in a given suit. Whoever bids highest wins. Then everyone throws away non-trump suits from their hand. Then the remaining deck is dealt out: each player asks for the number of cards he or she needs to have six cards in their hand. Whatever cards in the pile remain are given to the player who called the suit. That person picks out the trump cards and adds them to his or her hand. If there are so many that the resulting hand would exceed six, he or she can give the extra to his or her partner. Then play begins. Does the caller go first or to the left of the caller? If the team winning the bids wins the points they bid, they get those points. If they are set, that number is subtracted from their score. First to (maybe?) 50 wins. The order of cards is this:
Kasey is a hair stylist, and she started a business making tallow skin creams (she gave me a sample, and I love it). She also just started working part-time for some local business doing their books. Jon is a welder and he used to work on oil rigs, but he gave it up to come back and take over the farm. His skills are well-known in the area though, so he still does welding when asked; when we first arrived the day before, he was welding a neighbor's equipment. He is also a volunteer firefighter. Some of the things he's had to do are incredible. They had terrible wild fires rage through the area recently, and they had to work like crazy for hours and hours trying to beat back the fires and protect the houses they could. They had more than one very close call. They said a lot of farmers lost everything they had. As a firefighter, Jon is also called to help people who crash on the roads and highways. Not a job I could do.
After dinner, we played cards. First I taught Jessica and Dave how to play Poison. Scott played War with Jenna's oldest boy. Then we learned a new game that they play a lot called Pitch. I loved it! Four players, playing as two pairs of partners, deal nine cards. Jessica and I were partners, and Dave and Scott were partners. Players then bid how many points (10 possible) they think they can take in a given suit. Whoever bids highest wins. Then everyone throws away non-trump suits from their hand. Then the remaining deck is dealt out: each player asks for the number of cards he or she needs to have six cards in their hand. Whatever cards in the pile remain are given to the player who called the suit. That person picks out the trump cards and adds them to his or her hand. If there are so many that the resulting hand would exceed six, he or she can give the extra to his or her partner. Then play begins. Does the caller go first or to the left of the caller? If the team winning the bids wins the points they bid, they get those points. If they are set, that number is subtracted from their score. First to (maybe?) 50 wins. The order of cards is this:
- A - 1
- K - 0
- Q - 0
- J - trump -1
- J - off, same color - 1
- Joker high - 1
- Joker low (determine before which is which) - 1
- 10 -1
- 3 - 3
- 2 - 1 player who has this card in his or hand keeps the points
It was midnight before we wound down and headed off for bed.