Stack Some More On Top

The baseball playing is done for this year.  We finished in the top 4, which is good, but beat ourselves with 5 errors in our last game with Firebaugh.  Firebaugh beat Caruthers to win the Section title. This is the third year in a row we lost to the eventual champion. That's getting old. It was a good season in many ways, just not the ending we had planned.

The new set of chickens are growing.  We're trying some meat birds this time and they sure do sit and eat quite a bit.

With baseball done my attention now turns to the list of unfinished and put off jobs around the 'Zoo.  We're talking about moving a deck to make more animal and garden room in the back. The pecan tree needs trimming to let in more light, but that will have to be hired out. Too tall for me to climb and cut. I have already started taking down a curly willow in the front for more sun and garden space.  It's a bit easier to lop off a limb at a time.  Hauling off the brush and limbs will be the issue here.  No one has burn piles anymore because of the poor air quality, and we don't have the room for a long term compost pile. One of the things I remember reading in the Nearing's book, Living the Good Life, is their composting methods and all brush and such were left in the forest to break down.But they had the land.  Someday.

We also have a list of jobs involving cleaning up around for the visit from Sam.  He is getting out of the Army and coming for a visit with with a friend.  She has never seen the West Coast and certainly the Central Valley.  It will be a hoot, but we have many things to attend to before they arrive.

I'm currently reading Quiet, The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking and I am amazed by the thoughts I am having.  The book is describing me more than I ever expected.  I can see times the thoughts I was having were coming from a deep place inside.  The author is making the case that Introverts are more genetically guided than from a learned response.  Interesting concept that is fun to explore.

I'm also not planning on teaching summer school. This would be only the third summer in 30 years that I didn't teach something in the summer.  Plenty to do here and I'm still figuring out the Crafts gig.  That has been a Godsend.  As one friend said, "You get to go to work and make things."  Or at lest help students make things.  It has been a stretch in many areas, but I've tried to stretch the students more.  I am still amazed though at the lack of curiosity in some youth.  We're finishing the year with leather and many want nothing more than to get a small circle of leather, paint their name on it and add a bit of lacing.  My working theory of the students is they will do anything as long as it involves painting on something.  If we do plastics, paint the plastic. Same for wood, leather, or mosaics.  I'm thinking of adding screen printing next year.  Maybe that will get the painting out of their minds. Or they will screen print instead of paint different mediums.  Glad I was given the class and I will have to adjust some more. And I am happy with the chance to make those changes.