Or roughly, "Friday's Achievement"--the latter word being Latin. My memory almost served me right. I had to go look it up. I brought my Latin books over here in February and have not gotten back into it--though I'd like to. ("Make the effort, Racheal!")

Anyway, I went to the gas-station and Smith's first thing this morning. I had to take the Saturn, since my truck is still in the shop, getting a 'new' engine. (The Saturn's tranny is going out...at least that's Daddy's long distance diagnosis.)

I pulled up to the warehouse at Smith's and Redneck 1 came out with my chicken feed. I got out of the car to go open the back door for him and he grinned, "Your truck shrunk!" I laughed, "Truck's in the shop...and the tranny is going out in this thing." He returned, "Yeah, I just lost the reverse in my car." He seemed kind of chatty this morning--maybe because he was by himself out in the warehouse. I imagine that might do it.

I was going to mow this morning--since we had a 40% chance of rain starting at noon--but the grass was still wet. Instead I rode Snip. Nothing exciting there. He wasn't as bad as he could have been, but neither was he delightfully cooperative. I rode him through the creek again today and boy did he have fun! He splashed and splashed and splashed and splashed! I finally got him out of there--laughing since it really was kind of funny to watch him prick his ears forward, arch his neck and start pounding away at the water with one hoof and then the other.

I started mowing around 1:15 or so...and I got done about 4. Steady mowing...with a fuel break--during which I do not shut off the engine. If I did, the mowing would be over for the day. I never have gotten that thing cranked back up when it's hot.

When I got done mowing, I fed the animals and rescued three eggs from the chicken coop before coming in. I got my hair washed before Adam-12 came on, so I sat and watched that with Granddaddy (knitting, of course) while Savannah finished up supper.

Our weekly supper guest arrived shortly after five, so we ate. I washed the dishes then came in here to write my blog post. I'd been wondering all day what I was going to call it--and Latin popped to mind. I decided to have a little fun. Thus, the extremely strange title. :)

Such is life, busy here, busy there, a skeeter bite there, and another one here...though really, I haven't near as many as poor Snippy does! Not only that, those dratted horseflies nip on him...

I didn't follow my usual morning routine today...instead, I goofed off trying certain clothing combinations for some event several months down the road. That was sucessful, by the way.

Anyway, that goofing off made me late feeding the animals. Not too late, just a little. I had already decided that I wasn't going to ride Snip this morning--I felt tired and not in the mood. I made a list of things I wanted to do over the next couple of days...and then proceeded to do nothing on the list (except for checking how much gas I have left in/for the lawn mower. Exactly half a tank--which will cover a quarter of the mowing.)

After I washed the dishes, I put some chicken on to soak--something Savannah has recently started doing. It helps take the impurities out of the meat. Then I pitched headlong into a job that has been staring at me for months--cleaning out my fishtank. I'm still running water through the Berky to fill it up. I watched Ironside with Granddaddy (I like that show), and during every commercial break, I'd get up and pour more water into the fishtank and add more water to the top of the Berky.

Savannah and I took sewing stuff and costumes over to our place across the creek and checked the place over. The electric bill shot mysteriously up so Daddy told us what to look for. I think I discovered the problem...the water trough out by the pump was merrily cascading water all over the place because the float valve had been pulled off the side and was flipped over. I put it back normal and the water immediately quit spewing out of the valve. I think the last time I was out to the pump was probably about two months ago when there were ants in the points, so anytime between then and now this could have happened--and with a pump running 24/7...well, that very well could be the reason for the extra charge.

We got home just in time for it to cloud up stormy like. I don't think it has actually started raining yet (sometimes one can't tell through sheer curtains across the room and with my headphones on I can't hear it unless it is really coming down), but I imagine it will very soon.

Thus, you see why it is a "Wet Wednesday"...

Check out the bottom of the sidebar!! I figured out how to put an entire Grooveshark playlist up! No surprise, it's The Patriot soundtrack...now you can listen to some neat music while reading my nutty adventures. :P

Which is probably a better assement of the day than yesterday's "Monday Madness".

I got bit nice and hard by Snip this morning...and I have teeth marks on my left shoulder blade to prove it. He didn't break the skin though. I'm afraid that I didn't get a solid whack on his nose because I was to busy yelping "OW!!" and by the time I got turned around he had already preempted the strike by bobbing his head.

I didn't ride very long or really very hard. Snip was terrible this morning. He was purposely flipping his bit upside down (which reduces the leverage on his mouth quite a bit), fighting it, and all out not being very obedient. I would have worked him a little harder only I was pushing him in a circle and kicking him pretty viciously to get him to keep going and that last kick nearly made me yell. My right ankle (the knee as well) has been feeling off for a couple of days anyway, but it really hurt this time. So bad that I hauled him to a stop and had to breathe heavy. I took my boot off and pulled my sock down but I couldn't see anything wrong with my foot. I rode up to the house, at a walk, with my feet out of the stirrups and my right boot off. I called Savannah out and while we talked about what I should do, I had to fight Snip the whole time. He hates standing still with someon on his back. He'll stand just fine if I get off him and tell him to "Stand" while I open or shut a gate, but you put me up there and he must squirm.

Sometime after lunch, after drawing up a rough plan for my nesting box extention for the chicken coop, I headed out to start dismantling the empty A-frame coop. I killed several black widows out there. Ick....

I didn't get to far--I got two of the panels off, plus the front section with the door in it. It takes a while to untwist chicken wire from itself, you know. :)

See, I didn't do much today extraordinary...just twaddle.

P.S. AND HOW COULD I FORGET??? I GOT MY FIRST EGG FROM MY CHICKENS THIS MORNING!!!!!

Okay, so the day really wasn't mad. At all. It was pretty normal.

I rode Snip this morning...big surprise, right? He behaved fairly well. I didn't trot him for a full 15 minutes, but what I did do (more like 10 minutes) was at a fairly quick trot. I loped him a couple of times and naturally, that was the most troublesome overall, since he so aggrivatingly pulls toward the trees when we're headed east.

I wasn't planning on it, but I rotated the cows this morning. They were all in the woods (except for one old girl who has been keeping to herself a lot lately--and I didn't see her until later), so all I had to do was open one gate and shut another. Meanwhile, I tied Snip up to a fence post. I have started carrying a hay bale rope on my saddle for such purposes.

After lunch, I took my truck, which is belching smoke like a dragon, into Tex. When I'll get it back I don't know.

On the way home, Savannah handed me her phone (she was talking to Mama). At some point, she handed her phone to Grandpa so I got to talk to him for awhile. That was great...except now I miss him all over again. I have a pretty good relationship with my Grandpa--better than I do with Granddaddy (though I love him too!), so it was good to chatter with him about everything from birds to bees to food.

I then talked to Mama some more...finally, as her phone was fixing to die, we got off. Both of us had stuff to do anyway.

I had an apple before heading out to tighten up the fence around the house. I got the north side done. I'll do the west side tomorrow I guess. I hope to get out that weedwacker I've never used and have no idea if it works, and trim around the house and pump and barn. I need to mow again fairly soon, but I will have to go get some more gas before I can do that.

I made myself a new watch band out of some black grossgrain ribbon this evening. The leather one that Katherine gave me was falling apart, so I figured I might as well preempt loosing it by replacing it. A new watchband every six months! This is the third one. I guess I just sweat on them so bad that they just fall apart. Anyway, I took some inch wide ribbon, folded it in half, stitched it together and weasled it onto the watch. The raw edges of the holes for the buckle and the ends, I 'singed' with some matches to keep them from fraying all over the place. It seems to be a pretty sturdy band and hopefully it'll last at least six months. Of course, my battery may be dead by that point...but whether I replace the battery or the watch is a question I'll answer when I reach that point.

Busy days are good days...

Today, I was told that I resemble this picture...

While we very rarely eat out on Sunday's, one of the older gentlemen at church today offered to take us to lunch. And well, we went--along with another lady. She and Mr. Bob are friends from way back.

Anyway, among the things we found out about Mr. Bob is that he is an artist...He said I looked like the girl with the pearl earring and Savannah reminds him of a Monet painting. I have no idea what it is called, but I think I might know which one he is referring to.

We spent a delightful afternoon at Red Lobster fellowshiping with Mr. Bob and Mrs. R...my diet got completely blown with a delicious peice of Key Lime pie. I could not convince him that I didn't want it. Oh well...I very rarely mess up that bad. I'll be really, really good all this week food-wise to make up for it. (More broth!! Eee...)

Mr. Bob is a really nice fellow. I remember the first time I saw him I felt rather intimidated by him (he's tall)...but since found out he's just a big jolly man who enjoys life.

Mrs. R is a sweet happy lady...her husband wasn't at church today, so Mr. Bob happily fed her lunch too. We were a rather amusing party...plenty of laughter and plenty of conversation. Both of them are extremely easy to talk to and treat us with respect. Mr. Bob is quite a gentleman--down to pulling out your chair for you and opening the door.

There was so much we talked about that it would take me forever to remember it all--but the subjects ranged from art, to traveling, to Aspergers, to food, to family histories, to...well, you get the picture.

We got rained on on the way home. Savannah drove because I got a little buzzy after that Key Lime pie--sugar shock I suppose. Anyways, it was good--but something I do not intend on eating again for a very long time. (I did not eat the crust--which would have made things worse.)

We had a very delightful, restful day. By the way, we covered the nature of the Trinity in membership class today. Pastor S is quite engaging--he also talks very fast. My alto sounded pretty flat today, but oh well...one can only keep trying. ;)

So...I did it again. I started another blog. This time it is called "Reformed Reviews" and you can find it here: www.reformationreviews.weebly.com!

Maybe with it's own website, I'll actually take the time to write reviews for the movies I watch (though certainly not all of them! Who really wants a review on all the b-grade Western's I watch??) and the books I read. So far I only have one review on A Walk in the Sun.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy it!

Prompted by a question received last night as I was heading to bed, I wrote this "think-piece" on why I think the South was right in seceding from the Union in 1861....There is, of course, a lot I do not know; so I'll try not to parade my ignorance too much. 

The short, trite answer is: States Rights.

Now, to understand that, one really has to understand something America's First War for Independence and the governmental form our Founding Fathers set up. (Stonewall Jackson called the War Between the States [hereafter referred to as the WBtS], "Our Second War for Independence".) 
 
I'll try to be brief in my set up: If I recall correctly (it's been several years since I studied this), during the 1770-80's, the US was bound together with the Articles of Confederacy (which I don't have a copy of at my finger tips). In 1789, with the ratification of the Constitution and the first 10 Amendments, the Federal government assumed more power (necessary to hold the 13 Colonies together as a unified nation), yet the States were still considered sovereign. This is where it really gets important. 
 
I have in the past read some of the original and revised state constitutions--but it's been so long ago that I can't remember anything much about them. However, I do know that post-WBtS, many of the constitutions were changed to reduce the power/sovereignty of the State. 

It was perfectly legitimate for the Confederate States to secede from the Union as it (the Union) had ceased being beneficial to the Southern States. They were in essence doing the exact same thing that their forefathers had done roughly 90 years before. The following lines could be applied to the CSA: "Prudence, indeed, will dictate that
Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security." (Declaration of Independence)

The WBtS was long in coming. It didn't just happen overnight. I remember reading
something that James Madison said back in the 1780's or 90's that basically predicted the split between North and South. The problem was political, as well as religious. I am clearer on the politics of the issue than I am the religious differences, but I still want to bring them up. The South was more of a Scotch-Irish Presbyterian stripe (that does not mean everyone was Presbyterian of course! Lee was Episcopal, my own g-g-g-gandfather was a Methodist...) and the North had become more Unitarian/Transcendental (which 'theology' is still rather vague in my mind). 

What about slavery? This is where the politics come into play. We always hear and the coloration of so many books and movies portray that slavery was the ultimate issue. Well, it wasn't. It certainly was a factor, but at the start is wasn't so much about "Let's free the slaves!" as it was "Let's keep any more territories from coming into the Union as 'Slave States'." Later, (about 1862 or '63 if I remember correctly), Lincoln did use it as a
so-called 'moral edge'--but I really think he could have cared less about the slaves. (The Emancipation Proclamation only 'freed' slaves in the areas of the south under Confederate jurisdiction.)

To go back to the Free State/Slave State issue...it wasn't about the morality or immorality of slavery so much as it was about the balance of political power. The  Southern "Slave States" wanted Missouri and Kansas to come in as 'Slave States' because then there would have been (more likely), like minded men in the political realm. You
see, the Yankee states (including the Mid-West in there) had a greater number of people; therefore, they had more districts and thereby, more representatives in Congress--who naturally wanted to please their constituents. The North was more industrial and the
South more agrarian. Right there, you have a conflict in business (and therefore political) interests.

To bring a practical example of that--the South was required by a Yankee controlled Congress to ship all their cotton through northern ports. They were not allowed to send
it direct to Europe. When the raw cotton (or whatever) passed north over the Mason-Dixon line, the Southron's had to pay a tax. If any of it came back in a finished form (there were very few mills in the South), they had to pay yet another tax. I think, if my
memory serves me right, that that could total up to 75% of the profit that they made from the cotton--leaving them with a measly 25% profit on their hard work.

 So, the causes of the war were political, business related, as well as moral. The South was going to leave peaceably (and in my opinion, had Lincoln and his Congress let them, the two factions would eventually have come back together). Some states (such as Virginia) might never had seceded, but when Lincoln called for troops to squelch "the Rebellion"--thus violating the rights of the seceding states--they took their stand for the rights of those states to determine their own destiny. Likewise, he obstructed the rights of other states (Kentucky for one) to make a decision one way or the other, by moving troops in and taking over the legislature before they could vote and setting up a pro-union state government. (I believe that this was also done as an executive order--in other words, without the sanction of the Congress.) 

One note I'd like to mention about the so-called "Abolitionists"...these people who are held up as heroes of the highest moral character in opposition to those 'evil slave-holders' (like Stonewall Jackson!)...in many cases were actually Marxist revolutionaries.

Also, some of those 'evil slave-holders', really weren't the keenest on slavery and were
glad that it was actually diminishing. It is my opinion that many men would have freed their slaves, but it would simply have been an economic disaster because when a man freed a slave he had to provide him with "40 acres and a mule"--in other words,  subsistence. The slaveholders could not afford to free their slaves--leastwise, not very fast--without completely destroying the South's (as a whole) economy.

So...why do I think the South was right? "We are a band of brothers, native to the soil, fighting for our liberty, with treasure, blood, and toil..." (Bonnie Blue Flag--italics mine.) 
 
With all that said--I live in 2013. When you get down to the nitty-gritty of everyday life, I am an American. A very proud American, who is passionately proud of her ancestry and heritage in the Confederate States of America. I know that the memory of that glorious cause is not a reason to start a second War Between the States--there are honestly more
important things to go at someone's throat for in these days.

No other title needed...nor further description necessary.

I'm off to the feed store in a truck burning oil at 90 miles an hour...

This is definitely over due...

Saturday we attended Mr. Tim and Miss Donna's wedding. She looked lovely and Mr. Tim of course was striking in his Confederate general's uniform. Mr. Leon and Mrs. Evelyn were their attendents and both looked very nice as well. Miss Donna was late because she got hung up in the traffic surrounding a triathalon!

After the ceremony, which was rather short, Savannah and I hurried off to go help put the food out...once the bride and groom reached the reception area, we got roped into the picture taking spree going on because of our dresses. :)

Anyway, it was an outdoor wedding at a state park. It was kind of muggy, but it could have been worse. :) As Savannah said, the lighting was perfect for taking pictures.

This is the first wedding I've been to where the couple opened their wedding gifts after the reception. We stayed around and laughed with them as they opened things...Mr. Tim told me afterwards about our gift (kitchen stuff), "Now Donna will really learn how to cook."

I would put pictures up, but Savannah's camera battery is dead and I don't know where to locate the other one...and she isn't here.  I'll have to get to that later. (With more chatter which the pictures will produce.) 

I mowed the grass yesterday. That is an all afternoon adventure. My left eye is still slightly blood-shot from the volume of flying debris that it had to handle (I can only wink my right eye, so when I had a real mess blowing at me, I'd close that one and leave the left one partially open so I could see where I was going). I lost the guard off the deck about my second pass around the yard and didn't bother to put it back on since I knew it would just bounce off again directly. That naturally didn't help the clippings, dirt, and leaves stay out of my face.

One of the two calves born last Thrusday (both heifers) is dead. Sunday night, I went to go feed Charlotte and the mother cow had just come around the pens. I didn't think anything about it until I heard the calf bawling and saw it kicking. Even brand new calves don't lay on their side and kick like that. Mammy snifffed the calf, licked it and then raised her head and (how does one describe this?) with her neck stretched out, lifted her upper lip and kind of blew. The bulls do this all the time when they're sniffing out a cow in heat. Put those three things together and I knew something wasn't right. I managed to get close enough to the calf to touch it. It didn't flinch--which is odd for a wild one. I then grabbed it under the flanks and lifted it, trying to get it to stand on it's feet. No good. It just flopped (or would have if I'd let it) back down. The cow, who surprisingly had let me get that close and not made any fuss, started to move back in and I left.

When I got back to the house, I called Daddy and talked to him about it...it was clearly obvious that the calf was in the process of dying. We decided to just let it go. I could have tried to feed it, but I think it was too far gone. I wonder if it got snake bit or something because just Saturday I had seen her up and about looking like a normal day or two old calf. It's always sad to have to let one of your animals die, but sometimes it's best.

It probably died within the next couple of hours. It was most certainly dead yesterday morning and was hardly in a different position than when I'd left it Sunday evening. What was really sad was the mama cow hung around all day yesterday with her dead baby.

Yesterday, between my horse ride and lunch and mowing, I ended up watching most of a Western movie on TV. I believe it was called "An Eye for an Eye" and was most certainly a '60's film. One of the stars was Patrick Wayne (John Wayne's younger son).  I've only ever seen Pat in four movies--McClintock (a favorite), The Comancheros (the book is better than the movie; Pat has a small part in that one--and gets killed), and now An Eye for an Eye. He gets killed in the end of that one too. I wonder, with 2 out of 3 resulting in his death--how often did he stay alive in his movies? He's a pretty good actor, but I guess with the Duke as his father, he had quite a reputation to live up to!

Anyway, it was pretty good for a 60's movie. Even the female actress was alright. The ending was sad, but not exactly hopeless...the other main character's riding off and leaving the girl was understandable to a degree. He left because he did love her and didn't want anything bad to happen to her because of his occupation (that of a bounty hunter).

It's about time for me to take the bread out of the oven. We've had a banana sitting on the counter oozing worse every day for several days, so I finally just took the time to slap a banana bread together this morning since I wasn't going to ride (Savannah really prefers me not to ride when she isn't home.)

I also whipped up myself some avacado based chocolate pudding--I've been needing a chocolate fix for a while...

Anyway, I need to go take care of a few little things!