Dan Rodgers replaced all the rotting tiles, and Maria is painting them blue to match the rest of the house. Maria loves having at least one farm chore, and as we sat out in our chairs together this morning, we both said at the same time:

“On a day like this, there is nowhere else we would like to be expected here, with each other and our animals on our farm.”

We both are also working hard today on our blogs, art, and photography. I will never retire if I can breathe and walk, and maybe even if I can’t.

So far, we’ve replaced a roof, de-rotted our barn sills, and are working next to the front of the house. We have also replaced our septic system and removed heavy tree limbs that had been blown off.  We also have a very efficient and helpful compost toilet in the upstairs.

We may not be able to go any further this year on farm improvement, but we have come far.

We want to give special thanks to one angel – Iris –  who helped us, and Dan Rodgers, who is making it happen. We could never have done all this ourselves; there is more to do. Farms are lovely but need as much love and care as humans, sometimes more.

Thanks also to Zip, who took to his duties as a Barn Cat and has killed or chased off the rats, mice, and pigeons who were threatening our animals, hay supply (and our home). Zip is a wonderful Barn Cat and and a great friend and companion.

We have worked hard to care for the farm and stay ahead of rain, rot, lightning, and scary storms all year. All of our animals are safe and healthy, and we pray for them every day.

Many people reading this have had this much worse than us; we think of them often.

So far, so good; it’s a race that never ends, as people who live on farms know. The rot in the front of the house would soon have spread; as it was, we rehomed a billion ants.

I can’t do much of the painting, but I can do much of the preparation, supporting work, and details. On Tuesday, I have my first round of cataract surgery. I will be blogging as soon as I get home and every day after that.

I hope I get a patch; I’ve always wanted to wear one.