Tragedy on the Farm

I received tragic news at the supper table last night. We have a beagle on the farm (as most farms do) named Joker; aka "The Happy Hound-dog". Joker had a wife. A chicken-wife. That's right. He had a Buff-Orpington chicken that he allowed to live with him in his dog box. Our children affectionately referred to her as "Joker's Chicken Wife". For several months, they lived in perfect harmony (like ebony and ivory) at the back of our yard. This is not a common event in nature. Beagle's are bred and trained to chase and bark at anything that moves that's smaller than they are (namely rabbits). I must admit, he truly was hen-pecked. When it came to house-hold hierarchy, "Chicken Wife" ruled the roost. But, it appeared that they loved each other. She would groom him of bugs. He would sniff and lick her in response. He even went so far as to eat her eggs that she laid in the dog box. October 24, 2006 marks the day that Joker put away his chicken wife. He did not follow biblical guidelines and give her a certificate of divorce. He gave her...more of a munch and a chomp. What triggered Joker to turn on his own chicken wife, we will never know. What ever possessed him to use his muzzle that was designed to drool, sniff and yelp as an instrument of terror and destruction will forever remain a mystery. As we reflect back on the life if Clucky...or Henny...or was it Big Comb or Red Comb...as we reflect back on the life of "Joker's Chicken Wife" we will always remember what could have been. The two of them growing old together. Sharing their food. Sharing their home. Sharing her leg. We will always remember them as husband  and chicken-wife. We actually wondered together as a family if this was a true sign of the end of time. Lion and lamb. Beagle and chicken. Now we just know that it was a short span of confusion in nature. Rest in peace, Chicken Wife.

An Assassin Bug

A guy from my work found a bug over the weekend. He didn't know what it was so he brought it in to work to see if anyone had seen one before. Knowing that my wife and children would not rest until they had identified it, I offered to take it home and let them study it. I took this picture of it crawling on the children's craft table. We found out that it's called a "Wheel Bug" because of the cog-like feature on it's back. Below is an excerpt from a web-site describing the bug. This particular specimen was around 1 inch in length. Enjoy!

The Wheel Bug, Arilus cristatus, has some of the best-developed mouthparts of any True Bug. Its formidable beak arises at the anterior end of its long tubular head and unfolds forward. When it encounters a prey item--usually some adult insect or caterpillar--it typically lunges forward in its own slow way, grabs onto the prey with its front legs, and buries its hypodermic beak into some soft body part of the hapless prey. The Wheel Bug then injects enzyme-laden saliva--which immobilizes the prey within 30 seconds and turns its parts into porridge--after which the predatory bug sucks out all the victim's bodily fluids. This activity, of course, kills the prey item, which is why the Wheel Bug is classified in the Reduviidae--the Assassin Bug Family. It's worth noting that Wheel Bugs aren't all that particular about where they stick their beaks--which is fair warning that humans should use appropriate care when handling one. Some folk have allergic reactions to the bite, while others simply say a Wheel Bug nibble hurts ten times more than a hornet sting and takes weeks or months to heal.

Excerpt from this web-site:

Simple Mathematics

I was talking to a man from our church this weekend. We ended up with a "mathematical theory" that seemed reasonable, so I thought I'd pass it along. The size of the government is directly proportional to the moral state of the country. Explained: the more the country's morality declines, the government must get larger to "enforce" morality. I always wondered how our governments structure/function strayed so far from what our founding fathers envisioned.

 

Inversely, as the morality of the people decline, the more accepting the government is of our moral decay. What was not accepted in the past is now welcomed, then encouraged, then pushed. In the last fifty years, we've voted, in the government, on such issues as abortion, same-sex marriage, posting the Ten Commandments, etc... In times past, these topics were not issues. Right was right and wrong was wrong. As our morality declines, these things become issues. Despite the size or might of military, a morally corrupt country is destined for defeat.

 

Compared to the church: the more morally calloused the people become, the more tolerant the church becomes on issues. What the church once reproved, they now excuse. This is nothing new. Paul dealt with it in the book of 1st Corinthians. It is more commonplace and widely accepted now.

 

As society looses it's backbone to stand up against immorality, the government looses it's backbone to stand up against the voting people. As the people begin to loose their backbone, the church looses it's backbone to biblically deal with immorality. It all ties in somehow.

 

Just a topic to stimulate thought.

 

God bless!

 

troy

A Special Day

On this day in 1975 God gave me a very special gift. Not only did he give this gift to me, but to the world. She has caused many laughs and many tears in our home. The first time I saw her, she captivated my heart. That's right, Kate Winslet of "Titanic" proportions turns 31 today.

 

Just kidding. This is actually her birthday, but I found out by googling this date. This is my wonderful wife's birthday. She truly is very special and valuable...beyond "Titanic" proportions. She has been such a blessing in our home. She brings balance to me. She brings support and encouragement. That God would bless me with such a help-meet! She saw fit to marry a young kid with no direction and no motivation. She sees fit to stay with an older kid with wild dreams of becoming a farmer and still no motivation (for more than 12 years now!). She's put up with job changes and moves and also apparent stand-stills. She encouraged me through my dreams of becoming and engineer, and then a doctor, then back to an engineer. She puts her own personal dreams and goals on hold for the good of the family. She's very giving and tenderhearted (although she probably wouldn't admit it). She loves me when I'm not so loveable. She's great with her babies...all of them. And they love and cherish her (as do I). She is a keeper at home. She is a full-time: mother, teacher, nurse, counselor, cook, maid, nanny, motivational speaker, lawn-care specialist, gardener, launderer, hog slopper, horse groomer, farmer (in-training)...etc. You get the idea. Most important, she's a child of God and she's my wife, and I love her.

 

Happy Birthday, Eshell!!

 

Love,

 

troy (cm)

What A Day

After taking a thrashing at work yesterday, my wife knew exactly what I needed when I got home...BLT's. With fresh, whole wheat toast, fresh garden tomatoes, bacon right off of the pig last week and....store bought lettuce (can't win 'em all). She knew I had a rough day and she did her best to make it better. Our oldest son even let me beat him in Battleship last night. I praise God for a great wife and family.

 

troy