Chapter 53

I was out of the house and in the barn early Sunday morning, but Karen came into the parlor about the time I was going to wash the cows and begin milking. She said, "Let me do that. You do the heavy stuff in the milk house while I do this. You can show me how to run the pasteurization equipment when I finish."

When I went into the milk house to give the equipment a pre-use wash, I found Rosita busily washing a milk can, with the equipment already washed and waiting. The beautiful Latina told me, "Mom and Sissy taught me how to do everything out here. Go do the heavy feeding; Karen and I will take care of things in here."

This was unexpected, since Rosita had not been out to help with barn chores very often. That Mom and Sissy had worked with her told me that she had convinced them to teach her. A farmer's wife was being groomed. I finished putting hay out and fed the steer in the pen. He looked to be ready to send to the butcher. Lastly, I scooped up some fresh cow poop from where they had been standing in the milking parlor and washed the floor down.

Rosita and Karen were finished running the milk through the pasteurization equipment and had the processed milk in the can. Karen asked, "Can you be our hero and put the can in the spring house? It's full and it takes both of us to haul it, while you can do it with one hand."

Not really with one hand, but it was easier for me than a couple of women who were half my size. They cleaned the equipment while I stored the can.

I was surprised to see Summer and Bradley pulling up as we came out of the milk house. Summer got out, gave me a hug, and said, "We came for breakfast before church. We've been so busy this past summer that we just haven't been very social. Little Bradley is growing up fast like John, and I want them to get to know each other. Mom told us to come for breakfast and for lunch after church."

Breakfast was our usual Sunday morning treat, with pancakes as well as sausage, eggs, biscuits, and gravy. All of the kids enjoyed the pancakes, especially John and Bradley Jr., who both smeared their faces with butter and some light syrup while jamming a pancake into their mouths.

We were glad that Bradley and Summer were going to church with us, as we wouldn't all fit into one Expedition. Two of the kids rode with Summer, while the rest of us packed into Millie's bright red SUV. It was funny how the absence of Mom, the three other women, and my siblings and spouses affected our group. We definitely felt that we were missing people and the others in the church felt it as well.

Martha told me that Harold and she were having dinner at another parishioner's home after church. I didn't know what Millie had planned, considering that we were without Mom. I'm sure she had planned something, but without her mentor, you just had to wait and see.

The road men and wives began showing up at home after church, as did Bernie and Sheryl, as well as Maude and Gene. Maude told me, "We can't get out of the habit since you and Mom have us going to church and coming out here on Sundays, even when she isn't home. It has become a tradition."

Today's lunch was two huge roasts that were done just right. They had been cooked the day before and put into a warm smoke room to keep until lunch. The additional smoking of the roasts made them even tastier.

The road guys and I talked about their plans for the curbing at the development while we cleaned up the dishes and kitchen. The roads were complete, but they needed to add curbing to make the development look even more professional. Jimmy told me that the concrete company had a subcontractor who did that kind of work. He said that they were able to pour and form at the same time with their equipment, using concrete that was drier and had already begun setting up. He recommended that we use them.

Gene offered, "As we get higher on the slope, I'd like to build a couple of houses with the house at grade level, but with the garage being a rear entrance that is below grade as if it was underground. I think we could do a few that way and actually shrink the lot sizes an acre or so."

My comment was, "Making some homesteads smaller in lot size might lessen the value of the other homes. We should vary our models as much as possible, but I think six to eight model homes should be enough. Gene has several different faces to put on each floor plan and can mirror image a floor plan for variety, so with eight model homes we have more than fifty variations available. We're only going to have about a hundred homes total. We should build out the common area and recreation building first this next summer, so they can become a focal point in our advertising and a sales office. We'll need to have a homeowner's association with some form of taxing authority to maintain the common areas, but it shouldn't cost that much to keep everything up unless they want to have the building manned daily."

Gene talked about how we might design the common area, but I became more interested in playing with John and Bradley Jr. This was the first time I had opportunity to play with the boy who was now my grandchild. The two boys were having a good time rolling around playing. Both were fighting off sleep, as it was past their afternoon nap time. They both eventually fell asleep in front of the fireplace. Millie and Summer put a light blanket over each and let them sleep on the big soft rug.

Bradley wanted to take a look at the wine operation and see the beef stock I was raising. We took a walk in the brisk weather to look at everything. The bottlers were shut down for today, but you could see how everything was ready to begin in the morning. Bradley asked me how difficult it would be for him to build and plant a vineyard. He told me that he had a couple of low hillsides that weren't tillable and he was thinking of copying my orchards and vineyards. I advised him to get information from the farm bureau and to have D begin teaching him how to get started. I made sure he knew that it would take a few years to go from initial setup to a producing vineyard. Bradley also wanted to make sure that I would be a buyer for his grapes if he was to start a vineyard. I told him that D would be the one to talk to, but I was sure that he would be interested.

As we walked down to see the beef stock, Bradley told me that he had an idea of how to keep the low bottom land from flooding and wanted me to take a look at it with him. I told him that I would get Gene to come over with me, as Gene was really sharp when it came to drainage. Bradley told me, "Your man, Jet, is super smart about stuff like that, too. I've talked to John at your new place that you bought from Pete, and he told me that Jet could just about figure out how to drain anything."

Bradley said, "Our places would really become a lot more profitable if we could guarantee that ground could produce a crop or two every year. That deal you made and gave to Dad has really put us over the top and helped us to have two households. Of course, the food you've been supplying us with has been a big factor in our budget as well. Summer had a good time working with her Mom in the garden this past year. She goes to your place to work with the butter and cream at least once a week. I have to tell you, Mike, I never ate this well before I married Summer."

Bradley thought the beef stock was ready for market, so I made a mental note to get the butcher out here to see what he thought. I would also put another steer in the barn to fatten up. All of this meant that I would need to begin searching for more beef stock, but I wanted some heifer calves this time so that I could begin breeding my own stock. I figured the big pasture on the mountainside could probably handle nearly twice as much stock, so I was going to try to load up for the coming year to a year and a half.

Bradley bumped into me with his shoulder on the way back to the house, and said, "Summer is pregnant again, but I don't think she's going to have twins. She just had it confirmed by the doc. I think that might be all for us. I'd love to have another boy, but Summer says she wants a little girl this time. Do you think I should encourage her to have another boy if she does have a girl?"

I had to laugh, "You don't get to choose in advance, Bradley. What you get is what you get. Why would you restrict yourself to only two boys?"

"Heck, Mike, I know that I was more than a handful for my parents, and I don't know whether I can be as patient as Mom and Dad were. I just figured that two boys would be a big help on the farm the way I finally became for Dad."

"Well, you know that Summer may be like her mother and enjoy little ones. Millie's upset that she's only given me John and the twins, but we also have Minya and Mato to raise now. I think she should be content."

Bradley almost giggled, "Summer said that you've finally taken Rosita for a wife. She said that Rosita has talked about becoming a wife for over a year. Now Summer thinks we should consider a second wife for me so that we could have more kids. I don't think so, since I don't know how we would ever be able to handle a bunch of kids."

"I'll tell you, Bradley. You better watch Summer, and don't let her be inviting one of these young women over all the time, or she'll have become a part of the household the first thing you know. Women are sneaky, Bradley, so be aware."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Summer will bring things up while we're playing and expect me to have an intelligent answer. I've been able to put off giving her an answer so far, so at least she isn't mad at me."

"Don't worry, Bradley. She won't be mad; disappointed, yes, but not mad. But don't think that she will stop looking or thinking about it. I'd suggest just making sure you keep her content at home and pay attention when she's working in the garden next summer."

"You're right, Mike. That's when she could be shopping for that second woman. I'll call Bea to make sure she keeps an eye on Summer for me. I know Summer has fun helping in the garden, and it has paid off to give both us and my folks all of the canned vegetables we could want. It's worth it to do it with you guys, as I don't have to mess with a garden now and can focus on the fields and equipment."

Back inside, we talked with everyone until it was time for Bradley and Summer to head home. The other couples also began getting ready to go. Bernie and Sheryl stayed to have supper and evening dessert. Karen had talked to Mom and was ready to get picked up by Denise to go back to school.

I excused myself to go out to do the milking. Rosita followed me out and said, "I'll do the equipment and pasteurization, while you get the cows in and milk the one. I'll bring the bucket in."

The cows were accommodating as usual, and came in to put their heads in the stanchions to stand and be milked. The cow gave a bucket and a half of milk. This is much more than most Jerseys give, and you could see that her milk was rich because of the little yellow curds floating on the top of the milk can.

I was lucky tonight as there was no cow pee or poop to clean up. They wanted to be around me when I put them out, and competed with the deer to be up next to me for scratches behind the horn ridge. The deer's girlfriend was still hanging around and enjoying the extra food, as well as a place out of the weather.

Sheryl told me that evening, "I have two doctors coming to be part of the clinic. We've also been able to find several more nurses. We can now become a closer alternative for a lot of the small towns near us that have been going up to Mount Sterling. The area is growing with people, and with the additional growth due to your developments, the clinic could become an important small community hospital. This expansion is really an important event for this area, Mike."

Bernie was nodding his head as he said, "Hopefully, one of the men I have contacted will be good for a station and program manager. I think that we'll be a lot better off if we can keep ourselves from being top heavy in management, and hold conferences together to make programming and other decisions. I'm already working on some advertising, and I'll share it with Frank tomorrow. The stations are going to work, Mike."

"I never doubted that they would," I told Bernie. "How has the acceptance of substitute hosts at your station in town been this past week?"

"Well, it's Thanksgiving week, so there were only four days to be concerned about. The new guys and the girl we have are all having a good time, and the listeners are enjoying them. We really don't have to worry about the gossip times here, but the hosts still have to keep their fingers on the dump button in case someone gets a little crude. We do preface the gossip stuff that their call will be dumped if the caller is crude or abusive. It's all been good so far."

I asked Bernie, "How soon do you think you will be able to begin integrating some of the local news into the TV station?"

"Right away, Mike. I've discussed what I wanted to do, and how I thought we might begin, with the news department. Putting some trucks in the field to get interviews about what's happening in our area, with people from the small towns surrounding the station, should increase advertising revenue and our ratings. I'm already going to have the radio station give our farm market report and begin doing a call of the various law enforcement agencies in the small communities to hear what has been going on. That should give us some more listeners and also give the TV people leads as to where to go for interviews."

"All good ideas, Bernie; I hope you can get it all to work."

"It will, Mike. We're covering a hell of an area with the repeater on your tower."

Sheryl told Bernie, "Tell Mike what you talked to Harold about."

Bernie smiled as he told me his plan. "The local station has a lot of shut-ins, or near shut-ins, that can't get out and go to church. Since our church is non-denominational and Harold is not a thumper, I thought we could broadcast his service on Sunday mornings and increase the listener base during that time. We would also be providing a service to those who can't get to church. Harold is in agreement, but doesn't want a bunch of microphones on his podium. He says that detracts from what he's saying. He has agreed to wear a wireless microphone and to have a couple of overhead microphones for the singing and choir. Harold even suggested that we broadcast the Bible study class, since he said that no one would ever object to lessons on the Bible. I think that we could have a few ad spots between Bible study and the church service, if we did that. I'll work on getting it hooked up to transmit back to the station. We should be able to do it over a telephone line so that we wouldn't have any delays. I'm working on it."

A lot of amazing things are coming from Bernie. I was happy that the trust could help him and the community, as it made all of us stronger.

We were finally down to only our family. I watched as John sat on Rosita's lap and was surprised when he called her 'Momma' right after calling Millie 'Momma' when he had wanted something. That was probably correct for the time being. John was cute by the way he was attempting to learn to say 'Kevin', but 'Karen' was easier as he already had played with her.

The older kids were having fun playing Candyland with Minya and Mato. They played that and the Cherry game until it was time to go to bed.

As we cuddled that night, I told the two women, "I'm happy and proud of the way you two handle the kids. They will grow up loving you both as mothers. You both know how I resisted us going farther in our relationship, but it's easy to see how much we love each other. I am happy we took that extra step after all."

Both women tenderly kissed me. It was funny that Millie leaned over and kissed Rosita on the lips at that moment, then back to me. She whispered to me, "We both want you tonight, but our woman stuff came to both of us today. I guess that Rosita isn't pregnant yet."

As we lay in each other's arms, Millie asked, "Did you know that Summer is pregnant again? She said that she found out that it was true last week. She is already over two months along and very happy. She wants a girl, and Bradley wants another boy. She said it was too bad that she couldn't have twins like I did."

I told the two, "Bradley told me the same story, and he admitted that he didn't want more than two kids, but I think I convinced him how much fun it is to have a larger family if Summer can have more."

Rosita told me, "I want your baby in me and for us to have more children. Millie and I talked about it, and we think it will be good to have a big family. We have plenty of food and know how to grow it, so we can have many without worrying about food."

Millie told Rosita, "I didn't understand about money for a long time, but I now know how we get money for those things we grow and do. Our eggs, meat, milk, and garden give us money for those other things we need. It's almost like we should be trading with Walmart to get those other things, like clothes, but they don't trade. They only take money."

Rosita said, "I understand money because you don't eat if you don't have money in Mexico. That is why Mexican farmers will do what the cartels want. They have to eat, and that's the only way to get money now that the cartels have taken the land. This is a better country because there is no cartel to tell us what to grow. I think you would get your big gun and make them go away if they came, Mike. I wish you could go down there and shoot all of them, but there are too many and you would die. I'll keep you here, and Millie and I will love you and have babies instead."

I was all for that rather than dying. I'm glad I wasn't a farmer in Mexico, because I would have resisted and attempted to organize against the cartels, and that would have probably caused me and my family to disappear.

We slowly drifted off to sleep.

"Ah, you are too smart. But are you smart enough to go back and look again? Are you smart enough to listen to me, a ghost? You've followed me before, Mike. Follow me again. I will come to you and you will follow me. There will be a time when you should follow where I lead and go to where I point."

I wasn't talking back, as I felt this was just a dream and couldn't be real.

"I will come to you again soon, Mike. Remember that I will guide you. Until then, enjoy the girl who plays in the mountain flowers."

I felt a cold draft over my face and quickly sat up. The women on each side of me stayed asleep, but I quickly looked around trying to determine what had caused that cool breeze across my face. Something caused me to become very drowsy, so I lay back down and was asleep in seconds.

Morning had me up dressed and out the door to get the chores done as quickly as possible. I didn't even get the equipment prepped before Rosita came into to the milk house. "I will do the milking, Mike. You do the heavy feeding."

As I finished what I was doing while getting the funnel and filter ready, Rosita asked, "Did you see the other deer back where the buck stays? It looks like there are two or three does back there with him and one of the does has a fawn that only looks a few months old."

"I guess I'll see when I let the cows in, in a few minutes. Let me get some grain for the cows and I'll let them in."

I slowly opened the door that led out to the lean-to where the cows waited to be let in a few minutes later. The deer wasn't trying to push his way in, but waited until I let the cows in. He stood in front of me as I looked past him to see three does and one fawn. Could this be his baby? I'd bet it was and he was finally convincing the does to come under the lean-to where they would be out of the weather. It also had grain and hay. I closed the door to close the stanchions where the cows were now standing and eating.

I watched as Rosita sat on the stool, washed the cow, and began milking. I went back to the side of the barn and brought some ground up corn and oats to spread in the long feeder where the animals were.

Even the small fawn was able to get its head over the side of the trough to get at the grain. I watched as the buck watched his herd eat. He waited until they were all eating before he began eating near me.

I busted some hay for the cows and the deer too, but didn't bust more than I normally did as the cows never finished theirs. This would possibly keep down the hay waste. There never was grain left over, but there was always hay pulled from the hay bin and trampled into the ground.

Rosita was finished hand milking as I went to begin cleaning behind the cows. They had finished their grain, so I let them out to their area and watched them nudge the deer aside to get at the additional grain. They were bigger and were able to convince the smaller does that they were first for grain. I would have to consider that and possibly have two different feeding areas. The cows didn't push the fawn away and allowed it to get his head into the trough between them.