I have a funny story to share about this past Wednesday! It actually really started Tuesday night, we had gone out for a late night treat of ice cream, and shortly after we returned Dad found out that the walk-in freezer was not functioning properly so we had to empty it and squeeze all of the meat into every nook and cranny we could find in our other freezers. After extension cords and some duck tape, we packed in the last piece of meat. We had just enough room! The Lord always provides! Wednesday morning, Dad, Sam and Gabe took one of our cows up to "see a bull" near Sussex, Virginia. We were having a hard time breeding her so we took her up to a friend of ours who has a Dexter bull. Shortly after Dad and the little boys left, Mom, Maddie and Hannah left to make the Norfolk deliveries as our Grandfather wasn't able to do them. So Katie, Will, Rebecca, Lucy and I were left at home to run the store, watch the animals, etc. After breakfast I decided we would tackle another bookshelf in the library. (We’re emptying all of the shelves because we're about to replace the flooring and paint.) While Katie and the little girls did the after meal clean-up, Will and I started on the shelves. We were interrupted part way through when two customers pulled into the driveway. Katie and I went out to help them.
"You're in charge, Will. Y'all keep working!" I admonished him as we headed out the door, leaving him packing books into boxes and the little girls doing dishes. One of the ladies was a long time customer who comes out about once a month and stocks up, and the other lady had been out once before, and was picking up for herself and a friend. Some folks like to tell us what they want and we'll get it together for them, while others like to look through all of the freezers and pick out what they want. (Please remember that the night before we had emptied the walk-in so everything was all over the place!) Today it was a mixture, the long time customer dug through our freezers and the other lady told us what she wanted, though after watching me take something out she glanced in behind me and saw what we had. "Oh! You have sausage?" she exclaimed. "Oh yes! Their sausage is the best!" the other lady enthused, (one of our favorite customers! :) While we were getting together their orders, a cow share owner stopped by to pick up his groups cow shares. I directed him to where it was and then finished up with the second time customer. The longtime customer stayed and chatted awhile, discussing recent health awareness books she had read and such. As she was talking, I noticed a sharp burning smell flooding the room, glancing outside I saw billows of smoke rolling over the pastures from the southeast. It was a very windy day and I wondered fearfully if somebody's fire had gotten out of hand, the customer is still talking in the background and I pretend to listen as visions of forest fires fill my mind, sweeping fire blowing right toward us, Dad and Mom are gone, I would have to drive us out of here. (And I don't have my license! Also, as Maddie informed me later, we didn't have any keys anyways!) As Katie and I were helping her take her bags out to the car, this really big guy, (reminds me of Hoss on Bonanza) drove up in this huge truck. My mind still on the "fire", I worried that maybe he was a neighbor who had seen the fire and was coming to warn us to get out! (Laugh if you want, but I was scared!) He asked if we had any chicken, So Katie and I went back into the store to help him. After we had dug out 5 chickens for him from the bottom of one of the chest freezers, He paid for his purchases and left. As Katie and I followed him out of the shop we saw an animal control truck parked in our driveway! The lady was walking toward us. "Hi, we received a complaint that your cows are thin" she said, almost sounding apologetic. "Our cows are thin?" I repeated incredulously. "Those down there," she said, pointing down to where three of our heifer calves were grazing down near the road. "He said that your parents weren't home" said the woman, speaking of Will who had come outside with the phone. "When will they be back?" she asked. "Um, they should be back by 4pm" I answered. She began to write on a business card, "How old are the calves?" she asked, we told her when they had been born and then I said. "They're gangly when they're little, but they fill out once they get bigger." "People just don't understand" she mumbled, and I took it to be for the folks who had made the complaint. She handed me the card and then told me to have my parents call her when they returned, I assured her that I would and then she left. Meanwhile, going back a little, Will had been talking to Mom on the phone inside, "We've had lots of customers coming!" he told her, "and one of them was this creepy looking guy," he continued, leaving the house to bring me the phone. "Please give the phone to Morgan" Mom says... "Oh, what's all of this smoke?” Will continued. “It's really foggy; I can hardly see there's so much smoke!" Will continues to talk in a distant voice like he's talking to himself. "Hey, it looks like a police man just pulled up in our driveway!" (This is getting better and better, isn't it? Poor Mom!) "Will! Will! Give the phone to Morgan!" Mom's yelling, trying to get him to respond. She hears him talking to the animal control lady, "No, my parents aren't home" Finally the phone gets to me and I explain to Mom all that has happened. Dad arrived home shortly afterwards, and then he and Will drove down the road a little ways to see if they could find the source of the smoke which had fairly dissipated by now. It turned out to be a field on fire, it was just the leftover stubble, the field had already been harvested. Whether or not the fire was intentional we're not sure. After the fact, this story is very laughable to us! Also, I think the animal control lady has to come back at some point, so please pray that the meeting goes well.
-Morgan
