I Could

          I could title this letter blog I'm In Trouble.

          "Why are you in trouble?" you ask.

          I'm in trouble because I picked out 180 pictures to share with you this week. I've got it whittled down some now but not nearly enough.

          I could title it Open Doors. No open door is safe with this girl and her camera around!

          I could call it Road Trips because we did a lot of driving this week.

          Or Lewisburg because we went to Lewisburg.

          Maybe Buying A New Tractor because that's why we went to Lewisburg.

          How about 800 Pictures! I took over 800 pictures on that trip to Lewisburg.

          Or maybe Hours! It took me hours and hours and hours to sort through, edit, and reduce the size of all of the pictures I took this week. Five to six of them, at least, although it wasn't straight hours because life is mixed up in there too. Preparing meals for Mike and me, doing dishes, caring for critters, and let's not forget making coffee and all the ensuing potty breaks as a result of that. I drink coffee from the time I get up until suppertime, don't 'cha know. I'm a chain coffee-drinker.

          I could call it Barns for all the barn pictures I took.

          I could call it Quotes because I have two quotes rattling around in my head that I just love and want to share with you.

          And that leads me to Dying as another possibility. My oldest and very much loved sister Patti said something to me one day during a conversation that's stuck in my head. I'm not sure I've ever heard it before but it's certainly very true and very profound.

          "A house not lived in dies," she told me.

          I tend to take a lot of pictures of inanimate things dying, not just houses. And I thought of that when I saw this one.

          "That house is dying," I said to Mike as we whizzed past.

          I could call this letter blog Cows or Tractors or Farms because you're going to see lots of those things in today's letter blog.

          Whereas I sometimes have trouble coming up with a title, this time I could go on and on. But what do you say we get on with it. I know you want to know.

          So! The big question, the one I'm sure you're dying to have me answer is, "Why did Mike get a new tractor?"

          As I've said before, in other letter blogs, the tractor Mike had wasn't big enough to handle some of the jobs he wanted to do and he's been watching Marketplace on FaceBook for one to come up. One finally did.

          "Peg, you wanna go for a ride?" Mike asked on Wednesday.

          "I don't know, tempt me."

          "How about if I take you down to Lewisburg so you take road pictures?"

          He's clever, isn't he. "Really! What's the real reason?" See? I'm on to him.

          "Let's look at a tractor."

          "I'm okay with that."

          Mike started telling me all about this tractor then asks, "Where's Lewisburg?" He turned to the computer and started typing it in the website Distance Between Cities.

          "It's where we took Momma to have lunch with my brother Ed and his wife Barb. Do you remember?"

          "Kinda," he answered distractedly as he looked at Google maps.

          The next morning, we got up, took care of the critters, and left out of here by eight o'clock and I don't waste any time starting to take pictures.

          A tree down at the Kipp's old homestead.

          This is a wagon for the collection of maple sap.     

          In New Albany, there's still plenty of evidence of this past summer's flooding.

          These three places are all dying together.

         This garage used to be covered in hubcaps —and we have an open door!

          Remember Aaron Kelly? He finished fifth in the ninth season of American Idol. That was in 2010. He's from Sonestown, which we drove past, and I see there's still an old Aaron Kelly sign hanging around.

          In the way back you can see they're tapping the sugar maples.

          And then, 70 some miles later, we were there.

          Other than there being lots of farm equipment sitting around, it didn't look like a traditional equipment sales place.

          We watched an SUV drive down the driveway ahead of us and park. We watched as a man got out of his SUV and walk around behind the newer building. Mike parked in front and went inside while I hooked Ginger up to her leash. She loves to go with us, unlike Itsy who'd rather not. Then I followed him in.

          "There's no one in here," Mike said.

          I glanced around. There were huge overhead doors for bringing equipment inside, a long workbench, and tools all over the place. In the corner was what appeared to be an office. "Did you look in there?"

          "Yeah. It's empty."

          We went back outside and followed the sound of a tractor around the building. A man was getting it running while another looked on. Finally satisfied it would stay running he got off and spoke with the man, gestured up the other way, and stood watching as the other guy got on and drove it. I expected he'd come talk to us while the guy was test driving the tractor but he didn't. "Since we all got here about the same time maybe he thinks we're together," I said to Mike.

          "Maybe," Mike replied.

           Mike spotted the tractor he'd been looking at online and looked it over while I looked around for interesting pictures to take. I want to check out that barn, I thought but didn't take any liberties. I'd wait and ask for permission. 

           We probably waited half an hour, maybe it was only 20 minutes. The other guy left and Jo came and greeted us.

          "Can I walk around and take pictures while you guys are talking?" I asked a very young Jo. He's got this huge business and he's just 24. He's been selling tractors since he was 12, Mike told me later.

           "Sure."

          With Jo's permission, I headed straight for the barn. I don't know if I would've been brave enough to open doors but luckily I didn't have to find out. They were open. I didn't wander around inside the barn, just stepped inside and snapped a few pictures.

There was certainly a lot of light coming through the sides of this barn! And I could smell the cows that were under my feet. 

          I walked out and intended to go look for the cows but it was too muddy.

          I could hear geese flying overhead. This isn't the first time this year I've heard them as they head for their summer grounds, but it is the first time I could spot them. They fly high! Does the sound of them squawking remind anyone else of the flying monkeys on the Wizard Of Oz or is it just me?

          Down around the barn I went and found another open door and there were cows in there! I picked Ginger up to give her a chance to kiss noses with the cows but they scared her and she scared them. I move forward, the cows backed up. I backed up and they pressed forward. At first, there were only two cows but it wasn't long until other curious cows, noses extended, jostled their way to the front to see what was going on.

           Tiring of the game, I went in search of more pictures.

          Windows!

          I caught up with Mike and Jo as they were heading to another section to look at another machine.

          "Was this a summer house?" I asked.

          "No," Jo answered. "It was their butchering shed. We tore it down because we couldn't get insurance on it. There's a spring under it and the wife is going to make a little fish pond."

          I could see where they would've had the big iron kettles heating water to pluck chickens or maybe rendering lard.

          I asked to use his restroom and the only one they have is in the house. "Just go on in, make a left and the bathroom's there on the left," he directed me. "There's no one in there so you'll be fine."

          I made a side trip while the guys went on.

          I caught up to the guys and when there was a break in their conversation, I butted in. "I see you saved all the windows from that old shed."

          "Yeah, the wife's going to... do something with them."

          He clearly didn't remember what she told him.

          "Something artsy?" I guessed.

          "Yeah. She likes to do stuff like that."

          Jo's employee passed us on his way to do a job. "Hi Chris," Jo said.

          And when I passed Chirs I said, "Hi Chris!" I could tell he was surprised because he paused before replying in kind. A little later I had an opportunity to chat with Chris and get a quote for my Human's page. In a nutshell, he's 36, going to be a grandfather, and has testicular cancer. Next week he goes to get his bad 'boy' removed.

          I was standing outside with Mike and Jo while they talked over particulars and a horse neighed. I was startled. "A horse! I didn't see no horse!"

          "You didn't? He's right inside that garage door. Just push it up and go on in. There's two dogs in there too."

          "They don't bite, do they?" 

          "No."

          I left Ginger in the Jeep and went to see the horse. The first box stall appeared to be empty — until I went to look over the side. This guy jumps up and I jump back, startled! "You scared me!" I told him.

          Slurp slurp slurp, he says licking at my hand.  I spent some time lovin on him (the other guy was too little for me to pet) and the horse came over. 

           I left the dogs and spent some time petting his velvety nose, stroking his neck and forehead, and cooing praises — wishing I had a sugar cube or carrot in my pocket the whole time. Who knew I'd get to visit with a horse!

          I'm walking back up the drive when the Jeep backs out and Mike comes to pick me up. I climbed in. "Did you make a deal?" I asked closing the door and getting my seatbelt on.

          "Yep. He's going to throw delivery in on the deal."

           And that brings us to the return trip home. You may recognize some of these pictures from the trip down but I tried not to do too much of that, even if things do look different going the other way.

          There's a little sign in the middle of this train bridge, see it?    

   

           We spotted the place where we had lunch with my mother and my brothers so many years ago.

          I thought I'd track down the picture for you but I can't find it. All of my photos are stored by date and I don't have a clue when it was. I called my cute little redhaired brother Rick.

          "When was that?" I asked.

          "I don't know!" He sounded a little exasperated.

          "You had your Jeep then. If you could tell me the year I might be able to narrow it down a little."

          "That was before 2015 because Cindra died in 2015," he said.

          "Well, I knew it was before 2015 because we moved Momma to Arizona in 2015."

          "My Jeep was an 09 and I bought it in 2013. So I'd say it was 13 or 14. Why don't you ask Patti? She'd remember."

          "Why would Patti remember?" I asked.

          "She was there."

          I'd sorta forgotten, but once he jogged my memory I realized Mike and I had been down there twice with Momma. The first time Mike and I took her and we met my brother Ed and his family. The last time was a bigger gathering of my family and Patti drove us. That's when Rick was there. However, I'm all over wanting to find that picture.

          This guy looks like he was abandoned. Who would leave such a nice looking truck behind when they move?

          It was a beautiful day and several yards had laundry drying on the line. I've seldom done mine this way.

  

          I could call this letter blog Pictures! because there certainly are a lot of them in here this week. 94 if my count is right. Which means I have a lot more to show you. Maybe later. Right now I think we should call this one done!

          Done!