Reach Out and Touch Someone

Before we bought this place in 2008, the previous house had been destroyed by fire.  The owners put a trailer out back to live in while they were rebuilding the house, and of course they had electric and phone lines put in.  The power lines were gone before we moved here, but the phone line has remained an eyesore across the middle of our view for almost seven years.

A couple years ago, a hawk decided that the right-hand pole made a great lookout for checking out our barnyard smorgasbord.  I've made several requests over the past two years for the phone company to remove the poles and lines, but nothing came of it.  So we've continued to live with the hawk and the big black line across our view.
 

Imagine our surprise when the phone company recently turned up to take down the unneeded telephone poles and lines.  It looks like my efforts to "reach out and touch someone" finally paid off!  As a fringe benefit, they left the poles for us to use as fence posts.

Better yet, hey left us with a beautiful, unobstructed view!

I spared a grateful thought for the nice phone company guys as we enjoyed the sunset that evening, a sight that will really reach out and touch someone!

This Is the Squeeze Chute that Herb Built

With apologies to Mother Goose . . .

This is the barn that Herb had.

This is the barn that needed a chute to work the cattle that Herb kept.

This is the cow that helped Herb dig . . .

A place in the barn to put the gravel . . .

To hold the chute that Susan bought.

(If you notice "the chute that Susan bought" as a recurring theme, it's because I bought it and when Herb went to bring it home he found out that it weighed 1400 pounds!  Most people take it off their trailer with a forklift.  Um . . . we don't have one!)

This is the frame that Herb built . . .

To lift the chute that Susan bought.

These are the pullers that Herb found . . .

To raise the chute that Susan bought.

This is the cow that helped Herb to raise the chute that Susan bought.

These are the tie-downs that pulled the chute over the gravel that Herb put down.

These are the pullers that lowered the chute . . .

Onto the gravel that Herb put down.

This is the chute that Susan bought 
that sits on the gravel that Herb put down 
in the barn that they had that needed a chute 
to work the cattle they kept.

And this is a cow getting worked in the chute!