One thing was for sure. Something was broken.

The problem with wells is that they’re under ground. There’s no simple way to look and see what’s going on.

The problem with wells and windmills is that the wind has to be blowing to be able to see what’s going on.

This well has a windmill and a solar pump. The combination means that no matter the weather there’s almost always something that make water pump. These are the most reliable, least worrisome tanks on the place. They always have water!

Except now.

The stream was getting smaller and smaller. We could hear the solar pump pumping. It was working. Kind of. But no water was coming out. If only we knew whether the windmill was able to pump water. The trickle the solar pump was producing would never keep up with the cows until someone could get out to work on the well. If the windmill was pumping water they would be ok over night. If the wind would only blow.

We stood there looking up at the perfectly still windmill on the rare perfectly still day.

My husband cussed it. Said there was no way we’d be able to know that. We’d have to just move the cows.

No, I said. God and I have a deal. I have never once needed a windmill to turn, to fix it, or check it, or do some sort of work, just a few turns of the head, that He hasn’t sent just enough wind to get the job done. Just wait a minute.

We sat there waiting. A moment or two that seemed longer in the dust and heat. Shortly there came a stirring. The grass rustled ahead of the breeze. Then the head squealed as the breeze started it going. It cranked just long enough for a solid stream of water to come out of the pipe. Then it eased to a stop.

The well was fine. There was water down there. When the wind picked up again for real the cows would have water until we could get it fixed. I would never be so greedy as to ask for a steady breeze. But that single gust to move the sucker rod to where I needed it or to check the well. Those have never not been provided when I ask. I never doubted it would come.

God and I have a deal and I full appreciate it.

Good husbands really are a good thing.

The children had run out of a few things that they desperately needed. Or so they kept saying. Monday was already packed but when they were in such desperate need, what could I do but fit in a trip to the store. Coming out with my cart full of groceries I looked lovingly at my car, thinking how much I loved the old junker. There’s no need to worry about parking carefully so she doesn’t get scratched and it’s nice to be able to leave windows down and doors unlocked when it’s hot out. No one would think there could be anything to steal in that old thing. And they’d be right.

Then I got in and started her.

The thunking and banging as the motor sprang to life was shocking. I thought at first there might be a mouse in the fan. Again. Got the air-conditioning shut off and the noise didn’t stop. Oh dear. Now I wasn’t feeling quite so proud of my old dear. It’s somehow more embarrassing to have car trouble when you know people will be judging you for the old piece of junk you drive. Popping the hood, and carefully holding it open because it no longer holds itself, I peered into the engine.

Not sure what I thought I’d be able to find. I know nothing about cars. In this case, the trouble was obvious and I actually was able to pinpoint it!

The belt. It was coming to pieces. Strips were coming off. As they banged around hitting everything in their path as the belt made it’s loop, they were the cause of the racket. It was also splitting the other way, cracks running across the short way. This didn’t bode well for the long drive home through a large area with no cell service.

I called my husband.

He was very busy. Mondays at work are always hectic. He was not quite as far away as home was. But almost.

He advised a little trimming. I tried that. It silenced the noise, and maybe without the extra flapping and added damage I could make a run for home? As I drove off I asked God to please not let the car die where there was no phone service. Back to our town would be nice. I wasn’t asking to make it all the way home. Just closer and not in a bad spot. Please, if he didn’t mind.

By the time I got out of the parking lot it was obvious home was not going to happen. The belt was falling apart fast and the racket was back to full volume. So I pulled into Runza. Parked and called my husband. Again. He would take care of me. And he did. Borrowing tools from a friend in town he called around and found a new belt, then started driving. I waited contentedly in the parking lot, after going in and getting a drink. He picked up parts and met me. We had lunch together. Then it took him all of five minutes to replace the belt.

Our cars have never died in a bad place. It’s always things like this. The best possible of a bad situation. Once we got off a train and got in the old car we had at the time, well after midnight middle of winter. The car started up and drove us the rest of the way home. Then would never start again. But it waited until we got home. This time God said, um, no. You can’t try to drive that home. How about this instead? I asked Him not to let it die in a bad place, and He didn’t. He also got me a very nice lunch with my wonderful husband.

I’m not sure how people survive without good husbands like this. Men who can fix anything, who take care of all the things despite already being loaded with responsibilities and a heavy workload. I have a father and brother and even a son, young still but well on his way, who are the same way. Hard working, loving, taking care of their families no matter what. The good men out there are one of God’s best gifts to us. Even better than cars that always die in the best places.

Miracles don’t have to be huge and flashy to have a huge impact. Sometime the small whispers and touches of God are barely even noticeable. Until we realize what it would have been like without that small touch.

Going out to feed on a cold frosty morning I was met with two new calves. One with a close, attentive mama, was up bouncing around.

The other lay in a frosty shivering heap, as his mama napped near by. I got her up and bothered her, hoping she would get defensive of her calf, start licking and helping him get warm. She shook her head at me and laid back down as soon as I left. He shivered harder.

Back with proper tools this time I rolled him into the sled. She shook her head and yelled at me but didn’t come close enough to make me use the hammer I had ready just in case.

Bellowing loudly she chased us to the gate. If she had shown that much interest earlier I wouldn’t have needed to be taking her calf in the first place. As we got to the gate I started to wonder how this was going to work out. I had left it open so I wouldn’t have to stop, but how would I keep her in once I got out? It wouldn’t be fun having her ‘help’ as I got the calf into the warmer.

As I pulled the 4wheeler through the gate, the rope connecting the sled to the 4wheeler came untied. Right in the middle of the gate. I cursed it in my head. What a terrible thing to have happen. Then went to pull it through by hand.

Because I was there pulling it slowly by hand I was able to shut the gate as the calf came through. I was able to chase the mom back a little bit and keep her from coming through the gate. I was able to close the gate on her nose as she tried to follow through. The rope had come untied at exactly te perfect spot to make everything work perfectly.

It’s those tiny, sometimes barely even noticeable, miracles that make the huge differences. The calf and I both survived. He is getting warm now. I will go get his mom and bring her in so they can have another try at this whole mothering thing. Maybe he’ll be able to help himself out a bit more and make it work this time.

God is good.

Calf pictured is not the calf in question. This calf we pulled out of a heifer. It was huge, bigger than Pansy. Up and doing good!

The link had been open on my laptop for months.

I enjoy listening to podcasts while I clean house, so not many had been listened to lately. Horses In The Morning is a big one. It would sure be fun to get an interview there! I always thought. So I pulled their page up and looked for contact info.

Hard as I looked I could not find any or figure out how to get a hold of them. Guess that one was out of the question. Finally, I clicked on the tab again. There were too many open, I was going to have to close a few. But, one last look first.

Immediately an email address popped out at me. Weird. I had looked and looked and could never figure out how to contact them. That is, I may have seen the email address before, obviously it had been there all along, but never been able to comprehend how to go about contacting them. That day, suddenly it was crystal clear. I dropped a quick email, introduced myself, said I’d love to talk about whorls someday if they ever wanted.

Then forgot about it. They would never want to talk to me.

Then one day I checked email to find one from Horses In The Morning! They had an opening and would like to do an interview. The next day! We got everything lined up and I was nearly sick with nerves. But I didn’t realize until the interview was just about over just how important my lack of ability to contact them had been.

As we finished up talking Glen said that he had received my email just after talking to a friend about horse whorls. The timing was perfect and made him want to talk.

Had I been able to figure out how to send that email sooner the timing wouldn’t have been right. The interview may or may not have taken place. But sent just when it was everything fell into place.

Sometimes God puts blinders on us. He stops us from seeing things that are clearly visible right in front of our faces. These blinders hold us back and make us wait on God’s time, instead of rushing forwards on our own. When He knows the time is right, He will remove the blinders and send us out to do what is needed. Everything is on time when it’s on God’s time.

You can find the interview here: https://www.horsesinthemorning.com/understanding-whorls-evacuations-and-horse-bread-for-sep-14-2022-by-state-line-tack/