Prayers for Brandon

Please keep Brandon in your prayers. Two days ago, he told me his stomach hurt just above his navel. I looked at it but couldn't see anything amiss. It did feel a little hard in that spot, so told him just to be careful. His mother and I wondered if he had a hernia.

That night, his navel started oozing and the next morning it had really drained overnight. There was a bit of blood in the drainage. I became a little concerned and thought he should see a dr. His mother thought he'd had a boil that had ruptured. She took care of it, cleansing and drying it. It was a little red in the area, but not much and no red streaks that would have indicated blood poisoning.

Today she had a doctor's appointment and she took Brandon with her. Seems that he had a scratch inside his navel that became infected. The doctor gave him an antibiotic and some anti fungal cream. He is to clean the area and apply it to keep the infection from spreading while the antibiotic does its work.

Prayers are very much appreciated. I have never heard of such a thing before and imagine that it may have been scratched by something while he was doing yard work the other day. Thanks.

Playing with a Robin

I'm not sure if this little girl is watching a robin or if it's a bluebird or maybe some other kind of bird, but the one I interacted with tonight was indeed a robin.

I was watering the plants outside with the hose and trying to revive our burned out lawn. I was swishing the hose back and forth on the grass when a plump, male robin landed and began pecking at the grass. I figured the water had called an earthworm to the top of the soil and Mr. Robin was trying to make a feast of it.

I very gently moved the hose so the water would land near the robin. When I did instead of him moving away, he moved right into the spray. I kept the hose still and let him have a bath. It was a hot day today and I figured he needed to cool off.

We played a game for a while. I would move the hose and he would hop into the spray. I would move it back and he would follow. He looked right at me and knew that I was there. Dakota was also outside lying beneath the stairs that goes to the upstairs apartment. The robin didn't seem to mind that either of us were close by.

For about ten minutes we played the game and then I guess Mr. Robin had cooled off because he spread his wings and flew onto the railing of the neighbor's porch. What an awesome experience it was getting so close and knowing that the bird was enjoying our time of interaction.

Interesting Results

Twice now I've tried to post the results of a test I took, "Who Do You Write Like?" Both times the html didn't work, but I was surprised at the results. It said I write like Margaret Mitchell. Wow! I wish I could write a novel like "Gone with the Wind." I would be ecstatic. I've written a novel but try as I may, I've never been able to get it published. Maybe one day.

If you'd like to see who you write like, give it a try at this link. It's very interesting.

http://iwl.me/

Business is Slow

Last year hubby and Brandon started a lawn mowing and yard cleaning business. Over the summer they made quite a bit of money, so this year they decided to try it again. Brandon is learning a lot by taking part in all aspects of the business. He helps give free estimates, helps do the work and the cleanup. He is also learning that things don't always go the way you'd like them too.

These photos are of Brandon earlier this year mowing our lawn. He does a great job and has come a long way since he started last year. At that time he'd never mowed a lawn.

This year hasn't been as good as last year. In the photos, you'll notice how green the lawn was earlier in the year. Now it is brown and almost burned out. There is a ban on watering because we haven't had more than a few drops of rain since mid June and water levels are low. He hasn't mowed our lawn in a month and if it's cooler next week he may have to do it.

Jobs are very scarce this year. Though we have regular customers, no one is having their yard mowed because the grass just isn't growing. In April and May, the guys were run off their feet with yard cleaning and grass mowing and it was difficult to fit it all in because there was so much rain.

Brandon is learning the ups and downs of a job where you depend on the weather. If it's too wet, they can't fit the jobs in. If it's too dry, there is nothing to do. A good lesson to teach him that in business you need to save your hard earned dollars for the hard times. In fact, it's a good life lesson.