Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.  I surely have experienced blessings too numerous to count.  Branson has been lots of fun with lots to do.  I even bought a dulcimer.  Now the Jambo is filled with unrecognizable tunes as I try to "play me some mountain music."  twang.

Tomorrow I am headed to Kansas.  

  

Third week at Heifer

   

 Our third and last week at Heifer started out with cooler, wetter weather.  The conditions were not good for working at the chicken house.  So our team was assigned to demolish the insides of a building that was being used as a rec room.  We took off drywall, tore down the ceiling and insulation and ripped up the carpet.  The fun part came when we started shoveling out the blown-in insulation from the walls.  We loaded the lung-clogging fibers into a horse trailer lined with a tarp.  After that, the 2x4 studs were removed and once again I was on nail-removing detail.  We worked for 3 1/2 days on this and accomplished more than was expected.  We quit a little early and started packing up and saying our good-byes.  One couple was going home, the leaders were headed to Texas, and I was on my way to Branson, MO.

Heifer Ranch Week 2

I'm sitting outside right now enjoying the warm weather.  We have had 2 weeks of great weather to work in.  We completed getting the roof off of the chicken house.  Now the men are taking down the rafters and the steel tresses.  This week, while they do that, the women will be assigned to work in another building.

Last Saturday  the 5 team members went to Little Rock (about an hour away) to do some sight-seeing.  We went to Central High School where there is a small museum dedicated to the "Little Rock 9" who crossed the protest lines to integrate the school in 1957.  very interesting.  My leaders  attended school there at that time, and gave a lot of insight.  We then rode a trolley around part of the city and went to Heifer International Headquarters.  It is designed to be one of the 'greenest' buildings.  Across the street is Clinton Library.  We  spent time in both.

Last Sunday we all went to Mt. Eagle to join the Arkansas NOMADS at their reunion.  They are staying there a week to do some work at that UM Conference Retreat Center.  I even knew 2 of the couples, because I had worked with them at separate projects.  The retreat center is a beautiful setting on a bluff above a river.  Many of their trees were broken because of the ice storm last winter and in need of clean-up.

This Friday I was able to join the Heifer Ranch crew in their chicken killing.  slaughter, however you want to put it.  I didn't do the killing, but helped pick pin feathers.  Quite and operation- as all the farmers out there know.  I don't think I'll post those pictures.

This weekend I stayed on the Ranch while the other team members went off in separate ways to do some things.  I did some paper work and walked around the Ranch, enjoying all the sights.

One more week here.

Heifer Ranch Perryville, Arkansas

This place is amazing!!!  Heifer International does so much.  It is fun to be here and learn about all they do.  Our work....not so much fun....No, it's not really so bad.   Our five member NOMADS team is tearing down a chicken house. It is 32 ft x 300 ft.  whew, let me tell you, that's a lot of rusty nails!

This chicken house is from the 1980's when this ranch was a distribution center for the animals. Now animals are gotten from places closer to where they will be given....saves some on the shipping costs.  The chickens that are here are free range now. 

This ranch was where Heifer International started.  It is now an educational center.  It houses 15 different kinds of animals- including water buffalo, camels, llamas.  It is a certified organic farm.  Studies are done to see how best to raise the crops and animals in order to teach the recipients.  

We are provided with lunch (wahoo) that is grown on the ranch.  There is also a global village where visitors are able to stay in houses or huts similar to those in various parts of the world.  They are given meager provisions and have to barter or trade with the others to prepare meals and get what they need to 'live,'  They also care for animals.  Neat.