Garry was happy to report that this morning someone came to get him to breed a cow in another village when his phone rang while he was there. Someone in the same wanted their cow bred. Right now he is off with Max picking up a ton of fertilizer in Kamskoya (former Dneprapajisk) with the truck. Not so much fertilizer as cattle feed, it's urea and a small amount- a couple pails go in every batch of feed they make for the cows. One of the boys came looking for him an hour ago. I assume it was about the construction project they are working on.
It's still too cold for working on the heifer barn or any of the other projects Garry has planned for the spring or summer. Every week he says they will be spreading fertilzer on the winter wheat fields, but that's still maybe next week as we have snow and it was -14 when we got up this morning. My phone said 3 degrees F for Americans. Looks like another week of cold weather is coming. We have to grab any eggs the hens lay before they freeze now. Yesterday the sun had the snow melting off the roof, making a very icy patch in front of the door. I discovered it when I was taking Bear out for the day. We decided to bring him onto the back porch at night because of the weather, he's about twelve years old. He liked exploring the house for a few minutes, but couldn't settle down until he got a blanket on the porch for the night.
The boys are working next door, fixing the ceiling that didn't quite stay up when it was installed last spring when they built the house. They took it down and have screwed on more wood strapping and are reinstalling the plastic strips, with a few new pieces to fix problem areas. There's a few more things to do, like finish installing the flooring that finally came in last summer, but it is all easier to do with no one living in the house.
If you are wondering why no one is there, Oksana, Kolya and little Matfew have moved into a house on the first street as you come into the village. Ukrainian orphans are supposed to be able to get a free house or apartment from the government, you might remember years ago Max Boradin looked at some broken down houses to choose from, but someone got the one he picked (with a roof on) in the village he grew up in. We don't know any orphans that got a house until now.
That program has evolved into one where they can buy a house that they have to live in (not rent to someone or sell) for ten years and then it's theirs, free and clear. Its only for orphans under 23 and somehow last summer the people in charge of the program in the place where Oksana was from had money left and if she could get all the paperwork done in a week, she could have a house. They knew she was married with a baby now and living here. Our former group home parents wanted to sell their house in the village to move to the city, it was inspected and passed. Max drove her all over a couple of days in the summer and fall and again this last week getting paperwork done in different places, and now they have moved in. The summer kitchen is fixed up pretty nice and they will live there until spring, the big house needs a little work done to modernize it.
As soon as the house next door is finished Nikolai, Alona and little Danil will move in. the students decided this, by the way. He's already bought a chain saw to cut wood for the woodstove. They did a good job of keeping the apartment tidy, and the yard (he bought a weedwacker to trim the grass) so I think the yard will look nice next summer. Garry plans to do some work in the bathroom at that apartment before anyone moves in there.
I just finished baking bread and a couple dozen oatmeal cookies, Garry is getting spoiled with us having the house to ourselves. Monday night's Chinese food was a hit, the guyys who like spicy food enjoyed the Kung Pao chicken, and everyone liked stir fry, beef lo mein and potstickers. We had mandarins and cookies for dessert.
Monday the guys moved big calves here from the farm and biggest heifers from here back to the heifer barn over there, where they will be the little heifers. They waited a few days for the weather to improve.
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