The Calf Rescue - Tail-end Questions
Cows decided they'd had enough of that other pasture - time to turn them in one last time to the tall Miscanthus. Writing is still research for a few last questions...
Hi,
Glad to have you open this once again (or even for a first time). Yes, life (and writing) goes along on this farm with trials, tribulations, joys, and marvels. And my daily/weekly writing continues as well. Glad to share this all with you.
Too long for email - just click on the link to open it up in full.
You won’t want to miss the bonus at the end…
Farming News - While the cows are back into the Miscanthus now, I had to rescue a calf looking for water at the edge of deep mud.
Writing News - I’ve still got questions about book marketing, so more research, and compiling before I jump into Kickstarter promotion.
Fiction News - 7th in series (of 8). Did you get your copy of the new anthology? Next book is a long serial…
Expectancy Factor - Freedom isn’t something anyone can take away - you can only delude yourself temporarily.
Farming News
A rare herd shot these days.
They’ve been scattered for the last week and I found them together by the minerals.
Got a couple of fence posts replaced this week. So that gate would swing off the ground. You can see how I had to cut a honey-suckle bush off to the ground with loppers. (Should get out the chain-saw and trim it down to the ground, then treat it - note to self.) The new posts are hedge (Osage Orange) and should last a hundred years. That steel gate will need replacing by then, perhaps. And in a few years, I’ll have to replace that fence post that the gate connects to. Firm now, but it’s starting to hollow inside with rot - a slow process.
(That bare ground in that picture is because they installed the new water line and had a lot of digging to get it under the existing fence a couple of months ago.)
This took three days, mostly because I could only work on it a few hours every day, and also because I had to relearn how to “water” a hole to get the clay ground soft enough to dig. The benefit of that is it makes the posts set like they are in concrete most of the year.
This moved itself up to the “must get done” category as it’s the front gate to our new property - and I’ll be having that shed delivered, as well as the power company trucks and other construction happening.
Two errors - I hung the gate early, so it’s a bit too low to the ground. When the grass grows tall (or snow packs high), it puts some stress on opening it. The other mistake was starting too high in replacing the barbed wire - so the fourth wire is a bit too high off the ground - tempting for young calves to get out into the road.
The Calf Rescue
I was fencing yesterday morning and noticed when the herd came down that I didn’t see our orphan calf in the mix.
So I resolved to check for him that evening.
I kept getting an idea that he was needing water and wouldn’t be able to get water from the too-tall waterers we had around. WIth the lack of rain, he might be around the muddy ditch to get some.
That evening, I went there - and sure enough, he was stuck up past his belly in mud. And seeing me, he started bawling.
Sure enough, the only way to get him out was for me to step out into that thick mud. Up past my knees. Then I had to push my gloved hands down below his belly to pull out his backend, then the front. Mud up past my elbows.
Once he scrambled out to the nearby solid footing, he dropped down to rest a bit. Fortunately, I wasn’t then stuck myself. Just mud-covered on my extremities.
Stomping off what I could, and removing my mud-sodden gloves, I made my way back to the truck at the top of the hill. With the idea of getting that calf into the truck’s backend and driving back to the barn - where there was water and hay, plus some feed-mix out of a bucket in my pickup’s bed.
Calling my brother-in-law, he came out and we captured the little darling - who had found enough strength to try trotting away from us. Fortunately, he also decided to butt us as a reward for saving him. With a quick grab of his muddy ear and forcing his head to the ground, my relative had him pinned. Some hay twine around his legs made it possible to lift him on the tailgate, where my brother-in-law sat next to and held the bull calf while I drove us back up to the barn.
We released the little cuss, who trotted off inside the barn and just glared back at us, standing their and shaking a bit. Food, water, and shade was now all his. I went closer to check one more, and he charged right at me, butting my legs. The second time, I opened them a bit and caught his head like a head-gate and checked him over. All good. Once I let him go at last, he backed off.
So I then got this picture:
This morning, I’ll check him before I send this out to you. A sturdy little cuss. Should be fine.
Update: he’s eating and drinking well. So I’ll probably let him out soon to be back with his buddies.
Tiny Home News
We’re still negotiating prices and finalizing a floor plan. I insisted on planning to get the water and drain lines mostly on one interior wall to keep them from freezing in winter, and also making maintenance simpler. But she wants a window looking out over the sink, so that compromise won out. Also, the stove is a bit far from the circuit box, so that wiring will be a bit more expensive - but the old saying rules, “If momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy”.
She wants to go ahead and add enough for a bedroom in that floor plan and save money in the long run. Meaning, we have to come up with a bigger loan somehow. (Sigh.) Still, we have all we need as we need it, so I figure our providence will keep going that way. Just some faith while we persist toward our goal.
My wife is still buying Amish Jersey cream and churning it. The extra butter gets frozen. And if we can’t use the buttermilk, it will go bad eventually - but it’s good protein for dogs, chickens, and cats. Maybe even peacocks, but I haven’t seen that yet. (It was poured into a dog dish and was all gone in a couple of hours when I checked back.)
She’s found a great recipe for fried apples which turns them into a complete delight. Off You-Tube, a traditional southern dish. She says the secret is in some chef-grade vanilla, and cinnamon.
And the apple tree next to us is ripening right along. I’ve got a bucket nearby to put windfalls into, so I’ll start my apple cider vinegar this fall. Looks like there are fewer this year, so maybe I should have started my collecting earlier.
The other fruit I’m looking forward to is persimmons, which I may harvest this week - before they start drying on the trees. I found you can pick them early and they’ll ripen fine. (The road district was trimming one fall and cut off a branch - which fruit ripened a month early, so…)
Writing News
I’ve been recompiling what I know about book marketing, and working out what I need to adjust on my Substack site so I’m ready for that Kickstarter.
That is a longish list right now, plus I am finding other cross-referenced interviews which give me more pointers. I’d like to boil this down to a simple ebook giveaway and supplement to that book - before that Kickstarter has to launch, but I’m running out of time.
Again, for one last time — here’s that list of the books in the WriterpreneurOS series. These are on my store.livingsensical.com site, ready for download. (Under Latest Releases…)
They are all ebook-only digital supplements for the Kickstarter and, of course, limited to those who need-to-know. (So visit today.)
Writerpreneur: The Journey from Algorithm to Artisan - a collection of 19 ebooks into a big bundle - for that Kickstarter - only available from my site.
Cracking the Cashflow Code - ebook only, but also included in WriterpreneurOS.
The WriterpreneurOS Workbook - reader magnet for the Kickstarter, ebook only, from my site.
The Only Two Ways to Write a Story - by John Gillishaw, excerpted, also in the public domain, also a reference work from my site..
Writerpreneur: The Basic Formulas of Fiction - that’s a beta-reader edition for you early adopters. I’ll have a commercial link for you next week.
Writerpreneur OS - why authors have to learn and run a business as an entrepreneurs in order to make a decent living.
Writerpreneur: Copywriting for Authors - the evergreen principles and proved techniques that have come through the ages, ever since the first copywriter was hired (since about 1905).
Death by Advertising Anthology - a nice cozy series of short stories that follow the interesting lives and mysteries of a writer, his loves, and his offspring - though five generations.
Kickstarter
It’s coming down to the point I need to get this Kickstarter rolling. So this week, I’ll set a final date and start the emails and notices for it. Expect some marketing in your in-box from me - but with helpful notes and tips, as usual.
Setting up and ordering the hardback proofs is also on for this week - Just to ensure we have decent final goods. so figure we’ll be into mid/late October for early November for that Kickstarter launch.
Be sure you’ve signed up with Kickstarter (links below) to get announcements for this release..
WriterpreneurOS Posts
This is a selection from that latest Basic Formulas of Fiction book above - and is, again, something I’ve not seen anywhere else. Sentences should each combine fact and fiction to involve the reader and set the story pace.
Fiction Posts
Seventh book in the “Death by Advertising” Anthology posted this week.
Here’s the crossover to the Caretaker trilogy. Where a fourth-generation reclusive writer saves the life of a female marketer through her own copywriting skills.
Another ICYMI: Here’s the full list of stories we’ll be re-telling. Probably end of October when they are all done - that third one is a longish novella, so I may have to split it up.
Death by Advertising
The Caretaker (under the C. C. Brower pen-name)
Triangle - A Memoir , Part 1
Death by Sales Pitch
Triangle - A Memoir, Part 2
Last Chance
Death by Marketing
The Chrysalis Cure
I checked out the Hooman Saga and found it to be a nice little adventure fantasy set in a post-dystopian future. It will nicely serialize here. Now, it runs for some 30-plus short chapters, so I’ll probably include some two or three chapters every week so we aren’t at this for more than a year…
Expectancy Tips
All these weather events, this election season, there’s plenty of reason to get into doom and gloom and sadness.
And yet, our resilience keeps us rebounding. It may take a few days to shake off the emotional morass we can fall into, but we eventually do. If we take the time to analyze what triggered us, we can shorten our recovery time markedly for future times.
We can successfully remain optimistic and cheerful as we go through life. And gain the life benefits of that attitude.
Recently, I was reminded that our God-given rights are just that. They are wired into each of us - and no one can take them away. You can’t even give them away, actually. It’s all just pretending to agree with someone that you “can’t” do something. When the whole of civilization is based on individuals getting a better idea and making it happen.
When people threaten to “take our rights away”, you know down deep that you just have to practice your bravery once again and you can find a solution around whatever restriction or regulation they’ve put into place.
All our current “news” is devoted to making us feel bad. And the dark forces in our culture through the ages are always devoted to creating great anguish and human death. Yet our attitudes are always our own. So we can “become what we think about” by choosing to focus on things we want to — instead.
Try smiling at everyone you meet — and then you’ll find yourself happier and more optimistic. Just the way you’re wired.
I dug this old essay out for you - how to release your way back to your native freedom. It’s part of the Get Your Self Scam Free series:
As time permits, I’m still working on my bonuses in the paid subscription area. You can visit https://store.livingsensical.com for my numerous discount-priced collections of books, courses, materials. As usual.
Kickstarter Previews
Still could use your feedback on the Kickstarter preview.
Please visit the preview and use their comment area to tell me what needs to improve - or just give me (needed) attaboys.
Kickstarter display page here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1481356435/1548894263?ref=a5wy7u&token=315549e4 (Feel free to share that preview…)
Sign up to be notified when it goes live: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/robertworstell/writerpreneur-cracking-the-cashflow-code-non-fiction-book (Sign up now. Share that link with anyone you know who it could help.
PS. I discovered late pledges have been implemented by Kickstarter - so mine will have these for all who missed the initial roll-out. Lots of great stuff. And I’ll be rolling all this out shortly…
Thanks for being there, opening this.
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Leave a comment if something strikes your fancy.
I hope your life is not too interesting to be overwhelming, but sufficiently engaging to keep you amused. (Like some of us here...)
Robert
PS. Again, you can always email me about anything.
PPS. Again, do upgrade to the paid newsletter version. That helps me keep the lights on - so I can keep all this coming to you. As much or little as you want…
(Meanwhile, I’ve put my archived newsletters and articles all available as free on Substack, instead of behind a paywall.)
AND you can always buy me a coffee…
Here’s that new beta-reader advanced copy - still available
