Cove Volunteer Fire Department

Our small valley has an all volunteer fire department and, almost, everyone plays a part. We have a Fire Chief, Assistant Fire Chief, Fire Fighters, traffic controllers, people who keep the paperwork and many others. We all have pagers and when those pagers go off, we go running. It's usually Daniel and his brother, Doug, who are first at the station and then, first at the scene. Depending upon where the rest of the volunteers are, they come as they are able.

It's a real community affair and one of which we're exceptionally proud. You see, there are only about twenty-six people who live in the Cove and we're all doing our part.

The beautiful autumnal decorations at the station were put in place by Bogey and Doug, the same Doug who is a Fire Fighter and brother to Daniel. Bogey decided, and then put into action, her plan of decorating the fire station. Isn't it lovely? Most of the decorations came from neighboring farms and add to the loveliness we view every day. Bogey, with her sister-in-law, Meredith who is married to Daniel, handle the paperwork that comes with every call.

The door needs painting, it seems, every year and we're rushing to get it painted before cold weather sets in.

Thanks, Bogey and Doug; it looks great; well done!

Sandra at Thistle Cove Farm and Volunteer Traffic Controller -smile-

Making Hay

Tuesday of this past week we cut hay at Thistle Cove Farm and had every intention of putting it up on Wednesday or Thursday. When I awoke on Wednesday morning I, as usual, let the dogs out and then stepped onto the back porch to check the weather. The slight rustling, I thought, was the wind in the trees but within thirty seconds the skies opened and rain began to pour, absolutely pour!
Remember Andy Griffith? "It rained and it rained and it rained; it was a real frog strangler!" So it was and my heart sank as I thought of our beautiful hay, now becoming beautiful wet hay. I did the only thing I could do, the only thing any sane person would do -smile- and looked to the sky. "Well God, if you want your hay to get wet, that's okay with me." And I really did mean it...sort of. I meant it as much as possible under the circumstances and thinking of all the animals this hay was supposed to feed this coming winter. Do you remember the man who told Jesus, "I believe Lord. Help me believe"? Like him.
It rained all day Wednesday and into the night but Thursday dawned bright, sunny, hot and...no rain! I kept looking at our hay field, wondering if the hay could be saved but the men who help us weren't available Thursday. Friday was much the same as Thursday, bright, sunny, hot and no rain. About 11:00 a.m. John M. came and began cutting our hay, later on Red kicked and baled it and about 2:00 in the afternoon men began picking up the square bales and stacking them on the wagon for the trip to the barn.
We put up 377 bales of beautiful, sweet smelling, lovely hay and it was all dry! The rain held off until Saturday morning...thank you God...and it's all in the hay loft now.

Why is this so important and how does it pertain to you? If you've eaten today, thank a farmer. If you've used electricity or driven or ridden in a vehicle, thank a coal miner. Of all the industries in the world, those two affect our lives every single day of every single week of every single year our entire lives! There's no escaping it. Every single day a farmer and a miner get out of bed, put on their boots and go to their potentially dangerous job and the rest of us benefit. Think about it the next time you buy groceries or, better yet, visit a farmers' market and then...

THANK A FARMER!

Grace and Peace,
Sandra at Thistle Cove Farm