There is a bit of living history on our farm.
His name is Sampson.
Sampson is well over 200 years old.
And Sampson is a tree.


He is my favorite tree in all the world and he lives
in front of our barn beside the dry lot fence.
This tree is the oldest living being on this farm.
He has seen the Revolutionary War, watched settlers move westward,
and survived the Civil War.

I often gaze at Sampson and pray that he will still
stand in that very spot long after I am gone.

Sadly, Sampson sustained a rather large injury this past weekend.
We had an incredibly fierce thunderstorm a few days ago.
A bolt of lightening struck Sampson and split his bark wide open,



sending chunks of it flying.


That same lightening bolt then traveled across to the dry lot fence
splitting a fence post  


and snapping the electric wire in half.


Unfortunately, the current traveled through the ground and 
destroyed the pump in our well.


Yesterday the plumbers tried to replace the pump,
but found that rocks had shifted...
blocking the removal of the old pump. 


On Thursday a new well will be drilled.

Hopefully Sampson will survive the lightening strike,
and live to see many more generations
in this beautiful place.

It is said that bad things come in threes.
This week I might have to agree with that old adage.

Number two on our list of woes is old Tin Lizzy.
The old gal got a flat tire the other evening while we were
using her to haul our manure spreader.
For now she sits here awaiting a brand new tire and rim....


temporarily out of commission.

The third item on our list of woes is the farm diesel tank.
It seems that Hubbs had a slight mishap between the tractor and the tank
while filling the tractor with fuel.
Knocked off it's perch, the fuel tank's legs buckled beneath the weight of the diesel....


resulting in the need to purchase a new tank.
Yesterday that tank was installed on a brand new cement pad.
(a much sturdier perch should a similar incident ever occur again!)


Naturally all of these proceedings were supervised by our turkeys.


On a brighter note,
I successfully baked a Gooseberry pie.
Delish!


Thankfully, Hubbs and I like things that are tart.
Gooseberries are incredibly tart!


Note: not pictured is the horrendous case of chigger bites I sustained
while picking the gooseberries.
If you have never had chigger bites, consider yourself lucky.
If you have had the experience, then I know you are feeling very sorry
for me at this moment.
Believe me, I deserve your pity.....as I am scratching like a mad woman as I 
write this post!

All in all, with all our tiny woes, the only thing that has left a sour taste in my mouth
is the pie!
And that's a good sour taste!

Comments

I have never had gooseberry anything! That looks... interesting!..

Love big old trees like this one..
Anke said…
Oh my goodness Bev, you've sure had a streak of bad luck. I hope you'll have better days ahead now and Sampson will survive the lightning strike.
Anonymous said…
Chigger bites are the worst! Sorry for all the mishaps this week. I guess enough patience, fortitude and money can fix anything.... except for chiggers. They have to fix themselves.

Di
Ginny said…
You know what they say,"When it rains, it pours". I think that happened to you & the farm. There is a company in our area that I am told does great work with trees, Josuha Tree. If you need info, let me know and I will see what I can do.
Julie Harward said…
What a week you are having...love the giant tree, is that a hole-space in the bottom of the truck? It is amazing! :D
Carla said…
I think old Sampson will be just fine. That's not a bad wound at all.
Will you be lining your well this time around? Ours is lined so stuff can't shift--902 feet.
Gooseberry pie--YUM!
Chiggers. Just reading the word makes me itch. They get in the most unfortunate (for scratching in public) places.
Junebug said…
I am so thankful we don't have chiggers. I don't like the sounds of them. Strike three and you are out, that is out of bad luck! So today will be fabulous! Love those turkeys!!!
Suzan said…
Hate hearing the mixing of lightning and Sampson! That's never a good thing. That History can't be replaced!!
Chiggers ARE a pain in the butt: the belt line, the pants line, the ankles, anywhere that clothes are tight to the skin! You know to coat them down with nailpolish!! Sufficate those buggers :-}}
This N That said…
WOW..not a good week at the farm..Sampson should be OK as long as he doesn't get disease in his wound..I lost a third of a red maple from snow and ice several years ago.. the wound where the limb came off was a little bigger than my hand.. my garden/nursery guru said not to use that black tar to seal it (bad things stick to it) but to use elmers glue to seal it and it would seal itself in a matter of days... Sampson would take a huge amount of glue;)
Unknown said…
What a week! I love your attitude about it..so positive. Can't change a thing so why not! Love that old tree, never thought about what a tree might have experienced! Cool.

Stop scratching...vinegar right away always helps me for mosquitos...maybe it would work for chiggers.
Kim said…
That's four ~ tree, tractor, fuel tank, water pump. Hope that all for you for a while!

Love that tree. We just don't have any trees that tall here. We like to say they have to keep a low center of gravity to withstand the Oklahoma wind.
Teresa said…
Amazing that the gooseberry pie is the only sour taste in your mouth. Hopefully your woes are done for the summer and the rest goes well. Hope Sampson makes it. I lost a big old oak tree to the storms last week.
Natalie said…
If you wait until the gooseberries turn dark pink they are incredibly sweet...sweet enough to make fruit leathers or jam.