Sitting in High Cotton

Hello again! I promise, I'll be making a more more concentrated effort to post more frequently. I do finally feel like I have a grip on whats actually happening! Only take me 2 months! Speaking of 2 months, happy 2 month birthday to Barron!

Brett has started picking cotton about 2 weeks ago. This is normally a 6 week process, and puts a lot of extra stress on me with Barron, since Brett is gone 15 hours +/- a day. Unfortunately, the cotton picker has been broken down since Wednesday afternoon and we don't know when it will be up and running again. While I LOVE having brett around, this only means he will be gone in the fields longer.

For most of you reading this blog, you live up north, and may have never seen cotton growing or know what it takes to pick it. But no, we do not hand pick cotton anymore. We have a very complicated and intricate machine that can be summed up by: its a large tractor with 4 huge vacuums on the front that suck the cotton off the plant, and leave the plant behind (which is shredded shortly thereafter). Once the cotton is sucked up by vacuum, its sucked into a large basket on the back of the picker. Once the basket is full, it is dumped into another basket that is used to carry it back to a module building area. They make "modules" of cotton that resemble the block like the cargo end of an 18 wheeler. They make these modules by dumping several baskets of cotton into a module builder. The builder mashes the cotton over and over and over until its firm enough and large enough and forms the rectangular block. Then the builder apparatus is drug away, leaving behind the module of cotton, free standing. Its really amazing how it just holds up. Then the local Gin, comes and picks up the module in a module truck (again, somehow stays intact) and carrys the module back to the gin, where it is ginned and sold.

The price of cotton has nearly doubled this year, sitting at about $1.06/lb. A bale of cotton is roughly 550 lbs.; each acre this year is making a bit over 2 bales of cotton. We normally do about a bale and a half per acre. So not only is the price good, but so is the cotton! Now if we can just get it picked!!

Barron is growing before our eyes. We had our 8 week appt this week and SHOTS! We started rice this week, too. Its taking some time, learning and relearning and then starting over again with anything that pertains to a schedule for him. I'm trying though and he is truly so sweet. He smiles SO much in the mornings. Coos and laughs and talks. Its really neat to watch.

I'm also trying in my efforts to find a job. I've had a few interviews and have my name in the hat at several places. Hoping to start something around Nov 1. Prayers please.

Finally, we were so excited to visit my godmother Shirley in Memphis this week. We got to spend thursday night there and boy was it nice to get away and have some help! While we were there, our new pal Katy Bruce Mitchell decided it was time to debut into the world, and we got to stop by the hospital in Germantown too, and visit Friday morning. Yah for Laine and Clint, an early arrival, but healthy, happy and already home back in Oxford!

Here's to new beginnings....