Back again

Hi, I am still here, though I don't visit often. I've been hiding out in the back room all winter creating interesting projects that keep me out of the cold, though lately I have been spending quite a bit of time outside wading through the snow. I've got 7 steers that belong to a guy from Park River at my place so the 4-H kids from town can train and show them. Well, they are supposed to be at my place but shortly after they were delivered 4 of them bashed through the corral and took off to the neighbors un harvested 160 acre corn field. That was 2 1/2 weeks ago and they are still there after 2.5 weeks of trying to get them back in! To make a long story short, I have had most of the neighbors for a several mile radius out to help and no success yet. Last weekend we had two people on horses, and about 10 on foot trying to round them up but the steers were successful at evading all of our efforts again. short of a tranquilizer gun we have tried everything imaginable only to be fooled by these dumb Angus. The guy that owns them finally gave me permission to shoot the lead steer after it ran over me, pounding me into the snow (I would have been toast if there had been no snow) and then running over a guy from town on his snowmobile, bashing Kyle's truck several times and wrecking a temporary corral we tried. With great pleasure I will station myself in a tree along their normal path of escape, with my rifle tuned up and ready with special ammunition that I will create especially for this steer, I will wait for as long as it takes for him to come by and he will finally end up in white packages. We are hoping the other three will be much more manageable with this instigator out of the picture.
On the bright side, I have been getting a great deal of much needed exercise and tracking practice throughout this ordeal. If they were in pasture instead of the neighbors corn I would leave them out and keep trying but we can't leave them in the corn.
I am pleased to announce that this is the first winter that I haven't gotten helplessly stuck when attempting to drive somewhere. On the other hand, I have had to dig/push/pull practically everyone I know out of a snowbank this winter so I've spent just as much time as usual at the unpleasant job. The fact that I haven't gotten stuck is worth of mention simply because I am still being stubborn and haven't gotten a 4x4, I have switched from the Mercedes (which resides in winter retirement) to the old VW diesels which are much better in snow and, the key fact that I have figured out, are so small and light that I can, when unable to move in deep snow, just leave in the suitable gear, get out and push and so far (other than that one time at Bartlett's) I have been able to push myself out of the snowbank. I do look rather ridiculous when, after the tires reach traction and the vehicle takes off, I run after the thing and try to get inside and stop it before it drives off into another snowbank. The various neighbors with big 4x4 rigs have had a much harder time getting out and I've pulled out a Dodge 4x4 truck with my VW (embarrassing for the Dodge owner) two full size SUV's and my little brother's jacked up Jeep.
Last week I took the Azure Standard delivery route because my dad, who usually does it was seriously ill and the food had to be delivered. It was quite enjoyable to get out of town for a while, see some new country and meet lots of new people as well as see lots of people that I haven't seen in a long time. I was kind of worn out after unloading the semi by hand but it was well worth it and I really enjoy driving truck so altogether a nice change of pace. It looks like I may end up doing it more often since I have time and Dad can't always manage to get away to do it. The biggest problem for me is asking neighbors to care for the animals, they don't mind but I hate making them come down to my place every day just to do my chores.
I have been playing piano for church a lot more lately. For some reason Kyle manages to be gone on the same Sundays that the other pianist is gone so I am the pianist of last resort. Both of them can read music so the song list is more diverse, when I play we are limited to what I have heard before, though I don't know that that is too bad, since when they play we are limited to the key that the song is written in, which, in the case of the hymn book always much too high for the entire congregation so it ends up being a solo piano piece with a couple of women trying to catch up. I play in whatever key I like best, which isn't always what the song leader likes but as I learn what she likes I just go with that. I can't figure out why Kyle can't transpose, it would make things so much easier.
Got to go do something productive.