Oh my. Nearly a month since I've blogged. Not like nothing's been happening, or that I haven't had about a hundred opinions on a thousand different issues. Catholic schools, pro-life, parental rights, near fatal accidents, I have enough in the back of my mind to keep blogging non-stop for at least a month. That's not going to happen. I will start with a little bit about what's been keeping me otherwise occupied...
So with it being winter, my many animals are eating alot of hay, and hay is getting very expensive. At times like this, when sane people are getting rid of animals, I am shopping around for cheaper hay. Within a 200 mile radius. I found it, 200 miles away. When it is cheaper to drive 400 miles round trip, including the gas and motel room, to get enough hay for a month I have to ask myself, "Is there something wrong with this picture?" I have had successful dealings with this hay broker in the past, so trusting that the trip would be worth it, I checked out the truck and readied it, then tackled the old utility trailer. Problems there. Between the goats and chickens playing hide and seek underneath it, the wiring was trashed. The license plate got lost the last time we loaned it out. The hitch is oversized, heavy and involves oversized and heavy stabilizer bars. Much better to borrow the neighbor's trailer and avoid all this, right? The adventure begins.
I brought the borrowed trailer home without incident. Inspecting the ball and hitch, they looked properly matched. Loaded truck and started down the road. Luckily the first leg of my journey was down a state highway at a time of day with very little traffic. The trailer was a little bouncy, so I slowed my speed, continually checking it in the rearview mirrors. Suddenly I felt a tug, and looked back to see the trailer swerving. "Oh God!" I repeated my earnest prayer. I hit the brakes, the trailer slammed the truck and bounced back. Unbelievably, the chain was still holding it on the truck. I sped up a bit and began to back off my speed more slowly, all the while inching to the edge of the highway, ready to pull off whenever I got the trailer to stop. Soon I was successfully off the road and safe. I watched as 2 small cars and a pickup truck passed me. My prayer changed to "Thank you God!" as I began my post trauma shaking and tears. I discovered that the tow ball was a size too small, that's why the trailer bounced off. Thank God it was before there was a load of hay on it. All problems were remedied and hay was brought back to the farm. I've since made another hay run, with the old utility trailer - fewer problems.
The fact that the chain held the trailer amazes and baffles me. I have lost a lighter trailer and chain just around my farm. This one could have caused a major accident, possibly fatal. I believe angels saved us all that day, and kept that trailer from flying into several cars.
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