Bartering for Cackle Berries & Wattling

Gene Takes a Bride, and why? To balance out his life., and his tractor. He's missing a tire here and his gal seems to balance things out just fine to get him around until he gets a new one!!!....LOL....

This is NOT Gene, and he did NOT take a Bride! This fella just looks so much like our bachelor neighbor that I could NOT resist...actually this picture came off the net., but it represents our Gene's sense of humor.
We are a community of bartering. Our good neighbor Gene needs help cutting down an iron gate. Bill is going to help him get that done so the good man stopped today with a barter. Not one, but 3 dozen Cackle Berries, as he calls them. The Eggs from his hens are so huge that they do not fit in the carton.
Size, in this case, does Not matter. Farm fresh eggs are always so much richer in flavor and better for you than the commercially raised eggs. I know Gene feeds his chickens the finest grains and takes good care of them. We are always happy to take eggs in trade for whatever he needs done, however, we do NOT need payment. Today its cutting a gate down, next week it may be, 'Just Because'. He's the fella who calls every morning to let me know that his feet have hit the ground and that it's going to be another nice day, whether or not the sun is shining. He always has a smile on his face and always has kind words to say. We still don't know how he does it, but he knows everyones birthday and anniversary, in the neighborhood. Whenever he knows that our GrandLoves are around, he brings them chocolate milk or A&W Root Beer. He sure loves the little kids and there isn't a one of them that doesn't just love the life out of him. Kids know kindness when they see it.

Gene always has a joke or two. Today he tells me as I'm carrying the eggs up the stairs, don't trip or you will have scrambled eggs.

But the joke of the day was about a preacher who was having trouble starting his lawn mower. He is pulling and pulling the pully and it just won't start. He asks ," How do you start this thing ", to the young man standing near him. The lad says, "You swear at it." The preacher says, "It's been so long since I've sworn, I don't think I remember how." The lad says, "You keep pulling, pulling and pulling on that thing, and it'll come back to ya!." LOL That's our Gene. Always a kind word and always a joke in good taste. Of course, always the best eggs.
We rounded out our day with another good meal. This time it was boneless, skinless chicken fixed two different ways. Both were marinated in a citrus lemon pepper marinate for an hour. Then one blackened, the other cornmeal crusted and baked. Both were good but we agreed the blackened was the best. We also had baked sweet potatoes with real butter melted on top, and Mama's lettuce, pea and onion salad with Miracle Whip, salt and pepper. My sisters know which one I mean. Top that plate of goods off with more black pepper and a tall mug of peach iced tea.
We still had work to do. Bill headed to the woods to split another pile of firewood while I finished up the 2nd Wattle on the north end of the deck. Preparation took half the morning and all afternoon just to clean out the bed of quack grass and do edging , but I finally got it respectable enough for another year. Here I always thought a wattle was that loose skin on the neck of a chicken. Who knew it is also such a fine decorative fence. Now I have two of them.
Tomorrow, I tackle 'Project 3', if my bod holds out. Until then,

Have a great one, whatever that will be, and God Bless You, Everyone!