With renewed hope, I went over to the property yesterday, took some videos and pics and traipsed the front portion of it . It's mostly small trees with a few big ones mixed in. I intend on saving as many of the larger ones as possible, but if they have to come down? Down they will come.   I had not ventured into this portion of the property before, it was too densely loaded with trees and didn't feel like it. But now that we are allegedly getting "closer" to closing date, I need a solid plan.  I have one to start with.  It shouldn't be difficult for a smaller machine to take down those trees.

It was a bit comforting if nothing else is at the moment that the ground in there appears to be fairly level.  Whatever the case, the County did not adjust their entry for the property in their website with the new deed.  Whether that means nothing was done is unknown.  When I got my Sheriff's deeds back, it still took them a long, long time before they updated the website, so that may be meaningless.  The county  has to file it first before it can go back to the title company and then back to my lender and then an actual closing date.

This has been dragging on for around 2-1/2 months now.  Just a bit disconcerting that I could be over there, right now, with a skid steer and getting this operation started.  

In other news, my mom contacted me last night.  She informed me that my middle brother's son had contacted her and let her know that my middle brother "may be dying".  He has contracted Covid and apparently is not doing well at all.  Remember, this is the brother that wrote the entire family off over 2 years ago and hasn't talked to any of us since then, including mom.  My nephew - middle brother's son - is over in Germany. I don't know what he said to his dad, probably something about going to the hospital.

He was refusing to go get any kind of medical help.  Death wish?  I don't think so, he's not one to just give up.  Perhaps the nephew was just thinking out of fear and saying things out of fear.  Regardless, mother called the police in his town and asked them to go do a welfare check. They did so and found out that someone had brought him groceries and that he had stated he would seek medical attention tomorrow morning (today).  After posting a short blurp about this on my Facebook page, some old friends of his reached out to me and asked if they can do anything.  I had to inform them that we aren't on speaking terms, but that doesn't mean I don't care about him.

They asked for his address and said they would go do their own welfare check on him.  I haven't heard anything back.  We will be operating out of limited information and that's fine, for that's his choice to eliminate family out of his life.  If he passes, I will be sad but I will not be going to a funeral where he would not want me there. I might go visit his grave after the fact, but a funeral is out of the question, the only way I'd go is if his nephew specifically asked me to.  I am on speaking terms with him,he's a man now, in the US Army, going places, he was promoted to some level of authority not long ago (I don't remember what rank).  

As for me, I am so far doing fine.  With Covid, that can change overnight of course, but so far I am having no ill effects besides the normal old age junk that is slowly creeping in - what a pain that is.  I have a full contingent of hydroxyqloroquine (spelling?) sitting here ready at the go.  I bought it in advance in case I contracted this virus and so many doctors weren't prescribing it or pharmacies were refusing to fill prescriptions- because - Trump said it was effective.  Imagine that.  Controlled studies have shown it is quite effective to treat corona, yet because Trump said anything about it, the entire liberal medical world went haywire.  If I have no symptoms in the next few days I will go in and get tested around Tuesday. If I get symptoms before then I will go get tested right away.  I remain hopeful that that nasty illness I had last year was Covid and that I have some level of immunity to it.  That 6 year old is pretty clingy right now, his symptoms have worsened, tho in saying that, I don't mean life threatening, just his nose is now running like an open faucet, his voice is scratchy and he is generally not feeling normal.  

And definitely, there hasn't been any social distancing in this house. I don't know how you do that with little kids.  

And now, I have several old friends that have contracted covid and some of them are definitely not doing well at all.  I can only pray for everyone that is affected by this evil.  I can remain at least somewhat comforted that most people do not die from it.  They might end up in a hospital but many of those actually come out of there alive and kicking.  I think it's the media hyping it up for so long on a daily basis that makes it scary for many people.  If you did that with the flu and started posting every death that occurs from it, you'd have the same reaction.  There is a point to be made about turning off the news and getting off the internet. I'm not off the internet but I rarely watch the news on TV anymore.  It's all - and I mean all - negativity. Afghanistan taking the world stage since the pullout and Biden's failure as a president.  

As much as I dislike Biden, what I am about to say will probably be wildly unpopular with Biden detractors: We must pray for him.  God is in control, not some politician somewhere. This is still His earth, we are still His creation.  His plan is unfolding before us - what stage we are in I don't know and don't need to know. I only need concern myself with my walk with the Lord and my status with Him.  And possibly engaging others about Christ and salvation, repentance and living a life separated from this world yet still living in it.  My mind has been flooding with Scripture lately.  I don't even need to read the Bible to know what it says, I've only read it countless times. I've read the New Testament so many times I don't have a count for it. On a few occasions, I've read it straight through without stopping for anything but to sleep and eat.  I don't remember how long it took, like 5 days if I'm recalling correctly. 

Eternity looms for all of us. Where will we spend it? It is a thought worthy of time contemplating on it.  What if God does exist, to all of you unbelievers?  What if the Bible is all actually true?  To all of you that have spent your lives trying to discredit it and attempt to formulate discrepancies and inconsistenices within it.  I choose to believe. I have seen the hand of God moving in people's lives and I have experience the presence of God.  There is nothing like it.  You can cal it fairy tales and make believe, that's your choice.  But does it make any logical sense that this earth came into existence without a supreme Creator at the wheel, crafting it to His design?  

Preachy I guess. Just where my mind has been at lately, at lot more than "normal".  We are admonished to "return to your first love", for Christians that have lost their zeal.  The first love is something you should also contemplate for you that calls yourself a Christian. I apply that equally to myself, as I said, I have been thinking about that a lot.  I do need to open up the actual book and start reading it again. Reading it online just isn't the same, at least not for me.  My context is getting saved in the early 80's and reading the book, the internet didn't exist and we didn't have smart phones and personal computers all over the place.  

Whatever the case, there is no way, it appears anyway, that this closing is going to be done before Wednesday.  IF the papers have been filed by the County and IF the title company has it back, the title company still has to certify it and then..send it to my lender for a final review and then closing can take place.  

I do not yet understand - and I may not ever understand for that matter - why there have been so many roadblocks, to acquiring any land, not just this one.  But I don't have a stoplight appearing before my spiritual eyes and unless something drastic happens that literally stop my from physically engaging in this - I don't even want to think about those possibilities - I am moving forward.  

And with that, I am off to do - something, not sure what, but I spent a large portion of yesterday doing nothing. Don't really want to repeat that. At least take the dogs for a nice walk if nothing else.