Lovely weather, class tomorrow

We woke up to a soft rain and a temperature of 33°. Isn’t it wonderful to have central heat at a time like this? Feeding our animals is always a challenge in weather like this. With the ground already softened by the rain we got yesterday it will be quite unpleasant this morning. Especially feeding the pig. I realized when I put up the enclosure we are currently using that we would have to walk through the enclosure to feed and water the pig, but so far it as been dry. Yesterday was the first time the pig had played in a thoroughly soaked pen and she made a horrible mass of it. She spent the day digging as deeply as she could in as many places as she could. The result was a wasteland of deep holes that are all filling with water. Over the past few weeks Mama and I have wet the ground in specific areas so she could create a wallow. Now she has at least ten holes to wallow in and we have no defined path through the swamp she has created. I have been slowly working on a larger area to house the pig but have not completed it yet. Now I have the motivation to do so. When done, Mama and I will not have to traipse through her mess to get to the building to feed her. That will be better, especially heading into the Winter.

The chickens and the calf are largely unaffected by the cold or the rain. The goats on the other hand, do not like the wet any more than they like the cold. So, when it is wet and cold, they huddle in the barn all day long. It makes the barn a bit smelly, but they at least have a place to bed down and conserve their body heat. Yesterday, they crossed the threshold of the barn into the wet weather only to get a drink and then head back to their warmed spot in the barn. The calf has made her a spot in our large barn where she can stay when it gets too cold and the chickens hunker down in the space I left for them under the coop building, so everyone has a dry spot from which to watch the rain. Mama likes that. Meanwhile the pig continues her excavation of her pen regardless of the weather. At least so far, that appears to be the case. We will see if that changes when things get below freezing this Winter. I am going to enjoy watching her deal with frozen ground for the first time.

I will be teaching a class tomorrow. My only class this week. Next week I have three classes to teach. November will be a busy month for us as we try to get all our recent hires through the classes we require them to take after being hired. I am not sure of the format, but the internal classes will be somewhat shorter The internal classes are scheduled from 9 to 3 which will require me to change the pace of the class a little, but I can work with that. For the internal classes we will simulcast the in-person instruction to those who remain remote. I have never done that before so it should be fun to get everyone involved. Interspersed into the eight internal classes we have five client classes to deliver. Those will follow a normal timeline as well as a typical presentation format. Thirteen classes in six weeks. Sounds like fun!

I will need to head to the office for a few hours today to complete some work required in our presentation program. The material for several classes has been updated and now needs to be updated in the presentation program we use for those classes. It will take me several hours to get all the presentations reviewed and uploaded into the system. Something I can only do from the office. Since Grandpa is borrowing our truck, Mama will be stuck at home for the time I am out.

Something she does not necessarily find an issue with considering the weather today.