Work, farm, watering

Yesterday at work one of the managers (our CEO) came into our area to do a head count. We were unaware but ours was the only department in the building that was fully staffed. In the entire rest of the building there were only eight people at their desk. Of the thirty or so people that would normally be in the office, only about fifteen of us showed up for work. I ended up staying a little late in order to help in the Client Relations department because there was only one person – out of five – that was working. I was unaware but all day every person in the rest of the building was answering calls for Client Relations; and there were a lot of calls yesterday. I only answered one call in the thirty minutes I covered the phones, but that alone gave them a small break so they could catch their breath as the day was ending.

I may not be going to Chile after all. The company that was requesting the training was not inspired by the price at which it was being offered – at least the two-week offering. My company regrouped and sent my resume to the client so they could have an idea of who they were getting as an instructor. What may happen is that we will develop the training and someone within their company will deliver it to their staff.  It is a little disappointing but not unexpected. When I worked for Licensing for Union Carbide/Dow, there were numerous instances of hurrying to get ready to travel only to be told the deal was off – then to be told it was back on, and so forth. An opportunity will eventually come through and we will be ready. For the moment, there is still a sense of urgency in getting the presentation completed. That is a good thing. When it is needed, we will be prepared. And eventually it will be needed.

Mama and I hurried a little last night to put away the feed she had gone to Muenster to pick up. We are spending about $200 per month buying bagged feed for all the animals. That is not too bad, considering the menagerie of animals Mama tends to, but it does not include the hay bales we buy for the cattle. Those are running about $45 per week. When we sell #75 we will, hopefully, get enough to pay for the feed for the whole farm for six to eight months. If we can manage to get her wild calf into the stock trainer to take to the sale barn this weekend we will clear enough to ensure we have feed money for the remainder of this year and on through the winter into next year. That will be a big help. It is the way a farm was meant to work – and it only took us two and one half years to get there. Mama and I are a little slow but we eventually get it all done.

Watering the landscape plants, the garden and the orchard is taking over an hour each time. I will have to see if there is a way to simplify or streamline the process. There is not a good way to break it up over each night of the week because Monday and Wednesday nights are already taken – with little lag time at home before we have to get to church. I have established the routine of watering on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday evenings. Eventually I will set the sprinkler up in the garden but there will still be some manual watering to be done there. I have thought about moving the berry bushes I have along the back fence to a more convenient location but I am not sure where to put them yet. Like the rose bushes we have along the driveway at the garage, we have not settled on where they belong. I may just dig them up and pot them until we decide. It is not an urgent matter and I hate to add anything to my already long list of little projects.

Daylight Saving’s Time starts this weekend. At least that will give us more hours of light in the evening so we are not so rushed.