Monday, October 19, 2009

The work just never ends.....

That about sums up how it has been for months now. Over the weekend, the salmon was processed, and BBQ sauce made, and the apples attended to as well. If not for the help of my good friend and my SIL, I don't know that I could have got it done. But we did, and I am beyond thankful for their assistance :) That's the last of the "big chores" for pressure canning for the year, yippee!

My hub has been very busy as well, sorting through items and straightening up for winter. He even spent some time cleaning up the barn for me yesterday-woohoo, he is a keeper, lol! He set the timers on the stock tanks after cleaning them, raked out stray hay, put tools away and so on. About all that remains is to shorten up the arena for winter snow plowing, which is a big chore. He'll give it one last drag and then it's a matter of a lot of tugging and pulling to make that a smaller diameter.

Horses are doing fairly well, all things considered. Reba had a small abrasion on one fetlock that ended up getting a minor infection. Five days of antibiotics and she is much improved, and is finally sound again, yay! She still has some thickened skin there at the front of the fetlock and I am not sure if its going away, ever. It does not bother her, but looks a little odd-time will tell. Still have no idea how she got the original boo boo of course, goofy girl!

My "load from hell" hay van is finally gone and another arrived on Friday. This looks much better and I sure hope people are better about picking up their hay this time around. It's getting harder to bite my tongue when I call people and let them know, and it's just not convenient for them to come any time soon-grrr! But I try to be accomodating because Lord knows I am busy too, lol

Speaking of hay, one person contacted me a full four months after they got their hay, to inform me they expected a refund or replacement on 19 bales of hay. Good lord, four months later they are telling me this? A phone call or email would have been nice-like right when they found a bad spot! I try really hard to replace hay people return, but this person did not keep any (or very many, I think) of the bales and seems to expect me to take their word for it and just replace or refund. Um, can't do that, I just can't. All replacement hay comes out of my own personal supply anyway, and I replace bales that are returned. Sometimes, I can resell the hay on to other people at a big loss for other stock, or bedding, or even just for mulch in gardens. I don't think even Animal Food Warehouse would just hand over cash either, lol So I am sure to get bashed around behind my back over this one too. Oh well, chit happens. I have spent way too many hours on a tractor not to understand that there is no such thing as perfect hay, period. I am going to politely suggest that they find hay elsewhere since this seems to be such an issue ;) I mean, it's not like I haven't tossed out many thousands of dollars worth of hay over the years. Who hasn't?

The big dog is doing pretty well. He is still having trouble accepting my hub when he comes home from the Slope, but aside from that, he is great at charming customers and mugging them for attention. A few times over the past month we have let him loose to blow off steam and I am telling you, that dog can run through thick black spruce like it isn't even there-incredible! Tremendous speed and agility, that dog has, easy ten or twelve foot strides bending around and through the trees. I have no doubt this dog could take down sizable game, if he had a mind to do it, and a human? Easy pickings. He is starting to show some protectiveness, and I am very careful how I handle that, as an aggressive big dog is not what I want or need, but one that will stand at my side and scare the poo out of folks? You bet!

So that's the story of my life, pretty much. Spending my weekends working at one thing or another, and the weekdays working for pay. I keep thinking I am going to have some time off, but it never happens, lol The hard work has its payoffs though, as the garden produce is completely processed and the big chore-the salmon-is done. A three day project in itself, the salmon-thaw, cut, brine, dry, smoke and then process. Best of all, the results are just wonderful this year. My hub is in charge of everything but the processing and he really outdid himself this year!

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