Rain, Rain and More Rain

The whole northeast is socked in with rain and fog. I'm going to get my rain gear on and take the doggies up to the pond anyway. Dave Beesmer, a BOCES student, is here stacking bales for me. This is his first day here and he's working just fine. Randy, my previous helper, got a job in a pallet factory and I miss him. I'm going to ask Dave to help me catch a couple of sheep for shots before he leaves...it's a tough initiation into the world of shepherding. I don't have a handling system so it's a bit like a rodeo. I would ask him to help me put coats on them but Matt would give me a hard time about it. Any surprise change in the routine throws him and he balks. The whole sheep coating business is very labor intensive and requires someone holding the sheep still for fitting. When Dave arrived, Matt immediately requested two cups of coffee to be brought to the men by the wench (me). It's a display of manliness to have a woman bringing sustenance to the workers, I guess. Later on when they came in for lunch, Matt went to the bathroom sink, which doubles as a kitchen sink and is always filled with dishes waiting to be washed, and said, "Let me clean this out so you can wash your hands, Dave...such is life with my wife." What!! Ofcourse, I was silent. Hmmmm...I think he is going to get cabbage soup for dinner tonight. That will teach him to complain about his wife.

I paid my school tax today - $1,274.00 - for the Brookfield Central School. 300 kids from K through 12. Ouch, what I would rather do with that money. And I'm a teacher, shame on me. There was a dairy farmer in front of me who wanted to talk and talk. He was lamenting the reluctance of his son to come back and help on the farm, even though he lives locally. At sixteen this kid announced he didn't want to be a dairy farmer. He is a high school shop teacher now...a hard job but not as hard as dairy farming. I can't imagine that kind of hard work. And I work hard.

I have to cut some more Bundaflicka Bags out. An upscale yarn shop in Rochester, The Village Yarn and Fiber Shop, placed an order for six bags. None of that consignment business, this is a real order. They will even pay shipping. I pray the bags sell in the shop so they will order more.