All worked from dark to dark!

I know how fortunate we are, those of us on this work farm, eating bacon and eggs and a pan of gravy for breakfast! My daughters-in-law cook almost as good as my close relative and the boys show it. We work hard, mostly 12 to 14 hours a day, and we like it. We see sunrises and sunsets and all in between, but we like it. Our pay is pretty thin at times, but we stay hooked up.

We worked yesterday from dark to dark, and the women of the family did, too! They visited a farm that sells produce such as tomatoes, corn, green beans and apples, berries and peaches. They bought plenty of all of it. Their day was spent canning for the cold days ahead. Knowing how tired the women would be, we decided to take them out to supper.

The ladies were so worn and ragged they didn’t want to go anywhere, so we had it brought in. The food came in around nine, and we ate until midnight! Maybe not every minute of the time, but it was from our favorite Mexican Casa and it was good. Kids were spread out on quilts and sleeping like babies.

The new grandbaby was spending most of the night with us. We made it plain that when we sit in our chairs and sleep, they now know why!

I know the fences on the north side are not something I am proud of. We have several miles of fence there, and most of it held old and gentle cows just fine. A wild critter could just walk out if desired, so we repaired fence as the ladies canned yesterday.

I bought a load of Tposts and gasped for air as the clerk gave me the total! I guess the boys at the farm store have to make a living too. I wondered if the posts would pay for themselves and then remembered the steer on the highway and the $800 it cost us. I guess we just have to bite the bullet and go forward. We used all the new posts and needed 50 more but made the old ones do. I can’t tell you how important the posthole digger is to me and others. There just aren’t enough words in the English language to express my gratitude for the little gadget!

I rode the pastures close to headquarters today and counted cows from the saddle. I was still worn smooth; so was the crippled female at five this morning. She was sure in bad shape for the first hour, so we ate Little Debbie cookies for breakfast today and were so interested in the good hot coffee we didn’t mind at all. The pandemic was so utterly horrible, but we have found out this recession is also not for the faint-hearted.

Lessons learned in the last couple of days could fill a book, so I won’t try to list them all! The hands taught me several things about using new and easier tools while building fence; my close relative has a fabulous relationship with her daughters-in-law, and I was not aware of such devotion before yesterday. Things are almost perfect here on the work farm — for me and for some of the sore and achy ladies!

We make few trips to store our cash in the bank. We make fewer trips everywhere since gas is so high, and the good hat I wore last winter is good for several more years. Grandkids are in college and don’t realize yet what a bind we are living in, and the ones here are young enough not to care or even notice.

Good thing I can hit a squirrel or a rabbit and can skin them in a flash; we may be eating them soon! Buying hay and selling cows is for tomorrow to worry about, but the Wise One has it covered.

You had better keep a supply of ammo because the next might be too high to buy. Remember the Alamo.