Pooped!

Everyone’s writing seems to have picked up in quality and/or quantity. The autumn leaves me exhausted and partially brain dead. 

First it starts out as an inkling to get prepared for winter. After a few weeks of lollygagging and just casually getting things in order we’ll get a couple of days of really crappy weather which then slaps me in the face to get my attention. This is a predictable pattern that repeats yearly and yet causes me the same amount of stress as if it were a completely new phenomenon.

On the farm everything has to be put away, organized, mowed, repaired, prepared, examined for wear and tear, cleaned, replaced, and inspected. Winterizing the water troughs, making sure the heater in the tack room works and nothing has been piled on it, fixing fences (I guess that is ongoing), moving piles of manure or gravel to get them out of the way of any potential snow removal, and putting heated water buckets in the stalls are just a part of it.  

The day job has been busy, but the overtime is like getting a temporary raise. October was our busiest month (by far) since 2006, but we did it with three or four less people (there are only seven of us now) and it took its toll on everyone’s mental stability. Yes, even mine! Hard to believe, isn't it?

Most of the pictures I have been taking have been of odds and ends I have been trying to sell on eBay to make up some of my “fun money” that went away when my car needed an unexpected tow. Well, not totally unexpected as it is nineteen years old.

So, I’m tired of keeping my nose to the grindstone because all I seem to get is a bloody nose. That season seems to be coming to an end and winter sets in.  

And so I'll leave you with this because this is only temporary and I am already regaining my strength.

Here is Lili von Schtupp, the Teutonic Tit-willow in her famous rendition of  "I'm Tired".  

See? Isn't that better? It's a fwiggin shame!